The rese invention relates to a vehicle tail lift with a latch for auxiliary equipment mounted on th lift platform.

Vehicle tail lifts are used for raising and lowering loads to provide level access into and out of a vehicle. They are used for freight and also for people, especially for the disabled and those in wheelchairs, etc. They may be attached to the rear or to the side of a vehicle.

Auxiliary equipment is often mounted on the lift platform, especially safety equipment. For example, safety barriers or gates may be provided to stop people or goods on the platform from falling off as the lift is raised and lowered. Ramps may also be attached to the platform edges so that when lowered, the ramps provide step free access on and off the platform.

However, the platform is retractable when not in use, usually by retracting it beneath the floor of the vehicle or folding it up j against th vehicle. Therefore, such auxiliary equipment must either be removable from the lift platform, or pivotally attached to i , so that it can be folded flat against the plat-form . The equipment may be unwieldly or heavy and therefore moving it may In itself present a safety hazard.. Furthermore, if the equipment is too awkward to handle some users may be tempted not to bother using it at all. Therefore, there is a need for an improved m s of fitting auxiliary equipment such as safety barriers to a tail lift.

The present invention provides a vehicle lift comprising a. platform at achable to a vehicle, auxiliary equipment moun able on the platform and having upper and lower ends, a mount on the platform for receiving the lower end of the auxiliary equipment, a latch engageafole betwee the lowe end of the equipmen and the mount and moveable between engaged and disengaged positions, a biasing device to bias the latch into the. engaged position, and a foot- operated release lever operable to -overcome the biasing device and move the latch from the engaged to the disengaged posi ion .

Thus, the present invention provides a simple fitting and latching mechanism which holds the equipment securely and is foot operated, therefore leaving an operator's hands free to hold control movement of the auxiliary equipment, increasing the ease and safety of operation.

Preferably,; th latch comprises a pivotal iy mounted arm comprising an engagement member on one side of the pivot and the release member on the other side of the pivot, wherein the biasing means acts to pivot the engagement member in a irst directio ¹ into the engaged position and pressure on the release member pivots the engagement member in a second direction into the disengaged position.

The latch may be pivotaiiy secured to the auxiliary equipment and engageabie with the mount. Preferably, the biasing device comprises a. spring acting between the latch and the auxiliary equipment-

Alternatively, the latch may be pivotally secured to the mount and engageable with the auxiliary equipment.

In this case, the biasing device may comprise a. spring acting between the latch and the mount.

Preferably, the auxiliary equipment is pivotally secured to the mount and rotatable relative thereto when the latch is disengaged.

The auxiliary equipment may comprise a gate having at least one post and at least one safety bar projecting erefrom .

The post ma comprise upper and lower portions which are rotatable relative to each other about their longitudinal axis, further comprising a pin on one portion which Is sildably received in a slot on the other portion to limit the extent of the relative rotation.

The invention will now be described in detail, by way of example only,! with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the rear of a vehicle with a tail lift and safety barrier;

Figure 2 lis a perspective exploded view of a safety barrie mountable on a tail lift, a mounting bracket and a latch mechanism; in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is: a an enlarged exploded view of the bracket and latch, mechan.is.rn shown within the circle marked A in Figure 2 ; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged assembled view of the bracket and latch mechanism.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a tail lift 10 with a lift platform 12 secured to the rear of a vehicle 14. A lift Lriec ani sm secures the platform 12 to the vehicle 14 and allows it to be raised and lowered, and retracted when not in use. This retraction may be by withdrawing th platform 12 beneath the vehicle 14, or folding the platform 12 up against the back of the vehicle 14. Such lifting mechanisms are well-known in the art and will not be described in detail.

Auxiliary equipment, in this case a safet barrier in the form of a P gate 16 is attachable to the platform 12. Only one gate 16 is illustrated but a gate may he provided at each side of the platform 12·, or at the rear edge if leading/unloading is done over one side of the plat orm 12, or on all edges of the platform as necessary.

The gate 16 comprises a post 18 which is vertical in use, and a safety bar 20 extending from the post 18. However, the present invention is also applicable bo other types of safety barrier or other auxiliar equipment which may be required ion a lift platform As- shown, in Figure 2, the post IS Is preferably in two parts, with, an- upper post 22 and a. lower post 24. The lower post, 24 is rnountable on the platform 12 by a bracket 26. The bracke 26 includes a base 28 permanentl secured 5 to the platform 12, for example by bolts. Two uprights 30, joined by a cross bar 32, project from the base 28. In plan view, the uprights 30 .and cross bar 32 form a U-shaped wall defining socket for receiving the foot of the lower

OOSt 24 ,

Ί r.

The lower post 24 may be connected to the bracket S by a bolt 34, secured with a nut 36, so that th gate 16 is pivotable about the bolt 34. Thus, the gate 16 can be pivoted in the direction of arrow B from the in-use upright 15 position illustrated through 90 ^e so that it lies flat on the platform 12 in its stowed position.

A latc mechanism 38 is fitted to the foot of the lower post 2 , The latch mechanism 3-8 releasabiy secures the post 24 to the bracket 26 to prevent pivoting and to retain the gate 16 in the upright position.

In plan view, the latch 38 comprises; a generally U- shaped member extending around the post 24. The base of th U forms an actuation lever 40, Two side arms 42 extend from the actuation lever 40. In side view, each arm 42 Is formed with an engagemen member preferably in the form of a hook 44. The latch 38 is pivotabiy attached to the post 24 by a bolt 46, parallel to the bolt 34. Thus, the latch 38 is pivotable relative to the post 24 about the longitudinal axis Of the bolt; 46. A spring 48 is fi r.ed .between the post 24 and. the lower por ion of the actuation .lever 40, spaced from the pivot bolt 46- The Ispring 48 is in slight, -compression and thus biases the lb%?er ^: portion of the actuation lever 40 away from post 24.

In use, the U- haped latch 38 i fitted opposed to and facing towards the U-shaped bracket 26, with the foot of the post 24 captured between them , The hooks 44 are engaged over the cross fear 32 to retain the post 24 upright. The hooks 44 are biased into this engaged, position by the biasing action of the spring 48 ,

To release the iateh 38 and permit the gates 16 to be pivoted into the stowed position, a user simply pushes against the. actuation lever 40 with his foot, ^, thereby compressin the spring 48 and allowing the latch 33 to pivot about the pin 46 in the direction of arrow C. This raises the hooks 44 above the cross bar 32, releasing the post 24 and allowing it to pivot about th bolt 34 into the horizontal stowed position.

To return th gate 16 to the upright position, the user simply pivots the gate 16 in the opposite direction. When the latch 38· contacts the crossbar 3.2,. the curved front surfaces 50 of the hooks 44 act as cam surfaces causing the hooks 44 to ride up and over th cross bar 32 and clip into engagement with it.

As the latch 38 is operable by a user's foot, the user need not bend down to release and engage the latch mechanism., thus avoiding potential back injury. Furthermore, the user's h nds are free to hold the upper parts of the gate € to prevent it falling as the latch is released and to control its movement. Thus, safety of operation of the gate 16 is greatly- improved . The operation is also ve y simple, thereby encouraging proper use of the gate 16.

As an additional feature, the upper post 22 may be pivotable relative to the lower post 24 to alter the orientation of the safety bar 20. In. this example , a bayonet type fitting is provided for this purpose, The upper end of the lower post 24 is formed as a cylindrical shaft 52 whic fits into a cylindrical socket 54 at the bottom end of the upper post 22 so that the two posts are rotatabie relativ to each other about their common longitudinal axis.

& pin 56 projects from the cylindrical shaft 52 post and passes through a U-shaped slo 58 formed in the socket 54. In use, in one rest position, the pin 56 sits at the top of one arm of the U-shaped slot 58- To rotate the safety bar 20, the user raises the upper post 22 so that the pin 56 is able rto travel around, the U shaped slot 58 into the other arm of the U. The upper post 22 can then be lowered so that the pin 56 sits at the top of the slot 58 to retain the safety bar 20 in the second position.

Although the present invention is described with reference to a P gate, the gate may be in an other configuration, or another type of equipment may be raountable on the lift platform using the latch mechanism of the invention. For example a safety barrier having two uprights joined by at least one cross bar may be sed. Each upright may be received in a bracket 26. In that case, preferably one upright will be as illustrated, including the latch 38, while the other upright has no latch and simply pivots about a pin relative to the bracket,

If desired, the gate or other auxiliary equipment may ^¬ be removable from the bracket 26 altogether rather than pivotably connected thereto. In that case, th bolt 34 may be omitted or may be releasable so that once the latch hooks 44 are disengaged from the cross bar 32, the equipment can be lifted out of the bracket 26 and removed to another location.

It will also be apparent to th skilled reader that the precise details o: the latch mechanism may foe altered. For example, the spring which biases the latch into the engaged position ma be positioned so that it is i.n tension rather than in compression.

The latch may take a different form provided that it is operable by a user's foot to release the latch. For example, the latch may foe piv ally attached to the bracket itself and comprise an engagement member, e.g. a hook, which engages with an aperture or projection on the post. The engagement member may be biased into the engaged position by a. -spring and a foot operated lever provided to allow the user to oyercome the spring bias and disengage the engagement member out rom the post .