The present invention relates to an arrangement for supporting at a desired level an effective device which can -be rotated relative to a connecting device, such as a wheel nut socket which is adapted to the wheel nuts on vehicle wheels, for example.

The object of the present invention is firstly to provide an arrangement of the above-mentioned kind which enables the mounting of the effective device to be dis¬ placed simply to a desired level and makes it possible ^" to lock it in the adjusted position.

Hitherto it has been necessary to support the effective device, such as a wheel nut socket which is used for turning lock nuts, for example, in the desired position by hand or by chocking it up with a support such as a stone or brick, at the same time as the other hand is being used for operating an extension lever arm in ^' the form of a tommy bar. This was laborious, and the risk of.personal injury was considerable for the person who was carrying out the wheel-change if the socket be- came disengaged from the nut, causing the lever arm to slip.

The said object is achieved with an arrangement according to the present invention which is characterise in that the arrangement comprises a stand which has a locking device and a supporting member which can be moved relative to the stand and displaced to the desired level, is designed to have the effective device mounted in it, and has at least one complementary locking element which co-acts with the said locking element and enables the said effective device to be securely locked at the said level by mutual co-action between the locking elements.

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The invention is described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which Figure shows the arrangement in an effective position during a phase when the wheel nuts on a vehicle wheel are being loosened,

Figure 2 shows, in a partially sectioned view, the mounting and locking part of the arrangement, Figure 2a shows the released position of the mounting and locking arrangement shown in Figure 2, Figure 2b shows a locking position of the mounting and locking arrangement shown in Figure 2, Figure 3 is a further embodiment example of a mounting and locking arrangement, shown in a similar partially sectioned view, Figure 3a shows the released position for the mounting and locking arrangement shown in Figure 3, and finally, Figure 3D illustrates a locking position of the mounting and locking arrangement shown in Figure 3.

A stand, which is designated with the numeral 1 on t e drawings, consists of an upright which is made from lightweight metal, in the form of a tube with a four- sided profile, for example. The stand 1 is connected at one end to a support foot in the form of a baseplate 2, for example, so as to facilitate the support of the stand 1 and to prevent it from sinking down in soft ground. In the example shown the foot 2 is rigidly . connected to the upright 1 by welding, for example, but it is also possible to articulatethem relative to each other so that the upright 1 can be set up at the correct angle even if the ground 3 is uneven and sloping, for example.

Through two of the walls 4, 5 of the upright 1, which are located opposite each other, elongated through- holes 6, 7 e pe d in the longitudinal direction through the upright 1. preferably, the holes 6, 7 --o not break through the walls 4, 5 ε the top of the upper end of the upright "i, but a wall part ε defines the holes 6, 7

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in ^' the upwards direction. A rod 9 which forms a rotatable operating device 9 is passed through the two said holes 6, 7 as shown in Figure1. At least at one of its ends the rod 9 lias a socket 10, the cavity of which is adapted to the shape of the wheel nuts 1 on a vehicle wheel 12 so that it forms a wheel nut socket 10 which is designed to engage round and accommodate a wheel nut -11, which can be connected to a threaded bolt 1 connected to the wheel hub 13. At the opposite free end of the rod 9 a hole 15 is provided to form an accommo dating part 15 for a lever arm 16 in the form of a tommy bar or some other appropriate elongated element which is suitable for exerting considerable force.

Preferably, the rod which is mounted rotatably inside the upright 1, is not movable in the horizontal direction but only in the vertical direction up and down the upright 1, after action on a locking element which can be arranged inside the upright 1 as shown in the examples in Figures 2 and 3- Figure 2 shows a supporting member 7 which is des¬ igned as a mounting for the rod 9 and is ormed of a member in the shape of an angled plate, one shank 18 of which has a through-bore 9 which is designed to accommo¬ date the rod 9. The upper part 18A of the said shank 18 forms a supporting part 1SA, while the lower part 8B of the shank 18 has a bent-round or slanting shape, the function of which will be explained later.

The other shank 20 of the supporting member, which extends substantially along the rod 9, li s a ^~ its outer end 20A at least one locking device 21, in that the end 20A.is in the form of a pointed edge, for example. The other end 20B of the shank continues into the bent or slanting lower end section 183 of the other, above- mentioned shank 18. Along the elongated opening 7 in one upright wall 5, on the inside of the wall parts and 53 respectively, ^"

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toothed strips 22 and 23 respectively are fastened, for example, by means of rivets or screw connections. The said toothed strips 22, 23 have a number of teeth 25 which form a locking element and which face into the inside of the cavity in the upright 1. The intermediate space 26 between two adjacent teeth 25 is designed so that it can accommodate the locking element 21 which is provided on the supporting member 17, thus producing effective locking of the two parts 21 and 25 relative to each other.

On the other hand, those surfaces of the two other wall sections A and -B respectively which face towards the inside of the upright are designed to form support surfaces A, -B for the supporting part 18A when the locking device 27 which is formed of the said teeth 25 and the complementary locking element 21 is in its effec¬ tive state.

A roller bearing, the angle of which may be adjusted or a force-accommodating support ring 28, made of rubber material, for example, can be arranged in the mounting hole 1 in th.e supporting member in order, amongst other things, to enable a certain amount of angular adjustment of the rod in relation to the supporting member 7, as shown with the rod drawn in dashes in Figure 2b.

The function of the said arrangement will now be described in more detail with reference to Figures 1-2b.

The arrangement is set up adjacent to and at a suitable distance from the vehicle wheel 12 which it is desired to take off the vehicle 29. By lifting up the rod 9 at the end where the hole 15 for the lever arm 15 is located, the rod 9, together with, the supporting member is pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction, as shown in Figure 2a, and enables the latter to be dis- placed along the upright 1 into the desired height position corresponding with the level at which the

relevant wheel nut 11, which is next in turn to be loosened, is located. By lowering the rod 9 into the position shown in Figure 2b, the two locking elements 21 and 2 respectively engage with each other and pre- vent the rod 9 being moved along the upright 1. A certain displacement of the rod 9 in the direction towards and away from the wheel 12 relative to the up¬ right 1 may possibly be desirable in order to make it easier to put the nut socket 10 on the nut 11 when the rod 9 is supported by means of the arrangement. By operating the lever arm 16 in the direction of the arrow as shown in Figure 1, the rod is rotated in the counter clockwise direction with considerable force. The rod 9 thus strives to press the supporting member 7 down, which produces increased contact between the support part 18A and the two supporting surfaces 4A, 4B on the wall parts 4A and 43 respectively and thereby further improves the locking capacity of the locking device 27. After the nut 11 has been loosened the rod 9 is moved on t.o the next desired level in the way described above, until all the nuts 11 have been loosened. The process of tightening the nuts 11 is carried out in the same way, except that the lever arm 16 is placed so that it can be rotated with considerable force in the opposite direction.

In Figure 3 another embodiment example is shown where the supporting member I7 ¹ is formed of a sleeve which is threaded onto the rod 9- Pins 30 extending in opposite directions on either side of the rod 9 bear at their respective outer ends a half-moon shaped knob 3 and 3 respectively, each of which is designed to run in its guideway 35 and 36 respectively, extending along the two opposing walls 33 and 3 respectively of the upright 1. Along one side surface of both the guideways 35, 36 there extends a row of teeth 37 and

38 respectively, while the other guideway side surfaces

39 and 40 respectively are smooth.

One end of the respective knobs 3" ¹ , 3 is formed as a pointed part 31 and 32A respectively which is designed to engage in between two teeth on the associated row of teeth 37 or 38 respectively. The opposite ends 31B and 32B respectively of the respective knobs 31, 32 is smooth, and is designed to co-act with the associated smooth guideway side surface 39 or 40 respectively.

The functioning of the said arrangement corresponds substantially with that of the first embodiment shown, i.e. the locking element 27 ^f is released by lifting up the rod 9 at its outer end. The locking of the arrange¬ ment is effected similarly, the rod 9 striving to press down the supporting element 17'. The supporting surfaces 31B and 32B respectively on the knobs y and 32 res- pectively have the same function as in the arrangement described above.

The arrangement is also particularly suitable for use in other applications than wheel changing, for example, for screw connections in structures and where a rod bears an effective device of some type at one of its ends and is designed to be operated manually in the vicinity of its other end.

To simplify still further the loosening of a nut, for example, which is stuck very tight a geared arrange- ment can be provided on "the support device so that it is not necessary to operate the lever arm 15 with such a great amount of force to loosen a nut, etc.

The locking and height adjustment of the supporting member for the effective element can naturally be effected in some other way than that which has been shown and described above. For example, it can be made in the form of a screw element which extends along the stand, for example, and is supported by both the stand and the supporting member. In this case, the threads should be provided with a s ^~ eep pitch, so as to facili¬ tate rapid adjustment and locking of the arrangement at

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the desired level.

The arrangement _. is suitable for carrying in a vehicle, for example, in a tool-box such as the tool¬ box which is arranged on the outside of the vehicle when used for load-carrying vehicles. If the holes 6, 7 in the sides of the stand 1 are open at the end, the rod 9 can be removed through the said opening. This means that both the lever arm 16 and the rod 9 can be accommo¬ dated expediently in the cavity inside the stand 1 when the arrangement is not being used, thus making it more compact.

The arrangement is also suitable for supporting a so-called spider spanner in the shape of a cross with variously sized sockets. Again, a wheel nut spanner which has different head widths at its various engage- ^• ment apertures in the respective ends can naturally be supported by a stand 1 according to the present invention the stand 1 when in used expediently being turned so that the correct socket is nearest the connecting element on which work is to be carried out. In this case, there is a hole for a lever arm at both ends of the rod.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments which are described above and shown on the drawings purely by way of example, but the details can be modified within the frame of the following Patent Claims. For example, the stand 1 may also be provided with a row of holes distributed over its height, through which a cross-pin which bears the mounting for the effective device 10 can be inserted at the desired height position.

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