US3444963A

US3444963A - Wheel chock

Info

Publication number: US3444963A
Application number: US661998A
Authority: US
Inventors: Carl B Davis
Original assignee: CARL B DAVIS
Current assignee: CARL B DAVIS
Priority date: 1967-08-21
Filing date: 1967-08-21
Publication date: 1969-05-20
Anticipated expiration: 1986-05-20

Description

C. B. DAVIS WHEEL CHOCK May 20, 1969 Sheet Filed Aug. 21, 1967 m S N.W E

v 0 m0 B I m C ATTORNEYS C. B. DAVIS WHEEL CHOCK May 20, 1969 Sheet Filed Aug. 21, 1967 FIG. 6

INVENTOR. BY Carl B. Davis fix ATTORMIYS United States Patent 3,444,963 WHEEL CHOCK Carl B. Davis, 2333 S. Raleigh St., Denver, Colo. 80219 Filed Aug. 21, 1967, Ser. No. 661,998 Int. Cl. B60t 3/00 US. Cl. 18832 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wheel chock formed as a wedge-shaped unit with triangular sides, an upright heel plate and a web plate forming the inclined surface whereon a wheel will press when chocked. The web plate is adapted to accommodate wheels of diverse size by a trough-like recess of varying curvature from the toe to the top of the heel portion. Each chock includes a handhole grip at the narrowed toe end of the web plate to permit a pair of chocks to be held together in opposition with the two handholes in registration for convenient portage by the pair.

The underside of each chock, at the underside of the heel plate, is provided with a transversely disposed, sharpcornered bar adapted to bite into the ground, pavement or ice to secure the chock against slipping. This bar is formed as a square-sectioned rod which is mounted within a trough-like socket at the underside of the heel plate and is removably secured within this socket by an arrangement of machine screws which permit the bar to be rotated from one position to another to advantageously use all four edges of the bar for surface gripping.

Each end of the heel plate is extended beyond the adjacent triangular side of the chock as a comparatively heavy abutment which is adapted to withstand the blow of a sledge hammer or the like which may be necessary to remove the chock when it is tightly clamped under a wheel, and a simple pry action by inserting a bar into cored holes in the heel plate.

Summary of the invention This invention relates to wheel chocks to immobilize wheeled equipment against displacement from positions of rest, and has as a principal object to provide a novel and improved wheel chock uniquely adapted to realize its functions in coaction with the wheels of aircraft.

The demonstrated inadequacies of casually available rocks, blocks, chunks, billets and the like, to reliably immobilize and dependably retain a wheel thereby, have naturally stimulated provision of chocks suited for particular use and association. In the case of aircraft, trucks and towvehicles, a necessarily frequent use of chocks occurs to restrain different sized wheels of the vehicles which are transiently docked upon hard, plane, ice or other relatively smooth surfaces. customarily employed in pairs, either at the forward side of aircraft wheels or in spaced opposition and paired engagement under forward and rearward arcs of a wheel at rest, as through individual manipulation by an attendant, wheel chocks should be conveniently portable, readily maneuverable into position and promptly releasable from the use positions. They should also be strong, rigid, light of weight, effectively coactable with differing wheel diameters and treads, and secure against slippage in reaction to pressures variously imposed upon them by and through an associated wheel. The time factor, significant to management of groundbased aircraft, and the nature and magnitude of forces unpredictably prevailing to shift the same in and from their assigned rest positions, emphasize and enhance the practical importance of the considerations just noted and distinguish the correspondingly correlated improvements of the present invention as uniquely metritorious in satisfaction thereof.

Directed to the uses, purposes, and advantages above discussed, the wheel chock of the instant invention is a strong, rigid, compact unit of light weight. It is organized for convenient portage in pairs, for expeditious application to and removal from intended coaction with a considerable size range of aircraft wheels, and for secure, self-retained emplacement in use position. Finally, the construction is facile and economical of production, durable in use, and conditioned for successive, simple service adjustments available to promote, and to prolong, the security of immobilization inherent in the operative combination of features as applied to intended use.

In realization and for attainment of the objects and advantages hereinabove set forth and implied, the invention resides in the construction, arrangement and operative combination of elements and features as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a somewhat schematic, side elevational View of a typical wheel truck portion of a conventional aircraft as immobilized in normal ground support through customary coaction with a pair of the wheel chock units of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a single wheel chock depicting a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the unit according to FIG. 2, showing particularly the heel end thereof.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, on a relatively enlarged scale, of a wheel chock pair, such as represented in FIG. 1, in an arrangement to facilitate manual gripping for portage.

FIGURE 5 is an auxiliary view, looking towards the toe end and the underside of the unit, as from the indicated arrow 5 at FIG. 3, but on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional view on the same scale as FIG. 5, taken longitudinally through and substantially on the indicated line 6--6 of FIG. 2.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, detailed section, on a further enlarged scale, taken substantially on the indicated line 7-7 at FIG. 5.

As illustrated in a preferred embodiment, the improved wheel chock is a generally wedge-shaped, rigid unit designated C conformed and adapted to engage between the lower arc of a wheel at rest, such as either or both of the wheels W of an aircraft landing gear truck T. The size of each chock is sufiicient to provide adequate wheel support surface for secure temporary immobilization of the wheel or wheels against inadvertent displacement in a direction opposed by the chock, as typified by the showing of FIGURE 1. Such general organization and use of the chock C is conventional, as according with long established practice, and the novelty and inventive merit of the improvement is evidenced by the advantageous structural particularity, as will be hereinafter described.

Formed from any suitable strong, rigid, light-weight material, such as aluminum, in any expedient manner, as by casting, the chock unit C is a unitary structure. It includes a pair of like, complementary, longitudinally oriented, triangular sidewall plates 10. These plates 10 are rigidly interyoked in spaced, longitudinal parallelism and lateral slight upward convergence by a transverse heel plate 11 closing between the corresponding short leg margins of the plates 10 and by a web plate 12 spanning between the next longer leg margins of the plates 10. The proximate lateral margins of the heel plate 11 and the web plate 12 join to constitute a ridge 13, the top of the chock when lying upon the ground in an operative position. The opposing hypotenuse margins of the plates and the opposing coplanar margins of the heel plate 11 and web plate 12 constitute ground-contact elements bounding the open side of the interiorly hollow unit C so comprised.

Facilitating intended and effective coaction of the web 12 with the tread arc of a wheel W, which will generally vary with the diameter of the wheel, the exposed face of said web is laterally moderately concaved to establish a shallow trough longitudinally thereof. The depth of this trough is determined by the radius of its lateral concavity, smoothly varying from a maximum depth, and a minimum radius r at the toe end of the unit C, to a relatively lesser depth and maximum radius r at the heel end ridge 13 of the unit, as indicated at FIG. 5. This variation conditions the so-troughed web for enhanced compatible engagement with wheels of differing sizes and tread profiles, and to evidence the end tracings of the trough, the curved ridge 13 marks the intersection of the trough of web 12 with the heel plate 11 and a curve 14, indicated at FIG. 1, marks the toe end of the unit C.

Featuring the improvement in accordance with the concept of the invention, a handgrip opening is formed in and through the web 12 inwardly adjacent the trough-terminating toe curve 14 in such marginal contour and elongation laterally of the web as will accommodate reception of a human hand applied to lift the unit with its heel plate 11 lowermost. The provision of the solocated handgrip opening is susceptible of registration with a like feature of a second unit C, when the units are placed in a base-confronting paired position. This permits a convenient, single-hand portage of a pair of units C, as represented by FIGURE 4.

The outline of the opening 15 is traced interiorly of the unit C by a flange 16 integrally outstanding from the undersurface of the web 12 to registration in and with the base plane of the unit common to the margins of the

plates

10 and 11 remote from the web, and an integral rib 17 connects said flange 16 and the heel plate 11 longitudinally of and in attachment to the web 12 to register at its free margin with the base plane of the unit above identified; the said flange 1 6 and rib 17 reinforcing and strengthening the unit assembly in an obvious manner that contributes to the utility, dependability and durability of the unit.

The heel plate 11 is progressively thickened to a relatively massive margin remote from the ridge 13 connecting with the web 12, as clearly appears in FIGURE 6, and said plate is apertured, as at 18, on each side of its conjunction with the rib 17 for conservation of material and reduction of unit weight with concomitant provision for attachment of a lanyard 19, indicated at FIG. 1, which may be entered and looped through the apertures and under the rib 17 as a facility available for removing the unit from its use position against a wheel. Retraction of a chock C from its use position by means of its lanyard 19 may usually be accomplished without difficulty, but it does occur that influences acting upon a chocked wheel so wedge the chock as to require major force, such as the impacts of a sledge, to effect release. In recognition of this problem, and in accommodation thereof, the outer lower corners of the heel plate 11 are extended beyond conjunction with the plates 10 to outstand laterally from the unit as solid, integral abutments 20 suited to receive the percussive force of a sledge hammer when it is needed to dislodge the wedged chock.

Qualifying the improvement for reliable, secure and nonslipping retention on the wheel-support surface to which applied in coaction with a wheel, a feature of the invention is the arming of the lower margin of the heel plate 11 with a removable, replaceable, reversible and angularly adjustable bar 21 of strong, hard, wear-resistant material, such as steel, tungsten-carbide, or the functional equivalent, ingeniously organized and operatively mounted to bite into and against a support surface in reaction to pressures of a wheel pressing against the web 12 of the chock C. The bar 21 is a straight, square-sectioned length having comparatively sharp corners and a maximum diagonal dimension not exceeding the width of the lower, free margin of the heel plate 11. The length of the bar is slightly less than the clear spacing between inner surfaces of the plates 10 at the base plane of the unit. It is received and seats in a V-shaped channel 22 longitudinally in the free lower margin of the heel plate 11 in an arrangement suited to nest one transverse half of the said bar and to expose the other half of the bar with the edge being in projection beyond the base plane of the chock C. Thus, one of the sharp corners of the bar directed perpendicularly away from said plane of the underside of the chock unit C is adapted to bear against and grip a surface whereon the chock sets.

As so seated, the bar 21 is detachably and adjusably secured to the heel plate by a pair of like cap screws 23 entered through oppositely countersunk holes 24 formed in spaced parallelism diagonally through the bar to register with internally threaded continuations 25 traversing the heel plate 12 from intersection with the apex of the channel 22 to intersection with the apertures 18. The screws 23, turned into the continuations 25, provide for effective clamping of the bar 21 within the channel 22 with either of the bar corners interrupted by the holes 24 exposed to ground engagement, the holes 24 including opposing countersunk portions 26 to receive the heads of the screws 23. The continuations 25 are extended to open at the apertures 18 for convenience and economy of unit production and to preclude accumulation therein of foreign matter that might impair free and full desired coaction of the screws and continuations.

The holes 24 and the continuations 25, wherewith they are adapted to register, are located out of symmetry with the length of the bar 21 and the lateral span of the heel plate 11, whereby to provide that a second pair of holes 24, may be formed diagonally through the .bar 21 perpendicular to the direction of the holes 24 in a correlation with the length of the bar the reverse of that established by the location of the holes 24 and hence without serious impairment of bar strength, thus to provide that length inversion and quadrantal rotation of the freed bar may effect registration of the holes 24' with the continuations 25 and attachment by means of the screws 23 for exposure to service of either, and eventually both, of the bar corners interrupted by the holes 24'. Hence, through simple manipulations of the bar 21 and screws 23 any, and successively all, of the bar corners may be availed of for intended use irrespective of wear or damage individually affecting the same and the useful life of the unit is consequently prolonged.

I have now described my invention in detail, yet it is to be noted that ordinary variations and modifications in the form, construction and arrangement of the elements and features shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a 'wheel chock formed generally as a unitary structure of compounds including triangular side plates, a heel plate and a wheel-contacting web, wherein the side plates are arranged in approximate spaced parallelism, the heel plate extends transversely between and interconnects with the shorter leg margins of the triangular side plates, and the web closes between corresponding next larger leg margins of the triangular plates and the proximate margin of the heel plate, whereby to establish a hollow, wedgeshaped unit open at a base plane defined by the coplanar free margins of the heel plate, the triangular plates and the web, the improvement comprising:

a means for enhancing the retentive grip of the base plane upon a support surface in reaction to applied forces on the Web plate tending to displace the unit, which increases a sharp-cornered, transversely square length of hard, wear-resistant material detachably corner-seated in and along the free lower margin of the heel plate in consequent projection of an opposite corner outwardly therefrom.

2. In the chock defined in claim 1, wherein the lower free margin of the heel plate is formed with a V-shaped channel suited to receive and seat one diagonal half of said length with consequent exposure and projection of an opposite sharp corner, and including holes on the diagonals of said length to accommodate cap screws threadedly engageable within the heel plate to clamp said length to its seat thereon; said holes on the diagonals of the length being so correlated with the positions of cap screw and heel plate coaction as to permit angular adjustment and length inversion of the length relative to its seat for selective exposure of each and all of the length corners to association and conditions of use.

3. In the wheel chock defined in claim 1, wherein a substantial portion of said heel plate projects laterally from each side of each side plate to form an abutment alongside the grip retentive means in the lower margin of the heel plate suited for the reception of wedging and impact forces to facilitate retraction of the unit when resisting forces are applied on the web plate.

4. In a wheel chock formed generally as a unitary structure of components including triangular side plates, a heel plate and a wheel-contacting web, wherein the side plates are arranged in approximate spaced parallelism, the heel plate extends transversely between and interconnects with the shorter leg margins of the triangular side plates,

and the web closes between corresponding next longer leg margins of the triangular plates and the proximate margin of the heel plate, whereby to establish a hollow, wedgeshaped unit open at a base plane defined by the coplanar free margins of the heel plate, the triangular plates and the web, the improvment comprising:

a means for enhancing the retentive grip of the base plate upon a support surface and reaction to applied forces on the web plate tending to displace the unit, which includes a sharp cornered length of hard, wear-resistant material along the free lower margin of the heel plate, and

a projection of said heel plate extending laterally from each side of each side plate to form transversely disposed abutments in approximate alignment with the aforesaid sharp cornered gripper length.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,786,774 12/1930 Parsons 188-32 1,849,964 3/1932 Snyder 18832 2,521,539 9/1950 Richardson 18832 2,848,070 8/1958 Wilson 188-32 2,862,579 12/1958 Jicha et a1. 18832 MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. W. BUCKMAN, Assistant Examiner.

"increases" should read includes UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,444,963

May 20, 1969 Carl B. Davis It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 4, line 59, "compound" should read components line 74,

Column 6, line 6, "improvment" should read improvement Signed and sealed this 21st day of April 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Edward M. Fletcher, I r.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer