Automatic cargo elevator for vehicle

In a cargo elevator for attachment to a cargo vehicle having a cargo bed

• a mounting frame, for attachment to the vehicle under said cargo bed adjacent to a loading station, including horizontally disposed, axially aligned bearing sleeves as a lower frame member;
• said mounting frame being generally planar, and being secured at its upper end to said cargo bed at said loading station;
• and said frame being disposed at an angle inclined downwardly and inwardly from said cargo bed at said loading station;
• a torque shaft rotatably supported in said bearing sleeves;
• a torque arm extending radially from said torque shaft;
• and a fluid power cylinder connected between the upper end of said mounting frame and said torque arm for oscillating said torque shaft and torque arm about their axis;
• a pair of lift arms nonrotatably mounted on said torque shaft adjacent to its ends;
• a pair of parallel arms rotatably mounted on said mounting frame;
• a pair of arm brackets rotatably mounted on said torque shaft adjacent to its ends;
• said arm brackets having pivot means for pivotally supporting said parallel arms;
• said arm brackets and said mounting frame having coacting structure for limiting rotation of said arm brackets to a limit position, and thereby to maintain an elevator platform in a load supporting position;
• and said elevator platform being pivotally mounted on said lift and parallel arms in a manner to maintain said elevator platform in said load supporting position.

In a cargo elevator for attachment to a cargo vehicle having a cargo bed;

• an elevator platform including a base platform and a folding platform hingedly attached to said base platform;
• said elevator platform being mounted, by means of said base platform, to be raised and lowered between a ground position and a bed position, with said base platform being maintained in a generally horizontal position during these movements;
• the improvement comprising
• an articulated locking and folding mechanism connected between fixed pivots on said base platform and said folding platform, for effecting the locking of said folding platform in the plane of said base platform, and for effecting the downward folding and unfolding of said folding platform;
• said mechanism including an actuator lever;
• said actuator lever being engageable with an actuator arm on said vehicle, during upward movement of said elevator platform, to effect the folding of said folding platform from a load position to a stored position under said base platform and said cargo bed;
• and said engaged actuator lever and actuator arm effecting the unfolding of said folding platform to said load position, during downward movement, of said elevator platform and effecting the locking of said folding platform in said load position.