(Not Applicable)
(Not Applicable)
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to accessory items useful for performing maintenance work in and around residential homes requiring the use of a ladder.
2. Description of the Related Art
Maintenance in and about residences often require the use of a ladder of the extension type or the common stepladder. In many instances, particularly painting the inside or outside of homes, the use of a ladder is required. However, while many forms for providing means to hold a paint container have been used in the past, each has shown to have limitations which either are inconvenient in some circumstances or fail to possess characteristics or features which would solve other problems associated with such work.
Prior to the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art have not satisfactorily produced a ladder accessory item which satisfactorily addresses such maintenance work to provide more convenience and efficiency to the user.
The present invention is directed to accessory apparatus particularly useful with many conventional ladders of the type commonly used for painting and other maintenance work around buildings and particularly around residences.
It is one aspect of a preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a container holder device which easily and simply may be removably mounted to a ladder wherein containers for paint or tools may be mounted in an easily reached and convenient position.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a pair of container holders adapted to be removably mounted in aligned relationship along the outside of and along the longitudinal extent of the legs of a ladder in a position convenient to the user.
It is another aspect of the present invention in a preferred embodiment to provide a pair of open basket-like container holders, each having an outwardly extending arm extendable through openings in the legs of the ladder toward one another to join in a removably fixed telescoping relationship.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a mounting means adopted to be removably mounted on a step of a conventional step ladder to removably receive the container holders particularly useful for conventional step ladders without providing openings along the legs of the step ladder.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for use with ladders wherein paint and/or tool containers may be adjustably mounted to a ladder in an easy manner to facilitate maintenance work in an improved manner.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus of the type described for use in cooperation with a ladder which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and therefore highly affordable to the potential users.
In describing the preferred embodiments of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, it is not intended that the invention be limited to the specific term so selected and it is to be understood that each specific term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar purpose. For example, the word connected or term similar thereto are often used.
A ladder accessory device constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown in the form of one preferred embodiment in
Each container holder 20, as shown in
A bottom wall support is formed by two hollow rod-like elements 26, generally similar to elements 22, which are extended across one another at approximately a right angle and may be joined in their center to one another in any conventionally suitable manner. In
The outwardly extending ends of elements 26 may be fixed at 30 to the lower ends of four side support elements 28. Elements 28 preferably are similar to the hollow rod elements 22 and 26. The lower ends of side support elements 28 and the outward ends of elements 26 may be joined by an elbow shaped configuration such as employed at 24, or in any other conventional well-known suitable manner to form an enclosure capable of holding a container which generally fits within the top opening of a holder 20.
The upper ends of each side element 28 may be fixed in any suitable conventional manner to a respective one of elements 22. One preferred form may comprise flattening an upper end portion of each element 28 and bending it into a generally U-shape which fits around the element 22 and fixing the joinder by soldering, welding or by other suitable fastening means.
It should be pointed out that while an open or frame-like construction is preferred to reduce manufacturing costs and the weight of the holder 20, other forms having equivalent functionality may be employed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, including a holder having closed side and bottom walls and a top opening. Further, elements such as 24, 26 and 29 may comprise metal or plastic tubing of sufficient strength to support the intended containers disposed in the holders 20.
Each container holder 20 is provided with an outwardly extending arm, such as 32 and 34. The inner ends of such arm 32 and 34 may be joined to one of rim elements 22 by butt welding, for example, and supported by diagonal members 36, one of which is fixed to a respective arm 32 or 34 as seen in the Figures.
A similar flattening of the end portions of hollow rod-like elements 36 and bending to a generally U-shaped configuration may be usefully employed such as shown at 38 and 40. The joinder at 38 and 40 may be similarly fixed by soldering, welding or other suitable conventional means.
Arms 32 and 34 preferably have a hollow tube configuration wherein the diameters permit one arm to be telescoped within the other arm for purposes as described below herein.
Now specifically referring to
Container holders 20 may be removably mounted to ladder 44 by inserting a respective one of arms 32 and 34 into the opposing open ends 50 of a rung 48 at a selected position along the length of ladder 44 usually dependent upon a user's position on ladder 44 relative to the work intended to be performed.
Either before or after mounting holders 20 as shown, a container, such as 52 and 54, may be disposed within each one of open basket type holders 20 to securely support the containers 52 and 54 in a convenient and easy to reach position for the user.
For illustration purposes, container 52 represents a paint can or the like. Container 54 represents a suitable closed wall container, a plastic bucket for example, of a suitable size to fit within a container holder 20. Container 54 may be used to store extra tools helpful for the particular maintenance work being performed, such as scrapers, brushes, wiping cloths, putty knives or the like, useful when doing a painting or other task. However, other tools may also be so stored in a ready-to-use position in container 54 as described and two containers such as 54 may be employed for maintenance work other than painting that require the use of a ladder, such as 44.
As shown and described herein, it should be readily understood that the apparatus of the present invention represents a markedly convenient improvement aid to many maintenance chores, yet is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and significantly facilitates the work being done in a more efficient manner.
When the user needs to move up or down ladder 44, each container holder 20 may be readily moved to a different rung 48 as needed. One merely needs to release the means for fixing arms 32 and 34 from within a given rung 48 and move each holder 20 accordingly to a different rung 48.
In the preferred embodiment shown, a simple pin and hole arrangement in arms 32 and 34 may be employed to releasably fix arms 32 and 34 in their telescoped relationship. However, other suitable conventional methods and means well-known to those of ordinary skill may also be employed without departing from the spirit of the present invention to provide an equivalent function.
It should also be pointed out that the container holders 20 may also be employed with a conventional stepladder. However, with an extension ladder or a stepladder wherein the rungs or steps are solid or have no end open hollow construction, one merely has to provide suitable holes laterally aligned along the length of parallel extending legs of the ladder to provide openings capable of receiving arms 32 and 34 in essentially the same manner as described herein. Such holes may be drilled using readily available tools. In this configuration, the present invention is utilized in an equivalent manner to provide equivalent results of convenience and expediting a given maintenance chore.
Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in
A mounting means indicated generally at 56 preferably comprises a one piece construction of a metal or plastic material, for example, having a pair of openings, such as generally C-shaped ends 58, spaced from one another and adapted to be received under and over a step portion 60 of a conventional step ladder, generally indicated at 62 in
With specific reference to
Step ladder 62 typically includes spaced, parallel legs 61 and a plurality of steps 60 longitudinally spaced along the length of legs 61.
To use the embodiment shown in
While certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail, it is to be understood that various modifications may be adopted without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/636,644 filed Dec. 16, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60636644 | Dec 2004 | US |