ALARM SYSTEM FOR A LOADING DOCK

• US 20080127435A1
• Filed: 11/26/2007
• Published: 06/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rite-Hite Holding Corporation
• Original Assignee: Rite-Hite Holding Corporation
• Inventors: Swessel, Mark R., Muhl, Tim, Maly, Paul, Nelson, Kyle E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,547,234 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 14/71.1
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 69/2882 operated by detectors or sensors

Abstract

A safety system for a truck loading dock with an elevated platform provides an alarm that warns of a hazard at the loading dock such as a forklift operating inside the truck or a falling hazard that may exist due to the dock door being open while a truck is not present at the dock. In cases where a dock'"'"'s open doorway is protected by a barrier that can be opened or closed, the alarm can be de-activated by closing the barrier. In some embodiments, the safety system includes a remote body sensor that detects when someone or something is near the doorway. In response to the body sensor, a second, more pronounced alarm can warn of more imminent danger where someone on the platform may be too close to an open doorway when a truck is not present.

Claims

1. A safety method for a building that includes a doorway and a loading dock adapted to receive a vehicle, the safety method comprising:

sensing a potentially hazardous situation at the loading dock;

sensing the presence of a body within an area adjacent to the doorway, wherein the body could be adversely affected by the potentially hazardous situation; and

generating an alarm signal in response to sensing a combination of both the potentially hazardous situation at the loading dock and the presence of the body within the area.

2. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the potentially hazardous situation is a material-handling body within an interior of the vehicle.

3. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the body within the area is a person.

4. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating an alarm signal comprises mounting an elongate light fixture that lies generally parallel to at least a portion of the perimeter of the doorway.

5. The safety method of claim 4, wherein the elongate light fixture is substantially horizontal.

6. The safety method of claim 1, wherein the potentially hazardous situation is a dock position without a trailer present and without a barrier blocking a door opening in the loading dock.

7. A safety method for a building that includes a doorway and a loading dock adapted to receive a vehicle, the safety method comprising:

transmitting a sensing signal that is present in the interior of the vehicle;

using the sensing signal to determine whether a body is inside the vehicle; and

providing an alarm signal in response to determining the body is inside the vehicle.

8. The safety method of claim 7, wherein the body is a forklift.

9. The safety method of claim 7, wherein the sensing signal is generated outside the vehicle and is projected into the vehicle.

10. The safety method of claim 7, wherein the sensing signal originates from within the interior of the vehicle and is projected outward.

11. The safety method of claim 7, wherein the determination step comprises responding to movement of the body inside the vehicle.

12. A safety system for a building that includes a doorway and a loading dock adapted to receive a vehicle, the safety system comprising:

a remote body sensor disposed outside the vehicle and projecting a sensing signal into the vehicle to detect whether a body is inside the vehicle; and

an alarm system in communication with the remote body sensor such that the alarm system provides an alarm signal in response to the remote body sensor detecting the body inside the vehicle.

13. The safety system of claim 12, wherein the remote body sensor detects motion.

14. The safety system of claim 12, wherein the remote body sensor is inside the building.

15. The safety system of claim 12, further comprising a movable bracket supporting the remote body sensor so that in response to the remote body sensor being struck, the remote body sensor can move without significant damage.

16. The safety system of claim 12, wherein the alarm system comprises an elongate light fixture that lies generally parallel to at least a portion of the perimeter of the doorway.

17. The safety system of claim 12, wherein the alarm system comprises a light visible to the driver or the received vehicle, wherein the lights indicates the presence of the body inside the vehicle.