Rite-hite Holding Corporation

Matt Sveum

Kyle E Nelson

Jonathan I Andersen

Timothy Muhl

Dave Holm

Al Hochstein

Bradley J Stone

Matthew A Tourdot

Timothy Cotton

Kurt Lessard

Reinhard E Sander

Benjamin Wieberdink

Eric Bublitz

Pamela Pietrangelo

John A Kish

David Klumb

David Holm

To help hold a trailer bed of a truck steady at a loading dock as the truck is being loaded or unloaded of its cargo, a yieldable vehicle brace exerts a substantial, but limited, reactive force upward against the trailer's rear impact guard to resist the trailer's downward movement. In some embodiments, the brace holds the trailer bed stationary up to a certain load limit and provides the trailer bed with a controlled or dampened descent when the load exceeds that limit. In some cases, the reactive upward force exerted by the brace increases with the downward velocity of the trailer bed. The reactive force can be created by one or more pressure relief valves, hydraulic fluid passing through a flow restriction, a brake, a spring, or various combinations thereof. Some embodiments of the brace include provisions for accommodating horizontal movement of the rear impact guard.

Yieldable brace for a vehicle at a loading dock

A wheel restraint for restraining a vehicle at a loading dock includes various features such as, a wheel chock supported by a spring loaded articulated arm with a spring that can be selectively tightened or released, a sensor that detects whether the chock is solidly against a base plate or floor, a bi-directional pivotal joint between the articulated arm and the wheel chock to ensure that the chock can sit squarely on a mating base plate, a wheel chock that meshes with a hydraulically actuated base plate, pivotal or otherwise movable backstops that prevent a wheel chock from sliding out of position, and a base plate cleaning system. The cleaning system might include a vehicle-actuated brush, fluid spray nozzles, electric heater and removable cover plates.

Wheel chock system

To help hold a (trailer) bed of a truck or trailer steady at a loading dock as the truck is being loaded or unloaded of its cargo, a yieldable vehicle brace exerts a substantial, but limited, reactive force upward against the trailer's rear impact guard to resist the trailer's downward movement. In some embodiments, the brace holds the trailer bed stationary up to a certain load limit and provides the trailer bed with a controlled or dampened descent when the load exceeds that limit. In some cases, the reactive upward force exerted by the brace increases with the downward velocity of the trailer bed. The reactive force can be created by one or more pressure relief valves, hydraulic fluid passing through a flow restriction, a brake, a spring, or various combination thereof. Some embodiments of the brace include provisions for accommodating horizontal movement of the rear impact guard.

Brace system and method for a vehicle at a loading dock

An illuminated loading dock system includes a series of light fixtures having sufficient power to illuminate the interior of a series of trailers from a distance that spans a dock leveler pit. The light fixtures are mounted to stanchions (or a railing thereof) that extend upward from an elevated floor that is higher than the pit's floor. In some cases the light fixtures are coupled to control panels that control the operation of the dock levelers. In this arrangement, the pit floor is kept clear of clutter, and dockworkers can control the lights and the dock leveler from one safe location, as opposed to having to step down into the pit, underneath a raised dock leveler deck.

Illuminated loading dock system

A dock leveler for a truck loading dock includes a lighting system mounted to the deck of the leveler. The lighting system can be used for illuminating the interior of a trailer, illuminating the deck of the dock leveler, and/or providing a warning signal that alerts nearby pedestrians and others in the area that work is being done at the loading dock. In some cases, the light is protected by a raised curb of the dock leveler's deck. In other cases, the lighting system is pivotally coupled to the deck so that the light can continue pointing toward the trailer regardless of whether the deck is in a horizontal operative position or a vertical stored position.

Illuminating dock leveler

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Wauwatosa, WI, United States of America

Matt Sveum