Abstract:
A bracket is attachable to the side of a boat or dock and a latch is removably coupled to said bracket. The latch is pivotally attached to the upper end of a boat ladder so that the ladder can swing and can be adjustably angled with respect to the dock or boat when it is latched onto the bracket.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   This invention is directed toward providing a mounting device for pivotably coupling a boat boarding ladder to a support structure such as a boat or a dock so that the ladder can be placed at an angle to the support structure and can swing with respect to the support structure if necessary. The ladder can be easily and readily coupled to or uncoupled from the mounting device. 
   DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
   There are a number of commercially available boat or dock boarding ladders which are releasably attachable to the side of a boat or a dock. They are especially useful for divers who may need to climb into the boat or on to the dock with a full load of diving gear. Some of these prior art boarding ladders have the conventional spaced-apart support members with steps held between the support members with the upper ends of the support members curved or hooked for grasping onto the gunwale or some other convenient part of the boat. Other commercially available boarding ladders may have a single centrally located support with the steps longitudinally spaced and extending outward from both sides of the support member with the upper end of the support member having a quick release attachment to a bracket which is attached to the side of the boat or dock. A more recent development is a compactable or foldable boat ladder which can be used for boarding purposes which has a pair of centrally located elongated supports with the steps or rungs pivotally engaged with the supports in such a fashion that by moving one of the supports longitudinally with respect to the other, the steps are swung outward for use or inward to compact the ladder for storage. In the past these also have had a quick release attachment to a bracket which is mounted on the side of the boat or dock. In all of these cases the ladder extends directly vertically downward from the bracket or generally parallel to the side of the boat or dock which sometimes makes it cumbersome or awkward for climbing into the boat or onto the dock. Further, if there is some heavy seas the waves impacting the boat can impact the ladder with a force that the ladder may be ripped away from its mounting to the boat or dock. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention uses a bracket which is attached to the supporting structure such as the side of a boat or dock which provides for an easy attachment to and quick release from its attachment. The bracket has a front plate with a vertical slot for engaging a generally planar latching member. The latching member is pivotally engaged to the upper end of a boat boarding ladder so that the boarding ladder may be free to swing with respect to the side of the boat or dock while coupled to the mounting bracket so that if some relatively strong waves occur while the ladder is down the ladder can swing with respect to the boat or the dock while remaining attached, i.e., will less likely break away. As a further feature, the latching member has a cutout portion and an adjustable stop member is attached to the ladder support for resting against the cutout to hold the ladder at an angle with respect to the side of the boat or dock to make it more convenient to climb up, e.g., for a diver, with full dive gear. Yet a further feature is that the stop member can be adjustably positioned to change the angle at which the ladder rests to adjust to various boat transom angles, thereby avoiding the need to use shims. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective partly blown-apart view of a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional side view of the boarding ladder engaged with the mounting bracket; 
       FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  showing the boarding ladder disengaged from the mounting bracket; and 
       FIG. 4  is an illustration of a commercially available foldable compactable boat ladder for use with the mounting bracket; and 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the same ladder as in  FIG. 4  unmounted and partially compacted or folded. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Mounted to the side of a boat or a dock  10  is a mounting bracket  11 . Bracket  11  is secured to the boat or dock in some conventional fashion such as by bolts  12  with its back resting against the side of the boat dock  10 . The bracket has a rearward section  8  with an open top elongated vertical recess  16  and a forwardly spaced front plate  14  which has a corresponding generally centrally located elongated vertical slot  15 . A pair of planar vertically disposed latch plates  20  have vertical grooves  20 A located toward their back or aft ends for slidably engaging slot  15  in bracket  11 . When the latch plates  20  are inserted into slots  15  of bracket  11  a locking pin  9  may be inserted through a suitable cross slot  17  in bracket  11  to engage openings  18  in latch plates  20  to releasably lock latch plates  20  in place onto bracket  11 . 
   The drawings illustrate the mounting apparatus used in conjunction with a foldable or compactable boat or dock loading ladder  19 . This type of ladder is more clearly described in co-pending application Ser. No. 10/438,394 titled “COMPACTABLE BOAT LADDER” filed May 16, 2003. The ladder center support comprises a pair of centrally located elongated rigid tubular members  27  and  28 . Preferably each of the ladder support members  27  and  28  comprises a pair of rigid tubes including a back member  27 A and  28 A and front member  27 B and  28 B, respectively. Ladder rungs or steps  29  are longitudinally spaced along the support members  27  and  28  and are pivotably attached to both the front and back members  27 A and  27 B and  28 A and  28 B at  31 . The arrangement is such that when one of the support members is moved lengthwise with respect to the other support member the rungs or steps  29  are swung about their respective pivot points  31  to extend outward sideways from the support members  27  and  28  for use and when the support member is moved longitudinally in the opposite direction the steps swing inward to rest in the areas between the front and back members  27 A and  27 B and  28 A and  28 B so that the ladder is folded or compacted for storage. To use the mounting apparatus described hereinabove with a foldable or compactable ladder, a plate  30  is fixedly attached between the front and back members  27 A and  27 B and  28 A and  28 B of support members  27  and  28 . Each plate  30  is pivotally attached at  21  to a corresponding latch plate  20  so that when the ladder is in the use position and latch plates  20  coupled to bracket  11 , the ladder  19  is pivotally attached to bracket  11  and to the boat or dock  10 . 
   Preferably the front ends or the outward edges of latching members  20  are arcuate as shown at  23  and at least one has a cutout at  24 . A stop member  25 , which may be in the form of a threaded bolt, may be threaded into at least one of the plates  30  and extend out to engage cutout  24 . The plate  30  may have a series of partially threaded holes  26  for stop member  25  so it can be moved to different positions as desired. The point at which the stop member  25  strikes or rests against cutout  24  determines the angle at which ladder  19  rests with respect to the bracket  11  and therefore with respect to the boat or dock. Typically, stop member  25  may have three different mounting openings  26  which will locate the ladder at rest at those different angles with respect to the side of the boat or dock  10 . The location of openings  26 , and therefore the angle at which the ladder rests, is a matter of choice by the user. The pivotal attachment of the ladder to the dock or boat provides the benefit of being able to adjust the angle which the ladder makes with respect to the boat or dock for the convenience of the user. Also, if the ladder is down and there are some heavy waves or if attached to a boat and the boat moves, it allows the ladder to swing to protect against it being torn away from the boat or dock. Yet the ladder can be easily and fairly readily coupled to the mounting bracket for use and disengaged from the bracket for storage.