GB2378434A

GB2378434A - Bike raising jack

Info

Publication number: GB2378434A
Application number: GB0116302A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Kenneth Jowett
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-07-04
Filing date: 2001-07-04
Publication date: 2003-02-12
Also published as: GB0116302D0

Abstract

A lifting device 4 for raising at least part of a motorbike 2 above a surface 3, the lifting device 4 comprising base means 6 operable to be placed on the surface 3, and support means 10 pivotably attached to the base means 6, the support means 10 being pivotable between a substantially folded position and a substantially extended position and operable to raise the motorbike 2 above the surface 3 when in the extended position. Preferably, the support means 3 comprise a pair of arms independently raisable and lockable in the erected position e.g. by stops which may be spring pressed.. The arm ends may have bike supports (Figs 5-7) thereon. In use, the base is moved towards the bike by means of wheels 8 which are off the ground when the base is flat.

Description

LIFTING DEVICE The present invention relates to a lifting device and particularly, although not exclusively, relates to a lifting device for lifting a motorcycle.

Motorbikes or motorcycles are commonly used modes of transport. Unfortunately they require considerable amounts of maintenance, for example, repairing or changing worn or damaged parts such as tyres, wheels, chains, and exhaust fittings etc. The average weight of a motorcycle may be as much as 200 kg which, therefore, makes any of the above-mentioned maintenance operations difficult, time consuming and often dangerous.

One method of lifting a motorcycle up off the ground so that maintenance operations may be carried out consists of using a paddock stand. A paddock stand comprises a metal frame forming a base which is placed onto the ground, and two arms which extend upwardly away from the base and which are placed underneath the swinging arm of the suspension of the motorbike thereby lifting the motor bike up from off the ground. Unfortunately, such paddock stands are bulky and are therefore cumbersome to use, transport and store.

It is an aim of the embodiments of the present invention to address the problems outlined above and to provide a device for lifting a motorcycle so that maintenance operations may be carried out.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lifting device for raising at least

part of a motorbike above a surface, the lifting device comprising base means operable to be placed on the surface, and support means pivotably attached to the base means, the support means being pivotable between a substantially folded position and a substantially extended position and operable to raise the motorbike above the surface when in the extended position.

For the sake of clarity, by the term motorbike, we also include motorcycles, mopeds and the like.

Preferably, the support means comprises at least two support arms which are attached to the base means by hinge means, which are preferably substantially in the centre thereof.

Preferably, the support arms are pivotable between the folded and extended positions. Preferably, the support arms are pivotable independently from one another.

Preferably, the base means has a substantially'U'-shaped configuration defining first and second ends. Preferably, the first and second ends of the base means comprise a wheel, each wheel preferably being rotatably mounted at the end of the base means.

Preferably, the majority of the base means touches the surface when placed thereon when the support means are in the extended configuration in order to raise the motorbike above the surface.

Preferably, at least the wheels are not in contact with the surface when the support means are in the extended

I

configuration and when the motorbike is in the raised position. Preferably, the base means is operable to raise the wheels away from the surface when the motorbike is in the raised position, preferably, by being pre-moulded. Preferably, the wheels are located above the surface by virtue of an angle in the base means.

Preferably, the angle in the base means is in the region of 1-70 , more preferably, in the range of 5-400, and most preferably, in the range of 15-30 .

Preferably, and advantageously, urging the base means in a generally downwardly direction results in the wheels moving in a direction generally towards the bike thereby raising the bike above the surface.

Preferably, the ends of the support arms distal from the hinge means are adapted to raise the motorbike above the surface. Preferably, the distal ends are adapted to receive lifting means which lifting means is operable to communicate with the motorbike, preferably, the rear of the motorbike, more preferably, the swinging arm of the motorbike. Preferably, the support means comprises at least one aperture extending therethrough through which the lifting means may be attached.

In a first embodiment, the lifting means may comprise a support cup which, preferably, comprises a shank and a cupping means securely attached to one end thereof.

Preferably, the shank of the support cup is passed through an aperture of each support arm, preferably, so that the

cupping section faces substantially upwardly and extends inwardly relative to the base means.

In a second embodiment, the lifting means may comprise rolling means, preferably, a roller which is rotatably connected to a shank. Preferably, the shank is passed through an aperture of the support arm such that the rolling means extends inwardly relative to the base means.

Preferably, the rolling means is made of nylon and is preferably free to rotate about the shank. Preferably, when using the second embodiment, the motorbike is fitted with at least two pick-up forks which are attachable to lugs on the ends of the swinging arm of the motorbike.

Preferably, the pick-up fork comprises a hooking surface which the roller may abut and which is operable to raise the bike above the surface.

Preferably, the hinge means comprises a first pin which extends from the base of the each support arm substantially outwardly with respect to the centre of the '0'shaped base, said first pin preferably being operably connected to the base means. Preferably, the hinge means comprises guide means having a surface along which the first pin may be guided as the support arm is moved between the folded and extended positions.

Preferably, the guide means comprises a first detent in which the first pin may be detained when the support arm is in the extended position. Preferably, the guide means comprises a second detent in which the first pin may be

detained when the support arm is in the folded configuration.

Preferably, the hinge means comprises a second pin which is operably attached to the first pin by resilient means.

Preferably, the resilient means provides a bias between the first and second pins. Preferably, the resilient means comprises a spring.

Advantageously, the spring provides tension between the first and second pins.

Preferably, the hinge means comprises a plate fixedly attached to the side of the base means. Preferably, the guide means comprises a slot, preferably, a slot which extends radially therebetween.

Preferably, said first and second detents are recesses in the slot in which the first pin may be located.

Preferably, the hinge means is located substantially midway along the base means, preferably, in a position such that the end of the support arm that is distal to the hinge means, when the support arm is in the extended position, is substantially above the wheel.

Advantageously, such respective positioning of the hinge means and wheel, and the length of the support arm results in the effective lowering of the motorbike from a raised position back onto the surface.

Preferably, the device is manufactured out of a strong, tough, preferably box sectioned material, for example, iron or steel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of raising a motorbike above a surface with a lifting device, said lifting device comprising base means and support means pivotably attached to the base means, the method comprising the steps of :- (i) placing the base means on the surface ; (ii) pivoting the support means from a substantially folded position to a substantially extended position; (iii) aligning the support means with the motorbike ; and (iv) pushing the lifting device towards the motorbike thereby raising at least part of the motorbike above the surface.

All of the features described herein may be combined with any of the above aspects, in any combination.

For a better understanding of the invention and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which :- Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a lifting device according to the present invention attached to a motorcycle prior to lifting it up off a surface;

Figure 2 is a schematic side view of the lifting device as it is lifting the motorcycle up off the surface; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the lifting device; Figure 4 is a partial schematic side view of the lifting device; Figure 5 is a partial schematic view from the rear of the motorcycle showing the upper section of the lifting device; Figure 6a is a schematic side view of a support cup used in conjunction with the lifting device; Figure 6b is a schematic plan view of the support cup; and Figure 7 is a schematic side view of a pick-up fork used in conjunction with the motorcycle.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a motorbike 2 having front and rear wheels 11 both resting on a ground surface 3. The rear wheel 11 is connected to the body of the motorcycle 2 by part of its suspension, i. e. a swinging arm 12.

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown the rear of the motorbike 2 being raised up off the ground 3 by a lifting device 4 which is connected to the swinging arm 12 of the motorbike 2. The lifting device 4 is first placed in position generally behind the rear wheel 11 of the motorbike 2 and then pivoted generally in the direction

shown by arrow X in Figure 1. In so doing, the rear wheel 11 of the motorbike 2 is raised up off the ground 2 as shown in Figure 2. The motorbike 2 may be lowered back to the ground 2 by reversing the operation, ie by lifting the device 4 up off the ground 2 in the direction opposite to arrow X in Figure 1.

The lifting device 4 which is shown in greater detail in Figure 3, consists of a U-shaped base 6. At the end of either side of the base 6, there is mounted a wheel 8 which enables the device 4 to be rolled underneath the bike 2 as it is being lifted up off the ground 3.

Connected generally at the centre of either side of the base 6 there is a support arm 10 which is pivotally mounted on a hinge 14. The hinges 14 allow the two support arms 10 to be pivoted independently of one another either toward, or away from the base of the lifting device 4.

Figure 4 shows the hinge 14 of the device 4 in greater detail. The hinge 14 comprises a side plate 15, having upper and lower parts, which is attached to the outer side of the base of each support arm 10. A guide slot 16 defining a radial arc extends from the upper towards the lower part of the plate 15. Terminal notches 16a are located at the inner section of each end of the radial guide slot 16. The side plate 15 also has a straight slot 17 extending generally from the lower to the upper part of the plate 15.

A first pin 20a extends through the straight slot 17 and is attached to the lowermost region of the support arm 10. In addition, a second pin 20b extends through the radial

I slot 16 and is also securely attached to the lower region of the support arm 10 but spaced from the attachment region of the first pin 20a. A spring 18 is securely attached to, and extends between, the pins 20a, 20b. The purpose of the spring 18 is to produce a tension between the two pins 20a, 20b.

When not in use, the support arms 10 are pushed downwardly in the direction shown by arrow Y in Figure 3 so that they are positioned virtually flat against the base 6. The lifting device is then in a folded configuration and takes up little space. The device 4 may be easily stored, for example, by hanging it off a wall of a garage etc and may be easily transported to and from the location of the motorbike 2 so that maintenance operations may be carried out.

When in use, ie. for carrying out maintenance on the bike 2, the support arms 10 of the device 4 are pushed upwardly in the opposite direction of arrow Y in Figure 3 into an extended configuration. The tension in the springs 18 of the hinges 14 provide firm control of the movement of the support arms 10 as they are moved from an extended configuration to a flat-packed or folded configuration and vice versa. The first pin 20b of each hinge 14 travels along the guide slot 16 as the arm 10 is raised and lowered. Furthermore, the notches at each end of the radial slot 16 provide a region in which the second pin 20b may be temporarily locked at either the raised (extended) or lowered (folded) configuration. The slot 17 allows the first pin 20a to move nearer to the second pin 20b to compensate for the tension in the spring 18 to

facilitate the movement of the arms 10 between each configuration.

Figure 3 shows that at the end of each support arm 10 distal from the base 6, there are provided apertures 7 by which a number of different motorbike 2 lifting attachments may be secured to the device 4. Such lifting attachments may be either support cups 24 as shown in Figures 6a and 6b (described hereinafter), or rollers 22 as shown in Figure 5 (described hereinafter) the latter of which lift the bike 2 in conjunction with pick-up forks 26 as shown in Figure 7 (described hereinafter).

Figures 6a and 6b show different views of a support cup 24 one of which is attached to the upper section of each support arm 10 of the lifting device 4. Each support cup 24 consists of an elongate shaft 25a which is welded to a cupping section 25b at one end thereof. The shaft 25a of each support cup 24 is passed through the aperture 7 of each support arm 10 so that the cupping sections 25b face upwardly and extend inwardly relative to the base 6 of the device 4. The support cups 24 are then tightly secured onto each support arm 10 by a nut (not shown). Once in position, the base 6 of the device 4 is aligned with the rear of the bike 2 such that the cupping sections 25b of the support cups 24 of the bike 2 are in alignment with the underneath of the swinging arms 12. The device 4 is then pushed towards the rear of the bike 2 and then simultaneously downwardly so that the wheels 8 roll underneath the rear wheel 11 of the bike 2 thereby lifting it up off the ground 3.

When the bike is in the raised position, the wheels are not in contact with the ground 3 due to a raised section 34 of the base 6 as shown in Figure 2. The positioning of the wheels 8 are such that they are virtually underneath the top of the support arms 10 when the bike 2 is raised up off the ground 3 (see figure 2). This enables the bike 2 to be simply lowered by lifting the base 6 so that the wheels 8 make contact with the ground and rolled backwards away from the bike 2.

Figure 5 shows the upper section of the support arms 10 of the lifting device 4 having been fitted with an alternative lifting attachment. In this embodiment, the support arms 10 are fitted with shanks 28 which are passed through the apertures 7 and are securely attached thereto by nuts 29. Attached to the inner section of each shank 28 relative to the base 6 is a roller 22 which is made of a tough material such as nylon. The roller 22 is free to rotate on the shank 28. In order to use this type of lifting attachment, the bike 2 must be fitted with a pair of pick-up forks 26 which are shown in greater detail Figure 7. Each pick-up fork 26 is bolted by apertures 30 to existing lugs on the end of the swinging arm 12 of the motorbike 2. As the base 6 of the stand 4 is pushed in a downward direction as shown by arrow X in figure 1, the rollers 22 fitted to the support arms 10 hook or abut underneath a hooking region 27 of the pick-up forks thereby allowing the rear of the bike 2 to be raised up off the ground 3. As with the previous embodiment, the bike 2 may be lowered by pulling the device 4 away from the bike 2 thereby disengaging the rollers 22 from the pick up forks 26.

Advantages of the lifting device 4 reside in its effective space-saving design. This is achieved by the foldable support arms 10 which may be independently moved from a flat-packed to an extended configuration. In addition, the arms 10 are spring-loaded and the design of the hinges 14 help maintain and lock the arms 10 in the desired configuration. The positioning of the wheels 8, ie directly underneath the support arms 10 when the bike 2 is raised, simplifies the lifting of the bike 2 for the operator and also provides an improved, strengthened configuration when the bike 2 is in the lifted position.

This increases the safety of using the lifting device 4.

Finally, the device 4 is made of a box-sectioned material to increase its strength characteristics.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated

otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment (s). The invention extend to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A lifting device for raising at least part of a motorbike above a surface, the lifting device comprising base means operable to be placed on the surface, and support means pivotably attached to the base means, the support means being pivotable between a substantially folded position and a substantially extended position and operable to raise the motorbike above the surface when in the extended position.
2. A lifting device according to claim 1, wherein the support means comprises at least two support arms which are attached to the base means by hinge means.
3. A lifting device according to claim 2, wherein the support arms are pivotable independently from one another.
4. A lifting device according to any preceding claim, wherein the base means has a substantially'U'-shaped configuration defining first and second ends.
5. A lifting device according to claim 4, wherein the first and second ends of the base means comprise a wheel, each wheel being rotatably mounted at the end of the base means.
6. A lifting device according to claim 5, wherein at least the wheels are not in contact with the surface when the support means are in the extended configuration and when the motorbike is in the raised position.

<Desc/Clms Page number 15>
7. A lifting device according to any of claims 2 to 6, wherein the ends of the support arms distal from the hinge means are adapted to raise the motorbike above the surface.
8. A lifting device according to claim 7, wherein the distal ends are adapted to receive lifting means which lifting means is operable to communicate with the motorbike.
9. A lifting device according to claim 8, wherein the support means comprises at least one aperture extending therethrough through which the lifting means is attached.
10. A lifting device as claimed in either claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the lifting means comprises a support cup which comprises a shank and cupping means securely attached to one end thereof.
11. A lifting device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the shank of the support cup is passed through an aperture of each support arm so that the cupping section faces substantially upwardly and extends inwardly relative to the base means.
12. A lifting device as claimed in either claim 8 or claim 9, wherein the lifting means comprises rolling means.
13. A lifting device as claimed in claim 12, wherein the shank is passed through an aperture of the support arm such that the rolling means extends inwardly relative to the base means.

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14. A lifting device as claimed in any of claims 2 to 13, wherein the hinge means comprises a first pin which extends from the base of the each support arm substantially outwardly with respect to the centre of the 'U'shaped base, said first pin being operably connected to the base means.
15. A lifting device as claimed in claim 14, wherein the hinge means comprises guide means having a surface along which the first pin may be guided as the support arm is moved between the folded and extended positions.
16. A lifting device as claimed in claim 15, wherein the guide means comprises a first detent in which the first pin is detained when the support arm is in the extended position.
17. A lifting device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the guide means comprises a second detent in which the first pin is detained when the support arm is in the folded configuration.
18. A lifting device as claimed in any claims 15 to 17, wherein the hinge means comprises a second pin which is operably attached to the first pin by resilient means.
19. A lifting device as claimed in claim 18, wherein the resilient means provides a bias between the first and second pins.

<Desc/Clms Page number 17>
20. A lifting device as claimed in any of claims 2 to 19, wherein the hinge means comprises a plate fixedly attached to the side of the base means.
21. A lifting device as claimed in any of claims 15 to 20, wherein the guide means comprises a slot which extends radially therebetween.
22. A lifting device as claimed in claim 21, wherein said first and second detents are recesses in the slot in which the first pin is located.
23. A lifting device as claimed in any of claims 2 to 22, wherein the hinge means is located substantially mid-way along the base means.
24. A method of raising a motorbike above a surface with a lifting device, said lifting device comprising base means and support means pivotably attached to the base means, the method comprising the steps of :- (i) placing the base means on the surface; (ii) pivoting the support means from a substantially folded position to a substantially extended position; (iii) aligning the support means with the motorbike ; and (iv) pushing the lifting device towards the motorbike thereby raising at least part of the motorbike above the surface.

<Desc/Clms Page number 18>
25. A lifting device substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.
26. A method substantially as herein described with reference to, and as illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.