Patent ID: 7721849

Claim:
A retractable ladder comprising: at least two vertically spaced apart pairs of mounting apparatus, each mounting apparatus comprising: a bracket for mounting to an approximately vertical surface, each bracket including laterally spaced apart bracket sides, each bracket side including a bracket pivot point, a bracket pin passage spaced apart from the bracket pivot point, and horizontally outward reaching flanges along lower edges of each of the bracket sides; and an arm, each arm comprising a spaced apart pair of vertical arm members residing outside the bracket sides and having first ends and second ends opposite the first ends, the first ends pivotally connected at arm pivot points to the bracket pivot points, the arms pivoting between an approximately horizontal position and an approximately vertical position, the vertical arm members including arm pin passages spaced apart from the arm pivot points towards the second end, and the vertical arm members including lower edges which come to rest against the flanges of the bracket sides when the arms are in the approximately horizontal position; and a ladder comprising laterally spaced apart vertical ladder members and horizontal steps connecting the vertical ladder members, the second ends of each of the arms pivotally connected to the ladder at respective ladder pivot points on respective vertical ladder members, the ladder remaining approximately vertical over a full range of movement of the ladder, translating without rotating and moving between an open position corresponding to the approximately horizontal position of the arms and the ladder forwardly spaced apart from the approximately vertical surface sufficiently to allow the ladder to be climbed on, wherein the lower edges of the vertical arm members and the flanges of the bracket sides cooperate to carry the weight of the ladder and a climber and each mounting apparatus including a pin simultaneously insertable through the bracket pin passages and the arm pin passages to retain the ladder in the open position; and a closed position corresponding to the approximately vertical position of the arms, with the vertical ladder members residing in a respective bracket between its bracket sides for storing the ladder, with the pins insertable through the bracket pin passages and the vertical ladder members residing behind the pins to retain the ladder in the closed position.