Patent ID: 8869333

Claim:
A ramp assembly for providing a transition surface from a vehicle floor to an alighting surface, the ramp assembly comprising: (a) a ramp portion coupled for rotating movement between a stowed position, a first deployed position, and a second deployed position, the ramp portion contacting the alighting surface in the first and second deployed positions; (b) a panel rotatably coupled to the ramp portion about an axis, the axis having a first elevation in the first deployed position and a second elevation in the second deployed position; (c) an actuator operably coupled to the ramp portion, the actuator rotating a drive shaft to selectively rotate the ramp portion from the stowed position through the first deployed position to the second deployed position; (d) a controller; and (e) a tilt sensor fixedly coupled to the drive shaft, the sensor sensing an angle of the ramp portion relative to a horizontal plane based on a position of the drive shaft, the sensor providing a first sensor output to the controller, the first sensor output corresponding to the angle of the ramp portion relative to the horizontal plane when the ramp portion is in the first deployed position.