Patent Application
20220315401
The present invention relates generally to the field of hydraulic jacks or other jack assists. More specifically, the present invention relates to a diesel exhaust fluid (“DEF”) tank hydraulic jack adapter plate. The adapter can be fixedly or removably attached to the top surface of an existing hydraulic jack such that the jack or lift can be used to remove or replace a DEF tank from a diesel vehicle. Accordingly, the adapter secures a DEF tank to the plate body of the adapter via a plurality of frame arms which attach to the vertical plates of the plate body as well as the continuous openings of the bracket-like areas of a DEF tank. As such, the adapter ensures the DEF tank is retained upon the adapter and subsequently retained on the jack such that a user need not worry about the DEF tank falling from the jack and becoming damaged or spilling the contents of the tank due to movement of the jack. Accordingly, the present disclosure makes specific reference thereto. Nonetheless, it is to be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are also equally applicable to other like applications, devices and methods of manufacture.
Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) is a non-hazardous solution containing about 32.5% urea and 67.5% de-ionized water. DEF is sprayed into the exhaust stream of diesel vehicles in order to break down nitrous oxide (NOx or N2O) emissions from the vehicles. Using DEF, otherwise dangerous NOx emissions are converted to harmless nitrogen and water by being converted to ammonia via a catalyst. Within a diesel vehicle (such as a semi-truck) DEF is contained within in a DEF tank that is separate from the diesel fuel tank. DEF is consumed at roughly 3% of diesel fuel consumption, therefore around 3 gallons of DEF are required for every 100 gallons of diesel.
Due to the of size of the fuel tanks on a semi-truck or other large diesel vehicle, most large diesel vehicles are equipped with a DEF tank that can hold 20+ gallons of DEF. Further, DEF itself weighs about 9 lbs. per gallon, so a typical DEF tank will contain about 180+ pounds of the fluid, not taking into account the weight of the metal tank itself. For maintenance purposes, DEF tanks may need to be removed from the side of a semi-truck or other diesel vehicle for maintenance or replacement. However, due to the weight, shape and location of a DEF tank on most vehicles the tank is incredibly difficult to remove and/or replace by hand. As a result, many users resort to using existing hydraulic jacks known in the art to aid in removing or replacing a DEF tank. However, existing hydraulic jacks are not optimized for receiving or supporting a DEF tank, due to the irregular curvature and slender proportions of most conventional DEF tanks. As a result, a DEF tank may fall from a jack while a user is attempting to remove or replace the tank. This is undesirable, as a damaged DEF tank may not function properly, may cause spill and as a result of drop damage the tank must be replaced. Further, DEF tanks may move, tilt or sway while on the top surface of a jack, such that spillage of DEF can occur in the surrounding area. This is obviously undesirable and requires substantial cleanup. In addition, a user may not wish to permanently modify their hydraulic jack (which they may use for other tasks) to receive a DEF tank adequately and to protect against droppage or spillage of the tank.
Therefore, there exists a long-felt need in the art for an adapter for a hydraulic jack that can be used to more easily remove and/or replace a DEF tank. There also exists a long-felt need in the art for a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate that can be attached to an existing hydraulic jack, to allow the jack to easily receive a DEF tank for removal or replacement. In addition, there exists a long-felt need in the art for a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate that can be attached to an existing hydraulic jack. The adapter plate is removable such that the hydraulic jack can retain its original configuration and function as needed when not being used on a DEF tank. Finally, there exists a long-felt need in the art for a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate that adequately secures the DEF tank to the adapter plate to prevent the dropping of the tank or spillage from the tank.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate. The adapter plate has a central load plate that can receive the bottom surface of a DEF tank and two L-shaped load plate brackets which are attached to the central load plate that further support the bottom and side surfaces of a DEF tank. The adapter plate also includes a pair of L-brackets and a pair of steel strap assemblies that can further be bolted to a DEF tank via suitable fasteners. As such, the L-brackets and steel strap assemblies ensure that the DEF tank remains secure upon the adapter plate and does not fall off the plate or spill during removal or use.
In this manner, the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate of the present invention accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives and provides an effective device that aids a user in the removal or replacement of a DEF tank from a semi-truck or other diesel vehicle. The adapter further can be used with an existing hydraulic jack to save the user the expense of creating a separate, dedicated hydraulic jack that is only optimized to receive DEF tanks. Further, the design of the adapter plate ensures that a DEF tank cannot fall or spill while secured on the adapter plate during the replacement or removal process. Therefore, a user can fully utilize the capabilities of a hydraulic jack without having to worry about the DEF tank falling from the jack or spilling.
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key or critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some general concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodiment thereof, comprises a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate. The adapter has a central load plate that is attached to two L-shaped load plate brackets. Both the central load plate and the horizontal plates of each L-shaped load plate bracket also have a plurality of openings to allow the adapter to be secured to the top surface of an existing hydraulic jack. Alternatively, the adapter may be fixedly attached (e.g., welded) to the top surface of an existing hydraulic jack. It is further contemplated that the adapter is constructed from a durable steel or aluminum components such that is does not deform under the weight of a DEF tank.
The vertical plate portion of each L-shaped load plate bracket has a plurality of openings that allow an L-shaped bracket and a plurality of steel strap assemblies to be attached to the adapter via a fastener. The fastener may include any combination of nuts, bolts, washer, spacers or other suitable fasteners. Further, the steel strap assemblies have two openings. The bottom opening receives a fastener to removably secure the strap assembly to the vertical plate of the L-shaped load bracket. The top continuous opening further receives a fastener that can also be received by an opening of each bracket that may have the side surface of a conventional DEF tank. Therefore, the fastener assembly travels through the frame arm and DEF tank bracket and is secured on the opposite side of the DEF tank bracket, such that the tank is secured to the frame arm and thus is secured to the adapter. To this effect, the tank is secure and cannot fall off the adapter or the jack, and cannot spill during movement of the jack.
Therefore, the improved DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate of the present invention is particularly advantageous as it allows an individual to utilize a hydraulic jack to easily remove and/or replace a DEF tank. However, the adapter provides increased security and secures the tank such that the tank cannot fall off the jack or become damaged. Further, the adapter also limits the possibility of any of the contents of the DEF tank spilling due to falling or sudden movement while resting or moving on the jack.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and are intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The description refers to provided drawings in which similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the different views, and in which:
The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate a description thereof. Various embodiments are discussed hereinafter. It should be noted that the figures are described only to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the invention and do not limit the scope of the invention. Additionally, an illustrated embodiment need not have all the aspects or advantages shown. Thus, in other embodiments, any of the features described herein from different embodiments may be combined.
As noted above, there is a long-felt need in the art for an adapter for a hydraulic jack that can be used to more easily remove and/or replace a DEF tank from a large diesel vehicle. There also exists a long-felt need in the art for a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate that can be attached to existing hydraulic j acks, to allow the jack to more easily receive a DEF tank for removal or replacement. The adapter plate can be attached to the jack, and is removable such that the hydraulic jack can retain its original structure and function as needed. Finally, there exists a long-felt need in the art for a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate that adequately secures the DEF tank to the adapter plate to prevent the dropping of the tank or spillage from the tank, which further allows an individual to fully utilize a hydraulic jack without having to worry about damaging, dropping or spilling the tank during the removal or replacement process.
The present invention, in one exemplary embodiment, is comprised of a DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate having a central load plate. The central load plate has two L-shaped load plate brackets attached along the sides. The load plate and the horizontal plates of each L-shaped load plate bracket may have a plurality of openings to allow the adapter to be secured to the top surface of an existing hydraulic jack. However, the adapter may also be fixedly-attached (e.g., welded) to the top surface of an existing hydraulic jack. It is also contemplated that the adapter is constructed from durable steel or aluminum components, such that it does not deform under the weight of a DEF tank.
The vertical plate of each L-shaped load plate bracket also includes a plurality of continuous openings that allow an L-shaped bracket and a plurality of steel strap assemblies to be attached to the adapter with a fastener. Further, the fastener may include any combination of nuts, bolts, washer, spacers and the like. The steel strap assemblies also include two openings, in which one opening receives a fastener assembly to removably secure the strap assembly to the vertical plate of the L-shaped load bracket. The second opening can also receive a fastener assembly that is received by an opening of each bracket of the side surface of a conventional DEF tank. Therefore, the fastener assembly travels through the frame arm and DEF tank bracket such that the DEF tank is secured to the frame arm and thus is secured to the adapter plate. To this effect, the tank is secure and cannot fall off of the adapter or jack or spill during movement of the jack that occurs while the tank is being removed or replaced.
Therefore, the improved DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate of the present invention is particularly advantageous, as it allows an individual to utilize a hydraulic jack to easily remove and/or replace a DEF tank. However, the adapter provides increased security such that the DEF tank cannot fall off of the jack and be damaged. Further, the adapter also limits the possibility of any of the contents of the DEF tank from spilling due to falling as a result of a sudden movement while resting or moving on a jack.
Referring initially to the drawings,
The load plate 112 and horizontal plates 116 of the L-shaped load plate brackets 114 have a plurality of openings 1120, 1160 that allow the adapter 100 to be removably-secured to the top surface 32 of the frame of an existing hydraulic jack 30. The central plate is positioned adjacent to the hydraulic jack so that it does not interfere with operation of the jack. However, in one embodiment of the adapter 100, the adapter 100 may be welded to the top surface 32 of the frame of an existing jack 30 such that it becomes permanently attached to the top surface 32. Therefore, an embodiment containing a fixedly-attached adapter 100 may also include a hydraulic jack 30 as part of the invention. In differing embodiments, it is also contemplated that the plate body 110 and its components may be manufactured from any suitable durable metal, such as but not limited to: stainless steel, steel, aluminum, metal alloys and high-strength composites such as a carbon fiber composite combinations.
The vertical plate 118 of each L-shaped load plate bracket 114 may further contain a plurality of mechanisms to allow the adapter 100 to be fastened to a DEF tank 10. One such mechanism includes at least one L-bracket 130 that may be fixedly-attached (e.g., welded) to the outside surface 1180 of the vertical plate 118 near the rear area 113 of the body 110. The bracket 130 has a vertical plate 132 and perpendicular horizontal plate 134. However, it is also contemplated that the vertical plate 132 of the L-bracket 130 and vertical plate 118 of the load plate bracket 114 may have a continuous opening 1182, 1320 such that a fastener assembly 150 may include any combination of a bolt 152, a nut 154, and a washer or spacer 156 may be used to removably secure the bracket 130 to the vertical plate 118. Further, the bracket 130 may also contain a horizontal plate 134 that also includes a continuous opening 1340 that can be used to secure the adapter 100 to the bottom surface 16 near the front area 11 of a tank 10 via a fastener 150 that may include any combination of a bolt 152, a nut 154, and a washer or spacer 156.
The area of the vertical plate 118 near the front area 110 of the adapter 100 also preferably has at least one vertical bracket 131. Unlike the L-bracket 130, the vertical bracket 131 only has a vertical plate 132 with a second opening 1321 in addition to a first continuous opening 1320, in which the first opening 1320 allows a fastener assembly 150 which may be any combination of a bolt 152, a nut 154, and a washer or spacer 156 to removably secure the bracket 130 to the vertical plate 118. Accordingly, the second opening 1321 may receive a fastener assembly 150 of any combination of a bolt 152, a nut 154, and a washer or spacer 156 that allows a steel strap assembly 140 to attach to the plate 118. The assembly 140 further includes a frame arm 142 that has of two continuous openings 143. The bottom opening 143 allows the assembly 140 to attach to the plate 118 as noted and the top opening 143 can receive a fastener assembly 150 of any combination of a bolt 152, a nut 154, and a washer or spacer 156. As will be explained more fully below, each strap assembly 140 allows a bracket of a DEF tank 10 to be secured to the adapter such that the tank 10 cannot fall from the jack 30 or shift during movement of the jack 30.
Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claims to refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature or component by different names. This document does not intend to distinguish between components or features that differ in name but not structure or function. As used herein “DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate”, “DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate device”, “adapter” and “device”, are interchangeable and refer to the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 of the present invention.
Notwithstanding the forgoing, the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 of the present invention and its various components can be of any suitable size and configuration as is known in the art without affecting the overall concept of the invention, provided that they accomplish the above-stated objectives. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the size, configuration, and material of the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 as shown in the FIGS. are for illustrative purposes only, and that many other sizes and shapes of the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 are well within the scope of the present disclosure. Although the dimensions of the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 are important design parameters for user convenience, the DEF tank hydraulic jack adapter plate 100 may be of any size, shape and/or configuration that ensures optimal performance during use and/or that suits the user's needs and/or preferences.
Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. While the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the scope of the claims, together with all equivalents thereof.
What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subject matter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimed subject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/167,951, which was filed on Mar. 30, 2021, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63167951 | Mar 2021 | US |
