THIS INVENTION relates to a workbench which is portable, sturdy, and has two possible configurations. It can either be hitched to a vehicle so that it provides a stable working platform for trades people, even on uneven ground, or it can be used as a free standing workbench.

It is often the case that trades people such as builders, carpenters, plumbers, tilers and others require a strong, stable surface on which to carry out their work, when they are at a job and away from their workshops. In their workshop, they would normally have a large workshop workbench, which provides an ideal surface for sawing, cutting, bending, fastening, beating or welding materials or whatever other process the trades person may need to carry out.

Due to the weight and bulk of the standard workshop workbench, it is not a viable proposition to transport it around from job to job where the trades person may need to utilise it. It is necessary then for the trades person to have a portable workbench which must be sturdy, easily transported (not too cumbersome, large or heavy), must be economical to produce and must provide a stable working surface.

Traditionally, trades people who travel out to jobs have relied upon a "workhorse" to substitute for a workbench. This workhorse comprises a horizontal wooden beam which has two wooden legs affixed to it for support, at either end. The disadvantages of the workhorse are that it is bulky and cannot be disassembled for transport, it has no provision for the mounting of a vice to steady the materials being worked upon and its legs do not provide a broad base for

support. It is therefore not particularly stable, especially on the uneven ground common at a worksite. Being manufactured of wood, it is unsuitable for processes involving high temperatures, such as welding, as wood is easily combustible and also not particularly strong.

More recently, workhorses have been devised which incorporate a wooden vice arrangement into the upper work platform and are able to be folded for ease of transport and storage. However, this arrangement is also unsuitable as it is prone to move or even tip over under force. It provides a good working surface for the home handyman but is not of sufficient strength or stability for use by trades people.

United States Patent No. 4705254 discloses an adjustable and movable vice stand assembly for motor vehicles. This patent however, does not disclose a workbench, but merely a vice stand assembly. The subject of this patent also does not have legs which rest on the ground and as such, the whole vice assembly must move with the suspension of the vehicle to which it is attached. The invention disclosed in this U.S. patent is only able to be operated while attached to a vehicle and cannot assume a free standing configuration.

It is the object of the present invention to solve or at least substantially overcome the problems associated with the portable workbenches that have been used until the present time.

According to one aspect of this invention, there is disclosed a portable workbench, comprising a work segment having a work platform which is adapted to be maintained in a substantially horizontal orientation during use thereof; a

frame segment including an elongate limb; means being provided at a butt end of said limb to enable said frame segment to be releasably coupled to a vehicle; said work platform being provided at or adjacent a distal end of said limb; support leg means being provided and extending downwardly from said elongate limb; foot means being provided at or adjacent a lower end of said support leg and extending outwardly substantially transverse relative to the longitudinal axis of said limb; means being provided to allow vertical adjustment of said foot means relative to said frame segment.

Further objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description thereof.

The present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 : is a perspective view of the configuration of the workbench when hitched to a vehicle (vehicle not included for clarity);

FIGURE 2: is a perspective view of the configuration of the workbench when free standing.

The workbench 1 is comprised of three segments which can be joined for operation or separated for transport or storage of the workbench 1. The segments include the work segment 2, the frame segment 3 and the base segment 4.

The work segment 2 has a work platform 5 which is a rigid plate made of a strong material such as steel. The work platform 5 is adapted to support a vice, or a large sheet of

wood or steel or the like in order to increase the surface area of the work surface, by virtue of the holes 9 drilled through it. The work platform 5 is joined to two receiving sleeves 6 & 7 which are adapted to receive and fasten to the upper fork 8 of the frame segment 3. One of the receiving sleeves 7 is at an acute angle to the work platform 5 (in the plane of the frame segment 3) and will be engaged with the upper fork 8 when the workbench 1 is hitched to a vehicle (Fig. 1). The other receiving sleeve 6 is perpendicular to the plane of the work platform 5 and will be engaged with the upper fork 8 of the frame segment 3 when the workbench 1 is in the free standing configuration (Fig. 2).

The receiving sleeves 6 & 7 are made of a tube material, such as square or rectangular steel pipe, of sufficient extent to accommodate the terminal 11 of the upper fork 8, and through a threaded hole in the receiving sleeves 6 & 7 is fitted a thumbscrew 19 & 20 to fasten the work segment 2 in position on the upper fork 8 of the frame segment 3. For extra security in fastening, alignable holes 10 are drilled through the receiving sleeves 6 & 7 and the terminal 11 of the upper fork 8, so that a bolt can be passed through the extent of the receiving sleeve 6 & 7 and the terminal 11 of the upper fork 8.

The frame segment 4 is manufactured from a strong material such as square or rectangular steel pipe and comprises a longitudinal limb 14 with a coupling terminal 12 at one extent and branches into the upper fork 8 and lower fork 13 at the other. The lower fork 13 is perpendicular to the longitudinal limb 14, while there is an angle of approximately 135° between both the longitudinal limb 14 and

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the lower fork 13 relative to the upper fork 8.

The coupling terminal 12 is adapted to couple to a vehicle tow point or a similar bracket, when the workbench 1 is in the hitched configuration (Fig. 1), and acts as a third leg when the workbench 1 is in the free standing configuration (Fig. 2).

The lower fork 13 of the frame segment 3 inserts and can be fastened into the receiving sleeve 15 of the base segment 4. The receiving sleeve 15 is of a similar nature to the receiving sleeves 6 & 7 of the work segment 2. As with attachment of the upper fork 8 to its receiving members 6 & 7 there is a thumbscrew 16 for fastening and provision of aligned holes 17 through the lower fork 13 and the receiving sleeve 15, to pass a bolt for security of fastening.

The base segment 4 comprises the receiving sleeve 15 and two legs 18 which emanate from the receiving sleeve 15, in a direction downwards from and transverse to the longitudinal direction of the frame segment 3, to provide a base support for the workbench 1 to rest upon, in both its configurations (Figs. 1 & 2).

In use of the workbench 1 , in the hitched configuration (Fig. 1), stability of the workbench 1 can be ensured by lifting the longitudinal limb 14 which will have the effect of raising the vehicle on its suspension, and then fastening the thumbscrew 16 of the base segment 4 in position when the lower fork is at its highest extent. A bolt may then be inserted through the aligned holes 17 so that the lower fork 13 will not move relative to the receiving sleeve 15 once the weight of the vehicle is allowed to exert its

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gravitational force upon the longitudinal limb 14, the lower fork 13 and the base segment 4.

The gravitational force of the vehicle exerted upon the workbench 1 , and played against the surface upon which the workbench 1 stands will serve to hold the workbench 1 very stable during its operation, even on uneven ground.

In order to transform the workbench 1 , into its free standing configuration (Fig. 2), the coupling terminal 12 is unhitched from the vehicle. The coupling terminal 12 is then allowed to rest upon the ground surface such that it constitutes a third foot and the longitudinal limb 14 of the frame section 3, functions as an ancillary leg. In this configuration, the upper fork 8 extends upwardly from its junction with the longitudinal limb 14, with the work section 2 being attached at the upper extent of the upper fork 8.

In order to maintain the work platform 5 in a substantially horizontal orientation, the receiving sleeve 7 is disengaged from the terminal 11 of the upper fork 8, and the receiving sleeve 6 (which is perpendicular to the plane of the work platform 5) is engaged with the terminal 11 of the upper fork 8.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a portable workbench with vehicle coupled and free standing configurations may also be achieved by having only one receiving member attached to the work platform 5. This is possible if the receiving member is able to rotate relative to the work platform 5 (and in the plane of the frame segment) and has a means for locking it in place at two

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discreet angles relative to the work platform. Other arrangements are also possible.

It should be appreciated that the present invention has been described by way of example only and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the art can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.