Material or article handling – Self-loading or unloading vehicles – Conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-27
2001-09-04
Bratlie, Steven A. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Self-loading or unloading vehicles
Conveyor
C414S812000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283698
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a moving system in which a wheeled load is loaded unto a moveable platform for transportation by rolling the wheeled load up a ramp onto the wheeled platform for subsequent moving of the load from one location to another. The invention more particularly and preferably is related to such a system which uses an integral end ramp section, which is moveable from its normal vertical end disposition down into an inclined ramping disposition to allow the wheeled load (such as, for example, a medium to large size copier with “convenience casters”) to be wheeled up the ramp onto the platform section(s) of the moving system, after which the end ramp section is moved back up to its normal vertical disposition to provide a protective end to the platform section(s) during transportation of the load.
The present invention also is directed to various foot actuated or operated latches for:
locking the platforms caster wheels at, for example, the handle end of the platform, into a straight, longitudinal direction or, alternatively, to a free moving or free swiveling disposition, allowing the caster wheels to freely rotate or swivel about a vertical axis in any direction; and/or
latching and unlatching telescoping, handle end and intermediate platform members to be relatively longitudinally moved with respect to one another and then re-set or re-latched, allowing the longitudinal effective length of the platform to be varied as needed for different sized loads; and/or
unlatching an underlying auxiliary brake member.
BACKGROUND ART
Copiers have become a standard piece of equipment in today's modern offices. As a result there is a substantial market in the moving or rigging of copiers from, for example, a copier storage warehouse to a customer's office site and ultimately back again.
Many of today's copiers are heavy, with most of them weighing up to about seven hundred (700#) pounds and some approaching two thousand (2,000#) pounds, and are bulky and difficult to move without damage to the machines and/or the surrounding structures. The present invention is especially but not exclusively directed to machines of at least a couple hundred pounds, particular copiers, as well as other wheeled loads.
For further general background information on this art area, reference is had to the inventor's own pioneering patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,774 entitled “Moving system” issued Jan. 11, 1972.
A great need has arisen in this part of the moving industry to have reliable equipment to safely and quickly transport delicate but heavy goods such as copier machines and the like. Heretofore, many riggers used generally unassisted manual labor for the moves, putting at significant physical risk the workers themselves, with great risk of damage to the copiers as well.
The present invention is designed to fulfill this need by providing a reliable, quick, flexible and practical moving system for moving copiers and the like, particularly those which have “convenience casters,” from one location to another in a way which protects both the worker(s) as well as the load and whose mechanisms for locking and unlocking caster wheels and for latching and unlatching longitudinally, relatively moveable members are foot actuated.
GENERAL SUMMARY DISCUSSION OF INVENTION
The present invention is preferably directed to a heavy duty, commercial-grade, moving system which can easily change the effective length of its load bearing platform section(s) to accommodate and work with many different sized loads and preferably uses a flexibly biased, integrated end ramp section, which can be pivoted or hinged and moved down as a ramp to allow the load (e.g. a copier with “convenience casters”) to be rolled up onto the platform section(s) for movement of the load from one location to another. More particularly, the end ramp section is biased in the preferred embodiment by a pair of flanking, extended, elastic members (e.g. “bungee” cords), each of which extends down from a position well above the pivot or hinge point to an effective terminus below and to the inner side of the pivot or hinge point.
This off-set causes the elastic members to bias the end ramp section to its vertical disposition when the ramp is raised but to bias it to its ramping disposition when it has been lowered past a point near to its ramping disposition. The latter is preferably achieved by having a slight offset for the effective elastic terminus points below the hinge point when the ramp end section is at or very near its ramping position. Because the weight of the ramp itself provides a built-in bias, little if any offset is needed for achieving and maintaining a bias for the ramp section to stay down when in its ramping disposition.
Additionally, the present invention is directed to various foot actuated or operated locks or latches for:
locking the platforms caster wheels at, for example, the handle end of the platform, into a straight, longitudinal direction or, alternatively, to a free moving disposition, allowing the caster wheels to freely rotate about a vertical axis in any direction; and/or
latching and unlatching telescoping, handle end and intermediate platform members to be relatively longitudinally moved with respect to one another and then, re-set, allowing the longitudinal effective length of the platform to be varied as needed for different sized loads and also be easily and quickly latched and unlatched without bending over using only the movement of the user's foot to operate or actuate the latching mechanism.
The moving system includes a number of other innovative, utilitarian features, including:
braking/immobilizing support(s),
longitudinally extendible platform and handle sections,
a storable, supplemental ramp member, and
related methodology, etc., all of which are fully described below.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a moving system which allows the user to quickly and easily load a heavy load onto the system and move it about.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a moving system which can be easily adjusted to handle many different sizes and configurations of loads and can be safely and easily used.
It is a still further an object of the invention to provide such a moving system with an easily implemented ramping action with multiple ramping configurations.
It is a further, basic object of the invention to provide such a moving system which can be easily and quickly adjusted in its caster movement using foot actuation to in some instance restrict the movement of the caster wheels to a single, longitudinally straight direction, and in other instances to free wheeling mode, allowing the casters to be directed in any direction, which can be safely and easily used.
It is a still further, basic object of the invention to provide such a moving system which can be easily and quickly adjusted in its longitudinal length also using foot actuation to handle many different sizes and configurations of loads and can be safely and easily used.
It is a still further an object of the invention to provide such a moving system with an easily implemented ramping action with multiple ramping configurations.
It is another object to provide such a moving system in which all of the basic parts or sections are connected together and which do not take up any extra lateral or side room when the load is being loaded or unloaded.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1482105 (1924-01-01), Andrews et al.
patent: 2773614 (1956-12-01), Edwards et al.
patent: 2888088 (1959-05-01), Claas et al.
patent: 2897910 (1959-08-01), Steeley et al.
patent: 3051336 (1962-08-01), Felsten
patent: 3233767 (1966-02-01), Goodacre
patent: 3313377 (1967-04-01), Amirger
patent: 3411802 (1968-11-01), Diller
patent: 3556561 (1971-01-01), Gingue
patent: 3633774 (1972-01-01), Lee
patent: 3690481 (1972-09-01), Pelletier
patent: 3804275 (1974-04-01), Lee
patent: 3879053 (1975-04-01), Chvala
patent: 3885691 (1975-05-01), Knapp
patent: 4077087 (1978-03-01), Mooney
patent: 4098414 (1978-07-01),
Bratlie Steven A.
Lee Inventions, Inc.
Pugh C. Emmett
Pugh/Associates Patent & TM Attys.
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