ELEVATING DECK SAFETY SUPPORT DEVICE

Abstract

 The present invention relates to an elevating deck safety support device. The elevating deck safety support device according to the present invention includes a fixed plate located on a support structure along which an elevating deck moves up and down, a pair of fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate in parallel to each other toward the elevating deck, a deck stopper located between the pair of fixing pieces in such a way as to be rotatably coupled to the pair of fixing pieces and having one end portion extending toward the elevating deck to form a base portion for supporting the elevating deck and the other end portion thereof coming into contact with the fixed plate to form a rotation limiting portion for limiting a downward rotation of the base portion, a pair of lever fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate or the pair of fixing pieces, an operating lever having one end portion coming into contact with the elevating deck to create a force point to which a given force is transferred and the other end portion connected to the base portion of the deck stopper to create an operating point through which the deck stopper is pulled, a portion of the operating lever between the force point and the operating point being rotatably coupled to the pair of lever fixing pieces, and torsion springs located between the pair of lever fixing pieces and the operating lever to keep a posture of the operating lever.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an elevating deck safety support device, more particularly to an elevating deck safety support device that is capable of moving automatically, without any help of a worker or machine, to support an elevating deck used for loading a vehicle, an object, or the like against a given position in a safe way.

[Background Art]

[0002] Generally, a vessel for transporting vehicles, such as a roll-on/roll-off vessel, a pure car carrier, and the like is configured to have multi-stage stacked vehicles in a space for shipping vehicles by means of a separate lifting device, so that a relatively large number of vehicles are shipped in the restricted space of the vessel. In specific, columns extending vertically are built on edges of the shipping space, and a plurality of support devices are located spaced apart from one another along each column in a longitudinal direction of the column. Next, an elevating deck on which the vehicle is loaded moves up by means of the lifting device and is then seated onto the support devices, so that the vehicles are stacked to multi-stages on the elevating deck. Each support device includes a bracket coupled to the column, a stopper rotatably coupled to the bracket, and a wire for rotating and fixing the stopper.

[0003] In conventional practices, if it is desired that the elevating deck is seated onto the support devices located at a desired position, the elevating deck moves up from the lowest floor and pushes up the stoppers of the support devices, and if the elevating deck completely passes through the stoppers to allow the stoppers to be returned to their original position by means of gravity, the elevating deck moves down and is then seated onto tops of the stoppers. Contrarily, if it is desired that the elevating deck moves down up to the lowest floor, the wires connected to the stoppers are pulled directly by a worker or machine to allow the stoppers to come into contact with the columns, and next, the elevating deck moves down. Like this, only when the wires connected to the stoppers are pulled, it is possible that the elevating deck moves down, thereby causing many inconveniences, requiring a lot of time and labors for the work, and lowering a working efficiency. Further, the stoppers may be corroded, while being kept to the same posture for a long period of time, so that the stoppers may be malfunctioned, and otherwise, the wires may be cut, thereby causing safety accidents.

[0004] Therefore, there is a need for a support device capable of moving automatically, without any help of a worker or machine, to allow an elevating deck to be supported at a given position or move down, and preventing safety accidents from happening due to corrosion when the support device is used for a long period of time on the sea.

[Patent Literature]

[0005] Patent literature: Korean Patent No. 10-1249073 (March 25, 2013)

[Disclosure]

[Technical Problem]

[0006] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an elevating deck safety support device that is capable of moving automatically, without any help of a worker or machine, to support an elevating deck used for loading a vehicle, an object, or the like against a given position in a safe way.

[0007] The technical problems to be achieved through the present invention are not limited as mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned herein will be obviously understood by one of ordinary skill in the art through the following description.

[Technical Solution]

[0008] To accomplish the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, there is provided an elevating deck safety support device including: a fixed plate located on a support structure along which an elevating deck moves up and down; a pair of fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate in parallel to each other toward the elevating deck; a deck stopper located between the pair of fixing pieces in such a way as to be rotatably coupled to the pair of fixing pieces and having one end portion extending toward the elevating deck to form a base portion for supporting the elevating deck and the other end portion thereof coming into contact with the fixed plate to form a rotation limiting portion for limiting a downward rotation of the base portion; a pair of lever fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate or the pair of fixing pieces; an operating lever having one end portion coming into contact with the elevating deck to create a force point to which a given force is transferred and the other end portion connected to the base portion of the deck stopper to create an operating point through which the deck stopper is pulled, a portion of the operating lever between the force point and the operating point being rotatably coupled to the pair of lever fixing pieces; and torsion springs located between the pair of lever fixing pieces and the operating lever to keep a posture of the operating lever.

[0009] The elevating deck safety support device may further include tension springs for connecting the base portion of the deck stopper and the operating point of the operating lever.

[0010] If the given force is not applied to the force point, the base portion of the deck stopper may rotate by means of a self weight to allow the rotation limiting portion to be supported against the fixed plate, and the operating lever may be kept in posture at a position where the forces of the tension springs and the forces of the torsion springs are offset.

[0011] The operating lever may include: a pair of rods arranged parallel to each other; a first connection rod for connecting the pair of rods on the force point; and a second connection bar for connecting the pair of rods on the operating point in such a way as to fix one end of the tension springs thereto.

[0012] The operating lever may be configured to allow a distance between the pair of rods to be larger than a thickness of the deck stopper, so that if the force point moves down by means of the elevating deck, the deck stopper rotates and is thus inserted into the pair of rods and the first connection bar rotates to the outside of the deck stopper.

[0013] The tension springs may be provided as a pair to connect both sides of the deck stopper and both ends of the second connection bar.

[0014] The elevating deck safety support device may further include links each having a first link and a second link, the first link having one end coupled to the base portion of the deck stopper by means of a hinge, and the second link having one end coupled to the other end of the first link by means of a hinge and the other end coupled to the operating point of the operating lever by means of a hinge.

[Advantageous Effects]

[0015] According to the present invention, the elevating deck safety support device is configured to allow the operating lever whose one end coming into contact with the elevating deck to create the force point to which a given force is transferred and to allow the operating lever whose other end connected to the base portion of the deck stopper rotatably coupled between the pair of fixing pieces to create the operating point through which the deck stopper is pulled, and in this case, since a portion of the operating lever between the force point and the operating point is rotatably coupled to the pair of lever fixing pieces, the operating lever moves automatically, without the help of a worker or a machine, thereby fixing the elevating deck to a given position or lowering the elevating deck to the lowest floor of the support structure.

[0016] If the elevating deck moves up to completely push up the deck stopper, the deck stopper rotates outward by means of its own weight, and further, the tension springs push the deck stopper to allow the deck stopper to rotate outward, so that even if the rotary shafts of the deck stopper are corroded, the deck stopper can rotate outward easily.

[0017] Besides, the distance between the pair of rods constituting the operating lever is larger than the thickness of the deck stopper, so that when the force point of the operating lever moves down by means of the elevating deck, the deck stopper rotates and is thus inserted into the rods and the first connection bar rotates to the outside of the deck stopper. As a result, if the tension springs or links are broken, the deck stopper is prevented from rotating outward, thereby avoiding safety accidents from happening due to a fall of the elevating deck.

[Description of Drawings]

[0018] 

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the use of an elevating deck safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the elevating deck safety support device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the elevating deck safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where if tension springs are broken, a deck stopper is locked onto a first connection bar in the elevating deck safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an elevating deck safety support device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGs. 6a to 7d are side views showing operations of the elevating deck safety support device according to the present invention.

[Mode for Invention]

[0019] Objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the detailed description as will be described below and the attached drawings. Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. In the description, the same reference numerals will be used to describe the same components and an overlapped description of the same components will be omitted

[0020] Hereinafter, an explanation of an elevating deck safety support device 1 according to embodiments of the present invention will be given in detail with reference to FIGs. 1 to 7d.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a side view showing the use of an elevating deck safety support device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] At least four elevating deck safety support devices 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention are located on the same horizontal plane in the form of one unit at the inside of a support structure S, and the unit rotates outward in such a way as to fix an elevating deck D moving up and down inside the support structure S to a given position or rotates inward in such a way as to open a path through which the elevating deck D easily moves up and down. The elevating deck safety support devices 1 are applied to a vessel for transporting vehicles, such as a roll-on/roll-off vessel, a pure car carrier, and the like.

[0023] Each elevating deck safety support device 1 is configured to allow an operating lever 50 (See FIG. 2) whose one end coming into contact with the elevating deck D to create a force point 50a (See FIG. 3) to which a given force is transferred and to allow the operating lever 50 whose other end connected to a base portion 31 (See FIG. 2) of a deck stopper 30 (See FIG. 2) rotatably coupled between a pair of fixing pieces 20 (See FIG. 2) to create an operating point 50b (See FIG. 3) through which the deck stopper 30 is pulled, and in this case, since a portion of the operating lever 50 between the force point 50a and the operating point 50b is rotatably coupled to a pair of lever fixing pieces 40 (See FIG. 2), the operating lever 50 moves automatically, without the help of a worker or a machine, thereby fixing the elevating deck D to a given position or lowering the elevating deck D to the lowest floor of the support structure S. If the elevating deck D moves up to completely push up the deck stopper 30, the deck stopper 30 moves down by means of its own weight, and further, tension springs 70 (See FIG. 2) push the deck stopper 30 to allow the deck stopper 30 to rotate outward completely, so that even if rotary shafts of the deck stopper 30 are corroded, the deck stopper 30 can rotate outward easily. Besides, a distance between a pair of rods 51 (See FIG. 2) constituting the operating lever 50 is larger than a thickness of the deck stopper 30, so that when the force point 50a of the operating lever 50 moves down by means of the elevating deck D, the deck stopper 30 rotates and is thus inserted into the rods 51 and a first connection bar 52 (See FIG. 2) rotates to the outside of the deck stopper 30. As a result, if the tension springs 70 or links 80 (See FIG. 5) are broken, the deck stopper 30 is prevented from rotating outward, thereby avoiding the safety accidents from happening due to a fall of the elevating deck D.

[0024] Next, an explanation of the elevating deck safety support device 1 will be given in detail with reference to FIGs. 2 to 5.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the elevating deck safety support device of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the elevating deck safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where if tension springs are broken, a deck stopper is locked onto a first connection bar in the elevating deck safety support device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side view showing an elevating deck safety support device according to another embodiment of the present invention. The elevating deck safety support device 1 according to the present invention includes a fixed plate 10, the pair of fixing pieces 20, the deck stopper 30, the pair of lever fixing pieces 40, the operating lever 50, and a pair of torsion springs 60.

[0026] The fixed plate 10 has the shape of a plate with a given thickness and is built on the support structure S along which the elevating deck D moves up and down. In specific, the fixed plate 10 has one surface coming into close contact with the inner surface of the support structure S in a vertical direction in such a way as to be fixed to the support structure S by means of welding coupling, screw coupling, or concave and convex coupling. In the drawings, the fixed plate 10 has the shape of a square plate, but it may have various shapes, without being limited thereby. The fixed plate 10 has the other surface to which the pair of fixing pieces 20 are coupled.

[0027] The fixing pieces 20 protrude from the fixed plate 10 in parallel to each other toward the elevating deck D and thus serve to rotatably support the deck stopper 30 as will be discussed later. The pair of fixing pieces 20 protrudes vertically from the fixed plate 10 in parallel to each other in such a way as to be spaced apart from each other to allow the deck stopper 30 to be located therebetween.

[0028] The deck stopper 30 is rotatably coupled to the fixing pieces 20 in such a way as to rotate toward the elevating deck D to support the underside of the elevating deck D or to rotate toward the support structure S to allow the elevating deck D to easily move up and down. One end portion of the deck stopper 30 extends toward the elevating deck D to form the base portion 31 for supporting the elevating deck D, and the other end portion thereof comes into contact with the fixed plate 10 to form a rotation limiting portion 32 for limiting a downward rotation of the base portion 31. When the deck stopper 30 rotates toward the elevating deck D, the base portion 31 is arranged horizontally and the rotation limiting portion 32 is arranged vertically to come into contact with the fixed plate 10, and contrarily, when the deck stopper 30 rotates toward the support structure S, the surface connecting the base portion 31 and the rotation limiting portion 32 inside the fixing pieces 20 is arranged vertically to come into contact with the fixed plate 10, so that the rotation limiting portion 32 escapes from the fixed plate 10 and is arranged slantly downward.

[0029] The pair of lever fixing pieces 40 protrudes from the fixed plate 10 or the fixing pieces 20. The lever fixing pieces 40 serve to rotatably support the operating lever 50 as will be discussed later and slantly protrude upward from the fixed plate 10 or the fixing pieces 20. Now, an explanation of a structure where the lever fixing pieces 40 protrude from the fixing pieces 20 will be given in detail. The lever fixing pieces 40 slantly protrude upward from the fixing pieces 20 and extend parallel to each other. According to the conventional support device, the lever fixing pieces 40 for rotatably supporting the operating lever 50 are not integral with the fixing pieces 20 for rotatably supporting the deck stopper 30, but separable therefrom, and therefore, their installation causes many inconveniences and a large installation space is needed. According to the present invention, however, the lever fixing pieces 40 protrude from the fixed plate 10 or the fixing pieces 20, and therefore, their installation is easy and a small installation space is needed, thereby providing high utility possibility. Further, the lever fixing pieces 40 and the fixing pieces 20 have been explained individually, for the conveniences of the description, but the lever fixing pieces 40 and the fixing pieces 20 are formed unitarily with each other. Furthermore, the lever fixing pieces 40 each have the shape of a triangular plate, but they may have various shapes, without being limited thereby.

[0030] The operating lever 50 serves to rotate the deck stopper 30 in such a way as to allow one end portion thereof to come into contact with the elevating deck D to create the force point 50a to which a given force is transferred and to allow the other end portion thereof to be connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 to create the operating point 50b through which the deck stopper 30 is pulled, and in this case, a portion of the operating lever 50 between the force point 50a and the operating point 50b is rotatably coupled to the lever fixing pieces 40. As shown in FIGs. 2 and 3, the other end portion of the operating lever 50 is connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 by means of the tension springs 70 as will be discussed later, and otherwise, as shown in FIG. 5, the other end portion of the operating lever 50 is connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 by means of the links 80. An explanation of the structure of the operating lever 50 will be given in detail later.

[0031] The pair of torsion springs 60 is placed between the lever fixing pieces 40 and the operating lever 50. The torsion springs 60 serve to maintain the posture of the operating lever 50, more specifically to allow the deck stopper 30 to become in a basic state where the deck stopper 30 rotates toward the elevating deck D. The pair of torsion springs 60 is placed between the lever fixing pieces 40 and the operating lever 50 to allow both sides of the operating lever 50 to be balancedly maintained in posture. As the torsion springs 60 are placed between the lever fixing pieces 40 and the operating lever 50, the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 rotates by means of its own weight when the given force is not applied to the force point 50a of the operating lever 50, so that the rotation limiting portion 32 is supported against the fixed plate 10 and the operating lever 50 is maintained in posture at a position where the forces of the torsion springs 60 and the forces of the tension springs 70 or the forces of the links 80 are offset to each other.

[0032] Referring to FIGs. 2 and 3, the operating lever 50 includes the pair of rods 51 arranged parallel to each other, the first connection rod 52 connecting the rods 51 on the force point 50a, and a second connection bar 53 connecting the rods 51 on the operating point 50b in such a way as to fix one end of the tension springs 70 thereto. In this case, a distance of the pair of rods 51 is larger than the thickness of the deck stopper 30. As the distance of the pair of rods 51 is larger than the thickness of the deck stopper 30, the deck stopper 30 rotates and is inserted between the rods 51, when the force point 50a of the operating lever 50 moves down by means of the elevating deck D, so that the first connection rod 52 rotates to the outside of the deck stopper 30. In this case, if the tension springs 70 or the links 80 are suddenly broken, as shown in FIG. 4, the first connection rod 52 supports the deck stopper 30 to prevent the deck stopper 30 from rotating outward, thereby avoiding the safety accident from happening due to the fall of the elevating deck D. Generally, the elevating deck D is installed as a large structure with a heavy weight. For example, if the elevating decks D are installed on a vessel for transferring vehicles, they are installed as the large structure to support a large number of vehicles. In this case, if safety accidents happen during the operations of the elevating decks D, it is necessary to have a structure where malfunctions in the operation of the deck stopper 30 are minimized or a structure where even if one of the support devices is malfunctioned, a high-risk accident is prevented from happening. According to the present invention, the plurality of support devices is provided to the form of one unit in such a way as to be located on the same horizontal plane to support the elevating deck D, simultaneously, and if any one of the deck stoppers 30 arbitrarily rotates outward, both sides of the support devices are not balanced to cause the elevating deck D to fall down. To prevent such a problem from occurring, the distance between the pair of rods 51 is larger than the thickness of the deck stopper 30, and through the improvement of the structure, the safety accident where the deck stopper 30 arbitrarily rotates outward is effectively avoided.

[0033] The tension springs 70 are elastic members for connecting the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 and the operating point 50b of the operating lever 50, and each tension spring 70 has one end portion connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 and the other end portion connected to the second connection bar 53. As the tension springs 70 connect the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 and the operating point 50b of the operating lever 50, if the elevating deck D moves up to completely push up the deck stopper 30, the tension springs 70 serve to provide forces through which the deck stopper 30 rotates outward completely, so that even if rotary shafts of the deck stopper 30 are corroded, the deck stopper 30 rotates outward easily. If the elevating deck D is supported against the deck stopper 30 in a state where the deck stopper 30 does not rotate outward completely due to the corrosion of the rotary shafts of the deck stopper 30, the deck stopper 30 rotates inward to cause the elevating deck D to fall down. According to the present invention, the tension springs 70 connect the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 and the operating point 50b of the operating lever 50, so that the deck stopper 30 rotates outward easily to stably support the elevating deck D.

[0034] The tension springs 70 are provided as one pair to connect both sides of the deck stopper 30 and both ends of the second connection bar 53. The pair of tension springs 70 serves to enhance the stability in the operation of the deck stopper 30. For example, even if any one of the tension springs 70 is malfunctioned, elastic forces of the tension springs 70 are adjusted to allow the deck stopper 30 to operate smoothly. The pair of tension springs 70 is just exemplary, and therefore, two or more tension springs may be provided if necessary. As the operating lever 50 has the pair of rods 51 and the pair of tension springs 70 connects both sides of the deck stopper 30 and both ends of the second connection bar 53, the operating lever 50 and the pair of tension springs 70 are balanced in force, so that the operating lever 50 rotates the deck stopper 30 stably. As the operating lever 50 has the pair of rods 51, even if one rod 51 is broken or damaged during the operation of the operating lever 50, the other rod 51 still provides its function. Further, even if one side displacement of the tension springs 70 connected to the base portion 31 and the other side displacement of the tension springs 70 connected to the operating lever 50 are varied in the basic state where the deck stopper 30 rotates toward the elevating deck D, the tension springs 70 provide given forces to the deck stopper 30, without being cut, thereby rotating the deck stopper 30. If the lengths and tensile forces of the tension springs 70 are adjusted, the outward rotating forces and displacement for the deck stopper 30 are adjustable to easily support the elevating deck D having various sizes and shapes.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, further, the operating lever 50 is connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 by means of the links 80. Each link 80 includes a first link 80a having one end coupled to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 by means of a hinge and a second link 80b having one end coupled to the other end of the first link 80a by means of a hinge and the other end coupled to the operating point 50b of the operating lever 50, more particularly to the second connection bar 53 by means of a hinge. As one end of the first link 80a is coupled to the base portion 31 by means of the hinge and both ends of the second link 80b are coupled to the other end of the first link 80a and the second connection bar 53 by means of the hinges, the first link 80a and the second link 80b are freely bent to rotate the deck stopper 30 outward or inward.

[0036] Hereinafter, the operations of the elevating deck safety support device 1 according to the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIGs. 6a to 7d.

[0037] FIGs. 6a to 7d are side views showing operations of the elevating deck safety support device according to the present invention.

[0038] The elevating deck safety support device 1 according to the present invention is configured to allow the operating lever 50 whose one end coming into contact with the elevating deck D to create the force point 50a to which a given force is transferred and to allow the operating lever 50 whose other end connected to the base portion 31 of the deck stopper 30 rotatably coupled between the pair of fixing pieces 20 to create the operating point 50b through which the deck stopper 30 is pulled, and in this case, since a portion of the operating lever 50 between the force point 50a and the operating point 50b is rotatably coupled to the pair of lever fixing pieces 40, the operating lever 50 moves automatically, without the help of a worker or a machine, thereby fixing the elevating deck D to a given position or lowering the elevating deck D to the lowest floor of the support structure S. If the elevating deck D moves up to completely push up the deck stopper 30, the deck stopper 30 rotates outward by means of its own weight, and further, the tension springs 70 push the deck stopper 30 to allow the deck stopper 30 to rotate outward, so that even if the rotary shafts of the deck stopper 30 are corroded, the deck stopper 30 can rotate outward easily. Besides, the distance between the pair of rods 51 constituting the operating lever 50 is larger than the thickness of the deck stopper 30, so that when the force point 50a of the operating lever 50 moves down by means of the elevating deck D, the deck stopper 30 rotates and is thus inserted into the rods 51 and the first connection bar 52 rotates to the outside of the deck stopper 30. As a result, if the tension springs 70 or links 80 are broken, the deck stopper 30 is prevented from rotating outward, thereby avoiding the safety accidents from happening due to a fall of the elevating deck D.

[0039] FIGs. 6a to 6d are side views showing operations through which the elevating deck D moves up and is thus fixed to a given position, and FIGs. 7a to 7d are side views showing operations through which the elevating deck D moves down.

[0040] Referring first to FIGs. 6a to 6d, a lifting device (not shown) is connected to one side of the elevating deck D, and as shown in FIG. 6a, the elevating deck D can move up in a vertical direction. As the elevating deck D moves up, it pushes up the deck stopper 30, as shown in FIG. 6b, so that the tension springs 70 connected to the deck stopper 30 are gradually bent. If the elevating deck D moves up and completely passes through the deck stopper 30 in such a way as to allow the side thereof to come into contact with one end portion of the operating lever 50, the upward movement of the elevating deck D is stopped by the lifting device. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6c, the deck stopper 30 rotates outward completely by means of its own weight and the tension springs 70, so that the base portion 31 is arranged horizontally and the rotation limiting portion 32 is supported against the fixed plate 10. If the deck stopper 30 rotates outward and is thus arranged to the initial state, the elevating deck D moves down and is thus seated onto the base portion 31, as shown in FIG. 6d. In this case, one end portion of the operating lever 50 is supported against the side of the elevating deck D by means of the elastic forces of the torsion springs 60, so that the elevating deck D is prevented from moving horizontally.

[0041] Referring next to FIGs. 7a to 7d, in the state where the elevating deck D is seated onto the base portion 31 and the operating lever 50 is supported against the side of the elevating deck D, as shown in FIG. 7a, the lifting device is connected to one side of the elevating deck D, and next, the elevating deck D moves up vertically, as shown in FIG. 7b. If the elevating deck D moves up, the operating lever 50 is kept in posture at a position where the forces of the torsion springs 60 and the forces of the tension springs 70 are offset. If the elevating deck D gradually moves down in the state where the operating lever 50 is kept to the initial position, as shown in FIG. 7c, the force point 50a of the operating lever 50 is pressurized downward to cause the operating point 50b of the operating lever 50 to move upward, so that the deck stopper 30 connected to the operating lever 50 is gradually pulled toward the fixed plate 10 by means of the tension springs 70. If the elevating deck D is kept moving down, as shown in FIG. 7d, the deck stopper 30 is inserted between the rods 51 to cause the first connection bar 52 to rotate to the outside of the deck stopper 30. Next, the deck stopper 30 is completely pulled toward the fixed plate 10 to cause a path for the elevating deck D to be open, so that the elevating deck D passes through the deck stopper 30 and moves down.

[0042] The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purpose of illustration; it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Persons skilled in the relevant art can appreciate that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

[Explanations of Reference Numerals]

1:	Elevating deck safety support device
10:	Fixed plate	20:	Fixing piece
30:	Deck stopper	31:	Base portion
32:	Rotation limiting portion	40:	Lever fixing piece
50:	Operating lever	50a:	Force point
50b:	Operating point	51:	Rod
52:	First connection bar	53:	Second connection bar
60:	Torsion spring	70:	Tension spring
80:	Link	80a:	First link
80b:	Second link
D:	Elevating deck	S:	Support structure

Claims

1. An elevating deck safety support device comprising:

a fixed plate located on a support structure along which an elevating deck moves up and down;

a pair of fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate in parallel to each other toward the elevating deck;

a deck stopper located between the pair of fixing pieces in such a way as to be rotatably coupled to the pair of fixing pieces and having one end portion extending toward the elevating deck to form a base portion for supporting the elevating deck and the other end portion thereof coming into contact with the fixed plate to form a rotation limiting portion for limiting a downward rotation of the base portion;

a pair of lever fixing pieces protruding from the fixed plate or the pair of fixing pieces;

an operating lever having one end portion coming into contact with the elevating deck to create a force point to which a given force is transferred and the other end portion connected to the base portion of the deck stopper to create an operating point through which the deck stopper is pulled, a portion of the operating lever between the force point and the operating point being rotatably coupled to the pair of lever fixing pieces; and

torsion springs located between the pair of lever fixing pieces and the operating lever to keep a posture of the operating lever.

2. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 1, further comprising tension springs for connecting the base portion of the deck stopper and the operating point of the operating lever.

3. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 2, wherein if the given force is not applied to the force point, the base portion of the deck stopper rotates by means of a self weight to allow the rotation limiting portion to be supported against the fixed plate, and the operating lever is kept in posture at a position where the forces of the tension springs and the forces of the torsion springs are offset.

4. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 2, wherein the operating lever comprises:

a pair of rods arranged parallel to each other;

a first connection rod for connecting the pair of rods on the force point; and

a second connection bar for connecting the pair of rods on the operating point in such a way as to fix one end of the tension springs thereto.

5. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 4, wherein the operating lever is configured to allow a distance between the pair of rods to be larger than a thickness of the deck stopper, so that if the force point moves down by means of the elevating deck, the deck stopper rotates and is thus inserted into the pair of rods and the first connection bar rotates to the outside of the deck stopper.

6. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 5, wherein the tension springs are provided as a pair to connect both sides of the deck stopper and both ends of the second connection bar.

7. The elevating deck safety support device according to claim 1, further comprising links each having a first link and a second link, the first link having one end coupled to the base portion of the deck stopper by means of a hinge, and the second link having one end coupled to the other end of the first link by means of a hinge and the other end coupled to the operating point of the operating lever by means of a hinge.

Drawing