Ladder assembly for construction vehicles
AssigneeCaterpillar Tractor Co.
InventorsMichael P. Morge, Robert A. Shiffler
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A construction vehicle, such as a wheel-type loader, has a ladder assembly mounted on a side thereof for access to an operator's cab mounted on a platform of the vehicle. The ladder assembly comprises a pair of vertically disposed and parallel hand rails releasably attached to the side of the vehicle and a plurality of horizontally disposed and vertically spaced steps secured between the hand rails. Upper flared portions of the hand rails diverge upwardly and outwardly away from each other to form guide means to guide the feet of an operator descending from the platform onto an upper step of the ladder assembly.
Claims8
A construction vehicle comprising
- a horizontally disposed platform mounted on a top of said vehicle,
- an operator's station mounted on said platform, and
- a vertically disposed ladder assembly rigidly mounted on a side of said vehicle and terminating at an upper end thereof closely adjacent to said platform, said ladder assembly comprising
- a pair of vertically disposed and parallel hand rails, attachment means releasably attaching each of said hand rails to the side of said vehicle,
- a plurality of horizontally disposed and vertically spaced steps secured between and to said hand rails, and
- upper flared portions formed on said hand rails to terminate at lower ends thereof at an upper step of said ladder assembly and at upper ends thereof adjacent to said platform and diverging upwardly and outwardly away from each other to form guide means for guiding the feet of an operator descending from said platform directly onto said upper step of said ladder assembly, said steps thus terminating at the upper flared portions formed on said hand rails to provide an unobstructed area between said upper flared portions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.