NZ204371A - Delivery barrow with at least two pairs of wheels - Google Patents

Description

2043 7| Patents Form No.5.

Patents Act 1953 No.204371 Date: 27.11.1983 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION "Delivery Barrow" WE, ALDER SERVICES LIMITED, a New Zealand Company, of c/-Kirk Barclay & Company, 303 Durham Street, Christchurch, New Zealand, hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- I"-I"- 'J**1." , 2043 7 1 The present invention relates to a delivery barrow for transporting heavy articles such as washing-machines, refrigerators, stoves, and freezers.

Conventional delivery barrows comprise an L-cross-5 section frame with a single pair of wheels secured to the longer limb of the 'L', adjacent the corner of the 'L'. An article to be transported rests in the internal angle of the 'L', and the barrow is moved by tilting it until the frame clears the ground, and wheeling it at this angle. This 10 design of barrow is versatile and easy to use on the flat, but has the major drawback that the barrow cannot be wheeled up a step, but instead must be hauled up a step by pulling the wheels up the face of the step:- this requires a great deal of additional effort, and often means that two men are 15 needed for a delivery instead of one, the second man being required simply in case there are steps to go up.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a delivery barrow which overcomes the above-described disadvantages.

The present invention provides a delivery barrow com-20 prising: an L-cross-section frame having first and second pairs of wheels connected to the outer surface of the longer limb of the 'L'; the wheels of each pair being co-axial and spaced apart across the width of the barrow; the wheels of the first pair being adjacent the outer corner of the 'L' 25 and the wheels of the second pair being connected to the frame a distance * d1 away from said outer corner, and further away from said outer corner than said first pair of wheels, 204371 said wheels of said second pair being mounted on brackets which extend at a fixed angle to said longer limb of the frame such that the wheels of the second pair extend beyond the wheels of the first pair by a distance 'e' in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the longer limb of the frame; said distances 'e' and 'd' being determined by the dimensions of the steps up which the barrow is to be moved, as hereinafter described; and said distance 'd' being variable independently of said distance 'e'.

Preferably distance 'd' may be varied by securing the brackets supporting the second pair of wheels at any one of a plurality of positions along the length of the longer limb of the 'L'.

The distance ' e' may also be variable, by varying the length of the brackets.

Preferably the deliver barrow further comprises a third axis pair of wheels the/of which is parallel to the axes of the first and second pairs of wheels and connected to or adjacent the free end of the longer limb of the 'L' on the outer surface thereof.

By way of example only, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig.l is a side view of the delivery barrow of the present invention in the 'loading1 position; Fig.2 is a side view of the barrow of Fig.l about to travel up a step; and Fig.3 is a back view, taken in the direction of arrow 204371 A of Fig.1.

Referring to the drawings, a delivery barrow 2 comprises an L-cross-section frame consisting of a pair of spaced paralle arms 3 connected together by cross-bars 4 and 5, and a tray 6 secured across the lower ends of the arms 3 with the plane of the tray 6 perpendicular to the plane in which the arms 3 lie.

Each arm 3 is formed from tube, and may be extensible in length. The upper end 7 of each arm 3 is bent through an angle a of approximately 45°, and the ends 7 are connected together by a cross-bar 8.

A first pair of wheels 20 is mounted one on each side edge of the barrow 2, the axle 21 being hung from the arms 3 by brackets (not shown) which are perpendicular to the plane of the arms 3. The wheels 20 are dimensioned and arranged such that the outer edges of the wheels 20 contact the ground l/. in when the tray 6 contacts the ground (as shown in Fig.l.).

A sliding framework 23 comprises a pair of channel members 24 located one on each arm 3, and dimensioned so as to be an easy sliding fit thereon.

Each channel member 24 supports a bracket 25 which extends parallel to, and on the same side of the barrow as, the brackets supporting the wheels 20; double wheels 27 are mounted one on each side of each bracket 25. The brackets 25 are tied together adjacent the channel members 24 by a cross-strap 28, to the mid-point of which is secured a strut 29. The strut 29 is parallel to the arms 3 and extends from the cross-strap 28 about half-way to the upper cross-bar 5, passing through an apertured eye 30 secured to the lower 2043 7 1 cross-bar 4. A coil-spring 31 is secured between the midpoint of the cross-bar 5 and the upper end of the strut 29 biassing the framework 23 towards the upper cross-bar 5. The lower portion of the strut 29 is formed with a series of spaced apertures 32, and the position of the framework 23 on the arms 3 is adjusted by moving the cross-strap 28 to the desired position and securing it in that position by passing a pin 33 through the eye 30 and one of the apertures 32. The coil-spring 31 holds the framework 23 tightly into engagement with the pin 33, so that the wheels 27 are rigidly supported. Thus, the distance ' d* between the tray 6 and the axles of the wheels 27 can be rapidly and easily adjusted simply by removing the pin 33 and adjusting the position of the framework 23 as necessary.

The length of the brackets 25 is such that the outer edge of each wheel 27 projects beyond the outer edge of the corresponding wheel 20 by a distance 'e'; the brackets 25 may be extensible to allow 'e' to be varied, but this is not normally necessary. The distance 'e' can also be varied by varying the diameters of the wheels 20 and 27.

A third pair of wheels AO is secured to the ends of the cross-bar 8. The axles of the wheels 20, 27 and 40 are mutually parallel and all the wheels are freely rotatable on their axes. The wheels 40 preferably are the same diameter as the wheels 27.

The above-described barrow is used as follows:- the barrow is positioned as in Fig.l i.e. with the tray 6 horizontal, and is slid under an article to be loaded on the barrow until the arms 3 contact the article. The barrow is ■\-V 204371 then tilted slightly in the direction of arrow C, using the cross-bar 8 as a handle, and is wheeled along the flat in known manner. To raise the barrow over a step (Fig.2) the barrow is backed up to the step until the wheels 20 contact 5 the vertical face 41 of the step. The barrow is then tilted further in the direction of arrow C, until the wheels 27 rest on the upper surface 42 of the step. The barrow is then wheeled backwards on the wheels 27, drawing the wheels 20 up the face 41 of the step, until the wheels 20 rest on 10 the surface 42 of the step. This sequence is repeated for each step.

The distance 'd' must be selected to suit the height of the step:- 'd' must be such that the wheels 27 can rest on the surface 42 with minimum additional tilting of the 15 barrow, but not so great that the wheels 20 cannot be drawn onto the surface 42 before the wheels 27 contact the vertical face of the next step. For steep steps, the distance 'd' would need to be greater than for shallower steps. For example, one set of dimensions which have been found to work 20 well in practice for a general delivery barrow are as follows; diameter of wheels 20 205 mm diameter of wheels 27 75 mm diameter of wheels 40 75 mm distance 'd' (range) 280 - 350 mm distance 'e' 35 mm overall height of barrow 1140 mm The greater the distance 'e1, the less it is necessary to tilt the barrow to engage the wheels 27 with the upper 2043 7 1 surface 42 of the step, but the sooner the wheels 27 will contact the vertical face of the next step. As noted above, in general it is not necessary to adjust 'e', but for unusual types of steps, it is advantageous to be able to do so. For 5 example, a greater distance 'e' is useful when dealing with steps with a large tread depth, since this minimises the tilting of the barrow. A shorter distance ' e' is useful when dealing with steps with a small tread depth.

The wheels 40 are used when it is necessary to negotiate 10 a ramp (e.g. loading into a vehicle) or an exceptionally steep short flight of steps with very little tread depth, or to climb up onto a terrace or verandah without useable steps. In this case, the barrow is backed up to the bottom of the ramp/steps/terrace, and the barrow is tilted in the direction 15 of arrow C until the wheels 40 contact the upper surface of the vehicle deck or top step or terrace, as the case may be. The barrow is then pushed upwards from below, travelling on the wheels 40, until the wheels 27 reach said upper surface also. At this point, the barrow may be pulled up the remaining 20 distance on the wheels 27.

It will be appreciated that the pairs of wheels 20, 27, 40 need not be secured adjacent the side edges of the barrow, but the wheels in each pair must be spaced far enough apart to give a stable base for the barrow. The spacing between 25 the wheels of each pair may vary from one pair to another.

If the barrow is to be used only with a small size range of steps, the distances 'd1 and 'e' may both be fixed, to suit the steps. In this case the framework 23 is omitted and the brackets 25 secured directly to the arms 3. 204371

Claims (8)

WHAT WE CLAIM IS;

1. A delivery barrow comprising: an L-shaped cross- section frame having first and second pairs of wheels connected to the outer surface of the longer limb of the 'L'; the wheels of each pair being co-axial and spaced apart across the width of the barrow; the wheels of the first pair being adjacent the outer corner of the 'L' and the wheels of the second pair being connected to the frame a distance 'd' away from said corner, and further away from said outer corner than said first pair of wheels, said wheels of said second pair being mounted on brackets, which extend at a fixed angle to said longer limb of the frame such that the wheels of the second pair extend beyond the wheels of the first pair by a distance 'e' in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the longer limb of the frame; said distances 'e' and 'd' being determined by the dimensions of the steps up which the barrow is to be moved, as hereinbefore described; and said distance * d' being variable independently of said distance 'e'.

2. A delivery barrow as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the distance 'd' is varied by securing said brackets supporting the second pair of wheels at any one of a plurality of positions along the length of the longer limb of the 'L*.

3. A delivery barrow as claimed in Claim 2 wherein said brackets form part of a framework mounted slidably upon the longer limb of the 'L' of the barrow frame.

4. A delivery barrow as claimed in any preceding claim wherein each bracket supporting said second pair of wheels —J - 8 - ^o^3"9) can be varied in length to vary the distance 'e'.

5. A delivery barrow as claimed in any preceding claim CXXi/ €>j. Is pdr*11e/ R ft* *X<T y further comprising a third pair of wheels oo nxial^te±=fefa said first and second pairs of wheels and connected to or adjacent 5 the free end of the longer limb of the 'L' on the outer sur face thereof.

6. A delivery barrow as claimed in any preceding claim . wherein the length of the longer limb of the 'L' is extensible . 10

7. A delivery barrow as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the free end of the longer limb of the 'L' is bent at an angle approximately 45° towards the outer surface of the frame.

8. A delivery barrow substantially as hereinbefore 15 described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings. 7 aft*!* f.l~- £?<Lnfr*j i 4xrqi - ^ EU& 6 J. - 9 -