Ramp door and frame assembly

A ramp door connectable to a frame assembly having upright members extending along opposite sides of a door opening, comprising:

• a) a stiff inner sheet of generally rectangular shape defining an interior face of the ramp door and providing a traffic surface for being walked upon;
• b) a stiff outer sheet of generally rectangular shape defining an exterior face of the ramp door;
• c) a stiff, crush resistant honeycomb core sandwiched between and bonded to the inner sheet and the outer sheet to define a central region of the ramp door;
• d) a pair of opposed side members connected to the inner sheet and the outer sheet and defining opposed sides of the central region of the ramp door;
• and
• e) wherein the opposed side members have flange portions that are thinner than the central region of the ramp door and that extend the exterior face of the ramp door beyond the opposed sides of the central region to overlie exterior faces of the upright members when the ramp door is in a closed position.

A ramp door and frame assembly assembly comprising:

• a) a frame assembly configured to extend about a portion of a door opening including an upright member configured to extend substantially vertically along a side region of the door opening;
• b) a ramp door pivotally connected to the frame assembly to pivot about an axis extending transverse to the upright member near a bottom region of the door opening between a closed position adjacent the upright member and an open position wherein the ramp door serves as a ramp adjacent the opening;
• c) a lift cable connected to the ramp door at a first distance from the pivot axis, and extending into the upright at a second distance from the pivot axis, wherein the first and second distances are substantially equal;
• and
• d) wherein the ramp door has a height measured from the pivot axis to a top edge of the ramp door when the ramp door is closed, and wherein the first distance is selected such that a ratio of the first distance to the height of the door resides within the range of about 0.11 to about 0.21 to minimize lift cable exposure when the ramp door is open.

A ramp door and frame assembly, comprising:

• a) a frame assembly configured to extend about a portion of a door opening including a hollow upright member configured to extend substantially vertically along a side region of the door opening and defining an interior space having lower and upper regions separated by a central region;
• b) a ramp door having opposed first and second end regions, with the first end region being pivotally connected to the frame assembly to pivot about an axis that extends transverse to the upright member along a bottom region of the door opening between a closed position adjacent the upright member and an open position wherein the ramp door provides a ramp adjacent the bottom region of the door opening;
• c) a strike connected to the ramp door near the second end region of the ramp door;
• d) a latch mechanism connected to the frame assembly, housed within the upper region of the interior space, and configured to latchingly engage the strike when the ramp door is in the closed position;
• e) a door lift cable connected to the ramp door at a location between the opposed first and second end regions, and extending into the lower region of the interior space;
• and
• f) a tensioning mechanism connected to the frame assembly, housed within the central region of the interior space and configured to tension the door lift cable to bias the ramp door toward the closed position.