Patent ID: 7958973

Claim:
A method of chocking a wheel comprising: providing a wheel chock, the wheel chock comprising a stationary body and a rocking body, the stationary body being configured and adapted to be rigidly secured to a surface, the rocking body being pivotally connected to the stationary body; rolling a wheel into contact with the rocking body in a manner causing the rocking body to rotate to a wheel securing position relative to the stationary body and causing the wheel to reach a chocked position relative to the stationary body, the wheel being engaged with the stationary body when the wheel is in the chocked position; and thereafter, activating a locking mechanism that limits pivotal movement of the rocking body away from the wheel securing position relative to the stationary body, the activating occurring while the wheel is in the chocked position, the wheel being fully secured to the wheel chock when the pivotal movement to the rocking body away from the wheel securing position is limited relative to the stationary body and the wheel is in the chocked position, the locking mechanism comprises a manual activation member located to one lateral side of the wheel when the wheel is in the chocked position; the step of activating the locking mechanism comprises activating an over-center locking mechanism that limits pivotal movement of the rocking body away from the wheel securing position relative to the stationary body, the over-center locking mechanism being movable between opposite off-center position through a center position and being biased away from the center position when the wheel is in the chocked position, the over-center locking mechanism being activated by applying an external force to the manual activation member that cause the over-center locking mechanism to move from one of the off-center positions to the other off-center positions through the center position, the over-center locking mechanism comprising first and second links, the first link being pivotally connected to a first portion of the wheel chock about a first link axis, the first link being pivotally connected to the second link about a second link axis, the second link being pivotally connected to a second portion of the wheel chock about a third link axis, the first and third link axes defining a plane extending therethrough, movement of the second link axis toward the plane in either direction causing the first and third link axes to move apart from each other, the over-center locking mechanism being in the center position when the second link axis crosses the plane.