PERSONAL POSITIONING CREEPER

摘要

A personal positioning creeper (PPC) for assisting mechanics, technicians and factory workers who need access to various angles and heights on a vehicle, aircraft, factory equipment, etc. The PPC allows the operator to simultaneously maneuver from lying supine near the ground, to moving upward and rotating into a full sitting position without having to dismount the PPC. The PPC comprises: a three member frame system (base, seat, and backrest frame connected together with eight (8) bell cranks and four (4) linkage assemblies), all under the control of a hydraulic system. The hydraulic system comprises: 1) a hydraulic pump with an ergonomically designed pump actuator handle and a release valve; and, 2) a hydraulic cylinder connected to the hydraulic pump, and to the linkage assemblies to rotate the bell cranks. The resistance to the pumping action felt by the operator remains constant regardless of the height of the seat.

主权项

1. A simultaneously lifting and reclining personal positioning creeper (PPC), wherein the operator does not need to dismount the PPC to adjust its position, comprising,
a. a rectangular shaped base frame comprising four swivel castors on the frame underside; b. a cushioned, rectangular or square shaped seat frame residing above and parallel to the base frame; c. a cushioned, rectangular shaped backrest frame rotatable in conjunction with raising and lowering of the seat connected via pivoting means:
i. at about a mid-section of the backrest frame to the head end of the seat frame,ii. at the underside of the base frame, d. a bell crank linkage assembly connecting the base, seat and backrest frames, via four (4) pairs of bell cranks with four (4) linkage members; e. a hydraulic system with an activation mechanism configurable to control the PPC movement; and, f. wherein the operator may adjust the PPC to stop anywhere within a range of motion, from a supine position to an elevated-reclining or sitting position, by applying a low level force to the activation mechanism.