Portable reversibly beam-mounted work-tray
The present invention relates generally to a reversibly mountable or attachable, portable work-tray system, a method of making, and method of using the same, wherein the work tray is easily reversibly mountable onto and demountable from a beam-mounted position such as an external-arm or beam vehicle lift.
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FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates generally to a beam mountable, portable work tray system, a method of making the tray, and method of using the same; the work tray is easily mounted onto and removable from a beam. Embodiments of the work tray of the present invention are useful where tools, parts and the like need to be supported and contained on an easily accessible surface such as in a vehicle repair shop where the work tray can be mounted onto an external beam-type hoist.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONIn environments where easy and rapid access is needed to items being supported and being worked on, there is an ongoing need to provide safe, inexpensive, and portable devices for workers to use that are in close proximity to the ongoing work such as vehicle repair. Such devices can be of economic benefit also in that they can be time saving devices when a worker does not have to move from place to place to perform work, for example from a vehicle to a far-separated work bench and back.
In recent years, in the vehicle hoist art, there have been important changes in the types of vehicle hoists being manufactured, primarily due to changes in environmental laws related to the placing of hydraulic machinery below ground-level. Traditionally, hydraulic vehicle hoists and lifts have been mounted below grade to eliminate cluttering of work spaces. These lifts typically have moveable horizontal support arms or beams which terminate with lifting pads or other mechanical devices for lifting a motor vehicle by the undercarriage or chassis, bumpers or the like. But changes in environmental regulations have forced hoist manufacturers to develop newer types of lifts which do not have below-grade equipment that contains hydraulic fluids that can leak into ground water supplies. The original types of lifts usually had a main cylindrical hydraulic lift column that remained below ground level when not lifting a vehicle. Usually there are four movable support arms attached to such a lift radiating out from the main cylindrical lift column. These arms are completely underneath the vehicle being lifted.
Newer generations of lifts are often referred to as above-ground hoists or lifts and they often have between one and four external lifting columns from which horizontal support or lift arms depend to support a vehicle. These types of hoists are referred to herein as external arm hoists as at least a portion of the arm is not underneath a vehicle being lifted.
Because they often work on an hourly basis, mechanics can be more productive if their tools and associated equipment, such as work benches, are better designed to be more efficient. One area where they could be more efficient is when working adjacent to a vehicle in jobs that require parts to be supported next to the location the part or parts is attached to a vehicle.
Mechanics often use rolling trays for tools and some also hold some parts and the like but these are usually of limited utility because of they take up lots of space and may or may not be rigidly lockable into one position, and even then they need to be moved and stored in a shop where they can still be a hazard.
The present invention, disclosed below, provides some low cost, easily portable solutions to the aforementioned problems confronting workers needing to support parts and the like in locations relatively near work, especially in vehicle repair environments, without the need for a traditional workbench.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to work surfaces, or work benches, or as used herein work-trays, that are reversibly attachable, or mountable, on a base, such as a beam, more particularly a beam or arm that is part of an external arm vehicle hoist (or lift) where the work-tray is not mounted on a hoist that is beneath a vehicle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the work-tray comprises a sleeve section that is adapted to be reversibly mountable or attachable to a beam, and an open tray section, where the tray section depends from (extends from) the sleeve section.
In another embodiment, the work-tray has a tray section, or portion, that can comprise a base-plate that is of such dimensions that when the work-tray is attached to a beam, no portion of the work-tray is lower than the lowest part of or surface of a beam on which the work-tray is mounted.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise at least a pair of oppositely disposed, stressable sidewalls, the sidewalls depending from and connecting both the ends of the base-plate and the ends of the sleeve section.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a raised lip, or edge, portion that depends from the base-plate at the end of the base-plate opposite the sleeve section.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a sleeve section that is adapted to have be reversibly attachable on a beam by an interference (or friction fit), or gravity force fit or a combination of them.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a sleeve section that reversibly attachable on a square or a substantially square or rectangular-shaped beam section by an interference or gravity forced fit.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a sleeve section that is mountable on an external arm or beam vehicle hoist that has a substantially rectangular or square shaped beam comprising at least three intersecting members that comprise a pair of parallel vertical support members and a third horizontal support member that intersects the parallel vertical support members at about 90 degree angles. These members can be joined on a radius rather than by exactly planar intersecting vertical and horizontal members and the horizontal support wall member is between 2 and 12 inches wide; this width separating the first and second vertical support wall members.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a tray section that has a base-plate having dimensions ranging from about 6 inches to about 20 thereby forming a square or rectangular shaped work area. The area ranging from about 36 to about 400 square inches with the dimension of the work-tray or base-plate or sleeve section parallel to a beam onto which the work-tray is mounted is referred to as length and the dimension perpendicular to the beam direction as width.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can be made from a ferrous-based metal such as steel, a non-ferrous metal such as aluminum or brass, a treated metal such as galvanized steel, or a polymeric or composite material such as a polyester or glass reinforced polyester or epoxy or other such organic-based polymeric materials. The work tray can be painted or coated in an optically bright coating which improves visibility or contrast of the work-tray in the work environment.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can be preferably made of a sheet steel or sheet galvanized steel.
In another embodiment, the sheet steel or galvanized steel can have a thickness of from 0.05 to 0.1 inches.
In another embodiment, the sheet steel or galvanized steel can have a thickness of 0.065 to 0.1 inches.
In another embodiment, the steel or galvanized steel can have a thickness of 0.065 inches.
In another embodiment, the work-tray can have oppositely disposed stressable sidewalls having a vertical dimension of between 2 and 6 inches with the proviso that the sidewalls have a vertical dimension that is equal to or less than the vertical dimension or the vertical support members of the sleeve section.
In another embodiment, the work tray can have oppositely disposed stressable sidewalls having a vertical dimension of 3 to 5 inches.
In another embodiment, the oppositely disposed, stressable sidewalls depending from the second vertical support member have a vertical dimension of 2.4 inches tapering to a vertical dimension of 0.7 inches, the first and second vertical support members have a height of 3 inches measured from the bottom of the tray section, the horizontal support member disposed between the vertical support members has a width of four inches, the first, second vertical support members and the horizontal support member each have a length of 17 inches, the base-plate has a length of 17 inches and a width of 8.5 inches, the lip portion has a vertical height of 0.625 inches, and the construction material is galvanized steel having a thickness of 0.0625 inches.
In another embodiment, there is provided a method of making a reversibly mountable work-tray from a single sheet of material, comprising the steps of: laying out a pattern of a work-tray on a single sheet of material, the pattern defining a pair of vertical support members, a horizontal support member disposed between the vertical support members, a pair of opposing stressable sidewalls, a base plate depending from one of the vertical support members, an lip portion depending from the base plate and opposite the vertical support member from which the base plate depends; separating the laid-out pattern from the remainder of the sheet; and manipulating the laid out pattern into a work-tray. A work-tray according to this embodiment can be made from a sheet material such as steel, aluminum, or galvanized steel or a polymeric or composite material such as partially cured fiber-reinforced polyester.
In an another embodiment, there is provided a method of making a reversibly mountable work-tray comprising the steps of: fabricating a reversibly mountable sleeve section, a tray section further comprising a base plate and a lip portion, a pair of stressable side-wall sections; and assembling the sections to form a reversibly mountable work-tray.
The advantages and features of the invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are so identified with like symbols when the drawing Figures are taken in conjunction with the summary of the invention, detailed description and the claims.
The following description illustrates various and preferred embodiments of the present invention. Those of skill in the art will recognize that there are numerous variations and modifications of this invention that are encompassed by its scope. Accordingly, the description of the various and preferred embodiments should not be deemed to limit the scope of the present invention.
The Figures can be readily understood by way of the following descriptions: FIG. 1., is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a reversibly mountable work-tray according to the present invention:
The invention relates generally to portable work surfaces or work-trays that are reversibly attachable (reversibly mountable) onto a base-plate such as a beam, and in preferred embodiments, a beam or arm or other member that is usually horizontal, and that is subjected to bending loads and can be part of an vehicle hoist, or lift, or other similar device as would be known to a skilled artisan, where the portion of the beam or hoist arm on which the work-tray is reversibly mounted would not be underneath a vehicle that is being repaired: the work-tray is thereby accessible from the side of a vehicle mounted on an external beam lift. As referenced to herein the term “work-tray” refers to reversibly mountable or attachable work-trays. For the purposes of the present disclosure the terms “reversibly attachable or reversibly mountable” refers to a work-tray that can be carried or moved by an average adult human working in places where such devices can be useful, such as a vehicle repair shop, machine shop and the like. The term “beam” for the purposes of this disclosure means, but is not limited to, any such mechanical device, arm, hoist arm or lift arm, or other mechanical construct and that is subjected to bending loads where a work-tray can be reversibly mounted. The definition includes wooden beams, metal beams, composite and/or synthetic material beams such as a polymeric plastic glass fiber reinforced beam, and the like, as would be know by anyone of skill in the mechanical or scientific arts. Specific examples of arms or beams where a work-tray according to the present invention would be useful are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,679,660; 5,915,500; 6,814,342; 6,866,124; 4,084,790, 4,776,569; all are herein incorporated by reference for the purposes of illustrative, but non-limiting examples, of arms or beams wherein embodiments according to the present invention can be used. In preferred embodiments, where the work-tray is used with a vehicle lift, the work-tray is placed over the lift beam and pushed or dropped into place where it can then be loaded with parts undergoing repair such as brake parts (wheel cylinders, disks and rotors), wheels, and tires, trim or moldings, door locks, or other parts requiring a safe, strong, but location adjacent to a vehicle undergoing such repair. The term “reversibly mountable” in the present disclosure means that when an embodiment of the present invention is placed over a beam or arm it can be held into place by interference fitting (by exerting force on the parallel support members to increase the distance between them to allow the work-tray to fit over a beam having a larger horizontal width than the horizontal support member) and/or gravity. To be “demounted” or “demountable” means herein that when an embodiment of the invention is to be removed from a beam or arm it is simply lifted off a beam where it was mounted.
In one embodiment of the invention the work-tray comprises a sleeve section adapted to be reversibly attachable to a beam, and an open, tray section, where the tray section depend from the sleeve section in a direction away from (or opposite to) the sleeve section, and opposite to a mounting point on which the work-tray is reversibly mounted. For the purposes of the present disclosure, a “sleeve section” means ant shaped article, having at least two opposing sides, that can be placed onto a beam, or arm, as defined above, and be self supporting and reversibly securable or mountable without additional attachment (such as bolts, screws, pins and the like). In preferred embodiments, the sleeve section has a sleeve section having a profile of three intersecting surfaces forming angles of approximately 90 degree at the surface intersections as found in three sides of a rectangular or square shape that is adapted to fit onto a beam; radiused corners are considered within the present disclosure to be included within the definition of intersecting surfaces forming angles of approximately 90 degrees and the skilled artisan will realize that such a sleeve section can be adapted to fit onto a beam having a similar shape; e.g. a square beam having rounded corners and the like. The sleeve section according to preferred embodiments has a length, parallel to a beam for reference, a pair of parallel vertical member sides which define the depth of the sleeve section (the two parallel sides or parallel vertical support members can be of the same or different depths but cannot be deeper or longer than that of the beam on which they are mounted, and a width, referred to as a horizontally disposed support member; these generally shown in the
Included within the scope of the present invention are work-trays having sleeve sections that can slide across the surface of a beam under motive force supplied by pushing the work-tray by hand or foot thereby overcoming a friction or interference fit (which can be of higher strength requiring more force to move the work-tray if needed). An interference fit in the present disclosure means a fastening between two mechanical parts or components which are achieved by friction after the parts are pushed together, rather than by any other means of fastening such as nails, screws, bolts and the like as know to a person having ordinary skill in the mechanical or other scientific arts. Reversibly securable, or mountable or demountable, means that an average or typical person working in environments wherein embodiments of the invention can be used would be able to reversibly remove and transport them. This person can be a human female or male.
In another preferred embodiment, the work-tray has a tray section that can comprise a base-plate that depends from the sleeve section. The base-plate dimensions can vary according to the application and in preferred embodiments the base-plate is square or rectangular and has a thickness that can be changed according to the demands of the particular embodiment. The lower surface of the base-plate, when the work-tray is attached to a beam, can be no lower than the lowest surface of the beam on which the work-tray is mounted. In preferred embodiments, the bottom of the tray portion intersects and depends from the sleeve section at a line parallel the lowest plane of a beam on which the work-tray is mounted but no lower than the lowest portion of the beam. This allows the work-tray to remain reversibly mounted on a hoist arm for example when the arm is lowered to a position adjacent the ground, and have a pair of oppositely disposed stressable sidewalls that can carry loads that are distributed over areas of the beam on which the work-tray is mounted thereby enabling the work-tray to be useful for higher loadings and to retain onto the work-tray any mobile parts which could fall off the tray otherwise and become a hazard in the workplace. In embodiments of the present invention having been fabricated of galvanized steel of a thickness of about 0.0625 inches the work-tray remains reversibly mounted even when the weight of a typical person (about 180-200 pounds) is placed on top of the tray section (having dimensions of about 9 inches in width by 17 inches in length).
In another preferred embodiment, the pair of oppositely disposed, stressable sidewalls depending from and connecting both the base-plate and the sleeve section can be tapered as shown in
In another embodiment, the work-tray can further comprise a raised lip or edge portion depending from the base-plate. The lip portion can be of various heights depending on the application. The lip portion generally keeps parts on the tray from falling off the tray and can provide some additional degree of rigidity or strength to the base-plate. For ease of manufacture the lip portion can be left unconnected from the stressable sidewalls.
The work-tray can further comprise a sleeve section that is mountable on an external vehicle lift or hoist beam that has a rectangular or square-shaped beam or lift arm or one having radiused corners. In practice, the work tray is dropped onto the beam where the vertical members can be held slightly apart to allow the work-tray sleeve section to fit onto the beam by interference fit. An external vehicle lift can then be raised from a floor position to an intermediate, comfortable working position, with the work-tray in convenient proximity to wheels, doors or other external vehicle parts for holding assemblies and parts being worked, for example wheels or brake parts and the like. The lift can be lowered and placed adjacent to a floor while the work-tray remains in position.
The work-tray can further comprise an open tray base section 2 having length dimensions parallel to a beam on which the tray is mounted of about 6 inches to about 20 inches and a width dimension perpendicular to the beam of about 6 to 16 inches thereby forming a square or rectangular shaped tray surface 20. In an especially preferred embodiment the tray section has a length of about 17 inches and a width of about 8.5 inches.
In an especially preferred embodiment, the work-tray can be made of a ferrous-base coated metal such as galvanized sheet steel, a non-ferrous-base metal such as sheet brass or a polymeric material such as glass reinforced polyester, or a structural composite having stressed skins and a core—in this embodiment the thickness of the materials can be as much as one inch.
The work-tray can be made from a sheet of material such as steel or galvanized steel wherein the individual parts are dimensioned onto the material from a pattern or blueprint, the parts cut or separated from the sheet in a conventional manner and the individual parts bonded together by techniques know in the art such as adhesive bonding, welding, brazing or soldering, riveting, screwing, bolting or combinations of these as the individual embodiment admits depending or the final use or cost or other consideration. In a preferred embodiment the parts are welded together to form a work-tray.
Where sheet steel or galvanized steel are used to form a work-tray the sheet can preferably have a thickness of from 0.05 to 0.1 inches.
In another preferred embodiment, the steel or galvanized steel can have a thickness of 0.065 to 0.1 inches.
In a most preferred embodiment, the sheet steel or galvanized steel can have a thickness of 0.065 inches.
The work-tray having the stressable sidewalls has a vertical sidewall dimension of between 2 and 6 inches and can taper to a vertical sidewall dimension of about 0.5 inches.
In a preferred embodiment, the stressable sidewalls have a vertical dimension of 3 to 5 inches, most preferably about 2.4 inches.
In another preferred embodiment, the work-tray can have the stressable sidewall of a vertical dimension of about 2.4 inches adjacent to the sleeve section and tapering to a vertical dimension of about 0.5 inches at the end of the tray section and the lip portion has a vertical dimension of from 0.25 to 1.0 inches, preferably, 0.5 inches when the vertical support members have a vertical dimension of about 3 inches (all dimensions measured from the tray section base-plate).
Another method of making a work-tray from a single sheet of material, comprises the steps of: laying out on the single sheet of material a pattern of the work-tray to be fabricated; separating the laid-out pattern from the remainder of the sheet; folding the pattern into the shape of a work-tray comprising a sleeve section and a tray portion or section and joining the various section to provide an integrated work-tray wherein the tray can have portions or sections as described above in the description or drawings. A work-tray according to this embodiment can be made from a sheet of steel, aluminum, galvanized steel, brass or composite such as glass reinforced polyester or other polymeric material. Conventional joining techniques as discussed can be used.
In a another embodiment, there is provided a method of making a reversibly mountable work-tray from separate parts comprising; laying out a friction mountable sleeve section comprised of a pair of parallel vertical support wall members connected by a horizontal support wall member, a tray section defined by a base-plate further having a vertical lip portion, stressable side-wall sections, and assembling the sections to form a reversibly mountable work-tray.
The above description discloses several embodiments and materials useful for the present invention. This invention is susceptible to modifications in the methods and materials, such as the choice of work-tray material, the components selected for the work-tray, as well as alterations in the shapes and dimensions. Such modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this disclosure or practice of the invention disclosed herein. Consequently, it is not intended that this invention be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but that it cover all modifications and alternatives coming within the true scope and spirit of the invention as embodied in the attached claims. All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.
Claims
1. A reversibly attachable work-tray, comprising;
- a sleeve section adapted to be reversibly mountable to a beam, an open tray section, the tray section depending from the sleeve section, wherein the open tray section further comprises a base-plate. and a pair of opoositely disposed stressable sidewalls depending from and connecting both the base-plate and the sleeve section. and wherein the lowest work-tray surface is no lower than the lowest surface of a beam on which the work-tray is mounted.
2. (canceled)
3. (canceled)
4. The work-tray of claim one, further comprising a raised lip or edge portion depending from the end of the open tray section opposite the sleeve section.
5. The work-tray of claim one wherein the sleeve section is reversibly attachable on a beam by an interference or gravity force fit.
6. The work-tray of claim five wherein the sleeve section is adapted to fit a square or substantially square or rectangular cross-section beam.
7. (canceled)
8. The work-tray of claim one wherein the work-tray base-plate has a length parallel to a beam on which the work-tray is mounted of 6 to 20 inches, and a width perpendicular to a beam on which the work-tray is mounted of 6 to 20 inches thereby forming a square or rectangular shaped base-plate.
9. The work-tray of claim eight wherein the base-plate has a length of 17 inches parallel to a beam on which the work-tray is reversibly mounted and a width of 8.5 inches perpendicular to a beam on which the work-tray is reversibly mounted.
10. (canceled)
11. The work-tray of claim nine wherein the metal is galvanized steel having a thickness of 0.05 to 0.1 inches.
12. The work-tray of claim eleven wherein the galvanized steel has a thickness of 0.065 inches.
13. The work-tray of claim one wherein the pair of oppositely disposed, stressable sidewalls have a vertical dimension no greater than the vertical dimension of the second parallel vertical support member from which they depend and taper away from the sleeve section to a vertical dimension of no less than 0.25 inches.
14. The work-tray of claim thirteen wherein the oppositely disposed, stressable sidewalls depending from the second vertical support member have a vertical dimension of 2.4 inches, the first and second vertical support members have a height of 3 inches, the horizontal support member disposed between the vertical support members has a horizontal width of four inches, the first, second vertical support members and the horizontal support member each have a length of 17 inches, the base-plate has a length of 17 inches and a width of 8.5 inches, the lip portion has a vertical height of 0.625 inches, and the construction material is galvanized steel having a thickness of 0.0625 inches.
15. (canceled)
16. (canceled)
17. The method of claim three wherein the work-tray is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or brass (,polymer or a fiber-reinforced composite).
18. A method of making a reversibly mountable work-tray according to claim 17 from a single sheet of material, comprising the steps of: laying out a pattern of a work-tray on a single sheet of material, the pattern defining a pair of vertical support members, a horizontal support member disposed between the vertical support members, a pair of opposing stressable sidewalls, a tray portion further comprising a base plate depending from one of the vertical support members, a lip portion depending from the base plate and opposite the vertical support member from which the base plate depends; separating the laid-out pattern from the remainder of the sheet; and manipulating the laid out pattern into a work-tray.
19. The method of claim eighteen wherein the manipulating step include the step of connecting the laid out pattern into the form of a work-tray by welding, adhering, bolting, riveting or a combination thereof.
20. The work-tray of claim one wherein the work-tray (is reversibly mountable on an external arm vehicle hoist and can optionally0 further comprises a releasably mountable U-hook accessory for retaining a power tool.
21. The work-tray of claim 3 wherein the work-tray is painted or coated in an optically bright coating which improves visibility or contrast of the work-tray in the work environment.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 9, 2006
Publication Date: Dec 13, 2007
Inventor: Ronald C. Taylor (Pico Rivera, CA)
Application Number: 11/450,060
International Classification: A47B 37/00 (20060101);
