In general, the disclosure describes a foldable mobile step system which may be used to facilitate access into and out of a vehicle bed, e.g. a truck bed. The foldable mobile step system may be releasably mounted at the back of a truck in a folded position and then unfolded when accessing the bed of the truck.
Many types of trucks, e.g. pickup style trucks, have beds for hauling materials, equipment, or other items. Sometimes access to the truck bed is useful, but such access can be difficult. For example, many truck beds are at least 3 feet from the ground and this height can make access to the bed of the truck difficult. Various types of single steps have been mounted at the backs of trucks, but single steps still require a person accessing the truck bed to undertake a two-step process with relatively high steps onto the single step and then into the bed of the truck. Additionally, current systems either do not utilize a handrail or provide handrails which are awkward to use or provide a tripping point.
What is needed is an improved step system to facilitate easy, safe ingress and egress with respect to the bed of a pickup truck or other type of vehicle.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description. However, many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a system for facilitating access into a truck bed. The system comprises a step assembly which is foldable between an operational configuration and a folded, transport configuration. The foldable step assembly comprises a support structure having an attachment end for coupling with a vehicle. For example, the attachment end may be sized for receipt in a hitch receiver of a vehicle, e.g. a truck. The foldable step assembly also comprises an upper step structure having an upper step mounted to an upper step frame. The upper step frame is pivotably coupled with the support structure for pivoting movement between a lateral position and an upright transport position. Additionally, the foldable step assembly may comprise a handrail pivotably coupled with the upper step structure for pivoting movement between an upright use position and a folded transport position. Furthermore, the step assembly comprises a lower step structure having a lower step and a lower step frame. The lower step frame may be pivotably coupled with the upper step structure for pivoting movement between a lower lateral position and a position folded over the upper step. With this construction, the foldable step assembly is easily connected into, for example, a hitch receiver of the truck or other vehicle and then readily unfolded to enable a three-step process for entering the vehicle/truck bed via relatively short steps.
Certain embodiments of the disclosure will hereafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements. It is emphasized that, in accordance with standard practice in the industry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity of discussion. It should be understood, however, that the accompanying figures illustrate the various implementations described herein and are not meant to limit the scope of various technologies described herein, and:
In the following description, numerous details are set forth to provide an understanding of some embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides many different embodiments, or examples, for implementing different features of various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangements are described below to simplify the disclosure. These are, of course, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. In addition, the disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or letters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the system and/or methodology may be practiced without these details and that numerous variations or modifications from the described embodiments are possible. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but rather made merely for the purpose of describing general principles of the implementations. The scope of the described implementations should be ascertained with reference to the issued claims.
As used herein, the terms “connect”, “connection”, “connected”, “in connection with”, and “connecting” are used to mean “in direct connection with” or “in connection with via one or more elements”; and the term “set” is used to mean “one element” or “more than one element”. Further, the terms “couple”, “coupling”, “coupled”, “coupled together”, and “coupled with” are used to mean “directly coupled together” or “coupled together via one or more elements”. As used herein, the terms “up” and “down”; “upper” and “lower”; “top” and “bottom”; and other like terms indicating relative positions to a given point or element are utilized to more clearly describe some elements.
According to an embodiment, a system is provided for facilitating access into a bed of a vehicle, e.g. access into a truck bed. The system comprises a step assembly which is foldable between an operational configuration and a folded, transport configuration. The foldable step assembly comprises a support structure having an attachment end which may be coupled with a vehicle. For example, the attachment end may be sized for receipt in a hitch receiver of a truck or other vehicle. In some applications, the foldable step assembly may be constructed for releasable insertion into a standard 2″×2″ hitch receiver of a pickup style truck or other vehicle.
The foldable step assembly also may comprise an upper step structure having an upper step mounted to an upper step frame. The upper step frame may be pivotably coupled with the support structure for pivoting movement between a lateral position and an upright transport position. Additionally, the foldable step assembly may comprise a handrail pivotably coupled with the upper step structure for pivoting movement between an upright use position and a folded transport position.
Furthermore, the step assembly may comprise a lower step structure having a lower step and a lower step frame. The lower step frame may be pivotably coupled with the upper step structure for pivoting movement between a lower lateral position and a position folded over the upper step. With this construction, the foldable step assembly is easily connected into a hitch receiver of the truck or other vehicle and then readily unfolded to enable a three-step process for entering the truck bed via relatively short steps.
Referring generally to
As illustrated, the foldable step assembly 20 comprises a support structure 28 having an attachment end 30 configured for attachment to vehicle 22. For example, attachment end 30 may be configured and sized for receipt in a hitch receiver 32 of the vehicle/truck 22. The attachment end 30 may be secured in the hitch receiver 32 via a conventional pin 34 or other suitable attachment mechanism. The step assembly 20 further may comprise an upper step structure 36 which has an upper step 38 mounted to an upper step frame 40. The upper step frame 40 may be pivotably coupled with the support structure 28 via a pivot 42, e.g. a pivot pin, for pivoting movement between a lateral position, as illustrated in
According to the illustrated embodiment, the step assembly 20 also may comprise a handrail 44 which may be connected into the foldable step assembly 20 at various points. In the example illustrated, handrail 44 is pivotably coupled with the upper step structure 36, via a pivot 46, for pivoting movement between an upright use position and a folded transport position. By way of example, the pivot 36 may comprise a pair of pivot pins 48 or other suitable pivot structures. In some embodiments, ends 50 of handrail 44 are received in corresponding receptacles 52 of upper step structure 36 when handrail 44 is in the upright use position. The handrail 44 may be folded to the transport position by lifting ends 50 from receptacles 52 and then pivoting the handrail 44 about pivot pins 48. The pivot pins 48 may be arranged in corresponding pivot pin slots 53 so as to enable the lifting and pivoting of handrail 44 (see
As illustrated, the step assembly 20 also may comprise a lower step structure 54 having a lower step 56 supported on a lower step frame 58. By way of example, the lower step frame 58 may be pivotably coupled with the upper step structure 36, via a pivot 60, for pivoting movement between a lower lateral position (see
To convert the step assembly 20 from the operational/use position to a folded transport position, the lower step 56 and lower step frame 58 are pivoted about the pivot 60 until the lower step 56 is inverted and positioned directly above the upper step 38, as illustrated in
Subsequently, the combined lower step structure 54, upper step structure 36, and handrail 44 may be pivoted from the lateral position illustrated in
In some embodiments, a license plate holder 66 may be positioned along a bottom of the upper step structure 36 so that a license plate 68 is visible when the step assembly 20 is folded into the transport configuration illustrated in
The step assembly 20 may be made from steel or other metal materials. However, the step assembly 20 also can be constructed in whole or in part from plastics or other suitable materials. The configuration and size of the steps and handrail may be adjusted according to the environment, vehicle type, and intended use of the step assembly. Similarly, various types of pivots and locking mechanisms may be incorporated into the overall step assembly 20.
Although a few embodiments of the disclosure have been described in detail above, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible without materially departing from the teachings of this disclosure. For example, the pipe isolation device of the present disclosure may be modified by adding additional sealing heads to become a triple, or more, block and bleed apparatus. Accordingly, such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the claims. The scope of the invention should be determined only by the language of the claims that follow. The term “comprising” within the claims is intended to mean “including at least” such that the recited listing of elements in a claim are an open group. The terms “a,” “an” and other singular terms are intended to include the plural forms thereof unless specifically excluded.
The present document is based on and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/074,713 him, filed Sep. 4, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/US2021/046793 | 8/19/2021 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
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63074713 | Sep 2020 | US |