Brace fastener for a folding ladder

A brace fastener for holding a step brace in position when the folding ladder in which said step brace is fastened is set up into shape, comprising a spring plate in an inverted T shape attached to either sidepiece of said folding ladder to hold a hook member in place and a control member movably hooked in said hook member for performing a second-order lever. Attaching said control member to the outer surface of the sidepiece of the folding ladder permits the hook member to be moved into a locking position to lock the step brace in position when the folding ladder is set up. Rotating the control member downwards causes the hook member to disconnect from the step brace so that the folding ladder can be collapsed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 611,053, there is disclosed a folding 
ladder which can be folded up into a bar shape to reduce space occupation 
when not in use. In this structure of folding ladders, movable braces are 
provided to support the rails and rounds in place when they are set up 
into shape. Because the braces are simply stopped by stop plates when they 
are extended to support the ladders into shape, they must be further 
secured by fastening means so as to ensure high stability. 
The present invention has been accomplished to achieve this purpose. It is 
therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a brace 
fastener which can conveniently tightly fasten the movable braces of a 
folding ladder in place so as to provide an added stability to the folding 
ladder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIG. 1, a brace fastener in accordance with the present 
invention is generally comprised of a spring plate 101 in a substantially 
inverted T shape having a plurality of holes 111, 121 made through 
punching process at proper locations for inserting rivets 102 or screws 
103 to secure a hook member 104 and a cushion plate 105 thereto. The hook 
member 104 and the cushion plate 105 are respectively attached to the 
surface of the spring plate 101 on the same side with the cushion plate 
105 disposed adjacent to the hook member 104 at the bottom. The hook 
member 104 is made in a substantially I-shaped structure, having a neck 
portion 114 at the middle and two hooked portions 124 bilaterally disposed 
at the top. There is also provided a control member 106 which has two 
projecting strips 116 bilaterally projecting inwards at the bottom and 
respectively hooked in the neck portion 114 of the hook member 104. 
During installation, the cushion plate 105 and the spring plate 101 are 
attached to the flat outer wall 117 of either rail 107 at a suitable 
location by screws 103 permitting the two hooked portions 124 of the hook 
member 104 to project into an opening 127 on the flat outer wall 117 of 
the rail 107 for hooking up the sliding block 1631 of the adjacent step 
brace 163. 
Referring to FIG. 2, the operation of the present invention is performed by 
using a second-order lever. As illustrated, bending the control member 106 
from a vertical position "A" to a horizontal position "A'" causes the hook 
member 104 to incline backwards to a bevel position "104'", and therefore, 
the hooked portions 124 are disengaged from the sliding block 1631. Once 
the hooked portions 124 of the hook member 104 are disconnected from the 
sliding block 1631, the step brace 163 is released from constraint, and 
therefore, the folding ladder can be folded up into a bar-like structure. 
Referring to FIG. 3, when the folding ladder is set up into shape, the 
sliding block 1631 of each step brace 163 is stopped at a stop plate 108 
and simultaneously retained in place by the two hooked portions 124 of the 
hook member 104 which insert through the opening 127 (as shown in FIG. 
3-A). By means of the aforesaid arrangement, the folding ladder provides 
added strength when it is set up into shape. 
While the invention has been described by way of example, it is to be 
understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration 
only, and various modifications could be made to the present invention 
without departing from the basic teachings thereof.