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US 12,674,357 B2Granted
Ladder, components thereof, and accessories for use therewith
AssigneeWerner Co.
InventorIvan D. Lopez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gate assembly may include a gate which includes a first end and a second end, one or more hinges coupled to the first end of the gate, wherein at least one of the one or more hinges includes an offset spring assisted hinge including a hinge rivet, a spring, a plunger, a hinge bolt, and a support tube, a stop coupled to the second end of the gate and configured to contact a stop mounting bracket, and a mounting bracket attached to the one or more hinges, wherein the gate is rotatably coupled to the mounting bracket via the one or more hinges.
Claims19
A gate assembly for a ladder having a first elongate member slidably coupled to and extending from a first rail and a second elongate member slidably coupled to and extending from a second rail, the gate assembly comprising:
- a mounting bracket attached to and aligned with the first elongate member;
- a first hinge bracket attached to a first end of the mounting bracket and a second hinge bracket attached to a second end of the mounting bracket;
- and
- a gate frame pivotably attached to the first hinge bracket and the second hinge bracket via one or more mechanical fasteners forming a pivot point;
- wherein the gate frame includes:
- an upper tube,
- a lower tube,
- a side tube between the upper tube and the lower tube, wherein the side tube is disposed opposite the first and second hinge brackets and an outermost portion of the side tube is disposed beyond the second elongate member;
- a bend along a width thereof such that a distal portion of the gate frame is offset from a proximal portion that is adjacent the mounting bracket;
- and
- at least one spring-assisted hinge element having at least a spring, an anchor rivet, a plunger disposed at least partially within the spring, and a plunger bolt, wherein the at least one spring-assisted hinge element biases the proximal portion of the gate frame to be aligned with the mounting bracket, and
- wherein the plunger is coupled to the first or second hinge bracket via the plunger bolt that is offset from the pivot point.
9 more elements
A gate assembly comprising:
- a gate frame having a first end and a second end;
- one or more hinges coupled to the first end of the gate frame via one or more hinge bolts, wherein at least one of the one or more hinges includes an offset spring assisted hinge;
- wherein the offset spring assisted hinge including-includes:
- an anchor rivet,
- a spring,
- a plunger,
- a plunger bolt,
- the one or more hinge bolts, and
- a support tube, wherein the support tube is disposed within a portion of the gate frame adjacent to the first end, wherein the anchor rivet, the spring, and the plunger are disposed within the support tube, and wherein the spring is coupled to the anchor rivet at a first end and contacts the plunger at a second end;
- a stop coupled to the second end of the gate frame and configured to contact a stop mounting bracket;
- and
- a mounting bracket attached to the gate frame and the one or more hinges via the one or more hinge bolts, wherein the gate frame is rotatably coupled to the mounting bracket via the one or more hinges forming a pivot point at the one or more hinge bolts upon which the gate frame rotates about,
- wherein the plunger bolt is offset from the one or more hinge bolts and is configured to bias the spring between the anchor rivet and the plunger.
10 more elements
A ladder comprising:
- a first rail;
- a second rail in a spaced relation with the first rail;
- a plurality of rungs connecting the first rail and the second rail;
- a first elongate member removably and slidably coupled to an end of the first rail;
- a second elongate member removably and slidably coupled to an end of the second rail;
- and
- a gate assembly including:
- a mounting bracket;
- at least one hinge attached to the mounting bracket and including an anchor rivet, a spring, a plunger, a plunger bolt, a hinge bolt, and a support tube;
- a gate frame including an upper tube, a lower tube, a side tube between the upper tube and the lower tube, wherein the side tube is disposed opposite the first and second hinge brackets and an outermost portion of the side tube is disposed beyond the second elongate member, a bend along a width thereof such that a distal portion of the gate frame is offset from a proximal portion that is adjacent the mounting bracket, wherein the gate frame is pivotably attached to the at least one hinge via the hinge bolt and having a first end and a second end;
- a stop;
- and
- a stop mounting bracket;
- wherein the mounting bracket is removably coupled to the first elongate member and the stop mounting bracket is removably coupled to the second elongate member,
- wherein the support tube is disposed within a portion of the gate frame adjacent to the first end, wherein the anchor rivet, the spring, and the plunger are disposed within the support tube, and wherein the spring is coupled to the anchor rivet at a first end and contacts the plunger at a second end,
- wherein the gate frame extends from the first elongate member and extends past the second elongate member,
- wherein the gate frame is rotatable about a pivot point formed via the hinge bolt such that the proximal portion of the gate frame is adjacent a first surface of the first elongate member and the distal portion of the gate frame is adjacent to and contacts a second surface substantially orthogonal to the first surface such that the second surface of the second elongate member acts as a stop to prevent the gate frame from rotating outwards, wherein the plunger bolt is offset from the hinge bolt and is configured to bias the spring between the anchor rivet and the plunger as the gate assembly is rotated to an open position.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.