Safety systems for vertically storing dock levelers
AssigneeRite-Hite Holding Corporation
InventorMatthew Sveum
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Abstract
Dock leveler safety systems for vertically storing dock levelers are disclosed herein. An example method for sensing a body present within an area of a pit at a loading dock includes monitoring the area of the pit via a sensor system by capturing an image of the area, comparing the captured image to a reference image to determine whether a body is present in the area of the pit, and commanding a deck of a dock leveler to not lower relative to the pit if the body is present.
Claims14
A method for monitoring a sensed region of a pit floor of a dock leveler, the method comprising:
- positioning a first sensor adjacent a first rear corner of the pit floor and a second sensor adjacent a second rear corner of the pit floor;
- receiving a command to move a deck of the dock leveler from a stored upright position toward a range of operative positions;
- monitoring the sensed region of the pit floor via the first sensor and the second sensor, where the first sensor is positioned relative to the second sensor such that at least a portion of a first sensing area monitored by the first sensor overlaps at least a portion of a second sensing area monitored by the second sensor, wherein monitoring the sensed region includes only detecting movement of a body in a direction away from at least one of first sensor or the second sensor;
- and
- preventing the deck from moving toward the range of operative positions in response to detecting the body in the sensed region when the deck is in the stored upright position.
A method for monitoring a sensed region of a pit floor of a dock leveler, the method comprising:
- receiving a command to move a deck of the dock leveler from a stored upright position toward a range of operative positions;
- monitoring the sensed region of the pit floor via at least one of a first sensor located in the pit floor or a second sensor located in the pit floor, where the first sensor is positioned relative to the second sensor such that at least a portion of a first sensing area monitored by the first sensor overlaps at least a portion of a second sensing area monitored by the second sensor, wherein monitoring the sensed region comprises only detecting movement of a body in a direction away from the least one of the first sensor or the second sensor;
- and
- preventing the deck from moving toward the range of operative positions in response to detecting the body in the sensed region when the deck is in the stored upright position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.