Patent Application
20070176452
The present invention relates to a jack and tool bag installation for an automotive vehicle.
It is not uncommon for a tire on a motor vehicle to fail and in that instance the tire or the wheel and tire assembly must be changed. Typically, vehicles are equipped with a spare tire or a spare tire and wheel assembly, and with some form of jack and basic tools necessary to make the change. However, there is a need for a unique method of storing the jack and tools (preferably with a tool bag), without additional attachment hardware and plastic clips, etc. adapted for stowage in a motor vehicle.
In accordance with the present invention, an installation is provided for the stowage of a jack and tools useful in the changing of a wheel of a vehicle. The installation comprises a receptacle having an open-top container with a space in the container for the stowage of the jack and the tools. The receptacle includes a cover plate across the top of the container covering a portion of the top only, leaving an access opening through which the jack and the tools may be inserted into and removed from the space within the container.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention about to be described, the bottom wall of the container has a well to be occupied by the tools, and raised rests on the opposite sides of the well upon which the jack is adapted to be seated.
Preferably, the installation is placed in a recess in the deck of a cargo area of a vehicle so that the installation does not project above the level of the deck.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
The following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.
Referring now more particularly to the drawings, an automotive vehicle 10 is seen from the rear in
The installation comprises a receptacle 26 including an open-top container 28 having space therewithin to accommodate the jack 18 and the tools 20, 22 and 24.
The tools 20 and 22 are long straight bars and the tool 24 is a long bar having a lug wrench socket 29 on a curved end thereof.
The jack 18 is of a well-known construction, having a base plate 30 and lower arms 32 and 34. See
The container 28 is an elongated trough-like structure having a bottom wall 52, and laterally spaced apart side walls 54 and 56. The top of the container 28 is partially closed by a horizontal cover plate 62 which is welded or otherwise secured to the upper edges of the side walls of the container.
The receptacle 26 is disposed entirely within the recess 15 in the deck 14 in a position such that the cover plate 62 is at or below the level of the deck.
The bottom wall 52 of the container is depressed to provide an elongated well 66. The tools 20, 22 and 24 when stowed in the container, extend lengthwise in the well in a side-by-side parallel relationship.
The cover plate 62 closes both end portions of the container 28 and has a central access opening 70 which is large enough to permit the jack 18 and the tools 20, 22 and 24 to be inserted into and removed from the container.
The opening 70 in the cover plate has a recess 72 which receives the lug wrench socket portion 29 of the tool 24 when the tool 24 is stowed in the container.
The bottom wall of the container 28 has raised rests 76 on opposite sides of the well 66. When stowed, the base plate 30 of the jack 18 is seated on the rests 76. Preferably, and as shown in
The cover plate 62 has a down-turned flange 82. The flange 82 is engageable with the lift plate 45 of the stowed jack to locate the jack lengthwise within the container.
When stowing the tools and the jack in the container, the tools are first inserted through the access opening 70 and laid in the well 66 parallel to one another. The center tool 24 is manually slid lengthwise until the lug wrench socket 29 is extended into the locating recess 72 in the cover plate. The sheet 80 of sound insulating material is next inserted through the access opening 70 and laid across the well 66 with its opposite side edge portions applied over the rests 76. The sheet 80 will also rest on the stowed tools. Finally the fully retracted jack is inserted through the access opening 70 and seated on the opposite side edge portions of the sheet 80 so as to be supported on the rests 76. The jack is manually moved lengthwise in the container until its lift plate 45 abuts the flange 82 on the cover plate 62. The lift plate initially is spaced below the cover plate. Using a screw driver or the like to rotate the jack screw 46, the lift plate 45 of the jack is raised sufficiently to engage the undersurface of the cover plate 62 in pressure frictional contact therewith. This can be done by a person reaching through the access opening 70. The pressure contact of the lift plate 45 of the jack with the cover plate 62 serves to positively locate or lock the jack in a properly stowed position with the lift plate in contact with the flange 82 of the cover plate. The jack in this position bears down on the tools through the sheet 80 to prevent any shifting about of the tools. The cover plate has a down-turned flange 88 along a portion of the opening 70 which is spaced from the flange 82 and will limit any longitudinal shifting of the stowed jack away from the flange 82 as may occur as a result of extreme jostling, even though the lift plate 45 is pressing against the cover plate.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
