DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A POWERED TOGGLE JACK SYSTEM

Thesis Overview

<p>INTRODUCTION<br><br>Background of the study<br><br>A toggle jack is a machine which, when a small force is applied in its horizontal plane is used to raise or lower a large load. It is usually applicable in the automobile industry for raising a side of the vehicle during tyre changing.<br><br>It is made up of a bolt and nut assembly and its working principle is similar to that of an inclined plane. Where a thread wound round a shaft rotates in its bearings while the nut has axial motion against the resisting axial force. In the Nigerian market today, toggle jacks abound but what they have in common is that they are all manually operated. This project is geared towards researching and developing a toggle jack that is power operated, time saving and more efficient.<br><br>Thus achieving one of the goals of technology by making life easier for the end user, proper design considerations were given to the design of this project including the stresses, bending moment of the shafts, strength of materials and the maximum load it is expected to carry, thus making safety and reliability a watch word.<br><br>The objective of the study<br><br>The objective of the study is to develop a mechanism in a power toggle jack that is more efficient, stress free, saves time and a reliable way to achieve lifting of the load.<br><br>Brief Review of Power Toggle Jack<br><br> Jacks are lifting machines used to raise loads. This uses power screws which help in bearing the load. The efficiency is maximized with the use of lubrications.<br><br>Types of Jack: The various types of jacks are; Screw jack, Toggle jack and Hydraulic jack. The toggle and screw jack uses power screw to raise load.<br><br>The toggle jack has link members which are arranged to a certain degree of freedom.<br><br>The hydraulic jack uses fluid but no screw. This is achieved by pumping or increasing the pressure of the fluid in the cylinder to raise the loaded shaft.<br><br>67 Chinwuko Emmanuel Chuka et al.: Design and Construction of a Powered Toggle Jack System<br><br>Components of the Powered Toggle Jack<br><br>A Powered toggle jack has the following components; Upper links, Load bearing, support, the power screw shaft, 2 pins base support, Lower links, Driven gear, Driver, Gear housing, Base support, Servo motor, Alligator clips, Power switch and Connecting cable.<br><br>The powered toggle jack is manufactured in such a way that a motor and gears are integrated to the jack. A motorized car jack only incorporates a motorized mechanism.<br><br>The choice of D.C motor is because the power of a vehicle comes from a D.C battery. For this reason the user is able to supply the power to the motorized jack directly from the battery of the car.<br><br>The powered toggle jack is ready for use whenever it is connected to the battery of the vehicle. A hand held toggle powered switch control is attached to it through which the operator is able to safely control jacking operations from some cable distance away from the vehicle. When the lift button is pressed, the jack lifts up the vehicle with a perfectly controllable speed. The down button lowers the jack in a likewise controllable manner. The controls’ are made in such a way that the operator safely and comfortably lifts his vehicle to a desired height.<br><br>A car jack is a device used to facilitate repairs by lifting all or part of the car. There are different types of car jack; Screw jack, Toggle jack, Hydraulic jack, Hydro-pneumatic jacks etc Hydro-pneumatic jacks, which have been on auto body repair scene for more than 50 years. They are operated by fluid pressure generated by a pump, when this jack is lifted up; it is suspended in position by pneumatically operated locks. This is used for jacking the whole vehicle up so that the underneath is accessible. Hydro-pneumatic jacks have the highest efficiency when compared with other jacks. For this reason it can be safely used to jack heavy duty vehicles.<br><br><br></p>