Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A dock leveler includes a vehicle-engaging pivotal lip extending from the front end of a pivotal deck, wherein the lip has one or more unique features that provide a smooth transition for forklifts traveling between the lip and a trailer bed upon which the lip is resting. The smooth transition minimizes jolting and vibration of the forklift and its driver as the forklift wheels pass over the leading edge of the lip. The special features of the lip may include one or more of the following: a curved traffic-bearing surface terminating at a sharp or blunt leading edge, a traffic-bearing surface that includes both flat and curved sections, a multifaceted traffic-bearing surface that approximates a curved surface, a rubber or plastic shock absorbing element, an articulated nose piece at the lip's leading edge, and a main lip plate that is coplanar with the deck's traffic surface (i.e., zero crown angle).

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.