Dock leveler with deck hinge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12522455-B2
Application number	US-202217742952-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2022
Priority date	May 12, 2022
Publication date	Jan 13, 2026
Grant date	Jan 13, 2026

Abstract

A dock leveler with a deck hinge shaped to fit in the pit of a loading dock. The dock leveler may have a rear leg bracket including a plurality of legs couplable to a bottom surface and a rear wall of the pit. The leg bracket may be positioned directly adjacent the rear wall and may include a plurality of brackets having an upwardly facing opening configured to receive a cylindrical shaft. The dock leveler may also comprise a deck that may have a rear portion shaped to fit over the cylindrical shaft and located adjacent the rear wall. The cylindrical shaft may be sized to fit within the plurality of brackets such that the rear portion of the deck and the shaft may be disposed directly above the legs of the leg bracket.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A dock leveler sized to fit in a pit of a loading dock, comprising:
a rear leg bracket including a plurality of legs couplable to a bottom surface and a rear wall of the pit, the leg bracket being positionable directly adjacent the rear wall, the leg bracket including a bracket having a plurality of brackets having an upwardly facing opening configured to receive a cylindrical shaft; and, a deck having a front portion and a rear portion, the rear portion being adjacent the rear wall when the deck is installed in the pit, and the rear portion being disposed so that only a vertical plate of the leg bracket is disposed between the rear portion of the deck and a loading dock floor, the rear portion being shaped to fit over the cylindrical shaft, and the cylindrical shaft being sized to fit within the plurality of brackets, the rear portion of the deck and the shaft being disposed directly above the legs of the leg bracket.

2 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein the leg bracket is sized to extend from a first sidewall of the pit to a second sidewall of the pit.

3 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein the leg bracket comprises two or more legs, each leg being independently couplable to a bottom surface of the pit at a first end and being coupled to the bracket at an opposing second end.

4 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein each bracket of the plurality of brackets has a semi-circular shape that supports the cylindrical shaft.

5 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein a rear surface of the rear portion of the deck is bent downward.

6 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein only a vertical potion of the bracket separates the rear portion of the deck from a curb angle.

7 . A dock leveler sized to fit in a pit of a loading dock, comprising:
a leg bracket including two or more legs and a bracket connecting the two or more legs, the bracket including two or more C-shaped brackets and having a first width; a shaft extending along the bracket within the C-shaped brackets, the C-shaped brackets supporting the shaft; and, a deck having a bottom surface, a front edge, and an opposing rear edge, the rear edge of the deck configured to be supported by the shaft, configured to be positioned adjacent a rear wall of the pit when the deck is installed in the pit, and configured to be disposed so that only a vertical plate of the leg bracket is disposed between the rear edge of the deck and a loading dock floor.

8 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , wherein a first surface of each leg is coupled to a bottom surface of a dock pit and an opposing second surface of each leg being is coupled to a bottom surface of the bracket.

9 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , wherein the bracket comprises at least one stock plate arranged to extend along and support the shaft.

10 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , wherein the C-shaped brackets are disposed directly over the legs.

11 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , wherein a rear surface of the rear edge of the deck is bent downward.

12 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , wherein the C-shaped brackets have an inner surface, and the shaft contacts the inner surface of the C-shaped brackets.

13 . The dock leveler of claim 7 , further comprising a fastener to secure the shaft to the C-shaped brackets.

14 . The dock leveler of claim 13 , wherein the fastener is a through bolt or pin.

15 . A method of forming a connection on a dock leveler sized to fit in a pit of a loading dock, the method comprising:
providing a deck attachable about a cylindrical shaft; placing the deck above a bracket including a plurality of C-shaped brackets, the deck having a rear portion configured to be positioned adjacent a rear wall of the pit when the deck is installed in the pit, the rear portion being disposed so that only a vertical plate of the bracket is disposed between the rear portion of the deck and a loading dock floor; inserting the cylindrical shaft into an opening of the C-shaped brackets so that the deck is supported by the C-shaped brackets; and, securing the cylindrical shaft to the C-shaped brackets.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising shaping a rear edge of the deck to follow a round profile of the cylindrical shaft.

17 . The method of claim 15 , comprising rotatably coupling a rear edge to the cylindrical shaft.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein each C-shaped bracket includes by an opening and a curved inner surface.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the inserting the cylindrical shaft further includes the cylindrical shaft contacting an inner curved inner surface of at least one of the plurality of C-shaped brackets.

20 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein the rear portion is coupled to the cylindrical shaft in a manner that allows the deck to rotate about the cylindrical shaft.

21 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein the rear portion is coupled to the cylindrical shaft in a manner that at least a portion of the rear portion entirely surrounds a circumference of a cross-section of the cylindrical shaft.

22 . The dock leveler of claim 1 , wherein the vertical plate of the leg bracket comprises one or more weld openings which allow for welding to secure the leg bracket to the rear wall of the pit.

Assignees

• Overhead Door Corp

Inventors

• Mellits Kirk E
• Malligere Girish
• Sotak Philip
• Ouyang Ruiping

Classifications

• B65G69/2894

  Safety legs · CPC title

• B65G69/2841 Primary

  extensible by pivoting parts · CPC title