Patent Application
20110095498
Not Applicable.
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The present invention relates to apparatus for transporting large panels and in particular to an adjustable panel dolly apparatus having an adjustable gripping cradle mounted on two large pneumatic wheels with a single control lever positioned on an outside face of one of the outside walls for moving both gripping panels simultaneously and smoothly to secure large planar objects on a padded bottom platform. Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Transporting large planar objects, such as doors and structural panels is a difficult and tiring task and is subject to damaging the objects. Prior art devices to assist in carrying doors and panels are often complex and may be difficult to operate and control by a single worker.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,741, issued Jun. 2, 1981 to Hurst, concerns a vise for thin objects such as doors which has improved features that allows the doors to be transported on the vise and also accommodates various thicknesses of doors. The vise has a pair of jaws hinged together by a spring loaded hinge. The spring urges the jaws apart. The weight of the door overcomes the spring, drawing the jaws into contact with the door for support. Each jaw is mounted on a wheel for transporting. Each jaw also has an adjustable plate mounted on its inner side for varying the effective opening of the jaws.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,969, issued Nov. 5, 1974 to Nadeau, discloses a dolly provided by attaching upright angle brackets to the leaves of a butt type hinge. Two wheels are mounted to the lower flanges of the angle brackets and the weight of the door causes the upright flanges of the angle brackets to be urged toward one another by pivoting about the hinge pivot axis. A clamp on the underside of the hinge also holds the door to be transported on the dolly.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,717,357, issued Feb. 20, 1973 to Schaefer, shows a single axle two-wheel dolly for panels which adjusts in width by bolts in sliding slots at the bottom of the two L-shaped sides.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,103,486, issued Jul. 14, 1914 to Cobb, describes a two wheel automatic gripping dolly for panels with a spring connecting the two sides at the bottom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,316, issued Jun. 7, 1994 to Shurtleff, puts forth carts for transporting doors, sheets of plywood and dry wall, narrow crates, mirrors, and other large, awkward-to-handle and perhaps fragile articles of similar configurations in a horizontal orientation which allows the object to be freely manipulated through a doorway or other opening. The article is automatically and securely clamped between cooperating fixed and displaceable jaws in the process of loading it into the cart; and the article is thereafter automatically released from the jaws when it is lifted upwardly to remove it from the cart. An easily removable handle makes the cart easy to manipulate and, at the same time, permits it to easily be broken down for storage, shipment, etc. Front and rear, leg-like stops limit fore-and-aft tilting of the door cart and thereby facilitate the loading of materials into the cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,067, issued Sep. 22, 1987 to Willey, illustrates a wheeled carrier for transporting elongate articles having a wheeled axle, a dynamic clamp for the article including spring biasing to return the clamp to a relaxed position when the article is removed therefrom, and a suspension extending between the clamp and the axle to absorb shocks transmitted from the wheels so that the clamping force on the article is substantially constant. A “T” handle will move the carrier when empty by picking up the entire carrier, due to its light weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,410, issued Feb. 8, 1994 to Sare et al, provides a dolly for carrying sheet material which consists of an elongated substantially U-shaped frame having a pair of spaced side walls projecting upwardly from a base, so as to receive part of one edge of the sheet material therein. A boss is integrally formed with the base of the frame and depends centrally therefrom. A shaft is mounted in the boss with its ends projecting on opposite sides of the boss. A pair of wheels are provided, with each journalled for rotation on each end of the shaft, so that a person can grip and push the sheet material to transport it along a flat surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,123 issued Dec. 16, 2003 to Kovacs, claims a panel mover designed for receiving, holding and moving a panel and comprises: first and second elongate arms each having an upper end and a lower end and each having a length of between approximately 2 feet and approximately 4 feet; panel support structure connected between the arms; a wheel mounted to each arm on a wheel shaft extending from an outer side of each arm at the lower end of each arm; and, inwardly facing engaging structure only at the upper end of each arm for engaging the side surface of a panel positioned between the arms, whereby, when, an elongate edge of a panel is placed on the panel support stricture, the weight of the panel will cause each elongate arm to rotate upwardly around one of the wheel shafts and pivot inwardly toward the panel to a panel engaging position where the engaging structure at the upper end of each arm engages the panel. The arms have padding and there is a spring between them at the bottom.
What is needed is an adjustable panel dolly apparatus having an adjustable gripping cradle mounted on two large pneumatic wheels with a single control lever positioned on an outside face of one of the outside walls for moving both gripping panels simultaneously and smoothly to secure large planar objects on a padded bottom platform.
An object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable panel dolly apparatus having an adjustable gripping cradle mounted on two large pneumatic wheels with a single control lever positioned on an outside face of one of the outside walls for moving both gripping panels simultaneously and smoothly to secure large planar objects on a padded bottom platform.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a cushioned non-slip material on the bottom receiving platform.
One more object of the present invention is to provide grip spacing gauge with variable adjustments to use in conjunction with the single control lever and control knob.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a handle on each side of the dolly apparatus for lifting and carrying the dolly when not carrying a load.
In brief, an adjustable panel dolly has center gripping panels adjustable from ½″ to 2½″ wide in order to accommodate a variety of elongated panels, doors, or any large planar sheets. This device has a surface that receives the panels on a cushioned, non-slip material to protect the edges and at the same time retain the panels from sliding off the panel dolly. Each of the sides of the panel dolly has a pair of nested cylindrical hollow drums with a series of spaced parallel linear groves around an external drum with a mating protrusion from the inner drum riding in each of the grooves. This process allows different sizes of panels to be gently inserted in order to transport to different locations. Both internal sides fully moved inward allows a panel of ½″ to fit between the sides. Moving the inner gripping panels outward widens the gap therebetween and allows wider material to be inserted between the two inner gripping panels. Both adjustable inner gripping panels are adjusted by one exterior handle connected to the one of the sides which turns a hub to move the adjacent drum. A cable looped around an exterior drum on the control side with the cable affixed to a point on the control side exterior drum extends downwardly through tubes and under the cradle and loops over the exterior drum on the opposite side and attaches to a point on that exterior drum so that both drums turn simultaneously by turning the handle connected to the hub of the first drum.
A counteracting spring is mounted between each internal drum and the adjacent exterior side panel to aid in retracting the drum to its original position.
A bottom spring between the base and the cable tubes assists in maintaining uniform tension to insure even sliding of the two inner panels even if the cable stretches over time.
The assembly rides on an axle extending through the base, and mounted on this axle are pneumatic wheels on each side of the panel dolly making it maneuverable over obstacles without hindering the handling of the device. The device has a handle on the top of both outside panels to aid in its transportation when not carrying a load.
An advantage of the present invention is it provides a means for a single person to easily transport large planar objects.
Another advantage of the present invention is it provides a single adjustment to simultaneously adjust both sides of the dolly to accommodate many sizes of planar objects.
One more advantage of the present invention is to provide easy transportation of the device when not in use by providing handles on both sides of the device.
An additional advantage of the present invention is to provide protection and security of the planar objects being transported with a non-slip, cushioned platform for the objects to rest upon.
These and other details of my invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are furnished only by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention, and in which drawings:
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The second cylindrical drum 32 has a series of protrusions 34 equally spaced around the outer surface. Each of the protrusions 34 of the second cylindrical drum 32 fits within one of the parallel grooves 33 of the first cylindrical drum 31, so that turning the first cylindrical drum 31 clockwise and counterclockwise causes the parallel grooves 33 to move the protrusions 34 of the second cylindrical drum 32. This, in turn, causes the second cylindrical drum 32 to advance the gripping panel 22A and 22B to contact a planar object 50 on the platform 26 and retract to release the planar object 50. In
A pair of tubes 36 extend under the platform 26 between the panels 22A and 22B for receiving the two sides of the cable loop 35 which slides within the tubes 36. In
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In use, an adjustable panel dolly 10 has center (or gripping) panels 22A and 22B that can be adjusted from ½ inch to 2½ inches wide in order to accommodate a variety of elongated panels, doors, or any elongated material (planar object) 50. Larger dollies with wider grips may be used for large applications. This device 10 has a surface 26 that receives the panels 50 on a cushioned, non-slip material 27 to protect the edges of the panels and at the same time retain the panels 50 from sliding off the panel dolly 10. Both sides of the panel dolly have double-nested cylinders 30A and 30B with an outer cylindrical drum 31 with grooves 33 in a diagonal line and an inner cylindrical drum 32 with protrusions 34 spaced apart on the drum to fit into the grooves 33. The spaced parallel grooves 33 are offset by 1″ to throw the interior drum cylinder 32, and thus the gripping panel sides 22A and 22B, inward to restrict the space on the panel dolly. This process allows different sizes of panels or planar objects 50 to be gently inserted in order to transport to different locations. Both internal sides or gripping panels 22A and 22B fully thrown inward allow a panel of ½″ to fit. Retracting the inner panels 22A and 22B widens the gap and allows wider material to be inserted between the two inner gripping panels 22A and 22B. Both adjustable inner sides are adjusted by one exterior knob 25 attached to a control lever 24 connected to the other side by a tube 36 with a cable 35 running through the tube 36 mounted on the opposite side drum 30A. A counteracting spring 17 is mounted on each inner cylindrical drum 32 attached to each adjacent external wall 21B to aid in retracting the drum to its original position. The assembly rides on an axle 19 extending through the base 26 and mounted on this axle 19 are pneumatic wheels 29A and 29B on each side of the panel dolly making it maneuverable over obstacles without hindering the handling of the device. The device has a handle 18 on the top of both outside panels 21A and 21B to aid in its transportation with no load on the dolly.
It is understood that the preceding description is given merely by way of illustration and not in limitation of the invention and that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.
