Patent ID: 8931792
Filing Date: 2015-01-13
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A staircase for a vehicle having two sides and a flat bed having a rear end, the staircase comprising: (a) a rigid staircase frame having proximal and distal ends; (b) a rigid bed connector having an arm that is attached to the staircase frame near the proximal end of the staircase frame, the bed connector being pivotably attachable to the vehicle bed so that the bed connector is rotatable between a stowed position in which all portions of the bed connector are above the vehicle bed and a deployed position in which the arm of the bed connector extends outward from the rear end of the vehicle bed, the staircase frame being rotatably attached to the bed connector arm so that when the bed connector is in the deployed position the staircase frame is rotatable between a deployed position in which the distal end of the staircase frame rests on the ground and a retracted position in which the staircase frame is substantially parallel to the vehicle bed, and wherein, when the staircase frame is in the retracted position and the bed connector is in the deployed position, and the bed connector is then rotated to the stowed position while the position of the staircase frame relative to the bed connector is held fixed, the staircase is then in a first stowed position in which all portions of the staircase are above the vehicle bed; and (c) a plurality of steps attached to the staircase frame so that when the bed connector and staircase frame are in the deployed position, the steps are substantially parallel to the ground and a user can walk up the stairs and onto the vehicle bed, wherein when the bed connector and staircase frame are each in the deployed position, each of the steps is approximately the same distance from a notional vertical plane passing through the rear end of the vehicle bed.