U.S. patent number 3,693,754 [Application Number 05/124,704] was granted by the patent office on 1972-09-26 for portable folding steps and landing for a mobile home and the like.
Invention is credited to Le Roy O. Butler.
United States Patent |
3,693,754 |
Butler |
September 26, 1972 |
PORTABLE FOLDING STEPS AND LANDING FOR A MOBILE HOME AND THE
LIKE
Abstract
A rectangular platform is removable secured horizontally by one
side to one side wall of a mobile home below the lower limit of its
door. A pair of telescoping legs are pivotally connected in
depending relation to the opposite side of the platform in
under-the-platform folding relation. A pair of steps are similarly
connected with and supported by pairs of bars pivotally connected
with the platform in a downwardly and outwardly projecting
direction. Hand rails are supported by upstanding supports
pivotally connected with marginal side edges of the platform. The
hand rail supports, legs and pairs of step supporting bars are
foldable towards the respective upper and lower surfaces of the
platform for collapsing and rendering the device portable.
Inventors: |
Butler; Le Roy O. (Sutherlin,
OR) |
Family
ID: |
22416366 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/124,704 |
Filed: |
March 16, 1971 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
182/86; 182/113;
182/152; 182/115 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E04F
11/062 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04F
11/06 (20060101); E04F 11/02 (20060101); E06c
001/383 () |
Field of
Search: |
;182/85,83,86,115,113,95,96,152 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Machado; Reinaldo P.
Claims
I claim:
1. A collapsible step and landing device for a mobile home or the
like, comprising:
a platform including a rectangular frame having a flat upper
surface;
hanger means secured to one side surface of said frame for
connection with a vertical supporting surface;
hand rail means secured to said frame permitting movement of said
hand rails toward and away from the upper surface of said
frame,
said hand rail means comprising a pair of sleeves vertically
secured, respectively, to the other side surfaces of said frame in
horizontally spaced-apart relation,
a pair of upright support members pivotally connected,
respectively, at their depending end portions, with said sleeves
and removably received thereby in telescoping relation, and,
a hand rail extending between and secured to the upper end of each
said pair of support members;
legs pivotally secured in depending relation to said frame opposite
said hanger means; and,
step means pivotally secured to said frame in downwardly and
laterally projecting relation with respect to one side thereof.
2. The collapsible step device according to claim 1 in which said
step means comprises:
at least one pair of parallel spaced-apart bars; and,
at least one step tread extending horizontally between and
supported by said bars.
3. The collapsible step device according to claim 2 in which said
hanger means comprises:
a pair of L-shaped brackets having apertured leg portions,
one said apertured leg portion of each bracket being horizontally
disposed; and,
a pair of rods secured to said one side of said frame and depending
vertically beyond the lower limit thereof for removable reception
by the apertures in said horizontally disposed bracket leg
portions.
4. The collapsible step device according to claim 3 and further
including:
means connected with the depending end portions of said legs and
said pair of bars, respectively, for vertically adjusting the
spacing between the depending end of said legs and said bars
relative to a common horizontal supporting surface.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to steps and platforms for mobile
homes, and the like, which may be collapsed to a folded position
without the disassembly of any of the components.
The door or entrance to mobile homes, or the like, is usually
disposed above the surface of the earth a distance rendering it
necessary that one or more steps or stair treads be provided for
ease of access to the mobile home door. Since the step or steps
usually project laterally of the vertical side surface of the
mobile home it is necessary that the steps be removed when moving
the mobile home to a new location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Demountable platform and steps for mobile homes are generally old,
however, such demountable platform and steps usually have the
components thereof arranged by bolted connections which permit the
assembly to be disassembled but are inconvenient in that all of the
bolts and connections must be replaced when the device is
reassembled and tend to become loosened resulting in a tendency to
wobble or become unsafe over long periods of use.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,396 discloses a demountable step and platform
device which requires disassembly of certain of its components for
storage and transportation and a subsequent reassembly for further
use. U.S. Pat. No. 2,863,494 discloses a collapsing or folding step
arrangement which is stored by tracks, or the like, secured to a
depending surface of a vehicle.
This invention is distinctive over these patents by providing a
platform removable connected with a mobile home wall including legs
and steps connected with and foldable under the platform and
further including hand rails and supports connected with and
foldable over the platform without disassembly of any of the
components of the device by removing bolts, screws, or the
like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A rectangular frame forms a horizontal landing which is removably
connected with the side wall of a mobile home by rods removably
engaging apertured angular brackets secured to the mobile home
wall. Vertically adjustable depending legs are pivotally connected
with the depending surface of the frame and are foldable toward the
lower surface of the frame. Spaced-apart pairs of laterally
downward and outwardly projecting bars horizontally support step
treads therebetween and are pivotally connected at their upper ends
to the depending surface of the frame for folding under the frame
with the steps. Hand rails are connected with and supported by a
plurality of upright support members, pivotally connected in
vertical sliding relation with a like plurality of sleeves secured
to the remaining sides of the frame so that the hand rails may be
folded in superposed relation on the upper surface of the frame.
When collapsed or folded the device thus occupies a minimum of
space and yet the pivotal connections of its respective components
permits it to be easily erected to form a rigid step and landing
assembly. Means are provided on both the legs and the bars for
adjusting their position relative to the surface of the earth for
maintaining the landing and steps horizontal when the device
overlies uneven terrain.
The principal object is to provide a folding platform hand rail and
step assembly which may be easily erected and connected with a
mobile home and collapsed to a stored position without removal or
installation of bolts, screws, or the like.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device in erected position and
connected with a fragment of a mobile home;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view, to a different
scale, illustrating by dotted lines, the folded position of the
steps, one leg and oppositely disposed sections of hand rails;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary left side elevational view of FIG. 2
illustrating the folding action of the other leg and the other hand
rail section;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view of FIG. 2 with the hand rails
removed;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view, to an
enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 5--5 of FIG.
4;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view, partially in section,
looking in the direction of the arrows 6--6 of FIG. 5; and,
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view, to a further
enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 7--7 of FIG.
2.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures
of the drawings in which they occur.
In the drawings:
The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole,
connected with a fragment of a mobile home wall, indicated at 12,
in depending relation with respect to an entranceway or door 14 and
above the lower limit of the mobile home wall, indicated by the
line 16. The device 10 comprises a landing or platform 18 formed by
a rectangular frame substantially square in plan view comprising
rigidly interconnected angle iron members with one leg of the angle
iron members being disposed horizontally and the other leg thereof
being vertical for respectively defining front and rear ends 20 and
22 and opposing sides 24 and 26. A plurality of cross braces 27, 28
and 29, extend between the sides 24 and 26 in parallel spaced
relation and are interconnected medially their ends by other cross
braces 30 to add rigidity to the frame and support a landing
surface comprising heavy screen-like material, such as expanded
metal 32, which overlies the frame and is secured thereto adjacent
its marginal edges. One side of the frame, for example the side 26,
is provided with a pair of rods 34 vertically secured, as by
welding, to its vertical side surface in parallel horizontally
space-apart relation and which depend, at their lower end portions,
beyond the horizontal plane of the lower surface of the frame. A
pair of angle iron brackets 36 are secured, as by bolts or lag
screws, not shown, to the mobile home wall with the other leg of
the bracket 36 projecting horizontally outward from the wall and
are vertically apertured or drilled for removably receiving the
rods 34 and supporting the platform 18.
A pair of legs 38 and 40 are pivotally connected at their upper
ends to the inner surface of the frame side 24 between pairs of
lugs 42. Each of the legs 38 and 40 comprise an upper tubular
section 44, square in the example shown, of a selected length. A
similarly shaped lower section 46 is telescopically received at its
upper end portion by the depending end portion of the upper leg
section 44 and is maintained in a selected telescoped relation by a
bolt and nut 48 extending through the upper leg 44 and a selected
one of a plurality of transverse apertures formed in vertical
spaced relation in the lower leg section 46. This permits coarse
adjustment of the plane of the platform with respect to the surface
of the earth, indicated by the line 50. Fine adjustment of the
horizontal plane of the platform is achieved by a disk 52 flatly
contacting the surface of the earth and coaxially secured to a
screw 54 threadedly received by the depending end portion of the
lower leg 46.
As shown in FIG. 3, the leg 48 is maintained in perpendicular
relation with respect to the plane of the platform by a link 56
pivotally connected at one end with the platform side 22 and
projecting angularly downwardly toward and removably engaged with a
lock pin 58 secured to the upper leg portion 44. Disengaging the
slotted end of the lever 56 from the pin 58 permits it and the leg
38 to be folded or pivoted toward the depending surface of the
platform, as shown by dotted lines. Similarly, the leg 40 is
maintained in perpendicular depending relation with respect to the
platform by a second lever 60 similarly connected with the platform
side 24 and upper portion of the leg 40 so that when the lever 60
is disengaged both it and the leg 40 may pivot toward the depending
surface of the platform parallel with respect to the frame side 24
(FIG. 2). A pair of forward or front tubular step bars 62, square
in cross section in the example shown, are pivotally connected at
one end in parallel spaced relation between cooperating pairs of
brackets 64 connected with the frame side member 20 in depending
relation. The front step bars 62 project angularly outwardly and
downwardly from the frame side 20 toward the surface of the earth
and are downwardly turned vertically, as at 66, and threadedly
engaged with a screw coaxially connected with a disk 68 for the
purpose presently described.
A back or rearward pair of step bars 70 are similarly connected at
one end in parallel spaced relation with the frame cross brace 27
between depending brackets 72. The step bars 70 similarly project
downwardly and outwardly from the frame side 20 in underlying
vertically aligned relation with respect to the front step bars 62.
The rear step bars 70 are similarly turned vertically downward at
their depending end portions and are threadedly connected with
screws coaxially secured to disks 74. A pair of upper and lower
steps 76 and 78, respectively, each comprising co-axially
rectangular frame of a selected width and a length slightly less
than the spacing between the pairs of step bars 62 and 70 are
longitudinally positioned therebetween in vertically spaced
horizontal planes. The upper surface of the frame of the respective
step 76 and 78 has secured thereto a similar screen or expanded
metal section 80. The rearward end portion of the respective step
is hingedly connected, as by a rivet, to the respective rear step
bar 70 for vertical pivoting movement of the other longitudinal
side edge of the respective step. This front or forward
longitudinal side edge of each step, opposite its rearward hingedly
connected longitudinal side, is adjustably supported by pins 82
extending horizontally through the front step bars 62 in
cooperative aligned relation adjacent the respective end portion of
the steps. The rivets 82 project inwardly of the respective inner
surface of the front step bars 62 in horizontally aligned relation
a distance at least as great as the thickness of the step frame
flange 84. The respective step frame flange 84 is provided with an
elongated slot 86 open, as at 88, to the depending edge surface of
the frame flange 84 for removably receiving the respective support
pin 82 thus permitting relative movement of the support pin 82 with
respect to the step frame longitudinally of the slot 86 in response
to vertical adjustment of the step bars thus permitting the upper
surface of the steps to be disposed in parallel horizontal
position.
The device 10 is further provided with horizontally disposed front,
side and rear hand rails 90, 92 and 94, respectively, each
supported by a pair of upright supports 96, 98 and 100,
respectively. Since the manner of connecting the supports to the
frame or platform is substantially identical, only the connection
for the pair of supports 98 will be described in detail. In the
example shown, the hand rails and their supports are square in
cross section. A pair of tubular sleeves 102, similarly square in
cross section, are vertically secured in parallel horizontally
spaced relation to the outer surface of the frame front 20. The
sleeves thus form sockets which slidably respectively receive
vertically the depending end portion of the supports 96. Each of
the sleeves are characterized by upstanding parallel arms 104
formed by cutting away opposing sides of the tubular sleeve, as at
106, so that the planes of the arms 104 are disposed perpendicular
to the vertical plane of the frame side 20.
As shown more clearly in FIG. 7, the arms 104 are transversely
slotted vertically in aligned relation, as at 108, for slidably
receiving the respective end portions of a shaft 110 extended
transversely through the depending end portion of the respective
support 96 and supporting the latter within the socket. Thus, it
may be seen that the hand rail 90 and its supports 96 may be moved
vertically upward so that when the shaft 110 contacts the upper
limit of the slot 108 the hand rail and its supports 96 may be
pivoted about the axis of the shaft 110 toward the upper surface of
the platform 18. The only distinction between the sleeves 102
receiving the supports 96 and the sleeves receiving the other hand
rail supports 98 and 100 is that the length of the slotted arms of
the respective pairs of sleeves are selectively dimensioned to
compensate for the thickness of the hand rails and their respective
supports relative to each other when disposed in folded overlying
relation one upon the other on the upper surface of the platform
18. One end of the hand rail 92 is extended angularly downward, as
at 112, toward the direction of the steps. The hand rails 92 and 94
are interconnected by a wing 114 horizontally secured in right
angular relation to the end of the hand rail 92 opposite its end
portion 112. The depending edge surface of the wing 114 is provided
with a downwardly open slot which removably receives a pin 116
secured to the end portion of the hand rail 94 opposite the mobile
home.
OPERATION
In operation assume the hand rail supports, legs, step bars and
steps have been connected with each other and the platform 18 as
described hereinabove. The device is initially installed by
swinging the step rails 62 and 70 laterally of the frame side 20
and manually engaging the rods 34 with the mobile home connected
brackets 36. The legs 38 and 40 are pivoted to a depending position
and vertically adjusted in the manner hereinabove described for
leveling the platform and are locked in place by the levers 58 and
60. Similarly the steps 76 and 78 have the slots 86 thereof engaged
with the step support pins 82 and the upper surface of the steps or
treads 80 horizontally disposed by adjustment of the disks 68 and
74. The respective hand rails 90, 92 and 94 are pivoted upwardly
from the surface of the platform so that the depending end portions
of the respective hand rail supports enter the socket portion of
the respective sleeves 102. The hand rail 92 has its supports 98
lowered into their sockets following the erection of the hand rail
94 so that the wing 114 engages the pin 116 when the hand rail 92
moves downwardly. Collapsing or folding the device 10 is
accomplished by a substantial reversal of the above described
erecting sequence, wherein the hand rails are superposed on the
upper surface of the platform and the step means and legs are
folded toward the depending plane of the platform in underlying
relation.
Obviously the invention is susceptible to changes or alterations
without defeating its practicability, therefore, I do not wish to
be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and
described herein.
* * * * *