AU654622B2 - Driveway turntable - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA6 2 2 Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT DRIVEWAY TURNTABLE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION, INCLUDING THE BEST METHOD OF PERFORMING IT KNOWN TO ME:- TLi present invention relates to a vehicular turntable for use in a driveway or other restricted space.

Vehicular turntables in restricted spaces are well-known in the prior art and can be either located 10 above ground or built with the turntable levei with the ground. The latter types of turntable are generally expensive to construct.

The present invention seeks to provide an alternative to the types of turntable in existence and in particular provides a turntable which can be mounted above ground level.

According to the invention, there is provided a 20 driveway turntable of the type having a base, a 0. platten(platen) for supporting a vehicle rotatable with respect to said base and means locking said platten in a fixed orientation with respect to the base, the improvement comprising said platten being rotated on wheels at the periphery of the platten and said locking means being a pair of interlocked pawls the free ends of which can engage with spaced stops spaced at intervals about said periphery to lock said platten against rotation, and when not so engaged allows rotation of said platten in either direction.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be AU'A, described with respect to the drawings in which: -2- Figure 1 shows a part schematic view of the turntable in plan; Figure 2 shows in elevation the brake mechanism for the turntable of Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional view along line A-A of Figure 1.

The turntable is designed to be used in a domestic driveway for the purpose of turning a vehicle, that is to avoid having to reverse the vehicle into the street. It may be used in other situations where •coo,: S• space to manoeuvre a vehicle is limited. The 15 turntable will be described with respect to its implementation allowing reversal of the vehicle, that is a rotation of the turntable through 180 degrees.

The turntable is adaptable to other implementations where the rotation may be variable or of some other 20 value than 180 degrees.

oo The turntable comprises a base 10 which is fixed to a esupport surface, for example the surface of the driveway or foundations 12 (as shown in Figure 3) •o 25 specifically installed for the purpose. Fcundations 12 are for example 100 mm thick cement.

Screws 14 or other fixtures attach the base 10 to the support surface or foundations 12. A flanged annulus 16 encircles the perimeter of the base The platten 18 of the turntable which supports the weight of the vehicle is positioned above the base supported on central bearing 20. The platten 18 includes a central bearing mounting plate 22 and is supported by turntable decking support beams 24 which are arranged crosswise underneath the plate 22.

The platten 18 is supported on wheels 26 located about the perimeter of the platten 18. The wheels 26 may be affixed to the turntable support outer diameter ring 28 of the platten 18 as shown at 30 or may be affixed to the annulus 16 of the base 10 as shown at 31 in Figure 3. The number and location of the wheels 26 will depend upon the application. Wheels 26 allow the turntable 10 to be rotated in either direction by hand although a motor and gear drive may be added if desired.

The height of the platten 18 from the base 10 is S 15 approximately the depth of a standard house brick, S" that is 90 mm. The turntable can therefore be located above the surface of a driveway and a vehicle driven onto the platten 18. Alternatively, a ramp 32 can be provided as shown in Figure 3.

As shown more clearly in Figure 2, a locking mechanism 34 is provided to arrest movement of the platten and comprises pawls 36, 37 engaging stops 38, 38A, 38B arranged around the periphery or annulus 16 of the base 10. Pawls 36, 37 are interlocked with tongue leof pawl 36 engaging the mouth 42 of pawl 37. The 41o pawls 36 and 37 are rotatable respectively about axes 44, 46. A lever 48 is attached to and can rotate pawl 36 about axis 44. Rotation of the lever 48 in the direction of the arrow 50 frees pawl 36 from engagement with the stop 38A and simultaneously pawl 37 from engagement with stop 38B. The platten 18 can then be rotated in the desired direction. A further lever (not ehown) can be provided which operates the pawl 37 rather than the pawl 36.

The lever 48 moves against the action of the spring 52 which is fixed to a peg 54. The lever 48 is fixed in a frame 56 and movement of the lever 48 can be restricted by operation of the key operated lock 58.

The lock 58 upon rotation of the key therein (not shown) forces a bolt 62 into locking engagement with the frame 56.

The turntable can be manufactured from materials within the knowledge of the person skilled in the art.

Though the invention has been described above with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is contemplated that variations therein are possible within the knowledge of a person skilled in the art.

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Claims (4)

1. A driveway turntable of the type having a base, a platten for supporting a vehicle rotatable with respect to said base and means locking said platten in a fixed orientation with respect to the base, the improvement comprising said platten being rotated on wheels at the periphery of the platten and said locking means being a pair of interlocked pawls the free ends of which can engage with spaced stops arranged at intervals about said periphery to lock said platten against rotation, and when not so engaged allow rotation of said platten in either direction.

2. A driveway turntable as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pair of pawls are fixed to said platten while having limited rotational movement to allow movement of said free ends into or out of engagement with said spaced stops which are attached to said 20 base.

3. A driveway turntable at claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said wheels are fixed to said base. 25

4. A driveway turntable as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein said wheels are fixed to said platten. A driveway turntable substantially as hereindescribed with reference to the Figures. Dated this 6th day of September 1994 STEPHEN ANDREW CAMPBELL Patent Attorneys for the Applicant HALFORD CO. -6- ABSTRACT (FIGURE 2) The turntable comprises platten 18 located above the surface of the base A locking mechanism 34 is provided to arrest movement of the platten and comprises pawls 36, 37 engaging stops 38, 38A, 38B arranged around the periphery or annulus 16 of the base 10. Pawls 36, 37 are interlocked with tongue 40 of pawl 36 engaging the mouth 42 of pawl 37. The pawls 36 and 37 are rotatable respectively about axes 44, 46. A lever 48 is attached to and can rotate pawl 36 about axis 44. Rotation of the lever 48 in the direction of the arrow 15 50 frees pawl 36 from engagement with the stop 38A and simultaneously pawl 37 from engagement with stop 38B. The platten 18 can then be rotated in the desired direction. A further lever (not shown) can be provided which operates the pawl 37 rather than the pawl 36. C e *ee