---

Step stool

Step stools are very useful in the home for enabling the user to reach areas that would otherwise be unreachable, whether the intent is to access storage cabinets, do cleaning, change light bulbs, etc. Step stools are frequently used around homes and businesses. Step stools must provide stability for the user when in an opened position. Further, step stools will ideally collapse to assume a storage position. A step stool may be used to bring the user within reaching distance of an elevated place or object, and may even be used to reduce the user's exertion in reaching for an object that may not necessarily be out of reach. Commonly step stools are designed to fold so that the front to rear dimension is greatly reduced. This permits the stepstool to be stored more easily. A step stool generally includes a step portion forming a planar surface supported by a plurality of legs fixedly attached to a bottom surface of the step portion. A step stool may includes one or more steps and a frame that is collapsible for easy storage. Latch mechanisms are often provided to enable a user to lock the steps to the frame in a fixed position after the frame is moved from its collapsed, storage position to its opened, use position. Step stool operators would welcome a latch mechanism that is accessible and operable with one hand. Depending upon what is desired or required by the user, the height to be obtained by the use of the step stool needs to be variable. Similarly, the step stool itself should allow the user to reach a variety of heights to maximize its usefulness. In the view of these inventors, what is needed is a new and useful step stool that is suitable for use in a wide variety of domestic and industrial applications.

---