Patent ID: 11951051
Assignee: GM GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY OPERATIONS LLC
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 12:
13. A lifting system for a vehicle, comprising:
a top plate;
a bottom plate;
N pairs of hinged plates, wherein the N pairs of hinged plates are connected by 2N pairs of hinges to N sides of the top plate and the bottom plate, where N is an integer greater than 2;
a bladder arranged between the top plate and the bottom plate between inner edges of the N pairs of hinged plates;
first and second track systems including:
a first wheel,
a second wheel,
a horizontal member connecting the first wheel to the second wheel,
a motor driving at least one of the first wheel and the second wheel, and
an endless belt connected around the first wheel and the second wheel; and

first and second carriers configured to support the lifting system as the first and second track systems extend the first and second carriers outwardly from a floor surface of the vehicle,
wherein the lifting system is deployed by:
extending the first and second carriers outwardly from the floor surface of the vehicle using the first and second track systems;
filling the bladder to cause the bottom plate to lower and raise the top plate off the first and second carriers; and
retracting the first and second carriers using the first and second track systems.