A hold-down device for a mechanical dock leveler which is spring loaded so that when the hold-down device is released the deck will rise and the lip will extend. When the deck is walked down, the hold-down device maintains the deck in contact with the truck bed. This is accomplished by means of the interaction and geometry between a brake actuating arm and a brake release arm and the associated pins. As the dock leveler is lowered, the perpendicular distance from an anchor pin to the centerline of a slot in the brake actuating arm increases. This causes the brake actuating arm to move upward increasing tension on the brake band. The brake release arm moves and increases the braking force. As the dock leveler is raised the braking force is reduced.

A loading dock for facilitating the transport of articles from piers to haulaway vehicles or the like includes a pair of spaced apart ramps rotatably secured to a base at one end thereof. Co-acting means disposed on the lateral exterior side of the dock enables the ramps to be locked in any position between the horizontal and vertical. The present loading dock is particularly adapted for loading automotive vehicles onto trailers therefor.

A return-to-dock-level mechanism for a dockboard. The dockboard includes a ramp which is hinged at its rear edge to a loading dock and a lip is hinged to the front edge of the ramp and can be pivoted from a downwardly hanging pendant position to an extended position flush with the ramp surface. The ramp is adapted to be moved from the horizontal cross traffic position to an upwardly inclined position by a counterbalancing spring assembly, and a uni-directional holddown mechanism will prevent upward movement of the ramp unless manually released through operation of a cable. An operating link is supported by the ramp and has one end attached to the holddown cable. When the ramp is walked down to a below dock level position with the lip extended, the link is moved to a latched position. After loading is completed and the truck pulls away from the dock, the lip will fall to its pendant position and the downward movement of the lip is transmitted to the link to pivot the link and release the holddown mechanism to cause the ramp to be elevated through the counterbalancing spring assembly. As the ramp is elevated to dock level, the link is unlatched to release the pull on the holddown cable and prevent further upward movement of the ramp.

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.

A lip guiding mechanism is disclosed for use with a dock leveler having a deck which is pivotally movable with respect to a loading dock, a lip which is pivotally attached to a front of the deck, and a lip keeper which is positioned to receive the lip when the deck is in a cross-traffic position and the lip is in a pendant position. In use, the lip-guiding mechanism selectively deflects the lip of the dock leveler away from the lip keeper to facilitate below dock level end-loading conditions. The lip guiding mechanism includes a lip guide member with a camming surface. The lip guide member is disposable adjacent to the loading dock and is movable between a stored position, wherein the camming surface is positioned for clearance from the lip of the dock leveler, and an activated position, wherein the camming surface is positioned for engagement by the lip of the dock leveler. When the lip guide member is in the activated position, the camming surface deflects the lip of the dock leveler away from the lip keeper of the dock leveler to permit the deck to be lowered into a below dock level position. The lip guiding mechanism is also provided with an actuator for selectively moving the lip guide member between the stored and activated positions.