ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,617,328, issued on May 5, was assigned to National Fleet Products Inc. (Buffalo, Minn.).
"Loading ramp for utility vans" was invented by Steven Peterson (Wayzata, Minn.), Samuel Johnson (Orono, Minn.) and Gilbert Daniel Bodimer (St. Cloud, Minn.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A loading ramp assembly for utility vans can include a main deck with side rails fastened to the longitudinal sides of the main deck. A raised loading floor of the utility van is disposed atop a pair of guide rails. Guide wheels on the side rails move through guide rails secured to the van's original floor as the ramp is retracted and deployed. The ramp can be fully r...