US 5,311,628 AGranted

Dock leveler with an improved automatic material handling vehicle barrier

AssigneeRite-Hite Corporation

InventorsScott L. Springer, Norbert Hahn

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Abstract

A dock leveler assembly for a loading dock is provided having an adjustable ramp, a pivotally mounted lip and a pivotally mounted barrier plate both disposed at front edge portion of the ramp. The pivotal movement of the lip and the barrier plate are coordinated so that, when the lip is in a depending stored position, the barrier plate may be selectively adjusted to assume either an operative upwardly projecting vehicle barrier mode or an inoperative non-projecting mode allowing material handling equipment to load or unload the rear end of a vehicle parked adjacent the loading dock. When the lip is in an operative cantilevered position bridging a gap formed between the ramp front edge portion and the bed of a parked vehicle the barrier plate assumes the inoperative mode allowing material handling equipment to pass over the ramp and the lip onto the bed of the parked vehicle during loading and unloading thereof.

Claims7

Dependent claims

A dock leveler assembly for a loading dock comprising:

(a) a pivotally mounted ramp adjustable between a first position wherein an exposed surface of said ramp is substantially coplanar with a platform surface of the dock and a second position for loading and unloading the bed of a vehicle parked at the dock;
(b) a barrier member pivotally connected about an axis to a front edge portion of said ramp for selected solely pivotal movement about the axis between an operative position wherein a substantial portion of said barrier member angularly protrudes above the ramp exposed surface, and an inoperative position, wherein no substantial portion of said barrier member angularly protrudes above the ramp exposed surface;
(c) a lip extension connected to said barrier member for pivotal movement between a first position wherein said lip extension depends from the ramp front edge portion and a second position wherein said lip extension is cantilevered from said ramp front edge bridging a gap formed between said ramp front edge portion and the bed of the parked vehicle, the lip extension being operatively connected to the barrier member such that when said lip extension is in the first position, said barrier member may selectively assume either the operative or inoperative position, and when the lip extension is in the second position, said barrier member assumes said inoperative mode;
and
(d) at least one actuator for initiating and coordinating the pivotal movement of said barrier member and said lip extension.

2 more elements

A dock leveler assembly for a loading dock comprising

(a) a support frame mountable within a pit formed in the platform surface of the dock;
(b) a ramp pivotally connected to said support frame and adjustable between a stored position wherein an exposed surface of said ramp is substantially coplanar with the dock platform surface circumjacent the pit, and a non-stored position;
(c) a header section affixed to and depending from a front edge portion of said ramp;
(d) a barrier member pivotally connected about an axis to said header section for selected solely pivotal movement about the axis between an operative position wherein at least a substantial portion of said barrier member and an inoperative position wherein said barrier member does not angularly protrude substantially above the ramp exposed surface;
(e) a lip extension connected to said barrier member for pivotal movement between a first position wherein said lip extension depends from the ramp exposed surface and a second position wherein said lip extension assumes a cantilevered position from said ramp front edge portion bridging a gap formed between said ramp front edge portion and the bed of a parked vehicle, the lip extension being operatively connected to the barrier member such that when said lip extension is in the first position, said barrier member may selectively assume either the operative or inoperative position, and when the lip extension is in the second position, said barrier member assumes said inoperative position;
and
(f) at least one actuator for initiating and coordinating the pivotal movement of said barrier member and said lip extension.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.