Lift gate control system

Claim 1

IN A LIFT GATE FOR VEHICLES AND THE LIKE COMPRISING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLATFORM, A COMPRESSION ARM AND A TENSION ARM WITH THEIR ENDS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID VEHICLE AND SAID PLATFORM, SAID TENSION AND COMPRESSION ARMS BEING NORMALLY GENERALLY PARALLEL AND OF GENERALLY EQUAL LENGTH TO MAINTAIN SAID PLATFORM IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL ATTITUDE FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT BETWEEN UPPER AND LOWER POSITIONS, MEANS FOR SWINGING SAID ARMS AND PLATFORM BETWEEN SAID UPPER AND LOWER POSITIONS, SAID TENSION ARM BEING FORMED OF OUTER AND INNER SECTIONS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TOGETHER, WITH THE OUTER SECTION PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID PLATFORM AND SAID INNER SECTION PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID VEHICLE, AND SELECTIVELY POSITIONABLE MEANS MOVABLE TO AN OPERATING POSITION RESTRICTING UPWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID INNER SECTION OF SAID TENSION ARM AS SAID ARMS SWING UPWARDLY, WHEREBY SAID PLATFORM IS ROTATED UPWARDLY TOWARD SAID VEHICLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID PLATFORM AND SAID COMPRESSION ARM; THE IMPROVED MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE ROTATION OF SAID PLATFORM WHICH COMPRISES MEANS FOR BLOCKING THE PATH OF DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID INNER SECTION OF SAID TENSION ARM FOR A PORTION OF THE TIME WHEN SAID SELECTIVELY POSITIONABLE MEANS IS IN SAID OPERATING POSITION.