US512322A - Scuttle-ladder - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 1.

R.-M POWERS. SGUTTLE LADDER.

No. 512322. PatentedJan. 9,1894.

' 4 2 sheets-Sheet 2.

R. M. POWERS.

(No Model.)

SGUTTLE LADDER.

Patented Jan. 9, 1894.

UNTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD M. POWERS, OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT.

SCUTTL E-LADDER.

PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,322, dated January 9, 1894. Application filed April 24:, 1893. Serial No.47l.541. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, RICHARD M. Pownas, a citizen of the United States, residin g at Norwich, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new On the 26. day of June, 1891, Letters Patent` No. &53,294 were issu'd to me for certain improvements in ladders especially adapted for use with scuttles in houses having low attics, the laddersbeingcounter-balanced by weights in such manner that they may be readily pushed upward through the Scuttle, into the attic, and stored there when not required for use. In one form of my invention, therein illustrated and described, the ladder is made of two parts hinged together in such manner that when the ladder ispassed upward through 'the Scuttle it doubles uponitself and may thus be stowed away in much less space than a ladder of the same length with solid sides. My present nvention has for its object to 'provide a substitute for the heavy weights required in my said earlier patent and also to provide a looking device by means of which the two sections of the ladder are securely fastened together When in use and become practically an ordinary ladder.

, My present improvements are clearly shown in the annexed drawings, Figure l being a side View of the two-part ladder embodying a portion of my invention, and also showing properly connected with said ladder a pulleyblock of peculiar Construction which is substituted for the weight of my earlier form. Fig. 2 is a front view of the hinged portions of the ladder showing, in section, the floor and scuttle-hole. Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate,

considerably enlarged, those portions of the ladder adjacent to the hinge, having attached thereto the looking device which forms a particular feature of my present invention. In Fig. 3 the ladder is shown, as in the act of passing upward through the Scuttle hole, the movable looking section being shown as just about to engage a stud 70 secured within the scuttle by means of which the locking parts are disengaged to allow the ladder to double upon itself after passing upward. In Fig. 4: the ladder is shown as passing downward through the Scuttle, the tail of the movable looking section being shown as just about to engage said stud to Swing said section into its normal (closed) position. Fig. 5 is an edge View of said looking parts looking toward the left hand side of Fig. 3. Figs. 6 and 7 are enlarged views of my improved pulleyblock, with the front case removed, and Figs. 8 and 9 are detached views of two levers that form elementary features of said pulley block.

In these drawings the letters a and b indicate two floors of a dwelling, the latter named floor having a scuttle hole b' through which access is had to the attic above.

c-c' indicate the two sections of my improved ladder, hinged at c and adapted to fold as seen in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Secured to the upper end of ladder section c' is a rope or cable d which passes upward, through a pulley block e Secured to a rafter, or other suitable rigid part of the roof and thence downward to a-point below the Scuttle opening Where it may be easily grasped by a person standing upon floor a. When the free 80 end of said rope is grasped, and drawn downward, the ladder is drawn Upward, through the Scuttle hole b' and so soon as the -hinges of the ladder pass through said hole, the upper section c folds back as shown in dotted lines.

I find in practice that, When the two-part ladder is simply hinged, but not otherwise fastened, the upper section c'(by reason of its weight, and also because of the fact that the ladder stands inclined against the side of the Scuttle), begins to break over before the lower section is carried upward far enough to enter the scuttle-hole and, in consequence, the lower section is crowded forcibly to the opposite side of the hole and, unless carefully guided, catches under the casing of the scuttle. To avoid this result I have nowprovideda simple looking device, shown in Figs. 1 to 5, by

means of which the two ladder sections are held in alignnent with each other until the lower section enters the scuttle hole. Said looking devices are then disengaged and the upper ladder section c is permitted to fold over, as above stated. These looking devices consist of two metallic pieces g-g', the forner being fixedly secured to the edge of the lower ladder section, opposite the hinge 0 and provided with a hook-shaped upper end that slightly overlaps the end of the upper ladder section. The companion looking piece g' is pivotally secured to the upper ladder section, by a screw h and its lower end is formed With a hood that may swing under, and interlock with, the hook of the fixed piece g. When the parts thus Swing together a lug g on piece g' serves as a stop to prevent the hook of said piece g' from swinging too far. One edge of piece g' is forned with two` cam surfaces g and g'* that extend laterally heyond'the side of the ladder and which may engage, and be moved by, a stud 70 secured to the casing of the scuttle hole when theladder is drawn up through said scuttle. The ofice of the stud k is to unlock the pieces g--g', as the ladder is drawn upward, and lock them together again as the ladder is drawn down: ward for use. It Will be noticed that the lower cam 9 projects laterally, beyond the upper cam g when the pieces g-.-g' are locked together as seen in Fig. 3, in full lines. When the ladder moves upward cam g passes stud Ic, without touching it, but cam g being longer, is met, and checked, by said stud and, as a' result, piece g' is rocked on its pivot into the position shown in full lines in Fig.'4,thus

- disengaging the hooked ends of the looking pieces and permitting the ladder to fold back, as in dotted lines in Fig. 1. iVhen' the ladderisdrawn downward through thescuttle, the cam g engages stud k (see Fig. 4), just at the time or slightly after the two ladder sections are brought into alignment, and the piece g' is thusswung back to its normal position and the hooked ends are again interlocked. The described looking and unlocking Operations are automatically performed as the ladder passes upward and downward through the scuttle-hole.

During the Operations of raising and lowering the ladder the operator grasps one of the lower steps or rungs to steady and guide the ladder as it passes through the scuttle.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have illustrated the pulley-block which, in combination with my described ladder improvements, forms an important feature of my invention. The operative parts of said block are supported in a housing formed of front and rear plates m connected by rivets m', m and m the front plate being removed in said Figs. 6 and 7 to expose the interior parts. n denotes a scored pulley, or sheave, journaled upon an axial shaft n' and having secured to its side a ratchet disk n whose teeth are engaged by a pawl 0 forminga part of alevr o' fulcrumed on the rivet m'. The arm of lever o' that bears the pawl is extended as at 0 andconnected to one end of a spring p whose other end is secured to the plate m in such manner that the spring seeks constantly to hold the pawl o in looking engagement with the teeth of disk 11 The opposite end of the lever 0' is formed with an eye 0 which, when the pawl is in mesh with the ratchet teeth, is set to one side of vertical algnment with the fulcrum of said lever so that when a rope d is passed around pulley 72 and through said eye, the rope is carried away from the pulley, as seen at the right hand side ot' Fig. 6. The lower ladder section is secured to the left hand portion of therope seen in Figs. 6 and 7, these'figures being the opposite of the pulley of Fig. 1. That portion of the rope that extends through eye 0 is free to be grasped and drawn downward when it is desired to, pull up the ladder. When said free portion is grasped and pulled downward, the resisting weight of the ladder causes the rope to straighten and thus draw the eye 0 toward the pulley n, thus thi-owing the pawl out of meshmith the teeth of disk m?. Continued pull on the rope then draws the ladder, upward until the. desired height is reached when the rope is released and the pawl is drawn, by spring p, into meshwith the teeth again to prevent the backward rotation of pulley n. To prevent rope d from slipping around on said pulley, and thus allowing the ladder to fall'through the souttle, I provide a clamping lever s that is pivoted on rivet m and whose tree end rests upon the rope near the top of the pulley. The free end of said lever is forned with a slot s' into which extends a pin 0 on the side of the lever o'. 'The length of the slot is such that when lever o' is first raised to disengage pawl 0 the pawl will leave the ratchet teeth before the pin reaches the upper end of the slot. Continued movement of lever 0' will then result in raising the free end of the clamping lever s away from the rope, when the latter is free to be moved in either direction around the pulley. In drawing the ladder upward the lever s acts as a drag and the rope will, of course, render in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 6 but in lowering the ladder said lever must be raised away from said rope as in Fig. 7. The instant the pull upon the rope is removed the pawl dropsinto mesh with the teeth of disk and the pin 0 erowds levers down upon the rope and' thus prevents said rope from rendering fai-ther in a backward direction.

In many instances the described pulley block provides a desirable substitute for the weight used in my said earlier patent and serves its purpose equally well.

Having described my invention, I claim- 1. In combination with a scnttle a two-part ladder hinged as set forth, means for drawing said ladder through said scuttle, looking devices attached to the ladder substantially to the lower ladder 'section and rove through as described and means for Operating said said block, and clamping levers connected o looking devices as the ladder is raised and With said block in the manuer and for the lowered through said Scuttle, for the purpose purpose herein specified.

5 specified. RICHARD M. POWERS.

2. In combination with a Scuttle, a. two-part Witnesses: Iadder hinged as set forth, a pulley-block ALONZO M. LUTHER, Suspended over said Scuttle, a cable Secured JOHN STEINER.

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