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Hi-lift jack users, check this out!

Saito

Saito

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jun 10, 2008
475
1
1537 Paper St.
I designed and patented(pending anyway) this over the last year. I call it the jack point and it's designed to make hi-lift jack usage safer. It's essentially a notch in the bumper that supports the steel standard bar of the jack and keeps it inline with the vehicle. Another version would attach to a receiver hitch.
1of3.jpg

The lower section is intended to be modular and work with both the bumper and the receiver hitch version.
3of30001.jpg


HERE IT IS IN OPERATION.
http://youtu.be/YbZn3LDX0wI

Was way into four wheeling at one time and I've had this idea for about 6-7 years..
IMG_0175.jpg
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Looks like a great idea. Those HiLifts can be pretty scary to use on uneven ground. Hell, they are scary in the driveway.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

I dig it. I know I've caused some carnage with a hi lift before. One door, one taillight, almost a foot. And this is following proper safety, and training...

Any chance you've made a prototype?
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MAGUA</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The jack point would have to be welded in place ? </div></div>

It would be built into a bumper. There's a hole in the lower so you could pin it in place(like a jack stand) once you got it lifted to the desired height. See the youtube video in my OP, the prototype is in that vid. Not sure how to embed it...someone help me out?
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<object width="425" height="350"> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YbZn3LDX0wI&feature=youtu.be"></param> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YbZn3LDX0wI&feature=youtu.be" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"> </embed></object>
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

You definitely have a great idea. Hope it proves successful for Ya.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

constructive criticism: i've never had to use my high-lift jack at exactly 90 degrees to the bumper. usually it is in the most fucked up position possible. i want the jack vertical. if the attachment at the vehicle is semi-rigid like your design, you could be putting a dangerous bending load on the jack if the vehicle is at an angle.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 300sniper</div><div class="ubbcode-body">constructive criticism: i've never had to use my high-lift jack at exactly 90 degrees to the bumper. usually it is in the most fucked up position possible. i want the jack vertical. if the attachment at the vehicle is semi-rigid like your design, you could be putting a dangerous bending load on the jack if the vehicle is at an angle. </div></div>

Yeah I have thought of that and actually discussed it with ARB's head tech guy last month. If you could make the center section pivot, the only thing limiting you would be how much space you have between the grill(or tailgate) of your truck. I'll make it happen. I'm working on another adapter that would allow the jack's carriage to be used above the bumper(provided there's enough space between the mechanism and grill). A mobile(laterally and axially) support would be difficult to make strong but at the same time, how much load would you expect something like this to take? I should probably have a structural engineer take a look at it with me. It would all depend on how much of the steel standard bar protruded from the vehicle; the further out, the more load would be on the bar....

I know it'll be successful, I just don't know how big of a success it will end up being. I never thought I would have taken it this far because when I designed it, it was just for me and my truck.
smile.gif
Thanks for the "criticism".
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

i also very rarely used my high-lift on the front or rear bumpers. usually it is on the rocker guards. nearest the corner i want to lift.

then again, now a days all i use my high-lift for is pulling t-posts.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Looks like a good idea.

I too rarely used my highlift on my jeep. The last time I used it, I rigged it up to pull some post anchors out of the ground, and even then, it was dangerous when it really got under a load!
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

hey...I know a guy who rigged a winch to pull vertically to get t-posts out of the ground. It turns out that t-posts in some of the ground around here are in tougher than a truck can pull. He brought the front end of his 1/2 ton off the ground pulling against that t-post. He ended up watering the posts to soften the ground so he could get the posts out.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Yeah I haven't driven my truck for 6 years and I need to get motivated to get it back on the road. So my hi-lift hasn't seen any real use for a while either. I'm just picky and want everything to be perfect on my Chevy. If I could get this bumper out in the field to test it, that would be great.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">guns don't kill people.
high-lift jacks do.</div></div>

+1
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

the video is grate puts the drawing in to perspective, run to the patent office with this on you tube should be a very fast movement in the indstury
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

i have my doubt about this being a big seller to "hard core" four wheelers. the mall-crawler type with all the bells and whistles that are trying to say "i'm an off roader" but never take their rig off road will probably pick them up, as long as they are bolt on and can be bought at 4wheel parts wholesalers.

if i am going to lift the front or rear of my vehicle with the bumper parallel to the ground, it means i'm in the garage and i'm going to use a floor jack.

and one more thought, you are burning up a lot of useful height of the jack with the mount. even with a full size high-lift and my axle ratchet strapped to my frame, i have a hard time getting a tire off the ground.

i applaud you for being innovative and wish you the best of luck with it, i just honestly don't see it being useful off road.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

I was actually thinking the opposite about the available travel of the carriage(i.e. it'll start lifting with the carriage closer to the ground). I appreciate your thoughts on the matter though and I know this will evolve into something more(I hope anyway). You can get some pretty long steel standard bars and I want to say 60" bars are already available? This may be a reason to make more, longer SSBs? Who knows? I was told not to sell my patent, just to license it and sell the license. This thing needs to be R&D'd now..... I'll try to convert the pdf images I have of the receiver hitch mount version to a jpg so I can post that. It could honestly be one piece but I wanted it all to be like a modular system. The head tech guy at ARB did say that he'd seen bent Steel Standard Bars on hi-lifts....
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Well a friend here on the hide got this all painted up for me. Here are a few pics to better illustrate how it's intended to work.

This is only the center section of the bumper, so each side has a notch built into it.
IMG_0380.jpg


IMG_0381.jpg


The lower section fits over the steel standard bar and rests on the carriage. I intend to put a hole on the outboard side so just the lower can be pinned to a clevis pad eye on the front of any other bumper. The hole on the SSB side is intended to be pinned once the vehicle is lifted and essentially turn the hi-lift into a jack stand.
IMG_0382.jpg


Here it is all assembled.
IMG_0383.jpg


And another shot upright, as if it were mounted on a truck.
IMG_0384.jpg


I apologize for my initial post being so confusing.
smile.gif
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Well it is interesting, but its static design really limits its range and thus its usefulness and market. By cutting into the bumper that far, interference with the body would prevent the needed articulation but the design does that already so it's a moot point.

As an engineer and former 4x4'r I see <span style="text-decoration: line-through">two</span> three major flaws, one being the aforementioned the other being a simple and obvious fix once the first is corrected. I think it's a great idea, but I think it needed refinement before spending the money on the patent. See a patent locks you down to that one design and when you take it public people will see/design improvements and will turn around and patent their own versions (or simply corner the market) thereby cutting you out of the loop and if you make improvements you're out another ~$3000 for a new patent.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Hi Lift aside...what's with the "z-bar" drag link instead of a dropped pitman?
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Eh, what's 3 grand anyway? LOL I hear you on the needed R&D but I have no way to do that right now(due to my truck being in pieces). The space taken up in the bumper is very minimal and there are some massive front bumpers out there. I can only think of one or two improvements but the concept as a whole doesn't change. What's the 3rd flaw you see here Binder??

Scout- that Z bar set up is a crossover steering conversion from Offroad Design in Colorado. The horizontal red part is the tie rod(tucked up out of the way, as opposed to being right in front of the diff) and the drag link "crosses over" to the opposite knuckle so the geometry stays correct as the suspension articulates. ORD makes good stuff.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Saito</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Eh, what's 3 grand anyway? LOL I hear you on the needed R&D but I have no way to do that right now(due to my truck being in pieces). The space taken up in the bumper is very minimal and there are some massive front bumpers out there. I can only think of one or two improvements but the concept as a whole doesn't change. What's the 3rd flaw you see here Binder??
</div></div>

I think the concept is sound and a good idea that the market would accept/welcome especially with a little more R&D put into it. Keeping costs down is going to be key and use mass produced parts where applicable. If you make it too expensive somebody like me will come along with a 'rip-off' design and put you out of business overnight. I spent six months getting quotes from suppliers (China/India) for one of my products because when margins matter, every single cent makes a difference between viable product and scrap gathering dust on the 'what could have been' shelf. I also have the advantage of having worked in R&D for a major corp. for 6+ years so I know the ropes pretty well but it's nothing that you can't do on your own, as you've proved. You're at the easy stage right now, the next few stages get a lot harder and will make or break you. That being said, I'd chat with you privately if you'd like, I'm a mechanical engineer but my specialty is in chemicals, specifically lubricants. Modeling software like Pro/E and the like are nice because you can make changes to the design with a click of the mouse instead of spending hours and dollars on another physical prototype, I do chemical work and 90% of the time I don't even see a chemical, it's all done with computers in what amounts to a virtual lab.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Thanks Binder, I'll PM you my contact info. I really appreciate it. I'm a drilling fluids engineer myself and deal with basic chemistry and rheology everyday, as well as lubricants, viscosifiers, emulsifiers and surfactants.

This is my pet rock, I have no intention of trying to manufacture this myself. There are plenty of companies out there that are already equipped and operational that could integrate this concept into their own bumpers. I think they'd be foolish not to.

I drew this up in google sketchup after I put it on paper. Sketchup is easy and free. Prior to using sketchup, I tried to use alibre design CAD software but my computer rejected it for some reason. Alibre is a pain in the ass and I got a "licensed user" email from them that was a total insulting FAIL, followed by an apology, then another apology. I've never been a licensed user and haven't used their software, ever, but that email made me lose all interest in the company. They suck.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Neat idea...I like it!

About 25 years ago, before they came out with the spiffy accessory foot plate..One of the things I did to stabilize my High Lift jack was to take a 16" x 8" piece of sheet steel and weld rails to it so you can slip it over the foot of the jack

004-2.jpg


005-1.jpg


Makes the whole "high lift" experience much safer...
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Well,

I finally got to bolt the bumper to a friends friend's blazer and it works like I'd imagined it would.

pic2.jpg


pic5.jpg
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Very cool. I like the idea. I'm a Jeep Guy, & the High lift is not in My arsenal because they scare the heck outta Me.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: High Binder</div><div class="ubbcode-body">. See a patent locks you down to that one design and when you take it public people will see/design improvements and will turn around and patent their own versions (or simply corner the market) thereby cutting you out of the loop and if you make improvements you're out another ~$3000 for a new patent. </div></div>

not necessarily if the patent is written correctly. a good patent seeks to be as broad as possible. if its poorly written then yeah others can change small things. either way even if someone does infringe on the patent no matter how well its written it comes down to who has the most money.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cummins cowboy</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
either way even if someone does infringe on the patent no matter how well its written it comes down to who has the most money. </div></div>

Isn't that ever the truth, anymore a patent is only good for keeping an honest guy honest. The recent revisions really socked it to the little guy too. The only thing the little guy has going for them is that we haven't adopted the European 'looser pays' system... Yet.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

3 Grand for a patent? That's just filing cost. If it's that good of an idea and that important you'd probably need a lawyer to help you. That can easily add 10 grand to the cost.

Also, keep in mind once you release your design/product to the public the clock starts ticking. You have one year to patent it (or at least file the patent pending) before it becomes public domain.

Too broad a patent and you'll have difficulty getting it upheld. Too narrow and one modification allows someone else to improve on it. Remember, patents weren't designed to protect your IP. It was originally created to inspire innovation.
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mirage98</div><div class="ubbcode-body">3 Grand for a patent? That's just filing cost. If it's that good of an idea and that important you'd probably need a lawyer to help you. That can easily add 10 grand to the cost.

Also, keep in mind once you release your design/product to the public the clock starts ticking. You have one year to patent it (or at least file the patent pending) before it becomes public domain.

Too broad a patent and you'll have difficulty getting it upheld. Too narrow and one modification allows someone else to improve on it. Remember, patents weren't designed to protect your IP. It was originally created to inspire innovation. </div></div>

Thanks for the advice and everything.....lol. It is pending and a filed non-provisional utility patent. A former patent examiner at a law firm in Cali helped me with all of the in and outs. It cost closer to 5 Gs and that includes the patent search that legalzoom.com did initially. I didn't pursue it until I had the patent search/consultation completed. I think I did it right; you wouldn't be looking at it if it wasn't pending.

So, what are you talking about "IP"?
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Barneybdb</div><div class="ubbcode-body">IP is Intellectual Product </div></div>

Think it's actually Intellectual Property.
smile.gif
This is my intellectual property. LOL
 
Re: Hardcore fourwheelers gotta check this out!

Saito:

Awesome. Looks like you've covered your bases then. I wish good luck to you.

I just wanted to share my experience and lessons learned with others. It's unfortunate when someone isn't aware and loses out.
 
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