CA1172238A - Lift for mopeds and motorcycles - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A lift for raising mopeds and motorcycles, in which a base (10) is provided to which there is pivoted a jack cylinder (14), the piston rod of which is pivoted to a frame (18, 19, 20, 22, 23) pivotable about a horizontal axis relative to said base. One end of the frame is provided with a motorcycle support (30, 33, 35) adaptable to the footboards of a motorcycle of the kind having an open U-shaped frame with footboards disposed substantially at the level of the base portion of the frame, the support, for this purpose, having an arm (42) pivotally connected to a cross member (35) so that the footboards and base portion of the U-frame of such a motorcycle can be clamped between the member (35) and arm (42), the support being also adaptable to the centre stand of a normal motorcycle, and providing a U-section member into which such a centre stand can be wedged. The support (30, 33, 35) is rotatable about a horizontal axis parallel to the axis of rotation of the frame, around a pivot (29), in order that when the lift is used for a motorcycle of said kind having an open U-shaped frame and footboards, the motorcycle may be inclined to either of two angular positions on opposite sides of a vertical position, and may be located in any said position by means of a pin (32).

Description

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Description of Invention Title: "Lift for mopeds and motorcycles"

THIS INVENTION relates to a lift for mopeds and motorcycles, and which is particularly suitable ror rnotorcycles of the kind having an open U-shaped frame with footboards disposed subs-tantially at the level of the base Or the U-shaped part C 5 of said frame. A motorcycle of this kind is herein referred to as a "motor scooter", It is always difficult to carry out repair and mainten-ance work on mopeds or motor scooters (as herein defined), which have to be inverted or rested on one side on the 10 ground.
In this position, which is certainly uncomfortable for the operator, he is at the present time required to carry out every type of operation on the engine, on the trans-mission members and on the electrical system. In thls 15 situation, work carried out on those parts which are diffi-cult to reach takes longer and is fatiguing, and sometimes the operator is compelled to carry out work which is r incomplete and lacks care.
~or these reasons, the present invention provides a lift 20 by means of which a motorcycle on which work is to be carried out can be lifted from the ground by a sufficient distance for the operator to gain easy access to each of its components~
even to tho most hidden and inacccssible component, so that he is able to carry out any sort of work on any member to 25 be repaired or replaced mGre rapidly and with greater accuracy.
~ccording to the invention there is provided a lift for raising mopeds and motorcyclcs, comprising a bas~ a frame pivotally comlected to the base for pivotal movement 30 relative to the basc about a horizontal ax-ls; an actuating ~ 7 2 2 3 ~ i piston and cylinder ~lit pivo-tally connected between the ~rallle ~nd the base, ~or prodllcing such pivotal movemen-t o~
the ~rame ralative to the base, cno end of t}le ~r~ e being provided with a s~port designed to hold a nloped-ol- mo-t;or--cycle in a releasable manner, the support being pivot;allyco~ected to said end of the frame so that it can rise parallel to itsel~ during the pivo-tal movement o~ the frame relative to the base, there being provided ll~rdraulic and/or ~newnatic means for controlling said cylinder, and safety means ~or rigidly SeCUriTLg the frame in a c7esired position a~ter it has been rotated into that position in order to li~t the moped.
~J In a pre~erred embodiment~ besides bein~ able to li~t a moped or motorcycle, the li~t is also provided with 1~ means which enable certain classes oP moped or mo-torc~cle to be partly tilted, so as to further facilitate èxami~-ation oP any unit to be repaired.
~ n embodiment o~ the invention is described below by way o~ example with reference to the accompanying drawings 20 i~ which Figures 1, 2 and 3 ~re a fron~ elevational, si~e elevational and plan view respecti~ely of a li~t embodying the invention;
Figures 4 and 5 are respectively the front and plan view of the support for mopeds and motorcycles shown in the lift of Figures l to 3 and 8, Figures 6 and 7 are respectively the front and plan view of a second form of realization of the support Eor the motor-cycles shown in the lift of the application of Figure 9, and Figures 8 and 9 illustrate two applications o~ th~
device according to -the invention.
Referring to the drawings, a frame 10 resting on the ground ~orms the base of the li~t ~ra~neworlc.
In the ~rame 10 there is provided a recess 11 ~or receiving the rear wheel of the motorcycle as descxibed hereina~ter. Th~ frame 10 contains an oil tanlc 12 ~hich, by means o~ suitable pipes, is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 11~.
Manual lever controls 13 operate the hydraulic cylinder 14, which is pivotally connected at 1~ to the ~r~ne 10 and has its rod 16 pivoted at 1~ to an arm 18.
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The arm 18 i9 rigidly connected to a frame constituted by a horizontal cross member 19, two further arms 20 and 22 respectively, and two connection pieces 23.
~l appendage 24 rigid with the arm 18 is provided with 5 an end bore 25, and is designed for insertion tat the end of the lifting operation) into a fork 26 bored transversely.
A safety pin 27 can be inserted through the bore in the fork 26 and the bore 25 when aligned therewith as described hereinafter The two arms Z0 and 22 are connected together at their upper ends by connection pieces 28 and 29, this latter having pivotally connected thereto a plate 30 which is pivotally connected at a lower end at 31 to a further arm 21. The arm 21 is pivotally connected at 24 to the base 10.
The plate 30 is provided with three bores 32 disposed along an arc having as its centre the axis on which plate 30 is pivotable relative to the connection piece 29. A bracket 33 is welded to the connection piece 29. The bracket 33 is provided with oblique arms 34 and a cross member 35. Two further arms 36 are welded to this latter i.n a projecting manner. Rubber blocks 37 can be inserted into bores 47 in the arms 34, and are thus adjustable in distance from the cross member 35, the end of the arms 36 being bored at 46. A projecting piece 38 is welded to the cross member 35, Z5 and comprises a bore 39 into which is inserted a pin 40, which also passes through one of the bores 32 of the plate 30. A further arm 42, provided with a disc 43 which is in screw-threaded engagement with arm 42 so as to be adjustable in distance from said arm, is hin~ed to the cross member 3S. At its other end, the arm 42 has hinged to it a fork or loop 44, which is designed to be loopcd o~er the other end of the cross member 35 and to be locked in position by rotating a le~er 45. The operation of the dos-cribed lift is as follows. Initially~ when in the rest position, each member is on the ground, i.e. substantially contained in the plane of the base 10 so that the bracket 33 and its cross member 3S are at a height such as to be .. . .. - ~ . v 4. ;~ ~7~23~

able to receive, thereon, in the case o~ a motor scooter (as herein defined) the footboards thereof.
The motor scooter is moved forward so that its rear wheel becomes inserted into the compartment 11 in the base 10, and its footboards rest on the bracket 33 by way of the blocks 37. The arm 42 is then swung over on top of the footboards and the base portion of the U-fra~ne of the scooter, and the free end of arm 42 is then connected with the project-ing end of member 35 by means of the loop 44 which is locked by rotating the eccentric lever 45. The disc 43 can be raised or lowered by screwing or unscrewing it, until it rests against the upper surface of the footboard or of the U-frame bottom part of the motor scooter, which thus becomes firmly locked within this frame, which acts as a clamp.
The operation of lifting the motor scooter can then begin, and takes place in the following manner. On feeding oil to the cylinder 14 by operating the lever 13, the rod 16 extends to rotate the arm 18, and with it the arms 20 and 22 which are rigid therewith. The frame which supports the motor scooter then rises while always remaining parallel to itself, in that the plate 30, which is pivoted to the connection piece 29 of the arms 20 and 22, is kept in its vertical position by the third arm 21, which rises simultan-eously with the first two and therefore prevents the frame 25 from rotating during the lifting operation. At the end of this operation, when the motor scooter has been raised through the entire prescribed height, the lift can be locked by inserting the pin 27 into the bores of the fork 26 and appendage 24, which are now aligned. If the motor scooter now has to be rotated to give more access to certain parts, the pin 40 only has to be withdrawn from the bores of the bracket 38 and plate 30, the overlying frame rotated until the bore 39 of the bracket 38 mates with a new ri~ht or left bore 32 of the plate, and the pin 40 reinserted to again lock the frame. The motor scooter is thus inclined laterally through a certain angle sufficient for the required purpose, After the maintenance work has been 5. i 1~2238 finished and the motorcycle returned to the horizontal ~ position~ the rod 16 is withdrawn in order to bring the ! frame to the ground in its rest position, in which the moped footboard is released by uncoupling the fork 44 from the cross member 35, and the motor scooter can then be removed from the lift. ~igures 6, 7 and 9 show a further application of the device according to the invention, which instead of beingr used to raise a motor-scooter (as herein ~efined) is used to raise a light motorcycle or moped of another type. Light motorcycles or mopeds are commonly not provided with a footboard of the type provided in motor scooters (as herein defined) with the result that the coupling frame 42 ~J is no longer usable, and would need to be modified according to the type of motorcycle or moped, and thus nullifying the desirable universal applicability of the lift. In order to make the lift applicable to motorcycles provided with a two-legged centre stand, a support 50 illustrated in ~igures 6 and 7 is proposed, constituted by a U section member 51 pro~ided with a cross member 52. Said cross member is slightly arcuate at its ends 53, where it is provided with two pegs 54. During assembly, it is necessary only to insert the pegs 54 into the bores 46 of the cross member 35 (~igure 5) in order to securely fix the element As can be deduced from Figure 9, to raise the motorcycle ~,~ ` 25 or moped its front wheel is inserted into the compartment 11 ~f the base 10 (in contrast to the motor scooter (as ; herein defined) of which the rear wheel was inserted) The centre stand of the motorcycle or moped is then mounted over the U section member 51, and remains retained securely within it between its lateral wall 55 and the front cross member 52 The frame 42 which previouslr acted as a clamp is no longer used, as the motorcycle is fixed securely to the lift.
The actual configuration of the motorcycle means that it is no longer necessary to incline it laterally in order to carry out maintenance wor~ on it, as in the case o~ the motor scooter and thus the cross member 35 is not inclired 6. ~ 2 3 ~

angularly~ and the motorcycle always remains in lts vertical position.
In the two applications of the lift according to the invention illustrated herein, it has been assumed that the lifting member, i.e. the cylinder 14, operates hydraulic-ally, but the same object would be attained if the cylinder operated pneumatically~ or were of the mixed control type~
as there would be no detraction from the advantages of the proposcd lift.

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Claims (3)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A lift for raising mopeds and motorcycles, comprising a base, a cylinder hinged on the base for vertical swinging move-ment about a horizontal axis, a first rod which is horizontal and which is supported on the base for rotation about its axis, a second rod fixed to the first rod intermediate the length of the first rod and extending upwardly from the first rod, the cylinder having a piston therein having a piston rod that is pivotally connected to the second rod remote from the first rod thereby to rotate the first rod about the horizontal axis of the first rod, third and fourth arms rigidly secured to each other and to the first rod at points disposed on opposite sides of point of securement of the second rod to the first rod, said third and fourth arms being disposed at a substantial angle to the second rod, said first and second rods lying in a common plane, a fifth rod pivotally connected at one end to the base, a plate to which the fifth rod is pivotally connected at its end remote from the base, said third and fourth rods being pivotally connected to the plate at a point remote from the first rod, said fifth rod being parallel to and spaced from the plane of said third and fourth rods, and a support for mopeds and motorcycles carried by said plate.

2. A lift as claimed in claim 1, and means mounting said sup-port for selective adjustment relative to the plate thereby selectively to alter the inclination of the support.

3. A lift as claimed in claim 1, and means for releasably securing mopeds and motorcycles to said support.