Abstract:
A pull out step which can be extended directly to the rear of a pickup truck makes it possible to step from the ground to the tread of the step and then to the tailgate of the truck. A bracket attached to a trailer hitch on the truck slidably supports a beam which supports the tread and allows the beam to be locked in either the extended or retracted positions. For use with trucks having an unusually high chassis, the beam may include a gooseneck to lower the elevation of the tread to approximately one half the elevation of the tailgate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to devices for assisting in mounting and dismounting from a motor vehicle and, more particularly, to a pull out step to provide access to the tailgate of a truck. 
     Pull out steps which provide access to the side of a truck have been used in the past. Such steps are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,458 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,064. Such steps do not provide access to a truck&#39;s tailgate. The device described is U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,064 is intended to give a user the ability to enter the bed of a pickup truck by means of a pull out step mounted on the front spring hanger of the truck&#39;s rear axle and thus located near the front of the pickup truck bed. Such a device has the disadvantage of requiring the user, while standing on the pull out step with one foot, to lift his other foot over the side of the pickup truck bed. Such a maneuver is awkward and may be dangerous, particularly if the user is carrying an object in his hands. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a detachable pull out step adapted for attachment to a trailer hitch located under the bed of a pickup truck. The step tread is attached to a beam which slidably a telescopically engages a bracket which is attached to the trailer hitch. When the beam is extended to the rear of the truck, the tread extends past the rear of the tailgate when the tailgate is in the horizontal position, thus permitting a person to step from the ground to the tread and then to the tailgate in the manner in which one normally climbs stairs. Locking means is provided to secure the beam in both the extended and retracted positions. The tread is provided with a slip resistant upper surface and with a rubber bumper around the edge. A gooseneck may be provided between the beam and the tread so that the elevation of the tread above the ground will be substantially half the elevation of the tailgate when it is in the horizontal position. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of one embodiment of the pull out step attached to a pickup truck. 
     FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the pull out step and truck shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of one embodiment of the bracket used to mount the step on a trailer hitch. 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view of the bracket shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevation view of the bracket shown in FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevation view of the step tread and supporting beam of the pull out step shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 is a plan view of the tread and beam shown in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 8 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the bracket and of a trailer hitch to which it is attached. 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a second embodiment of the step tread and beam. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pull out step  10  attached to a pickup truck  12  which is equipped with a trailer hitch  14 . The pull out step includes a tread  16 , a beam  18 , and a bracket  20 . As is shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bracket  20  is comprised of an open ended box which includes a first side wall  22 , a second side wall  24 , a bottom  26 , and a top  28 . The bracket  20  also includes a first flange  30  and a second flange  32 . The two flanges are spaced apart sufficiently to permit a standard trailer hitch  14  to fit between them in the manner shown in FIG.  1 . The flanges  30  and  32  are provided with first bolt holes  34  and  34 ′ respectively. Bolt holes  34  and  34 ′ have a common axis and are spaced above the top  28  sufficiently to aline with the holes that are commonly provided in conventional trailer hitches. The flanges  30  and  32  are also provided with second bolt holes  36  and  36 ′ respectively. As is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, bolt holes  36  and  36 ′ have a common axis and are spaced above the tope  28  sufficiently to permit a bolt  38  which passes through them to lie directly above the trailer hitch  14 . It is contemplated that bolt holes  36  and  36 ′ will be utilized only with trailer hitches which are not provided with holes that will aline with bolt holes  34  and  34 ′. 
     The bracket  20  is further provided with a spring loaded pin  40  mounted on the side wall  22  by means of an angle plate  42 . The spring  44  urges the pin  40  through a hole  46  in side wall  22  in order to lock the beam  18  in either the extended or retracted position. As is shown in FIG. 6, beam  18  is provided with a first hole  48  near the proximal end  50  of the beam  18  which engages the pin  40  when the beam is in the extended position, as shown in FIG. 1. A second hole  52  near the distal end  54  of the beam  18  engages the pin  40  when the beam is in the retracted position. 
     As is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the tread  16  is attached to the beam  18  by a bolt  56 . A nut  58  is provided to space the tread  16  away from the beam  18  to permit the tread to pass over the top  28  of the bracket  20  when the step is in the retracted position. A handle  60  is affixed to the tread  16  to facilitate pulling the pull out step  10  into the extended position. As is shown in FIGS. 5,  6  and  7 , this handle  60  may consist of a rectangular plate welded to the bottom of the tread  16 . For safety, a pin  59  is affixed near the proximal end  50  of the beam  18  to prevent the beam from being pulled completed out of the bracket  20 . 
     As is also shown in FIGS. 5,  6  and  7 , the tread  16  consists of a circular metal plate which is provided with a diamond pattern  61  on its upper surface to reduce the risk of slipping. A rubber ring  62  is attached to the periphery of the tread  16  to reduce the risk of a user being injured by striking the edge of the tread. 
     It will be understood that, with a pull out step having a bracket  20  as shown in FIGS. 3,  4  and  5 , the beam  18  will extend directly to the rear of the truck  12  only if the trailer hitch  14  is perpendicular to the direction of travel of the truck. However, some trailer hitches form an oblique angle to the direction of track of the vehicles to which they are attached. Trailer hitch  64  shown in FIG. 8 is of this type. The embodiment of my invention shown in FIG. 8 is suited for use with such a trailer hitch. In this embodiment, the flanges  66  and  68  are attached to the top  70  of the bracket  72  at oblique angle A so that the beam  18  will extend directly to the rear of the truck to which the trailer hitch  64  is attached. The bolt hole  74  in flange  66  is spaced away from the centerline of flange  66  the distance of ½ d tan A where d is the distance between flange  66  and flange  68 , and bolt hole  76  in flange  68  is spaced away from the centerline of flange  68  an equal distance on the opposite side of the centerline so that bolt  78  passes through bolt holes  74  and  76  perpendicular to both flanges and crosses the centerline of the bracket  72  half way between the two flanges. The other parts of the bracket  72  are identical to those of bracket  20  as shown in FIGS. 3,  4  and  5  and the beam  18  and tread used with this second embodiment of my invention are as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 
     In operation, the elevation of the tread  16  above the ground should be approximately one half the elevation of the tailgate  80  of the pickup truck  12 . With most pickup trucks, this will be accomplished by the embodiments of my invention which are described above. However, this will not be true for a pickup truck having an unusually high chassis. FIG. 9 shows a modification of the previously described beam  18  and tread  16  for use with such a pickup truck. In this embodiment the beam  18  includes near the distal end  54  a gooseneck comprised of a vertical section  82  and a horizontal section  84 . The length of vertical section  82  is sufficient to bring the elevation of tread  16  to approximately one half the elevation of the tailgate (not shown) when the pull out step is mounted as previously described. In this embodiment, the nut  58  shown in the embodiment depicted in FIG. 6 is omitted because it is not necessary to space the tread  16  away from the beam  18 . In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, the tread  16  does not pass over the top  28  of the bracket  20  when the step is in the retracted position. 
     In the pull out step shown in FIGS. 1-6, I have found it desirable to utilize for the tread  16  a steel plated 0.48 cm. (0.19 inches) thick and 15.24 cm. (6 inches) in diameter with the beam  18  being 91.44 cm. (3 feet) in length and comprised of a section of square steel pipe 3.81 cm. (1.5 inches) on a side with walls 0.32 cm. (0.13 inches) in thickness. With respect to the bracket  20 , I have found it desirable to construct the walls  22  and  24 , the bottom  26  and the top  28  of steel plates 0.64 cm. (0.25 inches) in thickness, 5.08 cm. (2 inches) wide and 20.23 cm. (8 inches) long, with the flanges  30  and  32  comprised of steel plates 0.48 cm. (0.19 inches) thick and 10.16 cm. (4 inches) high. These dimensions can, of course, be varied to accommodate the anticipated use of the device. Many other changes and modifications in the above-described embodiments of the invention can also be carried out without departing from the scope thereof.