Portable ladder system
OwnerRobert G. Rolsoninventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable ladder system pivotally mounted to a ladder support member that is configured to be removably secured to the edge of the bed of a truck trailer. The portable ladder system can be mounted to multiple locations along the edge of a bed and does not need to be mounted to a traditionally constructed stake pocket. The portable ladder system can be quickly and easily attached in a locked fashion and detached from the bed without the use of tools.
Claims18
A portable ladder system for a truck or trailer bed comprising:
- a ladder support member configured to engage an edge of a bed, the ladder support including a top portion, a bottom portion, an outwardly facing edge portion, and an inwardly facing edge portion;
- wherein the ladder support member is configured such that the bottom portion of the ladder support member rests on top of an edge of the bed with the outwardly facing edge portion of the ladder support member being further from a center line of the bed than the inwardly facing edge portion of the ladder support member;
- a pivoting ladder section having a plurality of steps affixed between a pair of side ladder members, the pivoting ladder section having a first end portion and a second end portion, wherein the first end portion is pivotally attached to the ladder support member for rotation of the ladder section between a use position wherein the ladder section is inclined at an angle relative to vertical with the second end portion of the pivoting ladder section being located below the ladder support member, and a stowage position wherein the second end portion of the pivoting ladder section is located above the ladder support member;
- and
- a securing system that secures the ladder support member to an aperture along the edge of the bed, the securing system including:
- a bed engaging projection that extends downwardly from the bottom of the ladder support member and is configured to be inserted into an aperture on the bed;
- a locking assembly including:
- a locking boss housed in the bed engaging projection, the locking boss configured to extend and retract from the bed engaging projection towards and away from the center of the bed;
- an actuating arm connected to the locking boss, wherein rotation of the actuating arm extends and retracts the locking boss;
- and
- an actuating arm lock that locks the actuating arm when the actuating arm has moved the locking boss to the extended position.
A method of connecting a portable ladder system to a bed comprising the steps of:
- aligning a downwardly extending projection of the portable ladder system with an aperture along an edge of the bed;
- and
- pivoting an actuating arm about a vertical axis from an unlocked position to a locked position to lock the portable ladder system to the bed.
A portable ladder system for a truck or trailer bed comprising:
- a downwardly extending projection configured to engage with an aperture along an edge of the bed;
- and
- an actuating arm configured to pivot about a vertical axis from an unlocked position to a locked position to lock the portable ladder system to the bed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.