Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Wall- or floor-attached – Independent rung or step
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-04
2002-10-29
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Wall- or floor-attached
Independent rung or step
C280S166000, C182S090000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06471002
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in folding foot step assemblies of the type that are used on vehicles such as trucks and railroad cars to provide a convenient means to ascend and descend the vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to providing folding step assemblies with an improved anti-skid, friction grip, stand-on surface having a generally clover-leaflet-shaped perimeter, with the stand-on surface being interrupted by three elongate openings that are spaced from the perimeter and arrayed about an uninterrupted central region of the surface, with an upwardly-opening recess being defined by a narrow upstanding rim that runs along the perimeter of the stand-on surface and by narrow upstanding rims that encircle the openings, with anti-skid material nested in the recess, covering the floor of the recess, and cooperating with the narrow upstanding rims to provide a stand-on surface that features a friction-grip texture in the central region and in regions of the stand-on surface located between the openings and between the openings and the perimeter.
2. Prior Art
Large vehicles such as railroad and rail transit cars, trucks, fire trucks, trailers, motor homes, campers and the like require some means to facilitate climbing up and down the vehicle. Various devices have been proposed to facilitate ascending and descending such vehicles.
A folding foot step assembly for vehicles that has been in wide use for many years is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,486 issued Jul. 31, 1984 entitled FOLDING FOOT STEP, referred to hereinafter as the “Folding Step Patent,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Reference also is made to U.S. Pat. No. D-276,716 issued Dec. 11, 1984 entitled FOLDING STEP, which discloses an attractive appearance for a folding step.
The Folding Step Patent discloses a bracket member for mounting on the side of a vehicle, and a step member having a relatively wide front region that defines a stand-on surface located forwardly with respect to a relatively narrow rear region that is pivotally connected to the bracket member to enable the step member to pivot relative to the bracket member between an “extended” or “use” position and a “folded” or “storage” position. When the step member is in its extended or use position, the stand-on surface extends substantially horizontally and faces upwardly for being engaged by shoes and boots of those who use the folding step assembly to ascend or descend the side of the vehicle on which the folding step is mounted. When the step member is in its folded or storage position, the stand-on surface extends substantially vertically and faces toward the side of the vehicle—an orientation that minimizes the extent to which the folding step assembly projects away from the side of the vehicle.
The configuration of the stand-on surface, as defined by the perimeter of the step member disclosed in the Folding Step Patent, is much like that of a leaflet of a “three-leaflet” white clover plant commonly found in the lawns of mid-western America. More specifically, the perimeter of the stand-on surface is defined by opposite sides that diverge as they extend forwardly from the relatively narrow rear region of the step member (so as to increase the width of the stand-on surface as the stand-on surface extends forwardly from the relatively narrow rear region of the step member), and by a rounded, generally “C-shaped” front that connects smoothly with the opposite sides (at opposite “ends” of the “C” of the front) to complete the perimeter of the stand-on surface. Stand-on surfaces that have a perimeter of this character are referred to herein as being “clover-leaflet-shaped” and as having a “clover-leaflet shape.”
The Folding Step Patent discloses a folding step assembly having a stand-on surface of clover-leaflet shape that is provided with a single relatively large, centrally located, kidney-shaped opening that is spaced from and substantially aligns with the curved C-shaped front of the step member. The kidney-shaped opening permits mud and other shoe- or boot-carried debris to escape when a shoe or boot is moved onto and pressed against the stand-on surface. Those who pivot the step member between its extended and folded positions also find the kidney-shaped opening to be useful in that it provides a passage through which the fingers of one hand can be inserted when it is necessary to grasp the step member to effect its pivotal movement.
While the referenced Folding Step Patent discloses the use of protruding diamond shaped elements on a clover-leaflet-shaped stand-on surface for the purpose of providing anti-skid characteristics, it is desirable to provide a significantly improved slip resistant, anti-skid, stand-on surface that is much less likely to permit the soles of shoes and boots to slip and slide thereon.
Other improvements that aid in providing an anti-skid surface also are desirable if they can be implemented without discarding the well accepted and well liked features of the folding step assembly disclosed in the Folding Step Patent, including the clover-leaflet shape of the stand-on surface and the advantages offered by the presence of a kidney-shaped opening that parallels the C-shaped front of the stand-on surface at a location spaced therefrom.
During recent years, significant effort has been devoted to the development of anti-skid materials that can be applied to exterior surfaces such as roadways, walkways and steps, and to interior surfaces such as the floors of bath tubs and shower stalls, as well as interior walkways and steps, to diminish unintended slippage thereon. This effort has resulted in the development of anti-skid formulations that can be applied as a spray or in liquid or paste form to surfaces where the newly applied material cures otherwise hardens over time, and in the development of adhesive-backed sheets of anti-skid material having a peel-off backing that enables the adhesive-backed sheets to be applied quickly and easily to surfaces to immediately provide desired anti-skid characteristics. Inasmuch as new types of anti-skid material and improvements in existing types of anti-skid material are steadily being developed, it is desirable to find an appropriate manner in which now-existing and newly developed forms of anti-skid material can be utilized on clover-leaflet-shaped folding step assemblies to enhance the anti-skid characteristics thereof without diminishing or distracting from other well accepted and advantageous features thereof, and while also providing other useful improvements therein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the foregoing and other drawbacks of the prior art by providing a folding step having a clover-leaflet-shaped stand-on surface that defines a wide-area recess wherein anti-skid material is nested. The recess is defined, at least in part, by a narrow rim that extends along the perimeter of the clover-leaflet-shaped stand-on surface to protect edge regions of the anti-skid from edge abrasion and/or from being peeled off of the step member.
The provision of a folding step assembly of the type having a clover-leaflet-shaped stand-on surface with anti-skid material nested in a wide-area recess bordered by a narrow, upstanding, perimetrically extending rim represents one novel feature of the present invention. The provision of a wide-area recess (i.e., a recess that extends across the vast majority of the top surface of a metal step member except where rim formations are provided near edge regions thereof) constitutes an arrangement that can be used with a wide variety of present-day anti-skid materials, and is well suited for use with new anti-skid materials as they are developed.
In preferred practice, the clover-leaflet-shaped stand-on surface is interrupted not only by an elongate kidney-shaped opening that is spaced from and substantially parallels the curved C-shape front of the stand-on surface, but also by a pair of other elongate o
Burge David A.
Stodola Daniel P.
The Eastern Company
Thompson Hugh B.
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