Pets, animals, children, and short persons can benefit by gaining access to elevated points otherwise difficult or impossible to reach under normal circumstances, such as access into cars, trucks, or other vehicles, as well as on and off patios, decks, furniture, or other areas that may be inconvenient to access because of height.
Steps, stairs, ladders, and ramps, are known ways for improving access to elevated positions, and various devices have been made available to help persons, pets, and animals better access elevated positions. For example, US publication 2013/0047937 is directed to a telescoping pet ramp with a ramp segment telescopically extendable from a compact state to an extended state. US publication 2014/0123910 is directed to a folding pet ramp that includes a telescoping handle. US publication 2015/0122581 is directed to a utility ramp that folds onto a collapsible set of steps. U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,082 is directed to a ramp for assisting an animal in inclined walking between two different levels. U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,236 is directed to a pet ramp and step that includes a frame, an upper platform member, and a lower platform member. The leg support member is foldable such that it can fold under the frame to create a storable apparatus. US publication 2012/0060769 is directed to a pet step device including one or more pet steps. U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,440 is directed to a convertible step and ramp combination having a frame and removable steps, which may be converted into a ramp.