ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 25 -- United States Patent no. 12,337,948, issued on June 24, was assigned to Textron Innovations Inc. (Providence, R.I.).
"Bifold stair system for aircraft" was invented by Michael John Seibel (Wichita, Kan.), Jamie L. Taber (Wichita, Kan.) and Sidney Aloysius Mohr (Clearwater, Kan.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A stairway for aircraft is disclosed which includes first and second stair halves, one which nests in the other. The first half is hinged to the doorway and the second half is hinged to the first half. A mechanical resistance system uses different devices to allow for the airstair to be damped when switching between modes. A retracting arrangement is also discl...