Patent ID: 6866124

Claim:
An asymmetric lift apparatus for lifting a land or water vehicle, said apparatus comprising: first and second support columns for positioning along respective opposite sides of a vehicle bay, which bay is sufficiently wide to accommodate the vehicle to be lifted, said columns being diagonally offset relative to a longitudinal axis of the vehicle bay and arranged along a line that intersects the longitudinal axis of said vehicle bay at a non-perpendicular angle; each column supporting a respective carriage for moving in upward and downward vertical directions along said column; a first pair of asymmetrically foldable support arms pivotably attached to one said carriage and a second pair of asymmetrically foldable support arms pivotably attached to the other said carriage, said carriages and said respective pairs of support arms engaging and extending from respective opposing sides of said first and second columns, which opposing sides face one another in opposing directions with one of said opposing sides facing inwardly and forwardly relative to the vehicle bay and the other opposing side facing inwardly and rearwardly relative to the vehicle bay; said support arms in each said pair for pivoting together into a collapsed condition and for pivoting apart into an extended condition wherein said support arms and said pair are deployed at an angle greater than 0° to one another for engaging an undercarriage of a vehicle to provide a balanced, symmetric support for the vehicle; and a drive mechanism operatively connected to said carriages, said drive mechanism being operated selectively in a forward direction to raise said carriages and said first and second pairs of support arms along said respective columns and in a reverse direction to lower said carriages and said first and second pairs of support arms along said respective columns, whereby the vehicle supported on said support arms is lifted and lowered respectively.