1. Field of the Invention
The construction shown in the present invention applies to the field of devices wherein emergency equipment such as ladders or the like are required to be stored at a relatively high position adjacent the external structure of a vehicle such as an emergency vehicle like a fire truck in such a manner as to be convenient for storage when the vehicle is traveling and available for deployment at the emergency location. The construction must include a means for deploying the ladder or other emergency equipment to a lowered deployed position which provides immediate access thereto for emergency workers. Such devices are often utilized on fire trucks, ambulances or other similar emergency vehicles. These devices need to provide the capability for usage with various different sizes and configurations of ladders while also providing a full mechanism for powering movement for storing and deploying rapidly when needed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many patents have been issued for the purpose of positioning and re-positioning of emergency storage equipment and ladders relative to vehicles such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,890,940 patented Dec. 13, 1932 to C. H. Fox and assigned to Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine Company on a “Fire Engine”; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,898,826 patented Feb. 21, 1933 to C. H. Fox and assigned to Ahrens-Fox Fire Engine Company on a “Fire Engine”; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,991,900 patented Feb. 19, 1935 to N. P. Larsen and assigned to The American Coach and Body Company on a “Ladder Support”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,080,527 patented May 18, 1937 to E. C. Bixel and assigned to American Telephone and Telegraph Company on a “Ladder Holder”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,586,531 patented Feb. 19, 1952 to D. L. Gordon on a “Wheeled Support Having Ladder Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,397 patented Jul. 26, 1960 to W. A. Berberich on a “Ladder Mount For Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,681 patented Dec. 19, 1961 to E. V. Garnett on a “Device For Storage Of Elongated Articles On A Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,058,607 patented Oct. 16, 1962 to J. T. Kiley and assigned to James A. Kiley Company on “Ladder Racks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,578 patented Dec. 12, 1967 to J. O. Koenig on a “Boat Carrier For Pickup Mounted Camper Coaches”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,759 patented Sep. 28, 1971 to L. A. Spurgeon et al on a “Car Top Carrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,158 patented to F. Kobasic on Dec. 14, 1971 on a “Loader For Vehicle Trunk Compartment”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,637,097 patented Jan. 25, 1972 to R. R. Horowitz and assigned to S & H Industries, Inc. on a “Power-Operated Tailgate With Maximum Rearward Displacement Between Fully Elevated And Fully Lowered Positions”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,044 patented Feb. 6, 1973 to G. A. Simons on a “Roof Mounted Carrier For Automotive Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,271 patented Feb. 20, 1973 to D. L. Bargman, Jr. and assigned to Colorado Leisure Products, Inc. on a “Vehicle Tire Carrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,334 patented Mar. 13, 1973 to A. A. Permut et al on “Boat And Equipment Loading Systems”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,839 patented Jul. 16, 1974 to R. C. Petzing et al on a “Cartop Carrier Elevator”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,624 patented Apr. 15, 1975 to M. T. Carson on a “Vehicle Top Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,136 patented Jun. 15, 1976 to T. J. Spanke on a “Retractable Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,838 patented Feb. 22, 1977 to R. R. Correll on a “Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,062,464 patented Dec. 13, 1977 to R. E. Grove on “Mounting Brackets For An Article Handling Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,509 patented Jan. 16, 1979 to C. H. Clement on a “Vehicle Top Loader Mechanism”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,997 patented Jul. 24, 1979 to T. W. Norman on a “Self-Storing Step Structure For Vehicular Mounting”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,331 patented to E. W. Faulstich on Oct. 9, 1979 on a “Vehicle Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,860 patented Dec. 2, 1980 to D. Gottlieb et al on an “Apparatus For Lifting A Wheelchair Onto The Roof Of An Automobile”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,438 patented Dec. 16, 1980 to C. R. Everson on a “Device For Lifting and Carrying Loads On Top Of Pickup Trucks”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,834 patented Apr. 21, 1981 to W. H. Nutt and assigned to Teledyne Canada, Limited on a “Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,064 patented Jul. 13, 1982 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. on a “Carrier Clamp For Fire Ladders”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,223 patented Jul. 13, 1982 to R. R. Golze on a “Roof Top Carrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,611 patented Mar. 15, 1983 to B. H. Koop on a “Car Top Carrier For Wheelchair”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,117 patented Jun. 28, 1983 to M. W. Fagan on a “Ladder Rack For Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,439,086 patented Mar. 27, 1984 to R. W. Thede on a “Boat Loader”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,083 patented Oct. 21, 1986 to K. F. Weger, Jr. and assigned to Knaack Mfg. Co. on a “Ladder Clamping Device For Vehicle Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,981 patented Jun. 21, 1988 to J. C. Mitchell et al on a “Detachably Mounted Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,056 patented Feb. 28, 1989 to S. Oshima on an “Elevator Device Transportable In A Motor Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,585 patented Mar. 21, 1989 to W. H. Nutt and assigned to Teledyne Canada Limited on a “Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,387 patented May 2, 1989 to M. Audet on a “Vehicle Roof Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,742 patented May 9, 1989 to R. R. McDonald and assigned to Unistrut Australia Pty. Ltd. on a “Security Assembly For Vehicle Roofrack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,844,490 patented Jul. 4, 1989 to R. E. Kohler on a “Fire Truck Ladder Support”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,725 patented Aug. 22, 1989 to L. H. Griffin on a “Ladder Brace”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,108 patented Oct. 31, 1989 to L. H. Griffin et al on a “Hydraulic Ladder Brace”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,750 patented Dec. 19, 1989 to R. K. Dainty and assigned to British Gas plc on a “Rack Arrangement”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,352 patented Mar. 20, 1990 to K. McComb on a “Ladder Support System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,103 patented May 8, 1990 to C. J. Sauber on a “Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,757 patented Sep. 4, 1990 to J. R. Stevens et al on a “Front Rack For A Truck”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,009,350 patented Apr. 23, 1991 to J. M. Schill et al on “Retainer Assemblies For Elongated Objects”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,641 patented to J. N. Holcomb et al and assigned to Jack N. Holcomb on Sep. 17, 1991 on a “Van-Mounted Ladder Assembly With Concealed Radio Antennas”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,791 patented Oct. 22, 1991 to K. R. Henriquez et al and assigned to Slide-Out Inc. on a “Vehicular Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,280 patented Apr. 14, 1992 to M. P. Ziaylek et al and assigned to Michael P. Ziaylek on an “Apparatus For Use With An Emergency Vehicle For Storage And Retrieval Of Remotely Located Emergency Devices”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,563 patented Oct. 13, 1992 to J. R. Phillips on a “Wheel Chair Carrier”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,952 patented to R. Lasnegski on Dec. 22, 1992 on an “Overhead Storage Rack For Storing Ladders Or The Like”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,411 patented Dec. 29, 1992 to D. P. Oliver et al and assigned to Abru Aluminum Limited on “Ladder Improvements”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,628 patented May 11, 1993 to C. C. Hassell on a “Self-Loading Dolly Mount Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,094 patented Sep. 7, 1993 to A. L. Finley on a “Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,757 patented Oct. 26, 1993 to M. Horowitz et al and assigned to Martin Horowitz on a “Collapsible Ladder”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,912 patented Mar. 29, 1994 to A. Y. Levi and assigned to JAJ Products, Inc. on a “Ladder Rack For Motor Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,357 patented Sep. 13, 1994 to C. C. Hassell on a “Self-Locking Parallel-Motion Dolly Mount”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,150 patented Nov. 1, 1994 to J. L. Praz on a “Roof Rack For Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,5,398,778 patented Mar. 21, 1995 to R. Sexton on a “Ladder Rack Securing And Release System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,405,234 patented Apr. 11, 1995 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al on a “Pivotable Article Retaining Apparatus To Invert And Store A Collapsible Water Storage Tank On A Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,495 patented Jun. 6, 1995 to L. Bubik et al and assigned to Innovative Bicycle Design Inc. on a “Vehicle Roof Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,933 patented Nov. 28, 1995 to J. Thomason on a “Vehicle Mounted Ladder”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,357 patented May 21, 1996 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al and assigned to Theodore Ziaylek, Jr. and Michael P. Ziaylek on a “Retaining And Retrieval Apparatus For Storage Of A Ladder Upon A Vehicle Shelf Area”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,591 patented May 27, 1997 to K. R. Henriquez on a “Ladder Storage And Transport Device”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,521 patented Jan. 20, 1998 to D. Glass et al on a “Lift Assembly Bicycle Carrier For Car Rooftop”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,791,857 patented Aug. 11, 1998 to T. Ziaylek, Jr. et al and assigned to Theodore Ziaylek, Jr. and Michael Paul Ziaylek on an “Automatic Ladder Lowering And Storage Device For Use With An Emergency Vehicle”; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,891 patented Dec. 22, 1998 to J. J. Olms et al and assigned to Trimble Navigation Limited on a “Motorized Rack System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,633 patented Dec. 21, 1999 to R. G. Rolson and assigned to Robert G. Rolson on a “Portable Truck Or Trailer Ladder Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,312 patented Jul. 11, 2000 to M. P. Ziaylek et al on a “Tank Handling Apparatus”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,972 patented Jul. 25, 2000 to A. Y. Levi on a “Truck Mounted Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,099,231 patented Aug. 8, 2000 to A. Y. Levi on a “Drive Unit For Motor Vehicle Ladder Rack”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,543 patented Jan. 30, 2001 to D. Adame et al on a “Rack For Motor Vehicles”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,534 patented Jul. 10, 2001 to A. L. Finley and assigned to Finley Body Industries Inc. on a “Ladder Rack Assembly”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,668 patented Aug. 14, 2001 to F. Kameda and assigned to Nissin Jidosha Kogyo Co., Ltd. on a “Wheel Chair Storage Apparatus Of Car”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,315,181 patented Nov. 13, 2001 to J. A. Bradley et al and assigned to Adrian Steel Company on a “Ladder Rack Apparatus And Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,321,873 patented Nov. 27, 2001 to R. LaBrash and assigned to Tra-Lor-Mate, Inc. on a “Ladder Mounting System”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,340,060 patented Jan. 23, 2002 to L. G. Larsson et al and assigned to Cold Cut Systems Svenska A. B. on a “Method And Equipment For Use In Rescue Service”; and U.S. Pat. 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