WO2006022614A1

WO2006022614A1 - Vertically folding handtruck and method of construction

Info

Publication number: WO2006022614A1
Application number: PCT/US2004/023291
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arthur R. Burnham; Rodrigo Gimenez
Original assignee: Magline, Inc.
Priority date: 2004-07-21
Filing date: 2004-07-21
Publication date: 2006-03-02
Also published as: GB0702713D0; GB2430919B; GB2430919A

Abstract

A hand truck and method of construction therefor includes laterally spaced side rails having channels facing inwardly toward one another for receipt of a slide latch. The side rails define an upper frame section and a lower frame section connected together by hinges for folding movement of the upper frame section from an operative position to a folded position. The slide latch is carried by the upper frame section for sliding movement toward the lower frame section to releaseably lock the lower and upper frame sections in their operative position, and for sliding movement away from the lower frame section to allow the upper frame section to be folded relative to the lower frame section. A first stop member and a second stop member cooperate to limit the movement of the slide latch to prevent removal of the slide latch from the upper frame section.

Description

VERTICALLY FOLDING HANDTRUCK AND METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION

FD3LD OF THE INVENTION

[001] This invention relates generally to hand trucks, and more particularly to hand trucks having a foldable upright frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Generally, hand trucks are utilized for moving a variety of products such as stacked cases of soft drinks or beer to and from a delivery truck for transporting them from warehouses to retail establishments, for example. The hand trucks generally have vertically extending side rails with a nose plate extending laterally from one end of the side rails and a handle extending from the other end of the side rails. Upon utilizing the hand trucks, commonly the hand trucks must be stowed in a vehicle transporting the products moved via the hand truck. Accordingly, occasions typically result where ^"minimal space remains in which to stow the hand truck. As such, it is desirable if the hand truck occupies a minimal amount of space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[003] A hand truck has a frame including a pair of laterally spaced side rails with each side rail having a channel facing inwardly toward the other. The side rails have an upper side rail section and lower side rail section defining an upper frame section and a lower frame section respectively. The upper frame section and lower frame section are connected by hinges for folding movement of the upper frame section from an operative position to a folded position in which the upper and lower frame sections are in a front to rear lapping relationship. A slide latch is carried by the upper frame section for sliding movement toward the lower frame section to releaseably lock the lower and upper frame sections in their operative positions, and for sliding movement away from the lower frame section to allow the upper frame section to be folded relative to the lower frame section. A first stop member extends outwardly from at least one of the side rails of the upper frame to cooperate with a second stop member carried by the slide latch to limit the movement of the slide latch out of the channels of the upper frame section to prevent removal of the slide latch from the upper frame section.

[004] In another aspect of the invention, a method of construction provides a folding hand truck having hinges connecting upper and lower fame sections for folding movement between operable and folded positions, wherein the upper and lower frame sections have a pair of laterally spaced side rails with front and rear walls connected by a side wall to define inwardly facing channels for sliding receipt of a slide latch. The method includes providing the slide latch having a pair slide rails connected to one another by a laterally extending handle to space the slide rails for sliding receipt in the channels. Further, the method provides a second stop member carried by at least one of the slide rails. Next, sliding the slide rails of the slide latch into the channels of the upper frame section. Next, providing a first stop member extending generally inwardly into the channels from at least one of the walls of the upper frame section to engage the second stop member to prevent removal of said slide latch from said upper frame section. [005] Some of the objects, features and advantages of this invention include providing a hand truck foldable about itself to a stowed position to minimize the amount of space required to store the hand truck, which has relatively few operating parts, providing a lightweight foldable hand truck of durable construction, providing a foldable hand truck easily moved between its operative and folded positions, and providing a foldable hand truck that is relatively simple in design, is economical to manufacture and provides a long life in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[006] These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and best mode, appended claims and accompanying drawings, in which:

[007] Figure 1 is front elevation view of a hand truck constructed according to one embodiment of the invention shown in its operative position;

[008] Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the hand truck of Fig. 1 ;

[009] Figure 3 is a side elevation view of the hand truck of Fig. 1 shown in a folded position;

[0010] Figure 4 is a partial perspective view of the hand truck of Fig. 1 shown in a partially folded position with a slide latch in an extended position to expose it for viewing;

[0011] Figure 5 is a partial side cross-sectional view taken generally along the line

5-5 of Fig. 2;

[0012] Figure 6 is a partial side cross-sectional view of the hand truck of Fig. 1 with the slide latch in a retracted position preparatory to latching;

[0013] Figure 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a side rail of the hand truck and a slide rail of the slide latch; and

[0014] Figure 8 is a perspective view of the slide latch.

DETAILED DESCRTPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Referring in more detail to the drawings, Figs. 1-3 illustrate a hand truck 10 constructed according to one embodiment of the invention. The hand truck 10 has a pair of laterally spaced and generally parallel side rails 12 foldable about an interface (X) such that the hand truck 10 may be used to carry cargo, such as boxes of beverages, for example, while in an operative position (Figs. 1 and 2), and folded about the interface (X) to a stowage or folded position in which the side rails 12 are in a front to rear lapping relationship to facilitate stowing the hand truck 10. To facilitate transitioning the hand truck 10 between its operative and folded positions, a slide latch 14 is carried between at least a portion of the side rails 12 and is moveable between a first position, as best shown in Fig. 5, corresponding to the operative position, and a second position, as best shown in Fig. 6, corresponding to the folded position.

[0016] The hand truck 10 is shown as having generally rubber-tired wheels 16 operably connected to one end 18 of the side rails 12, and a handle 20 extending from another end 22 of the side rails 12. The hand truck 10 has a nose plate 24 extending generally laterally from the side rails 12 adjacent the end 18 of the side rails 12. The nose plate 24 is preferably moveable between an operative and stowed position, such as in the present assignee's U.S. Patent No. 6,601,859, for example, incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

[0017] The hand truck 10 has a frame 26 which includes the side rails 12 generally connected to one another by a plurality of laterally extending braces 28. As best shown in Figs. 4 and 7, the side rails 12 of the frame 26 have front and rear walls 30, 32, respectively, connected to one another by a side wall 34 to define a channel 36 extending along each side rail 12, wherein the channels 36 face generally inwardly toward one another. The side rails 12 have an upper side rail section 38 and a lower side rail section 40. The upper side rail sections 38 define, at least in part, an upper frame section 42, while the lower side rail sections 40 define, at least in part, a lower frame section 44, wherein the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 have ends 45, 47, respectively, and wherein the ends 45, 47 generally abut each other at the interface (X) when the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 are in their operative positions.

[0018] The upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 generally have shallowly grooved exterior grooves or recesses 46 extending within the side walls 34 of the upper and lower side rail sections 38, 40. The upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 are pivotally connected to one another by a pair of hinges 48, each having a pair of hinge legs 49, 50 attached by a plurality of fasteners 52 within the recesses 46 of the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44. At least a portion of the fasteners 52 attaching the hinge legs 50 to the upper frame section 42 preferably provide a first stop member 54 (Figs. 5 and 6) extending generally laterally inwardly from the side wall 34 and at least partially into the channel 36. The fastener 52 is represented here as a rivet type fastener, wherein an expanded portion of a shank on the fastener 52 defines the first stop member 54. It should be recognized that other types of fasteners, such as bolts having threaded shanks for receiving threaded nuts thereon, for example, could be used. It should also be recognized that the first stop member 54 may be formed separately from the fastener 52 and may extend into the channel 36 from one or more of the front and rear walls 30, 32, respectively.

[0019] The slide latch 14 is carried by the upper frame section 42 for sliding movement within the channels 36 of the upper side rail section 38 between the first position (Fig. 5) to releasably lock the lower frame section 44 and upper frame section 42 in their operative position, and for sliding movement away from the lower frame section 44 to the second position to allow folding pivotal movement of the upper frame section 42 to the folded position. The slide latch 14 has a pair of generally parallel slide rails 56, 57 connected to one another by at least one, and shown here as a pair, of laterally extending handles 58, 59. The handles 58, 59 are constructed to have a predetermined length to laterally space the side rails 56, 57 for sliding receipt within the channels 36. As best shown in Fig. 7, the slide rails 56, 57 have an outer surface 62 and an inner surface 63 extending between generally opposite ends 53, 55 with a pair of side walls 65 extending between the outer and inner surfaces 62, 63. Desirably, the end 55 has a generally convex or arcuate pilot surface 51 extending generally between the side walls 65 to facilitate receipt of the slide latch 14 within the channels 36 of the lower frame section 44 and thereby facilitate movement of the slide latch 14 toward its first position. A recessed surface 60 extends generally laterally inwardly from each of the outer surfaces 62 to define gaps 64 between the side walls 34 of the upper frame section 38 and the recessed surfaces 60. Generally, each gap 64 is great enough to provide clearance between the first stop members 54 and the recessed surfaces 60 and permit sliding movement of the slide latch 14 between its first and second positions.

[0020] Desirably, the inner surfaces 63 extend laterally outwardly from the side walls 65 to define a pair of flanges 67 for sliding engagement with the front and rear walls 30, 32 of the upper side rail section 38. The flanges 67 act to restrict lateral movement of the slide latch 14 further into the channels 36, thereby maintaining the slide latch 14 in its intended and preferred orientation between the side rails 12 and within the channels 36. [0021] At least one of the latch slide rails 56, 57 carries a second cooperating stop member 66 for engagement with the frame first stop member 54 to limit the sliding movement of the slide rails 56, 57 within the channels 36 of the upper frame section 42, thereby preventing removal of the slide latch 14 from the upper frame section 42 when in the second folded position. The second stop member 66 extends laterally outwardly from at least one of the recessed surfaces 60, and preferably extends laterally outwardly from both recessed surfaces 60 for sliding receipt in the gaps 64 defined between the recessed surfaces 60 and the side walls 34. The second stop members 66 are defined by a portion 68 of the upper handle 58 extending laterally outwardly of the recessed surfaces 60. It should be recognized that the lower handle 59 has ends 69 that are generally flush or recessed relative to the recessed surfaces 60 so that the ends 69 do not extend into the gaps 64 to prevent interference of the lower handle 59 with the first stop member 54. [0022] In use, the hand truck 10 is arranged in its operative position by aligning the upper slide rail section 38 with the lower side rail section 40 so that the two sections 40, 42 are generally collinear and preferably coextensive with one another. To maintain the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 in their operative positions, the slide latch 14 is moved to its first position such that the slide rails 56, 57 traverse the channels 36 between the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44. Accordingly, the hand truck 10 is maintained in its durable and rigid operative configuration to transport cargo. Desirably, the upper slide rail section 38 may be moved from its folded position toward its operative position, while the slide latch 14 is generally free to move automatically with the assistance of gravity to its first position to automatically lock the hand truck 10 in its operative position. The ends 55 on the slide latch 14 desirably slide along the ends 47 of the front walls 30 of the lower frame section 44 until the slide rails 56, 57 are generally aligned with the channels 36 in the lower frame section 44, whereupon the slide latch 14 is generally free to move to its first position automatically under the force of gravity. It should be recognized that if the hand truck 10 is oriented in a position other than a generally upright position, that gravity may not be able to automatically move the slide latch 14 from its second position to its first position, whereupon an external force may be applied to the slide latch 14 to facilitate movement of the slide latch 14 to its first position. [0023] To facilitate stowing the hand truck 10 into a relatively compact area, the upper and lower frame sections 42, 44 may be moved to their folded position in which the upper and lower frame side rail sections 38, 40 are in their front to rear lapping relationship. To initiate folding the hand truck, the slide latch 14 is moved from its first position to its second position preferably by lifting on one of the hand rails 58, 59 to move the slide latch 14 away from the lower frame section 44. Upon moving the slide latch 14 to its second position, the latch slide rails 56, 57 are removed from the channels 36 in the lower frame section 44. Accordingly, the upper frame section 42 is free to pivot rearwardly via the hinges 48 relative to the lower frame section 44. [0024] In constructing the hand truck 10, hand truck side rail extrusions are utilized and simply cut in half. The slide rails 56, 57 of the slide latch 14 are disposed within the respective channels 36 of the upper frame section 42 such that the second stop member 66 is received beyond an opening 71 in which the fasteners 52 extend through. The hinges 48 are then mounted in position within the recesses 46 via the fasteners 52, whereupon a portion of at least one of the fasteners 52, and shown here as a portion of a pair of the fasteners 52, have flared heads to define the first stop members 54. Thereafter, the slide latch 14 is maintained within the upper frame section 42 and generally prevented from removal therefrom as a result of the first stop members interfering with and engaging the second stop members 66 defined by the handle 58 on the slide latch 14. [0025] It is to be understood that the embodiment described is exemplary of various forms of the invention only and that the invention is defined in the appended claims which contemplate various modifications and embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A hand truck, comprising: a frame including a pair of laterally spaced side rails having front and rear walls connected by a side wall to define a channel within each side rail, said channels facing inwardly toward each other, said side rails connected to one another by laterally extending braces with each side rail having an upper side rail section and a lower side rail section, said upper side rail sections defining an upper frame section and said lower side rail sections defining a lower frame section with said upper and lower frame sections being moveable between a generally collinear operative position and a front to rear lapping folded position; a pair of wheels connected to said lower fame section; a load supporting nose plate connected to said lower frame section having an operative position extending generally outwardly from said lower frame section; hinges connecting said upper frame section to said lower frame section for folding movement of said upper frame section from an operative position in which said upper side rail sections are generally collinear with mating lower side rail sections, to a folded position in which said lower side rail sections and said upper side rail sections are in a front to rear lapping relationship; a slide latch carried by said upper frame section for sliding movement toward said lower frame section to releaseably lock said lower frame section and said upper frame section in said operative position, and for sliding movement away from said lower frame section to allow movement of said upper frame section to said folded position, said slide latch having a pair of generally parallel slide rails connected to one another by a laterally extending handle, said handle spacing said slide rails for sliding receipt in said channels; a first stop member extending generally inwardly from at least one of said walls of said upper frame section into said channel; and a second stop member carried by at least one of said slide rails of said slide latch for engagement with said first stop member to limit the movement of said slide rails within said channels of said upper frame section to prevent removal of said slide latch from said upper frame section.

2. The hand truck claim 1 wherein each of said hinges has a pair of hinge arms arranged for pivotal movement relative to one another, with one hinge arm from each of said hinges being attached to said sidewall of said upper frame section with a fastener and another of said hinge arms from each of said hinges being attached to said sidewall of said lower frame section with a fastener, said first stop member being defined by at least one of said fasteners securing said hinge arms to said upper frame section.

3. The hand truck of claim 2 wherein said first stop member extends laterally inwardly from one of said side walls of said upper frame member.

4. The hand truck of claim 3 wherein said slide rails have a recessed surface defining a gap between said side wall of said upper frame section and said recessed surface, said gap providing clearance between said first stop member and said recessed surface.

5. The hand truck of claim 4 wherein said second stop member extends laterally outwardly from said recessed surface into said gap.

6. The hand truck of claim 1 wherein said second stop member is defined by a portion of said handle.

7. The hand truck of claim 2 wherein said fastener is a rivet, said first stop member being defined by an expanded end of said rivet.

8. The hand truck of claim 1 wherein said slide rails has an end with a convex surface facilitating receipt of said slide rails within said channels of said lower frame section when moving said upper frame section from said folded position to said operative position.

9. The hand truck of claim 8 wherein said convex surface pilots sliding engagement of said slide rails against said front wall of said lower frame section until said slide rails are generally aligned with said channels of said lower frame section.

10. The hand truck of claim 1 wherein said handle has a pair of ends with at least one of said ends extending laterally outwardly from one of said slide rails to define said second stop member.

11. A method of constructing a folding hand truck having a frame including a pair of laterally spaced side rails with front and rear walls connected by a side wall to define a channel within each side rail, said channels facing inwardly toward each other, said side rails connected to one another by laterally extending braces, each side rail having an upper side rail section and a lower side rail section, said upper side rail sections defining at least in part an upper frame section and said lower side rail sections defining at least in part a lower frame section, said upper frame section and said lower frame section being foldable between operative and folded positions; a pair of wheels connected to said lower frame section rearwardly of said lower frame section; a load supporting nose plate extending generally outwardly from said lower frame section; and hinges connecting said upper frame section to said lower frame facilitating said folding movement of said upper and lower frame sections, comprising the steps of: a. providing a slide latch having a pair of slide rails connected to one another be a laterally extending handle to space the slide rails for sliding receipt in the channels; b. providing a second stop member carried by at least one of the slide rails; c. sliding the slide rails of the slide latch into the channels of the upper frame section; and d. providing a first stop member extending generally inwardly into the channels from at least one of the walls of the upper frame section for engagement with the second stop member to prevent removal of said slide latch from said upper frame section.

12. The method of claim 11 including using a portion of the handle to provide the second stop member.

13. The method of claim 11 including attaching the hinges with fasteners to the frame section after step c.

14. The method of claim 13 including using a portion of at least one of the fasteners to provide the first stop member.