GB2346126A

GB2346126A - Vehicle turntables

Info

Publication number: GB2346126A
Application number: GB9901747A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Graham Karl William Bavington; Peter Mervyn Bavington
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-01-28
Filing date: 1999-01-28
Publication date: 2000-08-02
Anticipated expiration: 2019-01-28
Also published as: GB9901747D0; GB2346126B

Abstract

A vehicle turntable comprises an upper annular element supported on a lower annular element which may be fixed in position in the ground or on a concrete base. The lower element has two rings of bearing rollers 14, 15. The upper element comprises separate metal segments 21 and these may be readily detached from each other to permit them to be packed in a stack or they may be hinged for compact packaging.

Description

"Vehicle Turntables" This invention relates to the construction of a turntable for a heavy relatively large object such as a motor vehicle and is more particularly intended for use in turning a vehicle on a private driveway or the like of restricted dimensions.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved turntable for this purpose which will be relatively light in weight and collapsible into a small package which can be placed, for example, in the boot of a car or on the roof, for subsequent assembly and erection by the owner as a"do-it-yourself" operation.

Existing vehicle turntables are heavy, bulky and cannot easily be adapted by an amateur for use on a private drive, particularly when the drive is also required for other purposes.

Now according to the invention a vehicle turntable construction comprises uppor and lower elements arranged to be capable of relative rotation about a central vertical axis, one element including at least one circular or part circular track and the other element having a number of spaced rollers or the equivalent to engage the track, the upper element being formed in one or more separate or separable parts, which can be folded, detached, or otherwise dismantled to allow for storage or transport in a compact package.

Conveniently the upper element is a circular or annular table assembly comprising a number of segments connected or connectable to adjacent segments on generally radial separating lines, and the sections of the upper element may be formed with grooves or tracks to co-operate with rollers on the lower segment. Alternative construction of the individual sections of the upper element are formed with rollers or the equivalent on their under surfaces, to engage with corresponding track (s) on the lower element.

In another possible modification the upper element comprises a generally rectangular platform spanning across a generally circular lower element. and in any case the construction may include means for holding the two elements axially in alignment on a vertical axis. It is of advantage also if the upper element includes guides or other locating elements for the wheels of a vehicle.

The invention may be performed in various ways and two specific embodiments with some modifications will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view (partly broken away) showing a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 2 is a diagrammatic vertical section through the construction on an enlarged scale, illustrating the support on the rollers, Figure 3 is a further cross-section on a radial plane illustrating one form of connection between adjacent segments, Figure 4 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating another embodiment, and Figure 5 is a vertical cross-section through this second embodiment on the line V-V.

In the first example, the invention comprises an upper annular element 10 supported on a lower annular element 11, which may be fixed in position in the ground or on a concrete base. The lower element 11 is generally annular and may be set into a shallow ring formed around a central locating concrete pad 12. This lower element has two rings of bearing rollers 14,15 and each roller 16 is supported on a horizontal axle pin 17 located between two upstanding metal flanges 18,19.

Thus there are two co-axial rings of supporting rollers centred on the central point 20.

The upper element 10 comprises eight separate metal segments 21 attached to adjacent segments on the radial dividing lines 22 to form a complete annular ring. Each of the metal segment plates has partcircular grooves 24 to engage with the inner and outer rings of rollers 14,15, thus allowing the complete upper element to rotate easily and smoothly about the centre point 20. Each of the segment plates 21 may be strengthened by means of a number of radial ribs or corrugations 26. Four of the segment plates 21, positioned on opposite sides of the centre point 20 are provided with locating grooves or depressions 27 to guide and locate the wheels of a vehicle when in position. The central concrete pad 12 is preferably of such a height that a vehicle can drive smoothly across from one side of the ring to the other.

The connections between the individual segments may take various different forms. There may be interconnecting hinge-type brackets with removable hinge pins or the individual elements may be formed with joggles 30 on one radial side (see Fig. 3) to underly the adjacent lip of the next segment and to allow fastening screws or bolts 31 to be located in position. Whatever form of connection is used it is desirable that it should be either readily detachable to permit all the segments to be separated and packed in a stack, or hinged so that the segments can be folded in a zig-zag or otherwise into a compact package.

To facilitate the movement of a vehicle on to the turntable the segments having the wheel locations 27 are preferably provided with hinged ramps 33, which can be folded away or removed for transport or storage, or when the turntable is being rotated. These ramps may be spring-loaded to hold them clear of the ground during rotation.

Apart from the four segments over which a vehicle drives the remaining four merely serve as connections and can be of relatively lightweight material.

If desired a brake may be incorporated to prevent unintentional rotation of the turntable.

A small motor, or a hand winch, may be provided, if required, to assist rotation.

It will be understood that the upper and lower elements 10 and 11 may in effect be reversed, with the rollers provided on the upper element to engage circular tracks on the lower element. One advantage of this is that the upper element complete with the rollers can be removed, if necessary, and if the tracks are flat there is no upstanding projection or obstacle on the ground. To locate or register the upper and lower elements in that case it may be convenient to have a central column or stub axle on the upper element engaging in a socket in the lower element or fixed rigidly in the ground or concrete base.

In the example illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the lower element 40 is a generally flat annular plate providing two circular tracks 41,42 and the upper element is an incomplete turntable in the form of a rectangular bridge 44. This is provided with rollers 46 on its undersurface to engage with the two circular tracks and the bridge is conveniently formed in three or four separate panels 46 connected by detachable bolts or otherwise to form a rigid load bearing structure when in use. There may be a pair of parallel guides for the wheels of a vehicle with locators 47 to hold the vehicle wheels in position. The upper element in this example has a central depending hub or axle 48 to engage in a socket 49 set into the concrete base so as to hold the upper part of the turntable co-axial with the lower part.

Claims

1. A turntable construction for use with a large heavy object such as a motor vehicle, comprising upper and lower elements arranged to be capable of relative rotation about a central vertical axis, one element including at least one circular or part circular track and the other element having a number of spaced rollers or the equivalent to engage the track, the upper element being formed in one or more separate or separable parts, which can be folded, detached, or otherwise dismantled to allow for storage or transport in a compact package.

2. A turntable construction according to Claim 1, in which the upper element is a circular or annular table assembly comprising a number of segments connected or connectable to adjacent segments on generally radial separating lines.

3. A turntable construction according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the sections of the upper element are formed with grooves or tracks to co-operate with rollers on the lower segment.

4. A turntable construction according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the individual sections of the upper element are formed with rollers or the equivalent on their under surfaces, to engage with corresponding track (s) on the lower element.

5. A turntable construction according to any of the preceding claims, in which the upper element comprises a generally rectangular platform spanning across a generally circular lower element.

6. A turntable construction according to any of the preceding claims, including means for holding the two elements axially in alignment on a vertical axis.

7. A turntable construction according to any of the preceding claims, in which the upper element includes guides or other locating elements for the wheels of a vehicle.