Patent ID: 7364017

Claim:
A ladder hinge and rail assembly comprising: a first ladder rail; a second ladder rail; a first hinge component having a laterally extending hinge tongue, a longitudinally extending rail mount section, and an abutment shoulder between the tongue and the rail mount section and extending across substantially an entire width of the longitudinally extending rail mount section, wherein the longitudinally extending rail mount section of the first hinge component is partially longitudinally disposed within the first ladder rail; a second hinge component having a pair of plate segments defining a lateral hinge groove and a longitudinally extending rail mount section, the pair of plate segments each having a peripheral edge, wherein the longitudinally extending rail mount section of the second hinge component is partially longitudinally disposed within the second ladder rail, and wherein the hinge tongue of the first hinge component is disposed within the lateral hinge groove of the second hinge component and configured to provide relative rotation of the first and second hinge components about a defined axis from a first relative position of the first hinge component and the second hinge component wherein the first ladder rail and the second ladder rail are angled with respect to each other, to a second relative position of the first hinge component and the second hinge component wherein, when in the second relative position, the first ladder rail and the second ladder rail are aligned with each other and the first hinge component extends substantially longitudinally from the second hinge component and wherein the abutment shoulder abuts a peripheral edge of one plate segment of the pair of plate segments in a substantially conformal manner and, when in the first position, the abutment shoulder and the peripheral edge of the one plate segment are spaced from each other.