GB2292731A

GB2292731A - Lifting Bridge With Pivotable Feet

Info

Publication number: GB2292731A
Application number: GB9518083A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Horst Klann
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1994-09-05
Filing date: 1995-09-05
Publication date: 1996-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 2015-09-05
Also published as: FR2724157A1; DE9414356U1; GB9518083D0; GB2292731B; FR2724157B1

Abstract

A lift bridge (2) for assembly or removal of vehicle parts is for fitting onto connections (3, 4) of a motor vehicle (1) engine component. It comprises rails (5, 6) which support lifting devices (7, 8) slidable along the rails. The rails (5, 6) are fastened to bearing plates (11, 12) which are provided with support devices (13, 14) which serve to fit the bridge (2) onto the vehicle connections (3, 4). The support devices (13, 14) are composed of vertical braces (15, 16) pivotably mounted for adjustment on feet (17, 18) engageable on the connections (3, 4) and the feet (17, 18) are equipped with retaining elements (26, 29) for gripping the connections (3, 4). The braces (15, 16) can be secured relative to the feet (17, 18) to set the vertical position of the device. <IMAGE>

Description

Lift Bridge with adjustable feet The present invention relates to a lift bridge for installing and removing motor vehicle parts comprising at least one bearing rail along which at least one lifting device is guided slidably in a longitudinal direction and which is attached at each end to a bearing plate and two support devices assigned to each bearing plate, comprising a lower foot and an upper vertical brace and having the function of fitting the lift bridge onto the longitudinal side wing-mounting connections of the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, whereby the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of each vertical brace above the bearing rails pivotable about an axis of rotation essentially parallel to the bearing rails.

A lift bridge of this type is known (G 93 02 395.2), which is designed for use above the engine compartment opening of a motor vehicle with the bonnet removed or lifted up. The edges of the engine compartment in longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle each have horizontal wing-mounting connections in the transverse direction of the motor vehicle onto which each respective wing with its corresponding wing-mounting connection is screwed or welded.

The known lifting device is equipped with two parallel bearing rails which are joined together at both ends by a bearing plate. The bearing rails are designed as telescopic rails adjustable in length with a quadratic tubular cross-section and have the function of slidably mounting two lifting devices each guided on the bearing rails by two corresponding guiding tubular sections. The lifting devices each have a chain as a traction element suspended between the bearing rails which are arranged at a distance from one another and extending into the engine compartment. Furthermore, each of the lifting devices is provided with a worm gear for operating the flexible traction elements, whereby the latter each have a hook at their lower end for suspending a load.

The bearing rails are welded onto the bearing plates at their lower end, whereby the bearing plates project upwards at right angles to the bearing rails.

Both bearing rails are attached to the support plates so that in each case one of their diametrical planes is at least approximately vertical in a position of use.

To support the lift bridge on the wing-mounting connections the lift bridge has two support devices each comprising a vertical brace and a foot, whereby the feet are rotatably mounted on the respective vertical brace rotatable about an axis of rotation coaxial to the vertical brace. The support devices are pivotably mounted about an axis parallel to the bearing rails with the upper end of their vertical brace on the upper end of a bearing plate above the bearing rails.

The lift bridge is positioned in use with the feet of its support devices on the wing-mounting connections of the wing mounted on the attachment connections and with its bearing rails essentially horizontal is at right angles to the motor vehicle longitudinal axis. Because of the telescopic design of the bearing rails the lift bridge can be adjusted to the actual distance between the mounting connections and the engine compartment.

The known lift bridge is principally used to lift an engine or transmissionlmechanism or both together from the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, in order1 for example, to replace damaged engine retaining elements. The wing-mounting connections in newer motor vehicles run in the direction of the motor vehicle from the rear to the front and are inclined downwards from the horizontal plane according to the aerodynamic design of the vehicle body. That is, they form an angle of inclination to the horizontal plane which gradually increases from the rear to the front. The size of this angle of inclination differs from one type of vehicle the next and can reach about 20 in the region in which the lift bridge is fitted to the wing-mounting connections for lifting a load.

When the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of the support device or on its vertical brace the support devices are relatively high so that where the angles of inclination of the wing-mounting connections are greater the position of the pivot axis of the bearing plates and thus the centre of mass of the whole arrangement shifts forwards in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In some cases this can cause the lift bridge to tilt, in particular, when work is being carried out on a lifted vehicle part and this moves forwards in the same direction in which the centre of mass is displaced. Furthermore, with greater angles of inclination it is also possible that the feet on the wingmounting connections may slide forwards placing service personnel working underneath the vehicle at considerable risk.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved lift bridge According to one aspect of this invention, there is provided a lift bridge for installing and removing motor vehicle parts comprising at least one bearing rail on which at least one lifting device is guided to be longitudinally slidable and which is attached at each end to a bearing plate and support devices associated with the bearing plates1 said support devices comprising a lower foot and an upper vertical brace and having the function of fitting the lift bridge onto the longitudinal side wing-mounting connections of the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, wherein the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of each vertical brace above the bearing rails to be pivotable about an axis of rotation essentially parallel to the bearing rails, wherein that the vertical braces of the support devices are each pivotably mounted by pivot plates on the feet about a pivot axis and the vertical braces can be aligned vertically by the pivot plates on each foot and can be secured in this position.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a lift bridge for installing and removing motor vehicle parts comprising at least one bearing rail on which at least one lifting device is guided to be longitudinally slidable and which is attached at each end onto a bearing plate and support devices associated with the bearing plates, said support devices each comprising a lower foot and an upper vertical brace and having the function of fitting the lift bridge onto the longitudinal side wingnmounting connections of the engine compartment of the motor vehicle, wherein the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of each vertical brace above the bearing rails to be pivotable about an axis of rotation essentially parallel to the bearing rails and wherein that the feet are provided with retaining elements by means of which the feet can be clamped onto the mounting connections and/or which can be inserted in the region of the engine compartment to prevent the feet from sliding on the body of the motor vehicle.

In the first embodiment the lift bridge can be adjusted to the angle of inclination of the wing-mounting connections so that the pivot axis of the bearing plates on the vertical braces is always at least roughly symmetrical in relation to the standing surfaces of the feet. Thus the centre of mass of the whole arrangement of the lift bridge with lifted motor vehicle component is constantly in the vertical plane of symmetry of the standing surfaces of the feet so that there is no possibility of the lift bridge tilting unexpectedly and service personnel are not at risk.

According to a further embodiment, it is possible to fit the lift bridge onto wingmounting connections with the bearing rails positioned diagonally to the transverse axis of the motor vehicle. This may be necessary as in different types of motor vehicle the load gripping points for attaching the traction elements of the lifting devices may be arranged e.g. on the engine or transmission in the diagonals of the engine compartment. The diagonal alignment of the bearing rails means that these load gripping points can also be reached when the traction elements which can be in the form of chains are vertical.

According to yet a further embodiment, the vertical braces can be adjusted in stages to different pivot angles in relation to the feet, which correspond to the existing and known angles of inclination of the wing-mounting connections in the region in which the lift bridge is installed. The adjustment to specific angles of inclination is performed by arranging a pin bore in the feet and the adjusting bores in the pivot plate in an appropriate manner. If adjustments have to be made to several closely adjacent pivot angular positions of the vertical braces in relation to the feet it is useful to have several pin bores in the feet, which can be brought together pairwise with the adjusting bores into corresponding angular positions and can be fixed in this pivot position by the plug.The possibility of adjusting the pivot angle of the vertical brace in relation to feet which are inclined on the wing-mounting connections means that the vertical braces can always be aligned vertically and can be fixed so that the centre of mass of the whole arrangement cannot be displaced and the lifting bridge cannot tilt during repair work on raised motor vehicle parts.

According to a further embodiment, the pivot angle of the vertical supports can be adjusted in relation to the feet to account for the different angles of inclination of the wing mounting connections. This is an advantage particularly when the lift bridge is fitted onto the wing mounting connections diagonally in relation to the transverse axis of the motor vehicle in order to reach load gripping points on the engine or transmission of a motor vehicle. The angle of inclination of the wing mounting connection in the front section of a motor vehicle is generally greater than in the rear section so that a different adjustment is necessary to the different angles of inclination for each support device and can be made according to the design of the invention.In order to secure the adjusted pivot position easily a clamping bolt is provided passing through an adjusting slot in each pivot plate which is screwed into a corresponding thread nut of the associated foot. The clamping bolt can be provided with a hand lever to make it easy to operate.

According to a further embodiment, the feet and the pivot plates of both support devices can be identical in design. This can be achieved in that the pivot plate has adjusting bores arranged symmetrically in relation to its transverse vertical plane of symmetry so that it can be brought into connection when it is used on one side of the bearing rails with adjusting bores on one side of the vertical plane of symmetry with the pin bore or bores of the foot and when it is used on the opposite side of the bearing rails with adjusting bores on the other side of the vertical plane of symmetry with the pin bore or bores of the other foot. The identical design of the support plates reduces production costs.

According to a further embodiment, it is possible to fix the lift bridge onto the wing mounting connections so that they do not slide and cannot tilt at greater angles of inclination of the wing mounting connection. Retaining elements, e.g. in the form of screw hooks have this function, which are arranged vertically on a foot adjustable in height and grip the wing mounting connection from top to bottom. The retaining elements can be made out of a bent round steel.bar which has an adjusting thread with adjusting nut on its vertical adjusting arm parallel to the respective foot for adjusting the length. On the lower end opposite the adjusting thread the retaining element has a corresponding clamping arm at right angles to the adjusting arm.The retaining element can be moved vertically upwards by means of the adjusting nut so that the clamping arm gripping the wing mounting connection from top to bottom can be clamped to the device and the foot is clamped to the wing mounting connection. With two retaining elements arranged at the back and front of the adjusting feet or a retaining element positioned at the centre on the adjusting feet the lift bridge is unable to tilt when the wing mounting connections are inclined.

To prevent the feet further from sliding on the wing mounting connections a retaining element can also be provided which is mounted to be adjustable in length and pivotable on the corresponding foot and can be inserted in the form of a safety hook e.g. in a bore of the motor vehicle body in the region of the engine compartment. If such a bore is not present the retaining element can also be inserted into the pivot loop of the bonnet which when the bonnet is open is accessible in the rear region of the engine compartment for inserting the retaining element.

By using both retaining elements of the clamping retaining element and the retaining element which can be inserted into the body of the vehicle the feet are prevented from sliding on the wing-mounting connections and are also prevented from tilting even when the wing mounting connection is a strongly inclined and loads are heavy.

According to a further embodiment, the pivot mounting of the retaining elements on each foot which makes it possible to adjust the retaining elements on the feet making it possible to adapt the length and position of the retaining elements to the geometric design of different vehicle bodies.

According to yet a further embodiment, it is possible to first of all adjust the retaining element, which in inserted in a bore in the vehicle body or in the pivot loop of the bonnet, approximately in length step by step to adapt to greater differences in length, whereby the retaining element is pivot attached by its mounting plate to one of its retaining bores on the foot and fine adjustment is possible by means of the coupling-nut-like retaining hook. By means of this approximate adjustment the length of the retaining element can be adapted rapidly and easily to different positions of the lift bridge to the wing mounting connections, so that the lift bridge can be used in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle for different types of installation work in different parts on the wing mounting connections without much rearrangement.

According to a further embodiment, an additional possibility of adjusting the retaining element to the geometric shape of a motor vehicle body is described.

The invention is explained in more detail in the following with reference to the drawings, in which Fig. 1 shows the front section of a motor vehicle with lift bridge in perspective view; Fig. 2 shows the components of a support device from fig. 1 in explosive view; Fig. 3 shows the components of a second embodiment of a support device in explosive view; Fig. 4 shows an enlarged section II of Fig. 1 without the wing bolt.

Fig. 1 shows the front section of a motor vehicle 1 with a lift bridge 2 which is fitted onto the longitudinal side wing-mounting connections 3, 4 of the motor vehicle 1.

The lift bridge 2 comprises two bearing rails 5. 6 at a lateral distance in parallel to one another which are designed as telescopic tubes. Two lifting devices 7, 8 are disposed on the bearing rails 5, 6 which are positively guided on the bearing rails 5, 6 slidable in a longitudinal direction by means of two guiding tubes 9 and 10.

The bearing rails 5, 6 are welded at both ends to a bearing plate 11 or 12 in the lower section. The bearing plates 11, 12 are at right angles to the bearing rails 5, 6 and extend above the bearing rails 5, 6, vertically upwards. In the region of their upper end the bearing plates 11, 12 are each pivotably mounted at the upper end of a support device 13, 14. The support devices 13, 14 essentially comprise an upper vertical brace 15, 16 and a lower foot 17, 18 which is connected by a pivot plate 19, 20 to the corresponding vertical brace 15, 16.

In the upper section of the vertical braces 15, 16 collar screws 21 are provided as a pivot mount between the bearing plates 11, 12 and the support devices 13, 14 which collar screws are arranged coaxially in relation to one another and define a pivot axis passing over the bearing rails 4, 5 parallel to the bearing rails 4, 5. In fig. 1 the collar screw of the support device 14 is not visible.

The pivot plates 19, 20 are rotatably mounted on the corresponding vertical brace 15, 16 about an axis of rotation coaxial to the vertical longitudinal centre axis of the vertical braces 15, 16. In this way, the lift bridge 2 can be fitted onto both wing-mounting connections 3, 4 with the bearing rails 5, 6 diagonal to the transverse axis of the motor vehicle 1 whereby the plate-like feet 17, 18 can be aligned parallel to wing-mounting connections 3, 4.

The pivot plates 19, 20 are pivotably mounted on the feet 17, 18 about a pivot axis at right angles to the feet 17, 18 so that, in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle from the rear to the front, with wing-mounting connections 3, 4 which are inclined downwards, the support devices 13, 14 can be aligned in a vertical position by their vertical braces 15, 16.

The pivot axis of the pivot plates 19, 20 is defined by a screw connection which is formed by a thread pin 22 and a thread nut 23. In the drawing only the thread pin 22 of the support device 14 and the thread pin 22 together with the thread nut 23 of the support device 13 are visible.

Owing to the ability of the pivot plate 19, 20 to pivot together with the vertical braces 15, 16 and the ability of the vertical braces 15, 16 to be aligned vertically, the lift bridge 2 can be safely mounted on the wing-mounting connections 3, 4 thus preventing the whole lift bridge 2 from tilting unintentionally forwards or backwards in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. In order to make an adjustment to a specific angle of inclination of the wing-mounting connections 3, 4, plugs 24, 25 are provided with which the pivot plates 19, 20 can be fixed in relation to the feet 17, 18 at specific pivot angles by corresponding bores in the pivot plates 19, 20 and in the feet 17, 18.

At their front and back both feet 17, 18 are provided with retaining elements 26, 27, 28, 29, whereby retaining elements 26, 27 grip the associated wingmounting connection 3 or 4 from to top to bottom in hook-like manner. The retaining elements 26, 27 are essentially vertical. Retaining elements 28, 29 have the function of preventing the feet 17, 18 from sliding in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and accordingly are aligned roughly horizontally and are also formed as hooks, being inserted in the body or on the body of the motor vehicle 1 in the engine compartment area.

Fig. 2 shows the support device 14 without the vertical brace 16 in explosive view. The foot 18 is designed as a circular ring segment-shaped steel plate and on its lower side has standing surface segments 30, 31, 32 and 33 in a common horizontal plane. The standing surface segments 30, 31 and 32, 33 are separated from one another by a recess 34 or 35. Heads of screws 36 used for mounting the wing extend into these recesses 34, 35, as seen in fig.

1. To reduce weight each foot has a circular segment shaped recess 37 between its standing surface segments 31 and 32.

In about two thirds of its total height the foot 18 has a transverse bore 39 symmetrical to the transversely extending vertical middle plane 38 of the foot 18, through which bore the thread pin 22 can be inserted. The thread pin 22 is formed in a stepped manner and has a bearing pin section 40 by means of which it is rotatably mounted in the transverse bore 39 of the foot 18. To attach the pivot plate 19 through the bearing pin 22, which can be inserted through the cross bore 39, the pivot plate 19 is provided with a through bore 41 which is passed through in the mounted position by the bearing pin 22 or the bearing pin section 40 so that the pivot plate 19 can be pivotably attached to the foot 18 by means of the thread nut 23, which can be screwed onto the thread pin 22.The pivot plate 18 is thus able to be pivoted about the pivot axis 42' from the middle position symmetrical with the vertical middle plane 38 in both directions by at least 200 In this embodiment, in order to fix the pivot plate 19 on the foot 18, a correspondingly arranged pin bore 42 and adjusting bores 43, 44, 45 arranged in the pivot plate 19 are provided through which a pin 46 can be inserted in the corresponding pivot position which in turn is secured by means of a permanent cotter pin 47 in position through the pin bore 42 and/or the adjusting bores 42 or 43 or 45.

Furthermore, the foot 18 is provided with two retaining elements 27, 29.

Retaining element 27 is hook-shaped and has an adjusting arm 49 with a thread section 48, on the end opposite to the thread section 48 of which is arranged an approximately right-angled clamping arm 50. To mount the retaining element 27 on the adjusting foot 18 a mounting pin 52 with a transverse bore 51 is provided which has a thread section 53 on the adjusting plate side with which it can be fixed to the adjusting foot 18 by a thread nut 53.

The retaining element 27 can be inserted through the transverse bore 51 of the mounting pin 52 with its thread section 48 and can be mounted by means of an adjusting nut 55 to be adjustable in length and height on the mounting pin 52. The mounting pin 52 has in the region of its transverse bore 51 an approximately cylindrical head part 56 stepped radially outwards, the cylinder sleeve surface of which is flattened on the adjusting nut side. To accommodate the thread section 53 of the mounting pin 52 the foot 18 has a through bore 57 above its standing surface segment 51 through which the thread section 53 can be inserted and secured to the adjusting foot 18 by the thread nut 54 of the mounting pin 52.

The retaining element 29 is also hook-shaped and has an adjusting arm 59 provided with a thread section 58, which as can be seen in fig. 2 can be bent several times. At its end opposite to the thread section 58 the retaining element 29 has a retaining arm 60 approximately at right angles to the adjusting arm. The retaining element 29 can be pivotably attached to the foot 18 by a mounting pin 61 which has a roughly cylindrical head part 62. To receive the thread section 58 of the retaining elements 29 the mounting pin 61 has a transverse bore 63 in the region of its head part 62 through which the retaining element 29 with its thread section 58 can be inserted and secured by means of a thread nut 62 to be longitudinally displaceable.To mount the mounting pin 61 the latter is provided with a thread section 65 which can be inserted into a corresponding through bore 66 of the foot 18 and can be pivotably secured by a thread nut 67.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment of a support device 1311 of the support device 13 of fig. 1. The support device 13/1 also has a pivot plate 20/1 which is provided with a transverse bore to be pivotably mounted on the foot 17/1.

The pivot plate 20/1 can be pivotably secured by means of the thread pin 22 corresponding to the embodiment of fig. 2 to the foot 17 by means of the associated thread nut 23, for which a correspondingly arranged through bore 69 is provided in the foot 17. For the angular adjustment of the pivot plate 20/1 in relation to the foot 17/1 the pivot plate 20/1 has a circular adjusting slot 70 through which a thread pin 71 can be inserted, which in the mounted position can be screwed into a correspondingly arranged nut thread 72 in the foot 17/1.

With a unscrewed thread pin 71 the pivot plate 20/1 can be pivoted in relation to the foot 17/1 and can be fixed in any pivot position by drawing the thread pin 71 in the corresponding position. The foot 17/1 in the region of its standing surface segment 31/1 also has a through bore for e.g. receiving the retaining element 26, which can then be secured to the foot 17/1 according to fig. 2.

In the support device 13/1 a second embodiment 28/1 of the retaining element 28 is provided. The retaining element 28/1 has a coupiing nut like, longitudinally adjustable retaining hook 73 which on the foot side is provided with a receiving fork 74 in which a mounting plate 75 is pivotably mounted by means of a screw connection. The mounting plate 75 is provided with retaining bores 76, 77, 78 in different positions in a longitudinal direction, which bores have the function of mounting the retaining element 28/1 on the foot 17/1 in stepwise different longitudinal positions. In order to mount the retaining element 28/1 of the mounting plate 75 a stepped thread pin 79 and a corresponding thread nut 80 is provided.The differently arranged retaining bores 76, 77, 78 have the function of adjusting the length of the retaining device 28/1, whereas by means of the coupling-nut like retaining arm 81 of the retaining hook 73 a fine adjustment of the length of the retaining element 28/1 is made possible.

Fig. 4 shows an enlarged section IV from fig. 1. In fig. 4 the support device 13 is shown in use. The support device 13 is pivotably mounted on the foot 17 with its pivot plate 20 about the longitudinal middle axis of the thread pin 22. In the position shown the support device 13 with its vertical brace 15 is perpendicular to the wing-mounting connection 3 of the motor vehicle. With a diagonal or oblique wing-mounting connection 3 and correspondingly arranged adjusting bores 82, 83, 84 and/or the pin bore of the adjusting foot 17 (not shown in the drawing) the support device 13 can be aligned vertically with its vertical brace 15 to balance the angle of inclination of the wing-mounting connection 3 and can be secured by means of a plug 85. In this position the plug is secured by means of a perrnanent cotter pin 86.The arrangement of the adjusting bores 82, 83, 84 and the pin bore makes it possible to pivot and secure the pivot plate 20 from the central position shown in both pivot directions (double arrow 93) about an equally large pivot angle. In order to achieve different pivot angle positions in both pivot directions several pin bores can be provided in the adjusting foot 17 which can be brought together with the corresponding adjusting bores of the pivot plate 20 to adjust to different pivot angles.To adjust pivot angles with small angular differences at different angles of inclination of the wing-mounting connections 3, 4 of different motor vehicles 1 the pin bores of the adjusting foot 17 and the adjusting bores of the pivot plate 20 can be disposed symmetrically with the plane of symmetry 94 at right angles to the pivot plate 20, whereby the foot 17 can be also be used together with its pivot plate 20 on the opposite side of the bearing rails 5, 6 and accordingly the same pivot angles can be adjusted in both pivot directions.

To increase security further retaining element 26 is provided in the front region of the foot 17 in the direction of travel, which retaining element 26 grips the wing-mounting connection 3 from top to bottom with its clamping arm 87. By tightening the thread nut 88 the retaining element 26 can be clamped with its clamping arm 87 from bottom to top to the lower side of the wing mounting connection 3 so that the foot 17 with its standing surfaces is pressed against the upper side of wing-mounting connection 3.

In the rear section according to fig. 2 the retaining element 28 is fixed to the support foot 17. As can be seen in fig. 4 the retaining element 28 is suspended with its retaining arm 89 in a vehicle body bore 90. In order to position the foot 17 on the wing-mounting connection 3 more precisely the retaining element 28 is mounted by the adjusting screw 91 in the mounting pin 92 attached to the adjusting foot 17.

If there is no bore 90 provided in the vehicle body, the retaining element 28 can also be inserted in a pivot loop of the opened motor bonnet (not shown in the drawing).

Of course, support devices 14, 15 can be provided, which as described above are furnished with adjustable pivot plates and retaining elements and the support devices 14, 15 can only be provided with a pivot plate without retaining elements and vice versa. It is also possible that only the clamping retaining elements 26, 27 or only the retaining elements 28, 29 preventing sliding are provided without pivot plates 19, 20. In addition, any combination of pivot.plates 19, 20 with retaining elements 26 to 29 is possible.

Furthermore, it is also possible for several transverse bores 39, 69 to be arranged vertically above one another in the feet so that the pivot plates 19, 20 can be arranged in different vertical pivot positions on the feet 17, 18. Of course, in this case the pin bores of the feet 17, 19 and the adjusting bores or several adjusting slots of the pivot plates 19, 20 have to be arranged accordingly.

It is also possible to provide a support for the lift bridge 2 on the bonnet lock of the engine bonnet to which the bonnet is secured in a closed position. Here the lift bridge is restrained by a corresponding connecting rod in the region of the pivot mounting of its bearing plates against the vertical braces, whereby the attachment in the bonnet lock can be secured by a correspondingly formed locking pin or even a locking fork with a cross locking bolt. The bracing can also be provided directly on the feet. This type of attachment may be necessary if the hinges and the pivot loop of the bonnet are disposed at the front of the motor vehicle 1 and there are no body bores 90 for inserting the retaining elements 26, 27, 28 or 29. Furthermore, with this type of attachment of the lift bridge any tilting or sliding of the lift bridge from the wing mounting connections is prevented.

Claims

1. Lift bridge for installing and removing motor vehicle parts comprising at least one bearing rail on which at least one lifting device is guided to be longitudinally slidable and which is attached at each end to a bearing plate and support devices associated with the bearing plates, said support devices each comprising a lower foot and an upper vertical brace and having the function of fitting the lift bridge onto the longitudinal side wing-mounting connections of the engine compartment of a motor vehicle, wherein the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of each vertical brace above the bearing rails to be pivotable about an axis of rotation essentially parallel to the bearing rails and the vertical braces of the support devices are each pivotably mounted by pivot plates on the feet about a pivot axis and the vertical braces can be aligned vertically by the pivot plates on each foot and can be secured in this position.

2. Lift bridge according to Claim 11 wherein that the pivot plates are pivotably mounted on the vertical braces about an axis of rotation essentially coaxial to the vertical braces.

3. Lift bridge according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein to adjust to a specific pivot position the feet are each provided with at least one pin bore and the pivot plates have several adjusting bores with the same radial distance to the pivot axis so that they can be brought into contact in different pivot positions of the feet in relation to the pivot plate and can be secured in this pivot position by a plug.

4. Lift bridge according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein each pivot plate is provided with a circular arc-shaped, adjusting slot concentric to the pivot axis, and a threaded bore is provided in the associated foot, into which a clamping bolt can be screwed, which extends beyond the adjusting slot and by means of which the pivot plate can be clamped into its pivot position on the foot.

5. Lift bridge according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the pivot plates on the adjusting feet can be pivoted from a central position in which the vertical braces are vertical with the feet positioned in a horizontal plane, in both pivot directions about the same pivot angle and the pivot plates can be secured in both pivot directions at the same pivot angle.

6. Lift bridge according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the feet are provided with retaining elements by means of which the feet can be clamped onto the mounting connections and/or which can be inserted in the region of the engine compartment to prevent the feet from sliding on the body of the motor vehicle.

7. Lift bridge according to claim 6 wherein the feet are plate-shaped and in operation are arranged parallel to the wing-mounting connections in a vertical plane and the retaining elements are each in a plane parallel to their respectively assigned foot in which plane they are pivotably mounted on the foot, and the retaining elements are designed to be adjustable in length.

8. Lift bridge according to claim 6 or 7 wherein the retaining elements each comprise a coupling-nut-like retaining hook adjustable in length and a mounting plate with retaining bores in different longitudinal positions, by means of which they are pivotably mounted by means of threaded pins on the feet.

9 Lift bridge according to Claim 8, wherein the retaining hook is pivotably mounted on the mounting plate.

10. Lift bridge for installing and removing motor vehicle parts comprising at least one bearing rail on which at least one lifting device is guided to be longitudinally slidable and which is attached at each end onto a bearing plate and support devices associated with the bearing plates, said support devices each comprising a lower foot and an upper vertical brace and having the function of fitting the lift bridge onto the longitudinal side wing-mounting connections of the engine compartment of the motor vehicle, wherein the bearing plates are mounted on the upper end of each vertical brace above the bearing rails to be pivotable about an axis of rotation essentially parallel to the bearing rails and wherein the feet are provided with retaining elements by means of which the feet can be clamped onto the mounting connections and/or which can be inserted in the region of the engine compartment to prevent the feet from sliding on the body of the motor vehicle.

11. Lift bridge according to Claim 10 wherein the feet are plate-shaped and in operation are arranged parallel to the wing-mounting connections in a vertical plane and the retaining elements are each disposed for pivoting in a plane parallel to their respectively assigned foot, and the retaining elements are adjustable in length.

12. Lift bridge according to Claim 10 or 11 wherein the retaining elements comprise a coupling-nut-like retaining hook adjustable in length and a mounting plate with retaining bores in different positions in longitudinal direction, by means of which they are pivotably mounted by means of a threaded pin onto the foot.

13. Lift bridge according to Claim 11, wherein the retaining hook is pivotably mounted on the mounting plate.

14. Lift bridge substantially as described herein with reference to and as illustrated in any one or more of the accompanying drawings.