The invention herein pertains to standard ladder tree stands, ladders and the like and particularly pertains to a ladder attachment for temporarily attaching the top of a raised ladder to a tree or post.
The use of various ladders can be dangerous as oftentimes the user will position the top of the ladder against a tree, post or other structure in a hazardous or unstable manner. While the foot of the ladder is easily observed and its stability assured, the top of the ladder creates a different problem as it is often obscured from the user's view due to its distance, or leaves, limbs and otherwise which may prevent it from being completely seen. This is especially true for hunters that often use ladder tree stands with leaves and limbs blocking, partially or fully obscuring the top. Thus when the ladder is believed to be secured, a hunter will begin to climb to the top only to find the ladder improperly positioned, causing it to slip or fall and possibly injuring the user.
To remedy this problem the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a ladder attachment to insure the user's safety and to prevent injuries.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a ladder attachment which can be quickly attached and removed from the top of a ladder as required.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a ladder attachment which includes a pair of pivotable jaws which will engage a tree, post or other structure for temporary securement thereto.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a ladder attachment which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and sell.
It is still a further objective of the present invention to provide a ladder attachment which can be easily installed and removed as desired.
It is yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a ladder attachment which can be operated from the ground to secure or release the top of a ladder.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing a ladder attachment which can be quickly affixed and removed from a ladder tree stand or other standard ladder. The ladder attachment includes a pair of spring-biased pivotable jaws rotatably joined to a base. Each jaw is formed with an arcuate arm having a circular gear at one end comprising a plurality of teeth. A pair of pawls is also attached to the base for engagement with the gear teeth. Each pawl includes a pawl finger and a leader attached thereto which is joined to a pull cord. The pull cord is lengthy and extends from the top of the ladder to the ground. As needed, additional cord may be added to make the pull cord longer depending on the length of the ladder the ladder attachment will be used with. The jaws of the ladder attachment are arcuate and normally in an inward closed configuration but can be manually pivoted outwardly to allow a hasp connected to each pawl to engage a vertical post positioned on each of the jaws to lock the jaws in an open configuration. The planar base of the ladder attachment includes a plurality of U-bolt apertures for receiving U-bolts which are used to affix the ladder attachment to, for example a ladder tree stand. Once the ladder attachment is affixed and the jaws positioned in an open configuration, the ladder tree stand can be raised as usual for positioning against a tree, post or the like. A cord joined to the ladder attachment can be operated while standing on the ground. The user simply pulls the cord, thus releasing the hasps from the posts and allowing the open jaws to close and grip the tree. As the jaws close the pawl fingers engage teeth on the jaws to maintain and lock the jaws in a closed configuration around the tree to temporarily secure the top of the ladder to the tree. Once the tree is so gripped, the user can then climb the tree stand ladder or the like and affix a standard nylon anchor belt to insure the tree stand ladder remains securely, properly positioned. Thereafter the ladder attachment can be removed by removing the U-bolts and either pulling the pawls or by pulling the cord the pawl fingers are released from the teeth of the jaws allowing the jaws to open and the ladder attachment to be slid from the tree. The jaws will pivot inwardly to a closed configuration and the user can then simply use the cord to lower the ladder attachment to the ground where it can then be stored until it is desired to move the tree stand ladder which may be a few days, weeks or months.
Should it be desired to move the tree stand ladder from its present position, the ladder attachment can again be affixed to the top of the tree stand ladder by U-bolts and with the jaws engaging the tree the user can remove the anchor belt and descend the ladder. While on the ground the user pulls the cord to release the pawl fingers from the gear teeth which allows the jaws to freely pivot and slide from around the tree while the ladder is pivoted from the tree. The ladder with the ladder attachment affixed thereto can then be installed and secured on another tree and the ladder attachment removed as hereinbefore described for storage purposes.
For a better understanding of the invention and its operation, turning now to the drawings,
Preferred ladder attachment 10 as seen throughout
In
In use, ladder attachment 10 as shown in
Once ladder attachment 10 has been affixed to a selected ladder such as ladder tree stand 50 seen in
With jaws 11, 11′ fully open ladder tree stand 50 is then manually raised or pivoted to its upright position as shown in
Once anchor belt 55 is so affixed, the hunter can then remove ladder attachment 10 from tree stand 50 by removing U-bolts 22, 22′ by respectively loosening winged nuts 20, 20′ and manually urging pawls 24, 24′ respectively from gears 13, 13′ thus respectively disengaging pawl fingers 23, 23′ from teeth 14, 14′ and allowing jaws 11, 11′ to freely rotate so ladder attachment 10 can then be fully removed from tree 60. The user as desired could also pull cord 36 or leaders 35, 35′ in order to disengage pawls 24, 24′ respectively from gears 13, 13′ to assist removal of jaws 11, 11′ from tree 60. Cord 36 can also be utilized to lower ladder attachment 10 to the ground and the hunter can then descend ladder tree stand 50 which has been secured in place by anchor belt 55. Ladder attachment 10 can then be placed in his vehicle or other storage area until it is appropriate to move or disengage ladder tree stand 50 from tree 60 such as when moving to a new hunting site.
If it is decided to move ladder tree stand 50 to another tree, ladder attachment 10 is then reattached to ladder tree stand 50. Jaws 11, 11′ are then closed to tightly grip tree 60 and with pawl fingers 23, 23′ again engaged respectively with teeth 14, 14′ anchor belt 55 can be removed from tree 60. The hunter then descends ladder tree stand 50 while ladder attachment 10 temporarily secures ladder tree stand 50 to tree 60 during his descent. Once the hunter is on the ground, cord 36 is pulled which disengages pawls 24, 24′ thus releasing and allowing respectively jaws 11, 11′ to pivot outwardly as ladder tree stand 50 is pivoted away from tree 60. Once jaws 11, 11′ have cleared tree 60 during the ladder movement, cord 36 can be released whereby jaws 11, 11′ will, by spring tension pivot to a closed position and ladder tree stand 50 is fully lowered to the ground as shown in
The illustrations and examples provided herein are for explanatory purposes and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims.
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