In the handling of industrial, construction, horticultural and domestic objects, items too large for a person to easily carry have to be moved through doorways, over thresholds, steps and irregular surfaces, as well as level ground. It is often necessary to use dollies or hand carts to move these items. In cases where the floor or paving are smooth and continuous, the dolly and the load may be moved by one person. When obstacles are encountered, more people are required, and/or planks, sheets of plywood or steel plates are required to bridge the obstacle.
Wheeled dollies having casters and/or fixed wheels mounted at the corners to a dolly are well-known for transport of miscellaneous coherent loads.
It is accordingly an object of the dolly to provide a compact furniture dolly, which is small, lightweight and maneuverable both on flat surfaces and over small obstacles.
The dolly describes a dolly that may be moved by one person, and minor obstacles negotiated single handedly.
In accordance with the dolly, there is provided a furniture dolly which includes a horizontal platform, two rows of in-line wheels, inset from both front and rear of the platform and inset from the edges, and a length of cord or rope attached to the front of the platform. The platform may be a continuous sheet of strong rigid material, or an open frame of strong rigid material. Two rows of inline wheels are mounted symmetrically under the platform, inset by about 10% of the platform's width from the respective edges. The rows of wheels are mounted symmetrically in the center 60% of the platform's length. The overhang on each edge of the platform allows the dolly to be tilted laterally or in-line of motion for maneuvering by applying pressure to the load. The wheels are fixed in line so the dolly freely rolls backwards and forwards but no provision for taking a curved course is provided in the wheels' mounting.
Any number of wheels may be used within the constraints of wheel size and practical length of the dolly. A sufficient number of wheels are provided to prevent the dolly grounding when maneuvered over a raised obstacle such as a door threshold. The dolly may employ the type of wheels used by in-line skates also known as roller blades. These provide free movement from good quality bearings and are resilient to shocks and transverse stresses. The dolly does not preclude other types of wheels.
A rope or cord is attached to the front edge of the platform, which is used to apply forward force directly to the dolly when resistance to the wheels is encountered, so the load is not displaced, as would be the case if the force was applied to the load alone.
The dolly allows one person to move heavy objects, including furniture, building materials, industrial parts and materials, and landscape and garden objects and materials. On a level surface, the dolly tends to travel in a straight line, but may be steered through a large radius curve by light lateral pressure from the operator. The dolly also allows negotiation of small radius bends by tilting the load so only the front or rear wheels are in contact with the ground and the dolly and load may be turned on the spot by the operator. Small steps and other raised obstacles are negotiated by tilting the platform so the leading wheels are raised sufficiently to alight on the top of the obstacle, and then reverse tilting raises the trailing wheels so they roll onto the top of the obstacle.
It is an object of the present dolly to provide an improved furniture moving dolly adapted to negotiate bumps or other obstructions.
It is another object of the present dolly to provide an improved furniture moving dolly adaptable for use by one man.
It is a further object of the present dolly to provide an improved furniture moving dolly which can be employed by one individual without injury to himself or damage to the furniture.
It is a further object of the present dolly to provide an improved furniture moving dolly which moves with reduced friction over unimpeded surfaces.
It is a further object of the present dolly to provide an improved furniture moving dolly which on smooth surfaces tends to follow a straight line.
The subject matter which I regard as my dolly is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of this specification. The dolly, however, both as to organization and method of operation, together with further advantages and objects thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like elements.
Referring to the drawings, a furniture dolly according to the present dolly comprises a horizontal platform 1 mounted on two rows of in-line wheel assemblies comprising mounting brackets 2, wheels 3, and axles 6. The in-line wheel assemblies 2,3 are inset from both front and rear of the platform and inset from the edges of the horizontal platform 1. A fixing eye 4 is provided in the center of the front edge of the platform 1, and a length of attaching cord, e.g., rope 5 attached to the platform 1 by use of this eye 4. A spring clip of the type used on a dog's leash can be used to attach or detach the rope from the eye at the front of the platform.
The platform 1 is a rectangle of strong rigid material. Its upper surface is essentially flat, but may be textured, or provided with ridges, knobs or other devices to reduce the likelihood of the load slipping during movement. The underside of the platform 1 may be flat, ribbed or contoured to enhance physical strength and to aid assembly in manufacture. The platform 1 may be constructed from a continuous sheet of strong rigid material, such as plywood, steel, metal alloy or composite plastic material, or an open frame of wooden boards or similar material or may use any combination of these materials.
The platform 1 has two inline wheel assemblies attached to its underside as shown in
An eye 4 is provided in the front center of the platform 1. The eye may comprise a molded, drilled or otherwise formed hole through the platform, or may be a separate component attached with fasteners compatible with the composition of the platform. The platform may be contoured to accommodate the eye 4 for both the integral and attached variations. The platform 1 may include local reinforcement to spread the stress applied by the eye 4.
Each wheel assembly comprises a robust mounting bracket or pair of brackets 2, to which a number of wheels 3 are attached to one face via their axles 6. The brackets attach to the underside of the platform by another face at right angles to the face attaching the wheels. The bracket 2 takes the form of a metal angle or channel, and may be cut and drilled from a standard rolled or extruded metal stock or may be custom molded, formed or stamped for the purpose. The brackets 2 may employ ribbing or contouring to enhance strength. The brackets 2 are fixed to the platform so there is no movement between them and the platform 1, and in one embodiment of this dolly, the brackets could be formed from part of the platform molding.
The wheels 3 are attached to the bracket(s)2 to form an in-line configuration. Each wheel 3 can rotate freely in either direction, but its orientation is fixed parallel with the long axis of the bracket 2. When the dolly is placed on a flat surface, all wheels 3 are in contact with the surface in the first embodiment of this dolly. In an alternative embodiment of this dolly, the leading and trailing wheels 9 of each assembly may be slightly raised from the ground to aid tipping the dolly to negotiate obstacles. Three to six wheels 3 are attached in-line to each wheel assembly, depending on projected load carrying, size of wheels and environment the dolly is designed for use in. More than one line of wheels in each wheel assembly may also be used for transporting heavier loads or spreading the load on weaker surfaces.
For optimum performance, the dolly will employ the type of wheels used by in-line skates also known as roller blades. These provide free movement from good quality bearings and are resilient to shocks and transverse stresses. Two bearings are used per wheel. The bearings slip into openings molded into each side of the wheel hub, and a flange molded into the wheel hub holds the bearings a distance apart from one another. Additionally there can be an axle spacer. In one embodiment, the wheels can be made of polyurethane.
Other types of wheels may be used, as long as they provide low resistance bearings and ability to individually support the whole design loading of the dolly on one pair of wheel. Wheel diameters are in the range 2 inches to 4 inches.
The rope or cord attached to the eye is made of a conventional fiber with qualities of comfort for handling and bearing a load in excess of the projected load carried by the dolly. Its length is determined by the envisaged load for the dolly, so that it would reach from the dolly under the largest load to the hand of the operator as illustrated in
For carriage of a bulky load over a smooth level surface the dolly is placed beneath the center of gravity of the load, and the load moved in a straight line by light pressure on the load by the operator. In this environment, the dolly is operated with the eye and rope on the trailing edge so to provide an additional hand hold if the operator wishes to slow or stop the dolly, as shown in
Steering left or right over large radius curves is achieved by gentle lateral pressure on the load while maintain forward motion. If an abrupt change of direction is required, the operator stops the dolly and tilts the load backwards, thus causing the dolly to tilt with the load and raise all but its rear wheels from the surface as shown in
For carriage of a small heavy load, the dolly is reversed so the eye and rope are at the leading edge, and the dolly is pulled by the operator using the rope in straight lines. Large radius curves are negotiated by applying the tension to the rope with a bias to the direction of turn. When the weight of the load allows, sharp turns are made by lifting the front of the dolly with upward tension on the rope. Applying sharp turns to heavier loads requires the operator to move to the back of the dolly and apply downward pressure with a foot to the rear of the dolly while pulling on the rope to lift the front and turning the dolly.
A hollow in the surface would be negotiated in the opposite sequence.
When a small load is being transported, the dolly will generally be oriented to have the rope at the front, when the operator will use the rope to raise and lower the front of the dolly.
In cases when very rough ground is traversed the dolly and load can be tilted sideways to insert wood or other packing material under one set of wheels should the dolly become jammed between obstacles or bogged down in a soft surface.
The dolly is equally operable with two operators. The orientation of the dolly with respect to the rope would remain the same as for the single operator case.
Although only a few embodiments have been disclosed in detail above, other embodiments are possible and the inventors intend these to be encompassed within this specification. The specification describes certain technological solutions to solve the technical problems that are described expressly and inherently in this application. This disclosure describes embodiments, and the claims are intended to cover any modification or alternative or generalization of these embodiments which might be predictable to a person having ordinary skill in the art. For example, the in-line rows of wheels are embodied as a plurality of rows in each mounting assembly so to distribute the load over a greater surface can be used.
Where a specific numerical value is mentioned herein, it should be considered that the value may be increased or decreased by 20%, while still staying within the teachings of the present application, unless some different range is specifically mentioned. Where a specified logical sense is used, the opposite logical sense is also intended to be encompassed.
The previous description of the disclosed exemplary embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present dolly. Various modifications to these exemplary embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the dolly. Thus, the present dolly is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.
This application claims priority from provisional application No. 62/577, 545; filed Oct. 26, 2017, the entire contents of which are herewith incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62577545 | Oct 2017 | US |