A compact mechanic?s creeper comprising an elongate body comprising a back rest portion and a head rest portion, a pair of ground contacting wheels, one of each of the wheels on either side of the back rest portion, each of the wheels rotating about a respective fixed axis of rotation positioned substantially at a right angle to a length of the elongate body and a ground contacting swivel towards a top end of the elongate body. When a user lies supine on the creeper with his head on the head rest portion, an upper edge of the pair of wheels are positioned on either side and substantially at a level of the user?s hips. In a particular embodiment the respective fixed axes of rotation are at an angle to one another and meet at a point above a center of the back rest portion.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to creepers and, more specifically, to creepers for use in manoeuvring under an object such as a motor vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Creepers for use in working or manoeuvring beneath automobiles, trucks and other such motor vehicles are well known and have been used by the novice and professional automobile mechanic for years. Existing creepers suffer many drawbacks. For example, conventional creepers have either small swivel wheels (small casters) attached to the creeper body, beneath the occupant, or have larger swivel wheels (large casters) attached away from the creeper body to enable the casters to swivel without being hampered by the edge of the creeper and/or the occupant's body. To maintain stability, the casters are typically positioned towards the exterior edge of the creeper body (and typically under the creeper when using small swivel casters or about the periphery of the creeper body if large swivel casters) thus providing for both translational and rotational movement of the creeper. Small casters have the disadvantage of being easily obstructed by cracks in the floor or debris or the like. Large casters on the other hand have the disadvantage of requiring a greater “footprint” than the creeper occupant's body. Additionally, large casters typically raise the creeper above the ground making the creeper unstable and more difficult to manoeuver and also reduce the clearance between the occupant and the object under which the occupant is working.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the above and other drawbacks there is provided a compact mechanic's creeper comprising an elongate body comprising a back rest portion and a head rest portion, a pair of ground contacting wheels, one of each of the wheels on either side of the back rest portion, each of the wheels rotating about a respective fixed axis of rotation positioned substantially at a right angle to a length of the elongate body and a ground contacting swivel towards a top end of the elongate body. When a user lies supine on the creeper with his head on the head rest portion, an upper edge of the pair of wheels are positioned on either side and substantially at a level of the user's hips. In a particular embodiment the respective fixed axes of rotation are at an angle to one another and meet at a point above a centre of the back rest portion.

There is also provided a creeper assembly for protecting a user in a supine position when maneuvering on a ground surface under a supported object having a mass of at least one (1) ton. The assembly comprises a mechanic's creeper comprising an elongate body comprising a back rest portion and a head rest portion and a first plurality of wheels, a support for removeably receiving the mechanic's creeper, a safety structure coupled to the support, the safety structure comprising at least one upwardly projecting rigid element capable of supporting the mass of the object and defining a protective space above the back rest portion and the head rest portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now toFIG. 1, a compact mechanic's creeper, generally referred to using the numeral10, and in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, will now be described. The creeper10is generally for use by a professional or novice mechanic, or any individual for that matter that seeks to obtain access, generally in a supine position, to the under body of a vehicle or other such heavy machinery (not shown) for maintenance, inspection, general reparation or any other such activity. The vehicle in question may be raised using a standard jack or jack stands, or any other such device that will allow the vehicle to be raised sufficiently to allow the individual to work underneath it.

Still referring toFIG. 1, the creeper10comprises an elongate plastic body12, manufactured for example using blow moulded plastic or the like, onto which a comfortable foam back rest portion14and head rest portion16are adhered or otherwise included. A pair of relatively large angled wheels as in18is provided towards a bottom end20of the creeper10. The body12further comprises a pair opposed raised wheel guards22arranged on either side of the user (not shown) coinciding with the wheels18to prevent inadvertent engagement of the wheels with the user during rotation. A raised lumbar supporting region23arranged transversely to the body12can be included in the back rest portion14to improve comfort

Referring now toFIG. 2in addition toFIG. 1, the creeper10further comprises a relatively small rotating wheel24(or a swivel) mounted on a swivelling platform26or the like and positioned towards the top end28of the body12. Additionally, the angled wheels as in18are interconnected using a re-enforcing plate30, for example fabricated from a strong resilient material such as steel or the like. Note that in a particular embodiment, the rotating wheel24and swivelling platform26can be replaced by a rotating ball (not shown). When in use this first plurality of wheels comprised of the angled wheels as in18and the rotating24wheel hold the lower surface of the back rest portion14and head rest portion16away from the ground, illustratively by about one (1) inch (or 25 millimeters).

Referring now toFIG. 3, the re-enforcing plate30comprises an elongate member32interconnecting two wheel receiving wings as in34. The angled wheels18each comprise an outer tread and hubcap assembly36which is arranged on a hub38. A rolling bearing40, such as a sealed ball or roller bearing or the like, is press fit into the hub38and is in turn secured to the re-enforcing plate30, for example using a bolt of the like (not shown) which engages a threaded bore42formed in a respective one of the wings34. Each wheel as in18is therefore free to rotate about its respective axis B-B, C-C and independent from one another. When assembled, the axes of the wheels18are raised somewhat versus existing creeper designs and such that the back rest portion14cradles the user when in use. This lowers the user's center of gravity somewhat versus existing creeper designs, improving stability.

Referring back toFIG. 2in addition toFIG. 3, use of a combination of three wheels comprising the two larger fixed wheels as in18and the smaller rotating wheel24, which is similar to a tripod, provides for a stable and continuous contact with the ground by all wheels especially on uneven surfaces. Additionally, provision of the fixed wheels as in18along the sides of the creeper10and their attachment at a point above a lower surface of the elongate body12allows for the use of larger diameter wheels, thereby improving stability and ground contact. Use of larger wheels also improves support when using the creeper10on softer surfaces. Although the large fixed wheels of the present invention are illustratively of between about 5 and 8 inches, in a particular embodiment larger wheels of up to 16 inches in diameter could also be used.

Still referring toFIG. 2in addition toFIG. 3, provision of the larger wheels as in18at approximately the height of the user's hips and the small swivelling wheel24adjacent the user's head distributes about 90% of the user's weight to the larger wheels as in18and about 10% of the user's weight to the small swivelling wheel24. This unexpectedly improves agility of the creeper10, allowing the user, for example, to easily swing or pivot about a point as compared to existing prior art designs. As such, by simply swinging his hips with his feet on the ground, and given that the fixed wheels are located at approximately the mid-point of the user's weight, a “wiper motion” of the upper portion of the user's body is provoked. Using this motion, the user can easily scan and observe a wider area under a vehicle without requiring the user to use his hands on the ground or an underside of the object, which in the case of a vehicle is often dirty, greasy and/or hot. This frees both hands of the user such that he can hold tools or parts or the like while pivoting. Additionally, safety is improved as it is typically unnecessary for the user to use his hands on the underside of the object to impart a lateral movement, which can destabilise an object mounted on supports, for example.

Referring now toFIG. 4in addition toFIG. 2, the body12of the creeper10is dimensioned such that when a typical user44rests in a supine position on the creeper10with his head46resting on the head rest16, the user's hips are positioned immediately above or flush with an axis A-A between the centers48of the wheels18. Additionally, the user's hips fit snugly between the opposed raised wheel guards22comfortably cradling the user there between. This combination allows the user44to easily manoeuver the creeper10using his legs.

Referring now toFIG. 5, as discussed above the wheels18may be arranged at an angle φ (between about 5 and 30 degrees, preferably about 8 degrees) to a line normal to a surface50upon which the creeper10is resting. It will now be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the respective axes of rotation B-B, C-C are both at right angles to a length of the elongate body12and at an angle θ between about 120 degrees and 170 degrees to one another at a point P where they meet above the centre of the back rest portion14. Securing the wheels18at such an angle in combination with the swivelling wheel24or ball (not shown) as well as the positioning of the user (not shown) improves the maneuverability of the creeper10when working under a vehicle or the like.

Referring now toFIGS. 6A and 6B, in a particular embodiment the creeper10can be removeably combined with a protective superstructure52. The superstructure52comprises a series of re-enforced tubes54manufactured from a material capable of withstanding great weight, such as tubular steel or the like, which are arranged such that when combined with the creeper10, they provide a protected space above the creeper10and are able to support the weight of the vehicle or other object under which the creeper is being manoeuvered, typically between 1 to 10 tons. As such, in the event of inadvertent movement of the object, for example when a jack supporting the object fails or slips or the like, the superstructure52engages the ground and provides the user some protection. Additionally, the superstructure52comprises relatively large wheels as in56. The creeper10illustratively rests on a plurality of cross braces58which raise the wheels18,24of the creeper10above the surface on which the superstructure52rests. An exemplary embodiment of such a superstructure52is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,668 by Sieb et al. which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Referring now toFIG. 7A, in an alternative embodiment, the creeper10is further outfitted with tool trays as in58which are moulded in the wheel guards22. Additionally, the headrest portion16is separated from the body portion14by a gap60. The head rest portion16is connected to the body portion14by a pair of elongate members as in62which are arranged somewhat lower than the height of the head rest portion16and the body portion14in order to provide additional clearance for a user's shoulders and arms during use. This allows the user, for example, to better manoeuver the creeper10using his hands. LED lights as in64are integrated into one or both of the elongate members as in62including switches as in66and such that the user can selectively illuminate an object (not shown) under which the creeper10is being manoeuvered. The creeper10additionally comprises a bumper stand/skid plate68for reducing wear on the body portion14during use and storage.

Referring now toFIG. 7B, in the alternative embodiment of a wheel assembly according to the present invention, the two wheel receiving wings as in34are extended and one or more additional threaded bores as in70provided therein. In this manner, the height of the creeper vis-a-vis the ground can be adjusted by securing the wheel18using a bolt72to a selected one of the threaded bores as in42, for example to provide increased ground clearance in the case of debris or unevenness or the like or less ground clearance on smooth services.

Referring toFIG. 7Cin addition toFIG. 7B, similarly a spacer or riser74or similar mechanism can be provided to provide a complementary increase or decrease in height of the small rotating wheel24vis-a-vis the ground. The spacer74and wheel can be secured to the underside of the head rest portion16using bolts as in76or the like. Illustratively, in a first position the creeper10is provided with a ground clearance of about 1 inch which may be raised to about 2 inches through selection of the appropriate threaded bore as in42and provision of an appropriately sized spacer70.

Referring now toFIG. 7Din addition toFIG. 7A, each of the wheels as in18comprises an angled tread profile78which is intersected by a raised smooth flat bead80. The smooth bead80provides for reduced friction on smooth services such as a conventional garage floor, thereby improving agility and significantly reducing noise during movement. On unstructured or softer surfaces the angled tread profile78is engaged to provide additional support to prevent sinking and the like. The angle of the tread profile78and the smooth bead80is selected to match substantially that of the axis of rotation of the wheels18and such that a ground contacting portion of the tread profile78and a ground contacting portion of the smooth bead80lie substantially flat, or in parallel to the ground, when in contact with the ground.

Referring now toFIG. 8, in a second alternative embodiment of the creeper10, each of the wheels as in18is replaced by a centerless wheel82. The elongate member32is substantially flat and straight. Each of the centreless wheels as in82comprises a large centreless stationary hub84which is secured to the elongate member32using bolts or the like (not shown). The wheel/tire86is able to freely rotate about the centreless hub84on a bearing surface or the like (also not shown). Use of a centreless wheel as in82allows for a lower ground clearance while providing a point of attachment which is substantially flush with the underside of the creeper10.

While this invention has been described with reference to the illustrative embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed to a limiting sense. Various modifications or combinations of the illustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention, will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description. It is therefore intended that the described invention encompass any such modifications or embodiments.