| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20120011664 | CURVED TRANSITION PLATES FOR PIVOTAL DOCK LEVELER DECKS - Example dock levelers at a truck-loading platform include a stationary curved transition plate extending between a rear edge of the leveler's pivotal deck and a rear edge of a pit at which the leveler is installed. The transition plate has a curved portion that extends underneath the deck's rear edge. The plate provides a smooth transition for forklifts traveling between the platform and the deck, thus reducing and/or minimizing the jarring of the forklift and its driver. To prevent debris and obstructions from getting trapped within the deck's rear hinge, the rear edge of the deck rises up and over the transition plate as the deck pivots upward, thereby providing a self-cleaning effect. With the rear edge of an inclined deck being above the transition plate, water runoff from the deck drains onto the transition plate rather than through the hinge gap to a generally inaccessible area underneath the deck. | 01-19-2012 |
| 20130097787 | DOCK LEVELERS WITH THERMALLY BALANCED TRACTION DECKS - Example dock levelers installed at a vehicle loading dock include pivotal or otherwise vertically adjustable deck plates with special coatings on the deck's upper surface. In some examples, the coating improves traction and addresses various thermal issues, such as condensation and thermal strain between a polymeric coating and a steel deck plate. In some examples, when indoor and outdoor air create a temperature differential across opposite faces of the deck, the coating is designed such that a median temperature of the temperature differential occurs near an interface where the coating bonds to the steel plate's upper surface. In some examples, the coating includes particles of different sizes and colors embedded within and covered by a polymeric base material. As traffic abrades the coating, the different colored particles become exposed at different levels of wear, thereby providing a visual signal indicating when the coating needs to be touched up or replaced. | 04-25-2013 |
| 20140064892 | VEHICLE RESTRAINTS WITH ROTATING AND TRANSLATING BARRIERS - Example vehicle restraints with rotating and translating barriers are disclosed herein. An example vehicle restraint disclosed herein a main body installable at a loading dock and a barrier to be coupled to the main body. The barrier rotates about an axis relative to the main body between an upper blocking position to block the RIG and a stored position to release the RIG, where for a given elevation of the main body the barrier being higher in the upper blocking position than in the stored position. The barrier moves radially with respect to the axis. | 03-06-2014 |
| 20150047132 | SAFETY SYSTEMS FOR VERTICALLY STORING DOCK LEVELERS - Example dock leveler safety systems for vertically storing dock levelers are disclosed herein. An example dock leveler safety system disclosed herein may be used at a dock platform in a pit having a pit floor, where the pit floor is at a lower elevation than the dock platform and the dock platform and the pit floor define the pit. The dock leveler safety system comprises a deck to pivot relative to the dock platform between an upright position and a lowered position such that the deck extends farther over the pit floor when the deck is in the lowered position than when the deck is in the stored upright position. A sensor monitors a sensed region within the pit when the deck is in the upright position and the sensor provides a reaction signal in response to a body being detected within the sensed region. The deck enters a state of restricted movement in response to the reaction signal. | 02-19-2015 |
| 20150047133 | SAFETY SYSTEMS FOR VERTICALLY STORING DOCK LEVELERS - 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. | 02-19-2015 |
| 20150375947 | Pedestrian-Vehicle Safety Systems for Loading Docks - Pedestrian-Vehicle safety systems for loading docks are disclosed herein. An example method disclosed herein includes sensing whether a person is within a certain area adjacent a dock face of a loading dock, emitting a first signal in response to sensing the person being present within the certain area, sensing rearward movement of a vehicle toward the dock face, emitting a second signal in response to sensing rearward movement of the vehicle while the person is not present in the certain area, and emitting a third signal in response to sensing both the rearward movement of the vehicle and the person being present within the certain area. | 12-31-2015 |
