AU2021107046B4

AU2021107046B4 - Elevated base for a jack

Info

Publication number: AU2021107046B4
Application number: AU2021107046A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Stewart Thompson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2021-08-24
Filing date: 2021-08-24
Publication date: 2023-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2029-08-24
Also published as: AU2021107046A4

Abstract

A base support for use with a jack that elevates the jack above a support surface to extend the lifting height of the jack. The base support comprises a body having a central portion and at least one lateral portion extending from the central portion, wherein the central portion has a surface elevated above a base of the body, the support surface configured to provide a surface for supporting the jack thereon such that the jack is useable in an elevated position.

Description

ELEVATEDBASEFORAJACK FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a base support for a jack, and in particular, to a base support for a jack that elevates the jack above a support surface to extend the lifting height of the jack.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Off-road vehicles, such as 4WD vehicles, are becoming increasingly popular as more people embrace outdoor recreation activities. As a direct result of this, many remote destinations that had previously been considered too difficult to access due to the difficult terrain required to negotiate to get there, are becoming more accessible as off-road vehicles become more popular and developments in such vehicles become realised.

In this regard, many 4WD vehicle owners seek to modify their vehicle to lift the suspension to increase the ride height and the clearance of the vehicle to improve the ride experience, especially in relation to the ability to negotiate more difficult terrain. Many vehicle owners may also seek to upgrade the Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) to increase the maximum legal weight that is permitted for a fully loaded vehicle. To do this, GVM upgrade kits are available that alter the suspension of the vehicle by lifting the suspension to cater for increased load weight of the vehicle. Irrespective of the reason, many 4WD vehicles have a lifted suspension or use bigger tyres that add height to the vehicle that is generally above the height of the vehicle when it was originally manufactured.

As a result if this increase in height of the vehicle, the jack that was originally supplied with the vehicle may no longer be useful. Should the user seek to use the jack to change a tyre, the lift of the jack may not be enough to safely raise the vehicle to the desired height to raise the wheel off the ground for it to be changed. As a result, the vehicle owner may be tempted to use the jack at a different point on the vehicle, other than the recommended jacking point, or may attempt to use the jack at a height beyond the height limit of the jack. This can result in the vehicle and/or jack becoming unstable, significantly compromising the safety of the user and causing potential damage to the vehicle.

Whilst base units for jacks have been proposed, such units have generally been directed towards increasing the surface area of the jack for stability purposes, rather than elevating the jack to a desired level that can accommodate the increased height of the vehicle.

Thus, there is a need to provide for a base unit for use with a jack that can elevate the jack to a desired height to be effectively used with a vehicle and which maintains safety and stability of the jack during use.

The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.

Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided a base unit for a jack comprising: a body having a central portion and at least one lateral portion extending from the central portion; wherein the central portion has a support surface elevated above a base of the body, the support surface configured to provide a surface for supporting the jack thereon such that the jack is usable in an elevated position.

In one embodiment, the support surface may be recessed below a peripheral wall.

The peripheral wall may have at least one recess formed therein.

An extension member may be configured to be received upon the support surface to be snugly received within the peripheral wall thereof, and wherein the extension member has at least one tab member that is received within the at least one recess formed in the peripheral wall to securely locate the extension member in position on the central portion.

The extension member may have an upper surface configured to support a jack thereon for use, such that when the extension member is positioned on the central portion the height of the jack is further elevated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a base unit for a jack in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an underside of the base unit of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the base unit of Fig. 1 in use;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a base unit for a jack in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the base unit of Fig. 4 in use; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the base unit of Fig. 4 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred features of the present invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it is to be understood that the 1s features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention.

The base unit of the present invention will be described below in relation to its application in elevating and supporting a jack for lifting a 4WD vehicle. However, it will be appreciated that the base unit of the present invention could be used to elevate and support a variety of different types of jacks for elevating a variety of different vehicles and equipment as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Referring to Fig. land Fig. 2, a base unit 10 is depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The base unit 10 is in the form of a body having a central portion 12 formed integrally with a pair of wings 14 extending laterally from opposing sides of central portion 12. The central portion 12 is elevated above the wings 14 and has a substantially circular configuration with a mounting portion 16 centrally located therein. The mounting portion 16 also has a circular configuration that defines a support surface 17 that is recessed below the upper surface of the central portion 12. A wall 19 extends about the recessed support surface 17 as shown. Whilst two wings 14 are depicted, only 1 wing may be provided to perform the desired stability control function.

The underside 11 of the base unit 10 is shown in Fig. 2 and comprises a substantially flat surface with rubber inserts 13 formed therein to provide a non slip surface for the base unit 10.

The wings 14 have recesses 15 formed therein. The recesses 15 extend through the wings 14 and provide a means for securing the base unit 10 to a ground surface with pegs or similar ground penetrating members. This enables the base unit to be further stabilised for use, where required.

The base unit 10 is shown in use in Fig. 3 with a jack 20. As is shown, the base 22 of the jack 20 is supported on the support surface 17 of the central portion 12 1o such that it is elevated above the underlying ground surface at least 40 mm, to accommodate any lift of the chassis of the vehicle due to changes in suspension or increased tyre height. The wings 14 and central portion 12 support the jack over an extended surface area to accommodate any instability issues that may be present in the ground surface. In this arrangement, the jack 20 can be used in a conventional manner to elevate the vehicle chassis to change the vehicle's tyre or access the undercarriage of the vehicle as required.

An alternative embodiment of a base unit 30 of the present invention is depicted in Fig 4 - Fig. 6. The base unit 30 is configured in a similar manner to base unit 10 of Fig 1 - Fig. 3 and comprises a body having a central portion 32 formed integrally with a pair of wings 34 extending laterally from opposing sides of central portion 32. The central portion 32 is elevated above the wings 32 and has a substantially circular configuration with a mounting portion 36 centrally located therein. The mounting portion 36 also has a circular configuration that defines a support surface 37 that is recessed below the upper surface of the central portion 32. A wall 39 extends around the recessed support surface 37 as shown. The underside 11 of the base unit 30 is shown in Fig. 2.

The wings 34 have recesses 35 formed therein. The recesses 35 extend through the wings 34 and provide a means for securing the base unit 30 to a ground surface with pegs or similar ground penetrating members. This enables the base unit 30 to be further stabilised for use, where required.

However, the base unit 30 differs from base unit 10 in that the wall 39 extending about the support surface 37 has a recess 38 formed therein at opposing sides thereof. The recess 38 in the wall 39 are aligned at the same side of the central portion 32 as the wings 34.

As is shown in Fig. 5, the recess 38 in the wall 39 of the base unit 30 is provided

A to accommodate an extension member 40. The extension member 40 comprises a substantially disc shaped body 42 that is configured to snugly fit within the circular shape of the mounting portion 36. The extension member 40 has tab members 44 extending from opposing sides of the disc shaped body that have a width substantially equivalent to the width of the recess 38 formed in the wall 39 of the base unit 30. Therefore, when the extension member 40 is positioned within the mounting portion 36 the base unit 30 it is snugly received by way of an interference fit thereby securely retaining the extension member 40 in position.

The upper surface 45 of the extension member 40 is substantially flat and is recessed below an upper edge of the extension member and functions to provide a support surface for a jack 20, as is shown in Fig. 6.

It will be appreciated that the extension member 40 has a thickness that extends the overall height of the combined base unit 30 and the extension member 40 such that the jack 20 is elevated in a higher position for use. This can enable the jack 20 to be safely used with a vehicle that has been lifted to a level that will not enable the jack 20 to be used safely with only the base unit 30. It will also be appreciated that the base unit 30 could be used with or without the extension member 40, depending upon the height requirements for the jack.

The base unit 10, 30 may provide a height elevation for the jack of between of between 30 - 60 mm. The extension member 40 may provide a height elevation of between 20 - 40 mm such that in combination the base unit and extension member can provide elevation for jack of up to 100mm.

It will be appreciated that the present invention provides a simple yet effective elevation system for use with an OE or manufactured supplied jack to enable the jack to be safely used with vehicles that have been raised in height. This avoids the need to purchase a replacement jack for use with such vehicles and ensures that the use of the jack will be safe and effective.

Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its derivatives will be taken to indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

A

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A base unit for supporting a free standing jack thereon, the base unit comprising: a body having a central portion and at least one lateral portion extending from the central portion; the central portion having a support surface, the support surface defining an uppermost surface of the body located within a peripheral wall extending about the support surface; and an extension member configured to be received upon the support surface of the central portion within the peripheral wall thereof, the extension member having a corresponding support surface such that when the extension member is received on the support surface of the central portion of the body, the corresponding support surface of the extension member is further elevated above the support surface of the central portion of the body to provide an elevated surface for supporting the freestanding jack thereon for use, wherein the extension member has at least one tab member that is received within at least one recess formed in the peripheral wall of the support surface of the central portion to securely locate the extension member in position on the central portion of the body.

2. A base unit according to claim 1, wherein the base of the body has rubber inserts attached thereto to engage a ground surface supporting the body.

3. A base unit according to claim 1, wherein the support surface of the central portion of the main body is recessed below the peripheral wall.

4. A base unit according to claim 1, the extension member is contained within the central portion of the body.

5. A base unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one lateral portion of the body has recesses extending therethrough for receiving one or more ground penetrating members for securing the base unit to a ground surface.