The Serco Corporation

United Dominion Ind, Inc.

United Dominion Industries, Inc.

Ti Serco Corporation

James C Alexander

Vincent Sullivan

Donald L Metz

Hoa Nguyen

David E Salman

Richard B Gowan

Robert C Hersey

A pit type dock leveler having a frame adapted to be fixedly mounted at a dock with a deck, pivotedly mounted to the frame at one end thereof, and having a pivotable lip at the other end. A spring is mounted to the deck and the frame to support and raise the deck the deck. A hydraulic actuator is coupled to the deck and to a pivotable linkage member that is mounted to the frame. In a powered mode, the hydraulic unit acts as a power assist for the springs to move the deck from a generally horizontal stored position into an operative position. A control circuit is employed for controlling operation of the hydraulic actuator. In a manual mode, the linkage and the hydraulic unit act a pivoting follower to deck movement without any extension of the hydraulic unit.

Mechanically actuated dock leveler with hydraulic assist

A vehicle restraint having a frame mounted to a dock face and a hook movable relative to the fixed member for engaging a portion of a vehicle and restraining movement of the vehicle away from the dock. The vehicle restraint has a linkage comprising a first arm pivotally connected to the frame, a second arm pivotally connected to the first arm and having a first end not fixed and movable with respect to the frame and a second end pivotally coupled to the hook, and a third arm coupling the first arm to the hook to maintain the hook in a generally vertical orientation. A sensor may be employed to determine engagement of the hook with a portion of the vehicle.

Low profile vehicle restraint

A vehicle restraint employs a 4 bar linkage to lift a restraining member to a position that engages a vehicle thus restraining it at a loading dock. The linkage is upwardly biased to hold the unit in an engaging position and may be retracted by using any of a number of mechanical techniques such as hydraulic electric or pneumatic power. The 4 bar linkage transfers all loading on the unit from the ICC to the frame thus isolating any driven members from overloads. A secondary hook mounted to the 4 bar linkage is pivotally spring loaded to limit vehicle travel away from the dock and to extend the capture range of the device in the case of ICC's bars that are damaged or mounted at non-standard positions at the rear of the vehicle.

Vehicle restraint

A vehicle restraint for preventing movement of a vehicle from a parked position has a frame mountable at a loading dock to position a vehicle restraint mechanism operably coupled to the frame. The vehicle restraint mechanism has a restraining member with at least one hook movable between a lower inoperative position where said restraining member is out of contact with a vehicle to be restrained and an upper operative position where the restraining member contacts said vehicle and prevents movement from a parked position. A source of power, such as an actuator moves the restraining member upward to the operative position by having linkage coupling the source of power to the restraining member. A resilient member is coupled to the linkage and biases the restraining member into engagement with the vehicle. A security member is movable from a stored position to a blocking position preventing movement of the linkage in one direction thereby preventing the restraining member from lowering into the inoperative position and a spring member biases the security member into engagement with the linkage to prevent downward movement of the restraining member.

Vehicle restraint with security device

A dock leveler has a deck pivotally mounted to a frame. A counterbalance mechanism uses a pair of pivoting links connected together at a common point with a tension spring that is coupled at the other end to the deck. The links together with the frame and the deck form a four-bar linkage biased by the spring to counterbalance the weight of the deck.

Counterbalance for mechanical dock leveler

A system for restraining a vehicle, such as a truck having a pair of separated tires mounted on an axle, positioned at a loading dock. A member is movable from a stored position near or under the loading dock to an operative position under the vehicle and located between said separated tires. A pair of restraining elements are mounted on the movable member and are movable from a stored position between the tires to an outward extended position where each of the restraining elements engage a respective one of said pair tires. A mechanism, such as an hydraulic system, is mounted to said member at one end and to a fixed point at the other to move the member to a position under the vehicle. The pair of restraining elements is moved to the outward extended position by action of the moving mechanism for the member or by movement of a sensor that contacts a tire.

Automatic wheel chock

An automatic vehicle chock has a chock and a locking mechanism movable on a rail from a retracted position to a position where the chock is extended and held in position by the locking mechanism. A sensor moves with the chock to determine the position of the wheel to be chocked and extend the chock. The position of the sensor relative to the chock can be adjusted. The device also employs mechanical assemblies carried by the carriage assembly to retract the chock without the use of a brake. In one embodiment a cam is used to reverse the direction of the chock arm retaining spring after the chock has been engaged. In a second embodiment the chock is continuously biased to the stored position and a latch is used to hold the chock outward until it is locaked in posiion. The latch is then released and the bias to the stored position is restored so that the chock will retract when the lock is released.

Automatic wheel chock system

A vehicle restraint having a fixed member such as a frame mounted to a dock face and a hook movable relative to the fixed member for engaging a portion of a vehicle and restraining movement of the vehicle away from the dock. A non-contact sensor is employed to determine engagement of the hook with a portion of the vehicle. The sensor is positioned to provide an effective magnetic field in the zone of contact so that engagement with an ICC bar on the vehicle can be ascertained. The sensor may also be a sensor bar pivotally movable respect to a vertical restraining member. The sensor bar houses a sensor that determines relative movement between itself and a target to provide a signal indicative of engagement when the sensor bar is depressed by the vehicle.

Vehicle restraint sensing system

A dockboard, such as a pit type comprising a frame, a deck attached to the frame at one end thereof, a lip hinged to another end of the deck for movement between a pendant position and an outward extended position. A maintenance assembly for the dockboard has a pivotable prop mounted to the underside of the deck for movement between a stored position generally parallel to the deck and a downward extended position supporting the deck. A locking member secures the prop in both the stored and the extended position. The lip may be supported by the maintenance assembly using a spring member to support the lip support bar, or move a member into engagement thereby preventing the lip from falling.

Maintenance prop for a dock leveler

A vehicle restraint having a fixed member such as a frame mounted to a dock face and a hook movable relative to the fixed member for engaging a portion of a vehicle and restraining movement of the vehicle away from the dock. A non-contact sensor is employed to determine engagement of the hook with a portion of the vehicle. The sensor is positioned to provide an effective magnetic field in the zone of contact so that engagement with an ICC bar on the vehicle can be ascertained.

An adjustable bumper system for use at a loading dock which has a dock leveler having a deck pivotally mounted to a portion of the dock. The dock leveler has a lip pivotally attached to one end of said deck. The bumper system has a pair of support members each mounted to a portion of the dock. The support members may be pivotally mounted and extend along sides of the deck of said dock leveler. The support members may also be mounted to the dock face and move vertically. Dock bumpers are mounted to each support member and are positionable between two different vertical positions as the support member is moved. The dock bumpers project outward from the dock beyond the pendent lip and are adjustable to engage the rear of vehicles having different heights.

Loading dock with adjustable bumpers

A chocking device for securing a vehicle at a loading dock having a guide rail mountable to a driveway and a carriage movable on the guide rail. A drive mechanism, which may be hydraulic or electric is employed to advance the carriage from a stored position to a position proximate to a wheel of the vehicle. A chock assembly is pivotedly mounted on the carriage and is movable by the drive mechanism from a retracted position to an engaging position. The chock assembly comprises an arm having a sensor bar to contact one portion the wheel and a chock plate movable in response to contact of the sensor against the wheel to contact another portion of the wheel and block movement of the vehicle. A lock assembly is mounted on the guide rail for movement thereon, and is moved by the drive mechanism into contact with the chock plate to restrain the chock plate in the extended position.

A dock leveler having a frame, a deck hingedly mounted at on end to the frame and a lip hingedly mounted to the deck at another thereof. The lip has a hinge tube affixed to the lip and a gusset joined to both the lip and the hinge tube. The gusset has an end joining the lip having a width greater than an end joining the hinge tube. The gusset may have a trapezoidal shape and the end of the gusset joining the lip is affixed by two welds each spanning the width of the end joining the hinge tube and disposed between the gusset and the hinge tube. The two welds are joined to each other by extending around edges of the gusset. A single gusset may span the lip and be joined to multiple hinge tubes.

Dock leveler lip construction

A dock leveler, typically powered by an electric actuator or other motive source has a frame and a deck pivotally mounted to the frame. The source of power to move the deck is coupled to the underside of the deck. An extendable lip is pivotally mounted to one end of the deck and an arm assembly is coupled at one end to the lip and at another end to a crank carried by the deck to utilize movement of the deck to raise said lip into an extended position. A cam-latch arm is resiliently coupled to the arm assembly and selectively bearing on the crank by means of a spring coupling to the arm assembly. A linkage is coupled between the frame and said cam-latch arm to urge said cam-latch arm into contact with the crank as the deck is raised. This tends to cause movement between the cam portion and a roller on the crank which in turn provides a component of force to assist in raising said lip into the extended position.

Growing community of inventors

London, Canada

James C Alexander