Stowable boat ladder

Abstract

A ladder used for recreational water activities is pivotally attached at one end to be swung by a user between a stowed position resting on a supporting platform such as boat deck or dock to a deployed use position extending downward at an edge of the platform with potential finger pinching hazards eliminated and at a convenient angle for use.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed toward a boat ladder for recreational water activities which is pivotably or swingably attached to a supporting platform such as a boat deck or a dock and which is stowed or stored when not in use by lying on the boat deck and is deployed for use by swinging it over the edge and downward from the boat deck into or toward the water.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Ladders of the type with which this invention is concerned conventionally have a pair of elongated laterally spaced parallel rigid support members with a step or steps or rungs attached therebetween. Oftentimes the ladder is expandable so it can be lengthened by having sections telescopically engaged with one another to provide additional steps or rungs for climbing into and or out of a boat or off or onto a dock when the ladder is deployed for use. Pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/824729 by the same inventor as the instant application describes a boat ladder of this nature which is stowed or stored by lying on the boat deck and is deployed for use by sliding it outward beyond the edge of the deck and pivotally swinging it downward toward or into the water. The present invention is a ladder which is similarly stowed by resting it on the boat deck or dock or platform but is deployed for use by pivotally raising it from the stowed position and swinging it outward and downward over the edge of the boat deck or dock. A matter of concern in the recreational boat industry is safety. A particular concern is in the area of safety features on boat accessories such as boat ladders and especially with regard to finger pinching when a boat ladder is being used.

An aim of the present invention is to minimize if not completely eliminate the danger of finger pinching that may occur when swinging the ladder between the stored and deployed positions or when using the ladder to climb up or down.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A pair of channeled brackets or gudgeons are latterally spaced from one another on a boat deck or other supporting platforms and each of the ladder longitudinal support members is pivotally attached at one end to an end of a respective gudgeon at about the outer edge of the boat deck so that the ladder can be raised from its stowed position and swung upward and then outward and downward over the deck edge when deployed for use. Each of the ladder support members is covered at the pivoted end with a cap made of some suitable plastic material. The cap serves multiple functions. For one, it covers the somewhat sharp end of the support member and, for another, it fills the space between the support member and the sides of its associated channeled gudgeon to eliminate any space in that area which otherwise is a potentially dangerous area for finger pinching. In addition, the cap provides a glide surface between the support member and the gudgeon when the ladder is pivoted. Also, the caps have an attached rigid plate or band which operates in conjunction with stops on the gudgeons to hold the ladder at the desired deployed angle. As a further safety feature, in the area of the pivot connection an elongated or enlarged gap or opening in the bottom plate of the gudgeon is formed to minimize or eliminate danger to the user's finger when the ladder is pivotally swung or is being used to climb into or out of the boat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the invention showing a ladder in the stored or stowed position;

FIG. 2 is top view of an embodiment of the invention showing the ladder deployed for use;

FIG. 3 is a plan or front view of a deployed ladder;

FIG. 4 is a side partial breakaway perspective view of a deployed ladder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Although the following describes the invention as used on a boat it should be understood that the description apples equally as well to a dock or other supporting platforms that might utilize a ladder of this nature for recreational water activities. Conventionally a boat ladder 10 has a pair of spaced apart elongated rigid support members 11 with a step or rung 12 attached therebetween. The ladder can be made expandable by extensions telescopically engaged in the support members 11 to provide additional steps or rungs 12. A pair of laterally spaced apart bracket members or gudgeons 13 are fixed in some convenient and conventional fashion, such as by bolts through openings 20, to the top of a deck 14 of a boat, shown in partial dashed line form. In the stowed or stored position, as illustrated in FIG. 1, ladder 10 rests in part on deck 14 and on gudgeons 13. Gudgeons 13 are mounted on deck 14 so that their outer ends are located just beyond the outer edge of deck 14. The ends of the ladder support members 11 where they are pivotally coupled to gudgeons 13 are covered over with a cap 15. Caps 15 are preferably made of high density polyethylene. Each of the gudgeons 13 has a bottom plate 16 and a pair of laterally spaced sidewalls 17 extending upward from base 16 forming a channeled member and in the stowed or stored position each of the ladder support members 11 rests in part within the channel of a respective gudgeon. The sidewalls 17 of the gudgeons 13 are formed with a pair of spaced apart raised sections or ears 17A at one end which can be designated as the outer end. Ladder 10 is pivotally attached by pivot pin 19 extending between the ears 17A of each gudgeon 13 and passing through an associated support member 11 whereby the ladder 10 can be swung as desired between the rest or stowed position on the boat deck, as shown in FIG. 1, to the deployed position extending over the edge of the deck and downward into or toward the water, as shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3. Cap 15 fills the space between the ear member 17A and the associated support member 11 thereby eliminating any hazardous finger pinching area when the user is deploying the ladder outward for use or swinging it back in for storage or using it to climb into or out of the boat. Also cap 15 provides a glide surface between the metal elements of the ears 17A and support member 11 to prevent the metal pieces from grinding or scraping against one another.

As a further safety feature, the opening 21 in the bottom plate 16 of gudgeon 13 which allows the ladder to be swung between the stowed and deployed positions is significantly enlarged thereby eliminating another potential finger pinching hazard.

As a further utilitarian feature embedded or in some suitable fashion securely attached to Caps 15 are rigid transverse bands or plates 23 and a pair of rigid stop members 24 are formed or in some fashion suitably attached to the interior of the gudgeon side walls 17 at about ears 17A. Band 23 and stop members 24 are located so that when the ladder 10 is deployed as it reaches the desired angle for deployment, plates or bands 23 contact the associated stop members 24 to hold the ladder at the desired deployed angle down from the boat deck. Since this stopping arrangement is located inward from the deployed ladder there is no finger pinching danger to the user when he or she deploys the ladder for use or uses the ladder to climb in or out of the boat.

Claims

1. An extendable stowable boat ladder, comprising:

a) a boat ladder having a pair of laterally spaced rigid elongated ladder support members with at least one rung attached therebetween;

b) a pair of laterally spaced rigid gudgeons fixedly mounted on a boat deck;

c) each of said gudgeons having a bottom wall for resting on the boat deck and a pair of sidewalls extending upward from each side of said bottom wall;

d) each of said ladder support members having a cap fixedly attached at one end;

e) each of said ladder support members pivotally attached to a respective one of said gudgeons by a pivot pin extending between said gudgeon sidewalls at about the capped end of said support members, for swinging the ladder between a stowed position resting on a support platform and a deployed position over an edge of the support platform;

f) said cap filling the space between the gudgeon side walls and the support member and providing a glide surface between the gudgeon side walls and the ladder support member.

2. The extendable stowable boat ladder as described in claim 1 wherein each of said gudgeons has an extended finger relief cutout area in its bottom wall at about the pivot end.

3. The extendable stowable boat ladder as described in claim 1. wherein said gudgeons and said ladder support members are made of metal and said caps are made of plastic material to provide a glide surface between the metal parts.

4. The extendable stowable boat ladder as described in claim 1. further including: a transverse rigid band attached to said cap and rigid stop members attached to the interior of said gudgeon side walls, said band resting against said stop members when said ladder is in the deployed position.