Patent Publication Number: US-6216524-B1

Title: Dual clamping adapter and vehicle repairing device

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/369,607 filed on Aug. 6, 1999 which is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 08/888,572 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,186 on Jun. 8, 1999, which was a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/620,989 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,946 on Jul. 8, 1999, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 08/401,764 and 08/401,765, both filed Mar. 10, 1995, the subject matter of which are incorporated herein by reference thereto. 
    
    
     The present invention is directed to a dual clamping adapter for vehicle repairing devices and, more particularly, to vehicle repairing devices which comprise a generally V-shaped base which is readily attachable to three separate, paired horizontal pinchweld and vertical tab locations on a unibody. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Vehicles damaged in an accident usually require expensive repairs including careful and accurate straightening and correction of the deformation. Devices for repairing damaged vehicles typically include a number of beams attached to each other at 90 degrees. In addition, they typically require the vehicle to be jacked up so that the device can be positioned under the vehicle, wherein the device is attached to the vehicle at typically four locations. Such devices are costly, require extensive time to set up, and require highly skilled technicians to operate. 
     It is therefore desirable to provide vehicle repairing devices which are low cost and compact, readily set up and operated, and which provide effective repair of damaged unibodies. 
     This object is achieved with the vehicle repairing device disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,186. The device comprises a generally V-shaped base comprising a first substantially horizontal elongated member and a second substantially horizontal elongated member attachable to each other at an angle of less than 90 degrees. A pair of clamps are attached to the first member to attach the first member to a vehicle, preferably at two different pinchweld locations. A separate clamp attaches the second member to the vehicle, preferably at another location which is different from the two pinchweld locations to which the first member is attached. 
     Generally for most cars, “single” pairs of clamps are needed for the three clamping locations. However, for certain vehicles, such as Honda® motor vehicles, it is necessary to secure the vehicle body, which is of a so-called “unibody frame construction”, with “dual” clamps at each of the clamp positions. Specifically, the clamp must be affixed to both the vehicle&#39;s horizontal pinchweld and the vertical jack tab at each clamp position. Otherwise, attempting to repair the vehicle with a pulling device with only either the horizontal pinchwelds or vertical jack tabs clamped could result in distortion and/or deformation of the vehicle unibody. 
     Clamping adapters have been proposed to provide these dual clamping functions but they generally are high in cost, complicated, difficult to use and/or not easily or universally adaptable. For example, one conventional clamping adapter requires the use of a multiplicity of shims to adjust the height of the clamps which incurs additional set-up time. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dual clamping adapter for vehicle repairing devices which is relatively simple in construction and economical to fabricate, which allows ready set-up and operation and which is readily adaptable to variously configured and dimensioned vehicle framed bodies. 
     Certain of the foregoing and related objects are readily attained in a dual clamping adapter for securing a vehicle body undercarriage having both horizontal pinchwelds and vertical jack tabs to a vehicle repairing device comprising a generally L-shaped clamp bracket having a generally upright upper leg and a generally horizontal lower leg, first means for releasably clamping a horizontal pinchweld of a vehicle body undercarriage, second means for releasing clamping a vertical jack tab of a vehicle body undercarriage, means for adjustably mounting said first means for releasably clamping on said upper leg of said clamp bracket and said second means for releasably clamping on said lower leg of said clamp bracket, and means for adjusting the height of said clamp bracket. 
     Preferably, the first and second means for releasably clamping comprises a pair of clamping plates. Desirably, the means for adjustably mounting comprises at least one elongated slot formed in said upper leg and at least one elongated slot formed in said horizontal leg. Advantageously, the means for adjusting the height of said clamp comprises a generally vertically-disposed threaded rod having a top end releasably secured to said lower leg of said clamp bracket. Most advantageously, the rod is supported in a cylindrical tube for vertically displaceably movement and said means for adjusting the height includes means for locking said rod at a fixed height relative to said tube. Most desirably, the lower leg of the bracket is Y-shaped. The lower leg of the bracket preferably has a downwardly depending leg and the rod has means for releasably clamping said downwardly depending leg. 
     Certain of the foregoing and related objects are also attained in a device for straightening damaged vehicle bodies with an undercarriage having both horizontal pinchweld and vertical jack tabs comprising a first elongated member which is selectively positionable under the undercarriage of a damaged vehicle body, said first elongated member comprising a first end and a second end, a second elongated member selectively attachable to said first elongated member at an angle of less than 90 degrees, means for applying a pulling force selectively connectable to at least one of said elongated members and means for attaching said force applying means to a damaged vehicle, and two clamps slidably mounted on said first elongated member for attaching said first elongated member to said damaged vehicle body, and a clamp slidably mounted on said second elongated member for attaching said second elongated member to said damaged vehicle body, said clamps each being of the type described above. 
     These and other embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the figures. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle repairing device and the dual clamping adapter of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the clamping adapter in use affixed to the undercarriage of a vehicle body; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the dual clamping adapter; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged side elevational view of the clamping adapter in clamping position affixed to the undercarriage of a vehicle body; and 
     FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the clamping adapter. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Turning now to the drawings, therein illustrated in FIG. 1 is a vehicle repairing device  1  embodying the present invention for repairing a damaged vehicle body (typically a unibody). Vehicle repairing device  1  generally comprises a generally V-shaped base  12  comprising a first substantially horizontal elongated member or main beam  20 , and a second substantially horizontal elongated member or side arm  30 , which are attachable to each other so as to define an angle A therebetween (double-headed arrow A) which is less than 90 degrees. 
     Main beam  20  and side arm  30  are preferably hollow beams and have a substantially uniform cross-section, e.g., beams having a hollow square or rectangular cross-section. Side supports  22  and  24  extend outwardly from opposite sides of main beam  20  and are provided with ground supporting wheels  40 . Likewise, side arm  30  is provided with ground supporting wheels  40  (only one of which is shown). 
     Main beam  20 , which preferably attaches to two locations on a vehicle, is sized larger relative to side arm  30  since side arm  30  attaches preferably to one location on the vehicle. 
     Main beam  20  and side arm  30  are preferably pivotally attachable to each other so as to readily allow angle A therebetween to be varied from about 20 degrees to about 70 degrees, and desirably, from about 30 degrees to about 60 degrees. A pair of spaced-apart upper and lower pivot plates  50  and  50 ′ are mounted to main beam  20 , and side supports  22  so that portions of plate  50  and  50 ′ extend outward from main beam  20 . 
     Pivot plates  50  and  50 ′ are provided with a downwardly depending pin  52  and a plurality of vertically aligned through holes  54  spaced-apart along a curve, at least one of which is alignable with a threaded hole of side arm  30  (not shown) to allow pin  52  to be inserted in both aligned holes, thus locking side arm  30  in a fixed angular position relative to main beam  20 ; further details of the construction of the vehicle repairing device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,186. 
     Clamps  60  according to the present invention are slidably mountable on main beam  20  and side arm  30 , respectively, and attach main beam  20  and side arm  30  to a vehicle undercarriage  13  at various locations, such as to a unibody at various horizontal pinchweld  15  and vertical jack tab  17  locations. As seen best in FIG. 2, clamps  60  each comprise a first plate  62  and a second plate  64  which are disposed on opposite sides of main beam  20  (or side arm  30 ) and are connected together by four bolts  66 . By tightening bolts  66 , plates  62  and  64  are securely mounted and fixed in position on main beam  20 . Attached to plate  62  is an upright cylindrical tube  68  which receives a threaded rod  70  which is pivotally or rotatably retained therein. 
     As seen best in FIGS. 3 and 4 attached to the upper end of threaded rod  70  is an L-shaped clamping plate  90  to which a mating, spring loaded clamping plated  92  is attached via a pair of bolts  96 . A generally L-shaped dual clamp adapter or support member or bracket  72  is releasably attached to clamping plates  90 ,  92  via its downwards depending leg  98 . Bracket  72  has a generally upright rectangular upper support leg  73  joined to a generally horizontally disposed, Y-shaped lower support leg  74  having a base section to which the upper support leg  73  is secured and a pair of arms  75 . As best seen in FIG. 3, both upper leg  73  and arms  75  are each provided with a pair of elongated slots  76 ,  77 , respectively, for the purpose of releasably and adjustably supporting a pair of clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ for clamping to a horizontal pinchweld  15 , or vertical jack tab  17  or other supporting portion of the frame body or unibody undercarriage  13  of a vehicle. 
     As shown best in FIG. 4, clamping plates  78  are generally L-shaped and each has a support leg  81  with a pair of spaced-apart, threaded holes (not shown) by which the clamping plates  78  may be mounted on the upper and lower legs  73 ,  74  of the support member  72  via a pair of threaded bolts  79 . Clamping plates  78 ′ are likewise provided with a pair of spaced-apart holes (not shown) by which each pair of clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ are clamped together via spring loaded bolts  80 . The pair of clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ mounted on one of the arms  75  serve to clamp the downwardly depending jack tab  17  of the vehicle undercarriage  13 . Similarly, the pair of clamps  78 ,  78 ′ mounted on upper leg  73  serve to clamp the horizontally extending pinchweld  15  of the vehicle undercarriage  13 . As seen in FIGS. 2 and 4, a nut  69  is threadably received on threaded rod  70  to allow height adjustment of clamping bracket  72  relative to main beam  20  and/or side arm  30 . In addition, a threaded bolt  71  extends through the wall of cylindrical tube  68  to bear against threaded rod  70  and lock the same in place at a desired height. Clamp  60  which is slidably mountable on side arm  30  is essentially the same as that described above with reference to clamp  60  or main arm  20  except its position is reversed. 
     As seen in FIG. 5, the lower support leg  74  preferably has a Y-shape, with its two arms  75  tapering to a narrow neck section  61  which has a width equal to the upstanding leg  73 . As a result of this narrow neck or Y-shaped configuration, easy and ready access is made available to threaded bolts  80  of the clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ for clamping to the horizontal pinchweld  15 . This enables the technician to use power tools such as an impact wrench to reach and tighten and/or loosen the bolts  80  in an easy and facile manner. 
     As can be appreciated from the foregoing, clamps  60  are adaptable to variously dimensioned dual clamping locations. Clamps  60  are movable along beam  20  and sidearm  30  to enable the clamps  60  to be positioned at the appropriate clamping positions beneath the vehicle undercarriage at which points the bolts  66  can be tightened to fix the position of the clamps  60 . 
     The height of rod  70  can easily be adjusted via nut  69  to either raise or lower the L-shaped support member or bracket  72  to position it closely to the vehicle undercarriage  13 . The vertical position of the clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ on upper leg  73  can also be raised or lowered via slots  76  (FIG. 2) to align the clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ with the horizontally-extending pinchweld  15  of the vehicle unibody  13 . Similarly, the position of the clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ on the lower leg  74  can be horizontally or transversely adjusted via slots  77  (FIG.3) either toward or away from the ends of arms  75  to effect alignment thereof with the vertical jack tabs  17  of the vehicle unibody  13 . The clamping plates  78 ,  78 ′ can be mounted on either arm  75  depending on the location of the vertical jack tab  17  of the vehicle unibody; typically one arm  75  is used for the vertical jack tab  17  adjacent the front wheel of the vehicle and the other arm  75  is used for the vertical jack tab  17  adjacent the rear wheel of the vehicle. In addition, it should also be noted that clamp  60  is universally adaptable for use on either side of the vehicle i.e., paired right and left handed clamps are not needed. 
     Once clamping of the horizontal pinchwelds  15  and vertical jack tabs  17  is effected at the three clamping positions (two on one side of the vehicle and the third on the opposite side of the vehicle), the vehicle is ready to be pulled. It should be noted that, although the desired dual points of attachment are the pinchweld  15  and jack tab  17 , other functionally equivalent structures on the vehicle body may be utilized, if appropriate. 
     With reference again to FIG. 1, so-called “pulling” is effected via a tower  90 , a beam extension  100  and a hydraulic cylinder  110  attach to main beam  20  for applying a repairing force to a vehicle. The hydraulic cylinder is connected via a hydraulic hose  112  to a foot-operated, conventional hydraulic pump  114 . The lower end of tower  90  is pivotally connected via pin  94  to one end of beam extension  100  so that tower  90  can be moved in the directions of curved double-headed arrow B, by expansion and contraction of hydraulic cylinder  110  diagonally disposed between tower  90  and beam extension  100  in the directions of double headed arrow C. A plurality of fingers  92  extend outward from tower  90  so that one end of a chain (not shown) can be attached or supported by one of fingers  92  and the other end of the chain can be attached to the vehicle. In addition, beam extension  100  is attachable to main beam  20  and is rotatable relative thereto about a longitudinal axis of main beam  20  as illustrated by double headed arrow D. Beam extension  100  is pivotally connected to main beam  20  so as to be pivotable about a vertically extending axis in the directions of double headed arrow E. Specifically, a pair of upper and lower generally circular plates  120  having a plurality of through holes  122  arranged along a curve and spaced from one another is attached to beam extension  100  at the end opposite tower  90 . Main beam  20  is pivotally attached thereto via pins  124  and holes  122  to lock beam extension  100  in a fixed angle thereto. 
     At this time, the vehicle is ready for a “pull”. The pump  114  is activated to operate the hydraulic cylinder which, in turn, pivots tower  90  which applies a repairing or pulling force to the vehicle via chains (not shown) as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art. 
     From the present description, it will be further appreciated that the vehicle repairing devices disclosed herein are significantly more compact and more particularly suitable for repairs on unibody vehicles than the prior art. Furthermore, the vehicle repair devices of the present invention can be attached to a vehicle more quickly and easily than the more cumbersome devices of the prior art. For example, the vehicle repairing devices of the present invention can be attached to a vehicle by jacking up one wheel thereof, removing the wheel, and sliding a main beam under the vehicle. The clamps can then be adjusted and connected to the pinch-welds and jack tabs of the unibody. Once the main beam and side arm are connected to the vehicle, a repairing force can be subsequently applied. It is also possible that the clamp or clamping adapter  60  and/or their subassemblies, such as the support bracket  72 , could be used with conventional pulling equipment in which case four of such brackets would be used rather than only three as needed in connection with the vehicle repairing device of the present invention.