GB2363771A

GB2363771A - Motorcycle turntable

Info

Publication number: GB2363771A
Application number: GB0014071A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Andrew David Richardson; Michael Trevor Richardson
Original assignee: ADR MOULDINGS Ltd
Current assignee: ADR MOULDINGS Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-10
Filing date: 2000-06-10
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Also published as: GB0014071D0

Abstract

Apparatus 10 for turning a motorcycle by means of a turntable 12 which rotates relative to a base 32. A locking pin (60, fig 2) is provided for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable. There may be provided a ramp 44 for mounting the motorcycle and a safety stop at the opposite end to prevent overrunning. The upper surface of the turntable is shaped to include an elongate wheel recess 14 located between two foot rests 16. Preferably the apparatus would be made from a composite fibreglass material and would have a textured surface to increase friction.

Description

2363771 Apparatus for Turning a Motor Cycle The invention relates to an

apparatus for turning a motorcycle, particularly in a situation where space is limited, such as in a domestic driveway or garage.

Because all motorcycles have a limited amount of movement of the handlebars, it is often very difficult and time consuming to turn a motorcycle around Many motorcycles are damaged whilst the rider is carrying out this procedure, particularly as modern motorcycles tend to be very heavy and difficult to hold upright if they fall out of balance.

According to the invention there is provided apparatus for turning a motorcycle, the apparatus including a turntable for receiving the motorcycle, means for mounting the turntable such that it is rotatable relative to a base, and means for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable relative to the base.

The base may comprise or include the ground on which the apparatus rests However, preferably the apparatus includes a base member on which the turntable is able to rotate, the base member forming the said base.

Preferably the rotation of the turntable takes place around a central pivot The apparatus may include a projecting member fixed relative to one of the base and the turntable and a member including a complimentary recess fixed relative to the other of the base and the turntable, engagement of the projecting member with the recess defining the pivot The projecting member is preferably provided on the turntable and may project downwardly in use from an underside thereof The recess may be provided in a bush which may be attached to or formed as a part of the base.

The apparatus may include roller means for rotatably mounting the turntable on the base The roller means may include a plurality of wheels or castors Alternatively, the roller means may include a plurality of ball bearings.

If wheels are used, they are preferably oriented such that their axes of rotation each lie on a radius of a circle centred about the pivot The roller means may lie around the circumference of a circle centred on the pivot.

The roller means may run on a generally circular track Preferably the roller means are provided on one of the turntable and the base member and the track is provided on the other The roller means are preferably provided on an underside in use of the turntable and the track is preferably provided on the base member One or more roller means may be mounted on ribs on the underside of the turntable.

The base member may include a generally planar member comprising the track and a central portion for mounting the bush The track may be about 1 m in diameter and may have a width of between 50 mm and 100 mm A plurality of radially oriented members may extend between the track and the central portion.

Means are preferably provided for attaching the base member to the ground.

An upper surface of the turntable may be profiled to include an elongate wheel recess, for receiving the wheels of the motorcycle, the recess being located between two foot rests The wheel recess may be between 0 2 m and 0.4 m wide and between 50 mm and 0 3 m deep relative to upper surfaces of the foot rests.

The height of an upper surface of the wheel recess above the base may be between 50 mm and 0 2 m The apparatus preferably includes a ramp for guiding the wheels of a motorcycle onto the upper surface of the wheel recess.

The apparatus preferably includes a safety stop located at an opposite end of the recess from the ramp The safety stop preferably acts to urge a motorcycle pushed past the end of the wheel recess back into the wheel recess.

The safety stop may include an upwardly sloping ramp, which may be concave and approximately the shape of an arc of a circle.

The means for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable relative to the base may include a locking pin received in a complementary recess The locking pin is preferably mounted on a member which is fixed relative to the base The locking pin may be mounted on the safety stop Preferably the recess is provided in the turntable The locking pin may be movable axially into and out of the recess thereby locking and unlocking the turntable relative to the base The locking pin may be biased into the locked position.

Means may be provided for automatically locking the turntable relative to the base when the wheel recess is aligned with the ramp and the safety stop.

The turntable is preferably made from a composite material, which may be a fibreglass material The turntable may be moulded.

The upper surface of the wheel recess may be provided with a textured finish to increase friction The textured finish may include a gritty substance sprayed onto the surface, or may be formed during moulding.

The base is also preferably made from a composite material which may be a fibreglass material.

An embodiment of the invention will be described for the purpose of illustration only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a turning apparatus according to the invention; Fig 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the apparatus of Fig 1; Fig 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the base member, ramp and safety stop of the apparatus of Figs 1 and 2; Fig 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of the underside of the turntable of the apparatus of Figs 1 and 2; and Figs 5 and 6 are diagrammatic partial sectional views of the apparatus of Figs 1 and 2, illustrating the wheels.

Referring to the drawings, a turning apparatus 10 according to the invention includes a turntable 12 The turntable 12 is moulded from a fibreglass material and is profiled so as to include a wheel recess 14 defined between two foot rests 16 The wheel recess 14 is elongate in shape for receiving the wheels of a motorcycle The foot rests 16 are also generally elongate and are shaped to receive a person's feet when a motorcycle is mounted on the turntable 12.

The turntable 12 is provided with eight sets of wheel arrangements 18 provided on its underside 20 Six of the wheel arrangements 18 are mounted on ribs 22 provided on the underside of the turntable 12 (see Fig 4, where the dots 21 indicate the locations of the wheel arrangements) The ribs 22 ensure that all the wheel arrangements 18 are mounted within a single plane, even though two are mounted on the underside of the wheel recess 14 and the remainder on the underside of the foot rests 16 The ribs 22 also strengthen the turntable 12 Further ribs 23 on the underside of the wheel recess 14 provide additional strength.

Referring to Figs 5 and 6, each wheel arrangement 18 includes a nylon roller 24 mounted on a spindle 26 and a frame 28 The spindle 26 and frame 28 are of a metallic material, preferably steel Each wheel arrangement 18 is screwed into the fibreglass material of the turntable 12.

The wheel arrangements 18 are located such that they lie on the circumference of a circle centred on a pivot point 30 and are oriented such that the axis of each spindle lies on the radius of that circle Thus, the turntable 12 is able to rotate freely about the pivot point 30 A generally cylindrical projection 42 is formed on the underside of the turntable, at the pivot point 30.

Referring to Fig 3, the turning apparatus further includes a base member 32 on which the turntable 12 may rotate The base member 32 includes a generally planar member including a track 34 on which the nylon rollers 24 of the wheel arrangements 18 may run The base member 32 also includes a centre portion 36 and three radially oriented spokes 38 extending between the centre portion 36 and the track 34 The track 34 is generally circular, having a diameter of about 1 m and a width of about 60 mm.

The base member 32 may be screwed to the ground in the location in which the turning apparatus 10 is to be located.

Extending upwardly from the centre portion 36 of the base member 32 is a bush 40 including a central cylindrical orifice The bush 40 cooperates with the projection 42 provided at the pivot point 30 on the underside of the turntable 12 Referring in particular to Fig 2, the projection 42 may be brought into engagement with the bush 40, thus mounting the turntable 12 on the base member 32 When so mounted, the turntable may rotate freely relative to the base member, the nylon rollers 24 running on the track 34 and the projection 42 rotating within the bush 40 This allows the turntable 12 to be rotated freely through 360 The track 34 is made of fibreglass material and has a smooth upper surface to allow the free rotation of the turntable 12.

In order to accommodate the wheel arrangements 18, the turntable 12 has a minimum depth of about 70 mm Thus, when the nylon rollers 24 are mounted on the track 34, the wheel recess 14 is located about 70 mm above the ground In order to allow a motorcycle to be manoeuvred easily onto the wheel recess 14, the turning apparatus 10 includes a ramp 44 The ramp may be screwed to the ground such that it is located closely adjacent to the turntable and such that it may be aligned with the wheel recess 14 Referring to Fig 1, the ramp 44 includes a sloping upper surface 45 and a curved edge surface 46 which allows it to lie up against a curved edge 48 of the turntable 12 The ramp 44 is provided with an anti-tilt flange 50 which is located in use under the curved edge 48 of the turntable There is a clearance of about 2 mm between the top of the anti-tilt flange 50 and the bottom of the curved edge 48 As a motorcycle is wheeled onto the turning apparatus 10 there is a period when most of its weight is received on the side of the turntable near to the ramp 44.

The anti-tilt flange 50 prevents the turntable 12 from tipping significantly towards the ground in this region as the motorcycle is wheeled onto the turntable 12 This allows the diameter of the circle on which the wheel arrangements 18 are mounted to be kept relatively small, thus reducing the amount of space which the turning apparatus 10 occupies.

The turning apparatus 10 further includes a safety stop 52 which may be attached to the ground at an opposite end of the wheel recess 14 from the ramp 44 The safety stop 52 includes a ramp portion 54 including a concave face 56 shaped to conform approximately to the arc of a motorcycle's wheel The safety stop 52 ensures that a motorcycle cannot easily be pushed off an end of the turntable 12 The safety stop is screwed to the ground in use.

The turning apparatus 10 is provided with means for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable 12 These means take the form of a locking pin 60 mounted on an edge of the safety stop 52 (see Fig 2) The pin comprises a generally cylindrical member, bent through 90 ' to form a locking portion 62 and a handle 64 A complementary opening 65 is formed in each of two ends 66 of the turntable 12 The locking portion 62 is aligned with an opening 65 whenever the wheel recess 14 is aligned with the ramp 44 and the safety stop 52 Engagement of the locking portion 62 of the locking pin 60 in the opening 65 prevents rotation of the turntable relative to the safety stop 52 and therefore relative to the base member 32 and the ground.

The locking pin 60 is biased into its locked position but may be drawn out of engagement with the opening 65, by manipulation of the handle 64, and retained in the open position by twisting of the handle 64.

The turning apparatus 10 may be used as follows The turntable 12 is locked into a position where the wheel recess 14 is aligned with the ramp 44 and the safety stop 52, using the locking pin 60 A motorcycle is driven up the ramp 44 onto the turntable and the footrest put down The locking pin may then be manipulated into the open position, and the turntable rotated through This again brings the wheel recess 14 into alignment with the ramp 44 and the safety stop 52 However, the motorcycle is now in a position where it may be ridden directly away The locking pin is put into the locked position to retain the motorcycle securely in place.

It is highly advantageous that the turntable 12 and the base member 34 be made of a fibreglass material The turntable may be manufactured generally as follows.

An open moulding process may be used In this case, initially a selfcoloured gel coat is applied to the mould and allowed to dry before a further gel coat is applied This provides a smooth, coloured finish The gel coat comprises a polyester resin which is relatively thick and which may be brushed or sprayed into the mould.

Once the gel coat is dry, a layer of fibreglass matting including about 450 g/m 2 of chopped glass fibre may be laid into the mould The fibres may be between 20 mm and 40 mm long The matting is then soaked with polyester resin and a further layer added The second layer may include about 600 g/m 2 of fibreglass strands In order to increase the thickness of the finished product, a layer of "coremat" may then be laid over the second layer This may have a thickness of about 3 mm Subsequently more resin may be added and a further layer of fibreglass matting placed on top of the core mat This further layer may have a thickness of about 900 g/M 2.

Once the various layers and resin are in place, a squasher may be used to keep the material in place and to apply the ribs 22 The ribs 22 are made separately, before the moulding process begins They are then trimmed, and fastened to a jig in a dry state The dry ribs are then presented by the jig to the wet matting and the whole arrangement is squashed This makes the ribs bond to the remainder of the turntable and squashes the underside of the turntable to ensure that it is level The squasher is left in place overnight.

The next day, the partially made turntable 12 is removed from the mould and trimmed The centre projection 42 is fitted using a jig and stuck in place using layers of matting and resin The wheel arrangements 18 are then attached to the underside of the turntable 12 using self-tapping screws.

The wheel recess 14, or the entire upper surface of the turntable 12 may be provided with a textured, low friction surface A gritty substance may be sprayed onto the finished, moulded item.

The base member 32 is made as a flat sheet of material Fibreglass matting and resin is put in place to make approximately the shape of the track and the three spokes 38 and the precise shape is subsequently cut out The following layers may be used: a first layer comprising 450 g/m 2 of chopped fibreglass; a second layer comprising 900 g/m 2 of chopped fibreglass; a 3 mm thick coremat; and a final layer comprising 900 g/m 2 of chopped fibreglass The centre bush is then held in place with a jig and matted to the remainder of the base member 32.

As an alternative to the above manufacturing process, a closed mould process could be used This would result in a more consistent product In this case, a matting including all the necessary fibreglass layers in one piece is laid in a mould and a top mould put in place to form a recess in the shape of the product to be moulded The two mould halves are clamped together and resin is injected or vacuum pumped into the recess The product is then left to cure.

The preferred embodiment described above thus provides a turntable which allows a motorcycle to be easily turned around in a confined space The use of fibreglass material results in a product which is light, attractive and very durable The product is simple in construction, very long lasting and does not rust or degrade.

Various modifications may be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention The turntable could be motorised and its rotation controlled by means of a switch located on the apparatus or by remote control The locking means would also be controlled by the switch or remote control and could be provided separately or as part of the motor For example, if a DC motor were to be used, this could automatically prevent movement of the turntable when the motor was not activated.

Instead of running on a track 34 of a base member 32, the rollers 24 would run directly on the ground, although such ground should preferably be flat, smooth and clean.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

1 Apparatus for turning a motorcycle, the apparatus including a turntable for receiving the motorcycle, means for mounting the turntable such that it is rotatable relative to a base, and means for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable relative to the base.

2 Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes a base member on which the turntable is able to rotate, the base member forming the said base.

3 Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the rotation of the turntable takes place around a central pivot.

4 Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein the apparatus includes a projecting member fixed relative to one of the base and the turntable and a member including a complimentary recess fixed relative to the other of the base and the turntable, engagement of the projecting member with the recess defining the pivot.

Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the projecting member is provided on the turntable and projects downwardly in use from an underside thereof, and the recess is provided in a bush which is attached to or formed as a part of the base.

6 Apparatus according to claim 4 or claim 5 wherein the apparatus includes roller means for rotatably mounting the turntable on the base.

7 Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the roller means lie around the circumference of a circle centred on the pivot.

8 Apparatus according to claim 6 or claim 7 wherein the roller means includes a plurality of wheels oriented such that their axes of rotation each lie on a radius of a circle centred about the pivot.

9 Apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the roller means run on a generally circular track.

Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the roller means are provided on one of the turntable and the base member and the track is provided on the other.

11 Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the roller means are provided on an underside in use of the turntable and the track is provided on the base member.

12 Apparatus according to any of claims 5 to 11, wherein the base member includes a generally planar member comprising the track and a central portion for mounting the bush.

13 Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein an upper surface of the turntable is profiled to include an elongate wheel recess, for receiving the wheels of the motorcycle, the recess being located between two foot rests.

14 Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus includes a ramp for guiding the wheels of a motorcycle onto the upper surface of the wheel recess.

Apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14 wherein the apparatus includes a safety stop located at an opposite end of the recess from the ramp, The safety stop acting to urge a motorcycle pushed past the end of the wheel recess back into the wheel recess.

16 Apparatus according to claim 15 wherein the safety stop includes an upwardly sloping ramp.

17 Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the means for selectively allowing and preventing rotation of the turntable relative to the base includes a locking pin received in a complementary recess.

18 Apparatus according to claim 17 wherein the locking pin is mounted on a member which is fixed relative to the base.

19 Apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the locking pin is mounted on the safety stop and the recess is provided in the turntable.

Apparatus according to claim 19 wherein the locking pin is movable axially into and out of the recess thereby locking and unlocking the turntable relative to the base.

21 Apparatus according to claim 20 wherein the locking pin is biased into the locked position.

22 Apparatus according to any of claims 17 to 21, wherein means are provided for automatically locking the turntable relative to the base when the wheel recess is aligned with the ramp and the safety stop.

23 Apparatus according to any preceding claim wherein the turntable is made from a composite fibreglass material.

24 Apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the upper surface of the wheel recess is provided with a textured finish to increase friction.

Apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the textured finish includes a gritty substance sprayed onto the surface.

26 Apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the base is made from a composite, fibreglass material.

27 Apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

28 Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.