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US 2006/0219125 A1Published application
Easy Vehicle Turnaround
OwnerSuzanne Yatsko, David Yatskoinventors
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An equipment turnaround easily installs on a driveway or garage floor surface. The turnaround has a large support platform compared to the equipment footprint providing ease of loading or unloading the equipment. The turnaround is fastened to the surface by fasteners that allow the turnaround to rotate about the centerline of the drive mechanism surface contact plate. This changes the direction the equipment is facing, allowing equipment to be parked in a narrow space without having to back the equipment out of the space. Alternately the turnaround may be used for a rotatable equipment display. The turnaround may be turned manually or use a self-contained power supply.
Claims10
A rotatable equipment support for rotating one or more equipment items with a known footprint on a hard surface comprising:
- a. a frame with a top side, a bottom side, a center of rotation, and a periphery with a first side and a second side, a first end and a second end, the periphery arranged in a shape providing an area larger than the equipment item footprint;
- b. an equipment support surface with an exterior side and a interior side, the support surface interior side connected to the frame, the support surface covering the frame periphery;
- c. a surface contact plate with a top side and a bottom side and a center of rotation, a rotation shaft connected to the contact plate center of rotation, the rotation shaft rotatively connected to the frame and arranged with the contact plate center of rotation at the frame center of rotation, the contact plate arranged such that the contact plate bottom surface contacts the hard surface;
- d. a multiplicity of cylindrical rollers with a roller outer surface and a roller axis, the rollers supportively and rotatively connected to the frame and arranged such that the roller outer surface contacts the hard surface, and the roller axis oriented toward the surface contact plate center of rotation;
- e. means for connecting the surface contact plate to the hard surface;
- and
- f. a drive mechanism arranged to rotate the frame around the surface contact plate center of rotation, wherein an equipment item supported on the equipment support surface is rotated to a desired position by applying a force to the frame periphery.
4 more elements
The rotatable equipment support of claim 10 further comprising:
- a. the means for control of the electrical motor is a transmitter arranged to signal clockwise rotation, counterclockwise rotation, and stop and a receiver arranged to receive the signal from the transmitter and actuate one or more electrical relays;
- and
- b. the self-contained power supply arranged with the one or more electrical relays such that electrical power may be applied to the electric motor in the clockwise direction, the counterclockwise direction, and electrical power may be removed from the electric motor.
An equipment turnaround installed on a hard surface to change the angular orientation of an equipment item comprising:
- a. a frame with atop and a bottom, a first side and a second side, and a first end and a second end, including one or more lateral supports, one or more ramp supports arranged at the ends, a multiplicity of roller support members, a multiplicity of longitudinal support members and a drive mechanism support tray;
- b. an equipment support surface with an interior side and an exterior side, and one or more rap support surfaces with an interior side and an exterior side, the equipment support surfaces and ramp support surfaces interior side attached to the frame top from the frame first side to the frame second side and from the frame first end to the frame second end, and one or more side covers with an interior side and an exterior side, the side covers attached to the frame first and second sides;
- c. a drive mechanism with an electric motor, a worm gear, a first speed reduction, a second speed reduction, and a surface contact plate with a center of rotation and arranged with a multiplicity of removable connection openings, a multiplicity of attachment devices arranged to attach the surface contact plate to the hard surface, the drive mechanism arranged within the frame drive mechanism support tray, the electric motor arranged to turn the worm gear, the first speed reduction arranged with a drive sprocket turned by the worm gear, a driven sprocket, and a chain connecting the drive and driven sprockets and arranged such that the drive sprocket turns at a lower revolutionary speed than the driven sprocket, and the second speed reduction arranged with a drive sprocket turned by the first chain drive driven sprocket, a driven sprocket, and a chain connecting the drive and driven sprockets and arranged such that the drive sprocket turns at a lower revolutionary speed than the driven sprocket, and the second speed reduction driven sprocket arranged to move the frame and equipment turnaround covering rotationally around the surface contact plate center of rotation;
- d. a multiplicity of rollers mounted to the frame roller support members by axles arranged such that the axle center of rotation is directed at the surface contact plate center of rotation, and such that the rollers support the frame above the hard surface, wherein rotation of the rollers rotate the frame around the surface contact plate center of rotation;
- and
- e. a self-contained power supply arranged with the one or more electrical relays such that electrical power may be applied to the electric motor in the clockwise direction, the counterclockwise direction, and electrical power may be removed from the electric motor.
3 more elements
A method of manufacturing an equipment turnaround comprising:
- a. assembling a frame with a top side, a bottom side, a periphery with a first side, a second side, a first end and a second end, and a multiplicity of lateral supports, a multiplicity of roller support members, a multiplicity of longitudinal support members, and a drive mechanism support tray;
- b. installing a drive mechanism in the drive mechanism support tray with a surface contact plate arranged with a center of rotation and a multiplicity of attachment device openings;
- c. supporting a multiplicity of rollers on the roller support members such that the roller axis is directed to the surface contact plate center of rotation;
- and
- d. attaching a equipment support surface to the frame such that it extends from the periphery first side to the second side, and from the periphery first end to the second end.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.