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US 2024/0253570 A1Published application
Stowable vehicle ladder
AssigneeFca US LLC
InventorsTravis D Bechtel, Richard T Stuedemann, Stacey L Berger
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stowable ladder for a vehicle includes a base, a support, at least one step and a retainer. The base may be rotatably coupled to the vehicle, the support is coupled to the base at a first pivot, and at least one step is coupled to the support. The support is movable about the first pivot so that the ladder can be arranged in a folded position and an unfolded position. The retainer selectively prevents and permits rotation of the base from a stowed position to an extended position.
Claims18
A stowable ladder for a vehicle, comprising:
- a base having an upper surface and a mount adapted to be coupled to a vehicle and defining an axis of rotation of the base, wherein the axis of rotation of the base is perpendicular to the upper surface of the base and the base rotates about the axis of rotation between an extended position and a retracted position;
- a support coupled to the base at a first pivot;
- at least one step coupled to the support, the support being movable about the first pivot between a folded position and an unfolded position, wherein the axis of rotation of the support about the first pivot is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the base and the at least one step is farther from the base when the support is in the unfolded position than when the support is in the folded position;
- and
- a retainer having a first position in which the retainer overlaps one or both of the base and the support in a path of rotation of the base to prevent rotation of the base from the retracted position to the extended position, and the retainer has a second position in which the retainer does not overlap either the base or the support in the path of rotation of the base so that the base is rotatable from the retracted position to the extended position.
2 more elements
A stowable ladder for a vehicle, comprising:
- a base having an upper surface and a mount defining an axis of rotation of the base, wherein the axis of rotation of the base is perpendicular to the upper surface of the base and the base rotates about the axis of rotation between an extended position and a retracted position;
- a support having a first section that is coupled to the base at a first pivot, and the support has a second section that is coupled to the first section at a second pivot that is spaced from the first pivot, the support having a folded position in which the first section and second section are overlapped with each other and arranged near the base, and the support has an unfolded position in which the first section extends away from the base at an angle of between 45 degrees and 90 degrees relative to the upper surface, and the second section is parallel to the first section or within 30 degrees of parallel to the first section, and wherein the support includes at least one step that is spaced from the upper surface of the base when the support is in the unfolded position;
- and
- a retainer having a first position in which the retainer overlaps one or both of the base and the support in a path of rotation of the base to prevent rotation of the base from the retracted position to the extended position, and the retainer has a second position in which the retainer does not overlap either the base or the support in the path of rotation of the base so that the base is rotatable from the retracted position to the extended position.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.