Propped ladder.

Application filed April 27,1905. Serial No. 257,568.

Patented Dec. 5, 1905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Manning M. Rouse, a citizen of the United States, residing at Corry, in the county of Erie and State of Pennsyl5 vania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propped Ladders, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. _ io My invention relates to extension-ladders, and more particularly to that class known as “step-ladders,” one of the objects of the invention being to provide a device of the character described that shall be simple and inex15 pensive in construction, durable, and effective ' in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an extension step-ladder having adjustable braces by means of which the props m^y 2o be regulated and by means of which the ladder may be set against a wall while the props are held rigidly in position, thus avoiding the danger of slipping.

Other objects and advantages of my in25 vention, as well as the structural features by means of which these objects are attained, will be made clear by an examination of the specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which the same 30 reference - numerals indicate corresponding portions throughout, and in which—

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my ladder, showing the shdably-mounted section lowered. Fig. 2 is a perspective view show35 ing the slidably - mounted section raised.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the front props. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the rear props. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of a portion of the adjustable 40 brace, and Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of a portion of the other brace.

designates a section of a step-ladder constructed in the ordinary manner, with longitudinal plates 2 secured to the front edges of 45 the side bars and having tongues 3 formed on the back edges of said bars and adapted to rest in grooves 4 in the front edges of a ladder-section 5, adjustably and slidably mounted on said section 1 by means of the tongues 50 and grooves'3 and 4 and also by means of clamps or clips 6 of a well-known construction, which are rigidly fixed on the slidable section 5 near its lower end, each one being provided with a set-screw 7 in the front part 55 thereof, by means of which said section 5 is secured rigidly in place when raised or lowered.

designates a prop-section having longitudinal plates 4 secured to the outer edges of each prop, each prop being provided with a 60 groove 9., and 10 designates an extension-section adjustably mounted on the section 7 .by means of longitudinal tongues 11, traveling in the grooves 9, and also by means of supporting-clips 12, rigidly secured to the prop- 65 section 7. The extension-section 11 has rigidly mounted thereon clips 13 of the ordinary construction, with set-screws 14 engaging with the longitudinal plates 8, by means of which the extension-section 11 is secured in 70 position when raised or lowered.

The extension 5 has rigidly secured at its upper end the supporting-plates 15, carrying a platform 16, the upper ends of each prop of the extension-section 11 being pivotally 75 mounted on the plate 15.

designates a brace between the laddersections, said brace comprising two arms 18, one of said arms carrying a lateral projection 19 at one end and the other arm having slots 80 or grooves 20 therein. The two arms are pivotally connected, as shown at 21, one of said arms having pivotally mounted thereon a link 22, which is provided with a lateral projection 23 at its end, said lateral projec- 85 tion being adapted to engage with the grooves or notches 20, thus affording means by which the braces are adjusted.

designates another folding brace comprising two arms, one of which is pivoted on 90 the front and thp other on the rear prop. One of said arms is provided with a lateral projection 25, which 'engages with a kerf 26 in the other arm, whereby the two arms are braced to aid in holding the props in position 95 when the ladder is being used. _

From the foregoing description of my invention it will be observed that my ladder is constructed in two sections—namely, an upper and a lower—and in operation, where a 100 higher elevation than that attainable by the ordinary ladder is desired to be reached, the upper section is extended, as best shown in Fig. 2, and held in positiori by means of the clamps 6 and 13 and the set-screws 7 and 14 105 in conjunction therewith.

Two particularly useful features are possessed by my ladder, one being the extension feature, enabling a person to adjust the ladder to reach heights not attained by the ordi- 110

806,501 nary and well-linown construction of stepladder, and the other being the manner of bracing the props. It will be observed that by my method the props may be placed 5 astride any desirable distance, this arrangement of parts being particularly useful where it is desired to utilize a step-ladder against a wall. By means of the arms 18, the lateral lugs 19 and 23, and the grooves 20 one or io both of the braces 17 may be adjusted to permit the rear props to stand in a perfectly vertical position while the step-carrying props are arranged at an angle enabling a person to conveniently ascend or descend the same.