VARIABLE-INCLINE RAMP SYSTEM FOR HORIZONTAL VEHICLE

摘要

A variable-incline ramp system guides a vehicle through the incline between a fi rst site and a second site while at all times maintaining the vehicle in its natural horizontal orient ation. The ramp system includes a separate set of rails for guiding the front and the rear of the vehic le. In profile, the two sets of rails form a parallelogram having one pair of sides of a length equal to the wheelbase of the vehicle. So long as these parallelogram sides are horizontally oriented, the vehicle trav elling along the rails will maintain its normal orientation because its wheelbase axis will be parallel to t he horizontal sides of the parallelogram. In one embodiment suited for use in marine settings, the rails ar e movably connected to the first and second sites such that as the site elevations change, the parallel ogram is free to skew while still remaining a parallelogram with the same length sides.