Abstract:
A shock-absorber mounting structure includes a base frame holding two parallel rails vertically, a top carrier and a bottom carrier moved along the parallel rails in the base frame, a screw rod rotated by a hand wheel to move the top carrier along the rails relative to the bottom carrier, a hydraulic system controlled to move the bottom carrier along the rails relative to the top carrier, and two shock-absorber holders respectively installed in the top carrier and the bottom carrier and adapted to hold a shock absorber therebetween.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an adjustable shock-absorber mounting structure for holding a shock-absorber, and more particularly to such an adjustable shock-absorber mounting structure, which is safe in use and, can easily rapidly be installed with less effort. 
     FIG. 1 shows a shock-absorber mounting structure holding a shock absorber according to the prior art. This design of shock-absorber mounting structure comprises a bottom frame  111 , the bottom frame  111  comprising two fixed holder blocks  120  and  130  at the top side thereof, an upright tube  140  mounted on the top side of the bottom frame  111  at the center between the fixed holder blocks  120  and  130 , a screw rod  171  supported in the upright tube  140 , a movable sleeve  152  mounted on the upright tube  140  and moved axially relative to the upright tube  140  upon rotation of the screw rod  171 , the movable sleeve  152  having two lugs  151  disposed at two opposite sides at different elevations, and two U-shaped catch pawls D respectively fastened to the lugs  151 , and two hydraulic cylinders  1  respectively installed in the holder blocks  120  and  130  (only one hydraulic cylinder is shown in FIG.  1 ). When in use, shock absorbers  101  are respectively mounted between the hydraulic cylinders  1  and the catch pawls D. By means of rotating the head  172  of the screw rod  171 , the movable sleeve  152  is moved vertically along the upright tube  140  to compress/release the shock absorbers  101 . The shock absorbers  101  commonly comprise a spring  4  or  6 , a top end cap  5  fastened to one end of the spring  4  or  6  and a bottom end cap  2  fastened to the other end of the spring  4  or  6 . This design of shock-absorbing mounting structure is not satisfactory in function. The drawbacks of this design of shock-absorbing mounting structure are numerous and outlined hereinafter. 
     1. When loosening the lock nut  7  of the shock absorber  101  in order to remove the shock absorber  101 , the spring  4  or  6  may jump out of place suddenly, causing an accident. In order to eliminate this problem, the spring  4  or  6  must be positively held in place when loosening the lock nut  7 . 
     2. Because the bottom end cap  2  of the shock absorber  101  is not positively secured in place, the shock absorber  101  tends to be erroneously twisted or forced out of place during installation. 
     3. The U-shaped catch pawls D cannot fit all kinds of shock absorbers. Because the springs of conventional shock absorbers have different diameters or shapes (see FIGS.  2 A and  2 B), the fixed size of the catch pawls D cannot fit different structures of shock absorbers. 
     4. When adjusting the elevation of the movable sleeve  152 , a hand tool must be used to rotate the head  172  of the screw rod  171 . 
     5. This design of shock-absorber mounting structure has no means for mounting on a support, for example, the wall, worktable, or any of a variety of equipment. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention has been accomplished to provide a shock-absorbing mounting structure, which eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the shock-absorber mounting structure comprises a base frame holding two parallel rails vertically, a top carrier and a bottom carrier moved along the parallel rails in the base frame, a screw rod rotated by a hand wheel to move the top carrier along the rails relative to the bottom carrier, a hydraulic system controlled to move the bottom carrier along the rails relative to the top carrier, and two shock-absorber holders respectively installed in the top carrier and the bottom carrier and adapted to hold a shock-absorber therebetween. According to another aspect of the present invention, the hydraulic system comprises a hydraulic cylinder, the hydraulic cylinder having a reciprocating rod fixedly connected to the bottom carrier and adapted to move the bottom carrier along the rails relative to the top carrier, an oil pipe connected to the hydraulic cylinder for return flow of hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic cylinder, a relief valve installed in the oil pipe for release of air from the oil pipe, and a hand pump adapted to pump hydraulic fluid out of the oil pipe to the hydraulic cylinder to lift the reciprocating rod. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the shock-absorber holders are replaceable, and different structures of shock-absorber holders can be used to fit different shock-absorbers. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the base frame has a back mounting board adapted for fastening to a support. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a shock-absorber mounting structure and a shock absorber installed in the shock-absorber mounting structure according to the prior art. 
     FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a regular shock absorber. 
     FIG. 2B is a perspective view of another structure of shock absorber. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 3 showing the top carrier coupled to the rails and the screw rod. 
     FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 3 showing the bottom carrier coupled to the rails and the screw rod. 
     FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing the top carrier and the bottom carrier moved relative to each other along the rails. 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an application example of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another application example of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing still another application example of the present invention. 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another application example of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing the angular position of the swivel catch pawl of the second shock-absorber holder adjusted. 
     FIG. 10 is perspective view of the present invention, showing the back mounting board of the base frame fastened to a storage box. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIGS. from  3  through  5  and  10 , the present invention comprises a base frame  10 , the base frame  10  having two longitudinal sliding slots  13  aligned at two opposite vertical side walls thereof, two parallel rails  12  longitudinally mounted in the base frame  10 , a screw rod  11  longitudinally mounted in the base frame  10  between the rails  12 , a hand wheel  110  fixedly fastened to the screw rod  11  above the base frame  10  and adapted to rotate the screw rod  11 , an upper carrier  20  adapted to move alone the rails  12  upon rotation of the screw rod  11 , the upper carrier  20  having a center screw hole  201 , which receives the screw rod  11 , a bottom carrier  24  adapted to move along the rails  12  below the upper carrier  20 , the bottom carrier  24  having a center through hole  241  for the passing of the screw rod  11  and two rod members  240  horizontally extended from two opposite lateral sides thereof and respectively inserted through the sliding slots  13  of the base frame  10 , a hydraulic cylinder  16  provided below the base frame  10 , the hydraulic cylinder  16  having a bottom shell  161  and a reciprocating rod  160  fixedly connected to the bottom carrier  24  and adapted to move the bottom carrier  24  along the rails  12  relative to the upper carrier  20 , two return springs  17  bilaterally connected between two distal ends of the bottom shell  161  of the hydraulic cylinder  16  and the rod members  240  of the bottom carrier  24  to impart a downward pressure to the bottom carrier  24 , an oil pipe  150  connected to the hydraulic cylinder  16 , a relief valve  15  installed in the oil pipe  150 , a hand pump  14  connected to one end of the oil pipe  150  remote from the hydraulic cylinder  16 , and shock-absorber holders  300  installed in the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24 . The hand pump  14  has a handle  141  for operation by hand to pump hydraulic oil out of the oil pipe  150  into the hydraulic cylinder  16 , causing the reciprocating rod  160  of the hydraulic cylinder  16  to lift the bottom carrier  24 . The upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  each comprise a receiving chamber  21  and a plurality of mounting holes  22 . Lock pins  23  are installed in the mounting holes  22  to secure a shock-absorber holder  300  to the receiving chamber  21  of the carrier  20  or  24 . The shock-absorber holder  300  may be variously embodied. In the drawings, there are shown four different shock-absorber holders  300   a,    300   b,    300   c  and  300   d.  The first shock-absorber holder  300   a  comprises an arched connecting plate  32 , the arched connecting plate  32  having a longitudinal series of mounting holes  33 , and two arms  30  bilaterally coupled between the arched connecting plate  32  and the carrier  20  or  24 . The arms  30  each have an eyelet-like rear end adapted for inserting into the receiving chamber  21  of the carrier  20  or  24  and connecting to the mounting holes  22  of the carrier  20  or  24  by a lock pin  23 , a front end selectively fastened to one mounting hole  33  of the arched connecting plate  32 , and hooked lugs  31  disposed at an inner side near the front end. The second shock-absorber holder  300   b  comprises two arms  40 , the arms  40  each having an eyelet-like rear end adapted for inserting into the receiving chamber  21  of the carrier  20  or  24  and connecting to the mounting holes  22  of the carrier  20  or  24  by a lock pin  23  and a headed front end provided with a plurality of vertically spaced mounting holes  41 , and two swivel catch pawls  42  selectively fastened to the mounting holes  41  of the arms  40  by lock nuts or the like. The third shock-absorber holder  300   c  comprises two arms  50 , the arms  50  each having an eyelet-like rear end adapted for inserting into the receiving chamber  21  of the carrier  20  or  24  and connecting to the mounting holes  22  of the carrier  20  or  24  by a lock pin  23 , two stems  51  vertically adjustably fastened to the arms  50  and fixed at the desired elevation by tightening up screws or the like, and two catch pawls  52  respectively mounted on the stems  51 . The fourth shock-absorber holder  300   d  is comprised of a substantially U-shaped catch pawl  60 . 
     Referring to FIG.  9  and FIGS. 4 and 5 again, when in use, the hand wheel  110  is rotated to move the upper carrier  20  upwardly along the rails  12 , leaving the distance between the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  to be slightly greater than the distance between the top end cap  5  and bottom end cap  2  at two distal ends of the spring  6  of the shock-absorber, and then the shock-absorber is inserted in between the shock-absorber holder  300  at the upper carrier  20  and the shock-absorber holder  300  at the bottom carrier  24 , and then the handle  141  of the hand pump  14  is operated to pump hydraulic oil out of the oil pipe  150  into the hydraulic cylinder  16 , causing the reciprocating rod  160  to lift the bottom carrier  24 , and therefore the shock-absorber is compressed between the shock-absorber holder at the upper carrier  20  and the shock-absorber holder  300  at the bottom carrier  24 . After the shock absorber has been positively positioned between the shock-absorber holder at the upper carrier  20  and the shock-absorber holder  300  at the bottom carrier  24 , the relief valve  15  can be opened to release air pressure, enabling hydraulic oil to flow back from the hydraulic cylinder  16  into the oil pipe  150 . When hydraulic oil flowed out of the hydraulic cylinder  16  into the oil pipe  150 , the bottom carrier  24  is pulled downwards to its former position by the return springs  17 , and the shock-absorber is allowed to be taken away. 
     FIGS. from  5  through  8  show various different application examples of the shock-absorber holders  300 . In FIG. 5, one first shock-absorber holder  300   a  and one second shock-absorber holder  300   b  are respectively installed in the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  to hold a shock-absorber, enabling the top end cap  5  and bottom end cap  2  of the shock-absorber to be respectively secured to the hooked lugs  31  of the first shock-absorber holder  300   a  and the swivel catch pawls  42  of the second shock-absorber holder  300   b.  In FIG. 6, one third shock-absorber holder  300   c  and one second shock-absorber holder  300   b  are respectively installed in the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  to hold a conical spring type shock-absorber  4 , and the conical spring type shock-absorber  4  is fastened to the catch pawls  52  of the third shock-absorber holder  300   c  and the swivel catch pawls  42  of the second shock-absorber holder  300   b.  In FIG. 7, one fourth shock-absorber holder  300   d  and one second shock-absorber holder  300   b  are respectively installed in the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  to hold a conical spring type shock-absorber  4 , and the conical spring type shock-absorber  4  is fastened to U-shaped catch pawl  60  of the fourth shock-absorber holder  300   d  and the swivel catch pawls  42  of the second shock-absorber holder  300   b.  In FIG. 8, two fourth shock-absorber holders  300   d  are respectively installed in the upper carrier  20  and the bottom carrier  24  to hold a conical spring type shock-absorber  4 , and the conical spring type shock-absorber  4  is fastened to the U-shaped catch pawl  60  of the fourth shock-absorber holder  300   d  at the upper carrier  20  and the U-shaped catch pawl  60  of the fourth shock-absorber holder  300   d  at the bottom carrier  24 . 
     Referring to FIG. 9 again, the swivel catch pawl  42  can be rotated in the selected mounting hole  41  of the respective arm  40  and then locked in the desired angle. 
     Referring to FIG.  10  and FIG. 3 again, the base frame  10  comprises a back mounting board  18  adapted for fastening to a support frame  8  (see FIG.  3 ), or a storage box  9  (see FIG.  10 ). The aforesaid hand pump  14  is installed in the back mounting board  18 . 
     It is to be understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration only, and are not intended for use as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention disclosed.