US2787009A - Adjustable headrest for creepers - Google Patents

Description

April 2, 1957 w. K. HAGERTY ADJUSTABLE HEADRES T FOR CREEPERS Filed Aug. 10, 1953 INVENTOR. MW/om K Hayerfy EDIE-w 2 nited States Patent e 2,787,009 Patented APP- 2 1957 ADJUSTABLE HEADREST FOR CREEPERS William K. Hagerty, Alhambra, Calif, assignor to Hagerty Manufacturing Co., Inc., a corporation of California Application August 10, 1953, Serial No. 373,088

2 Claims. (Cl. -327) The invention relates to creepers such as are used in garages and the like by mechanics for lying upon and rolling about under automotive vehicles and, more particularly, to an adjustable head rest for such creepers. This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 149,874, filed May 15, 1950, for Head Rest for Creeper, now abandoned.

An object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable head rest of the character described in the form of an attachment for existing creepers and wherein all of the necessary parts may be furnished in pre-assembled kit form for easy and ready attachment to creepers by mechanics using ordinarily available tools and wherein the several parts are adaptable to and provision is made for creepers of dilferent sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable head rest of the character described which may be applied to a creeper without in any wise disturbing or interfering with the low, flat plane of the creeper bed or with the normal, rolling about operation of the creeper, and which will leave the space between the elevated head rest and the creeper bed completely open and unobstructed for the full width and length of the creeper so that the mechanic may lie upon the bed in a low, flat position with only his head supported in an elevated position, making possible the working and moving in restricted vertical heights existing under automotive vehicles and at the same time providing full and unimpeded platform room for the mechanics body, enabling him to lie flat on his back or to turn at will onto his side, as Working conditions may require.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable head rest of the character above having an improved form of elevating mechanism and manual control therefor which will afford easy and instantaneous raising of the head rest to desired position under the head of the mechanic by a conveniently placed, remote manual control; provide an automatic lock for the head rest in a down, flat position for removal from beneath a vehicle and for carrying about; and wherein the operating parts of the elevating mechanism and control are generally covered and concealed so as to avoid the catching of clothing or pinching of the fingers or hands or other body parts of the user.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a device of the character described which is constructed of a minimum number of sturdily formed parts designed for simple, low cost manufacture and well adapted to withstand the rugged service normally encountered in garages and other places of use so as to afford a long and useful life.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following descriptions of the preferred form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that variations in the showing made by the said drawing and description may be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to said drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an adjustable head rest for creepers constructed in accordance with the present invention and shown operatively attached to a creeper.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the assembly illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the attachment of the present invention as shown on an enlarged scale and with adjoining portions of the creeper broken away.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the assembly illustrated in Figure 3 and is taken substantially on the plane of line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on a somewhat enlarged scale showing a typical detail of a pawl and ratchet means forming part of the present invention.

The adjustable head rest for creepers of the present invention, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, consists briefly of an open U-shaped structure 6 including a pair of spaced, parallel arms '7 and 8 and a cross member 9 providing a head rest connected to an end 11 and 12 of each of the arms, and bracket means 13 and 14 pivotally securing the opposite ends 16 and 17 of the arms for rotation about a common axis and being adapted for connection to the opposite sides 18 and 19 of the bed 21 of an elongated creeper. In this manner the arms 7 and 8 are movable in planes spaced outwardly from the opposite sides 18 and 19 of the creeper and the brackets are preferably positioned on the creeper bed so that the head rest 9 will move in an arc clearing an adjacent end 22 of the creeper whereby the arms and cross member 9 may be positioned in their down position in the plane of the creeper bed with the head rest 9 forming a longitudinal extension thereof and may be swung upwardly from this co-planar position to various desired elevated positions of the head rest over the plane of the bed while leaving completely open and unobstructed the space between the cross member and the bed over the full length and width of the bed. Combined with the foregoing is means for holding the arms and head rest in selected elevated position and which here consists briefly of spring means 23 and 24 normally urging the head rest to an elevated position, pawl and ratchet means 26 and 27 provided at each bracket and arm to hold the head rest in selected elevated positions, and remote manually operated control means 28 for actuating the pawl means to release the arms and head rest for elevation under the influence of the spring means 23 and 24.

By virtue of the above described structure, the straddling arrangement of the side arms effects the attachment of the present invention without in any Wise disturbing or interfering with the low, flat plane of the creeper bed so that the mechanic may lie upon the bed on his back or his side with full shoulder room and still get under the limited vertical clearance provided at the underside of automotive vehicles. At the same time the head rest attachment adds to rather than subtracts from the usable length of the creeper, and by reason of the full widthwise extension of the head rest affords an extra-effective width to the creeper and a greater comfort and range of movement for the head of the mechanic. Also because of the broad, undisturbed area on the creeper bed, the mechanic may lie on his back or turn at will on his side and in either case the only elevation effected is the rest for his head. The remote manual control enables the user to quickly and conveniently adjust the height of the head rest without having to touch the head rest itself, a feature which is highly desirable where the mechanics hands may be greasy. When the pawl and ratchet means is released by the manual control, the head rest will come up to the position desired under the head of the mechanic 3 under the action of the spring means and will be automatically held in such position by the pawl and ratchet means upon release of the manual control means.

The brackets 13 and 14 are here formed of generally L shape to fit upon side rails '31- and 32 with one side 33 of each bracket fitting against the outer faces of the rails, which provide the sides 13 and 19, and with a second perpendicularly related side 36 underlying the bottom face 37 of each rail (see Figure 4). The outer sides 33 of each of the brackets are provided with outwardly projecting stud shaft 38 which are mounted through bearing openings 39-provided in mounting plates 41 and 42 secured to the inner ends 43 and 44 of the arms. Each of the arms 7 and 8 is here provided in the form of an inverted channel with the inner ends 43 and 44 of the armsemhracing the mounting plates 41 and 42 and secured thereto as by screws 45 engageable in openings 46 formed in the plates. Preferably the plates 41 and 42 are formed with extra openings, see Figures 1 and 3, which permit a desired adjustment of the combined length of the arms and plates to accommodate the attachment to various creepers. In most cases the distance from the head rest 9 to the pivot shaft 38 will be longer than the spacing of the creeper casters 50 from the creeper end 22 and the brackets 13 and 14 will perforce be located to the inside of the casters longitudinally of the creeper.

In many cases, the brackets 13 and 14 will be positioned immediately adjacent to the casters t) and accordingly the plates 41 and 42 are fashioned with cut out portions 55 to permit full swiveling action .of the caster wheels through the vertical planes of the plates 41 and 42, without striking the plates, especially when the arms 7 and 8 are in their down position as illustrated in solid lines in Figure 1.

As an important feature of the present construction, the aforementioned spring means 23 and 24 are of flat spiral form mounted concentrically around the shafts 38 between the plate-like portions 41 and 42 and the sides 33 of the mounting brackets and have their opposite inner and outer ends 47 and 43 secured respectively to the bracket side 33 and adjacent plate-like portions 41 and 42 as by offsetting such ends from the plane of the spring and mounting them through openings 49 and 51 formed in the side 33 and plate portions. The springs 23 and 24 are wound so as to exert a maximum lifting force when the head rest 9' is in down position and have their neutral relaxed condition at an approximately vertical position of the head rest arms 7 and 8 so the natural resistance of the spring will prevent flipping over of the head rest past its upper extremity of arcuate movement.

The above noted pawl and ratchet means includes a pawl 52 here supported for reciprocation in cars '53 and 54 on the underside 36 of each of the mounting brackets for movement parallel to the shafts 38 and parallel to the aXis of rotation of the arms 7 and 8. Normally the pawls are urged outwardly against the plate-like portions 41 and 42 at the inner ends of the arms by means of' springs 56 and 57, here of helical form, surrounding the pawls between the ears 53 and 54 and compressed between a collar 58 provided on the pawl and the internally positioned ear 54.

Adjustment of the height of the head rest 9 is obtained by the provision of a plurality of openings 61, 62, 63 and 64, in each of the plate-like portions in equally spaced relation about the axis for receipt of the outer ends of the pawls 52 for holding the arms and head rest in selected elevated position. In accordance with the present invention and as an important feature thereof, the pawls and their .co-acting openings are designed to permit an elevation of the head rest by manual lifting in all engaged combinations of the pawls and openings except combinations provided for holding the head rest in its fully raised and fully lowered positions, and wherein the last mentioned combinations are formed to lock the head rest automatically against raising or lowering and to require a withdrawal of the paw-ls from the openings by the remote manually controlled means 28 in order to permit the head rest to move. As here shown, the pawls 52 are of cylindrical rod-like form and the ends which cooperate with the openings 61, 62, 63, and 64 are provided with a tapered face 67 and a contiguous shoulder 68 (formed by reducing the diameter of the extreme end of the pawl), the openings beingof smaller diameter than the shoulder 68. whereby the shoulder will abut the plates 41 and 42 in the manner shown in Figure 5 to permit only the reduced ends carrying the taperedfaces 67 to enter the openings. Preferably the openings are formed with complementary inclined portions 69 which are arranged to cooperate with the tapered faces 67 to effect retraction of the-pawls from the openings against the resistance of the springs 56: and 57 uponmanual lifting of the head rest and thus provide a ratcheting action permitting manual raising while securely holding the head rest against downward displacement; As will be noted, the parts are'proportioned so that the pawls '52 will act as spring loaded detents in the holes 62, 63 to hold the arms against the raising action of the springs 23 and 24 until the raising action is supplemented by manual force or the pawls are withdrawn.

Automatic positive locking of the head rest against movement in either direction in the down and fully raised positions has-beenfound-desirable in facilitating handling and storing of the creeper and this feature is here provided by enlarging the openings 61 and 64, which are alignedv with the pawls-when the arms are in such positions, to allow. the pawl shoulders 68 to enter the openings in .the manner illustrated in Figure 4. With the pawls soengaged, the arms7 and '8 will be locked against either raising or lowering until-the pawls are retracted by the manual remote control means 28.

Means is provided-cooperative with the mechanism for locking the head rest in down position, which prevents the latter. from being damaged by being forced downwardly fromsuch position. This means herei-ncludes a pair of fiat supporting plates 71- and 72 secured to and extending forwardly from theend 22 of the creeper into underlying engagement with the under side of the headrest when the latter is. in. down position. In this manner the positive locking of the pawl. 52 in the opening 64 is reinforced against downward deflection of the'arm 7 and '8' by the plate members 71- and72.

The, foregoing feature of permitting manual raising of the head. rest at all positions exceptthe up and down, locked. positions is important in enabling the mechanic to raise thehead rest manually when working on-jhis side facing away frornthe remote manual control 23, or when access to the control is blocked. Onthe other hand the positive locking in the down position facilitates easy removal from under automotive vehicles and the carrying about of the creeper without danger ofthe head rest swinging in van uncontrolled manner, while automatic locking in up position serves to. protect the springs 23 and 24 against being strained in an unwinding direction. The locking of the head rest in down position where it forms a contiguous extension-of-the creeper bed also adds to the storabili-ty .of the creeper since -a much narrower space maybe utilized than would otherwise be the case.

As a further important feature .of the invention, means 73 is provided for simultaneously inserting and withdrawing the pawls 52 in the openings 61-64. This is desirable in providing positive support of both arms whenever the remote control is released: to prevent any twisting or rocking of the head rest frame such as would occur if one arm was supported whilethe other was released. A-s here shown, the. means 73 includes a rotary pawl actuator member 74 of circular plate-like form pivotally mountedona bracket .76 secured tothe creeper bed 21, the pivotal connection here being provided by .a screw 77, Secured to the plate 74 are a pair ofwires 7.8.

and 79 which connect with the inner ends of the pawls 52, the connection to the plate 74 being eccentrically located relative to the pawls whereby rotation of the plate in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 2, will retract the pawls inwardly of the creeper to release the arms 7 and 8.

The previously mentioned remote, manually operable control means 28 is adapted for imparting the above described rotation to the actuator plate 74 to effect retraction of the pawls against the outward urge of the springs 56 and 57. The control means 28 here consists of a manually engageable handle 82 mounted at one side 18 of the creeper and having a flexible Belden cable connection 83 to a wire 84 which is in turn eccentrically secured to the plate 74 in a manner imparting a pawl releasing rotation of the plate when the handle 82 is pulled. Securing of the handle to the creeper is conveniently eifected by a bracket 86 having screws 87 threadably engaged in the side rail of the creeper.

importantly, the Wires 78 and 79 are replaceable with a minimum of time and trouble with wires of a different length for adapting the head rest to creepers of different width. As may be seen in Figure 4, each of the wires is cut to the desired length and one end 89 is secured in openings 88 provided in the plate 74, while the other end 91 is inserted in an axial bore 92 formed in the pawls 52 and the wires are secured in the proper relation by setscrews 93.

In the operation of the creeper head rest of the present invention, the head rest 9 is placed in a down co-planar position relative to the creeper bed 21 and the mechanic lies flat on the creeper in order to maneuver under the vehicle. When the mechanic has attained the position desired under the vehicle, he may pull the handle 82 to withdraw the pawls 52 from the openings 64 whereupon the head rest will swing upwardly under the influence of the springs 23 and 24 to the desired location as determined by the position of the mechanics head. Releasing of the handle 82 will then permit the pawls 52 to move outwardly into ratcheting engagement with the openings in the plates 41 and 42 where their detent action will hold the head rest from rising under the lifting action of the springs 23 and 24 while providing a positive support against downward deflection. The shape of the tapered face 67 prevents downward movement but permits manual raising of the head rest to its uppermost position without recourse to the remote control means 28 as hereinabove described.

The above described arrangement of parts wherein the pawls move outwardly into holes formed in the ends of the arms 7 and 8 and the flat spiral form of the lifting springs 23 and 24 and their positioning between the arm ends and the mounting brackets provides a generally covered and concealed working mechanism adapted to prevent pinching of the fingers or other body parts or catching of the users clothing.

It will be noted that the construction of the present invention adds no vertical height to the standard equipment, when the arms 7 and 8 are in down position, but does add usable length and width as hereinabove discussed.

I claim:

I. An adjustable head rest attachment for creepers comprising, an open U-shaped structure including a pair of spaced arms and a cross member providing a head rest connected to an end of each of said arms, a pair of brackets pivotally securing the opposite ends of said arms for rotation about a common axis and being adapted for connection to the opposite side edges of the bed of a creeper with said arms movable in paths spaced outwardly from said edges and with said cross member movable in an are from a down position at said bed to an elevated position over said bed while leaving open and unobstructed the space between said cross member and said bed, spring means urging said arms and head rest to elevated position, plate-like portions provided at the last named ends of said arms arranged in planes perpendicular to said axis for arcuate movement about said axis and relative to said brackets, said plate-like portions being formed with openings therein arranged in equally spaced relation to said axis, pawls mounted on said brackets for reciprocation parallel to said axis and into and out of engagement in said openings for holding said arms and head rest in selected elevated position, spring means urging said pawls into engaged positions in said openings, the end of each of said pawls entering said openings being provided with a tapered face proportioned to engage a wall of said openings and a contiguous shoulder formed to abut said openings to limit the engagement of said pawls in said openings to effect retraction of said pawls from said openings against the resistance of said last named spring means upon manual raising of said head rest, said plate-like portions being formed with openings for receiving said pawls in said down position of said head rest and said last named openings being proportioned to pass therethrough said contiguous shoulder of said pawls to thereby provide an automatic locking of said head rest in said down position, and manually controlled means for withdrawing said pawls from said plate-like portions to permit raising of said arms and head rest by said first named spring means.

2. An adjustable head rest attachment for creepers comprising, an open U-shaped structure including a pair of spaced arms and a cross member providing a head rest connected to an end of each of said arms, bracket means pivotally securing the opposite ends of said arms for rotation about a common axis and being adapted for connection to the opposite side edges of the bed of a creeper with said arms movable in paths spaced outwardly from said edges and with said cross member movable in an are from a down position at said bed to an elevated position over said bed, spring means urging said arms and head rest to elevated position, plate-like portions provided at the last named ends of said arms arranged in planes perpendicular to said axis for arcuate movement about said axis and relative to said bracket means, said platelike portions being formed with openings therein arranged in equally spaced relation to said axis, pawls mounted on said bracket means for reciprocation into and out of engagement in said openings for holding said arms and head rest in selected elevated position, spring means urging said pawls into engagement in said openings, manually controlled means for withdrawing said pawls from said openings to permit raising of said arms and head rest by said first named spring means, the end of each of said pawls entering said openings being provided with a tapered face engageable in said openings and a contiguous shoulder formed to abut said plate-like portions to limit entry of said pawls in said openings, said openings engageable by said pawls at said down and elevated positions being formed to permit entry of said shoulders therein to thereby provide an automatic lock ing of said head rest in such positions and the balance of said openings being formed with inclined portions cooperative with said tapered faces to effect retraction of said pawls from said openings against the resistance of said last named spring means upon manual raising of said head rest.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 933,811 Worth Sept. 14, 1909 1,270,384 Davis June 25, 1918 2,487,706 Happ Nov. 8, 1949 2,509,934 Murray May 30, 1950 2,515,261 Poskin July 18, 1950 2,650,372 Lowe Sept. 1, 1953 2,652,576 Clark Sept. 22, 1953 2,702,909 Atkins Mar. 1, 1955

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