Patent ID: 8359691

Claim:
A ramp assembly, comprising: a frame; a ramp platform associated with the frame and movable between a stowed position and a deployed position, the ramp platform including an inner ramp panel, an intermediate ramp panel, and an outer ramp panel; and a stow/deploy mechanism associated with the ramp platform, the stow/deploy mechanism movable for articulating the ramp platform between the stowed and deployed positions; wherein the ramp panels are configured and arranged such that (1) the outer ramp panel is oriented in an opposing position above and parallel to the intermediate ramp panel in the stowed position, and is oriented substantially coplanar to the intermediate ramp panel in the deployed position; (2) the intermediate ramp panel slides with respect to the frame from the stowed to the deployed position; and (3) the inner ramp panel has a downwardly sloping orientation in the stowed and deployed positions, and the intermediate ramp panel slidingly supports an outboard end of the inner ramp panel, the inner ramp panel being hingedly coupled to the frame and being positioned above the intermediate ramp panel in the stowed position.