Folding attic stair assembly
OwnerMichael Burkeinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A folding attic stair assembly comprises a rectangular outer mounting frame. An inner stairway carrying frame is mounted by a hinge at one end of the outer mounting frame for movement between a raised stored position on the outer mounting frame and a lowered position extending downwardly from the mounting frame. An extendable attic stair is mounted on the inner frame. A pair of folding support arms extend between the outer mounting frame and the inner stairway carrying frame. A cable connects between each folding support arm and an associated reel mounted on a drive shaft which is connected to a drive motor. This drive motor is operable to wind and unwind the cables on the reels to raise and lower the attic stair in a controlled manner.
Claims15
A folding attic stair assembly, comprising:
- a mounting frame,
- a collapsible attic stair,
- the attic stair mounted on the mounting frame for movement between a raised stored position and a lowered position extending downwardly from the mounting frame,
- an actuator for controlled movement of the attic stair between the raised position and the lowered position,
- said actuator comprising a cable having an inner end connected to a reel and an outer end connected to the attic stair,
- reel drive means operable to wind and unwind the cable on the reel to raise and lower the attic stair,
- the reel drive means comprising an electric motor operatively connected to an associated controller,
- a position detector for detecting the position of the attic stair relative to the mounting frame,
- the controller being operable to regulate operation of the motor in response to the sensed position of the attic stair.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.