Rear headers for dock levelers
AssigneeRite-Hite Holding Corporation
InventorLeonard John Kikstra
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Rear headers for dock levelers. An example dock leveler includes a deck movable between a stored position and an operating position; and a rear header coupled to the deck, the rear header including a hinge lug; a mounting plate to couple to the hinge lug, the mounting plate defining a first sloped surface oriented toward a rear surface of the deck when the dock leveler is in the stored position; and a tilt plate coupled to the mounting plate, the tilt plate defining a second sloped surface oriented away from the rear surface of the deck when the dock leveler is in the stored position.
Claims20
A dock leveler comprising:
- a deck movable between a stored position and an operating position;
- and
- a rear header coupled to the deck, the rear header including:
- a hinge lug;
- a mounting plate to couple to the hinge lug, the mounting plate defining a first sloped surface oriented toward a rear surface of the deck when the dock leveler is in the stored position;
- and
- a tilt plate coupled to the mounting plate, the tilt plate defining a second sloped surface oriented away from the rear surface of the deck when the dock leveler is in the stored position.
A dock leveler structured to pivot between a stored position and an operational position, the dock leveler comprising:
- a deck having a deck plate and a plurality of beams extending between a front edge and a rear edge of the deck plate, the deck plate including a first side defining a traffic surface and a second side that is opposite the first side, the beams coupled to the second side of the deck plate;
- a rear header coupled to the deck, the rear header including a mounting plate that couples to the rear edge of the deck, the mounting plate having a first portion defining a first slope toward the second side of the deck plate when the dock leveler is in the stored position;
- and
- a tilt structure, the tilt structure having a second slope oriented away from the second side of the deck plate when the dock leveler is in the stored position.
A rear header for a dock leveler, the rear header comprising:
- a hinge lug including a crown and a foot;
- and
- a mounting plate to engage the hinge lug, the mounting plate including:
- a first portion defining a rear edge of the dock leveler, the first portion to couple to the dock leveler;
- a second portion curved towards a third portion in a first circumferential direction to define an arc;
- and
- a fourth portion, the fourth portion curved away from the first portion in a second circumferential direction, wherein fourth portion is a tilt plate to direct debris away from the rear header.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.