Electric slide step for recreational vehicle
View Patent ↗An electric slide step for a recreational vehicle assists users in entering and existing the vehicle. A step housing is mounted to the vehicle beneath the exterior door. The housing has steps that are movable on inclined slides between a retracted position when not in use and an extended position for assisting uses while entering and exiting the vehicle through the exterior door.
1. A step assembly, comprising:
a housing having a plurality of steps, each of said steps being mounted to slides for moving the steps between a retracted position and an extended position, each step having one of said slides at each opposite end of the step, and said slides being inclined at a fixed angle relative to said step;
the steps having an upper vertical elevation in the retracted position, a lower vertical elevation in the extended position, and the lower vertical elevation is less than the upper vertical elevation;
the steps being horizontal in both the retracted and extended portions;
the steps being vertically separated by a retracted vertical distance in the retracted position and an extended vertical distance in the extended position with the retracted vertical distance being less than the extended vertical distance, and
the slide at one end of each step being parallel to and spaced from the slide at a corresponding end of a next successive step.
2. A step assembly according to claim 1 , wherein each step has a stepping surface that defines a respective horizontal plane, the slides extend between the housing and the steps in the extended position, and portions of the slides mounted to the steps are located completely beneath the respective stepping surfaces in a vertical direction.
3. A step assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the steps comprise an upper step and a lower step, and the lower step extends further from the housing than the upper step when the steps are in the extended position.
4. A step assembly according to claim 1 , further comprising an electric motor mounted to the housing for automatically moving the steps between the retracted and extended positions.
5. A step assembly according to claim 4 , wherein the electric motor has a drive shaft, a cam mounted to the drive shaft, and a linkage assembly extending between the cam and the steps for simultaneously moving both steps between the retracted and extended positions.
6. A step assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the linkage assembly comprises a plurality of flat arms that move in separate plane, respective to the steps, between the retracted and extended positions.
7. A system for facilitating the ingress and egress of a recreational vehicle, comprising:
a housing adapted to be mounted to the recreational vehicle adjacent to and beneath an exterior door thereof, the housing having at least two steps that are movable between a retracted position when not in use and an extended position for assistance in entering and exiting the recreational vehicle through the exterior door;
the steps having an upper vertical elevation in the retracted position, a lower vertical elevation in the extended position, with the lower vertical elevation being less than the upper vertical elevation, such that the steps always remains horizontal during movement between the retracted and extended positions,
each step having a slide at opposite ends of the step, and said slides being inclined at a fixed angle relative to said steps,
the steps being vertically separated by a retracted vertical distance in the retracted position and an extended vertical distance in the extended position with the retracted vertical distance being less than the extended vertical distance, and
the slide at one end of each step being parallel to and spaced from the slide at a corresponding end of a next successive step.
8. A system according to claim 7 , wherein the step comprises an upper step and a lower step, and the lower step extends further from the housing than the upper step when the steps are in the extended position.
9. A system according to claim 7 , further comprising an electric motor mounted to the housing for automatically moving the step between the retracted and extended positions.
10. A system according to claim 9 , wherein the electric motor has a drive shaft, a cam mounted to the drive shaft, and a linkage assembly extending between the cam and the step for moving the step between the retracted and extended positions.
11. A system according to claim 10 , wherein the linkage assembly comprises a plurality of flat arms that move in a plane between the retracted and extended positions.
12. A system according to claim 7 , wherein the step has a stepping surface that defines a horizontal plane, each slide is mounted between the step and the housing for facilitating sliding movement of the step relative to the housing, and a portion of the slide mounted to the step is located completely beneath the stepping surface in a vertical direction in both the retracted and extended positions.
13. A system according to claim 12 , wherein the slide is oriented at an acute angle relative to horizontal and the step such that the slide translates both horizontal and vertical forces on the step to the housing.
14. A method of facilitating the ingress and egress of a recreational vehicle, comprising:
(a) providing a step assembly with a plurality of steps that are movable;
(b) installing the step assembly on a recreational vehicle adjacent to and beneath an exterior door of the recreational vehicle;
(c) positioning the steps in a retracted position such that the steps are located beneath the recreational vehicle at an upper vertical elevation in a horizontal orientation;
(d) mounting each step in a slide at opposite ends of the step, with the slides being inclined at a fixed angle relative to said steps, with
the slide at one end of each step being parallel to and spaced from the slide at a corresponding end of a next successive step;
(e) moving the steps to an extended position while the steps remain in the horizontal orientation such that the steps extend outward from the recreational vehicle at a lower vertical elevation that is less than the upper vertical elevation for assisting a user thereof in entering and exiting the recreational vehicle through the exterior door;
(f) moving the steps to the retracted position while the steps remain in the horizontal orientation, and
(g) increasing a vertical distance between the steps as the steps move from the retracted position to the extended position, and decreasing the vertical distance between the steps as the steps move from the extended position to the retracted position.
15. A method according to claim 14 , wherein the steps comprise an upper step and a lower step, and extending the lower step further from the housing than the upper step when the steps are in the extended position.
16. A method according to claim 14 , further comprising automatically moving the step between the retracted and extended positions with an electric motor.
17. A method according to claim 16 , further comprising articulating the steps with the electric motor having a drive shaft, a cam mounted to the drive shaft, and a linkage assembly extending between the cam and the step.
18. A method according to claim 17 , further comprising moving the linkage assembly in a plurality of planes between the retracted and extended positions.
19. A method according to claim 14 , wherein each step has a stepping surface that defines a horizontal plane, the slides are mounted between the steps and a housing for facilitating sliding movement of the steps relative to the housing, and portions of the slides mounted to the steps are located completely beneath the stepping surfaces in a vertical direction.
20. A method according to claim 19 , wherein the slides are parallel to each other and oriented at acute angles relative to horizontal and the steps such that the slides translate both horizontal and vertical forces on the steps to the housing.