By Independently Adjustable Legs Or Feet Patents (Class 248/649)
  • Patent number: 5368264
    Abstract: A portable worktable includes a work platform and an automatic stabilizing mechanism for stably supporting the platform on an uneven floor. First and second horizontally spaced, generally parallel panels are arranged so as to extend downwardly from the work platform. The stabilizing mechanism includes a pair of support feet fixed to a lower portion of one of the panels. The stabilizing mechanism also includes a beam member which is swingably mounted at a lower portion of the other panel for swinging relative to the platform about a generally horizontal axis. Another pair of support feet are mounted on the beam member at respective opposite ends thereof so that the swinging axis of the beam is disposed centrally of the support feet on the beam. The device also includes a locking mechanism for releasably holding the beam member in a chosen fixed position relative to the platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1993
    Date of Patent: November 29, 1994
    Assignee: Built for Speed, Inc.
    Inventors: William H. Dewey, Martin H. Hill
  • Patent number: 5141202
    Abstract: A vibration isolation support mounting system for supporting a vibrating load (1) with respect to a relatively fixed support (2) comprises at least one load support vibration isolation mount (3) including a first mount part (3A) securable to the vibrating load, a second mount part (3B) securable to the relatively fixed support, guide structure for guiding relative movement of the first and second mount parts, a first spring cushion arrangement (42) and a high pressure fluid medium arrangement are disposed in series between the first and second mount parts. High pressure fluid lines (4, 45) continuously communicate the load support mount with a main hydraulic fluid accumulator (5). A pump (6) maintains the hydraulic fluid pressure in the accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 1991
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1992
    Inventor: Jaromir Tobias
  • Patent number: 5110082
    Abstract: An adjustable support system for use in anchoring a machine or other load to a foundation is disclosed. The system includes a base chock having a horizontal floor with an open slot formed in the floor to permit retrofitting around an installed anchor bolt. A frame chock is shaped to rest on the floor of the base chock; in many applications the frame chock is preferably poured in place around the anchor bolt. A retractable shim carrier, shaped to rest on the floor of the base chock between the floor and the frame chock, likewise has an open slot formed therein for insertion around the anchor bolt. One or more shims of varying thicknesses are shaped like the shim carrier to be inserted as needed, riding upon the shim carrier, between the floor of the base chock and the lower surface of the frame chock.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 5, 1992
    Inventor: Robert L. Rowan, Jr.
  • Patent number: 5050835
    Abstract: A vibration isolation support mounting system for supporting a vibrating load (1) with respect to a relatively fixed support (2) comprises at least one load support vibration isolation mount (3) including a first mount part (3A) securable to the vibrating load, a second mount part (3B) securable to the relatively fixed support, guide structure for guiding relative movement of the first and second mount parts, a first spring cushion arrangement (42) and a high a pressure fluid medium arrangement are disposed in series between the first and second mount parts to attenuate vibration induced force transfer between the first and second mount parts. High pressure fluid lines (4, 45) continuously communicate the load support mount with a main hydraulic fluid accumulator (5). A pump (6) maintains the hydraulic fluid pressure in the accumulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 1989
    Date of Patent: September 24, 1991
    Inventor: Jaromir Tobias
  • Patent number: 5029801
    Abstract: An incline adjustment mechanism for use with exercise apparatus such as treadmills is disclosed. The mechanism includes a support or foot assembly rotatably mounted to the bottom surface of the treadmill frame. One or more springs are interposed between the treadmill frame and the support assembly for urging them outwardly from each other. A perforated strip mounted on the support assembly extends upwardly into proximity of the frame. A displaceable plunger shaft configured to be received within the apertures of the strip and form a union with that strip is mounted on the frame. The plunger is adapted to engage the strip and form a union therewith, thereby locking the support in an orientation which supports the treadmill at a selected orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 9, 1991
    Assignee: Proform Fitness Products, Inc.
    Inventors: William T. Dalebout, S. Ty Measom, Scott R. Watterson
  • Patent number: 5018698
    Abstract: A continuously active pressure accumulator power transfer system for a vehicle or the like comprises an engine, a pump driven by the engine, a main pressure accumulator maintained at a substantially constant fluid pressure and fluid volume by the pump during operation, a fluid motor for propelling the vehicle which is supplied with driving fluid pressure from the main pressure accumulator and a second pressure accumulator at a lower pressure then the main accumulator for supplying fluid to at least one vibration isolation mount. A road contour detector, sonar or radar, sends signals to a microprocessor for adjusting the accumulator pressure in the second accumulator where load support vibration isolation mounts in communication with the second accumulator are employed to reduce road induced vibration during vehicle travel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: May 28, 1991
    Inventor: Jaromir Tobias
  • Patent number: 4991805
    Abstract: A refrigeration apparatus includes a cabinet having a base assembly including front and rear sections. A leveling system therefor comprises a pair of front leveling legs and a pair of rear leveling legs. Means are included for threadably mounting the front leveling legs to the base assembly at the front section. Gear means are provided for drivably mounting the rear leveling legs to the base assembly at the rear section. Remote drive means are operatively connected to the gear means and extend toward the base assembly front section whereby all leveling of the refrigeration apparatus can be adjusted from in front of the refrigeration apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 12, 1991
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory P. Solak, Shelby A. Lynn
  • Patent number: 4967994
    Abstract: A lifting and stabilizing system is mounted on a household appliance and includes a lifting system to lift that appliance above a supporting surface, such as a floor so that access to that supporting surface beneath the appliance is provided. The stabilizing system includes a plurality of weighted door-like elements mounted on the appliance to slide from one position to a second position to lower the center of gravity of the weighted appliance. In one embodiment, the center of gravity of the weighted appliance is lowered beneath the supporting system whereby any forces tending to tip the elevated appliance are combined with the weight of the lifted appliance to form a force moment about the lifting elements that is directed to return the appliance to the proper, untipped position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 1989
    Date of Patent: November 6, 1990
    Inventor: Richard M. Rice
  • Patent number: 4913396
    Abstract: A support system for use in adjusting the incline of exercising equipment such as treadmills is disclosed. The system includes a pair of linked support legs pivotally mounted to one end of the equipment's frame. A length-adjustable gas spring is pivotedly associated with the linked support legs and the treadmill. Control means are provided to adjust the orientation of the spring, thereby controlling the elevation of the exercising equipment and hence its incline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 1988
    Date of Patent: April 3, 1990
    Assignee: Weslo, Inc.
    Inventors: William T. Dalebout, S. Ty Measom, Scott R. Watterson
  • Patent number: 4886233
    Abstract: An apparatus for transporting and supporting fire fighting ventilation equipment is disclosed. A fan support frame supports one or more ventilation fans thereon. Extending in an upward direction from the fan support frame are a pair of arms whose length may be adjusted. Pivotally attached to each arm near its upward end is a rearwardly extending leg. The length of each of the rearwardly extending legs may be individually adjusted. An adjustable length bracket is provided for each leg and arm combination to hold the two components apart at the desired angular distance. An extendable leg is also provided at the front of the fan support frame. Wheels are provided on the fan support frame so that one or more ventilation fans may be transported by an individual and the fans may be aimed at any angle of inclination by extending the legs so that they contact the surface underlying the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: December 12, 1989
    Inventors: Donald E. Bateman, Barry L. Panter
  • Patent number: 4807842
    Abstract: A tilt apparatus allows an operator to readily change the tilt angle of a display monitor and retain the angle after it is changed. The tilt apparatus mounts vertically to the display monitor housing at the rear of the monitor's pivot point and center of gravity. The apparatus includes a piston and spring assembly which counterbalances shifting in the monitor's center of gravity during the manual tilting of the monitor to provide continuously variable adjustment throughout a predefined tilt range. The apparatus also includes frictional drag means to compensate for nonlinear changes in the center of gravity of the monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 28, 1989
    Assignee: Wang Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph L. Freni, Jr., John D. Ardito
  • Patent number: 4804162
    Abstract: An engine support for, in particular, front wheel drive vehicles is disclosed. An adjustable base is fitted with legs which adjust to varying heights. The legs include on their tops, rotatable cradles sized to receive an engine mount. The engine support is wheeled underneath an elevated vehicle and an engine and its mount are lowered onto the cradles. The engine is then wheeled away from the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 1987
    Date of Patent: February 14, 1989
    Assignee: Joseph M. Rice
    Inventor: Joseph M. Rice
  • Patent number: 4798359
    Abstract: A self-adjusting furniture glide includes an upper body piece rotatably mounted to a lower foot piece having an arcuate ramp surface on which a complimentary ramp surface of the body piece rests, and a coil spring mounted between the foot and body pieces to downwardly bias the foot pieces and to apply a torque which opposes mutual rotation of the pieces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 1983
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1989
    Assignee: Johnson Industries, Inc.
    Inventor: Richard I. Ball
  • Patent number: 4793275
    Abstract: A hazardous off-loading system for emergency removal of cargo from a grounded or floundering ship which secures leveling platforms on the deck of the ship from which to implement cargo removal procedures serving to mount appropriate equipment such as a life support module for control housing and operator protection, a power pack with power generating and pumping capability, a mobile tractor for movement on deck and a mechanical robot arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 27, 1988
    Inventor: David Usher
  • Patent number: 4784364
    Abstract: For supporting heat and vibration producing machinery on grouted foundations, high-strength plastic chock halves, which may be glass-polyester laminates, are used beneath machinery conventional steel sole plates resting on conventional plastic grout. The plastic material is characterized by a greater flexibility and much lesser thermal conductivity than steel, so they serve as barriers to the transmission of heat, while their flexible resiliency protects the foundation from vibrations attendant to operation of the machinery so supported. Leveling steel shims inserted between the chock halves do not impair the uniformity of the flexible resiliency they afford at each support point. Fretting wear of the machinery bed plates appears to be completely eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1987
    Date of Patent: November 15, 1988
    Assignee: Arrow Support Systems Corp.
    Inventors: Larry W. Chamberlain, George W. Rives
  • Patent number: 4735394
    Abstract: The inclination adjusting arrangement is applied to a keyboard having a base structure in which a plurality of keys is mounted. The keyboard is provided in its lower portion with fixed front support feet and rear support feet. The rear feet can project by varying amounts from the bottom of the base structure in such a way that the angle of inclination of the plane of the keys is variable with respect to the desk top. For the purposes of adjusting the degree of projection, the rear feet are pivoted and movable along their own axis by means of a slot which co-operates with a fixed pivot pin on the base structure. Each rear foot comprises a positioning tooth which is disposed opposite a support surface and which is capable of selectively engaging with a seat of a series of seats of the base structure. Resilient means which co-operate with the pin hold the positioning tooth engaged with one of the seats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1986
    Date of Patent: April 5, 1988
    Assignee: Ing. C. Olivetti & C., S.p.A.
    Inventor: Gastone Facco
  • Patent number: 4712822
    Abstract: A sight-testing ambulance bus for performing ophthalmologic examinations and providing appropriate spectacles expediently in rural areas, in which the instruments being sensitive against mechanical vibration of the chassis of the bus excited by movement in the bus are supported independently from the bus by support rods extended through holes in the bus-floor and standing on the ground under the bus. The support rods are fixed on the bus floor when the bus is moving and shock-absorbers protecting the instruments from vibrations when the bus is driven.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1986
    Date of Patent: December 15, 1987
    Assignee: Latszereszeti Eszkozok Gyara
    Inventors: Antal Janos, Pojbics Jeno
  • Patent number: 4708313
    Abstract: A tilt apparatus allows an operator to readily change the tilt angle of a display monitor and retain the angle after it is changed. The tilt apparatus mounts vertically to the display monitor housing at the rear of the monitor's pivot point and center of gravity. The apparatus includes a piston and spring assembly which counterbalances shifting in the monitor's center of gravity during the manual tilting of the monitor to provide continuously variable adjustment throughout a predefined tilt range. The apparatus also includes frictional drag means to compensate for nonlinear changes in the center of gravity of the monitor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1986
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1987
    Assignee: Wang Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph L. Freni, Jr., John D. Ardito
  • Patent number: 4632386
    Abstract: A portable cycle-type exercising device capable of being quickly and easily erected for use and readily and compactly folded for convenient storage in a relatively small area during periods of nonuse. The cycle upright members and support legs are adaptable for folding or collapsing inwardly while the handlebar is adaptable for rotation about the cycle housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 1985
    Date of Patent: December 30, 1986
    Assignee: Allegheny International Exercise Co.
    Inventor: Charles R. Beech
  • Patent number: 4625424
    Abstract: Apparatus for Levelling a surface, such as a table, includes several bellows containing a fluid connected to the surface, conduits connecting the bellows together and a control valve for connecting or disconnecting the conduits, the control valve being located in a chamber and being separated from an actuator by a diaphragm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1986
    Inventor: Cornelis F. de la Haye
  • Patent number: 4592532
    Abstract: An expansible support for supporting a heavy industrial machine or the like on a foundation. The support comprises base and support members engageable with the foundation and machine, respectively, and an expansible annular member connecting the base and support members and defining an enclosed expansible chamber therebetween. Pressurized fluid is pumped into this chamber via an inlet port to expand the support to bring the base and support members into load-bearing engagement with the machine and foundation. The annular member is designed to permit the base and support members to move out of parallel with respect to one another for full face-to-face contact with nonparallel surfaces on the foundation and machine.A method of using a plurality of such expansible supports to support a heavy industrial machine or the like is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1983
    Date of Patent: June 3, 1986
    Inventor: M. Randall Stith, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4589622
    Abstract: Sturdy legs are normally retracted into the housing of an otherwise conventional smoke ejector but are extendable in various adjusted positions to support the ejector freestanding on a supporting surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 1984
    Date of Patent: May 20, 1986
    Inventor: Donald J. Hutter
  • Patent number: 4585203
    Abstract: A device for positioning a member so as to face each of a plurality of perforations arranged in a given grid in a plate, especially for the inspection of the tubes of a steam generator in a nuclear power station. It comprises a body having at least two attachment members for fastening the device in the perforations. The device is rotatable around one or the other of these attachment members so as to displace it on the plate, and has a support carrying the member and pivotable with respect to the body in order to bring the member into a position facing several perforations without displacing the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 25, 1982
    Date of Patent: April 29, 1986
    Assignee: Intercontrole Societe Anonyme
    Inventors: Maxime Monne, Andrzej Adamowski
  • Patent number: 4556189
    Abstract: A mechanism for tilting a display screen of a CRT housed in a cabinet includes a projection extending from the bottom surface of the cabinet for supporting one end of the cabinet and providing a pivot point for tilting the cabinet. A foot slidably mounted at the other end of the cabinet supports that end at a selectable height; the foot having a ratchet rack on one of its surfaces is normally engaged by a detent lever locking the foot in position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 1984
    Date of Patent: December 3, 1985
    Assignee: AT&T Teletype Corporation
    Inventors: Kenneth R. Kirpluk, Kenneth F. Lewinski
  • Patent number: 4518142
    Abstract: A support and leveling system for use in a refuse compactor or similar appliance providing facilitated adjustment when the compactor is being installed in a normal under-counter installation. The support and leveling mechanism permits the compactor to be slid easily into position and permits further adjustment of the front leveling mechanism without requiring removal of the compactor from the under-counter installation. The support and leveling mechanism acts directly against the structural frame of the compactor so as to transmit the compactor load directly downwardly through the leveling element thereof. A friction means may be mounted to the mechanism to provide a non-slip support when desired. The mechanism may include adjustable rear rollers for further adjusting the elevation of the rear portion of the compactor in the installed disposition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 1981
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1985
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Charles E. Sulcek, Frank E. Miller
  • Patent number: 4270718
    Abstract: A four-point suspension for a load comprising first, second, third and fourth supports for the load located at the corners of a quadrilateral and adapted to bear on a supporting surface for supporting the load above the surface at four points. Each support has an individual connection with the load for transmission of force from the load to the supporting surface and each connection permits relative up and down movement of the load and the respective support at the respective corner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 1979
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1981
    Assignee: Kellwood Company
    Inventor: William R. Conner, Jr.
  • Patent number: 4262870
    Abstract: A retractable self-leveling assembly for supporting a laundry appliance such as an automatic washer is connected at a rear base portion of the appliance. The assembly has two spaced apart upwardly and outwardly angled slots therein for slidably receiving pins which connect supporting feet to opposite ends of an adjustable tension bar generally at right angles thereto. In a deployed position, the feet extend below the laundry appliance and the weight of the appliance on the feet and tension bar combination causes the pins to slide in the slots to automatically position the feet to compensate for any unevenness in the surface on which the appliance rests. The tension bar may be manually extended to retract the feet into the appliance cabinet during storage or transport of the appliance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 1979
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1981
    Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
    Inventors: Gerald L. Kretchman, Russell J. Morrison