Low floor vehicle ramp

Claim 2

A low-floor-vehicle ramp comprising: a slideway attached to a vehicle proximate a bottom side of a floor of the vehicle at a position vertically below a door sill of the vehicle; a boarding-ramp assembly positioned selectively intermediate a vehicle-travel mode on the slideway and a handicap-pickup mode extended from the slideway; a ramp slide having sliding attachment to the slideway; a ramp-control plate on the ramp slide; a ramp floor on the boarding-ramp assembly; the boarding-ramp assembly having an inside end that is hinged to an outside edge of the ramp-control plate; a ramp-slide actuator affixed to the vehicle and having a horizontally actuating member attached to the ramp-control plate; a ramp-support member attached to the vehicle and having a ramp-support surface positioned proximate an outside edge of the vehicle and designedly lower vertically than the door sill; a floor-access plate having an inside edge hinged to an outside edge the floor at a position proximate the door sill; the floor-access plate having an outside edge resting on the ramp-support member with the boarding-ramp assembly in a vehicle-travel mode and the outside edge of the floor-access plate being positioned proximate a top surface of the ramp floor with the boarding-ramp assembly in handicap-pickup mode; and side barriers on sides of the boarding-ramp assembly.

Claim 3

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: the slideway is a pair of parallel slide rails with a first slide rail extended inward from a forward side of the door sill and a second slide rail extended inward from a rearward side of the door sill; an inside tie rod is positioned intermediate inside ends of the pair of parallel slide rails; and an outside tie rod is positioned intermediate outside ends of the pair of parallel slide rails.

Claim 4

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 2 wherein: the ramp-control plate is extended intermediate a first-rail slide and a second-rail slide on the ramp slide; the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with the first slide rail; and the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with the second slide rail.

Claim 5

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 3 wherein: the first slide rail is a plate rail and the second slide rail is a plate rail; the first-rail slide is a bifurcation having a top slide plate and a bottom slide plate extended parallel from a first end of the ramp-control plate; a bottom surface of the top slide plate of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top surface of the first slide rail; a top surface of the bottom slide plate of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom surface of the first slide rail; the second-rail slide is a bifurcation having a top slide plate and a bottom slide plate extended from a second end of the ramp-control plate; a bottom surface of the top slide plate of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top surface of the second slide rail; and a top surface of the bottom slide plate of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom surface of the second slide rail.

Claim 6

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 3 wherein: the first slide rail is a ridge rail having ridge slopes extended forwardly at a design angle from a ridge peak of the first slide rail and the second slide rail is a ridge rail having ridge slopes extended rearwardly at a design angle from a ridge peak of the second slide rail; the first-rail slide is a bifurcation having a top slide plate and a bottom slide plate extended angularly from a first end of the ramp-control plate at angles complimentary to design angles of ridge slopes of the first slide rail; a bottom surface of the top slide plate of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top surface of the first slide rail; a top surface of the bottom slide plate of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom surface of the first slide rail; the second-rail slide is a bifurcation having a top slide plate and a bottom slide plate extended angularly from a second end of the ramp-control plate at angles complimentary to design angles of ridge slopes of the second slide rail; a bottom surface of the top slide plate of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top surface of the second slide rail; and a top surface of the bottom slide plate of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom surface of the second slide rail.

Claim 7

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 3 wherein: the first slide rail is a V-channel rail having channel walls extended rearwardly at a design angle from a channel floor of the first slide rail and the second slide rail is a V-channel rail having channel walls extended forwardly at a design angle from a channel floor of the second slide rail; the first-rail slide is a ridge member having a top slope and a bottom slope extended angularly from a first end of the ramp-control plate at angles complimentary to design angles of channel walls of the first slide rail; a top surface of the top slope of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top channel wall of the first slide rail; a bottom surface of the bottom slope of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom channel wall of the first slide rail; the second-rail slide is a ridge member having a top slope and a bottom slope extended angularly from a second end of the ramp-control plate at angles complimentary to design angles of channel walls of the second slide rail; a top surface of the top slope of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top channel wall of the second slide rail; and a bottom surface of the bottom slope of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom channel wall of the second slide rail.

Claim 8

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 3 wherein: the first slide rail is a U-channel rail having channel walls extended rearwardly at design perpendicularity from a channel floor of the first slide rail and the second slide rail is a U-channel rail having channel walls extended forwardly at design perpendicularity from a channel floor of the second slide rail; the first-rail slide is a ridge member having a top wall and a bottom wall extended from a first end of the ramp-control plate at complimentary perpendicularity to channel walls of the first slide rail; a top surface of the top wall of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top channel wall of the first slide rail; a bottom surface of the bottom wall of the first-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom channel wall of the first slide rail; the second-rail slide is a ridge member having a top wall and a bottom wall extended from a second end of the ramp-control plate at complimentary perpendicularity to channel walls of the second slide rail; a top surface of the top wall of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a top channel wall of the second slide rail; and a bottom surface of the bottom wall of the second-rail slide is in sliding contact with a bottom channel wall of the second slide rail.

Claim 9

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: the ramp-slide actuator is a bidirectionally operable motorized means having a motorized portion attached to an inside end of the ramp slide and an actuational portion attached to the ramp-control plate.

Claim 10

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 8 wherein: the bidirectionally operable motorized means is a bidirectional motor from which an externally threaded shaft is extended intermediate the inside end of the slideway and an outside end of the slideway; and the actuational portion is an internally threaded nut attached to the ramp-control plate and having thread engagement with the externally threaded shaft.

Claim 11

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 9 wherein: the externally threaded shaft is ball-threaded and the internally threaded nut is a ball nut.

Claim 12

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 8 wherein: the bidirectionally operable motorized means is a bidirectionally motorized pump from which at least one fluid-operative cylinder is extended intermediate the inside end of the ramp slide and an outside end of the ramp slide; and the actuational portion is a cylinder attachment on the ramp-control plate.

Claim 13

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: the ramp-support member is pivotal outwardly and downwardly from a pivot point at the outside edge of the vehicle by contact with the ramp-support member in outward travel; and outwardly and downwardly pivotal travel from a vertical attitude of the ramp-support member is resisted resiliently by a support-member spring.

Claim 14

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 14 wherein: the support-member spring is an expansion-resistant coil spring having a proximal end affixed to an inward portion of the vehicle and a distal end affixed to a top portion of the ramp-support member.

Claim 15

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: the ramp floor has a non-skid top surface and a high-tensile metallic framework to which the side barriers are attached designedly at outside edges of the boarding-ramp assembly.

Claim 16

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: design attachment of the side barriers is foldable with hinges on which the side barriers are pivotal bidirectionally between an upright attitude at outside edges of the boarding-ramp assembly and a horizontal attitude on the ramp floor.

Claim 17

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 15 wherein: a forward side barrier is attached to a forward side of the boarding-ramp assembly with a hinge that is positioned intermediate a railing portion and a lever portion of the forward side barrier; a forward barrier cable is attached to the lever portion of the forward-side barrier and routed first perpendicularly to an axis of the hinge and then in contact with an alignment member with which the forward barrier cable is routed colinearly with the axis of the hinge in an inward direction to a cable lever that is attached pivotally to the ramp-control plate; a forward barrier-control buttress on the first-slide rail is positioned to engage a pivotal end of the cable lever and thereby to arrest outward travel of the pivotal end of the cable lever during a barrier-raising portion of outward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly; a rearward side barrier is attached to a rearward side of the boarding-ramp assembly with a hinge that is positioned intermediate a railing portion and a lever portion of the rearward side barrier; a rearward barrier cable is attached to the lever portion of the rearward-side barrier and routed first perpendicularly to an axis of the hinge and then in contact with an alignment member with which the rearward barrier cable is routed colinearly with the axis of the hinge in an inward direction to a cable lever that is attached pivotally to the ramp-control plate; and a rearward barrier-control buttress on the second-slide rail is positioned to engage a pivotal end of the cable lever and thereby to arrest outward travel of the pivotal end of the cable lever during a barrier-raising portion of outward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly.

Claim 18

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 16 and further comprising: a barrier-cable spring having expansion-resistant resilience positioned in the forward barrier cable designedly intermediate the cable lever and the lever portion of the forward side barrier; and a barrier-cable spring having expansion-resistant resilience positioned in the rearward barrier cable designedly intermediate the cable lever and the lever portion of the rearward side barrier.

Claim 19

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 15 wherein: a forward side barrier is hinged to a forward side of the boarding-ramp assembly with a hinge that is spring-tensioned to pivot the forward side barrier from a horizontal position to an upright position; a forward barrier folder is positioned proximate an outside end of a forward side of the slideway; the forward barrier folder has a cam surface that is bevelled to engage the forward side barrier in an upright attitude and to pivot the forward side barrier to a horizontal attitude vertically under the forward barrier folder during inward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly and conversely to allow upward positioning of the forward side barrier during outward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly; a rearward side barrier is hinged to a rearward side of the boarding-ramp assembly with a hinge that is spring-tensioned to pivot the rearward side barrier from a horizontal position to an upright position; a rearward barrier folder proximate an outside end of a rearward side of the slideway; and the rearward barrier folder has a cam surface that is bevelled horizontally to engage the rearward side barrier in an upright attitude and to pivot the rearward side barrier to a horizontal attitude vertically under the rearward barrier folder during inward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly and conversely to allow upward positioning of the rearward side barrier during outward travel of the boarding-ramp assembly.

Claim 20

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 1 wherein: the ramp actuator is a bidirectional motorized means with an operational switch positioned in operative proximity to a vehicular driving controls and having a backup gear with a gear fitting that is sized, shaped and structured for operation by a design type of hand-operative tools and motor-operative tools.

Claim 21

A low-floor-vehicle ramp as described in claim 19 wherein: the gear fitting is positioned on a top portion of the backup gear; and a backup-operational access is positioned proximate the gear fitting in the vehicle.