Abstract:
A multipurpose ladder standoff especially useful for house painters and utility field workers including a jaw coupled between first and second rungs of an extension ladder and including first and second rotatable arms extending forwardly from opposing left and right jaw sides to encircle utility poles and trees, or to rest against the exterior walls and/or around the corners of a dwelling—all in a very stable, solid position.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    NONE  
         STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
         [0002]    Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.  
         REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX  
         [0003]    NOT APPLICABLE  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0005]    This invention relates to construction ladder standoffs, in general, and to a multipurpose extension ladder standoff, in particular.  
           [0006]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0007]    As is well known and understood, such rounded objects as telephone poles, flag poles and columns are often painted with the use of “cherry pickers” or other portable equipment able to elevate the painting contractor on a first side, before being moved around to elevate the contractor on a second side. As is also appreciated, besides requiring such lift equipment to begin with, having to continually move it about is at best a major inconvenience. Using an extension ladder, instead, turns out not to be a viable alternative, as the ladder exhibits a profound tendency to slip and slide from the pole, etc.—giving rise to a very dangerous condition and a very real possibility that the contractor may fall off the ladder while working.  
           [0008]    While the construction of the present invention will be seen especially useful in the painting of these rounded objects without the necessity of employing any wheeled lift-type of equipment, the sturdiness and stability it affords in use make it also quite beneficial in the painting of many unusual configurations on a dwelling—inclusive of painting around the corner edges of the structure. While contractors might employ ladder standoffs to enable them to straddle a building while painting, those configurations that are available only allow a positioning of the ladder to permit approximately four foot wide swaths to be covered at any instant of time. When painting above or below wide windows, on the other hand, such ladder standoff devices as are available offer problems of their own in that they cannot readily be leaned against the window while painting by brush.  
           [0009]    And, as will further be appreciated, utility company repair personnel are faced with similar problems when working on telephone poles and at the side corners of a dwelling when bringing electricity to the house structure. Extension ladders leaning against the pole, or against the corner of the structure, simply are not stable—and portable lift equipment is frequently utilized instead.  
           [0010]    As will be seen from the description that follows, on the other hand, the multipurpose ladder standoff of the invention allows a worker to individually adjust one or both of a pair of arms supported by the ladder in adjusting how the ladder is to rest in position, independent of the shape of the pole or exterior dwelling surface under consideration, and in a manner which is extremely stable and can be simply adjusted from one configuration to another in just a matter of a few seconds. Depending upon the adjustment, the ladder standoff of the invention can be employed at planar exteriors of a dwelling, around its corner edges, above and below wide window locations, at convoluted ells, eaves and like shapes, and at the telephone pole and flag pole configurations commonly encountered in painting and other servicing.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0011]    As will be described below, the multipurpose ladder standoff of the invention includes a jaw having opposing left and right sides, and opposing top and bottom surfaces on each of the two sides. First and second arms—typically of a length between 2 and 4 feet (although of even greater length where desired)—are individually rotatable forwardly from the left and right jaw sides between the top and bottom jaw surfaces, respectively. First means, cooperating with the arms and jaw surfaces, operate to lock the arms at selected angles of rotation forward of the jaw, and second means, coupled to at least one of the jaw surfaces, allow the jaw to be secured to at least one rung of the ladder substantially perpendicular to its legs. As will be seen and understood, either or both of the arms could be rotated at the same, or different angles each, and of the same or different lengths depending upon the configuration or shape of the surface to be worked upon.  
           [0012]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the second recited means couples the top jaw surface to a first rung of the ladder, and the bottom jaw surface to a lower, second rung. Although the two rungs are set out in the preferred embodiment as being adjacent to one another in use, such is not a requirement for solid, stable, anchoring operation, nor is the fact that in the preferred embodiment, the second means includes a substantially L-shaped plate which is secured to the top jaw surface, while extending downwardly over the first rung of the ladder called out. In similar manner, although the preferred embodiment includes a substantially L-shaped extension secured to the lower jaw surface at one end and coupled with the lower, second rung of the ladder at a second remote end thereof, other shaped extensions could be employed as well, and coupled with other than an adjacent lower rung. As will be understood, all that is required is that the jaws be secured between the rungs of the ladder, to enable the standoff arms to be individually rotatable forwardly from the jaw sides once selected of whatever length or design is desired. For example, with the preferred embodiment, a threaded U-clamp may be employed at the second remote end of the substantially L-shaped extension, with a pair of nut fasteners utilized to secure the U-clamp about the lower second ladder rung.  
           [0013]    As reference to the accompanying drawings will readily show, the two arms of the ladder standoff couple between the top and bottom surfaces of the jaw on each of its left and right sides by way of a removable pin which extends through an aperture on one of the jaw surfaces, through an aperture on the arm itself, and through an aperture on the other jaw surface, all in overlying alignment. A cleavis type pin may be utilized in the manner, along with a cleavis pin retainer as a clasp to hold the pin in place once it is so inserted. Changing the angle of either arm is then easily accomplished by removing the pin retainer, removing the pin to rotate the arm in question to a different angle, and reinserting the pin through the two jaw surfaces and the arm at the new angulation. Replacing the pin retainer then secures the arm at the new position—whether the two arms be of the same length or not, whether the two arms are set at the same angle with respect to the midpoint of the jaw or not, and whether the two arms are of the same design or configuration. By “curving” the ends of the arms toward one another, an effective encirclement of a telephone pole, flag pole or column could be had for securing the ladder in place. Spreading the arms open, instead of closing them toward one another, allows the ends to rest against a planar wall for purposes of painting—utilizing, for example, rubberized tips as a protective cushion. By interchanging lengths of the arms, the angles of setting for the two arms, and the configuration at their end extremities allow for the multipurpose ladder standoff of the invention to then be utilized equally with rounded objects, on the exterior wall of a dwelling, around the corner of the structure, around ells, eaves and gables—all in a manner to stand away from the building while permitting a leaning thereon, with the feet of the ladder set stable on the ground as an anchor. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    These and other features of the present invention will be more clearly understood from a consideration of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying Drawings, in which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIGS. 1A-1C are top views of the multipurpose ladder standoff of the invention helpful in an understanding of its principles of operation;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the standoff—while FIG. 3 is a right-side pictorial view, a left side view being a mirror image;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate the coupling of the multipurpose standoff to an extension ladder for use; and  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 5 is an illustration helpful in understanding a manner of employing the standoff on an extension ladder in servicing (and/or painting) a telephone pole, a flag pole or a portico column.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0019]    In the Drawings, an extension ladder is shown at  10 , with its legs  12  and with its rungs  14 , two of which are shown as  14   a  and  14   b.  The multipurpose standoff to be secured to the extension ladder  10 —or to any type of ladder for that matter—is shown at  16  as including a jaw  18  having opposing left and right sides  20 ,  22  and opposing top and bottom surfaces  24 ,  26  on each side. In accordance with the invention, first and second arms  28 ,  30  are individually rotatable forwardly from the left and right jaw sides  20 ,  22  between the top and bottom jaw surfaces  24 ,  26 , respectively.  
         [0020]    To effectuate this, each of the opposing top and bottom jaw surfaces  24 ,  26  include a plurality of overlying apertures  34 ,  36  on each of the opposing left and right jaw sides  20 ,  22 . Each of the first and second arms  28 ,  30 , likewise include an aperture  38  which is rotatable between the opposing overlying apertures  34 ,  36  to be aligned therewith. Such alignment may include a locking pin  40  (of cleavis type, for example) which extends through an aperture  34  of the top jaw surface  24 , through the aperture  38  of the first and second arms  28 ,  30 , and through an aperture  36  on the bottom jaw surface  26  at each of the opposing left and right jaw sides  20 ,  22 .  
         [0021]    The top view of FIG. 1A shows the locking pin  40  through the lower most jaw surface apertures  34   c,    36   c  on the two opposing sides  20 ,  22 . FIG. 1C shows the locking pin  40  through the top-most jaw surface apertures  34   a,    36   a;  and FIG.  1 B shows the locking pin  40  through the mid-way jaw apertures  34   b,    36   b  giving rise to the three different angulations of the arms  28 ,  30  forwardly of the jaw  18  as depicted in the drawings. As will be appreciated, the additional locking pins  42  anchor the arms  28 ,  30  within the jaw  18 , and act as a fulcrum about which the arms  28 ,  30  may rotate from the angle of FIG. 1A to that of FIG. 1B to that of FIG. 1C. The further locking pins  44  will be understood to secure the top and bottom surfaces  24 ,  26  of the jaw  18  together.  
         [0022]    As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the left-to-right lengths of the arms  28 ,  30  could be selected equal or different, depending upon how the multipurpose ladder standoff is to be utilized; and the curved angles  46  of the arms  28 ,  30 , could be equal or different, as well. Rubberized tips  48  are included at the ends of the arms  28 ,  30 , to serve as a protective cushion upon whatever surface they may ultimately rest. The locking pins  40 , when of cleavis type, could be secured once in place by a pair of cleavis pin retainers  50 , as shown in FIG. 2.  
         [0023]    Also shown in FIGS.  1 A- 1 C—but more particularly in FIGS. 2 and 3—is a substantially L-shaped plate  52  secured to the top jaw surface  24  and extending downwardly therefrom. Such substantially L-shaped plate  52 , secured to the top surface  24  by its own pair of locking pins  54 , serves to rest the multipurpose ladder standoff atop one of the rungs of the ladder  10 , such as at the rung  14   a  (FIG. 3). With its two sections  52   a  and  52   b  being slightly offset angularly one from another, and with a rubberized surface at their inside join, the plate  52  is then able to adjust to any typically sized and shaped rung  14   a.    
         [0024]    To secure the standoff  16  with the ladder  10 , however, a substantially L-shaped extension  60  is further employed, similarly locked to the jaw  18 , but at its bottom surface  26 , by means of pins  62  to extend downwardly along at least one additional rung of the ladder, as to the rung  14   b  (FIGS. 4, 5). Such extension  60  includes its own pair of apertures in this preferred embodiment, to receive a threaded U-clamp  64  of a width to straddle such second ladder rung. The U-shape clamp  64  then receives its own screw nut fasteners  66  to secure the clamp  64  about the lower ladder rung for stabilization. As will be understood, tightening the fasteners  66  thus locks the ladder standoff  16  between the rungs  14   a  &amp;  14   b.  Loosening the fasteners  66 , on the other hand, permits the standoff  16  to simply be lifted away and removed.  
         [0025]    Once the fasteners  66  are tightened, all that is required to utilize the standoff is to orient the two arms  28 ,  30  to the desired position within the jaw  18 —simply by removing the clasp or cleavis pin retainer  50 , rotating the arm(s)  28  or  30  between the aperture  34   a,    36   a  or  34   b,    36   b  or  34   c,    36   c  desired, and then securing the arm(s) in position with the locking pin  40  and the clasp retainer  50  once again. Even for the do-it-yourselfer, this should take no more than 30-60 seconds to do—in allowing the arms  28 ,  30  to rotate about the jaw midpoint  70  between its two sides  20 ,  22  in preparing the ladder with its multipurpose standoff  16  ready for use.  
         [0026]    By selecting the jaw  18 , the arms  28 ,  30 , the substantially L-shaped plate  52  and the substantially L-shaped extension  60  of aluminum or from such nonconducting materials as fiberglass or a carbon fiber composition, for example, a very sturdy standoff  16  results. By employing the same or different lengths for the arms  28 ,  30 , by employing arms having the same or different curved angles  46 , and by adjusting which of the “a” apertures, “b” apertures, or “c” apertures the pins  40  lock within, a wide configuration of uses could be obtained for the standoff. Thus, with the configuration of FIG. 1A, as an illustration, the standoff  16  could be used for leaning the ladder  10  against a planar exterior wall of the dwelling for ease in painting the wall—or for climbing the ladder to a point where one could safely and easily clear out leaf accumulation in the dwelling&#39;s gutter. Extending the ladder further could rest the arms with their rubberized tips against the roof to facilitate climbing on to it for replacing roof shingles or servicing a chimney. Alternatively, the angular rotations of FIG. 1B might be utilized with the arm  28  resting against a front or rear wall of the dwelling and with the second arm  30  turned to rest against a side wall to work around corners. With the arrangement of FIG. 1C, furthermore—as reproduced in FIG. 5—the standoff  16  could be used with the arms  28 ,  30  encircling a utility pole, flag pole, column or tree for that matter, in continuing to provide a very stable, solid emplacement which allows a worker to proceed with his/her task without the ladder slipping and throwing him/her off as a result.  
         [0027]    While there have been described what are considered to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the teachings herein of enabling individual rotatable orientations of one or both arms from the jaw of the ladder standoff, fixed between adjacent rungs or separate ones, in permitting a stable leaning to allow painting and/or servicing easily and safely. For at least such reason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended hereto for a true understanding of the scope of the invention.