WO1999015456A1

WO1999015456A1 - Lifter

Info

Publication number: WO1999015456A1
Application number: PCT/FI1998/000747
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jorma Auvinen
Original assignee: Jorma Auvinen
Priority date: 1997-09-24
Filing date: 1998-09-23
Publication date: 1999-04-01
Also published as: FI3275U1; AU9350098A; FIU970414U0

Abstract

A lifter for lifting a motor cyclewheel, comprising a lower supporting arm (1) with a lower end to be planted on the ground and an upper supporting arm (2) connected to the lower supporting arm via a joint and designed to engage a jacking point on the motorcycle by its opposite end relative to the joint, so that when a wheel is to be lifted up using the lifter, the upper supporting arm can be turned or pushed until it substantially forms an extension of the lower supporting arm in a stop position exceeding the straight angle.

Description

LIFTER

The present invention relates to a motor cycle lifter as defined in the preamble of claim 1.

There are two basic types of stands used in motor cycles as part of the regular fittings : centre stands and side stands. Especially in the case of motor cycles provided with a side stand, problems are encountered when maintenance operations have to be carried out during a trip in places far away from ap- propriate facilities. Such a maintenance operation may consist of e.g. lubricating the drive chain or dismounting the rear wheel . The rear wheel must be free to rotate to allow all parts of the chain to be exposed and lubricated. In a motor cycle supported by a mere side stand, both wheels rest on the ground, so it is difficult to lubricate the drive chain. Lubrication requires two persons, one of whom must tilt the motor cycle onto its side stand so that the rear wheel is lifted up from the ground. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks mentioned above. A specific object of the present invention is to present a lifter for a motor cycle which makes it possible for a person acting alone to carry out maintenance operations, such as lubricating the drive chain, requiring disengagement of the rear wheel from the ground in the case of a motor cycle provided with a side stand only and which is so small and light that it can be made part of the regular service outfit of a motor cycle. As for the features characteristic of the invention, reference is made to the claims.

The lifter of the invention comprises a lower supporting arm with a lower end to be planted on the ground and an upper supporting arm connected to the lower supporting arm via a joint and designed to engage a jacking point on the motor cycle by the opposite end relative to the joint. When a motor cycle wheel is to be lifted up using the lifter, the upper supporting arm is turned or pushed substantially horizontally until it forms an extension of the lower supporting arm in a stop position exceeding the straight angle. In other words, the range of movement of the supporting arms is restricted in such a way that in one extreme position the supporting arms barely exceed the straight angle, substantially forming extensions of each other. Thus, the supporting arms will be locked in this position by the weight of the motor cycle so as to form a rigid support.

In a preferred case, the lifter is provided with an operating lever attached to the joint connecting the upper and lower supporting arms and serving as a means for wresting the supporting arms beyond the straight angle. The operating lever allows easier and safer lifting; if the supporting arms are wrested by hand, the user will run a risk of having a finger caught between the parts in the joint. The lifter preferably comprises a third supporting arm between the upper and lower supporting arms, connected to these via a joint at each end. In one extreme position, all three supporting arms substantially form extensions of each other in a stop po- sition with the angles between the arms at both joints exceeding the straight angle. A lifter implemented using three supporting arms has the advantage that, when collapsed, it is shorter than a lifter with two supporting arms. A lifter with three supporting arms can also be provided with an operating lever, connected e.g. to the lower joint, by which the lifter is wrested to a substantially straight position and by which it can also be released.

The joints and shapes of the supporting arms have been so designed in different embodiments of the device that , when the arms are turned beyond the straight angle, they will stop against limits, bounda- ries or stoppers formed by each other only a few degrees after exceeding the straight angle. Thus, the lifter can be easily released after use by applying a slight lateral pull. Yet the lifter will remain safely in position under the weight of the motor cycle and can not be easily released by itself.

The parts of the device are preferably so shaped that they can be turned in the same direction about the joint and are set inside each other and/or side by side. In this case the device will go into a smaller space and can be carried along e.g. in luggage. To allow the parts to be set inside each other, they may have e.g. a trough-like or plate-like shape.

In a preferred embodiment, the length of the supporting arms can be adjusted by means of an adjusting element. The adjusting element may be e.g. a telescopic arm, an extension attached to a supporting arm or a supporting arm originally having some excess length that can be shortened using a separate cutting means. In different motor cycles, the jacking point is located at different heights. Thus, one and the same device is applicable for the lifting of several different motor cycles. The adjusting element may also consist of a jacking adapter attachable to the axle of a wheel, which can be fastened at a desired height near the wheel axle. The jacking adapter may consist of a suitable plate or washer with a projection against which the upper end of the lifter can be pressed. Thus, the projection can be turned under the axle or sideways in a suitable manner and locked in position with the axle nut.

In the following, the invention will be described in detail by referring to the attached drawing, wherein Fig. 1 presents an embodiment of the invention at the beginning of a lifting operation, Fig. 2 presents the embodiment in Fig. 1 with the wheel lifted up,

Fig. 3 presents the embodiment in Fig. 1 in a nearly collapsed position, Fig. 4 presents another embodiment of the invention, and

Fig. 5 presents a detail of an embodiment of the lifter.

Fig. 1 shows a lifter according to the inven- tion. The lower supporting arm 1 has a straight, elongated and trough-like shape. At one end of the lower supporting arm 1 there is a joint in which the upper supporting arm 2 is pivoted so that it is inside the lower supporting arm 1. The upper supporting arm 2 is a solid bar or tube of a straight shape and having a rectangular cross-section substantially identical in shape with the inside of the lower supporting arm 1. The operating lever 3 connected to the joint is of a straight, elongated and trough-like shape and has a cross-section substantially identical in shape with the lower supporting arm 1. The operating lever is pivoted on the outside of the lower supporting arm 1.

Fig. 1 illustrates the initial phase of a lifting operation. The jacking point used in this ex- ample is the axle 4 of a wheel. The lifting action is started by planting the lower end of the lower supporting arm 1 on the ground and placing the upper end of the upper supporting arm 2 against the axle 4 of the wheel. At this point, the angle between the sup- porting arms 1 and 2 is e.g. between 100-150°. The motor cycle is lifted by increasing the angle between the supporting arms 1 and 2. To facilitate the lifting, an operating lever 3 attached to the joint and to the lower supporting arm 1 can be used. Fig. 2 illus- trates the final phase of a lifting operation. When the supporting arms 1 and 2 are turned to an angle exceeding the straight angle, their movement is stopped. In this position, the supporting arms, being substantially extensions of each other, form a reliable stand for the motor cycle .

Fig. 3 shows how a lifter with two supporting arms and an operating lever is collapsed. The upper supporting arm 2 turns about the joint into the lower supporting arm 1. The lower supporting arm 1 again turns into the operating lever 3. When in a fully collapsed position, the supporting arms and the operating lever are inside each other substantially parallel to each other .

Fig. 4 presents an example illustrating another embodiment of the lifter of the invention. It has a third supporting arm 5, which is connected by joints between the upper and lower supporting arms. The third supporting arm 5 is of a straight, elongated and trough-like shape. The lower supporting arm 1 is pivoted inside the third supporting arm 5. The lower supporting arm 1, too, is of a straight, elongated and trough-like shape. In the open position, the open trough-like side of the lower supporting arm 1 faces in the opposite direction relative to the direction of the trough-like side of the third supporting arm 5. The upper supporting arm 2 may be a solid, elongated bar with a rectangular cross-section and substantially identical in shape with the inside of the lower supporting arm 1. It is pivoted inside the third supporting arm 5.

Using a lifter as illustrated by Fig. 4, the motor cycle is lifted in principle in the same way as when using a lifter as illustrated by Fig. 1. Here, the supporting arms are turned beyond the straight angle by pressing the third supporting arm 5 between supporting arms 1 and 2. In this embodiment, too, it is possible to use a separate operating lever, connected e.g. to the lower joint. When the device is collapsed, supporting arms 1 and 2 will turn about the joint and go inside the third supporting arm 5, the lower supporting arm 1 being first turned inside the third supporting arm 5, whereupon the upper supporting arm 2 is turned so that it goes inside the lower supporting arm 1.

Fig. 5 presents a more detailed view of the structure around the joint 6 in the embodiment in Fig. 1. The lower supporting arm 1 and the upper supporting arm 2 are locked in a position exceeding the straight angle in such manner that the upper edge 7 of one of the sides of the lower supporting arm 1 forms a support line which is pressed against the corresponding surface 8 of the upper supporting arm. The operating lever 3 also comprises a transverse support line 9, i.e. the end edge of the central portion of the profiled bar; when the operating lever 3 is turned in the upward direction, this support line 9 will meet the surface 10 of the lower supporting arm 1, so the lever 3 can be used both to lift and to turn the lifter into the lifting position simultaneously.

Claims

1. Lifter for lifting a motor cycle wheel, characteri sed in that the lifter comprises a lower supporting arm (1) with a lower end to be planted on the ground and an upper supporting arm (2) connected to the lower supporting arm via a joint and designed to engage a jacking point on the motor cycle by its opposite end relative to the joint, so that when a wheel is to be lifted up using the lifter, the upper supporting arm can be turned or pushed until it substantially forms an extension of the lower supporting arm in a stop position exceeding the straight angle .

2. Lifter as defined in claim 1, char - act eri sed in that lifting is assisted by a lever

(3) attached to the joint and forming a torque arm by leaning against a supporting arm (1) in one of its extreme positions.

3. Lifter as defined in claim 1, char - act eri sed in that the lifter comprises a third supporting arm between the upper and lower supporting arms, connected to these via a joint at each end.

4. Lifter as defined in claim 1, char ac t eri s ed in that the supporting arms are so shaped that they can be set inside each other, extending in the same direction from the joint.

5. Lifter as defined in claim 1, char act eri sed in that the lifter comprises an adjusting element for adjusting the length of at least one of the supporting arms, said length having and effect on the lifting height.

6. Lifter as defined in any one of claims 1 - 5, charact eri s ed in that the jacking point is the wheel axle, a preferably adjustable jacking bracket attached to the wheel axle, a part of the frame or fork of the motor cycle or a preferably adjustable jacking bracket attached to these.