ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 26 -- United States Patent no. 12,398,596, issued on Aug. 26.
"Accessing apparatus" was invented by John Frank Sabol (East Chicago, Ind.) and John A. Sabol (East Chicago, Ind.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus used to assist workers with entry into a barge that allows a user to go over the barge wall and descend to access the bottom of the barge. The apparatus includes a first pathway 3, a landing 17 and a second pathway 4. The first pathway 3 has a low end 21 and a high end 22 and the second pathway has a landing end 23. The high end 22 is elevated from the low end 21 with the high end 22 being attached to the landing 17. The landing end 17 is attached to the ...