Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
Rail Assembly For A Telescoping Ramp
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to rail system for a telescoping ramp and a
telescoping
ramp that is constructed using such a rail assembly. The telescoping ramp is
of the type used
to load and unload a cargo area of a truck.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Telescoping ramps are known in the art. There are a number of existing
configurations of telescoping ramp, including the following U.S. Patents:
5,536,058 (Otis
1996); 5,813,071 (Breslin et al 1998); 6,345,950 (Gerwitz 2002); and 6,484,344
(Cooper
2002).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention there is provided a rail assembly for a
telescoping
ramp, which includes a slider rail and a hollow channel rail. The slider rail
is taller than it is
wide, with opposed ends, opposed faces, and opposed edges. First ramp
attachment means
protrude outwardly from a first of the opposed faces. The hollow channel rail
has a first side
2 0 wall consisting of spaced co-planar wall segments forming a gap making the
channel rail
generally C-shaped in cross-section. The channel rail has an interior surface
that defines an
interior channel adapted to accommodate the slider rail with at least one of
the opposed edges
of the slider rail serving as a bearing surface which slides along the
interior surface and the
first ramp attachment means protruding through the gap between the wall
segments. Second
2 5 ramp attachment means protrude outwardly from one of the wall segments.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become more apparent from the
3 0 following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings,
the drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to in any way limit
the scope of the
invention to the particular embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
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FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a telescoping ramp constructed in accordance
with the
teachings of the present invention, in an extended position.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in FIG. 1, in
a
retracted position.
FIG. 3 is an end elevation view, in section, of the telescoping ramp
illustrated in FIG.
1.
FIG. 4 is detailed perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in
FIG. 1., with
attachment hooks in a first orientation.
FIG. 5 is detailed perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in
FIG. 1., with
attachment hooks in a second orientation.
FIG. 6 is a detailed perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in
FIG. 1
attached to an anchor bar.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in FIG. 1
adapted to
load snowmobiles.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the telescoping ramp illustrated in FIG. 1
adapted to
load ATVs.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment, a rail assembly for a telescoping ramp generally
identified
2 0 by reference numeral 10, will now be described with reference to FIG.1
through 8.
Rail Structure:
Referring now to FIG. 1, rail assembly I 0 for a telescoping ramp 12 includes
a slider
rail 14 and a channel rail 30. Slider rail 14 is taller than it is wide, has
opposed ends 16 and
2 5 18, and, referring to FIG. 3, opposed faces 20 and 22, and opposed edges
24 and 26. A first
ramp attachment means, such as a pair of parallel spaced flanges 28, extend
for substantially
the entire length of slider rail 14 between opposed ends 16 and 18 and
protrude outwardly
from opposed face 20. Channel rail 30 is generally parallel-piped and hollow
with a first side
wall 32 consisting of spaced co-planar wall segments 34 that form a gap to
make channel rail
3 0 30 generally C-shaped in cross-section. Channel rail 30 has an interior
surface 36 that defines
an interior channel 38 adapted to accommodate slider rail 14 with either
opposed edges 24 or
26 of slider rail 14 serving as a bearing surface 25 that slides along
interior surface 36, and
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flanges 28 protruding through the gap between wall segments 34. Alternatively,
opposed
edges 24 and 26 may incorporate wheels or other means to act as a bearing
surface. Both
slider rail 14 and channel rail 30 are preferably aluminium extrusions. It is
preferred that
"gutters" 37 be positioned along the edges of interior surface 36 of channel
rail 30, to provide
a space for debris to go. A second ramp attachment means, such as parallel
spaced flanges
40 that extend for substantially the entire length of channel rail 30 protrude
outwardly from
one of the wall segments 34. For improved strength and performance, structural
ribs 42 may
be included that protrude from face 22 of slider rail 14 and extend between
opposed ends 16
and 18. There may also be structural ribs 44 protruding from a second side
wall 45 of
channel rail 30. Structural ribs 42 and 44 may be used for a variety of
functions. They may
form a channel for attachment hook 60, act as a splice reinforcement, a roller
channel, a
spacer, or be used to stiffen slider rail 14.
Telescoping ramp structure:
Referring now to FIG. 3, telescoping ramp 12 includes two slider rails 14 and
two
channel rails 30 as described above. Slider rails 14 include first ramp
attachment means, such
as parallel spaced flanges 28. Referring to FIG. 1, a plurality of cross-
member members 46
extend between two slider rails 14 in parallel spaced relation to form a first
ramp section 50.
It will be appreciated that cross-member members 46 can serve as support for
some form of
2 0 covering substrate or could be replaced by a solid sheet. It is preferred
to use cross-member
members 46 and cover portions with a covering substrate, as it is less
expensive. Referring
again to FIG. 3, cross-member members 46 are secured in a channel 48 defined
by parallel
spaced flanges 28. Slider rails 14 are positioned in parallel spaced relation
with a first
opposed edge 49 of the first ramp section 50 secured to parallel spaced
flanges 28 of one of
2 5 the two slider rails 14 and a second opposed edge 51 of first ramp section
50 secured to
parallel spaced flanges 28 of the other slider rail 14.
Referring to FIG.1, a plurality of cross-member members 58 extend between two
channel rails 14 in parallel spaced relation to form a second ramp section 50.
Referring to
3 0 FIG. 3, the two channel rails 30 are positioned in parallel spaced
relation with a first opposed
edge 52 of the second ramp section 54 secured to in a channel 55 defined by
parallel spaced
flanges 40 (second ramp attachment means) of one of the two channel rails 30
and a second
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opposed edge 56 of second ramp section 54 secured in a channel 55 defined by
parallel
spaced flanges 40 of the other channel rail 30.
As will hereinafter be further described, ramp 12 is able to be extended and
retracted.
The extended position is shown in FIG.1, and the retracted position is shown
in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, one of opposed edges 24 or 26 of slider rail 14 serve as
bearing surface
25 that slides along interior surface 36 of channel rail 30.
Referring now to FIG. 4, an attachment hook 60 is mounted to a second side
wall 45
at a first end 62 of each of the two channel rails 30 by means of a hook
mounting receiver 64.
Hook mounting receiver 64 is symmetrical and adapted to facilitate the
attachment hook 60
from being secured in more than one orientation. The other orientation is
shown in FIG. 5.
Refernng to FIG. 6, attachment hook 60 also has a safety catch 66 which pivots
freely in a
first direction to permit insertion of an anchor bar 68 into attachment hook
60 and resists
pivotal movement in a second direction, thereby preventing accidental release
of anchor bar
68. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, attachment hook 60 may be made reversible to
permit ramp
12 to be adapted to load different types of vehicles, for example. FIG. 7
shows ramp 12
adapted to load snowmobiles, and FIG. 8 shows ramp 12 adapted to load ATVs.
2 0 Operation:
The use and operation of rail assembly 10 for a telescoping ramp 12 will now
be
discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 through 8. Referring to FIG. 3, slider
rail 14 is
positioned in channel rail 30 as discussed above, with cross-member members 46
and 58
installed between parallel spaced flanges 28 and 40, respectively, to form
first ramp section
2 5 50 and second ramp section 54. Referring to FIG. 6, ramp 12 is installed
by attaching
attachment hook 66 on anchor bar 68. As anchor bar 68 is inserted into
attachment hooks 60,
safety catch 66 pivots in a first direction to permit insertion of anchor bar
68. Once anchor
bar 68 is fully inserted, safety catch 66 returns to its original position and
resists further
movement in the second direction to prevent accidental release of anchor bar
68. Referring to
3 0 FIGS. 1 and 2, ramp can then be extended or kept in the retracted
position, depending on the
loading or unloading requirements. Refernng to FIG. 7 and 8, ramp 12 may be
removed and
reversed if a different type of vehicle is being loaded Referring to FIG. 4
and 5, this is done
4 ~
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by removing attachment hooks 60 from hook mounting receivers 64 and replacing
them in the
other orientation. To remove ramp 12 from anchor bar 68, safety catch 66 is
lifted until an
opening is provided in attachment hook 60 that is wide enough to allow anchor
bar 68 to pass.
5 In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-limiting
sense to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made
to the
illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope of the
invention as
hereinafter defined in the Claims.
