Patent ID: 7451512

Claim:
A bridging device for providing a bridging surface between two points comprising: a housing mountable to a first point; at least two interjoined beams housed in a retracted position in said housing; and a drive system adapted to drive said beams to slide one over the other to telescopically extend out of said housing from the retracted position to an extended position to thereby form a bridging surface to a second point; wherein said beams are supported by end plates located at each end of said beam, said end plates being adapted to be stacked adjacent to each other and to slidingly engage said end plates on each adjacent side, and wherein said end plates slide relative to one another by way of a boss and key slot sliding engagement between adjacent end plates; wherein an underside of each end plate is provided with a gear rack that meshes with a drive gear on a drive shaft driven by a drive source in said drive system, and wherein each end plate meshes with its own dedicated drive gear coaxially mounted on said drive shaft.