Folding stepladder

Abstract

To provide a folding stepladder that can be folded into an easy-to-carry shape and whose length when folded is not longer than that before folding. When folded, the support legs 50, the top plate 20, and the steps 30 are all parallel. Furthermore, the steps 30 are stored in the hollow parts of the support legs 50 while aligned in the extension direction (vertical direction) of the support legs 50.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a folding stepladder. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a folding stepladder in which the step legs can be folded inside the support legs has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] Patent Document 1: JP 2001-349 16 Publication No. 2 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The folding stepladder described in Patent Document 1 can be folded so that the steps are stored inside the support legs. This allows it to be more compact than when in use. However, the folding stepladder described in Patent Document 1 has support legs that are offset vertically even when the folding stepladder is folded. This makes the length of the stepladder longer than when it is folded.

[0005] To provide a folding stepladder that can be folded into a shape that is easy to carry and whose length when folded is not longer than that before folding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a folding stepladder, comprising: Two ladders, a connecting portion that connects the two ladders so that they can rotate between an open state and a closed state; The two ladders are: a hollow first support leg extending in a first direction; a hollow second support leg extending in the first direction; a step connected at one end to the first support leg and at the other end to the second support leg; a top plate located above the step, connected at one end to the first support leg and at the other end to the second support leg; the steps and the top plate are movable between a storage state in which they are stored in the hollow portions of the first support leg and the second support leg in a state parallel to the first direction, and a use state in which they are connected to the first support leg and the second support leg in a state parallel to a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, The connecting portion is located between the top plate and the upper ends of the two ladders in the vertical direction, When the two ladders are in the open position, a first portion of the first support leg of one of the two ladders, which is located above the connecting portion, overlaps with a second portion of the second support leg of the other of the two ladders, which is located above the connecting portion, when viewed from the second direction; When the two ladders are in the closed position and the top plate is in the stowed position, A folding stepladder is provided, characterized in that the first portion of the first support leg of one ladder and the second portion of the second support leg of the other ladder both overlap with the top plate when viewed from the second direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] When folded, the folding stepladder of the present invention has a first support leg, a second support leg, a top plate, and steps all parallel to each other. This allows the length of the folding stepladder in the second direction to be compact when folded. Furthermore, the top plate and steps are stored in the hollow portion of the first support leg or the second support leg, aligned in the first direction along which the first and second support legs extend. This makes the folding stepladder easy to carry. Furthermore, the connecting portion is located below the top end of the ladder and between the top plate and the top end of the ladder. In this case, when the two ladders are unfolded, the first portion, which is the upper portion of the first support leg of one ladder, and the second portion, which is the upper portion of the second support leg of the other ladder, intersect so as to overlap each other when viewed from the second direction. In this case, the distance between the top plates of the two ladders can be narrowed when the two ladders are unfolded, compared to when the connecting portion is positioned to connect the top ends of the two ladders. This provides a stable foothold for a user to stand on the top plate. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a folding stepladder 1 in use. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the folding stepladder 1 in a folded state. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the vicinity of the top board 20 of the folding stepladder 1 in use. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the vicinity of the top board 20 when the folding stepladder 1 is folded forward and backward. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the shape of the auxiliary top plate 150. As shown in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the state when the auxiliary top plate 150 is in use. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the auxiliary top plate 150 when in use, seen from a different direction. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A folding stepladder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, directions are defined based on the up-down direction and left-right direction indicated by arrows in Fig. 1, the front-rear direction, and the up-down direction. The up-down direction is an example of a first direction according to the present invention, the left-right direction is an example of a second direction according to the present invention, and the front-rear direction is an example of a third direction according to the present invention.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a folding stepladder 1 in use. As shown in FIG. 1, the folding stepladder 1 according to this embodiment includes a first ladder 11, a second ladder 12, and a connecting portion 13 that connects the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12. In the following description, the front-to-rear direction is defined by assuming that the first ladder 11 is disposed in front of the second ladder 12 (see FIG. 1). The first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 correspond to the two ladders of the present invention. The connecting portion 13 is located below the upper ends of the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12. Because the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 are connected by the connecting portion 13, the folding stepladder 1 can be folded in the front-to-rear direction so that the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 come into contact with each other (see FIG. 4). The first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 have the same structure except for the portion above the connecting portion 13. The first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 each include a top board 20, two rungs 30, and a pair of support legs 50.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, a stopper 60 is provided between the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12. The stopper 60 comprises a plate-shaped member 61, a pin 62 that rotatably connects one end of the plate-shaped member 61 to the first ladder 11, and a pin 63 for fixing the other end of the plate-shaped member 61 to the second ladder 12. The other end of the plate-shaped member 61 is a hook that engages with the pin 63 to fix the other end of the plate-shaped member 61 to the second ladder 12. The stopper 60 has the function of preventing the angle between the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 from opening too wide when in use.

[0012] Next, we will explain the structure of the first ladder 11. The structure of the second ladder 12 is the same as that of the first ladder 11 except for the portion above the connecting portion 13, so we will not explain it again.

[0013] 1, the first ladder 11 includes a top board 20, two steps 30, and a pair of support legs 50. The top board 20 has the same structure as the two steps 30, except that it is located higher than the two steps 30.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 1 , the tabletop 20 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped member that spans the pair of support legs 50 below the connecting portion 13. The two steps 30 are also substantially rectangular parallelepiped members that span the pair of support legs 50 below the tabletop 20. The tabletop 20 has a pivoting portion 20X in its approximate center, and can be folded by bending left and right around the pivoting portion 20X. Similarly, the steps 30 have a pivoting portion 30X in its approximate center, and can be folded by bending left and right around the pivoting portion 30X. By folding the tabletop 20 and the steps 30, the left-right distance between the pair of support legs 50 can be reduced. When the pair of support legs 50 are closest to each other in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. 2 , the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are housed in the hollow portion of the pair of support legs 50. At this time, the top board 20 and the step 30 are parallel to the direction in which the support legs 50 extend (vertical direction).

[0015] The shape of the folding stepladder 1 when it is in use, as shown in Figure 1, is referred to as the first shape. As shown in Figure 1, the opening angle between the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 is limited by the opening stopper 60. When the folding stepladder 1 is in the first shape, as shown in Figure 1, the top plate 20 and the rungs 30 of the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 are both horizontal.

[0016] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the support leg 50 has a side plate 51 and a guard wall 52 standing upright from the side plate 51 in the left-right direction, and a hollow space is formed by the side plate 51 and the guard wall 52. In the following description, the portion of the support leg 50 located above the connecting portion 13 is referred to as the upper portion 50U of the support leg 50. In the upper portion 50U of the support leg 50, a notch 54 is formed on the inner side in the front-to-rear direction of the guard wall 52. When the folding stepladder 1 is in the first shape, as shown in Figure 3, the upper portion 50U of the support leg 50 of the first ladder 11 passes through the notch 54 formed in the upper portion 50U of the support leg 50 of the second ladder 12 and enters the hollow space of the support leg 50 of the second ladder 12. That is, when viewed from the left and right direction, the upper part 50U of the support leg 50 of the first ladder 11 is positioned so as to overlap the upper part 50U of the support leg 50 of the second ladder 12.

[0017] 4, when the folding stepladder 1 is folded forward and backward so that the rear end of the first ladder 11 and the front end of the second ladder 12 are in contact, the support legs 50 of the first ladder 11 and the support legs 50 of the second ladder 12 are both parallel in the vertical direction. In this case, the upper part 50U of the support leg 50 of the first ladder 11 does not overlap the upper part 50U of the support leg 50 of the second ladder 12 when viewed from the left and right.

[0018] <How to fold the folding stepladder 1> Next, a method for folding the folding stepladder 1 will be described. When folding the folding stepladder 1 in the first shape, first, the hook-shaped hook at the other end of the plate-shaped member 14a of the opening stopper 14 is disengaged from the pin 14c. Next, the folding stepladder 1 is folded forward and backward so that the rear end of the first ladder 11 and the front end of the second ladder 12 come into contact (see FIG. 4). At this time, the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 are folded forward and backward so that they come into contact with each other (see FIG. 3). This shape is called the second shape of the folding stepladder 1.

[0019] The subsequent process of folding the folding stepladder 1 is carried out by interlocking the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 with the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 overlapping in the front-to-rear direction.

[0020] As shown by the arrows in FIG. 4 , the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are folded from the center around the pivoting portions 20X and 30X, thereby folding the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 in the left-right direction. This allows the pair of support legs 50 to approach each other in the left-right direction. In this way, the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 can be transformed into a third shape, as shown in FIG. 2 . In the third shape, the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are in a stored position. That is, the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are stored in the hollow space of the pair of support legs 50 while folded in the left-right direction around the pivoting portions 20X and 30X. That is, the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are located within the space surrounded by the side panels 51 and guard walls 52 of the support legs 50. At this time, the tabletop 20 and the steps 30 are parallel to the extension direction (vertical direction) of the support legs 50. 1, in the third shape, the positions of the upper ends of the pair of support legs 50 in the vertical direction are the same, and the positions of the lower ends of the pair of support legs 50 in the vertical direction are the same. Note that the expression that the lengths (or positions) are the same does not mean that they are strictly the same.

[0021] <Effects of this embodiment> When the folding stepladder 1 of this embodiment is folded, the pair of support legs 50, the top panel 20, and the steps 30 are all parallel to one another. Furthermore, the top panel 20 and the steps 30 are stored in the hollow portions of the pair of support legs 50 when folded in the left-right direction. This makes the folding stepladder 1 easy to carry. Furthermore, the top panel 20 and the steps 30 are surrounded by the side panels 51 and guard walls 52 of the support legs 50, so the top panel 20 and the steps 30 can be protected. Furthermore, when the folding stepladder 1 is folded, both ends of the pair of support legs 50 are aligned in the vertical direction. In this way, the folding stepladder 1 can be folded compactly.

[0022] In the folding stepladder 1 of this embodiment, the connecting portion 13 connects the support legs 50 not at the upper ends of the support legs 50 but below the upper ends of the support legs 50. Consider a folding stepladder of the type in which the top panels 20 are housed in the hollow spaces of the support legs 50 when folded, as in this embodiment. If the connecting portion 13 were provided to connect the upper ends of the support legs 50, the distance between the two top panels 20 in the front-to-rear direction when in use would be wider than the distance between the two top panels 20 in the front-to-rear direction when in use in this embodiment. This is because, when viewed from the left and right, the size of the isosceles triangle formed by connecting the connecting portion 13 and the two top panels 20 would be larger, and the distance between the two top panels 20 would be greater.

[0023] In this embodiment, the connecting portion 13 is located below the upper ends of the support legs 50 and between the top panel 20 and the upper ends of the support legs 50. In this case, when the folding stepladder 1 is in the first shape, the upper portions 50U of the support legs 50 of the first ladder 11 and the upper portions 50U of the support legs 50 of the second ladder 12 intersect with each other. Therefore, in this embodiment, by providing the notches 54 in the support legs 50, the upper portions 50U of the support legs 50 do not interfere with each other even when they intersect with each other. In other words, as described above, the upper portions 50U of the support legs 50 of the first ladder 11 can pass through the notches 54 formed in the upper portions 50U of the support legs 50 of the second ladder 12 and enter the hollow space in the support legs 50 of the second ladder 12 (see FIG. 3). In this way, by arranging the connecting portion 13 below the upper ends of the support legs 50 and between the tabletop 20 and the upper ends of the support legs 50, it is possible to narrow the distance in the front-to-rear direction of the tabletop 20 in use compared to when the connecting portion 13 is arranged at the upper ends of the support legs 50. This makes it possible to provide a stable foothold when the user stands on the tabletop 20.

[0024] <Modification form> The configuration of the folding stepladder 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the configuration in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 of the folding stepladder 1 each have two steps 30. However, the arrangement and number of steps are not limited to this configuration. For example, the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 of the folding stepladder 1 may each have one step, or may each have three or more steps. Furthermore, the number of steps provided on the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12 does not have to be the same.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 1 , when the tabletop 20 is in the tabletop use position, the tabletop 20 functions as a step on which a user places their feet. As described above, by arranging the connecting portion 13 below the upper ends of the support legs 50 and between the tabletop 20 and the upper ends of the support legs 50, the distance (gap) in the front-to-rear direction of the tabletop 20 in use can be narrowed compared to when the connecting portion 13 is arranged at the upper ends of the support legs 50. However, a gap still remains in the front-to-rear direction of the tabletop 20, which may cause a user's foot to get caught in the gap. Therefore, an auxiliary tabletop 150, as shown in FIG. 5 , can be used to fill the gap in the front-to-rear direction of the tabletop 20. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , an opening 161h for inserting the auxiliary tabletop 150 may be formed in the plate-shaped member 161 of the opening stopper 160. The auxiliary top plate 150 includes a plate-shaped top plate member 151, a guard 152 formed at one end of the top plate member 151, and a locking portion 155 formed at the other end of the top plate member 151. The guard 152 is a plate-shaped member that is too large to pass through the opening 161h, and serves to prevent the auxiliary top plate 150 from falling out in the insertion direction when the auxiliary top plate 150 is inserted into the opening 161h (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 7, the locking portion 155 includes a knob 156 and a locking piece 157 that protrudes in the left-right direction in conjunction with the knob 156. With the auxiliary top plate 150 inserted into the opening 161h, the knob 156 is moved left-right so that the locking piece 157 protrudes left-right, thereby preventing the auxiliary top plate 150 from falling out of the opening 161h. In this way, when the auxiliary top plate 150 is inserted into the opening 161h of the plate-like member 161 of the stopper 160, the locking portion 155 can lock the auxiliary top plate 150 so that it does not fall out of the opening 161h. This increases the area of the top plate 20 that functions as a step on which the user places their feet, thereby providing the user with a stable foothold.

[0026] The auxiliary top plate 150 is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the auxiliary top plate may be provided so as to cover the top plate 20 of the first ladder 11 and the top plate 20 of the second ladder 12 from above. Even in this case, by arranging the auxiliary top plate from above so as to hook onto the top plate 20 of the first ladder 11 and the top plate 20 of the second ladder 12, the auxiliary top plate can fill the gap between the top plates 20 in the front-to-rear direction.

[0027] In the above-described embodiment and modified embodiment, the plate-shaped members 61, 161 of the stoppers 60, 160 are configured such that one end is rotatably connected to the first ladder 11 and the other end is engageable with the second ladder 12. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, the stopper plate-shaped members may be formed from two rotatably connected plates. In this case, both ends of the stopper plate-shaped members can be rotatably connected to the first ladder 11 and the second ladder 12, respectively.

[0028] The above-described embodiments and their modifications can be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the shape, material, etc. of the folding stepladder 1 according to the present invention are not limited to specific ones and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the folding stepladder 1 may be made of iron or aluminum. It does not necessarily have to be made of a metal material, and can be made of a non-metallic material such as wood or plastic. Furthermore, metal materials and non-metallic materials can be combined as appropriate.

[0029] 1 folding stepladder 11 First Ladder 12 Second Ladder 20 Top plate 30 Trample 50 Support legs

Claims

1. A folding stepladder, Two ladders, a connecting portion that connects the two ladders so that they can rotate between an open state and a closed state; The two ladders are respectively: a hollow first support leg extending in a first direction; a hollow second support leg extending in the first direction; a step connected at one end to the first support leg and at the other end to the second support leg; a top plate located above the step, connected at one end to the first support leg and at the other end to the second support leg; the steps and the top plate are movable between a storage state in which they are stored in the hollow portions of the first support leg and the second support leg in a state parallel to the first direction, and a use state in which they are connected to the first support leg and the second support leg in a state parallel to a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, The connecting portion is located between the top plate and the upper ends of the two ladders in the vertical direction, When the two ladders are in the open position, a first portion of the first support leg of one of the two ladders, which is located above the connecting portion, overlaps with a second portion of the second support leg of the other of the two ladders, which is located above the connecting portion, when viewed from the second direction; When the two ladders are in the closed position and the top plate is in the stowed position, A folding stepladder characterized in that the first portion of the first support leg of one ladder and the second portion of the second support leg of the other ladder both overlap with the top plate when viewed from the second direction.

2. Furthermore, two plate-shaped opening prevention members are bridged between the two ladders; It is equipped with a plate-shaped auxiliary top plate, The folding stepladder according to claim 1, wherein each of the two opening prevention members has a through hole formed therein for inserting the auxiliary top plate therethrough.

Images