Patent ID: 9447637
Filing Date: 2016-09-20
CPC Classification: E04F,E06C

Claim Text:
1. A foldable ladder for providing access to an opening, said foldable ladder comprising: a first motorized drive mechanism configured to move a cover for the opening between a closed position and an open position; a second motorized drive mechanism coupled to a plurality of foldable ladder portions, the second motorized drive mechanism configured to move the foldable ladder portions between a folded configuration and an unfolded configuration, wherein: the first motorized drive mechanism, while moving the cover from the closed position to the open position, is configured to trigger the second motorized drive mechanism to move the ladder portions from the folded configuration to the unfolded configuration, and the second motorized drive mechanism is configured to trigger the first motorized drive mechanism to move the cover from the open position to the closed position as the ladder portions move from the unfolded configuration to the folded configuration; and wherein, the plurality of foldable ladder portions comprises: a first portion fixable to the cover; a second portion configured to fold between the folded configuration and the unfolded configuration about a first hinge connecting the second portion to the first portion; a third portion configured to fold between the folded configuration and the unfolded configuration about a second hinge connecting the third portion to the second portion; a cable that is coupled from the third portion, through a guidepiece affixed to the second portion, to the first portion such that the third portion moves concurrently with the second portion between the folded configuration and the unfolded configuration; wherein the second motorized drive mechanism comprises a rack and a pinion, wherein the rack is configured to translate and drive a rotation of the pinion which directly rotates the second ladder portion with respect to the first ladder portion to move the foldable ladder portions between the folded configuration and the unfolded configuration; and wherein each of the first, second and third portions comprises a set of rungs.