Handle-propelled, load-carrying land vehicle

Details Handle-propelled, load-carrying land vehicle Handle-propelled, load-carrying land vehicle

2000-03-31

2001-02-27

Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)

Land vehicles: dumping

Hand trucks and barrows

C298S005000, C298S010000, C298S02200C, C298S0170SG, C298S038000, C280S047120, C280S047310, C280S047180, C280S047260

Reexamination Certificate

active

06193319

ABSTRACT:

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to land vehicles, and more particularly to an improved, tiltable, handle-propelled vehicle having laterally spaced wheels and a receptacle body.
Many different kinds of handle-propelled load carriers, known generally by terms such as “hand carts” or “barrows,” have been proposed for use in carrying and dumping heavy loads such as soil, gravel, stones, fertilizers and other materials. One popular design is the conventional wheelbarrow, which comprises a load-carrying receptacle having a single, forwardly located wheel, a pair of feet located underneath a rear part of the receptacle, and a pair of handles extending to the rear. The conventional wheelbarrow has the advantage that its contents can be dumped by tilting the wheelbarrow forward or to either side. However, to propel the wheelbarrow, the operator needs to lift the handles to raise the wheelbarrow's feet off the ground, and hold the handles in the raised condition while walking forward. With very heavy loads, the wheelbarrow places a considerable strain on the operator, and unless great care is exercised, the operator can sustain serious and debilitating lower back injury while propelling the wheelbarrow.
Modified wheelbarrows having two laterally spaced wheels have been proposed, but are subject to the same problems that are inherent in the conventional wheelbarrow. Moreover, the modified wheelbarrows have the drawback that their contents cannot be easily discharged to the side.
To facilitate dumping of heavy loads, hand carts have been designed with receptacles that tilt relative to a frame, frame, and with various mechanisms for facilitating the tilting motion.
Hand carts with laterally spaced wheels have also been designed with the axle of the wheels located behind the center of gravity of the load so that, instead of lifting upward on the handle or handles to propel the cart, the operator pushes downward, thereby avoiding the back strain encountered in operating a conventional wheelbarrow.
Examples of some of the foregoing hand carts are depicted in the following U.S. patents.
2,770,491
Perko
2,852,304
Harrison
2,895,238
Long
3,160,439
Kazakowitz
3,888,501
McChesney
4,588,197
Benedetto, Jr.
4,629,203
Ballard
4,789,171
Porter
4,861,110
Rumpke
5,149,116
Donze et al.
The prior hand carts have all had limitations on the ease with which a load can be transported and dumped. Even in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 2,895,238, some limitations are encountered. The patent describes a dump scoop having a load-receiving body pivoted on a frame having a handle and rearwardly located wheels. Dumping is carried out by tilting the body on its pivot axis until a front edge of the body engages the ground, and then continuing to tilt the body forward, using a separate handle. The load-receiving body has an open front, and is therefore limited in its ability to carry a large load of granular material. Because of its open front, the body can discharge a part of a granular load. However, because the forward edge of the body contacts the ground throughout the dumping operation, the complete discharge of the granular load can require special manipulations.
The principal object of this invention is to provide a dumping hand cart that has one or more of the following advantages: simplicity, low cost, and light-weight construction, ergonomic design, safety, ability to handle and dump heavy granular loads without difficulty, and avoidance of one or more of the various limitations of prior art hand carts.
The handle-propelled, load-carrying land vehicle in accordance with the invention comprises: a first frame having a front, a rear and left and right sides; an axle connected to the first frame adjacent the rear thereof and extending laterally therefrom; wheels on the axle, the wheels being rotatable and positioned laterally outboard of the first frame; a ground-engaging pedestal connected to the first frame and extending downward therefrom at a location forward of the axle; and a second frame pivotally connected to the first frame by a hinge having a hinge axis substantially parallel to, and forward of, the axle, preferably adjacent the front of the first frame. The second frame is pivotable forwardly and rearwardly about the hinge axis from a hauling position, in which it extends rearwardly from the hinge axis toward the axle, to a dumping position in which it extends upward from the first frame; a stop on the first frame, engageable with the second frame, for limiting rearward pivoting movement of the second frame; a handle rigidly connected to the second frame and extending upwardly and rearwardly therefrom, the handle being movable downwardly to rotate both frames about the axle so that the ground-engaging pedestal is lifted away from the ground and the frames can be moved on the wheels by manually operation of the handle, and also being movable upwardly to pivot the second frame forward about the hinge axis; a load-receiving receptacle secured to the second frame and tiltable forward with the second frame when the second frame is pivoted forward about the hinge axis. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, suitable for carrying heavy granular loads, such as soil, fertilizer, gravel, small rocks or the like, the receptacle has a bottom, and front, rear and side walls. The upper edge of the front wall of the receptacle is preferably positioned in relation to the hinge axis so that, with the wheels in contact with the ground, the front wall of the receptacle can assume a forward and downward slope sufficient to discharge the granular load while the upper edge of the front wall is spaced from the ground. The pedestal is preferably positioned so that it contacts the ground at a location forward of the axle of the wheels but rearward of the hinge axis. The first frame can be tilted forward on the pedestal about the contact location in order to bring the top edge of the front wall of the receptacle into close proximity to, or into contact with, the ground.
An alternative embodiment of the dumping hand cart has a releasable latch connecting the first and second frames. The latch holds the first frame in fixed relation to the second frame when the handle is pulled upward in a direction to lift the wheels off the ground. This prevents the wheels from separating from the receptacle, allowing the user to pull the cart up steps, up a slope, or up over a curb. In a preferred embodiment, the latch automatically releases the second frame for pivoting to the dumping position when the handle is pushed forward while the wheels are on the ground.
The latch preferably takes the form of a hook pivotally suspended from the second frame, and a hook-retaining surface on the first frame. The hook comprises a leg extending downward from the second frame and a retaining surface-engaging element projecting rearwardly from the leg and located so that it is below and spaced from the hook-retaining surface when the second frame is in its hauling position and no upward pulling force is exerted on the handle. The spacing is sufficiently small that the retaining surface-engaging element engages the hook-retaining surface to hold the second frame substantially in the hauling position when said handle is pulled upward in a direction to lift the wheels off the ground, but allows the hook to clear the hook-retaining surface automatically when the handle is pushed forward while the wheels are on the ground.
A selectably engageable lock may be included for preventing automatic release of the second frame. The lock is preferably selectably positionable forward of the leg of the hook and engageable thereby, to limit forward movement of the hook and thereby maintain the retaining surface-engaging element of the hook in a position to engage the retaining surface.
The dumping hand cart in accordance with the invention not only provides for easy transportation and dumping of granular loads, but is also adaptable to easy modification by changing the load-receiving receptacle to one of a different size or shape, and by replacing the

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