US4236693A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Portable winch apparatus
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1977-07-21
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Granted: 1980-12-02
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Expires: 1997-07-21
Abstract
Abstract This improvement in the field of portable winches or towing devices comprises a shell of heavy construction, which is easily movable on integrally mounted retractable wheels, and which when in its desired location and directional orientation can by its own vacuum pump, mounted thereon, create a vacuum within itself, developing thereby an immobilizing force equivalent to several thousand pounds of weight, enabling the winch mounted thereon to exert a pulling force of magnitude comparable to the immobilizing force, making possible the movement and relocation of heavy objects.
Inventors
- 👤 Elmer R. McCrea
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 06:51
CPC Classifications
B; B66; B66D; B66D1/00; B66D1/28
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 7
Claim 1
Independent Claim
182 words
Portable winch apparatus comprising: a substantially rigid, hollow housing, open on the bottom, capable of maintaining a high vacuum when the housing bottom is pressed against a substantially planar, non-porous, rigid surface so as to form a closed chamber; resilient seal means, attached to the housing on the bottom thereof, for defining substantially a plane to support the housing, when the housing is pressed against a substantially planar surface, while maintaining a vacuum in the closed chamber thus defined; a vacuum pump to evacuate the closed chamber; valve means for releasing a vacuum from the closed chamber; at least one retractable wheel with associated wheel shaft, mounted inside and depending downward from the housing which, in the unretracted position, makes contact with the ground and allows the housing to be rolled about and which, in the retracted position, allows the housing to make contact with the ground; wheel retraction means, operatively associated with the housing, and with the retractable wheel, for raising and lowering the wheel relative to the housing; supplementary balance apparatus; and a powered winch, rigidly attached to the housing.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
182 words
Portable winch apparatus comprising: a substantially rigid, hollow housing, open on the bottom, capable of maintaining a high vacuum when the housing bottom is pressed against a substantially planar, non-porous, rigid surface so as to form a closed chamber; resilient seal means, attached to the housing on the bottom thereof, for defining substantially a plane to support the housing, when the housing is pressed against a substantially planar surface, while maintaining a vacuum in the closed chamber thus defined; a vacuum pump to evacuate the closed chamber; valve means for releasing a vacuum from the closed chamber; at least one retractable wheel with associated wheel shaft, mounted inside and depending downward from the housing which, in the unretracted position, makes contact with the ground and allows the housing to be rolled about and which, in the retracted position, allows the housing to make contact with the ground; wheel retraction means, operatively associated with the housing, and with the retractable wheel, for raising and lowering the wheel relative to the housing; supplementary balance apparatus; and a powered winch, rigidly attached to the housing.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
146 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said wheel retraction apparatus comprises: a closed vacuum chamber, operatively associated with said vacuum pump; inside said closed chamber, a coil spring positioned between and in contact with a movable plate and the top of the closed chamber, the spring being in compression at all positions of the movable plate; a rod, depending substantially vertically downward from the movable plate; a wheel, journaled near the lower end of the rod; valve means, operatively associated with the closed chamber, for controllably releasing a vacuum developed in the chamber; and pressure maintenance means for maintaining substantially atmospheric pressure in the space between the movable plate and the bottom of the closed chamber, whereby the movable plate, rod and wheel moved upward in response to development of a vacuum in the space between the movable plate and the top of the closed chamber.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
77 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said wheel retraction apparatus includes: a crank, with the rotator arm oriented substantially horizontally and journaled in a wall of said rigid housing, the crank handle being positioned outside the housing; the rotator arm having a cam rigidly attached thereto, with the cam lying beneath and being operatively associated with said rigid housing so that said housing moves upward and downward in response to rotation of the cam by the crank.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
140 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, further including supplementary balance apparatus comprising: at least two supplementary wheels, each of which lies below the bottom of said housing; each supplementary wheel being journaled at the lower end of a supplementary wheel rod which depends substantially downward from and is within said housing; each supplementary wheel rod being journaled on said housing to allow the rod to rotate upward about a substantially horizontal line; at least two substantially horizontal arms, each arm being journaled at said retractable wheel and at one of the supplementary wheel rods, the orientation of each horizontal arm being substantially perpendicular to the horizontal axis of rotation of the supplementary wheel rod at said housing, whereby the supplementary wheel rods and the supplementary wheels are rotated upward into the interior of said housing as said retractable wheel is raised.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
66 words
Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said resilient seal means comprises pliant material with the elastic characteristics of closed cell material, depending from the bottom of said rigid housing, wherein the said resilient seal material, partly compressed by the weight of the said rigid housing, thereby seals off the interior of said rigid housing to form an interior chamber in which a vacuum may be induced.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
112 words
Resilient seal means for the bottom of a vacuum chamber as recited in claim 5, further providing that: the vacuum chamber walls in cross-section contain a notch at the bottom thereof, said notch being vertical in its orientation, and wherein the bottom surface of the outer fork of the notch is substantially higher than the bottom edge of the inner fork; and the seal material depends downwards from said notch lower than the rigid walls of the chamber; and the inner fork of the notch has a resilient cap attached to and depending downwards from from the bottom thereof, to cushion the chamber and limit the compression of the said resilent seal.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1983-12-02 | 1984-06-02 | 1984-12-02 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1987-12-02 | 1988-06-02 | 1988-12-02 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1991-12-02 | 1992-06-02 | 1992-12-02 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |