Patent Application
20240083330
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The disclosure relates to chock devices and more particularly pertains to a new chock device for allowing a front wheel of a vehicle to pass through the device prior to positioning a rear wheel of the vehicle such that the device inhibits lateral movement of the rear wheel of the vehicle.
The prior art relates to chock devices. Known chock devices lack a pass through channel to facilitate alignment by allowing a front wheel of a vehicle to pass through the device prior to positioning a rear wheel of the vehicle such that the device inhibits lateral movement of the rear wheel of the vehicle.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a base plate having a bottom surface and an upper surface. Each of a pair of side plates is coupled to the base plate. The side plates extend upwardly from the upper surface of the base plate. The side plates are parallel to each other and spaced apart on the base plate to define a seat channel configured to receive a vehicle wheel between the side plates. The side plates are configured for inhibiting lateral movement of the vehicle wheel on the base plate.
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
Each of a pair of side plates 22 is coupled to the base plate 12. The side plates 22 extend upwardly from the upper surface 16 of the base plate 12. The side plates 22 are parallel to each other and spaced apart on the base plate 12 to define a seat channel 24 configured to receive a wheel 26 of a vehicle 27 between the side plates 22. Thus, the side plates 22 are configured for inhibiting lateral movement of the wheel 26 of the vehicle 27 on the base plate 12. Each of the side plates 22 extends perpendicularly from the upper surface 16 of the base plate 12. Each of the side plates 22 has a front edge 28 and a rear edge 30. The front edge 28 of each of the side plates 22 is spaced from the forward edge 18 of the base plate 12. The rear edge 30 of each of the side plates 22 is spaced from the rearward edge 20 of the base plate 12. Each side plate 22 has a top edge 32. The top edge 32 extends between the front edge 28 and the rear edge 30. The top edge 32 is parallel to the upper surface 16 of the base plate 12. The seat channel 24 is open at opposite ends 34 of the seat channel 24 wherein the seat channel 24 is configured for positioning the wheel 26 of the vehicle 27 between the side plates 22 after a different wheel 36 of the vehicle 27 is moved through the seat channel 24.
Each of a pair of guide plates 38 is coupled to the base plate 12. Each guide plate 38 extends from the front edge 28 of an associated one of the side plates 22 towards the forward edge 18 of the base plate 12. The guide plates 38 are angled relative to the side plates 22 such that the guide plates 38 taper extending inwardly towards the side plates 22 from the forward edge 18 of the base plate 12. Each of the guide plates 38 is further angled to extending away from the upper surface 16 of the base plate 12 and outwardly away from a center line of the base plate 12. Each of the guide plates 38 has an uppermost edge 40. The uppermost edge 40 of each of the guide plates 38 is angled relative to the upper surface 16 of the base plate 12 such that a height of the guide plate 38 tapers extending forwardly from the associated one of the side plates 22. Each guide plate 38 has a front end 42. The front end 42 of each guide plate 38 is spaced from the forward edge 18 of the base plate 12.
The base plate 12 has a plurality of connection holes 44 extending through the base plate 12. Each of the connection holes 44 is positioned between an associated one of the side plates 22 and an associated one of a pair of lateral edges 46 of the base plate 12. Thus, each of the connection holes 44 is positioned outside of the seat channel 24. The upper surface 16 of the base plate 12 is planar, smooth, and continuous between the side plates 22, between the guide plates 38, and between the forward edge 18 and rearward edge 20 through the seat channel 24.
Each of a plurality of fasteners 48 is extendable through an associated one of the connection holes 44. Each of the fasteners 48 is configured for coupling to a support surface 50 wherein the plurality of fasteners 48 is configured for securing the base plate 12 in a fixed position on the support surface 50. Each fastener 48 has a threaded shaft 52 extending from a head 54. The head 54 of each fastener 48 having a plurality of projections 56 extending from a central hub portion 60 wherein each fastener 48 is configured to facilitate tightening of the fastener 48 by a hand of a user.
Each of a plurality of side plate brackets 62 is coupled to the base plate 12 and an associated one of the side plates 22. The side plate brackets 62 are parallel and spaced apart from each other. Each of the connection holes 44 is spaced from adjacently positioned side plate brackets 62. Each side plate bracket 62 is triangular having a exterior edge 66 extending from the top edge 32 of the side plate 22 to the associated lateral edge 46 of the base plate to facilitate access to the head 54 of each fastener 48. Each of a pair of guide plate brackets 68 is coupled to the base plate 12 and an associated one of the guide plates 38. Each of the guide plate brackets 68 is also triangular in shape and spaced from an adjacently positioned connection hole 44 to facilitate access to the fasteners 48.
In use, a conventional wheel chock 70 may be fixed to the support surface 50, typically a floor of a trailer or the like. The base plate 12 is fixed to the support surface 50 spaced rearwardly from the conventional wheel chock 70 so that the wheel 26 of the vehicle 27 will be positioned within the seat channel 24 when the different wheel 36 is engaged to the conventional wheel chock 70. The different wheel 36 of the vehicle 27 may pass through the seat channel 24 with minimal resistance given the smooth continuous structure of the upper surface 16 of the plate 12. This prevents having to either direct the different wheel 36 around a conventional style chock which does not allow for pass through, or installing a second conventional style chock on the support surface 50 after the different wheel is moved past the position where the wheel 26 of the vehicle will be positioned when the different wheel is engaged to the conventional wheel chock 70.
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 element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
