Retractable stairway for entering and exiting a vehicle

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door to the cab, and a side portion adjacent the cab, in which the vehicle side portion has a front quarter fender and a rear quarter fender and in which the front and rear quarter fenders define a wheel well, a wheel positioned in the wheel well, the assembly comprising:

• an upright panel having a front face and a back face, the panel of the assembly forming at least a portion of the rear quarter fender;
• and
• a stairway comprising a plurality of steps with step surfaces coupled to and projecting in a direction away from the back face of the panel;
• the stairway and panel being pivotally mounted to the vehicle so as to pivot about an upright stairway pivot axis for movement between a retracted position, in which the panel is substantially aligned with the side portion and the stairway is substantially behind the panel, with the step surfaces facing upwardly and at least one extended position, in which the stairway is exposed to allow ingress and egress from the cab;
• and
• the stairway having a top step which is elongated in the front to rear direction and which extends at least partially over the top of the wheel at least when the stairway is in the retracted position, and wherein the stairway pivot is positioned forwardly of the center of the wheel.

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door to the cab, and a side portion adjacent the cab, the assembly comprising:

• a panel having a front face and a back face;
• and
• a stairway coupled to and projecting from the back face of the panel,
• the stairway and panel being movable between a retracted position, in which the panel is substantially aligned with the side portion and the stairway is behind the panel, and at least one extended position, in which the stairway is exposed to allow ingress and egress from the cab;
• the stairway having a plurality of steps, each of the plurality of steps having a step surface, and the panel having at least one foot receiving opening adjacent one of the step surfaces, through which at least a portion of the adjacent step surface is exposed, whereby a foot may be positioned through the at least one foot receiving opening to climb into the cab when the stairway and panel are in the retracted position.

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door for access to the cab, the door being movable between a closed position and an open position, and a side portion adjacent the cab with a front quarter fender and a rear quarter fender, the assembly comprsing:

• a stairway having a plurality of steps and at least one side, the side of the stairway forming at least a portion of the rear quarter fender and being substantially aligned with the side portion when the stairway is in the retracted position, the stairway being pivotable from a retracted position about an upright axis into at least one extended position, in which the stairway is positioned to allow ingress to and egress from the cab;
• a panel having a front face and a back face from which the steps project substantially perpendicularly outwardly so that when the stairway is in the retracted position, the steps are beneath the cab;
• and
• the stairway assembly further comprising an enlarged top step platform that projects outwardly from the front face of the panel so that the top step platform is positioned to be stepped on during ingress and egress from the cab when the steps are beneath the cab.

A cab for a vehicle comprising:

• a cab body having at least one side portion with an opening;
• a cab access door mounted to the side portion of the cab and pivotable between an open position and a closed position, in which the door covers the opening in the side portion;
• a fender assembly adjacent the side portion of the cab body, the fender assembly including a front quarter fender and a rear quarter fender, each of the front and rear quarter fenders having an arcuately shaped edge that together define a wheel well;
• the rear quarter fender also including:
• a panel having a front face and a back face;
• and
• a stairway with a plurality of steps projecting from the back face of the panel;
• the rear quarter fender being pivotable about a vertical axis between a retracted position, in which the front face of the panel is substantially aligned with the front quarter fender and an extended position, in which the steps are exposed beyond the side portion of the cab body and are positioned to allow access to and from the cab.

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door to the cab, and a side portion adjacent the cab, the assembly comprising:

• a stairway having a plurality of steps;
• the stairway being coupled to the vehicle and being movable between a retracted position and at least one extended position, when in the extended position the stairway is at least partially exposed to allow ingress and egress from the cab;
• a stairway position sensor mounted to the vehicle and adapted to detect and indicate the position of the stairway;
• wherein the door is movable between opened and closed positions;
• the assembly further comprising a door position sensor that detects the position of the door;
• the assembly further comprising an alarm operatively connected to the stairway position sensor and the door position sensor;
• wherein the alarm is activated when the door position sensor indicates that the door is open and the stairway position sensor indicates that the stairway is retracted;
• and
• including an occupant sensor operatively connected to the stairway and adapted to detect whether a person is occupying the stairway at least when movement of the stairway is attempted.

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door to the cab, and a side portion adjacent the cab, the assembly comprising:

• a stairway having a plurality of steps;
• the stairway being coupled to the vehicle and being movable between a retracted position and at least one extended position, when in the extended position the stairway is at least partially exposed to allow ingress and egress from the cab;
• a stairway position sensor mounted to the vehicle and adapted to detect and indicate the position of the stairway;
• wherein the door is movable between opened and closed positions;
• the assembly further comprising a door position sensor that detects the position of the door;
• the assembly further comprising an alarm operatively connected to the stairway position sensor and the door position sensor;
• wherein the alarm is activated when the door position sensor indicates that the door is open and the stairway position sensor indicates that the stairway is retracted;
• and
• including an obstacle sensor operatively connected to the stairway and adapted to detect obstacles to movement of the stairway.

A retractable stairway assembly for a vehicle having a cab, a door to the cab, and a side portion adjacent the cab, the assembly comprising:

• an upright panel having a front face and a back face;
• a stairway comprising a plurality of steps with step surfaces coupled to and projecting in a direction away from the back face of the panel;
• the stairway and panel being movable between a retracted position, in which the panel is substantially aligned with the side portion and the stairway is behind the panel, with the step surfaces facing upwardly and at least one extended position, in which the stairway is exposed to allow ingress and egress from the cab;
• including a first door position sensor and a second stairway position sensor and in which the assembly further comprises an alarm activated in response to the first and second sensors when the door is open and the stairway is in the retracted position;
• and
• including a deactivator operable to selectively deactivate the stairway, the stairway assembly including a detector operable to determine whether the deactivator has deactivated the stairway, the alarm being activated upon detection of deactivation of the stairway and the door being opened.