AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COUPLING LADDERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I GEORGE ALEXANDER KENNEDY of Winton Works Patricroft in the County
of Lancaster Card Maker do hereby declare the nature of my invention for
AN IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COUPLING LADDERS to be as follows:-
"
"
.
This invention relates to the means for coupling or uniting ladders together, end
to end, for the use of builders, painters and others and is designed as a substitute
for the ordinary way of coupling or uniting the same by tying them together
with ropes.
The apparatus is made of wrought iron and consists principally of a long
S-shaped hook the upper crook of which hangs upon one of the rungs or rounds
near the top of the lower ladder and the lower crook passes under and supports
one of the rungs or rounds near the bottom of the upper ladder.
At about the centre of the straight part between the two crooks and at right
angles thereto I rivet or weld a cross piece in which slots are formed, and sliding
upon this cross piece by means of studs passing through the slots are two curved
clips facing each other which embrace the side bars of the two ladders. These two;
curved clips are adjusted in the slots until they hold the side bars of the two
ladders firmly together and they are then secured by screwing up two winged or
other nuts upon two bolts which pass through the slots and bind the curved clips
securely in position.
Four of these improved couplers will make a perfectly secure joint and in much
less time than it would occupy to tie the ladders together with ropes in the
ordinary manner.

page_text: I GEORGE ALEXANDER KENNEDY of Winton Works Patricroft in the County of
Lancaster Card Maker do hereby declare the nature of my invention for AN
IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR COUPLING LADDERS and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
°
This invention relates to the means for coupling or uniting ladders together, end
to end for the use of builders, painters and others, and is designed as a substitute
for the ordinary way of coupling or uniting the same by tying them together with
ropes; the object of the invention being to provide a strong and safe coupling
apparatus which can be readily fixed and unfixed.
The nature of my invention will be readily understood on reference to the
annexed sheet of drawings marked with figures and letters of reference corresponding
with those in the following explanation thereof.
€
Fig. 1. is a perspective view of one modification of my improved ladder coupler.
The apparatus may be made of wrought iron or of malleable cast iron or partly one
one and partly the other, and consists principally of a long S-shaped hook a, a' the
upper crook a of which hangs upon one of the rungs or rounds near the top of the
lower ladder, and the lower crook a¹ passes under and supports one of the rungs or
rounds near the bottom of the upper ladder, as shown clearly at Fig. 4. which
shows the application of a set of these improved couplers to form the junction
between two ladders b, b and c, c.
At or about the centre of the straight part between the two crooks a and a¹
I rivet or weld thereto a cross piece d, d in which slots are formed and sliding
upon this cross piece d, d (by means of studs passing through the slots) are two
curved clips e, el facing each other which embrace the side bara of the two
ladders b, b and c, c as shown at Fig. 4.
These two curved clips e, e¹ are adjusted in the slots until they hold the side
bars of the two ladders firmly together and they are then secured by screwing up
winged or other nuts f, f upon bolts which pass through the slots and bind the
curved clips e, e¹ securely in position.
According to a modification of this clip (which I prefer as being more simple)
the cross piece d, d is only connected to the double hook a, a² by means of a stud g
working in a slot as shown in the two perspective views Figs. 2 and 3, the clip e
only is made adjustable and the clip e¹ is cast or formed in one piece with the cross
piéce d, d..
In this modification there is only one nut f to adjust and the stud g moving in
the slot will find its own centre as the clip e is tightened up to the side bars of the
ladders.
Four of these improved couplers (see Fig. 4.) will make a perfectly secure joint,
and in much less time than it would occupy to tie the ladders together with ropes
in the ordinary manner.

page_text: In some cases I propose to use the S-hooks and clips in combination but detached
from each other as shown at Fig. 5. in which case the hooks are made without the
central boss and button or stud, and the clips without the corresponding alot and
button-hole.
Two hooks only and four clips are in this case required for each splice.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The improved apparatus for coupling ladders consisting of combined S-hooks
and clips constructed and operating substantially in the manner and for the
purposes berein-before set forth and illustrated by the drawings annexed,