Motorcycle Turntable

CROSS-REFERENCE DATA

This application claims the conventional priority of provisional patent application N ⁰ 60/832, 147 in the United States filed July 21, 2006.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a support apparatus designed for rotating a two-wheeled vehicle in a tight space and accommodating an uneven ground surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

When a motorcycle is driven under power into a standard one-car garage, for temporary parking purposes, the front end of the motorcycle will be at the back end (i.e. opposite the door) of the garage. Since there is no ' ^" reverse" gear on a motorcycle, and the width of the garage is insufficient to allow the motorcycle to turn therein, a user normally needs to manually pull rearwardly the motorcycle away from the garage, a tedious chore when the motorcycle is of the large and heavy type.

A problem with prior art motorcycle manoeuvring devices is that their proper operation requires a flat level hard ground surface therebeneath. This is often not the case with motorcycle operators, who may have gravel type or wavy grass or ground surfaces in their garage or barn-like garage.

SUMMARY

The present invention relates to a motorcycle turnabout comprising:

• a ground base;

• a turntable mounted on said base and capable of supporting a two-wheeled vehicle;

• means for rotatably mounting said turntable over said base for at least half a turn rotation, said means for rotatably mounting including integral means to compensate for ground surface unevenness,

• a rail set above said turntable and having at least one free end portion thereof radially outwardly projecting from said turntable; and

• said turntable being sufficiently small in size to allow a motorcycle operator to clear the turntable and freely turn half a turn the motorcycle that stands on its own on the turntable by walking on the ground radially outwardly around the turnable

In one embodiment, the means for rotatably mounting is a wheel assembly of hub and spoke type including transversely peripherally rotatable rollers connected to a central hub by rods and connected therebetween by said rods to provide a steady rotatable support horizontal over ground

In one embodiment, a wheel assembly stands on said base being a discoid ground platform to accommodate rotatable rollers over uneven ground

In one embodiment, a loading ramp is provided, being positioned in radial register with a point at a circle of arc circumscribed by an outer free end of said rail Said loading ramp may be fixedly connected to said base via a ground engaging radial arm

A top end of said loading ramp may have a notch forming a seat for receiving the outer free end of said rail when said ramp and said rail are coaxially disposed

In one embodiment, said base has a releasable locking system preventing said turntable from rotating. Said locking system may include a spring loaded branch having one end fixed tangentially and peripherally to said base and an opposite free end having a transverse pm

In one embodiment, a bore is made through a peripheral edge portion of said turntable, said bore for receiving said pin under spring bias from said spring loaded branch in locked state of said locking system, said pin being biased upwardly against the underface of said turntable in unlocked state of said locking system when said pin becomes out of register with said bore during rotation of said turntable

In one embodiment, said base has a rolling device set there above the base and rotating said turntable Said rolling device may be a wheel assembly positioned into the inner side of said base and interconnected by said rods

In one embodiment, said rail is cross-sectionally U-shaped including side flanges extending upwardly therefrom for receiving wheels of a two-wheeled vehicle therebetween

In one embodiment, said turntable is a rotatable discoid shaped support

The present invention also relates to a method of using a motorcycle turnabout for facilitating ingress into and egress from a narrow garage parking spot of a motorcycle, the motorcycle turnabout being of the type comprising

• a ground base,

• a turntable mounted on said base and capable of supporting a two-wheeled vehicle,

• means for rotatably mounting said turntable over said base for at least half a turn lotation, said means for rotatably mounting including integral means to compensate for ground surface unevenness,

• a rail set above said turntable and having at least one free end portion thereof radially outwardly projecting from said turntable, and

• said turntable being sufficiently small in size to allow a motorcycle operator to clear the turntable and freely turn half a turn the motorcycle that stands on its own on the turntable by walking on the ground radially outwardly aiound the turntable, wherein the method of using a motorcycle turnabout comprising the following steps

• rotating a turntable until the locking pin engages one ol two bores made through peripheral edge portion of said turntable,

• rollingly climbing a motorcycle over a loading ramp to get onto said rail rolling surface of a rail,

• stopping said motorcycle befoie said motorcycle reaches the outer end of said rail,

• deploying a kickstand of said motorcycle onto a main discoid panel of said turntable so that said motorcycle stands on its own,

• the operator disembarking from his motorcycle and standing on the ground iadially outwardly beyond said turntable,

• manually pressing on said locking pin so as to release said one of two bores, and

• rotating half a turn said turntable with the operator's legs walking on the ground radially outwardly beyond said turntable while the operator ^' s hands push on the motorcycle ^' s handlebar until said locking pin interlocks the second said one of two bores

The general purpose of this invention is therefore to facilitate ingress into and egress from tight space with uneven ground surface such as barn-like garage for a motorcycle or the like

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG 1 is a top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of motorcycle turnabout in loading or unloading condition,

FIG 2 is a bottom perspective v iew according to the invention of motorcycle turnabout of FIG 1

FIG 3 is an exploded isometric view of the present invention

FIG 4 is a partial cross sectional view of the turnabout, at an enlarged scale, showing locking system in locked state of motorcycle turnabout,

FIG 5 is a view similar to FIG 4, but showing locking system in unlocked state of motoicycle turnabout where the locking pm is offset relative to turnabout bore, and

FIG 6 is a top perspective view of motorcycle turnabout similar to FIG 1 , but with the support being offset from the loading ramp

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In FIG 1-3, there is shown a motorcycle turnabout 8 having a turntable 10 ovei which transversely radially extends a rectangular rail 12 Rail 12 is, for example, cross-sectionally U-shape, defining a large flat rolling surface 12a sized for rolling engagement by the tires of a motorcycle, and short upright opposite lateral side flanges 12b, 12c, for receiving the motorcycle tires therebetween The length of rail 12 is greater than the diameter of turntable 10 such that at least one and preferably both of the two opposite end portions thereof radially project beyond the peripheral edge of turntable 10, spacedly over ground

Turntable 10 includes a main discoid panel 10a with a peripheral downturned flange 10b Panel 10a is sized to accommodate the motorcycle kickstand when the motorcycle stands on its own over rail surface 12a Turntable 10 is rotatably spacedly supported over ground by a wheel assembly 14 Wheel assembly 14 is of the hub and spokes type including a number of radial rods each of similar length, for example four rods 16, 18, 20, 22, interconnected to each other with a centrally perforated discoid hub housing 24 at their intermediate section 16a, 18a, 20a, 22a, and to a transverse shaft 26 transversely mounted to the center of turntable panel 10a and extending through hub housing 24 Each rod 16, 18, 20, 22, carries a pair of transversely mounted rotatable rollers 30, 30 ^" , 32, 32 ^" , 34, 34 ^" , 36, 36" respectively on opposite ends thereof Rotatable rollers 30, 30 ^" , 32,... are tangentially interconnected together in successive pairs with a number of rods, for example eight rods 38, 38", 40, 40 ^* , 42, 42 ^" , 44, 44", peripherally of wheel assembly 14 The four pairs of rollers 30, 30', 32, 32 ^" ... freely rotatably carry discoid panel 10a of turntable 10 horizontally over ground for rotation around a vertical axis extending through a vertical center axis 46 of turntable 10 The length of each rod 16, 18, 20, 22, is slightly shorter than the diameter of the turntable discoid panel 10a so that the rollers 30, 30 ^" , 32, 32 ^" , ... carried at the opposite ends of rods 16, 18,... extend radially inwardly of the flanges 10b of the turntable discoid panel Moreover, the diameter of rollers 30, 30 ^" , 32, 32 ^" ... should be greater than the height of flange 10b to enable free rotational motion of the rollers Thus, peripheral flange 10b guides rollers 30, 30 ^' ,... in the same arcuate rotational path

A wheel member 28 is further provided including radial arms 28a and a peripheral rigid πm 28b integrally interconnecting the radially outward ends of the aπns 28a The radially outward edge of rigid πm 28b carries a transverse flange 28c A locking system 50 is mounted tangentially to a radially outward face portion of πm 28b

It is noted in particular that the wheel assembly 14, of hub and spoke type, equally distributes the motorcycle and turntable 10 weight on each rotatable rollers 30, 30 ^" , 32, 32 ^" , 34, 34", 36, 36 ^" Accordingly, the stresses developed on the rotatable rollers 30, 30 ^* , 32... are absorbed by the rigid πm 28b and the radial arms 28a to compensate for underlying ground surface unevenness. Thus, the rigid πm 28b and

the radial arms 28a, in conjunction with wheel assembly 14, provide a system which can accommodate and compensate for uneven ground surface to enable effective rotation ot panel 10a over ground even when the ground has non horizontal component such as wavy slopes, irregularities associated with non hardened surfaces such as gravel, and the like not uncommon in lor example barns and country side

Locking system 50 includes a locking pin 52 radially upwardly mounted at the end of a spring biased branch 54 with opposite end thereof fixed with screws 55 onto a panel support 48 as seen in FIG 4 and FlG 5 When branch 54 is uncompressed and locking pin 52 is received in a bore 56 made at a peripheral edge portion of mam discoid panel 10a, as shown on FIG 1 and FIG 4, the locking system 50 is in locked state and the turntable 10 is unable to rotate until branch 54 is manually compressed by pushing on locking pin 52 to release bore 56 When locking pin 52 is pressed, branch 54 is bent (see FIG 5) and turntable 10 is able to freely rotate while locking pm 52 fπctionally slides against the underface of mam discoid panel 10a, locking system 50 is in unlocked state, as can be seen in FIG 5 and FIG 6, until locking pm 52 reaches second bore 56 ^" upon further rotation of turntable 10 There are two bores 56, 56 ^" (FIG 6) at 180 degrees fiom one another on opposite sides of the turntable 10, so that turntable 10 may rotate by half a turn increments before automatic spring bias interlock of the locking pin 52 into bores 56 or 56 ^" , to accommodate the need to rotate half a turn the motorcycle whereby the front end thereof can now face the door of the garage

To facilitate motorcycle wheel engagement at each open end of means of support 12 spaced from ground, there is preferably added a single inclined loading iamp 58 Loading ramp 58 is stationary on the ground, having one radially outward bevelled tree end portion 58a engaging the ground and a radially inner notch 58b spaced from ground, at a radially outwardly spaced location from turntable 10 When loading ramp 58 and rail 12 come in axial alignment, at either ends of rail 12, loading ramp 48 and rail 12 come in adjacent register with one another and locking system 50 is in locked state Locked state enables easy and stable rolling engagement of a motorcycle wheel onto rail rolling surface 12a by enabling the motorcycle wheels (not illustrated) to climb over inclined loading ramp 58

Loading ramp 58 is preferably integrally radially connected to the ground base 28 by a ground engaging radial arm 60, for example to accommodate ground unevenness. Rail 12 could be modified in shape and/or in size to accommodate vehicles other than motorcycle for example snowmobiles, or even to accommodate animals such as cattle or horses.

In use, motorcycle operator has to spin turntable 10 until locking pin 52 engaged one of the two bore 56 or 56 ^" made through peripheral edge portion of the turntable 10. When locking pin 52 is engaged in bore 56 or 56", in other words when the motorcycle turnabout 8 is in loading or unloading condition, motorcycle operator gets onto motorcycle to rollingly climb over loading ramp 58 and get onto rail rolling surface 12a. Rail rolling surface 12a is sufficiently long in length to support the two tires of the motorcycle and the motorcycle has to stop before front wheel gets off the end of rail 12. After motorcycle has been stopped, motorcycle kickstand is deployed by operator foot onto main discoid panel 10a to stand on its own. Thus, motorcycle operator can get off the motorcycle and unlock the locking system 50 by manually pressing with his foot on locking pin 52 so as to release bore 56 or 56 ^" . This enables operator to manually turn the turntable 10 via motorcycle's handlebar. Turntable 10 is turned half a turn until locking pin 52 comes in register with and interlocks the other bore 56' or 56, whereby the front of motorcycle can now face the opposite direction.