GB2304312A

GB2304312A - Hinged, securable vehicle roof access ladders

Info

Publication number: GB2304312A
Application number: GB9516737A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Franck Rodolphe Dardenne
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-08-15
Filing date: 1995-08-15
Publication date: 1997-03-19
Also published as: GB9516737D0

Abstract

A vehicle (10) is provided with an access ladder (16) to gain access to a load (14) on a roof rack (12). The access ladder (16) is mounted on a surface (38) of the vehicle (10) by two or more hinges (30) so that the ladder (16) may be moved between a first ladder position, Figure 1 and a second ladder position (Figure 2) adjacent two different parts of the surface of the vehicle (10). The ladder (16) is so constructed that the ladder is climbable when in the first ladder position and not climbable in the second ladder position, in which it may be locked and alarmed.

Description

ACCESS 'ADDERS This invention relates to access ladders, and in particular to access ladders for use in gaining access to the roof of motor vehicles such as commercial vans or four-wheel drive vehicles.

A well known method of adding to a motor vehicle's carrying capacity is to provide that vehicle with a means for carrying a load above the roof of the vehicle. This means is generally known as a "roof rack and will be referred to as such hereinafter.

For a roof rack to be most useful it is necessary that the user of the vehicle upon which the roof rack is located is able to access the roof rack sufficiently to be able to load and unload the roof rack. There is little difficulty for a person of average or above average height in gaining such access to a roof rack on an average height motor car or small van. Such ease of access for an averagely tall individual is not always the case, however when the vehicle upon which the roof rack is located is higher than normal such as a commercial van, a four-wheel drive vehicle or a similar vehicle, which may have a roof height of greater than 2 metres.

Such vehicles may be called high vehicles.

A common method of accessing a roof rack on a high vehicle is the attachment of an access ladder to one of the outside surfaces of the vehicle so that a person wishing to gain access to the roof rack can climb the ladder, and so gain access to the roof rack. A disadvantage of this system is that the person wishing to gain access to the roof rack may not be authorised so to do, and accordingly the security of the materials loaded onto the roof rack is low.

According to the present invention there is provided an access ladder for use in gaining access to a roof rack on a motor vehicle comprising a ladder mounted onto an outside surface of the motor vehicle in which the ladder consists of first and second longitudinal support elements and a plurality of rungs fixed between and spaced along the length of those support elements characterised in that the first support element is mounted on the surface of the vehicle by way of two or more hinges, the ladder and hinges being adapted to allow the ladder to rotate substantially about its first support element so that the second support element can move between a first ladder position in which a first face of the ladder is adjacent to the vehicle and a second ladder position in which the second face of the ladder is adjacent to the vehicle, the ladder being so configured that the ladder is climbable when the ladder is in the first ladder position and not climbable when in the second ladder position.

This has the advantage that when the vehicle is unattended the ladder can be locked into the second ladder position so as to make access to the roof rack of the vehicle more difficult, and thus the material on the roof rack more secure.

A particularly preferred configuration of the ladder for use in the present invention has the rungs attached to the support elements so that the rungs are on or adjacent to the second face of the ladder, and attached between the support elements on or adjacent to the first face of the ladder is a means for preventing access to the rungs when the ladder is in the first ladder position.

When the ladder is in its first ladder position the rungs are remote from the vehicle and the access prevention means is adjacent to the vehicle. Accordingly a person wishing to climb the ladder may do so. The dimensions of the longitudinal support elements and the space between the rungs and the access prevention means may all be selected so that there is sufficient space for a climber of the ladder to wrap his fingers around a rung or to place sufficient of his foot on the rung to be able to climb the ladder.

Particularly preferred materials for the access prevention means are sheet materials of either wood, metal, or a transparent material such as a transparent acrylic plastics.

Alternatively a mesh material may be used, the mesh having a mesh size sufficiently small to prevent insertion of a hand or foot through the mesh or to prevent a potential climber of the ladder using the mesh to climb the ladder.

A particular benefit of using either a transparent material or a mesh is that the ladder could then be mounted onto the vehicle over a window without completely obscuring the view out of that window.

A preferred place of mounting of the ladder according to the present invention on the vehicle is in such a position that when the ladder is in the second ladder position the second face of the ladder overlies an edge of one or more access doors into the vehicle.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention the edge of the access door overlain by the second face of the ladder is the edge upon which a mechanism for releasably locking the access door is located and the second face of the ladder also overlies the locking mechanism. This particularly preferred embodiment has the advantage that when the ladder is locked into the second ladder position the ease of access to the interior of the vehicle is lessened because the ladder and the access prevention means attached to the ladder prevent access to the lock mechanism of the door.

It is envisaged that if the vehicle to which this embodiment of the present invention is fitted were equipped with an anti-theft alarm then that alarm could be connected with the locking means locking the ladder into the second ladder position so that if a thief were to try to break into the vehicle via the access door which the access ladder overlies the edge of, the antitheft alarm would be activated before the thief had gained access to the inside of the vehicle.

The present invention will be further described and explained by way of example in which: Figure 1 shows an access ladder according to the present invention in the first ladder position; Figure 2 shows an access ladder according to the present invention in the second ladder position; Figure 3 shows an access ladder according to the present invention, and Figure 4 is a sectional view along line XX' of Figure 3.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2 a vehicle 10 is fitted with a roof rack 12 upon which is a load 14. Access to roof rack 12 and load 14 is gained via an access ladder 16.

Vehicle 10 is provided with a pair of rear doors 36 and 38 with door 38 bearing locking mechanism 40. The doors 36 and 38 open about the edges of the doors 36 and 38 parallel with and remote from the abutment between doors 36 and 38.

With reference to Figures 3 and 4 ladder 16 is comprised of first and second longitudinal support elements 18 and 20 respectively with a plurality of rungs 22 spaced along and fixed between the supports 18 and 20. Rungs 22 are attached to supports 18 and 20 adjacent to face 24 of the ladder 16. Attached to supports 18 and 20 on face 26 of ladder 16 is a sheet of material 28.

Sheet 28 is preferably of transparent acrylic plastics material such as PERSPEX (registered trade mark).

Alternative possible materials for sheet 28 are continuous sheets of metal or wood or a mesh material.

The mesh could be formed from intertwined wire or cut and expanded metal sheet.

If sheet 28 is of a transparent material or mesh then sheet 28 will allow a driver (not shown) of the vehicle 10 to see through windows 42 in the vehicle and ladder 16 when driving.

Ladder 16 is mounted on vehicle 10 by hinges 30 attached to support 18 and the surface of door 38. The hinges 30 and the support 18 are both so configured that the ladder 16 may move between a first ladder position (shown in Figure 1) in which rungs 22 are accessible and ladder 16 may be climbed and a second ladder position (shown in Figure 2) in which access to rungs 22 is prevented by sheet 28 so that ladder 16 may not be climbed.

To prevent undue damage to hinges 30 when the ladder is climbed door 38 is provided with anchors 32 with which support 20 engages by means not shown when the ladder 16 is in the first ladder position. Support 20 may optionally be releasably lockable onto anchors 32 by known locking means.

To secure the ladder 16 in such a position as to prevent it being climbed, door 36 is provided with anchors 34 with which support 20 engages, by means not shown, when ladder 16 is in the second ladder position. Support 20 is releasably lockable onto anchors 34 by known locking means, e.g. a pair of padlocks, or by a suitable locking bolt mechanism built into or fixed to support 20.

Locking ladder 16 into the second ladder position serves to both prevent unauthorised access to load 14 via ladder 16 and to prevent doors 36 and 38 being opened. This occurs because lock mechanism 40 is protected by sheet 28 and because support 20 is locked onto anchors 34 preventing the increase in the distance between the hinges 30 and anchors 34 that would occur if one or both of doors 36 and 38 were opened.

The illustrated example shows a vehicle 10 having a pair of doors 36 and 38. If the vehicle to which the present invention is to be attached only has one access door in the surface of the vehicle that it is desired to mount the door, such as the rear surface of a LAND ROVER Defender (registered trade mark) then hinges 30 and anchors 32 can be mounted on either the door or the surface of the vehicle and anchors 34 would then be mounted on the surface of the vehicle or the door respectively.

Claims

1. An access ladder for use in gaining access to a roof rack on a motor vehicle comprising a ladder mounted onto an outside surface of the motor vehicle in which the ladder consists of a first and a second longitudinal support element and a plurality of rungs fixed between and spaced along the length of those support elements characterised in that the first support element is mounted on the surface of the vehicle by way of two or more hinges, the ladder and hinges being adapted to allow the ladder to rotate substantially about its first support element so that the second support element can move between a first ladder position in which a first face of the ladder is adjacent to the vehicle and a second ladder position in which the second face of the ladder is adjacent to the vehicle, the ladder being so configured that the ladder is climbable when the ladder is in the first ladder position and not climbable when in the second ladder position.

2. An access ladder according to Claim 1 characterised in that the rungs are attached to the support elements so that the rungs are on or adjacent to the second face of the ladder and attached between the support elements on or adjacent to the first face of the ladder is a means for preventing access to the rungs when the ladder is in the first ladder position.

3. An access ladder according to Claim 2 characterised in that the means for preventing access to the rungs is a piece of sheet material.

4. An access ladder according to Claim 3 characterised in that the sheet material is substantially transparent.

5. An access ladder according to Claim 2 characterised in that the means for preventing access to the rungs is a sheet of mesh material with a mesh size small enough to prevent insertion of a hand or foot through the mesh.

6. An access ladder according to any one of Claims 1 to 5 characterised in that the hinges are located on the vehicle so that when the ladder is in the second ladder position the second face of the ladder overlies an edge of one or more access doors into the vehicle.

7. An access ladder according to any of Claims 1 to 6 characterised in that the ladder can be releasably locked in either the first or second ladder positions.

8. An access ladder substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

9. A vehicle carrying an access ladder according to any of Claims 1 to 8.