US 5,292,101 A · Lockable leveling structure

Abstract

A lockable leveling structure has a vertical stand with a base at one end. The stand has legs pivotally attached and can be locked in a stable manner by a slide collar and thumb screw. The slide collar is movable about the vertical stand and makes a solid contact against the end of the legs causing the outer end of the legs to move up or down respective to one another to compensate for an unlevel support surface. This provides a solid motionless structure that can carry a load bearing fixture in desired degree of levelness in a safe, stable, novel manner without the use of shims, or altering the surface while on unlevel surfaces. The slide collar is unlocked and raised up the stand member allowing the bottom of the legs to rotate up toward the vertical stand member causing the structure to be in a compact package for storage or transport.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A lockable leveling structure having a stand member supported by a base, said stand member having a vertical central axis;

a leveling and locking means by which said stand member can be adjusted respective to said vertical axis;
said leveling and locking means includes a slide collar which has an aperture which and telescopingly receives said stand member in a slidable manner;
a plurality of radial slots positioned about a central axis of said base and outwardly extending therefrom;
a plurality of legs having a near end opposed to a far end, cam means on the near end of each of said legs, means pivotally receiving one of said plurality of legs within a respective slot, said legs being foldable toward said stand from a load bearing configuration to a retracted configuration which presents a small compact package;
said slide collar has an outer wall surface that engages the cam means on the near end of said legs to abuttingly engage and arrest pivotal movement of the legs when pivoting upwardly, means by which said slide collar is locked into position to fix the position of said legs respective to said stand.

2 more elements

A leveling structure by which a load can be supported from a surface in a level altitude, comprising:

a base, a stand member attached to said base and upwardly extending therefrom for carrying a load thereon;
an annular slide collar having a central passageway and an outer abutment surface, said stand member is slidably received in captured relationship through the annular slide collar passageway, fastener means by which said collar is fixed respective to said stand member and base;
a plurality of legs placed circumferentially about said base and having a near end opposed to a far end, said legs extend radially from said base, means pivotally mounting the marginal near end of said legs respective to said base to enable said legs to pivot from a lowermost downwardly extending position into an uppermost stored position where the legs are substantially parallel to said stand;
said slide collar passageway is of a size to permit said collar to move laterally respective to said stand and provide means by which said legs are locked in a load bearing configuration, whereby,
the near end of said legs pivot into abutting engagement respective to the outer surface of the collar, whereupon said collar is affixed to the stand and thereby fix the legs in a relative position that results in the stand being vertically aligned and thereby provide a stable load bearing support on an unlevel surface.

2 more elements

A leveling device comprising a unitary base, a stand member affixed to said unitary base, a slide collar including a locking device therefor, a passageway through said collar for receiving said stand member therein, a plurality of radially extending legs each having a near end and a far end, a cam at the near end and a support at the far end of each leg, a plurality of radially extending slots in said base, means pivotally attaching one of said legs within respective ones of said slots, said legs having a curved near end;

the curved near end of said legs abut the collar and thereby limit the upward pivotal movement of the legs;
said collar can be telescoped a distance from said base to release the curved end of the legs and thereby enable the legs to pivot in an upward direction into parallel relationship respective to the stand member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Lockable leveling structure

Life of this patent

Lockable leveling structure

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims17