Land vehicles – Wheeled – Nesting vehicles
Patent
1993-08-20
1994-06-21
Culbreth, Eric
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Nesting vehicles
180 191, 180 651, 188173, 2421074R, 280 33991, B62D 3900
Patent
active
053223063
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to improvements to vehicles and in particular to a vehicle for conveying, lifting, towing or propelling various loads.
BACKGROUND ART
The collection of trolleys in the vicinity of supermarkets creates a number of problems. It is important of course for such trolleys to be collected as quickly as possible and delivered back to the store for use by other customers. Trolley collection in many instances is undertaken by hand however, there is a limit to the number of trolleys that can be collected using this method. Whilst there has been proposed in the past a vehicle for collecting and conveying trolleys such a vehicle requires a considerable amount of space for working and conveyance of the trolleys is achieved by loading the trolleys onto the apparatus.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims to provide a vehicle which in a first aspect is suitable for moving supermarket trolleys or an engaged stack of such trolleys in a reliable and efficient manner. The present invention also aims to provide apparatus which occupies little space and which may be used both indoors and outdoors. The present invention also aims to provide a vehicle which in addition to being suited for trolley collection as aforesaid is capable of many other applications. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description.
The present invention thus provides a vehicle for use in conveying trolleys or the like, said vehicle having a mobile chassis including at least one drive wheel, a drive motor on said chassis, means for selectively coupling said motor to said drive wheel so as to cause advancement of said vehicle, means for engaging a trolley or a series of said trolleys and coupling means for coupling said vehicle to said trolley or trolleys.
Suitably said coupling means comprises a line which extends between the trolley or leading trolley in a series of said trolleys and said vehicle. Suitably the vehicle includes an upstanding handle which enables the vehicle to be manipulated and suitably, also the vehicle includes at least one castor wheel to permit easy steering of said vehicle.
The line which couples the vehicle to the trolley or trolleys is preferably wound upon a spring biased reel which may be coupled to the leading trolley whilst a further line also extends between the leading trolley and the vehicle so as to be operable to cause motive force to be applied from the drive motor to the driving wheel or wheels of the vehicle. The vehicle may also include a brake which serves to prevent movement of the vehicle when the vehicle is not being driven.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the vehicle of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a partly sectioned plan view of the vehicle of FIG. 1 with the cowling removed;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the vehicle;
FIG. 4 is a rear partly sectioned elevational view of the vehicle;
FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the coupling reel assembly for the vehicle;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 1--1 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 illustrates operation of the apparatus of the invention.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and firstly to FIG. 1 there is illustrated a vehicle 10 according to the present invention which includes a chassis 11 which supports a pair of opposite driveable wheels 12 at the rear end of the vehicle and a single castor wheel 13 at the forward end of the vehicle, the latter being supported for free rotation between a pair of arms 14, the arms 14 being supported on the chassis 11 for free pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis. The chassis 11 supports as described further below a drive motor for the vehicle and as well as a transmission which is enclosed within a cowling 15 which renders the mech
REFERENCES:
patent: 2512565 (1950-06-01), Hallander
patent: 2623760 (1952-12-01), Fornelius
patent: 3524512 (1970-08-01), Voeks et al.
patent: 4094372 (1978-06-01), Notter
patent: 5082074 (1992-01-01), Fischer
Culbreth Eric
Rosecall Pty Ltd.
LandOfFree
Vehicle for conveying trolleys does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle for conveying trolleys, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle for conveying trolleys will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2217003