Patent Application
20080136129
(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recliner, typically referred to as mechanic's creeper, and more particularly, to an expandable pull-out creeper practical for use during a car repair work that has two recliner cushions sliding one under the other and conveniently receivable to save storage space.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
A conventional creeper for use during repair work is a mobile board on which the mechanic lies when examining or repairing the chassis of a car or the bottom parts of a machine. A creeper for this purpose generally comprises a narrow elongate recliner body equipped with wheels. Because conventional creepers for this purpose are commonly not collapsible, they occupy much storage space when not in use. Therefore, it is inconvenient to keep, transport, and store this kind of creepers.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. According to one aspect of the present invention, the pull-out creeper comprises a rear recliner frame unit equipped with a front pair of wheel assemblies and a rear pair of wheel assemblies and having two side frame tubes, a front recliner frame unit, which has two side frame tubes respectively slidably inserted into the side frame tubes of the rear recliner frame unit such that the front recliner frame unit is movable in and out of the rear recliner frame unit between the received position and the extended position, a rear cushion fixedly mounted on the rear recliner frame unit, a front cushion, and a movable rack affixed to the front side of the front cushion and pivoted to the front side of the front recliner frame unit. The front cushion is supported on the front recliner frame unit and a part of the rear recliner frame unit and kept in flush with the rear cushion when the pull-out recliner is extended out. The rear side of the front cushion is liftable so that the front cushion can be stacked on the rear cushion when the front recliner frame unit is received in the rear recliner frame unit to save storage space.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the side frame tubes of the front recliner frame unit each have a rear end respectively mounted with a respective retaining spring member for locking the side frame tubes of the front recliner frame unit to the rear recliner frame unit when the front recliner frame unit is moved out of the rear recliner frame unit from the received position to the extended position.
Referring to
The front recliner frame unit 1 comprises two side frame tubes 11 longitudinally arranged in parallel, a connecting bar 12 transversely connected between the front ends of the side frame tubes 11, two wheel assemblies 10 respectively pivotally mounted on the front ends of the side frame tubes 11 at the bottom side, and a movable bracket 13 coupled to the connecting bar 12. The connecting bar 12 has a recessed middle part 121. As shown in
The rear recliner frame unit 2 comprises two side frame tubes 21, a first connecting bar 22 transversely connected between the two side frame tubes 21 near the rear ends of the side frame tubes 21, a second connecting bar 23 transversely connected between the two side frame tubes 21 near the front ends of the side frame tubes 21, a reinforcing bar 24 transversely connected between the front ends of the side frame tubes 21, and two pairs of wheel assemblies 20 respectively pivotally mounted on the front and rear ends of the side frame tubes 21 at the bottom side. The side frame tubes 21 of the rear recliner frame unit 2 have an inner diameter fitting the outer diameter of the side frame tubes 11 of the front recliner frame unit 1. The side frame tubes 11 of the front recliner frame unit 1 are respectively slidably inserted into the side frame tubes 21 of the rear recliner frame unit 2.
The front cushion 3 is preferably covered with a soft covering, having a width slightly smaller than the distance between the two side frame tubes 11 of the front recliner frame unit 1. The front cushion 3 is fixedly fastened with its front side to the top wall of the support frame 133 of the movable bracket 13. The rear side of the front cushion 3 is the free end supported on the reinforcing bar 24 of the rear recliner frame unit 2 and freely liftable.
The rear cushion 4 is fixedly fastened to the first connecting bar 22 and second connecting bar 23 of the rear recliner frame unit 2 at the top.
As indicated above, the front cushion 3 and the rear cushion 4 are respectively affixed to the front recliner frame unit 1 and the rear recliner frame unit 2; the movable bracket 13 is movable between two elevational positions; the side frame tubes 11 of the front recliner frame unit 1 are movable in and out of the side frame tubes 21 of the rear recliner frame unit 2. Therefore, the user can pull the front recliner frame unit 1 out of the rear recliner frame unit 2 to fully extend the creeper. Alternatively, the user can lift the front cushion 3, and then move the front recliner frame unit 1 into the rear recliner frame unit 2 to have the rear cushion 4 be received under the front cushion 3, thereby saving storage space.
Referring to
When the pull-out recliner is extended, the movable rack 13 is moved from the upper elevation position to the lower elevation position as shown in
Referring to
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.
