US2731934A

US2731934A - Parking guide

Info

Publication number: US2731934A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1956-01-24
Anticipated expiration: 1973-01-24

Description

Jan. 24, 1956 Fl].ed Aug. 16, 1954 E. C. HAUSMANN ET AL PARKING GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.

Edgar C. Hausmann Gus/a v Willa INVENTORS Jan. 24, 1956 E. C. HAUSMANN ET AL Filed Aug. 16, 1954 Fig. 4

PARKING GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Edgar 6. Hausmann Gustav Wi/le 64 INVENTORS United States Patent PARKING GUIDE 7 Edgar C. Hausmann and Gustav Wille, Detroit, Mich. Application August 16, 1954, Serial No. 449,902 4 Claims. (Cl. 116-28) This invention relates to a parking guide and more specifically provides a device to signal a driver of the movement of his vehicle toward a stationary object such as the end wall of a garage thereby enabling him to avoid injurious impact with such obstruction.

As an automobile is driven into a garage, considerable accuracy in stopping and positioning the car is required to avoid damage to the wall or to the bumper of the vehicle and simultaneously assure that the bumper at the opposite end of the vehicle will not project into the path of movement of the garage door. Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a parking guide for indicating to the vehicle driver the exact position of his vehicle and providing a specific adjustable means for indicating when the vehicle is at the desired position within the garage so that the bumper will not contact the garage wall nor will it lie in the path of movement of the garage door.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a parking guide that includes a mechanical indicator for actuation by contact with the vehicle bumper wherein the indicator shows the exact position of the vehicle in such a manner as to be readily observable by the vehicle operator at any time and condition.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a parking guide that is extremely simple in construction, easy to adjust for the desired condition, easily observed, well adapted for its intended purposes and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a parking guide conformable to the preceding objects wherein the driver of the vehicle will be able to position the vehicle with the bumper spaced a predetermined point from the garage wall thereby assuring that the bumper at the other end of the vehicle will be out of the path of movement of the garage door thereby providing the most efficient use of the garage space by the vehicle.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the parking guide of the present invention showing the view of the device as seen by the vehicle driver;

Figure 2 is an end elevational view showing the relationship between the vehicle bumper and the elongated actuating arm;

Fi ure 3 is a top plan view of the parking guide of the present invention;

Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevational view similar to Fi ure 1 showing structural details of the component parts of the parking guide of the present invention; and

Figure 5 is an end elevational view similar to Figure 2 showing enlarged portions of the means for interconnecting the elongated actuating arm and the indicating member wherein the position of the vehicle bumper may be transmitted to the indicating member.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that the numeral 10 generally designates the parking guide of the present invention. The parking guide 10 is secured to the end wall of a garage 12 wherein the end wall is provided with vertical structural members 14. As illustrated, the parking guide 10 is utilized for spacing the bumper 16 of a vehicle 18 from the garage wall 12 and the vertical stringers 14 thereon.

The parking guide 10 includes a generally vertically disposed bracket 29 having a right angularly extending lug 22 at the bottom end thereof for providing an aperture for a screw fastener 24 for securing the device to the side portion of one of the stringers 14. The side portion of the bracket 2G is secured by suitable fastening members 26 and a right angular member 23 is positioned adjacent the upper end thereof for supporting an elongated indicating member 30 in pivotal relation by a pivot pin 32 which extends through the elongated indicating member 30 and the right angular member 28 thereby supporting the indicating member 3% adjacent one end thereof. The outer end of the indicating arm 34) is provided with a pointed portion 34 substantially in the nature of an arrow. Secured to the adjacent vertical member 14 is a bracket 36 having an arcuate member 38 secured thereto. At one end of the arcuate member 38 is a pointer 40 secured thereto by fastening means 42. At the other or upper end of the arcuate member 33 is an elongated slot 44'for slidably attaching a pointer 46 by a fastening means 48 wherein the pointer 46 may be adjusted longitudinally of the arcuate member 38 thereby adjusting the position of the upper pointer 46. The bracket 38 is secured to the vertical member 14 by suitable fastening members 50 positioned in several of a plurality of apertures 52 wherein the position of the arcuate member 38 may be adjusted. The lower pointer 46 is positioned in alignment with the pointed end 34 of the indicating member 36 wherein they will be aligned when the indicating member 30 is in its normal position. The upper pointer 36 may be adjusted to indicate the maximum point of movement of the indicating arm 30 for a purpose described hereinafter.

The inner end of the indicating arm 39 is provided with a reduced end portion 54 which projects through an elongated slot 56 in the bracket 20 and a shorter slot 58 in a vertically moving slide 60. The slide is guided in its vertical movement by a plurality of lugs 62 which form a guide for the slide 60. The aperture 58 in the upper end of the slide 69 is positioned over the reduced end 54 of the indicating member 3d thereby moving the indicating arm 34 in a pivotal manner upon vertical sliding movement of the slide 60. It will be seen that the reduced end portion 54 is spaced from the pivot pin 32 in such a mannet that a relatively small movement of the reduced end portion 54 of the indicating member 30 will cause a relatively larger arcuate movement of the pointed end 34 of the indicating member 30. An elongated actuating arm 64 is pivotally secured adjacent the rear edge of the bracket 2% by pivot pin 66. The upper end of the arm 64 is provided with an angulated portion 68 and a connecting link 70 interconnects the juncture between the angulated end portion 68 of the elongated arm 64 and the remainder of the arm 64 and the lower end of the vertically moving slide 69 by

pivot pin

72 and 74 respectively. A tension coil spring 76 interconnects the pivot pin 74 and a struck out lug 78 on the bracket 20. The spring 76 urges the slide 69 upwardly thereby returning the indicating member 30 to its normal or lower position and the actuating arm 64 to its normal or upper position for engagement by the bumper 16 of the vehicle 18.

In operation, the parking guide 10 is secured to the garage wall 12 with the actuating arm 64 extending into the path of movement of the vehicle bumper 16 and the indicating member 30 extending transversely in parallel relation to the wall 12 thereby providing the indicating member 30 in the line of vision of the vehicle operator. The pointer 46 be adjusted to determine the desired final position of the pointer 6 thereby determining the distance away from the garage wall 12 that the vehicle 18 will be positioned when in its final or desired position. The downward pivotal movement of the actuating arm 64 is transferred to vertical sliding movement of the slide member 6% through the use or the connecting link The slot 58 surrounding the reduced end portion -5 oi the indicating arm 30 moves the indicating arm 30 about pivot pin 32 thereby moving the pointed end portion 34 in an arcuate manner between the

pointers

46 and 46. The pointer 40 is positioned in alignment with the indicating member 30 when at its lower position and will be permanently attached and the pointer 46 may be adjusted to determine the desired position of the indicating member 30. Obviously, the device may be attached to any type of wall and the pointers may be painted or provided with other significant indicia for drawing the attention of the vehicle operator and providing an easily observed parking guide. The various components of the device may be constructed of readily obtainable material wherein the parking guide pin may be manufactured at relatively low cost thereby enhancing the economic feasability of the device. The cost of the parking guide will be offset by the saving in repair bills to the garage wall and also by the convenience of accurately positioning the vehicle in the garage when there is very little extra length in the garage 'for receiving the vehicle thereby necessitating the utilization of all of the space in the garage.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since the 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 shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A parking guide comprising a bracket mounted on a vertical supporting wall, an elongated indicating member pivotally mounted on said bracket, an elongated arm pivotally mounted on said bracket for movement in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall and plane of movement of the indicating member and extending into the path of movement of a vehicle moving towards the supporting wall, and means interconnecting said arm and indicating member for moving the indicating member when a vehicle engages and moves the elongated arm.

2. A parking guide comprising a bracket mounted on a vertical supporting wall, an elongated indicating member pivotally mounted on said bracket, and elongated arm pivotally mounted on said bracket for movement in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall and plane of movement of the indicating member and extending into the path of movement of a vehicle moving towards the supporting wall, and means interconnecting said arm and indicating member for moving the indicating member when a vehicle engages and moves the elongated arm, said indicating member being pointed at its outer end and movable in an arcuate path, and a pair of complementary, arcuatel'y spaced pointers secured to the supporting wall, one of said pointers being adjustable to indicate the maximum position of said indicating member thereby indicating the desired position of a vehicle in relation to the supporting wall.

3. A parking guide comprising a bracket mounted on a vertical supporting wall, an elongated indicating member pivotally mounted on said bracket, an elongated arm pivotally mounted on said bracket for movement in a vertical plane perpendicular to the wall and plane of movement of the indicating member and extending into the path of movement of a vehicle moving towards the supporting wall, and means interconnecting said arm and indicating member for moving the indicating member when a vehicle engages and moves the elongated arm, said interconnecting means including a link pivotally secured at one end to the elongated arm in spaced relation to the pivotal connection between the arm and bracket and pivotally connected at its other end to a vertically moving slide, said slide having an aperture in the upper end thereof, said aperture surrounding one end of said indicating member in spaced relation to the pivotal conne'ction between the member and the bracket thereby transmitting the movement of the elongated arm to the indicating member.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein spring means interconnects said link and bracket for urging said indicating member, slide, link and arm to their normal position, said indicating member being swingable in a plane perpendicular to the path of movement of the vehicle for viewing by the operator thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,141,024 Ulery May 25, 1915 1,418,034 Tennent May 30, 1922 2,454,896 Traub Nov. 30, 1943