Patent ID: 7287732

Claim:
An improved leveling device for use with an appliance having a threaded receptacle for receiving an elongated adjusting leg, wherein the improvement comprises: a. the elongated adjusting leg has an upper longitudinal threaded section adapted for engaging the threaded receptacle, an intermediate section free of threads, and a lower section with an integral collar; and b. a locking hub, with a plurality of axial passageways extending from a bottom end to a top end, for receiving the elongated adjusting leg, having 1) a first of said plurality of passageways is proximate the top end and has an internal thread adapted for engaging the upper longitudinal threaded section of the elongated adjusting leg, and 2) a second of said plurality of passageways is disposed between the first of said plurality of passageways and the bottom end, and has a shape adapted for engaging the collar to rotate the elongated adjusting leg about its longitudinal axis, whereby, the upper longitudinal threaded section of the elongated adjusting leg can be inserted into the second of said plurality of passageways and rotated engagingly through the first passageway until the internal thread of the first passageway is free of the upper longitudinal threaded section, whereupon the second of said plurality of passageways can engage the collar of the elongated leg to form an assembly, the upper longitudinal threaded section of the assembly can be inserted into the threaded receptacle, the locking hub of the assembly can be rotated in a threading direction to engage the upper longitudinal threaded section to a suitable depth in the threaded receptacle to facilitate leveling the appliance, and the locking hub can be disengaged from the collar moving upwardly to allow the internal thread of the first of said plurality of passageways to rotatingly engage the upper longitudinal threaded section of the elongated adjusting leg until the top end of the locking hub matingly engages the threaded receptacle to fasten the leg in the threaded receptacle.