Patent ID: 8839475

Claim:
A mobile access unit for allowing fully mobile, less mobile, and disabled passengers to embark or disembark from a craft, such as an aircraft, the unit comprising: a first moveable ramp section, extending from a craft entry/exit end, which allows access to the loading door of the craft, to a hinged end, wherein the entry/exit end can rotate about the hinged end, between a raised position and a lowered position; a second moveable ramp section, extending from a hinged end to a ground entry/exit end, which allows access to the ground, wherein the ground entry/exit end can rotate about the hinged end, between a raised position and a lowered position; and a non-linear middle ramp section, extending from a first linking end, which links with the hinged end of the first moveable ramp section, to a second linking end, which links with the hinged end of the second moveable ramp section; wherein the first moveable ramp section, middle ramp section and second moveable ramp section can together form a continuous non-linear ramp that can extend from the loading door of the craft to the ground, wherein the continuous non-linear ramp includes two or more turns and wherein the sum of the angles turned by the continuous non-linear ramp over its length is 360 degrees or more, and wherein the nonlinear middle section comprises an inclined ramp that has a fixed angle of inclination, and wherein the unit permits the passengers to embark or disembark from the craft without needing to walk up or down a staircase.