Patent ID: 7516703

Claim:
A retractable step for entering and exiting rail vehicles, the retractable step having a surface which can be walked upon and being configured to be extended in an essentially linear direction to bridge a gap between the rail vehicle and a platform, the retractable step comprising: a leading edge; a strip being movably connected to the retractable step and extending over an entire length L of the retractable step; the strip having at least one sensor and arranged to prevent a collision with objects during an extension operation of the retractable step; wherein, when the retractable step is in an extended position, the strip is at least partially located under the leading edge and the at least one sensor detects one of the following: (1) a position of the strip relative to the retractable step and (2) a force transferred from the strip to the retractable step; and wherein the strip is a rotatable flap.