Importance

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Abstract

A vehicle to loading dock releasable locking unit includes a hook for engaging a coupling on the vehicle, a motorized drive system for rotating the hook back and forth between locked and unlocked positions, and a hook position sensor for sensing whether the hook is in the locked, the unlocked or an unsafe position between the locked and unlocked positions. The automatic control system includes a hook position selector for generating lock or unlock signals in response to a hook position command selected by an operator and for storing the selected hook position command. A first actuator control unit energizes the hook actuator to reposition the hook into the locked position in response to the lock signal. A second actuator control unit energizes the hook actuator to reposition the hook into the unlocked position in response to the unlock signal. A hook position correction unit is coupled to the hook position sensor and to the hook position selector for comparing the actual hook position with the selected hook position. When an error between the selected hook position and the actual hook position is detected, the hook position correction unit automatically switches into a sag correction mode and generates a hook lock signal to energize the hook actuator to reposition the hook from the unsafe position back into the selected locked position.

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First Claim