Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Tire handling apparatus
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION :
Field of the invention :
The invention relates generally to repair equipment but more particularly to a
device
for handling tires being removed from a vehicle in the context of a service
location.
Background of the invention :
Removing tires off a vehicle can be, in the long run, a source of work injury.
Indeed,
although tires are not exceedingly heavy, they do involve a series of
movements that
can be a source of injury due to the repetitiveness of certain movements or
the
imbalance incurred in the process of executing certain movements.
To remedy this situation, some inventors have come up with partial solutions
to the
problem.
US patent 3,301,419 discloses a lift on which wheels are held by elongated
members
which are supported on both ends thus eliminating bending inherent in a
cantilever
support. Also, there is a means for supporting the wheels in an upright
position while
they are on the lift so that the wheels can be rotated for adjusting purposes.
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US patent 4,123,038 discloses a wheel lift apparatus for supporting a load,
comprising a mobile base frame having caster mounted side frame members
telescopically extensible in a longitudinal direction, a cross frame member
rigidly
interconnecting the side frame members in laterally fixed, substantially
parallel
relationship, and vertical guide means projecting upwardly from the cross
frame
member; a lift frame vertically movable relative to the base frame including
laterally
spaced L-shaped lift arms having horizontal, load supporting arm members and
vertical arm members interconnected by a lateral cross member, and slide means
carried by the vertical arm members for cooperable action with the guide
members of
the base frame; a horizontally adjustable load contacting frame carried by the
vertical
arm members of the lift frame; and another vertically adjustable, load
supporting
frame carried by the base frame.
US patent 5,232,035 discloses a tire changing tool and universal workstand for
use in
a tire store or mechanic shop that has a base having a vertically extending
post atta-
ched thereto. The work support members include a vehicle wheel work support at-
tachment removably attached to the top of the post for attaching and holding a
vehicle
wheel to the tire changing tool. The wheel attachment is attached to the post
end so
that the wheel can be fixedly attached and held in a horizontal plane. A tire
removing
tool is removably attached to one side of the post and positioned so that a
wheel ha-
ving a tire thereon can be placed adjacent the post so that the tire removing
tool can
be positioned adjacent the wheel rim flange against the tire and is leveraged
for dri-
ving the tool to break the tire edge from the tire rim. The work support
attachment is
attached to the top of the vertically extending post with a post coupling
having a
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square insert inserted into a square post top opening and having a flange cap
thereo-
ver and having the vehicle wheel work support attached thereto. The wheel work
sup-
port can be rapidly removed from the vertical post for converting the tire
changing tool
to a different type of work station.
These inventions only solve part of the problem and therefore, there is a need
for a
better tire changing apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known devices now
present in
the prior art, the present invention, which will be described subsequently in
greater
detail, is to provide objects and advantages which are:
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which minimizes the amount of
repetitive
movements.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which reduces the strength required
for
moving a tire.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which is easy to use.
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To provide for a tire handling apparatus which adjusts to a variety of
heights.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which is easy to move around.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which can handle several tires.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which transports the tires to a
different
location once they are removed from a vehicle.
To provide for a tire handling apparatus which allows for easy offloading or
uploading
of the tires to their storage destination or onto other machines for further
processing
of the tires.
To attain these ends, the present invention generally comprises a strucural
body
composed of a hydraulically actuated scissor lift assembly for adjusting the
height of a
tire receiving platform. A movable plank that can be stowed away when not in
use but
that is protruding off the side of the body so that it can receive a tire
removed from a
vehicle. The plank slides longitudinally across the length of the receiving
platform so
as to be in line with an empty receiving niche. The structural body is on
wheels so that
the tire handling apparatus can be moved from location to location as
required.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of
the
invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be
better
understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be
better
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appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be
described
hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended
hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in
detail, it
is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to
the details of
construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the
following
description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it
is to be
understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the
purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon
which this
disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of
other
structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the
present
invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as
including such
equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and
scope of the
present invention.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various
features of
novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity
in the
claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better
understanding of
the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by
its uses,
reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in
which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Fig. I Perspective view.
Fig. 2 Top view showing plank with different orientations.
Fig. 3 Side view.
Fig. 4 Cutaway view along line AA from fig 3.
Fig. 5 End view.
Fig. 6a Side view of structural body turned perpendicularly in relation to
base.
Fig. 6b Cutaway detail exploded perspective view of fig. 6a.
Fig. 7 End view with side of the car.
Fig. 8 Side view with front of the car.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A tire handling apparatus (10) represented by an assembly of tubular elements
creating a strucural body (11) composed of a hydraulically actuated scissor
lift
assembly (14) for adjusting the height of a tire receiving platform (16). The
structural
body (11) is further comprised of vertical members (18, 18') and horizontal
members
(20, 20') joined together to make up an upper body (12). The vertical members
(18,
18') are further divided into upper vertical members (18) and lower vertical
members
(18') with the upper vertical members (18) perpendicularly attached to upper
horizontal members (20) while lower vertical members (18') are perpendicularly
attached to lower horizontal members (20') that form a lower body (13). The
upper
body (12) raises or lowers telescopally in relation with the lower body (13),
that is, the
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lower vertical members (18') cooparates telescopally with the upper vertical
members
(18) as the scissor lift assembly (14) raises or lowers. The scissor lift
assembly (14)
itself is supported by the lower body (13) to which it is rotationally
attached. The lower
body (13) also has cross beams (22) fixedly attached to it and which are used
for
supporting a hydraulic piston (24) which acts upon the scissor lift (14) for
raising and
lowering the tire receiving platform (16). Half of the cross beams (22) is
fixedly
attached to the lower body while the other half is fixedly attached to the
base (25) and
each half being able to rotate relative to the other half for reasons
explained later. The
scissor lift assembly (14) has casters (15) rolling off underneath horizontal
tracks (21).
The rest of the scissor lift assembly (14) being somewhat similar to such
assemblies
known in the art will not be further discussed here. The hydraulic piston (24)
can be
actuated by air hoses of the type commonly found in service stations or it can
be
pedal actuated as is also known in the art
The tire handling apparatus (10) is mounted on wheels (32) set underneath the
base
(25) so that it can be moved from location to location as required.
The scissor lift assembly (14) lifts the tire receiving platform (16) to the
preferred
height of a given user. Once in place, a movable plank (38), that is generally
stowed
away in a configuration parallel to the structural body (11) when not in use,
is moved
outwardly in relation to the structural body (11) and placed underneath a tire
(26) so
as to receive it as it is removed from a vehicle (28). The movable plank (38)
is
slidingly attached to the horizontal tracks (21) that run longitudinally
across the length
of the tire receiving platform (16) so that it can align itself with any of a
plurality of
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receiving niches (30). The movable plank (38) is slidingly attached by way of
a
slidable attachment means (34) using caster wheels (36) positioned
strategically on
various faces of the tracks (21). Such slidable or rollable attachment means
are
generally known in various fields and are adapted to the needs at hand,
several
variations can be used without departing from the scope of the invention.
For convenience, the movable plank (38) can be provided with a receptacle (40)
for
nuts and at least one holster (42) for hand tools such as hammer or pnematic
drill.
The movable plank (38) itself rotates along an axis point (46).
Each receiving niche (30) is separated from the adjacent ones by partition
means
(48). A push/pull bar (50) is removably attached from either ends of the
structural
body (11) and is used for moving the tire handling apparatus (10) about. Also
removably attached to either ends of the structural body (11) are hubcap
holders (52)
for holding hubcaps (not shown). The push/pull bar (50) and the hubcap holders
(52)
can be installed on both ends of the structural body (11).
In operation, a worker will use the push/pull bar (50), to position the tire
handling
apparatus (10) alongside a vehicle (28), slide and pivot the movable plank
(38) so that
its tip is just underneath the tire (26). The worker can then proceed to
remove the
hubcap (not shown), if present, and then remove the nuts (not shown) using his
air
gun (not shown) in order to remove the tire (26), and put the nuts in the
receptacle
(40) and the air gun in the holster (42). At this point, the movable plank
(38) can be
raised so that it pushes the tire (26) slighly upward so as to help in freeing
it from the
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bolts (not shown) so that it can be removed. From there, the tire (26) can
easily be
rolled onto said movable plank (38) and into an empty receiving niche (30) by
sliding
the movable plank (38) in line with an empty receiving niche (30). Positioning
the
movable plank (38) underneath the tire (26) can imply using a combination of
moving
the tire handling apparatus (10) and pivoting and sliding the movable plank
(38) as
well as adjusting the height of the structural body (11) by raising or
lowering the
scissor lift assembly (14) by way of actuation of the hydraulic piston (24).
The worker
can then lower the movable plank (38) and move the tire handling apparatus
(10)
towards the next tire to change.
Once all tires are removed, the tire handling apparatus (10) can be used to
carry the
tires to other locations such as the hub removing machine, tire balancing
machine, or
even storage. By adjusting the height of the tire handling apparatus (10)
unloading or
offloading tires to and from any of these machines is much easier.
The push/pull bar (50) can be switched from one end of the tire handling
apparatus to
the other and the movable plank (38) has handles (58) on both sides so as to
favor
left handed as well as right handed workers. Because only two out of the four
wheels
(32) are directional, it is necessary to swivel the tire handling apparatus
(10) half a
turn over the base (25) which is rotationally attached to the lower body (13)
by way of
the cross beams (22) having each halves rotating in relation to the other half
as
described hereinabove. Also, the receptacle (40) can be magnetized to better
hold
the nuts.
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As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present
invention, the same should be apparent from the above description.
Accordingly, no
further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be
provided.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the
optimum
dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include
variations in size,
materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use,
are
deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all
equivalent
relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the
specification are
intended to be encompassed by the present invention.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles
of the
invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily
occur to
those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the
exact construction
and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications
and
equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.
