US 8,943,630 B2Granted

Seal for dock leveler lip hinge

AssigneeRite-Hite Holding Corporation

InventorsCharles J. Digmann, Jack T. Droullard, Timothy J. Schmidt

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A dock leveler comprising a vehicle-engaging lip pivotally coupled to the vertically adjustable front edge of a deck includes a seal or series of seal segments that close one or more air gaps that exist in the area where the lip is hinged to the deck. Such gaps are particularly large when the lip hinge comprises a hinge pin that couples a series of lugs extending from underneath the deck to a series of lugs extending from the lip, wherein the lugs are spaced apart along the length of the hinge pin. The seal or seal segments could be above the deck, below the deck, or interposed between the adjoining edges of the deck and the lip. In some cases, the seal is provided by an air curtain or by a tube that is inflatable or hermetically sealed.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A seal for a dock leveler comprising:

a flexible seal spanning a gap defined between a deck and a lip along a width of the deck, the flexible seal to substantially prevent airflow through the gap, the flexible seal being directly attached only to a hinge pivotally coupling the lip and the deck, the flexible seal to engage at least one of the lip or the deck when the lip pivots relative to the deck between a pendent position and an extended position, the flexible seal comprising a tubular seal having a longitudinal opening along a length of the tubular seal to receive the hinge, the tubular seal having a first portion comprising an inner surface defined by the longitudinal opening of the tubular seal and a second portion comprising an outer surface of the tubular seal, the tubular seal having a slit along the outer surface to enable the tubular seal to attach to a hinge pin of the hinge without having to insert the hinge pin through the longitudinal opening in a longitudinal direction.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.