Patent ID: 7013519

Claim:
A dock leveler for forming a bridge between a floor of a loading dock and a trailer bed, said dock leveler comprising: a deck assembly including a deck with first and second ends, said deck being movable through a range of inclined positions between raised and lowered inclined positions; a lip assembly including a lip plate with inner and outer ends, said lip plate being operably movable between pendant and extended positions, said lip plate being biased toward said pendant position, and said lip plate being substantially flush with said deck when in said extended position; a lip extension assembly having a series of linked components including a drive member and a drive link, said lip extension assembly being movable between engaged and disengaged positions, said drive member having a load bearing end offset from said deck assembly, said drive member and said drive link being in driving communication with said lip plat when in said engaged position, and one of said series of linked components being released from pushing engagement with an other of said linked components when in said disengaged position, said lip plate being movable between its said extended and pendent positions when said lip extension assembly is in its said disengaged position, said lip extension assembly being biased into said engaged position when said deck is in said raised position and biased into said disengaged position when said deck is below an intermediate inclined position, and said lip extension assembly driving said lip plate toward its said extended position as said deck is lowered toward said intermediate inclined position and said lip extension assembly is in its said engaged position.