Retractable boat ladder having intermediate locking position
A retractable boat ladder, having: a first support; a pair of second supports; a step frame connected to the first support and the pair of second supports such that the step frame rotates from a retracted position through an intermediate locking position to a fully extended position; and a locking mechanism on at least one of the second supports, the locking mechanism holding the second support is an intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from a retracted position to the intermediate locked position, and releasing the second support from the intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from the intermediate locked position to a fully extended position.
The present invention relates to ladders that swimmers use to get into and out of small pleasure boats.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA variety of boat ladders are now currently on the market to assist swimmers, waterskiiers and divers getting into, and out of, the water. Unfortunately, these existing boat ladders all suffer from various disadvantages.
Generally speaking, the two biggest problems are that current boat ladder designs tend to be difficult to operate, or flimsy in their construction.
A number of existing designs involve ladders that fold up out of the water when not in use. Unfortunately, current retractable or folding ladder designs all require the swimmer to stand on them to keep them in the water. When the swimmer is not standing on the ladder (or otherwise holding its step end down in the water), the ladder will tend to fold up out of the water. Therefore, a swimmer in the water mush both reach up and pull down the ladder, and (while keeping its bottom step end in the water), stand upon the step and then climb into the boat. Moreover, these ladders fold upwards as the swimmer steps into the boat. As such, the swimmer is stepping off of a moving ladder. This has proven to be a rather awkward solution to the problem of a swimmer getting easily getting into or out of a boat.
What is instead desired is a boat ladder that can easily be positioned into or our of the water, without requiring the swimmer to forcefully hold onto the ladder and then stand on it to keep it submerged when stepping onto or off of the ladder.
It is also especially important to provide a ladder having a solid construction. Flimsy ladders that move around or shake when being deployed (or after they have been deployed) and are thus real safety hazards. Moreover, swimmers/boaters feet are typically wet and slippery when using a boat ladder. Therefore, flimsy ladders are especially undesirable as boat ladders.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a boat ladder that is easy for a swimmer or boater to deploy. When deployed for use, a bottom step end of the ladder remains submerged in the water. This permits easy access into and out of the boat. When retracted, the bottom step end of the ladder is positioned out of the water, and can thus be conveniently folded under the back or side of the boat.
A first advantage of the present retractable ladder is that it does not require a swimmer to hold down its bottom end into the water during use. As such, the present ladder will not tend to spring up out of the water as the swimmer steps off of it and into the boat.
Another advantage of the present ladder is that it is made of a solid and rugged construction.
In preferred embodiments, the present invention comprises a retractable boat ladder, comprising: a first support; a pair of second supports; a step frame connected to the first support and the pair of second supports such that the step frame rotates from a retracted position through an intermediate locking position to a fully extended position; and a locking mechanism on at least one of the second supports, the locking mechanism holding the second support is an intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from a retracted position to the intermediate locked position, and releasing the second support from the intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from the intermediate locked position to a fully extended position.
In various preferred embodiments, another advantage of the present retractable ladder is that the mechanism that locks the ladder at its intermediate position is protected from the water. In one particular embodiment, magnets are used to move the parts of the invention into both locked and unlocked positions.
Another advantage of the present retractable ladder is that it is very easy for a user to retract the ladder. To retract the ladder, the swimmer need only apply more downward force on the step than would be applied when the swimmer is standing on the bottom of the ladder. This is easy to do since a swimmer weighs more out of the water than (s)he does in the water. As such, it is easy for the swimmer to apply more downward force when leaving the water.
In various embodiments, the step frame is connected to the pair of second supports by at least one biasing mechanism that urges the retractable boat ladder into the retracted position. Preferably, biasing mechanisms connect each of the pair of second supports to the step frame; however, the present invention is not so limited.
Preferably, the biasing mechanism comprises a spring that is isolated from water when the biasing mechanism is submerged. This has the advantage of protected the biasing mechanism (e.g.: a spring) from rusting.
In optional embodiments, the locking mechanism comprises: a rotatable lug dimensioned to mate with an end of the second support. As such, the rotatable lug can be rotated from a neutral position into a position to hold the second support in the locked intermediate position; and a lug biasing mechanism for rotating the lug to the neutral position.
In addition, the rotatable lug can be dimensioned to return to the neutral position and release the end of the second support when the step frame has been rotated from the intermediate locking position to the fully extended position.
In various preferred embodiments, the lug biasing mechanism comprises: a magnet in the rotatable lug; and a magnet in a bracket at the end of the second support, wherein the magnets in the rotatable lug and the bracket tend to cause the rotatable lug to rotate to the neutral position. The use of magnets in the lug biasing mechanism has the advantage of not requiring springs that would otherwise be exposed to the water when submerged. Such exposed springs could rust, and/or weaken rover time. In addition, there is much less potential for a swimmer to pinch his/her fingers and toes when using the present retractable ladder.
The present invention provides a retractable boat ladder having an intermediate locking position.
As seen in
Step frame 40 is connected to first support 20 and the pair of second supports 30 such that step frame 40 rotates from the retracted position (
Locking mechanisms 50 hold second supports 30 is the intermediate locked position (
Step frame 40 is connected to the pair of second supports 30 by at least one biasing mechanism 60 that urges retractable boat ladder 10 into its retracted position (
As can also be seen in
An exemplary embodiment for locking mechanism 50 is shown in the cut away view of
Locking mechanism 50 may comprise a rotatable lug 60, and a lug biasing mechanism 70. Lug 60 is dimensioned to mate with an end of second support 30. As will be shown, lug 60 can be rotated from a neutral position (
As will also be explained, lug biasing mechanism 70 urges lug 60 to rotate to its neutral position.
Referring first to
In one novel aspect of the present invention, lug biasing mechanism 70 comprises a pair of magnets that are attracted to one another. Specifically, lug biasing mechanism 70 comprises a magnet 72 mounted in lug 60, and a magnet 74 mounted in bracket 32.
When lug 60 has been rotated to the position shown in
To release step frame 40 from its intermediate position, the user need only move support 30 further in direction R1 (to the fully extended position shown in
Next, as shown in
Eventually, when support 30 has rotated from the position shown in
As can be seen, lug 60 is thus dimensioned to return to the neutral position and release the end of second support 30 when step frame 40 has been rotated from the intermediate locking position (
Claims
1. A retractable boat ladder, comprising:
- a first support;
- a pair of second supports;
- a step frame connected to the first support and the pair of second supports such that the step frame rotates from a retracted position through an intermediate locking position to a fully extended position; and
- a locking mechanism on at least one of the second supports, the locking mechanism holding the second support is an intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from a retracted position to the intermediate locked position, and releasing the second support from the intermediate locked position when the second support has been rotated from the intermediate locked position to a fully extended position.
2. The retractable boat ladder of claim 1, wherein the step frame is connected to the pair of second supports by at least one biasing mechanism that urges the retractable boat ladder into the retracted position.
3. The retractable boat ladder of claim 2, wherein the biasing mechanism is disposed between the step frame and at least one of the second supports, and wherein the biasing mechanism causes the step frame to rotate with respect to the pair of second supports.
4. The retractable boat ladder of claim 3, wherein the biasing mechanism comprises a spring that is isolated from water when the biasing mechanism is submerged.
5. The retractable boat ladder of claim 1, wherein the retractable boat ladder further comprises:
- a bracket at the end of each of the first and second members, and wherein the first and second supports rotate with respect to the brackets.
6. The retractable boat ladder of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:
- a rotatable lug dimensioned to mate with an end of the second support such that the rotatable lug can be rotated from a neutral position into a position to hold the second support in the locked intermediate position; and
- a lug biasing mechanism for rotating the lug to the neutral position.
7. The retractable boat ladder of claim 6, wherein the rotatable lug is dimensioned to return to the neutral position and release the end of the second support when the step frame has been rotated from the intermediate locking position to the fully extended position.
8. The retractable boat ladder of claim 6, wherein the rotatable lug is dimensioned to rotate from the neutral position to a position to permit the step frame to be rotated from the fully extended position to the retracted position.
9. The retractable boat ladder of claim 5, wherein the locking mechanism comprises:
- a rotatable lug connected to the bracket at the end of the second member, the rotatable lug being dimensioned to mate with an end of the second support such that the rotatable lug can be rotated from a neutral position into a position to hold the second support in the locked intermediate position; and
- a lug biasing mechanism for rotating the lug to the neutral position.
10. The retractable boat ladder of claim 9, wherein the lug biasing mechanism comprises:
- a magnet in the rotatable lug; and
- a magnet in the bracket at the end of the second support, wherein the magnets in the rotatable lug and the bracket tend to cause the rotatable lug to rotate to the neutral position.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 21, 2007
Publication Date: Mar 26, 2009
Inventor: Richard E. Thomas (Alta Loma, CA)
Application Number: 11/903,303
International Classification: B63B 27/14 (20060101);