GB2385578A

GB2385578A - Skip ramp with wheel stop

Info

Publication number: GB2385578A
Application number: GB0202610A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Anthony Edward Smith
Original assignee: Birchwood Products Ltd
Current assignee: Birchwood Products Ltd
Priority date: 2002-02-05
Filing date: 2002-02-05
Publication date: 2003-08-27
Anticipated expiration: 2022-02-05
Also published as: GB2385578B; GB0202610D0

Abstract

A ramp 10 for use with a skip comprises a track member 12 along which the wheel of a wheelbarrow can roll, and receiving means, which may be in the form of an aperture 32, at an end region of the track member 12 to receive the wheel and restrict or prevent movement beyond the end region of the ramp 10. the track member may include an elongate wheel guide section with elongate walkway sections on either side. Preferably, the wheel stop comprises a recessed, curved plate with raised end portions. V-shaped hooks prevent the ramp from slipping.

Description

Ramp This invention relates to ramps. More particularly, but not exclusively, the invention relates to ramps to enable wheelbarrows to be unloaded into skips.

Labourers on building sites and other areas generally deposit rubbish into a skip. Initially, the rubbish is placed into a wheelbarrow which is then pushed up a plank and the wheelbarrow tipped and emptied into the skip. A disadvantage with this arrangement is that the planks are particularly narrow and the wheelbarrow can often be inadvertently pushed off the edge or the upper end of the plank.

According to one aspect of this invention there is provided a ramp comprising a track member for a wheel and receiving means at an end region of the track member to receive the wheel and restrict or prevent movement thereof beyond said end region of the ramp.

Preferably, the receiving means includes holding means to hold the wheel when the wheel is received by the receiving means. Preferably, the holding means may have a curved part to receive the wheel. The holding means may comprise a holding member, which may be in the form of a shaped plate.

The holding means may further include a raised portion at a rear region of the curved part to restrict rearward movement of the wheel when the wheel is received by the holding means. The holding means may further include a front raised portion at a front region of the curved part to restrict forward movement of the wheel when the wheel is received by the holding member.

The front and rear raised portions may each comprise upward continuations of the curved part of the holding means. Preferably, the front and rear raised portions extend above the track member.

The front raised portion may include engagement means to engage a wheel guard of the wheel, thereby inhibiting removal of the wheel rearwardly from the holding member.

The engagement means preferably comprises a portion extending downwardly from the front raised portion. Said downwardly extending portion may be angled relative to the plane of the track member in a rearwards direction. The acute angle between the downwardly extending portion and the plane of the track member may be between substantially 800 and substantially 850, preferably between substantially 820 and substantially 830.

The receiving means may comprise a hole which may be an aperture or recess. The hole may be defined in said end region of the track member. The aperture or recess is preferably provided to receive the wheel. Preferably, the holding means is secured to the track member such that at least the curved part of the holding means is provided within the aperture or recess. Preferably, the curved part of the holding means extends beneath the plane of the track member.

The ramp may further include hook means at said end region to engage a structure. The hook means may comprise a hook member which may be of a substantially V shaped configuration. The hook member may comprise an upwardly extending connecting part to engage a side wall of the ramp. Preferably, said side wall extends downwardly from the track member. The upwardly extending connecting part may extend from one limb of the V. The hook member may include a laterally extending connecting part to engage a laterally extending part of the ramp. Preferably, said laterally extending part of the ramp constitutes the track member. The laterally extending part of the hook member may extend from the other limb of the V. The angle between the limbs of the V may be between substantially 200 and substantially 400, preferably substantially 25 and substantially 350, more preferably substantially 300.

The hook means may comprise two of said hook members, one on either side of the ramp.

The track member may include an elongate walkway section along which a user may walk and an elongate wheel guide section along which the wheel can roll. The wheel guide section may be recessed. Preferably, the track member includes two of said elongate walkway sections, one on each side of the wheel guide section.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which :- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a ramp; Fig. 2 is a view along the lines II-II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of holding means for use in the ramp shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the holding means shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 5 is a view along the lines v-v in Fig. 1; Figs. 6-9 are respectively front, right side, top and left side views of a hook member for use with the ramp shown in Fig. 1; Figs. 10A and 10B are schematic side views showing a wheelbarrow being tipped at the upper end of the ramp ; Fig. 11 is a close-up view of the region labelled XI in Fig. 10A ; Fig. 12 is a close-up view of the region labelled XII in Fig. 10B ; and Figs. 13 to 15 are respectively right side, top and left side views of a further embodiment of a hook member for use with the ramp shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a ramp 10 for use with a skip (not shown). The ramp 10 comprises a track member 12 along which a wheelbarrow (not shown) can be propelled, and a receiving means 14 into which the wheel 15 (shown in broken lines in Fig. 3) of the wheelbarrow can be received. The track member 12 comprises first and second outer elongate walkway sections 16,18 along which a person pushing the wheelbarrow can walk, and an elongate wheel guide section 20, between the other walkway section 16,18, to guide the wheel 15 of the wheelbarrow, and along which the wheel 15 can roll. The elongate wheel guide section 20 is provided by a pair of sloping side walls 28,30 which extend downwardly from inner edges of the respective walkway sections 16,18 to the elongate wheel guide section 20.

Side members 22,24 are provided along the opposite side edges of the track member 12. These are in the form of extrusions. Reinforcement means in the form of a plate 26 is provided at each end of the track member 12. The side members 22,24 and one of the plates 26 are shown more clearly in Fig. 5 which is an end view from the left hand end (as shown in Fig. 1) of the ramp 10.

The receiving means 14 for receiving the wheel 15 of the wheelbarrow comprises an aperture 32 defined in the elongate wheel guide section 20 at the left hand end region (shown in Fig. 1) of the track member 12. In use, the ramp 10 extends from a wall of the skip to the ground, with the left hand end region of the ramp constituting an upper end thereof. Hook members (described below) hold the track member 12 on the skip wall.

Holding means 34 is mounted at the aperture 32 and, referring more particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, is in the form of a rectangular plate which has been deformed to have the following features, namely a holding member 3 S having a curved part 36, the central region of which extends below the upper surface of the elongate wheel guide section 20. The curved part 36 extends upwardly at the rear of the aperture 32 to a rear raised part 38, and upwardly at the front of the aperture 32 to a front raised part 40. Connecting portions 42,44 extend respectively rearwardly from the holding member 35 and forwardly from the holding member 35 to connect the holding means 34 to the track member 12.

As can be seen from Figs. 4 and 5, the connecting portions 42,44 are provided with apertures 46 to enable rivets or other suitable securing means for example a bolt, to secure the holding means 34 to the track member 12.

The holding member 35 also includes a downwardly extending part 47, which extends from the rear raised part 38 to the rear connecting portion 42.

Similarly, the holding member 35 includes a downwardly extending part 48, which extends from the front raised part 40 to the front connecting portion 44.

In the embodiment shown, the downwardly extending part 48 extends in a rearwards direction from the front raised portion 40 to the front connecting portion 44. Referring to Fig. 4, it can be seen that the angle which the downwardly extending portion 48 makes to the front connecting portion 44 is substantially 82. 50.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 5 to 9, the end region of the track member 12 is provided with a pair of hook members 50,150 underneath the track member 12 extending downwardly from underneath the track 12. One hook member is provided on each side of the track member 12. The hook members 50, 150 are mirror images of each other, and only the hook member SO is shown in detail.

The hook member 50 comprises a downwardly extending connecting member 52 which is connected to a downwardly extending side wall 53 of the track member 12. Apertures 54 are defined in the downwardly extending connecting member 52 through which suitable connecting means, for example bolts or rivets, can extend.

A bridging portion 56 extends generally at right angles from the downwardly extending connection portion 52 to a first hook portion 58. As can be seen from Fig. 5, the bridging portion 56 is provided to allow the hook member 50 to fit around the side members 22,24.

As shown in Fig. 5, the downwardly extending hook portion 58 extends beneath the track member 12 and engages the inside of the skip wall. In the embodiment shown, the hook portion 58 is generally of a trapezoidal

configuration (see Fig. 7), having an inclined edge 60 which engages the side of the skip.

A second hook portion 62 extends upwardly from the first hook portion 58, such that the first and second hook portions 58,62 define a V-shaped arrangement. The second hook portion 62 also includes an inclined edge 64 which engages the side of the skip. A laterally extending connecting portion 66 extends from the upper edge of the second hook portion 62. The second hook portion 62 extends generally at an angle X of substantially 300 to the first hook portion 58.

The laterally extending connecting portion 66 includes a pair of apertures 68 through which fastening means can extend, for example a bolt or a rivet. The laterally extending connecting portion 66 is attached to the lower surface of a respective one of the walkway portions 16,18 of the track member 12 by such fastening means.

Referring to Figs. 10A, 10B, 11 and 12, the ramp 10 is shown in use. The ramp 10 is arranged such that the upper end region as shown in Fig. 1, is arranged against the top of the wall of a skip 100 with the hook members 50 engaging the inner face of the skip wall 100. A loaded wheelbarrow 110 is pushed along the track 12 with the wheel 15 of the wheelbarrow 110 rolling along the elongate wheel guide section 20, with the person 120 who is pushing the wheelbarrow walking along the walkways 16,18 on either side of the elongate section 20.

When the wheelbarrow reaches the upper end region of the track 12, the wheel 15 of the wheelbarrow is pushed over the raised portion 38 of the holding member 35 (see Figs. 11 and 12) such that the wheel 15 is received within the curved part 36 of the holding means 35. The upper raised part 40, which as can be seen, extends above the track 12 a greater distance than the rear raised portion 38, prevents the wheel from being pushed forwardly out of the curved part 36 of the holding means 34. The downwardly extending part 48 which extends relative to the front connection portion 44 at an acute angle is

provided engaging a wheel guard 58 of the wheelbarrow, to assist in preventing inadvertent removal of the wheel 15 from the curved part 36 of the holding member 35.

Many wheelbarrows are provided with a wheel guard 58, which comprises a frame member 60 (shown in broken lines in Fig. 3) which extends forwardly from either side of the wheel 15 and has a front portion 62 extending across the front of the wheel 15. The front part 62 of the wheel guard 60 can be arranged over the raised portion 40 to engage the downward extending member 48 thereby preventing inadvertent rearward removal of the wheel from the holding member 38. The rear raised portion 38 also assists in preventing such inadvertent rearward removal of the wheel 15.

In order to empty the wheelbarrow into the skip, the wheelbarrow is tipped in the normal way, with the front portion 62 of the frame 60 of the wheel guard 58 engaging the front connecting portion 44 of the holding member.

The preferred embodiment thus provides a ramp for use with a skip which allows a wheelbarrow to be pushed safely to the top of the skip, without the danger of the wheelbarrow or the person pushing it falling off. The ramp includes receiving means to receive the wheel of the wheelbarrow and allow the wheelbarrow to be tipped into the skip, preventing the wheel from being pushed over the upper end of the ramp and from being inadvertently pulled backwards.

Various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the hook members 50,150 could be replaced by hook members as shown in Figs. 13,14 and 15 which show a hook member 250.

The hook member 250 is, in the front view thereof, the same as shown in Fig. 6 and many of the features of the hook member 250 correspond to features of the hook member 50. Referring to Figs. 13 to 15, the hook member 250 comprises a downwardly extending member 252 which corresponds to the downwardly extending member 52 and which can be connected to the downwardly extending side wall 53 of the ramp 10. The downwardly extending member 252 defines apertures 254 through which suitable connecting means, e. g. bolts or

rivets can extend to secure the downwardly extending member to the side wall 53.

The hook member 250 also includes a bridging portion 256 which corresponds to the bridging portion 56 and extends to a pair of first hook portions 258A, 258B which are mirror images of each other about a line Y-Y.

The first hook portions 258A, 258B have respective inclined edges 260A, 260B and a truncated triangular recess 261 is defined between the first hook portions 258A, 258B. The upper edge region of a side wall of the skip is received in the recess 261 such that the edges 260A, 260B engage the side wall of the skip.

Referring to Figs. 14 and 15, a pair of second hook portions 262A, 262B extend upwardly from a respective one of the first hook portions 258A, 258B.

Similar to the second hook portions 62, the second hook portions 262A, 262B are inclined at an angle of about 30 to the first hook portions 258A, 258B which are, in turn, generally vertical. Thus, the first and second hook portions 258A, 258B and 262A, 262B define a V-shaped arrangement.

The second hook portions 262A, 262B include respective inclined edges 264A, 264B and a gap or recess 265 is defined between the hook portions 262A, 262B. The recess 265 is aligned with the recess 261 and the upper edge of the skip wall is received in the recess 265 as well as in the gap 261, such that the edges 264A, 264B of the respective first and second hook portions 262A, 262B engage the side wall of the skip.

A laterally extending connecting portion 266 extends from the upper edges of the second hook portions 262A, 262B and defines apertures 268 through which suitable fastening means can extend. In this way, the laterally extending connecting portion 266 is attached to a lower surface of a respective one of the walkway portions 16,18 of the track member 12 by fastening means in the form of e. g. bolts or rivets which extend through the apertures 268.

A hook member 250 is attached to each respective side of the ramp at the upper end thereof in a similar way to the hook members 50,150. Since the

first hook portions 258A, 258B are mirror images of each other and the second hook portions are also mirror images of each other only one type of hook member 252 needs to be made.

In use, the ramp 10 is arranged on the upper edge of a side wall of a skip 100 and the aforesaid upper edge is received in the aligned recesses 261,265. The provision of the two first hook portions 258A, 258B and the second hook portions 262A, 262B has the advantage in the preferred embodiment that the ramp 10 is held securely on the skip 100 since the respective edges 260A, 260B and 264A, 264B engage the skip wall.

Whilst endeavouring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

Claims

Claims 1. A ramp comprising a track member for a wheel and receiving means at an end region of the track member to receive the wheel and restrict or prevent movement thereof beyond said end region of the ramp.
2. A ramp according to claim 1, wherein the receiving means includes holding means to hold the wheel when the wheel is received by the receiving means.
3. A ramp according to claim 2, wherein the holding means comprises a curved part to receive the wheel.
4. A ramp according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the holding means comprises a holding member in the form of a shaped plate.
5. A ramp according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the holding means further includes a raised portion at a rear region of the curved part to restrict rearward movement of the wheel when the wheel is received by the holding means.
6. A ramp according to claims 3 to 5, wherein the holding means further includes a front raised portion at a front region of the curved part to restrict forward movement of the wheel when the wheel is received by the holding member.
7. A ramp according to claim 6, wherein the front and rear raised portions each comprise upward continuations of the curved part of the holding means.
8. A ramp according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the front and rear raised portions extend above the track member.

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9. A ramp according to claims 6 to 8, wherein the front raised portion includes engagement means to engage a wheel guard of the wheel, thereby inhibiting removal of the wheel rearwardly from the holding member.
10. A ramp according to claim 9, wherein the engagement means comprises a portion extending downwardly from the front raised portion.
11. A ramp according to claim 10, wherein said downwardly extending portion is angled relative to the plane of the track member in a rearwards direction.
12. A ramp according to claim 11, wherein the acute angle between the downwardly extending portion and the plane of the track member is between substantially 800 and substantially 850.
13. A ramp according to claim 12, wherein the acute angle is between substantially 820 and substantially 830.
14. A ramp according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the receiving means comprises a hole.
15. A ramp according to claim 14, wherein the hole is an aperture or recess.
16. A ramp according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the hole is defined in said end region of the track member.
17. A ramp according to claim 15 or claim 16, wherein the aperture or recess is provided to receive the wheel.
18. A ramp according to claims 15 to 17, wherein the holding means is secured to the track member such that at least the curved part of the holding means is provided within the aperture or recess.

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19. A ramp according to claims 3 to 18, wherein the curved part of the holding means extends beneath the plane of the track member.
20. A ramp according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the ramp further includes hook means at said end region to engage a structure.
21. A ramp according to claim 20, wherein the hook means comprises a hook member which is of a substantially V shaped configuration.
22. A ramp according to claim 21, wherein the hook member comprises an upwardly extending connecting part to engage a side wall of the ramp.
23. A ramp according to claim 22, wherein said side wall extends downwardly from the track member.
24. A ramp according to claim 22 or claim 23, wherein the upwardly extending connecting part extends from one limb of the V.
25. A ramp according to claims 21 to 24, wherein the hook member includes a laterally extending connecting part to engage a laterally extending part of the ramp.
26. A ramp according to claim 25, wherein said laterally extending part of the ramp constitutes the track member.
27. A ramp according to claim 25 or claim 26, wherein the laterally extending part of the hook member extends from the other limb of the V.
28. A ramp according to claims 21 to 27, wherein the angle between the limbs of the V is between substantially 200 and substantially 400.

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29. A ramp according to claim 28, wherein the angle is between substantially 250 and substantially 350.
30. A ramp according to claim 29, wherein the angle is substantially 300.
31. A ramp according to claims 21 to 30, wherein the hook means comprises two of said hook members, one on either side of the ramp.
32. A ramp according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the track member includes an elongate walkway section along which a user may walk and an elongate wheel guide section along which the wheel can roll.
33. A ramp according to claim 32, wherein the wheel guide section is recessed.
34. A ramp according to claim 32 or claim 33, wherein the track member includes two of said elongate walkway sections, one on each side of the wheel guide section.
35. A ramp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
36. Any novel subject matter or combination including novel subject matter disclosed herein, whether or not within the scope of or relating to the same invention as any of the preceding claims.