TRUNK SERVER/BUTLER
An apparatus to assist people and minimize back strain/sprain when people are placing items into the vehicle's trunk and when people are removing items from the vehicle's trunk. The apparatus is installed in the vehicle's trunk so that the apparatus when activated, can both lift items above the location where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid rests when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed and also rearward of the location/position where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid rests when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed. The result is an easier and more convenient location/position to remove packages/items from the vehicle's trunk or to load packages/items into the vehicle's trunk to help prevent back injuries caused by bending forward to pick up packages/items from the vehicle's trunk or to place packages/items into the vehicle's trunk.
It is the object of the present invention to make it easier for people to place packages/items into the vehicle's trunk and to remove packages/items from the vehicle's trunk. More specifically, the invention consists of a mechanically operated platform which can be raised simultaneously upward and outward from the floor area of a vehicle's trunk and rearward relative to the front of the vehicle or lowered simultaneously downward towards the floor of the vehicle's trunk and at the same time forward relative to the front of the vehicle.
Claims
1. A device for more conveniently removing packages/items from a vehicle trunk as well as more conveniently loading packages/items into a vehicle trunk comprising:
- (a) A base supporting two sets of dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions, each stanchion supporting a pulley.
- (b) A movable upper platform
- (c) A sufficient number of pivot lift support struts position on both sides of the apparatus pivotedly connecting the base to the moveable upper platform such that the scissor type movement of the pivot lift support struts relative to both the moveable upper platform and the base always causes the moveable upper platform to always remain parallel to the base and, furthermore, such that when the portion of the pivot lift support strut that pivotedly connects to the moveable upper platform moves upward the moveable upper platform not only moves upward it also moves rearward relative to the front of the vehicle itself. (d) A cable system which can also employ most any type of tensioning line such as cable itself, rope, plastics, or other types of material such that one end of the cable system is attached to the shaft/spindle of a “geared down”! reduced output speed motor mounted on the base and the other end of the cable system is divided into 2 cables such that the junction of the cables take the form of a “Y” whereby the lower part of the “Y” is connected to the“geared down”/reduced output speed motor shaft/spindle and one upper portion of the “Y” configuration travels over a pulley mounted on the dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions on one side of the apparatus while the other upper portion of the “Y” configuration travels over a pulley mounted on the dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions on the other side of the apparatus such that after both parts of the upper portion of the “Y” travel over their respective pulleys they are subsequently attached to each side of the moveable upper platform such that when the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor tensions the cable system the tension in the cable system not only draws the moveable upper platform toward the dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions but also, by virtue of the scissor rotational action of the pivot lift support struts, the moveable upper platform simultaneously rises upward and rearward relative to the front of the vehicle and conversely as the “geared down”! reduced output speed motor shaft/spindle is rotated in the opposite direction thereby reducing the tension thus allowing the relatively stronger force of gravity to pull the moveable upper platform simultaneously back down to the base and forward towards the front of the vehicle. Separate and apart from powering the movement of the moveable upper platform because of the inherency of the design of the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor holds the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor's rotational position when the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor is shut down/powered off, whether or not the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor is under load, the position of the moveable upper platform is also held in place.
- (e) A geared system whereby a motor which has a the “geared down”/reduced output speed shaft and which is mounted on a base such that the output shaft drives a right or other angled gearbox which in turn drives another shaft which in turn on is connected on both ends to the pivot lift support struts directly across from each other on either side of the apparatus such that as the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor shaft rotates in one direction, it causes the portion of each pivot lift support connected to the movable upper platform to move both simultaneously upward and rearward, relative to the front of the vehicle as well as toward the dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions along with the attached movable platform itself to thus assist in removing packages/items from the vehicle trunk and when the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor shaft rotates in the opposite direction, it causes the portion of both pivot lift supports on both sides of the apparatus which are attached to the movable upper platform to travel simultaneously forward relative to the front of the vehicle as well as away from the dual mounted vertical or approximately vertical stanchions and in addition downward toward the base to thus assist in inserting packages/items into the vehicle's trunk. Again, separate and apart from powering the movement of the moveable upper platform, because of the inherency in the design of the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor also allows the movable upper platform to hold its position when the “geared down”/reduced output speed motor is powered off/shut down.
- (f) A handle attached to the moveable upper platform such that a person can pull by hand the moveable upper platform up to a lockable position where the force of gravity will not cause the moveable upper platform to fall back to the base until the person unlocks the moveable upper platform which allows the force of gravity to pull the moveable upper platform back to the base.
- (g) The three methods of moving the moveable upper platform which are stated in 1d, 1e, and if are not necessarily the only methods of moving the moveable upper platform and thus should not limit the applicability of the patent protection for this device.
- (h) A “geared down”/reduced output speed motor can be either purely electrically powered or hydraulically powered via a motor which is in turn electrically powered and which is first mentioned in subsection “d” and which is additionally permanently fastened to the base.
2. The device enables the following to happen:
- (a) Extracting packages and other items from the vehicle's trunk as follows:
- Independent of whether or not the mechanisms described in paragraphs 1d, 1e, or 1f, apply, generically, the simultaneous upward and rearward movement relative to the front of the vehicle of the moveable upper platform allows the moveable upper platform to carry packages/items from the depths of the vehicle's trunk to a position both above the location where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid is when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed and also rearward of the location where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid is when the trunk lid is closed such that the packages/items are in a much easier and convenient location to be removed from the vehicle's trunk.
- (b) Placing packages/items into the vehicle's trunk as follows:
- Independent of whether or not the mechanisms described in paragraphs 1d, 1e, or 1f, apply, generically, the apparatus's final location/position for extracting packages/items as stated in paragraph 2a is also the start off/initial position of the moveable upper platform for placing packages/items into the vehicles trunk which is followed by the simultaneous downward and forward movement relative to the front of the vehicle of the moveable upper platform back into the depths of the vehicle's trunk after traveling reversibly above the location where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid is when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed and also forward of the location where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid is when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed such that packages/items are positioned into the depth of the vehicle's trunk.
3. In order to more easily/conveniently install the apparatus into a vehicle trunk,
- (a) wheels, one wheel on either side of the apparatus, may be located in the vicinity of the portion of the apparatus that is located most forward in the vehicle trunk relative to the front of the vehicle thus allowing the apparatus to be rolled into the vehicle trunk.
- (b) 2 skid plates, each located along the bottom and on either side of the apparatus to allow the apparatus to more easily slide over the location/position where the lowest portion of the vehicle's trunk lid rests when the vehicle's trunk lid is closed.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 7, 2014
Publication Date: Oct 8, 2015
Inventors: Robert Alan Bard (Loveladies, NJ), Elisheva B. Chamblin (Beach Haven, NJ), Eleanor H. Bard (Loveladies, NJ), Jay Howard Chamblin Chamblin (Beach Haven, NJ)
Application Number: 13/999,941