Patent US4369854A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4369854A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Parking devices for vehicles
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1981-02-19
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Granted: 1983-01-25
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Expires: 2001-02-19
Abstract
Abstract A parking device for a motor vehicle comprises a pair of parking rollers rotatably mounted in respective roller mounting members which are connected to respective ends of an extensible power means (e.g. a hydraulic ram) and which are arranged to be transported along respective rails on extension or retraction of the power means, each rail extending from a mounting on the sprung part of the vehicle under the floor of the vehicle downwardly and outwardly to a location adjacent to a respective one of a pair of road wheels of the vehicle, so that extension of the power means causes the assembly of parking rollers, roller mounting members and power means to move bodily from a retracted position clear of the road and adjacent to the upper ends of the rails to an operative position adjacent to the said pair of road wheels, in which operative position the parking rollers take the weight of the adjacent end of the vehicle and enable it to be moved sideways. Preferably the weight of the end of the vehicle is taken through jacking abutments on the unsprung part of the vehicle co-acting with the roller mounting members through pivotally mounted jack-links which swing down on final extension of the power means. The rails may be of round-section rod or wire, but are preferably hollow with a longitudinal slot so as to accommodate a runner attached to the respective roller mounting member.
Inventors
- 👤 Archibald J. Butterworth
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 23:54
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60S; B60S9/00; B60S9/14; B60S9/205; B60S9/21
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
168 words
A parking device for a motor vehicle, comprising a pair of parking rollers rotatably mounted in respective roller mounting members which are connected to respective ends of an extensible power means and which are arranged to be transported along respective rails on extension or retraction of the power means, each rail being adapted to extend from a mounting on the sprung part of the vehicle under the floor of the vehicle downwardly and outwardly to a location adjacent to a respective one of a pair of road wheels of the vehicle, so that extension of the power means will cause the assembly of parking rollers, roller mounting members and power means to move bodily from a retracted position clear of the road and adjacent to the upper ends of the rails to an operative position adjacent to the said pair of road wheels, in which operative position the parking rollers will take the weight of the adjacent end of the vehicle and enable it to be moved sideways.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
168 words
A parking device for a motor vehicle, comprising a pair of parking rollers rotatably mounted in respective roller mounting members which are connected to respective ends of an extensible power means and which are arranged to be transported along respective rails on extension or retraction of the power means, each rail being adapted to extend from a mounting on the sprung part of the vehicle under the floor of the vehicle downwardly and outwardly to a location adjacent to a respective one of a pair of road wheels of the vehicle, so that extension of the power means will cause the assembly of parking rollers, roller mounting members and power means to move bodily from a retracted position clear of the road and adjacent to the upper ends of the rails to an operative position adjacent to the said pair of road wheels, in which operative position the parking rollers will take the weight of the adjacent end of the vehicle and enable it to be moved sideways.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein the parking rollers take the weight of the end of the vehicle through jacking abutments on the unsprung part of the vehicle co-acting with the roller mounting members.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein each rail is adapted to be connected, at its lower and outer end, to a road wheel hub assembly or axle assembly of the vehicle through a pivotal connection allowing for road wheel suspension movements.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
A parking device according to claim 1, arranged so that the parking rollers, in the operative position, lie one ahead of and one behind the centre line of the said pair of road wheels, with the roller axes inclined at equal but opposite angles to the vertical.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
25 words
A parking device according to claim 4, wherein the roller axes each make an angle of substantially 20° with the vertical, in the operative position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
39 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein each roller mounting member carries means which engage the respective rail so as to exert a degree of control over the attitude of the parking roller with respect to the rail.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
55 words
A parking device according to claim 6, wherein the means which engage the rail are arranged to allow at least a limited movement of the roller mounting member about an axis transverse to the rail and to the axis of the extensible power means, while restraining movement about the axis of the extensible power means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
33 words
A parking device according to claim 7, wherein the means which engage the rail comprise a slidable sleeve or runner embracing the rail and mounted through a trunnion on the roller mounting member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
63 words
A parking device according to claim 7, wherein the means which engage the rail comprise a block engaging the rail by means of a slidable sleeve having a spherical mounting in the block, the block being mounted on the roller mounting member for pivotal movement about an axis extending transverse to the axis of the power means and generally fore-and-aft of the vehicle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
A parking device according to claim 7, wherein the means which engage the rail comprise at least one pair of grooved rollers mounted so as to engage opposite sides of the rail.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
59 words
A parking device according to claim 7, wherein the means which engage the rail comprise a pair of grooved rollers arranged side-by-side and engaging one side of the rail and a cylindrical roller spring-urged against the other side of the rail, the two grooved rollers being mounted on the roller mounting member through a common pivot disposed between them.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
57 words
A parking device according to claim 2, wherein one of the jacking abutments is provided adjacent to each of said pair of road wheels, on a road wheel hub assembly or axle assembly of the vehicle, and is disposed so that the respective roller mounting member co-acts with the jacking abutment as it approaches the operative position.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
67 words
A parking device according to claim 12, wherein each roller mounting member co-acts with the respective jacking abutment through a pivotally mounted jack-link which is normally held in a near-horizontal position by a spring but which can be pivoted to a more nearly vertical position by the final extension of the power means, for taking the weight of the end of the vehicle on the parking rollers.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
122 words
A parking device according to claim 13, wherein each jack-link is pivotally mounted at one end on the roller mounting member and is adapted at its other end to engage the respective jacking abutment, and each of the roller mounting members is connected to the extensible power means by way of a pivotal connection between an intermediate point on each jack-link and a respective end portion of the extensible power means, so that when the end of each jack-link has engaged the respective abutment, the final extension of the power means causes the jack-links to pivot downwards from the respective abutments into the more nearly vertical position, and thereby causes the roller mounting members to be swung downwards into the operative position.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A parking device according to claim 14, wherein the said other end of the jack-link and the respective jacking abutment are provided with complementary formations adapted to co-operate as the roller mounting member approaches the operative position.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
35 words
A parking device according to claim 15, wherein the complementary formations include rollers on the said other end of the jack-link, and a horizontally extending shelf with a vertically depending wall forming the jacking abutment.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
31 words
A parking device according to claim 15, wherein the complementary formations include mating formations adapted to resist relative sliding movement between the jack-link and the jacking abutment in the operative position.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
80 words
A parking device according to claim 14, wherein each roller mounting member also carries a second pivotal link, pivoted at one end to the roller mounting member and at its other end to an intermediate point on the end portion of the extensible power means, and forming with the said end portion, the jack-link, and the roller mounting member a quadrilateral linkage which controls the attitude of the parking roller in relation to the axis of the extensible power means.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
51 words
A parking device according to claim 18, wherein the quadrilateral linkages are arranged so that, in the retracted position, the rollers lie substantially horizontal with their axes substantially perpendicular to the axis of the power means, whereas in the operative position the axes of the rollers are tilted in relation thereto.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
60 words
A parking device according to claim 19, wherein the quadrilateral linkages are so arranged that the tilt which they impart to the roller axes in the operative position is such as to ensure that the vertical planes containing the inclined roller axes meet substantially at the midpoint of the centre line of the other pair of wheels of the vehicle.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
68 words
A parking device according to claim 13, wherein each jack-link is pivotally mounted at one end on the hub or axle assembly of the vehicle for pivotal movement about a substantially horizontal axis extending generally fore-and-aft of the vehicle, the said pivotal mounting thus forming the jacking abutment, and the lower and outer end of the respective rail is pivotally mounted in the other end of said jack-link.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
37 words
A parking device according to claim 21, wherein each jack-link and the roller mounting member which engages the respective rail are provided with complementary elements adapted to co-operate as the roller mounting member approaches the operative position.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
32 words
A parking device according to claim 22, wherein the complementary elements comprise rollers on the one end of each jack-link and a platform with an upstanding lip on the roller mounting member.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
33 words
A parking device according to claim 23, wherein the complementary elements further comprise projections and recesses adapted to co-operate so as to resist relative sliding movement of the jack-links and roller mounting members.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
23 words
A parking device according to claim 24, wherein a projection of hook or inverted T-shape is adapted to engage in a corresponding recess.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
29 words
A parking device according to claim 1 wherein each rail is provided, at its upper and inner end, with a flexible support adapted to be attached to the vehicle.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
17 words
A parking device according to claim 1 wherein the rails are of round-section metal rod or wire.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
32 words
A parking device according to claim 27, wherein each rail, at its lower and outer end, is mounted so as to be slidable in a spherical bush on a respective jacking abutment.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
28 words
A parking device according to claim 27, wherein each rail, near its lower and outer end, is bent back on itself before being secured in a respective jack-link.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
36 words
A parking device according to claim 29, wherein a sharp reverse bend in the rail, just before it is bent back on itself, serves as a stop for rail-engaging rollers mounted on the roller mounting member.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
41 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein the rails are of hollow construction with a longitudinal slot running for the full effective length of each rail, and each roller mounting member carries a runner which engages inside the respective rail.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
42 words
A parking device according to claim 31, wherein the rails each have curved sides engaging upper and lower edge portions of the respective runner, and inturned flanges on the lower edges of the sides, said flanges defining said longitudinal slot between them.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
30 words
A parking device according to claim 31, wherein the rails are each enclosed by flexible sealing means adapted to open to allow said runners to pass along their respective rails.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
42 words
A parking device according to claim 32, wherein each said runner comprises a plurality of rollers mounted on a member which is journalled in a trunnion on the roller mounting member for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the respective rail.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
54 words
A parking device according to claim 3, wherein the mounting of each rail on the sprung part of the vehicle comprises a generally vertical shackle link whose lower end is pivoted on the sprung part of the vehicle and whose upper end is pivotally connected to the upper and inner end of the rail.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein the extensible power means is a hydraulic ram.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
72 words
A parking device according to claim 1, wherein a single retraction spring is provided for moving the assembly of rollers, roller mounting members and power means from the operative position to the retracted position, the spring having one relatively fixed end and a moving end which is connected through cables to the two roller mounting members so as to synchronise movements of the roller mounting members both on extension and on retraction.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
108 words
A parking device according to claim 37 wherein the retraction spring is contained within a tube mounted parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and capable of fore-and-aft movement relative to the vehicle along longitudinal guide means, the cables from the roller mounting members each being led transversely across the vehicle and around a pulley mounted on one end of the spring tube and then extending through the spring tube to the moving end of the spring, whereby the spring tube follows the movements of the roller mounting members on extension or contraction and thereby maintains a substantially constant angle between the cables and the longitudinal axis.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
11 words
A motor vehicle fitted with the parking device of claim 1.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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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) | 1986-01-24 | 1986-07-26 | 1987-01-25 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1990-01-24 | 1990-07-26 | 1991-01-25 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1994-01-24 | 1994-07-26 | 1995-01-25 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |