Brakes – Vehicle – On ground
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-18
2001-07-17
Butler, Douglas C. (Department: 3613)
Brakes
Vehicle
On ground
C188S00200R
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260666
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(a) Field of Invention
This invention relates to a wheel chock for chocking the wheels of a vehicle.
(b) Background of Invention
Vehicle wheels have to be chocked in a number of different situations. For example, when one side of a car is jacked up to change a wheel, it is always recommended that one or both wheels on the opposite side be chocked to ensure that the vehicle does not roll forward or backwards whilst part of it is being supported other than on its wheels. Wheel chocking becomes even more important with the use of off-road vehicles, where it is often necessary to raise part of a vehicle off the ground in order to extricate the wheels from a place where they have no grip or to raise the vehicle sufficiently for it to pass over an obstacle or for an obstacle to passed underneath the vehicle.
Whilst a piece of brick or the like is generally adequate to chock the wheels of a car on a road or other level surface, an off-road vehicle travelling over rough terrain needs a much more substantial chock.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It has been common practice for off-road vehicles to carry around with them one or more chocks, against a situation when they will be needed such chocks are rigid triangular shaped bodies which are heavy and take up a lot of space. As a result, they are not always carried when they should be carried and this can lead to difficulties.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the invention, there is provided a wheel chock device for chocking the wheels of a vehicle, the device comprising at least three sections hinged to one another about spaced-apart parallel axes, each section being formed from a set of spaced bars, the sections being adapted to be turned about the parallel hinged axes to form a triangular body and means for securing the sections in the form of a triangular body.
The use of three hinged sections allows the device to be turned about the parallel hinged axes so as to take up a compact, folded configuration in which it can be readily stored without taking up excess space.
The use of three hinged sections also allows the device to have a secondary function, as a so-called ‘sand ladder’. If the sections are laid out So that they lie end to end, an elongate Surface is formed which can be laid over unstable ground, so that a vehicle wheel can ride over that unstable ground, on the surface of the device.
The spaced bars which form the chock device may be square section bars made of hollow bar stock, with the ends of each bar section being closed. One face of each bar section can be provided with surface irregularities, such as ribs, to provide grip when a vehicle wheel is in contact with that surface.
Alternatively the bars may be made from channel section stock, so that the bars have one open face. The surface irregularities can be formed by plunged holes in the outward facing face of the channel section. The holes may have raised rims.
The beams preferably are arranged parallel to one another and the beams in each section are spaced apart so that when the device is folded, beams of adjacent sections can lie between one another to reduce the overall size of the folded device.
The beams may be made from aluminum or steel (preferably stainless steel) channel or square section stock.
It is possible to have more than three sections, when a longer sand ladder is required. Normally however when the device is erected into its chocking configuration, only three sections are likely to take part, namely one section lying on the ground, one section forming the abutment surface for the vehicle wheel and one section bracing the abutment surface against the ground engaging surface.
The hinging between the sections is preferably accomplished by a round bar or tube which is fitted through aligned drilled holes through the ends of the adjoining and overlapping sections.
The device can have a third function, as a jacking base. When folded, the device preferably has two opposite substantially parallel faces. One face preferably has a lip or lips around a support area which will accommodate the foot of a jack. The device can be placed on the ground at the place where the jack is to be used, the jack foot is placed in the support area, and the jack is operated to raise a load. Placing the jack foot on the device spreads the ground loading arising from jack operation over an area substantially larger than that of the jack foot. When folded, the device preferably has one of its parallel faces substantially larger than the opposite face, and the smaller of the two faces carries the support area.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1082807 (1913-12-01), Holworthy
patent: 1768265 (1930-06-01), Nicholls
patent: 2316178 (1943-04-01), Morgensen, Jr.
patent: 2585370 (1952-02-01), Cless
patent: 2816627 (1957-12-01), Wilson et al.
patent: 2903096 (1959-09-01), Andersen
patent: 3068962 (1962-12-01), Petro
patent: 3353633 (1967-11-01), Leonard et al.
patent: 3387686 (1968-06-01), Little
patent: 3655014 (1972-04-01), Nyborg
patent: 4109763 (1978-08-01), Sugiho
patent: 4140206 (1979-02-01), Yamazaki et al.
patent: 4421210 (1983-12-01), Sugiho
patent: 5444949 (1995-08-01), Ciaccio
patent: 5465814 (1995-11-01), Ziaylek
patent: 457706 (1928-03-01), None
patent: 3027260 (1982-02-01), None
patent: 744327 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 0 863 061 A1 (1998-09-01), None
patent: 286 002 (1928-02-01), None
patent: 2 178 121A (1987-02-01), None
patent: 2316710 (1998-04-01), None
patent: 2332930 (1999-07-01), None
patent: 6239185 (1994-08-01), None
Butler Douglas C.
Howell & Haferkamp L.C.
Turpins plc
LandOfFree
Wheel chock device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Wheel chock device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Wheel chock device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2522878