IMPROVEMENTS IN STEP LADDERS FOR CARRIAGES
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Bevan and Henry Hallam, trading as Lowe,
Sleigh, Bevan, and Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Manufacturers, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEP LADDERS FOR
CARRIAGES."
Sealed the 15th February 1878, and dated the 3rd September 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Bevan and Henry
Hallam at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 3rd September
1877.
CHARLES BEVAN and HENRY HALLAM, trading as Lowe, Sleigh, Bevan, and
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEP LADDERS FOR CARRIAGES."
Our Invention consists in constructing and combining the parts of step ladders
for carriages in the manner herein-after described.
Our Invention is especially applicable to mail phaetons and other high carriages,
but may also be applied to other kinds of carriages for assisting ladies and other
persons in ascending to or descending from the said carriages.
Our Invention is useful where it is not convenient to fix steps, or where steps of
the ordinary kind project an inconvenient distance from the carriage.
According to our Invention we make the step ladder of a series of pairs of legs
or side bars; each pair of legs or side bars being furnished with a tread. The
several pairs of legs or side bars, with their treads, are so jointed together as to be
capable of being folded within one another, and the folded ladder is capable of being
folded within a box-like frame, closed at bottom, to which frame the top pair of legs
or side bars is jointed. This box-like frame is jointed to a similarly formed box-
like frame, which is permanently connected by arms to the carriage.
The bottom of the first-described frame, which contains the folded ladder, forms
when the ladder is in use the top step of the said ladder. The ladder is taper, being

page_text: narrower at bottom than at top for the purpose of permitting the several pairs of
side bars and their treads to fold within one another. Thus, the tops of the lowest
pair of side bars are jointed to the bottoms of the inner sides of the pair of wider
side bars above them, and in a similar way the second pair of side bars from the
The treads
bottom is jointed to the pair of wider side bars above them, and so on.
of the second, third, and other pairs of side bars above them are recessed or cut
away near the said side bars for the purpose of permitting of the folding of the side
bars within one another and in the said recesses, the width of the recesses in the
treads being greatest in the highest tread, and becoming progressively less in the
lower treads. For example, the recesses in the tread of the second pair of side bars
from the bottom are of a width sufficient to receive the bottom pair of side bars of
the ladder, but the recesses in the tread of the third pair of side bars from the
bottom are of a width sufficient to receive the bottom and second pairs of bars, and
so on. When the whole of the ladder is folded up into its top box-like frame, and
the said frame containing the ladder is folded into the fixed frame on the carriage,
the last-mentioned frame forms a tread on the carriage.
The frame containing the folded ladder is varied in depth, according to the length
of the ladder which is to be folded in it; the length of the ladders corresponding
with the heights of the wheels of carriages with which they are to be used.
Although we prefer to fold the ladder into a frame, as described, yet the said
ladder may be jointed to a slide, which slide may work in slots or guides under the
carriage.
By withdrawing the slide from under the carriage the ladder may be brought
into use, and by advancing the slide under the carriage the folded ladder may be
concealed.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Charles Bevan and Henry Hallam in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st February 1878.
CHARLES BEVAN and HENRY HALLAM, trading as Lowe, Sleigh, Bevan, and
Company, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, Manufacturers. "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEP LADDERS FOR CARRIAGES."
Our Invention consists in constructing and combining the parts of step ladders
for carriages in the manner herein-after described.
Our Invention is especially applicable to mail phaetons and other high carriages,
but may also be applied to other kinds of carriages for assisting ladies and other
persons in ascending to or descending from the said carriages.
Our Invention is useful where it is not convenient to fix steps, or where steps of
the ordinary kind project an inconvenient distance from the carriage.
According to our Invention we make the step ladder of a series of pairs of legs or
side bars; each pair of legs or side bars, excepting the top pair, being furnished with
a tread. The several pairs of legs or side bars with their treads are so jointed
together as to be capable of being folded within one another, and the folded ladder
is capable of being folded within a box-like frame, closed at bottom, to which frame
the top pair of legs or side bars is jointed. This box-like frame is jointed to a
similarly formed box-like frame, which is permanently connected by arms to the
carriage.
The bottom of the first-described frame, which contains the folded ladder, forms
when the ladder is in use the top step of the said ladder. The ladder is taper, being
narrower at bottom than at top for the purpose of permitting the several pairs of
side bars and their treads to fold within one another, thus the tops of the lowest
pair of side bars are jointed to the bottoms of the inner sides of the pair of wider
side bars above them, and in a similar way the second pair of side bars from the
bottom is jointed to the pair of wider side bars above them, and so on. The treads
of the second, third, and other pairs of side bars above them are recessed or cut
away near the said side bars for the purpose of permitting of the folding of the side
bars within one another and in the said recesses, the width of the recesses in the
treads being greatest in the highest tread, and becoming progressively less in the
lower treads. For example, the recesses in the tread of the second pair of side bars
from the bottom are of a width sufficient to receive the bottom pair of side bars of
the ladder, but the recesses in the tread of the third pair of side bars from the
bottom are of a width sufficient to receive the bottom and second pairs of bars, and
80 OD. When the whole of the ladder is folded up into its top box-like frame, and
the said frame containing the ladder is folded into the fixed frame on the carriage,
the last-mentioned frame forms a tread on the carriage.
We will now proceed to describe with reference to the accompanying Drawing
the manner in which our Invention may be carried into effect.
Figure 1 represents in plan; Figure 2, in side elevation; Figure 3, in section; and
Figure 4, in perspective (drawn to a smaller scale) a step ladder for carriages open
or unfolded for use, the said step ladder being constructed according to our
Invention.
Figure 5 represents in plan; Figure 6, in side elevation; and Figure 7, in per-
spective (drawn to a smaller scale) the said step ladder closed or folded up.
The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several Figures of the
Drawing.
The said step ladder consists of a series of pairs of legs or side bars marked
resectively a, a, b, b, c, c, and d, d, jointed together at e, e, so as to be capable of
being folded within one another; each of the pairs of legs or side bars b, b, c, c,
and d, d, is provided with a tread marked f.
By an examination of the Drawing it will be seen that the ladder is taper, being
narrower at bottom than at top, for the purpose of permitting the several pairs of

page_text: side bars and their treads to fold within one another. The tops of the lowest pair
of side bars d, d, are jointed to the bottoms of the inner sides of the pair of wider
side bars c, c, above them, and the tops of the second pair of side bars c, c, are
similarly jointed to the bottoms of the inner sides of the pair of wider side bars b, b,
above them, and the tops of the side bars b, b, are jointed to the bottoms of the side
bars a, a, in a similar way. The tops of the side bars a, a, are jointed at h, h, to
the inner sides of the box-like frame g, closed at bottom, into which frame g the
closed ladder may be folded or shut. The box-like frame g is jointed at i, i, to a
similarly formed box-like frame k, into which second frame k the first-described
frame g containing the folded ladder may be folded or shut. The second or inner
frame is bolted or connected to the carriage by the cross arms l, l, or in any other
convenient way. The bottoms of the two box-like frames g, k, form, when the
ladder is opened or expanded for use, the top step of the ladder, as represented;
near the front end of each pair of side bars b, b, c, c, and d, d, are shoulders b², c², d³,
which shoulders, when the side bars are opened or unfolded, abut against the
stops m, m, on the pairs of side bars above them, and thereby prevent the move-
iment of the said side bars beyond their proper positions. Similar shoulders and
stops at n prevent the box-like frame g from being opened beyond the required
position. The bottom of the frame acts as a stop to the top pair of bars a, a.
In order to provide for the folding of the series of side bars with their treads
within one another the treads f, f, of the side bars b; b, and c, c, are recessed or cut
away near the said side bars, as represented at p, q, Figure 1, the width of the said
recesses being greatest in the highest tread, and becoming progressively less in the
lower treads.
The recesses q, q, in the tread of the second pair of side bars c, c, are of a width
proper to receive the bottom pair of side bars d, d, of the ladder, while the
recesses p, p, in the tread of the bars b, b, are of a width proper to receive the
folded bottom and second pairs of side bars d, d, and c, c. In folding the step
ladder the bottom pair of side bars d, d, is first folded upon or within the second
pair of side bars c, c, and the folded pairs of side bars d, d, and c, c, are folded upon
or within the third pair of side bars b, b, and the three pairs of side bars d, d, c, c,
and b, b, are next folded within the pair of side bars a, a, and the whole of the
ladder is next folded up into its top box-like frame g; and the said frame g con-
taining the ladder is finally folded into the fixed frame k on the carriage, as
illustrated in Figures 5, 6, and 7, the bottom of the folded frame g forming a tread
on the carriage.
The opening or unfolding of the step ladder is effected in the reverse order to that
by which it is folded up; that is, the frame g is first turned from off the fixed
frame k, so that the bottoms of the two frames k and g are on the same level. The
ladder proper is then turned from out the frame g and unfolded, as illustrated in
Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4.
Although we have only represented four pairs of side bars with their treads
jointed together, and to the top box-like frame g, yet more or less than four pairs of
side bars with their treads may be combined together, and used in the manner
described and illustrated.
The frame containing the folded ladder is varied in depth, according to the length
of the ladder which is to be folded in it, the length of the ladders varying with the
heights of the wheels of the carriages with which they are to be used.
Although we prefer to fold the ladder into a fixed frame as described and
illustrated in the Drawing, yet the said ladder may be jointed to a slide, which slide
may work in slots or guides under the carriage.
By withdrawing the slide from under the carriage the ladder may be brought into
use, and by advancing the slide under the carriage the folded ladder may be
concealed.
Having now described the nature of our Invention, and the manner in which the
same is to be performed, we wish it to be understood that we claim as our Invention,
the improvements in step ladders for carriages herein-before described and illustrated

page_text: in the accompanying Drawing, that is to say, constructing the said ladders of a
series of pairs of legs or side bars provided with treads, the said side bars being
jointed together, and to a box-like frame, the bottom of which constitutes the top
step of the ladder, the ladder being narrower at bottom than at top, and the treads
being recessed, as described and illustrated, for the purpose of permitting the several
pairs of side bars to fold within one another and in the recesses of the treads, the
folded ladder being folded within a box-like frame, and the latter into a second box-
like frame, or connected to a slidė, substantially as described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Hallam, have hereunto set my hand
and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.