ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,454,863, issued on Oct. 28.
"Safety roof hatch system" was invented by Joseph O. Rogers III (Columbia, S.C.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system is provided for safe access to a roof through an opening in a roof of a structure having a fixed ladder leading upward to the opening. The system includes a mechanism to drive a set of pushrods to raise a hatch covering the opening. The system may include a section of ladder secured to the underside of the hatch. The system may have an extendable ladder driven by the drive mechanism to slide along the fixed ladder and extend through the opening in the roof when the hatch is raised. The system...