Patent ID: 9540838
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: E04H,E06B

Claim:
1. A removable and positionable access panel for use with a horizontal opening in a floor, the horizontal opening having longitudinal edges, the longitudinal edges having sides and recesses incorporated in the sides of the longitudinal edges of the horizontal opening, the access panel comprising a parallel array of members arranged along a longitudinal axis, and the parallel array of members comprising a first end member and an opposed second end member, wherein a lateral extent (W) of the parallel array corresponds to a lateral extent (D) of the horizontal opening and a spacing between the first and the second end members of the parallel array defines a longitudinal length (L) of the panel, the parallel array of members, including the first end member, a plurality of intermediate members and the second end member, all lying in a single plane when the access panel is covering the horizontal opening in the floor, and the access panel comprises at least two pantograph units extending between the first and the second end members, each member in the parallel array being pivotally linked to each pantograph unit, a combination of the members in the parallel array and the pantograph units forming a rigid planar structure which prevents inadvertent entry into the horiztonal opening and enabling the longitudinal length (L) of the panel to be varied between a first configuration, in which the panel has a minimum length (L