Abstract:
A bracket to hold a boarding ladder to a boat. A quick release mechanism for both the ladder and the bracket itself are disclosed. A mounting plate is substantially flush with the side of the boat. The bracket slides down into the mounting plate and latches into place. The bracket accepts the upper bar of a boarding ladder and closes a latch over the bar, holding the ladder in place. To remove the ladder, a latch at the top of the bracket is lifted and the ladder can be easily pulled free. To free the bracket from the mounting plate after the ladder has been removed, the latch is lifted and the bracket can be lifted out.

Description:
The present invention relates to a bracket to hold a boarding stairs to a boat. The invention provides a quick release mechanism for both the stairs and the bracket itself. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Boats often provide removable stairs to ease boarding. The stairs are designed to be removed when the boat leaves dock and is underway. Many boarding stairs are mounted to the boat by a bracket. These brackets stick out from the boat and it is desirable to remove the protruding bracket to avoid damaging the bracket and the area of the boat where the bracket is mounted during docking or when coming alongside another boat. 
   Existing boarding stairs brackets do not provide an easy means to release the stairs. Most conventional boarding stairs have a half-inch steel bar horizontally across the top of the stairs. The bar must be inserted through the stairs and through holes in the mounting bracket, then secured with cotter pins or nuts to keep the bar from sliding out. However, aligning the bar with the holes in the stairs and the bracket, while a boat is rocking in the water by a dock, is a difficult and frustrating endeavor. Moreover, the cotter pins or nuts that secure the bar can be very easily dropped and lost in the harbor water. In addition, many brackets are held to the boat by a mounting plate, allowing removal of the bracket. When the bracket is removed, the mounting plate does not protrude substantially from the boat, thereby avoiding potential damage to the boat when it comes along side a dock or another boat. The mounting plate screws to the side of the boat and is substantially flush. A vertical slot in the mounting plate accepts the bracket and a pin is inserted through a slot in the mounting plate and a hole in the bracket to hold the bracket in place. As with the boarding stairs mounting bar, the pins securing the bracket to the mounting plate are very easily dropped and lost during the removal process. Additionally, the mounting plate&#39;s vertical slot for the bracket requires several inches of free space above the mounting plate so the bracket can be dropped in. The bracket must be mounted high on the side of the boat, close to the level of the deck, so that the top stair will not require too great a last step for boarding. However, many boats have lips, rub rails, and other features that extend beyond the side of the boat, making it difficult to locate the mounting plate close to the level of the deck but also provide enough free space above the mounting plate for the bracket to be dropped in. For this reason, boats with such features cannot use releaseable boarding stairs brackets, but must rely on permanently fixed brackets. As noted above, this is undersirable, because the bracket protrudes beyond the side of the boat; the protruding bracket can be torn away during docking or coming alongside another boat, thereby damaging the hull, or it can damage other boats. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   It is one object of the present invention to provide a boarding stairs bracket that provides an easy and quick release mechanism for removal of the stairs. It is another object of the present invention to provide a boarding stairs bracket with an integral latch that does not rely on extra parts, such as pins or nuts, to secure the stairs to the bracket. It is another object of the present invention to provide a boarding stairs bracket that is itself easily and quickly released from the boat. It is another object of the present invention to provide a boarding stairs bracket with an integral latch that does not rely on extra parts, such as pins, to secure the bracket to the boat. It is another object of the present invention to provide a boarding stairs bracket that allows removal of the bracket from the mounting plate without requiring much, if any, free space above the mounting plate. 
   In accordance with these objectives, the present invention provides a quick release mechanism for both the stairs and the bracket itself. A mounting plate is substantially flush with the side of the boat. The bracket slides down into the mounting plate and latches into place. The bracket accepts the upper bar of a boarding stairs in a slot, and a latch closes over the bar, holding the stairs in place. To remove the stairs, the latch at the top of the bracket is pivoted and the stairs can be easily and quickly lifted free. With the latch pivoted to the open position and the stairs removed, the bracket can be easily and quickly lifted from the mounting plate. The mounting plate has openings and the bracket has corresponding tabs so that the bracket can be inserted horizontally into the mounting plate then dropped and latched into place. This design s effectively eliminates the need for free space above the mounting plate for insertion of the bracket. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the bracket and an exploded view of the mounting plate. 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded view of the bracket. 
       FIG. 3   a  is a front view of the front plate of the mounting plate.  FIG. 3   b  is a top view of the front plate of the mounting plate.  FIG. 3   c  is a front view of the back plate of the mounting plate.  FIG. 3   d  is a top view of the back plate of the mounting plate.  FIG. 3   e  is a front view of the mounting plate assembly.  FIG. 3   f  is a top view of the mounting plate assembly. 
       FIG. 4   a  is a top view of the bracket and mounting plate assembly.  FIG. 4   b  is a front view of the bracket and mounting plate assembly.  FIG. 4   c  is a side view of the bracket and mounting plate assembly, showing the latches in the locked position.  FIG. 4   d  is a side view of the bracket and mounting plate assembly mounted to a boat just below a rub rail, showing the latches in the open position, and showing the bracket separated from the mounting plate. 
       FIGS. 5   a, b  and  c  show the steps of dropping the boarding stairs into the bracket. 
       FIGS. 6   a  and  b  show the steps of pulling the boarding stairs up and out of the bracket. 
   

   DESCRIPTION 
     FIG. 1  shows the bracket assembly  10  and an exploded view of the mounting plate  27 . The bracket  10  has tabs  14  on its back surface. A cross slot  52  in the opening  24  forms a chamber  23  between the front  21  and rear  22  plates of the mounting plate assembly  27 . Holes  26  in the mounting plate  27  accept screws  25  to fasten the mounting plate  27  to a boat (not shown). As indicated by arrow  28 , the tabs  14  on the back of the bracket  10  allow the bracket  10  to be inserted horizontally into the chamber  23  of the mounting plate  27 , then the bracket  10  drops into place. As more fully described below, a top latch  11  can be pivoted, dropping a finger  15 , allowing a bottom latch  12  to pivot, thereby permitting the bracket  10  to be inserted or removed from the mounting plate  27 . 
     FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the parts of the bracket  10 . Sides  31  and  32  have tabs  14  that align with corresponding tabs  37  on a back plate  36 . The sides  31  and  32  are joined to the back plate  36  by any conventional means, such as welding or securing the parts with fasteners, such as screws. Alternatively, the sides  31  and  32  and he back plate  36  can be manufactured as a single piece by a molding or machining process. The sides  31  and  32  sandwich latches  11  and  12 . Top latch  11  pivots on a screw  44 . The screw  44  extends through a hole  43  in side plate  31 , through a pivot hole  46  in latch  11 , and is received by threaded hole  45  in side plate  32 . Bottom latch  12  pivots on a screw  38 . The screw  38  extends through a hole  40  in side plate  31 , through the pivot hole  41  in latch  12 , and is received by threaded hole  39  in side plate  32 . Screws  44  and  38  may be permanently secured in side plate  32  by welding or riveting. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that screws  44  and  38  may be substituted by any appropriate axle, such as rivets or pins or the like, for the top  11  and bottom  12  latches. Top latch  11  has a finger  15 . Bottom latch  12  has a step  35 , a top finger  34 , and a bottom finger  33 . As seen in  FIG. 4   c , a slot  42  in the bracket  10  can receive a boarding stairs bar ( 62 , as seen in FIGS.  5  and  6 ).  FIG. 4   c  shows the top  11  and bottom  12  latches in the closed position, with top latch finger  15  across the top of the slot  42 , barring beveled opening  47  of the slot  42 , and bottom latch finger  33  extending horizontally across and out from the bottom of the bracket, locking the bracket  10  at the bottom of the mounting plate  27 .  FIG. 4   d  shows the top  11  and bottom  12  latches in the position allowing the bracket  10  to be inserted into or freed from the mounting plate  27 .  FIG. 4   d  shows that the bracket can be releaseably mounted to the boat immediately below a rub rail  18 . The mounting plate  27  is shown screwed to a boat&#39;s hull  17 , almost immediately below a rub rail  18 , which is adjacent the deck  19 . Arrow  16  shows that the bracket  10  may be inserted into the mounting plate  27  horizontally. The lower tab  14  fits into the cross opening  52  of the mounting plate opening, and the bracket  10  can then drop into the chamber  23  and rest on the seat ( 53 , as seen in  FIG. 3   a ). With this arrangement, it is possible to mount the bracket almost immediately the rub rail  18 , which allows the boarding stairs to be mounted high enough so that the top stair is an easy step to the deck  19 . To remove the bracket  10 , top latch  11  is pivoted forward and finger  15  is allowed to pivot inward. Without the stairs mounting bar ( 62 , as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) in the slot  42 , bottom latch  12  can pivot inward, dipping step  35  to receive the finger  15  of the top latch  11 . In turn, bottom finger  33  pivots down and away, allowing the bracket  10  to be lifted and pulled out from the mounting plate  27 . In the preferred embodiment disclosed here, the top  11  and bottom  12  latches cooperate; that is, the step  35  in bottom latch  12  provides a stop for the top  11  and bottom  12  latches. However, after considering the invention disclosed here, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many other latch designs can be employed which fall within the scope of the invention. For example, top  11  and bottom  12  latches could be operated independent of each other, or a single latch could secure both the boarding stairs mounting bar ( 62 , as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) and the bracket  10 . With respect to the latter, while such a latch design is a contemplated embodiment of the invention, the preferred embodiment shown has the advantage of preventing the bracket  10  from being inadvertently pulled out of the mounting plate  27  when the boarding stairs mounting bar ( 62 , as seen in  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) is lifted free. 
     FIGS. 3   a-f  show the mounting bracket. Front plate  21  has a chamber portion  29  with an opening  24 . A cross opening  52  gives the opening  24  a cross shape. The front plate  21  is mated with a back plate  22  to form the mounting plate assembly  27 . When the front plate  21  is mounted to the back plate  22 , the chamber portion  29  forms a chamber  23 . Holes  26  in the plates  21  and  22  allow the mounting plate  27  to be secured to a boat (not shown) with any suitable fasteners, such as screws ( 25 , as seen in FIG.  1 ). It will be appreciated that, when mounted to a boat, the back plate  22  is not needed for securing the bracket  10  in the mounting plate chamber  29 . However, the back plate  22  keeps the bracket  10  from rubbing against and damaging the boat. It will also be appreciated that the back  22  and front  21  plates forming the mounting plate assembly  27  can be manufactured as a single piece by molding or machining. Additionally, the back plate  22  of the mounting bracket  27  need not form a solid piece; it is sufficient that if a back portion is incorporated it separates the bracket  10  from the boat. A bevel  51  at the top of the opening  24  eases insertion of the bracket ( 10 , as seen in FIG.  1 ). As shown in  FIG. 1 , the tabs  14  on the back of the bracket  10  allow it to be first inserted horizontally into the cross openings  52  of the mounting plate  27 , then dropped vertically in the opening  24  where the notch ( 30 , as seen in  FIG. 2 ) in the bracket  10  rests on the seat  53  at the bottom of the opening  24  of the mounting plate  27 . The tabs  14  and cross openings  52  make it possible to insert the bracket  10  horizontally into the mounting plate  27 , thereby substantially reducing the free space needed above the mounting plate  27  for vertical insertion. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the beveled opening  51  of the mounting bracket  27  could be shaped to form a cross opening, which would allow the upper tab  14  to be inserted horizontally into the mounting plate  27  without the need for any free space above it. 
     FIGS. 5   a-c  and  6   a-b  show the boarding stairs mounting and releasing processes. The top frame of a boarding stair  61  has a bar  62  that extends out from the frame  61 . As indicated by arrow  63  in  FIG. 5   a , the bar  62  is dropped into the beveled opening  47  of the bracket slot  42 .  FIG. 5   b  shows that the bar  62  pushes down the finger ( 15 , as seen in  FIG. 5   c ), which pivots the top latch  11 .  FIG. 5   c  shows that the bar  62  comes to a rest at the bottom of the slot  42 , and the top latch can be pivoted back up, where finger  15  keeps the bar  62  in the bracket slot  42 , thereby securing the boarding stairs. It will be appreciated that, when the boarding stairs are in place, the bar  62  keeps the bottom latch  12  from pivoting, thereby locking the bracket  10  to the mounting plate  27 .  FIGS. 6   a  and  b  show the process of removing the boarding stairs from the bracket  10 . The top latch  11  is pivoted inward so that the finger  15  swivels down and back to clear the slot  42 . The boarding stairs  61  are lifted up and out of the slot  42 . As the bar  62  passes the top latch  11 , it pushes the latch  11  back up as it passes. 
   As discussed above, the mounting bracket  27  and bracket&#39;s sides,  31  and  32 , and back  36  can be manufactured by assembling them from separate parts, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that they can be molded or machined or otherwise fabricated as single pieces. It will also be appreciated that the top  11  and bottom  12  latches incorporated into the bracket  10  could be incorporated into the mounting plate  27 . Because the bracket  10  and mounting plate  27  are intended for marine use, it is preferable to construct them out of non-corrosive materials, such as aluminum, stainless steel, plastics, or other similar materials. 
   The drawings and description set forth here represent only some embodiments of the invention. After considering these, skilled persons will understand that there are many ways to make a boarding stairs bracket according to the principles disclosed. The inventors contemplate that the use of alternative structures, materials, or manufacturing techniques, which result in a boarding stairs bracket according to the principles disclosed, will be within the scope of the invention.