Transportation van having load elevating platform located therein

Claim 1

A transportation van comprising; (a) a road going van body having a cargo compartment which is open at one end and which has a generally planar floor, a pair of oppositely disposed upright side walls and a top wall, (b) an elevator platform proportioned to extend across the cargo compartment between said side walls, said elevator platform having a drive compartment formed therein, (c) guide means mounted on said side walls and cooperating with said elevator platform for guiding the movement of the platform with respect to the compartment, (d) extensible ram means located in said drive compartment of said platform, one end of said ram means being secured to said platform and the other end being movable with respect to said platform, (e) elevator cable means having one end anchored with respect to said van body and its other end secured with respect to said elevator platform, said other end of said ram means engaging said elevator cables to cause said platform to move to and fro between a lowered position at the floor of the van, an intermediate position spaced above the floor and an upper position proximate the top wall of the cargo compartment, (f) latch means carried by said platform and operable to releaseably latch said platform in said intermediate position so as to be capable of supporting a load when locked in said intermediate position.