Stabilizing jack

Claim 2

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle with respect to the ground comprising: at least two legs spaced apart and movably mounted on the underside of the vehicle, each leg being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, the legs comprising upper ends that are mounted on movable rollers and lower ends that are pivotable about the upper ends into and out of contact with the ground; elongated leg housing means for each leg mounted in axial transverse alignment on the underside of the vehicle, said leg housing means receiving the rollers and guiding the upper ends of the legs on a linear transverse path along the underside of the vehicle; mechanical linkage means interconnecting the upper ends of the legs, said mechanical linkage means being adapted, upon receiving a mechanical driving foRce, to apply the mechanical driving force to the legs in the form of a horizontal transverse force applied to the upper ends of the legs, so as to cause the upper ends of the legs to move on their rollers inwardly or outwardly in their housings, said mechanical linkage means being further adapted to transmit said mechanical driving force to each leg equally and independently, regardless of the distance traveled by each leg; arm means pivotally connecting each leg housing means to each leg at a point spaced apart from the upper end thereof, said arm means holding the lower ends of the legs in a raised position so that the legs are pointed toward the outside edges of the vehicle when the rollers are moved inwardly in their housings; said arm means causing the legs to pivot downwardly into contact with the ground when the rollers are moved outwardly in their housings; and drive means adapted to apply a mechanical driving force to said mechanical linkage means.

Claim 3

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle comprising; a pair of elongated hollow, channel-shaped leg housings, mounted in axial alignment transversely across the underside of the vehicle, each leg housing having a top, depending side walls, and inwardly extending flanges attached to the lower edges of the side walls, said leg housings being mounted on the underside of the vehicle and positioned along a common axis that extends transversely across the vehicle, each housing having an inside and outside end facing inwardly and outwardly, respectively, relative to the sides of the vehicle; a leg mounted in each leg housing and being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, each leg having an upper end, which is pivotably mounted for transverse linear movement in the leg housing on movable rollers, and a lower end, which extends outwardly toward the outer end of the housing when the leg is in its raised position and is movable to its lowered position by pivotal rotation of the leg downwardly toward the ground; mechanical arm means attached to each leg, each arm means having an inward end pivotably attached to the leg housing and an outward end pivotably attached to the leg, said arm means being adapted to cause the lower end of the leg to pivot downwardly into contact with the ground with the outward movement of the upper end of the leg; a mechanical actuator suspended between the upper ends of the legs, said actuator comprising; an outer hollow cylinder having an open end and a closed end, with the closed end being pivotably attached to the upper end of one leg; and an extendable rod having an inner end inside the cylinder and an outer end protruding from the open end of the cylinder and being pivotable attached to the upper end of the other leg; screw means within the cylinder adapted to cause the extendable rod to extend or retract in response to a rotational mechanical driving force applied thereto; and an electric motor means freely suspended from the actuator and being adapted upon actuation to apply a rotational driving force to the screw means; whereby actuation of the electric motor means causes the extendable rod to extend or retract, which in turn causes the legs to be lowered or raised independently and to be forced against the ground with equal force, regardless of variations in ground level below the vehicle.

Claim 4

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle comprising; a pair of elongated hollow, channel-shaped leg housings, mounted in axial alignment transversely across the underside of the vehicle, each leg housing having a top, depending side walls, and inwardly extending flanges attached to the lower edges of the side walls, said leg housings being mounted on the underside of the vehicle and positioned along a common axis that extends transversely across the vehicle, each housing having an inside and outside end facing inwardly and outwardly, respectively, relative to the sides of the vehicle; a leg mounted in each leg housing and being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, each leg having an upper end, which is pivotably mounted for transverse linear movement in the leg housing on movable rollers, and a lower end, which extends outwardly toward the outer end of the housing when the leg is in its raised position and is movable to its lowered position by pivotal rotation of the leg downwardly toward the ground; mechanical arm means attached to each leg, each arm means having an inward end pivotably attached to the leg housing and an outward end pivotably attached to the leg, said arm means being adapted to cause the lower end of the leg to pivot downwardly into contact with the ground with the outward movement of the upper end of the leg; a mechanical actuator suspended between the upper ends of the legs, said actuator comprising; an outer hollow cylinder having an open end and a closed end, with the closed end being pivotably attached to the upper end of one leg; and an extendable rod having an inner end inside the cylinder and an outer end protruding from the open end of the cylinder and being pivotable attached to the upper end of the other leg; screw means within the cylinder adapted to cause the extendable rod to extend or retract in response to a rotational mechanical driving force applied thereto; and an electric motor means freely suspended from the actuator and being adapted upon actuation to apply a rotational driving force to the screw means; whereby actuation of the electric motor means causes the extendable rod to extend or retract, which in turn causes the legs to be lowered or raised independently and to be forced against the ground with equal force, regardless of variations in ground level below the vehicle.

Claim 5

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle with respect to the ground comprising: at least two legs spaced apart and movably mounted on the underside of the vehicle, each leg being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, the legs comprising upper ends that are mounted on movable rollers and lower ends that are pivotable about the upper ends into and out of contact with the ground; means for guiding the Upper ends of the rollers in a linear transverse path along the underside of the vehicle; mechanical linkage means interconnecting the upper ends of the legs, said mechanical linkage means being adapted, upon receiving a mechanical driving force, to apply the mechanical driving force to the legs in the form of a horizontal transverse force applied to the upper ends of the legs, so as to cause the upper ends of the legs to move transversely on their rollers in their housings, said mechanical linkage means being further adapted to transmit said mechanical driving force to each leg equally and independently, regardless of the distance traveled by each leg; arm means pivotably connecting a point on each leg spaced apart from the upper end thereof to a fixed position with respect to the underside of the housing, said arm means being adapted to cause each arm to pivot about its upper end between its raised and lowered positions as the upper end of the arm is moved along its transverse path on the underside of the vehicle; drive means adapted to apply a mechanical driving force to said mechanical linkage means.

Claim 6

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle with respect to the ground comprising: at least two legs spaced apart and movably mounted on the underside of the vehicle, each leg being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, the legs comprising upper ends that are mounted on movable rollers and lower ends that are pivotable about the upper ends into and out of contact with the ground; means for guiding the Upper ends of the rollers in a linear transverse path along the underside of the vehicle; mechanical linkage means interconnecting the upper ends of the legs, said mechanical linkage means being adapted, upon receiving a mechanical driving force, to apply the mechanical driving force to the legs in the form of a horizontal transverse force applied to the upper ends of the legs, so as to cause the upper ends of the legs to move transversely on their rollers in their housings, said mechanical linkage means being further adapted to transmit said mechanical driving force to each leg equally and independently, regardless of the distance traveled by each leg; arm means pivotably connecting a point on each leg spaced apart from the upper end thereof to a fixed position with respect to the underside of the housing, said arm means being adapted to cause each arm to pivot about its upper end between its raised and lowered positions as the upper end of the arm is moved along its transverse path on the underside of the vehicle; drive means adapted to apply a mechanical driving force to said mechanical linkage means.

Claim 7

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle with respect to the ground comprising: at least two legs spaced apart and movably mounted on the underside of the vehicle, each leg being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, the legs comprising upper ends that are mounted on movable rollers and lower ends that are pivotable about the upper ends into and out of contact with the ground; means for guiding the Upper ends of the rollers in a linear transverse path along the underside of the vehicle; mechanical linkage means interconnecting the upper ends of the legs, said mechanical linkage means being adapted, upon receiving a mechanical driving force, to apply the mechanical driving force to the legs in the form of a horizontal transverse force applied to the upper ends of the legs, so as to cause the upper ends of the legs to move transversely on their rollers in their housings, said mechanical linkage means being further adapted to transmit said mechanical driving force to each leg equally and independently, regardless of the distance traveled by each leg; arm means pivotably connecting a point on each leg spaced apart from the upper end thereof to a fixed position with respect to the underside of the housing, said arm means being adapted to cause each arm to pivot about its upper end between its raised and lowered positions as the upper end of the arm is moved along its transverse path on the underside of the vehicle; drive means adapted to apply a mechanical driving force to said mechanical linkage means.

Claim 8

A mechanical jack for stabilizing a vehicle with respect to the ground comprising: at least two legs spaced apart and movably mounted on the underside of the vehicle, each leg being movable from a raised position, wherein the leg is not in contact with the ground, to a lowered position, wherein the leg is in contact with the ground, the legs comprising upper ends that are mounted on movable rollers and lower ends that are pivotable about the upper ends into and out of contact with the ground; means for guiding the Upper ends of the rollers in a linear transverse path along the underside of the vehicle; mechanical linkage means interconnecting the upper ends of the legs, said mechanical linkage means being adapted, upon receiving a mechanical driving force, to apply the mechanical driving force to the legs in the form of a horizontal transverse force applied to the upper ends of the legs, so as to cause the upper ends of the legs to move transversely on their rollers in their housings, said mechanical linkage means being further adapted to transmit said mechanical driving force to each leg equally and independently, regardless of the distance traveled by each leg; arm means pivotably connecting a point on each leg spaced apart from the upper end thereof to a fixed position with respect to the underside of the housing, said arm means being adapted to cause each arm to pivot about its upper end between its raised and lowered positions as the upper end of the arm is moved along its transverse path on the underside of the vehicle; drive means adapted to apply a mechanical driving force to said mechanical linkage means.

Claim 9

A mechanical jack as claimed in claim 3 wherein: the mechanical linkage comprises: a cylinder attached at one end to the upper end of one leg and having an extendable rod extending from the other end, said extendable rod having an outer end attached to the upper end of the other leg, said cylinder and extendable rod being freely suspended between the upper ends of the legs of transverse movement with respect to the underside of the vehicle; and screw means interconnecting the extendable rod and the cylinder, said screw means being adapted to receive a rotational driving force and, in response thereto, cause the extendable rod to extend or retract with respect to the end of the cylinder; and the drive means is adapted to deliver a rotational driving force to the screw means and is attached to the screw means so as to be freely movable with the screw means in a transverse direction along the underside of the vehicle.