Patent Application
20220371865
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The disclosure relates to jacking assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new jacking assembly for lifting a vehicle for performing maintenance thereon. The present invention discloses a jacking assembly that is wheeled and which has a telescopic handle for motivating the jacking assembly upon a surface. The disclosed jacking assembly also comprises an integral compressor and a set of bulbs, with the latter being capable of selectively illuminating an underside of the vehicle proximate to the jacking assembly.
The prior art relates to jacking assembly. Prior art jacking assemblies may comprise pneumatic bags, which are selectively engageable to an external compressor. What is lacking in the prior art is a jacking assembly that is wheeled and which has a telescopic handle for motivating the jacking assembly upon a surface. Additionally, prior art jacking assemblies lack an integral compressor and a set of bulbs, with the latter being capable of selectively illuminating an underside of a vehicle proximate to the jacking assembly.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a housing, which defines an interior space and which is configured to be positioned on a surface below a frame of a vehicle. A pneumatic bag is engaged to the housing and is selectively extensible therefrom through an aperture positioned in a top of the housing. A compressor and a battery are engaged to the housing and positioned in the interior space. The compressor is operationally engaged to the pneumatic bag. The battery is operationally engaged to the compressor. The battery is positioned to selectively power the compressor to inflate the pneumatic bag so that the pneumatic bag extends from the housing and contacts the frame of the vehicle. The pneumatic bag thus is configured to lift a corner or side of the vehicle.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A handle 30 is engaged to the back 28 of the housing 12. The handle 30 comprises a plurality of nested sections 32 so that the handle 30 is selectively extensible from the housing 12. The handle 30 is configured to be grasped in a hand of a user to locomote the housing 12 upon the wheels 16.
A pneumatic bag 34 is engaged to the housing 12 and is selectively extensible therefrom through an aperture 36 positioned in a top 38 of the housing 12, as shown in
A compressor 44 and a battery 46 are engaged to the housing 12 and are positioned in the interior space 14. The compressor 44 is operationally engaged to the pneumatic bag 34. The battery 46 is operationally engaged to the compressor 44. The battery 46 is positioned to selectively power the compressor 44 to inflate the pneumatic bag 34 so that the pneumatic bag 34 extends from the housing 12 and contacts the frame of the vehicle. The pneumatic bag 34 thus is configured to lift a corner or side of the vehicle, as shown in
The battery 46 is rechargeable. A cord 48 is operationally engaged to the battery 46 and the compressor 44. The cord 48 is selectively extensible from the housing 12 through a hole 50 positioned in the back 28 of the housing 12. A connector 52 is engaged to a terminus 54 of the cord 48. The cord 48 thus is configured to operationally engage the battery 46 to a source of electrical current to charge the battery 46 and to power the compressor 44. The connector 52 comprises a cigarette lighter plug (not shown), a Universal Serial Bus plug 56, or the like.
The housing 12 has a cutout 58 positioned in the back 28 thereof. A box 60 is selectively insertable into the housing 12 through the cutout 58 so that the box 60 is removably engageable to the housing 12. The battery 46 is positioned in the box 60 so that the battery 46 is selectively removable from the housing 12 for servicing of the battery 46.
A tank 62 is engaged to the housing 12 and positioned in the interior space 14. The tank 62 is operationally engaged to the compressor 44 and the pneumatic bag 34 so that the compressor 44 is positioned to selectively compress air into the tank 62. A pipe 64 is engaged to the bottom 18 of the housing 12 and extends toward the aperture 36. The pneumatic bag 34 is engaged to the pipe 64 distal from the bottom 18 of the housing 12 so that the pneumatic bag 34 is in fluidic communication with the tank 62.
A first valve 66 is engaged to the housing 12 and positioned in the interior space 14. The first valve 66 is operationally engaged to the tank 62 and the pipe 64 so that the first valve 66 is in fluidic communication with the tank 62 and the pipe 64. The first valve 66 is configured to selectively and fluidically engage the tank 62 to the pipe 64 to inflate the pneumatic bag 34.
A second valve 68 is engaged to the housing 12 and positioned in the interior space 14. The second valve 68 is operationally engaged to the pipe 64 so that the second valve 68 is in fluidic communication with the pipe 64 and the interior space 14. The valve is configured to selectively fluidically engage the pipe 64 to the interior space 14 to deflate the pneumatic bag 34.
A controller 70 is engaged to the housing 12 and positioned in the interior space 14. The controller 70 is operationally engaged to the battery 46, the compressor 44, the first valve 66, and the second valve 68. The controller 70 is positioned to selectively actuate the compressor 44 and the first valve 66 to inflate the pneumatic bag 34. The controller 70 also is positioned to selectively deactuate the first valve 66 and to actuate the second valve 68 to deflate the pneumatic bag 34.
A control panel 72 is engaged to the handle 30 and is operationally engaged to the controller 70. The control panel 72 is configured to signal the controller 70 to selectively inflate and deflate the pneumatic bag 34. The control panel 72 may comprise a first button 74 and a second button 76, or other controlling means, such as, but not limited to, toggle switches, dials, and the like. The first button 74 and the second button 76 are depressible. The first button 74 is configured to be depressed to signal the controller 70 to inflate the pneumatic bag 34. The second button 76 is configured to be depressed to signal the controller 70 to deflate the pneumatic bag.
A set of bulbs 78 is engaged to the top 38 of the housing 12 and is operationally engaged to the battery 46 so that the battery 46 is positioned to selectively power the bulbs 78. The bulbs 78 are configured to selectively illuminate an underside of the vehicle proximate to the housing 12. The set of bulbs 78 comprises a pair of light emitting diode strips 80, which are positioned singly proximate to the front 26 and the back 28 of the housing 12, as shown in
The housing 12 may have a pair of voids 84 positioned therein for venting the interior space 14. The voids are positioned singly in opposed sides 86 of the housing 12, proximate to the back 28 of the housing. The voids 84 may be louvered, as shown in
The handle 30 may have a set of pinholes 88 positioned therein, such that respective nested sections 32 each have a pinhole 88 positioned therein. The pinholes 88 positioned in adjacently positioned nested sections 32 are aligned with the adjacently positioned nested sections 32 in an extended configuration, as shown in
In use, the housing 12 is pushed beneath the vehicle so that the plate 40 is aligned with the frame of the vehicle. The first button 74 is depressed to signal the controller 70 to inflate the pneumatic bag 34 so that the plate 40 contacts the frame and the vehicle is lifted. Upon obtaining a desired lift of the vehicle, the first button 74 is released. The user then can perform maintenance on the vehicle, and, when the maintenance is completed, press the second button 76 to deflate the pneumatic bag 34 and lower the vehicle. To charge the battery 46, or to power the compressor 44 in event the battery 46 is depleted, the cord 48 can be used to charge the battery 46 and to power the compressor 44.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the elements is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
