Ladder leg shoe hinges 90 degrees and slides up

摘要

Improvements to the leg extension of an adjustable ladder leveler and, more generally, improvements to ladder legs. A shoe with a claw that folds to be parallel to the ladder leg and then slides upward with respect to the leg thereby becoming locked into position so that it cannot move away from being parallel so long as weight is applied on the ladder. If the shoe is on an extension, as the shoe slides up, it engages a safety bar that prevents release of the extension.

主权项

1. An extendable and adjustable ladder leg extension with an improved shoe having both an engagement base and an engagement end, comprising:
a. an extendable and adjustable ladder leg extension having a longitudinal direction of extension and an opposite longitudinal direction of retraction and having a shoe with an engagement base hingedly coupled to a distal end of the leg extension in a way that gives the shoe a range of hinging motion with respect to the leg extension and a range of longitudinal motion with respect to the leg extension, the shoe having a hinge pin that forms a hinge axis, a first end of the shoe that is distant from the hinge axis, and a second end of the shoe that is distant from the hinge axis and more distant from the first end of the shoe; and b. having a safety bar slidably mounted on the leg extension and coupled to the shoe such that the safety bar moves in the direction of retraction with respect to the leg extension when the shoe moves in the direction of retraction with respect to the leg extension, the safety bar thereby preventing release of a release mechanism that, when activated, releases the leg extension to move in the direction of retraction;the improvement comprising:
c. the shoe having an engagement end on at least one of the first end of the shoe or the second end of the shoe; d. the shoe including sidewalls attached to the engagement base that allow the shoe to hinge about the hinge axis so that, when the shoe is fully hinged, the shoe engagement base can be parallel to the leg extension when the leg extension is fully retracted; e. the shoe including retaining surfaces that contact parts of the leg extension and retain the shoe in a fully hinged position when force is applied along the leg extension in the direction of retraction, urging the engagement end against an object which the engagement end grips; and f. the shoe and leg extension parts configured such that, when the shoe is in a fully hinged position to where the engagement base is parallel to the leg extension and force is applied along the leg extension in the direction of retraction, the shoe can move toward the leg extension to actuate the safety bar and thereby prevent activation of the release mechanism.