I claim:
1. A dock leveler comprising:
a frame,
a deck pivotably mounted at one end thereof to said frame,
a lip pivotably mounted to said deck at another end thereof, and
a lip latch and lip extension mechanism comprising, a lip latch pivotably connected to said deck by a crank mechanism and a latch bar pivotably connected to said crank mechanism, said latch bar having one end selectively engaging a latch bracket mounted to said deck, a bar connected at one end to said crank mechanism and another end operably connected to said lip, a first spring operably connected to said crank mechanism and said frame, a second spring operably connected to said bar and said frame, and a third spring operably coupling another end of said latch bar to said second spring whereby, upon upward movement of said deck said first spring urges said crank mechanism in a first direction to move said bar so that said lip is raised from a pendant position to an extended position and said latch bar moves based on movement of said crank mechanism and engages said latch bracket at a first point to hold said lip in said extended position and is maintained in engagement by said third spring.
2. The dock leveler of claim 1 further comprising; safety legs mounted to the underside of said frame, a trip bar mounted for movement relative to one of said safety legs, a trip rod coupled at one end to said crank mechanism and at another end coupled to said trip bar and a trip plate attached to said frame, whereby as said deck is lowered said trip bar engages said trip plate and said trip bar moves to contact said latch bar causing movement thereof such that said latch bar automatically disengages said lip latch.
3. The dock leveler of claim 2 wherein said trip bar has a control surface that is configured to contact said lip bar as said lip extends outward.
4. The dock leveler of claim 1 further comprising a resilient stop to bias said latch bracket into contact with said end of said latch bar.
5. The dock leveler of claim 1 wherein said one end of said latch bar has a notch and an end surface defining a second point of engagement with said latch plate and the tension of said third spring applied to said another end of said latch bar holds said latch bar in engagement with said latch plate until said lip is fully extended.
6. The dock leveler of claim 1 further comprising; a trip bar mounted for movement relative to said frame, a trip rod coupled at one end to said crank mechanism and at another end coupled to said trip bar and a trip plate attached to said frame, whereby as said deck is lowered said trip bar engages said trip plate and said trip bar moves to contact said latch bar causing movement thereof such that said latch bar automatically disengages said lip latch.
7. The dock leveler of claim 6 further comprising; safety legs pivotally mounted to the underside of said frame, said trip bar having an elongated slot and one of said safety legs carrying a pin to engage said elongated slot in said trip bar to permit relative movement between said trip bar and said safety legs.
8. A dock leveler comprising:
a frame,
a deck pivotably mounted at one end thereof to said frame,
a lip pivotably mounted to said deck at another end thereof, and
a lip latch and lip extension mechanism comprising, a lip latch pivotably connected to said deck by a crank mechanism having a roller at its pivot point,
a latch bar having one end operably coupled to said lip,
a cam surface on said latch bar riding on said roller of said crank mechanism, said latch bar having another end with a latch surface selectively engaging a latch assembly mounted to said deck,
an extending bar connected at one end to said crank mechanism and another end operably connected to said lip,
a first spring operably connected to said crank mechanism and said frame,
a second spring operably connected to said latch bar and said frame, whereby, upon upward movement of said deck said first spring urges said crank mechanism in a first direction to move said extending bar so that said lip is raised from a pendant position to an extended position and said latch bar moves based on movement of said crank mechanism and engages said latch assembly to hold said lip in said extended position and is maintained in engagement by said second spring.
9. The dock leveler of claim 8 further comprising; safety legs mounted to the underside of said frame, a trip bar mounted for movement relative to one of said safety legs, a trip rod coupled at one end to said crank mechanism and at another end coupled to said trip bar and a trip plate attached to said frame, whereby as said deck is lowered said trip bar engages said trip plate and said trip bar moves to contact said latch bar causing movement thereof such that said latch bar automatically disengages said lip latch.
10. The dock leveler of claim 9 wherein said trip bar has a control surface that is configured to contact said lip bar as said lip extends outward.
11. The dock leveler of claim 8 wherein said latch assembly comprises a an adjustable bolt carrying a flange and resilient stop to bias said flange into contact with said end of said latch bar.
12. The dock leveler of claim 11 wherein said latch assembly further comprises a latch release spring applied to said another end of said latch bar to displace said latch bar from engagement with said roller when said lip is fully extended.
13. The dock leveler of claim 8 further comprising; a trip bar mounted for movement relative to said frame, a trip rod coupled at one end to said crank mechanism and at another end coupled to said trip bar and a trip plate attached to said frame, whereby as said deck is lowered said trip bar engages said trip plate and said trip bar moves to contact said latch bar causing movement thereof such that said latch bar automatically disengages said lip latch.
14. The dock leveler of claim 13 further comprising; safety legs pivotally mounted to the underside of said frame, said trip bar having an elongated slot and one of said safety legs carrying a pin to engage said elongated slot in said trip bar to permit relative movement between said trip bar and said safety legs.
15. A dock leveler comprising:
a frame,
a deck pivotably mounted at one end thereof to said frame,
a lip pivotably mounted to said deck at another end thereof, and
a lip latch and lip extension mechanism comprising, a lip latch pivotably connected to said deck by a crank mechanism,
a latch bar having one end operably coupled to crank mechanism, an extending bar having one end operably connected to said lip and another end coupled to said crank mechanism,
a latch housing mounted to said deck and carrying a latch plate, said latch bar having another end with a plurality of latch surfaces selectively engaging said latch plate,
a link assembly mounted to said deck and carrying a hook assembly, a spring operably connected to said crank mechanism and said hook assembly, said hook assembly having first and second surfaces selectively contacting said latch bar, whereby, upon upward movement of said deck said spring urges said crank mechanism in a first direction to move said latch bar so that said lip is raised from a pendant position to an extended position and said latch bar moves based on movement of said crank mechanism and engages said latch plate to hold said lip in said extended position.
16. The dock leveler of claim 15 further comprising; a contact bar coupled to said latch bar and said latch housing pivotally attached to said frame, a resilient member mounted to said deck to bias said latch housing in one direction by contact with said contact bar, whereby as said deck is lowered said contact bar disengages from said resilient member and said latch bar is moved out of contact said latch plate such that said lip latch is automatically disengaged.
17. The dock leveler of claim 16 wherein said latch bar has a plurality of stepped engagement surfaces that are configured to selectively contact said latch plate as said lip extends outward.
18. The dock leveler of claim 15 wherein said hook comprises a first arm defining said first surface and a cantilevered spring defining said second surface, said second surface holding said other end of said latch bar out of when said lip is in contact with a bed of a vehicle.
19. The dock leveler of claim 15 wherein said link assembly comprises a fixed member having a slot and coupled to said deck, and a link bar carrying a pin engaging said slot, said link bar connected to said hook assembly.
20. The dock leveler of claim 15 further comprising; a pin mounted to said frame and at another end of said hook assembly a hook to engage said pin when said deck when said lip is in the pendant position as said deck is raised.
21. The dock leveler of claim 20 further comprising; safety legs pivotally mounted to the underside of said frame, a trip bar pivotally mounted to one of said safety legs and a trip latch mounted to said frame and carrying a vertically extending member.
22. A dock leveler comprising:
a frame,
a deck pivotably mounted at one end thereof to said frame,
a lip pivotably mounted to said deck at another end thereof, and
a lip extension mechanism comprising, a crank mechanism pivotably attached to the underside of said deck and a lip latch pivotably connected to said crank mechanism at one end thereof and to said deck at the other end thereof,
a lip spring tension member connected at one end to said crank mechanism and at another end thereof to said deck and to said frame,
wherein, said lip spring tension member is tensioned upon upward movement of said deck and as said lip is extended and said lip is partially counterbalanced but downwardly biased by its weight throughout a working range of said dock leveler by said lip spring tension member.
23. The dock leveler of claim 22, further comprising a lip latch bar coupled to said lip at one end and detachably riding on a pivot associated with said crank mechanism at another end, a trip bar attached to said lip latch bar such that as said deck is lowered, said trip bar contacts said frame to move said latch bar from said pivot so that said lip will be biased downward toward a release position.
24. The dock leveler of claim 22 further comprising a latch release spring coupled at one end to said lip and at another end, operably coupled to said spring tension member such that as said deck is lowered, one portion of said spring tension member is slackened while another portion is tensioned and said latch release spring contacts said trip bar to disengage said lip from said lip extension mechanism.
25. The dock leveler of claim 22 wherein said lip latch bar further comprises a cam surface bearing on a pivot point of said crank mechanism such that said lip biased by said spring toward a release position as the leveler is lowered but maintained in an outward position by said lip latch and said lip latch being releasable to permit said lip to fall to said pendant position.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A laser device comprising:
an optical resonator;
a plurality of MIDJet generators disposed relative to the optical resonator, each MIDJet generator operating at a discharge power and gas flow rate to produce a selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables flowing in the direction of the optical resonator; and
a source for a second gas disposed between the optical resonator and the plurality of MIDJet generators, the second gas reacting with the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables to form an excited species in an amount sufficient to support lasing of the excited species in the optical resonator.
2. The laser device of claim 1 wherein each MIDJet generator comprises:
a microwave cavity;
an injector directing a flow of ground state oxygen and a substantially inert gas to the microwave cavity; and
a microwave power source supplying the discharge power directly to the microwave cavity to form a plasma discharge flowing through an output nozzle of the microwave cavity, the plasma discharge including the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables.
3. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the discharge power and the gas flow rate are selected to increase the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables while controlling electron temperature in the microwave cavity.
4. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the discharge power and the gas flow rate are selected to increase the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables while controlling gas temperature in the microwave cavity.
5. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the injector directs a flow of NO with the ground state oxygen and the substantially inert gas to the microwave cavity.
6. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the microwave cavity is cooled with water.
7. The laser device of claim 1 further comprising a nozzle disposed between the optical resonator and the source, the nozzle effecting a supersonic expansion of the gas flow including the excited species into the optical resonator.
8. The laser device of claim 1 wherein the optical resonator is disposed in a subsonic flow region of the laser device.
9. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the microwave power source delivers about 1 kW to about 100 kW.
10. The laser device of claim 2 wherein pressure in the microwave cavity is less than 100 torr.
11. The laser device of claim 2 wherein the output nozzle diameter is less than 30 mm.
12. A method for providing laser output, comprising:
directing into each of a plurality of MIDJet generators a flow of ground state oxygen and a substantially inert gas to produce energetic singlet oxygen metastables;
optimizing discharge power and gas flow rate of each of the plurality of MIDJet generators to produce a selected amount of the energetic singlet oxygen metastables; and
directing a flow of a third gas to react with the selected amount of the energetic singlet oxygen metastables to form an excited species in an amount sufficient to support lasing of the excited species in an optical resonator disposed relative to the plurality of MIDJet generators.
13. The method of claim 12 further comprising controlling the discharge power and the gas flow rate to increase the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables while controlling electron temperature in each of the plurality of MIDJet generators.
14. The method of claim 12 further comprising controlling the discharge power and the gas flow rate to increase the selected amount of energetic singlet oxygen metastables while controlling gas temperature in each of the plurality of MIDJet generators.
15. The method of claim 12 further comprising injecting a flow of NO with the ground state oxygen and the substantially inert gas to each of the plurality of MIDJet generators.
16. The method of claim 12 further comprising disposing a nozzle between the optical resonator and the flow of the third gas, the nozzle effecting a supersonic expansion of the gas flow including the excited species into the optical resonator.
17. The method of claim 12 further comprising disposing the optical resonator in a subsonic flow region of the laser device.
18. The method of claim 12 further comprising cooling each of the plurality of MIDJet generators with water.
19. The method of claim 12 further comprising operating at a discharge power of about 1 kW to about 100 kW.
20. A system for providing laser output, comprising:
a plurality of MIDJet generators;
means for directing into each of the plurality of MIDJet generators a flow of ground state oxygen and a substantially inert gas to produce energetic singlet oxygen metastables;
means for optimizing discharge power and gas flow rate of each of the plurality of MIDJet generators to produce a selected amount of the energetic singlet oxygen metastables; and
means for directing a flow of a third gas to react with the selected amount of the energetic singlet oxygen metastables to form an excited species in an amount sufficient to support lasing of the excited species in an optical resonator disposed relative to the plurality of MIDJet generators.