Door lifting apparatus and method
OwnerMark Grimesinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A door lifting apparatus includes a frame and a lift mechanism. The lift mechanism includes a slide assembly and a lever assembly. The slide assembly includes a vertical bar, a door support beam supporting a plurality of door holders, and a horizontal bar that are movable together vertically up and down relative to the frame as the lever assembly is moved between a lifted position, an intermediate position, and a lowered position. The vertical bar is associated with a cam plate secured to the frame such that the vertical bar, and the door support beam and door secured thereto, pivots as the lever assembly is moved between the lifted and the lower position.
Claims19
A door lifting and transporting apparatus, comprising:
- a frame;
- and,
- a lift mechanism comprising a slide assembly and a lever assembly, the slide assembly being slidably disposed upon the frame for vertical movement and being adapted to support a door, the lever assembly being secured to said slide assembly and said frame such that pivoting of said lever assembly causes said slide assembly to move vertically along said frame;
- wherein the slide assembly includes a lower bar that is slidably secured to the frame, a vertical bar that is pivotally secured to the lower bar, and a door support beam that is affixed to the vertical bar and pivots with the vertical bar relatively toward and away from the frame as the lever assembly is lifted and lowered thus allowing the door disposed on the slide assembly to tilt from a substantially vertical orientation to a tilted configuration as the slide assembly is moved from a lifted position toward a lowered position.
A method for lifting and supporting a vehicle door, comprising the steps of:
- providing an apparatus including a frame and a lift mechanism, said lift mechanism including a slide assembly and a lever assembly, said slide assembly including a lower bar that is slidably secured to the frame, a vertical bar that is pivotally secured to the lower bar, a door support beam and a plurality of door holders, said door holders being disposed on the door support beam and adapted to support the door, said lever assembly being secured to said slide assembly and said frame such that pivotal movement of said lever assembly moves said door support beam vertically relative to said frame, said lever assembly and said slide assembly being movable between a lifted position, an intermediate position, and a lowered position, wherein said door support beam moves laterally away from said frame as said lever assembly and said door support beam are moved from said lifted position toward said lowered position;
- moving said lever assembly and said slide assembly into the intermediate position from said lifted position so as to align said door holders with openings in the door;
- inserting the holders into the door openings;
- moving said lever assembly and said slide assembly into said lifted position;
- removing hinge pins from the door;
- removing the door from the vehicle while the door is supported on the door holders;
- and,
- moving said lever assembly from said lifted position toward said lowered position while moving said door from a generally vertical orientation into a tilted orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.