| 摘要 |
A wheelchair ramp assembly R comprises a mounting structure M having top panels 14, 24 and 26 that form the floor of a vehicle V, and a platform 12 which moves within the mounting structure M between a stowed position (see Figure 5A) and a deployed position (see Figure 5D), in which the platform 12 pivots downwards. The platform 12 has elements 98,100 that engage in guides 54,56 in side sections 18,20 of the mounting structure M. Drive means 80, which may be driven by a reversible motor 78, are provided to effect the movement of the platform 12 within the mounting structure M, and are located above the platform 12 and beneath the top panels 12,24,26. The drive means comprise a ball screw mechanism 82 for example, and the platform 12 is releasably locked in its stowed position by a mechanism 140 which engages a triangular stop 148. An alignment structure 88 is used to maintain alignment of the platform 12 with the mounting structure M during movement of the platform 12. The platform 12 comprises an outer portion 77 which is hinged to an inner portion 79 and these two portions are maintained in the same plane using compression springs 120,121. Therefore if the platform 12 does not contact the ground, eg when it is only partially deployed, the outer portion 79 pivots down to contact the ground when stepped on (Figure 9). The platform 12 can also be moved between the stowed and deployed positions manually, eg when the power to the drive means 80 fails, using a bar (100, Figures 7A-C) to initially open a pivoting door (96, Figures 7A-C), and thereafter the bar (100, Figure 8) is used to withdraw/retum the platform 12 from/to the mounting structure M, by engaging a hook (104, Figure 8) on the end of the bar (100, Figure 8) with a notch 106 in the platform 12. |
