US2237853A

US2237853A - Ladder clamp

Info

Publication number: US2237853A
Application number: US238564A
Authority: US
Inventors: Herman J Troche
Original assignee: American Coach and Body Co
Current assignee: American Coach and Body Co
Priority date: 1938-11-03
Filing date: 1938-11-03
Publication date: 1941-04-08
Anticipated expiration: 1958-04-08

Description

April 8, 1941i. H 1 TROCHE 2.237.853

LADDER CLAMF Filed Nov. 3. 193B 2 Sheets--SheekI 14 E O /3' Z0 .9o 916 9/ 40 /Z *i H93 fr l Y /f' j INVENTOR ATTORNEY 5.

April 8, 1941- H. J. TROCHE 2.237.853

LADDER CLAMP Filed Nov. 3, 1938 2 Sheets-Shee'rl 2 INVENTOR. BY MM Wwf/fg,

@my wm View ATTORNEYIS oriented prr 1941 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE LADDER. CLAMP Herman J. Troche, Cleveland, h10, assgnor to American Coach da Body Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation o! Ohio Application November 3, 1938, Serial No. 238,564

4 Claims.

motion. will lock a plurality oi ladders in position and by reverse motion will release them i'or lmmediate use.f The device has particular application in trucks whichare used for telephone work or tor any activity that requires ladders as part oi the service equipment.

a desirable locationior mounting ladders in equipment of this nature is on the top of the vehicle, where it does not obstruct a workman ln obtaining access to the tool compartment oi the vehicle or interfere with the vision of the driver. Ilihe dimculty in loading ladders at the top oi the vehicle is the fact that they are apt to move as e. result of the vibration of the vehicle, and as a result oi sudden starting or stopping oi lthe same. The present invention, however, overcomes all of these difficulties. in a simple and expeditious manner.

lteierring now to .the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side view oi a vehicle having ladders mounted thereon ond having my clamping device attached thereto; the. d :is o. plan oi ladderV supporting mechanism shown in li'ig. l; Fig. 3 is an end view oi the vehicle; big. i is a iragmentary plan on a larger scale that is used ior liig. 2 and shows the vehicle in greater detail with a portion in section Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken on the iine t--i in Fig. d.

'the vehicle with which the present invention is illustrated is shown os having a body il) with a drvers cab il. Ladders are adapted to be carried above the body and cabin supporting mechanism mounted on 'the body. For this pulpose l have illustrated lengths of pipe or rods i? and it oi inverteti iii-shape, mounted in brackets i4 and it, which are attached to the sides oi the body.

lThe entenslon ladder support may comprise a pair oi supporting des which rest upon the intermediate portions or the rods i2 and i3. These treme members may be adiustably positioned upon their supports by clamps it and di, each which has a portion which is aixed to one oi the trame members and another portion that entends around the rod and is rigidly cramped thereto. 'lihe guides are preferably Z- shaped in cross-section and are smooth on their iaces, enabling a ready placement oi the ladder by a sliding action.

'The frame members 20 have sulicent length 'to receive and hold an extension ladder, indicated at L, L' in Figs. l and 5, .the outer section L of which fits snugly within the frame members 20 while the inner section L' rests on the outer section.

vl'he bars 20, which are adjustably supported by 'the

brackets

24 and 25, are transversely connected in an adjustable manner, so that they may receive-the ladder L with the desired snugness. This adjustable connection. illustrated in Fig. 5, comprises overlapping extensions of i.- shaped bars 2i bolted to their respective frame members 2li and secured together by bolts 28, which pass through slots in one oi the bars.

This invention is adapted for clamping ladders other than extension ladders, so l have illustrated a step-ladder 8, beneath the extension ladder and adapted to be positioned and clamped within a trame that is suspended from the extensionladder frame.

inthe preferred arrangement the frame which carries the step-ladder, comprises longitudinally extending supporting guides di) in the iorm of angle bars that are suspended from the members till by brackets di and d2, respectively. The frame members di) are ltransversely braced by crossmembers t5, which may be continuations of the brackets il and 42, as illustrated. The step-ladder supporting irame is wider at the rear than at the iront, as illustrated in Fig. 2, to conform to the usual shape or such ladders.

Upper angle bars d6 paralleling the members dll are provided to guide the iorward end ci the step-ladderu as the ladder is slanted up and slid :forwardly and to prevent interference with or injury to the guides and mechanism above. The members t6 also serve to increase the rigidity of the frame.

it will be seen that the construction above described provides ior conveniently supporting the step-ladder above the body and et the rear of the cab, and the extension ladder above the stepladder, and overhanging the top oi the cab. as illustrated in Fig. l.

it. ieature oi' my invention is the clamping mechanism which eliectively locks the ladders in these portions. l" will first describe the mechanism for clamping the extension ladder, which is best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5.

lmivotally mounted on the vertical legs of the bars il are upright clamping levers t0. each of which is shown as having inward flanges l which overlap U-shaped brackets 29 on the frame bars, the flanges being pivoted to the brackets by pins or rods 52. 'Ihe bars 50 are shown as curving inwardly to extend across the top of the ladder extension L' and adjacent their free ends carry on their undersides rubber blocks 54 adapted to bear against the top edges of the side rails of the ladder L'. Each clamping bar 50 is'connected at 55 and 56, below the pivot 52, with a spreading device adapted to force the lower ends of these clamping levers outwardly and thus bring the blocks 54 down tightly on the ladder rails.

'I'he spreading device for the clamping arms 50 comprises a transverse bar 60, pivoted at 6l to a clip 62 pivoted at 56 tothe clamping bar. On the other side, a link 64 is pivoted at 65 to a clip 66, which is pivoted at 55 tothe clamping bar. The link 64 has a threaded extension 61, on which is mounted an adjustable internal threaded clevis 68 pivoted to an ear 69 on the lever 60. The portion of the lever 60 between its pivot and the clevis 68 forms one member of a toggle, the other member being a link 64 and the clevis 68. The various pivots and clips just mentioned form, in effect, universal joints at each end of the toggle. When this toggle is straightened by action of the lever 6U, the ladders are clamped. 'Ihe lever 60 slides in and is' supported by a bracket 59 extending from the bars 2i and may be provided with a suitable handle 'l0 to enable its ready movement by the operator.

To clamp the step-ladder, I provide a bar 80 sli-dably mounted transversely of the step-ladder frame above that frame, this bar having a downwardly curved portion 8| carrying at its end a rubber block 82 adapted to abut the side face of the step-ladder rail. The bar 80 is adjustably clamped by bolts 84 passing through slots to an extension member 85, which is pivoted to the pivot 56 0f the adjustable clamping bar 50, to which the lever 60 is pivotally attached. The result is that when the lever 60 is operated to straighten the toggle, thereby clamping the extension ladder, the same movement, by swinging the pivot 56 outwardly, throws the block 82 against the side of the step-ladder.

The clamping members for both the extension ladder and the step-ladder are adjusted so that they act simultaneously, and hence a single movement of the lever 60 by its handle 'l0 clamps all of the ladders in place.

The suspended support for the step-ladder may also, if desired, carry compartments for carrying suitable tools. This is illustrated in Figs. 3 and 5,

where the suspending brackets 4l and 42 on one side, carry a sheet metal open-ended box having compartments and 9|, for tree trimmers and ground rods, respectily, or other purposes if desired.

I claim:

1. The combination of a ladder support, a pair of clamping levers intermediately pivoted to the support and having upper portions adapted to act downwardly on a ladder resting on the support, an operating lever connected to the lower portion of one of said clamping levers, and a toggle link connecting the lower portion of the other clamping lever to said operating lever.

2. The combination of a plurality of superimposed spaced ladder supports, a pair of clamping levers intermediately pivoted to the upper support and having the upper portion thereof adapted to bear against a ladder resting on the upper support, a third clamping member disposed between the supports and having one end portion thereof adapted to bear against a ladder on the lower support, an operating lever disposed bctween the supports and connected to one of thc clamping levers for the upper ladder and also connected to the clamping member for the lower ladder, and means connecting the operating lever 4to the other clamping lever for the upper ladder whereby movement of the operating lever in one direction actuates all of the clamping members and levers to hold the ladders on their respective supports.

3. The combination of a ladder support, a pair of clamping levers intermediately pivoted to the support and having the upper portion of each clamping lever adapted to bear against a ladder resting on the support, a swingable operating lever pivotally connected to the lower portion of one of said clamping levers, and a link pivotally connected to the operating lever at an intermediate portion thereon and also pivotally connected to the other clamping lever.

4. The combination of a ladder supporting structure, a pair of clamping levers intermediately pivoted to said structure and each having one end thereof adapted t0 bear against a ladder resting on the support, there being one lever on each side of the ladder, a swingable operating lever having at least a portion thereof positioned at one side of the ladder, a link pivotally connected to the lever and to the lower end portion of one of the clamping levers, and means including a second link for operating the other clamping lever whenever the rst is actuated.

HERMAN J TROCHE.