Pivotal ladder
First Claim
1. A ladder assembly mounted on a support, said support having a first surface and a second surface, said ladder assembly comprising:
- a ladder;
pivot means acting between said ladder and said support and providing an axis about which said ladder may be rotated relative to said support;
biasing means urging said ladder to move in one direction along said axis, said ladder being adapted to be moved between an upright position in which one portion of said ladder is arranged to engaged said support first surface and a stored position in which another portion of said ladder is arranged to face said support second surface;
abutment means mounted on said support and arranged to prevent said ladder from rotating in a plane perpendicular to said axis when said ladder is in said upright position; and
interlock means acting between said ladder and said support for preventing said ladder from being unintentionally moved in said one direction along said axis when said ladder is in said upright position;
whereby said ladder may be selectively rotated between said upright and stored positions by moving said ladder along said axis in the opposite direction against the opposing bias of said biasing means, rotating said ladder to the desired one of said upright and stored positions, and then releasing said ladder to permit said biasing means to move said ladder in said one direction along said axis.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A ladder assembly is adapted to be mounted on a suitable support, such as a truck or trailer. The ladder assembly includes a ladder mounted on the distal end of a shaft. The shaft is slidably received in a cylinder. A pair of spaced abutment stops are provided on the support, and provide a recess to receive a portion of the ladder when the ladder is in its upright position. A spring urges the shaft and ladder to move toward the support along the axis (x--x) of the cylinder. The ladder is adapted to be moved between an upright position, at which a portion of the ladder is received in the recess between the abutment stops, and an out-of-the-way horizontal position.
16 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A ladder assembly mounted on a support, said support having a first surface and a second surface, said ladder assembly comprising:
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a ladder; pivot means acting between said ladder and said support and providing an axis about which said ladder may be rotated relative to said support; biasing means urging said ladder to move in one direction along said axis, said ladder being adapted to be moved between an upright position in which one portion of said ladder is arranged to engaged said support first surface and a stored position in which another portion of said ladder is arranged to face said support second surface; abutment means mounted on said support and arranged to prevent said ladder from rotating in a plane perpendicular to said axis when said ladder is in said upright position; and interlock means acting between said ladder and said support for preventing said ladder from being unintentionally moved in said one direction along said axis when said ladder is in said upright position; whereby said ladder may be selectively rotated between said upright and stored positions by moving said ladder along said axis in the opposite direction against the opposing bias of said biasing means, rotating said ladder to the desired one of said upright and stored positions, and then releasing said ladder to permit said biasing means to move said ladder in said one direction along said axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. The method of moving a ladder between upright and stored positions relative to a support, comprising the steps of:
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mounting a ladder for pivotal movement about an axis; biasing said ladder to move in one direction along said axis; manually moving said ladder in the opposite direction along said axis by overcoming the opposing bias on said ladder; selectively rotating said ladder about said axis to the desired one of said upright and stored positions; releasing said ladder to allow said ladder to move in said one direction along said axis; and locking said ladder to said support to prevent said ladder from being unintentionally moved in said one direction along said axis when said ladder is in said upright position.
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22. A ladder assembly mounted on a support, said support having a first surface and a second surface, said ladder assembly comprising:
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a ladder; pivot means acting between said ladder and said support, said pivot means engaging said ladder at an intermediate portion of its longitudinal extent and providing an axis about which said ladder may be rotated relative to said support; biasing means urging said ladder to move in one direction along said axis, said ladder being adapted to be moved between an upright position in which one portion of said ladder is arranged to engage said support first surface and a stored position in which another portion of said ladder is arranged to face said support second surface; and abutment means mounted on said support and arranged to prevent said ladder from rotating in a plane perpendicular to said axis when said ladder is in said upright position; whereby said ladder may be selectively rotated between said upright and stored positions by moving said ladder along said axis in the opposite direction against the opposing bias of said biasing means, rotating said ladder to the desired one of said upright and stored positions, and then releasing said ladder to permit said biasing means to move said ladder in said one direction along said axis.
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23. A ladder assembly mounted on a support, said support having a first surface and a second surface, said ladder assembly comprising:
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a sealing ladder having an elongated post and having a rung extending away from said post; pivot means acting between said ladder and said support, said pivot means engaging said post at an intermediate portion of its longitudinal extent and providing an axis about which said ladder may be rotated relative to said support; biasing means urging said ladder to move in one direction along said axis, said ladder being adapted to be moved between an upright position in which one portion of said ladder is arranged to engage said support first surface and a stored position in which another portion of said post is arranged to face said support second surface; and abutment means mounted on said support and arranged to prevent said ladder from rotating in a plane perpendicular to said axis when said ladder is in said upright position; whereby said ladder may be selectively rotated between said upright and stored positions by moving said ladder along said axis in the opposite direction against the opposing bias of said biasing means, rotating said ladder to the desired one of said upright and stored positions, and then releasing said ladder to permit said biasing means to move said ladder in said one direction along said axis.
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Specification