Apparatus for use in assisting a person with limited mobility in entering and exiting an aircraft

A collapsible boarding device for use in boarding a person onto a seat in an aircraft or vehicle, comprising:

• a ramp member with a first end and a second end, the ramp member comprising two parallel rails, each rail of the parallel rails comprising a plurality of tubular members releasably connected end to end to enable disassembly of the parallel rails;
• a top mount releasably connected to the parallel rails at the first end, the top mount being operable to engage a portion of a floor of the aircraft or vehicle adjacent the seat;
• a bottom mount releasably connected to the parallel rails at the second end and being operable to engage a surface near the aircraft or vehicle;
• a carriage assembly releasably mounted on the parallel rails, the carriage assembly being configured to travel along the parallel rails on a top surface of the parallel rails, the carriage assembly further being configured to envelop a bottom surface of the parallel rails to impede unintentional disengagement of the carriage assembly from the parallel rails;
• a drive mechanism cooperating with the carriage assembly to move the carriage assembly;
• a carriage seat connected to the carriage assembly to support the person, the carriage seat includes a backrest and a side panel assembly on each side of the carriage seat, each side panel assembly comprises a main panel and a panel flap, wherein the main panel is hinged to a seat surface and the panel flap is hinged to the main panel;
• the side panel assembly is foldable between an upright configuration in which the panel flap is in parallel abutment to the main panel and the main panel is perpendicular to the seat surface, and a flat configuration in which the panel flap is unfolded away from and in coplanar alignment with the main panel and the main panel is unfolded away from and in coplanar alignment with the seat surface;
• in the flat configuration, the panel flap may be rested on the seat of the aircraft or vehicle to enable the person to slide from the seat surface of the carriage seat onto the main panel and the panel flap and onto the seat of the aircraft or vehicle;
• the backrest is foldable toward the seat surface, and each side panel assembly is further foldable toward the seat surface to enable the carriage seat to collapse for storage;
• and
• wherein the collapsible boarding device may be collapsed for storage when the carriage assembly, the top mount, and the bottom mount are each released from the parallel rails, and the parallel rails are disassembled into the plurality of tubular members.