Portable, stowable knock-down ramp
AssigneeHomecare Products, Inc.
InventorsDonald G. Everard, William Gorman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Several elongated tread plates are pivotally connected together to form the central load-bearing portion of a ramp. Rigid side rails can be latched to the assembly of tread plates to maintain the tread plates with their upper surfaces coplanar. The side rails can be unlatched from the tread plate assembly, whereupon the tread plate assembly can be rolled to compact condition for storage.
Claims18
A portable ramp for carrying a load, said ramp comprising a portable assembly having several tread plates pivotally connected together so as to be relatively swingable from an unrolled coplanar load-bearing condition to a rolled-up compact condition, at least one portable rail connectable to said tread plate assembly for maintaining said tread plate assembly in its unrolled coplanar condition, and means for normally latching said rail to said assembly for connecting said rail to said assembly, said latching means being manually releasable for disconnecting said rail from said assembly to permit said assembly to be rolled to its compact condition, said rail including vertically spaced flanges forming a channel therebetween, said tread plate assembly having a side marginal portion closely fittable in said channel to connect said tread plate assembly and said rail, said latching means including cooperating latch elements mounted on said assembly and said rail, respectively, for normally maintaining said tread plate assembly with said side marginal portion fitted in said channel.
A portable ramp for carrying a load, said ramp comprising a portable assembly having several elongated tread plates pivotally connected together so as to be relatively swingable from an unrolled coplanar load-bearing condition to a rolled-up compact condition, each of said tread plates having opposite ends aligned, respectively, with the opposite ends of the other plates and defining opposite sides of said assembly, two portable side rails connectable to said opposite sides of said assembly for maintaining said assembly in its unrolled coplanar condition, and means for normally latching said side rails to said assembly for connecting said rails to said assembly, said latching means being manually releasable for disconnecting said rails from said assembly to permit said assembly to be rolled to its compact condition, each of said side rails including vertically spaced flanges forming a channel therebetween, the opposite sides of the tread plate assembly being closely fittable in said channels, the latching means including cooperating latch elements mounted on the assembly and the rails, respectively, for normally maintaining the tread plate assembly with its opposite sides fitted in said channels.
A portable ramp for carrying a load, said ramp comprising a portable assembly having several tread plates pivotally connected together so as to be relatively swingable from an unrolled coplanar load-bearing condition to a rolled-up compact condition, at least one portable rail connectable to said tread plate assembly for supporting said tread plate assembly in its unrolled coplanar condition, and means for normally latching said rail to said assembly for connecting said rail to said assembly, said latching means being manually releasable for disconnecting said rail from said assembly to permit said assembly to be rolled to its compact condition, said latching means including cooperating latch elements mounted on said assembly and said rail, respectively, for normally supporting said tread plate assembly by said rail.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.