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US 12,291,157 B2Granted
Retractable step and side bar assembly for raised vehicle
AssigneeLund Motion Products, Inc.
InventorsAnthony Nicholas Smith, Eric Charles Bajza, William Franklin Bibb, VI
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A retractable step and side bar assembly that can be used for raised vehicles, such as trucks. The retractable step can be configured to provide for significant reach in a deployed position to allow for a user to enter the raised vehicle. Further, in the stowed position the retractable step can be located within the side bar, thereby providing a low profile as well as an enhanced aesthetic appearance.
Claims20
A vehicle for assisting user ingress, the vehicle comprising:
- a door;
- a side bar mounted underneath the door and extending in a longitudinal direction, the side bar comprising an at least partially hollow main body formed by a plurality of walls that extend in the longitudinal direction,
- wherein the plurality of walls comprises a front wall facing an outboard direction and a back wall facing an inboard direction,
- wherein the plurality of walls further comprises a vertical wall and a horizontal wall that meet between the front wall and the back wall, the vertical wall being inclined with respect to a plane defined by an underbody of the vehicle such that a lower end of the vertical wall is outboard of an upper end of the vertical wall;
- and
- an extendable step comprising a stepping platform pivotally coupled to a plurality of arms that are configured to rotate the stepping platform between a stowed position and a deployed position, the stepping platform comprising a stepping surface,
- wherein, in the stowed position, a distal edge of the stepping surface is positioned above the lower end of the vertical wall and outboard of the back wall, and, in the deployed position, the distal edge of the stepping surface is positioned below the lower end of the vertical wall and outboard of the front wall.
4 more elements
A vehicle for assisting user ingress, the vehicle comprising:
- a door;
- a side bar mounted underneath the door and extending in a longitudinal direction, the side bar comprising an at least partially hollow main body formed by a plurality of walls that extend in the longitudinal direction,
- wherein the plurality of walls comprises a front wall facing an outboard direction, a back wall facing an inboard direction, and one or more additional walls connecting an upper end of the front wall to an upper end of the back wall,
- wherein the plurality of walls further comprises a vertical wall and a horizontal wall that meet between the front wall and the back wall, and an internal connection wall that connects at least one of the one or more additional walls to at least one of the vertical wall or the horizontal wall;
- and
- an extendable step comprising a stepping platform pivotally coupled to a plurality of arms that are configured to rotate the stepping platform between a stowed position and a deployed position, the stepping platform comprising a stepping surface,
- wherein, in the stowed position, a distal edge of the stepping surface is positioned above a lower end of the vertical wall and outboard of the back wall, and, in the deployed position, the distal edge of the stepping surface is positioned below the lower end of the vertical wall and outboard of the front wall.
4 more elements
A method of assisting user ingress to a vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing a vehicle having a side bar and an extendable step mounted to an underbody of the vehicle underneath a door of the vehicle;
- causing motorized movement of a stepping platform of the extendable step from a stowed position, where a distal edge of the stepping platform is positioned inboard of an outer edge of the side bar and above a lower edge of the side bar, to a deployed position, wherein the distal edge of the stepping platform is positioned outboard of the outer edge of the side bar and below the lower edge of the side bar;
- and
- causing motorized movement of the stepping platform from the deployed position to the stowed position.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.