Ladder and support bracket therefor

Claim 2

A support arm for a ladder, said support arm including means at one end portion for attachment to a ladder with the other end portion projecting outwardly from the ladder, said other end portion of said support arm including releasable clamp means for clampingly engaging a portion of a structure toward which said ladder is leaned, said clamp means on the other end portion of said lever including means defining a jaw face facing in one of the directions in which said other end portion of said lever may be swung, means defining a movable jaw spaced from and opposing said jaw face and supported from said other end portion for shifting said movable jaw toward and away from said jaw face, said means defining said movable jaw including a generally Jshaped member defining an elongated shank provided with a backturned end portion on one end, said backturned end portion defining said movable jaw, said shank being rotatably and longitudinally slidably supported from said other end portion of said arm.

Claim 3

The combination of claim 1 wherein said means at said one end portion of said arm includes means for pivotally supporting said one end portion of said arm from said ladder for swinging about an axis extending transversely of said arm.

Claim 4

The combination of claim 1 wherein said clamp means further includes resilient means connected between said other end portions of said arm and said means defining said movable jaw urging the latter toward said jaw face.

Claim 5

The combination of claim 1 including resilient means connected between said other end portion and said J-shaped member urging the latter in a direction with the other end of said shank disposed forwardmost.

Claim 6

A bracket for a ladder, said bracket including clamp means for securing the bracket to a ladder, a lever, said lever including a base portion and an arm portion, means pivotally mounting said base portion on said clamp means for a pivotal swinging of the corresponding arm portion, resilient means engaged between the clamp means and the lever for biasing said lever in a rotational path about the means pivotally mounting the base portion of the lever, and cooperating stop means on said clamp means and the lever for selectively maintaining said lever in an inoperative position and in a building engaging position against the biasing force of the resilient means, the end of said lever remote from said base portion including releasable clamp means for clampingly engaging a portion of a structure toward which said ladder is leaned.

Claim 7

A bracket for a ladder, said bracket including clamp means for securing the bracket to a ladder, a lever, said lever including a base portion and an arm portion, means pivotally mounting said base portion on said clamp means for a pivotal swinging of the corresponding arm portion, resilient means engaged between the clamp means and the lever for biasing said lever in a rotational path about the means pivotally mounting the base portion of the lever, and cooperating stop means on said clamp means and the lever for selectively maintaining said lever in an inoperative position and in a building engaging position against the biasing force of the resilient means, the end of said lever remote from said base portion including releasable clamp means for clampingly engaging a portion of a structure toward which said ladder is leaned.

Claim 8

A support arm for a ladder, said arm including mounting means on one end thereof rotatable an axis extending transversely of said arm and adapted for securement to a ladder, said mounting means and said arm including means operative to releasably lock said arm against rotation in one direction relative to said mounting means past a predetermined position of rotation of said arm, said other end of said arm including a jaw jaw face facing in the opposite direction, a generally J-shaped jaw including a shank portion including a reversely curving terminal end at one end thereof, said shank portion being slidably rand rotatably received through said other end of said arm with said reversely curving terminal end disposed outwardly of said jaw face, and means operatively connected between said shank and said other end of said arm yieldingly urging said shank in a direction to shift said reversely curving portion toward said face.

Claim 9

A support arm for a ladder, said arm including mounting means on one end thereof rotatable an axis extending transversely of said arm and adapted for securement to a ladder, said mounting means and said arm including means operative to releasably lock said arm against rotation in one direction relative to said mounting means past a predetermined position of rotation of said arm, said other end of said arm including a jaw jaw face facing in the opposite direction, a generally J-shaped jaw including a shank portion including a reversely curving terminal end at one end thereof, said shank portion being slidably rand rotatably received through said other end of said arm with said reversely curving terminal end disposed outwardly of said jaw face, and means operatively connected between said shank and said other end of said arm yieldingly urging said shank in a direction to shift said reversely curving portion toward said face.

Claim 10

The combination of claim 6 wherein said jaw face is carried by a member removably secured on said other end of said arm.

Claim 11

The combination of claim 6 including means connected between said arm and said mounting means yieldingly urging said arm in said one direction.

Claim 12

In combination, a ladder including upper and lower end portions with the upper end portion including a side thereof adapted to be leaned toward an elevated support, such as the drip edge of a roof, a support arm carried by said upper end portion and projecting generally horizontally outwardly of said one side of said ladder, the outer end of said support arm including an upwardly inclined angulated terminal end section having an undersurface adapted to abuttingly engage the upper surface of said drip marginal edge portion of a pitched roof, a generally J-shaped clamp member including an upstanding shank portion whose lower end terminates downwardly in a backturned end portion, said clamp member having its shank portion rotatably and slidably supported from said arm a spaced distance from the outer terminal end of said terminal end section, means yieldingly biasing said shank portion upwardly relative to said support arm, the free end of said backturned end portion being positionable to oppose the underside of the outer end of said terminal end portion and the underside of an inwardly spaced portion of said support arm in opposite 180* rotated positions of said shank portion.

Claim 13

In combination, a ladder including upper and lower end portions with the upper end portion including a side thereof adapted to be leaned toward an elevated support, such as the drip edge of a roof, a support arm carried by said upper end portion and projecting generally horizontally outwardly of said one side of said ladder, the outer end of said support arm including an upwardly inclined angulated terminal end section having an undersurface adapted to abuttingly engage the upper surface of said drip marginal edge portion of a pitched roof, a generally J-shaped clamp member including an upstanding shank portion whose lower end terminates downwardly in a backturned end portion, said clamp member having its shank portion rotatably and slidably supported from said arm a spaced distance from the outer terminal end of said terminal end section, means yieldingly biasing said shank portion upwardly relative to said support arm, the free end of said backturned end portion being positionable to oppose the underside of the outer end of said terminal end portion and the underside of an inwardly spaced portion of said support arm in opposite 180* rotated positions of said shank portion.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 9 wherein said arm has its base end remote from said upwardly angulated terminal end section pivotally supported from said ladder for oscillation about horizontal axis extending transversely of said arm.

Claim 15

The combination of claim 9 wherein said ladder includes a pair of upstanding side rails between which a plurality of vertically spaced generally horizontal rungs are secured, said ladder including a pair of said support arms, said support arms being supported from and projecting outwardly from corresponding side rails of said ladder.