Patent Application
20150353112
The present invention generally relates to a keg trolley. The present invention has particular, although not exclusive application to a beer keg trolley.
The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that the prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.
Beer keg trolleys are used to transport unwieldy and heavy beer kegs to and from pallets.
A known type of beer keg trolley has a fixed hook for catching in a hand hole of a keg's chime lip. Undesirably, the heavy beer kegs often need to be manually handled to align the hand hole and hook, or to stabilize a rocking keg during transport, which presents work and safety issues.
Further, ramps often need to be employed when transporting elevated kegs to and from a pallet or step to align the hand hole and hook. Even so, it is often difficult to align the hook to engage within the hand hole when kegs are of different height or placed on different types of pallets.
The preferred embodiment provides an improved beer keg trolley.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keg trolley including a movable catch for catching hold under a lip of a keg.
Preferably, the catch is movable so as to engage under different lips at various heights, when kegs are of different heights or placed on different types of pallets. In the preferred embodiment, the keg can be readily repositioned on a pallet by engaging the catch and moving the keg, without the need to actually touch the keg.
The catch may catch hold under opposing sides of the keg so that the keg is stably held.
The trolley may further include a lever arm which is terminated by the catch. The lever arm may be bent to facilitate catching of elevated kegs, especially on a pallet. The catch may include a rod with tapered ends to facilitate engagement with a curved wall of the keg. The trolley may further include biasing means for biasing the catch downwards against the keg in use.
The trolley may further include a support to which the lever arm is pivotally mounted. The support may be bent to facilitate levering of the keg. The lever arm may define a lever handle opposite the catch. The support may be pivotally connected relative to a wheel axle.
The trolley may further include a pair of motion limiters for limiting motion of the support so that the keg can be transported in different positions. The trolley may further include a bumper against which a base of the keg can engage. The trolley may include a cradle for cradling the cylindrical keg.
The trolley may further include a pair of wheels mounted to the axle, and a trolley handle to facilitate wheeling of the trolley.
In one embodiment, the keg trolley includes a stand for enabling the trolley to stand upright. The stand may include a kick stand.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keg catch for catching hold under a lip of a keg.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hand-operated keg handling tool including an arm terminating in the catch.
The arm may terminate in a handle.
Preferred features, embodiments and variations of the invention may be discerned from the following Detailed Description which provides sufficient information for those skilled in the art to perform the invention. The Detailed Description is not to be regarded as limiting the scope of the preceding Summary of the Invention in any way. The Detailed Description will make reference to a number of drawings as follows:
a is a side perspective view of a beer keg trolley having an unengaged catch, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and
b is a side perspective view of the beer keg trolley of
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a beer keg trolley 100 as shown in
The catch 102 includes a rod with tapered ends to complemenarily engage with a inner curved side wall of the keg 106. The tapered ends of the catch 102 also catch hold under opposing sides of the keg 106 so that the keg 106 is stably held during transportation.
The trolley 100 further includes a lever arm 108 which is terminated at one end by the catch 102. The other end of the lever arm defines a lever handle 109 opposite the catch 102. The lever arm 108 is bent to facilitate catching of elevated kegs 106, especially sitting on a pallet. The trolley 100 further includes a torsional spring 111 (i.e. biasing means) for biasing the catch 102 downwards against the roof of the keg 106 in use.
The trolley 100 further includes an upright support 110 to which the lever arm 108 is pivotally mounted about its centre. The support 110 is bent to facilitate levering of the heavy keg 106. The upright support 110 is also pivotally connected relative to a wheel axle 112.
The trolley 100 further includes a pair of motion limiters 114a, 114b for limiting pivotal motion of the support 110 so that the keg 106 can be transported in different forward or rearward positions. The trolley 100 further includes a front bumper 116 against which a base of the cylindrical keg 106 can rest during transportation.
A pair of wheels 118 is mounted to the axle 112, and a trolley handle 120 extends upwardly from the axle 112 to facilitate wheeling of the trolley 100.
A method of using the trolley 100 is now briefly described.
In use, the user wheels the unloaded trolley 100 to the keg 106 with the upright support 11.0 in a front position as shown in
The spring 111 (i.e. biasing means) biases the catch 102 downwards against the roof of the keg 106 when the user releases the lever handle 109. The user pulls the trolley 100 backwards using trolley handle 120 until the tapered ends of the catch 102 engage on opposite sides of the inner curved side wall of the keg 106.
The user then tilts the trolley 100 rearwards, using the trolley handle 120, so that the catch 102 catches hold under the chime lip 104 of the beer keg 106. In turn, the cylindrical base of the keg 106 rests against the bumper 116 and the loaded trolley 102 can be freely wheeled around on wheels 118.
The keg 106 is transported in a titled configuration. The keg 106 can be released by simply tilting and then pushing the trolley 100 forward, and then lifting the catch 102 over the chime lip 104 using lever handle 109 whilst tilting and pulling the trolley 100 backwards.
As indicated above, the trolley 100 is particularly well suited to loading and unloading varying-dimensioned elevated beer kegs 100 onto and from pallets.
The lever of the trolley 100 also can be used in isolation when not attached to the rest of the trolley 100 as a hand-held keg handling tool operated by a single hand.
The keg handling tool includes the lever handle 109, lever arm 108 and catch 102. The lever handle 109 and lever arm 108 are formed from a bent metal rod or bar, and the metal catch 102 is welded to the end of the arm 108.
In use; the catch 102 of the keg handling tool can be moved and caught under the chime lip 104 of a beer keg 106 when the user holds the lever handle 109 in one hand. The user can then push on the handle 109 to topple the keg 106 onto its side. Once the keg 106 is on its side, the user can roll the keg 106 by pushing it with the handling tool. The keg handling tool can then be caught under the chime lip 104 of a beer keg 106 to drag the keg 106, or pulled to elevate the keg 106 to standing once again.
A person skilled in the art will appreciate that many embodiments and variations can be made without departing from the ambit of the present invention.
In one embodiment, one or more brackets may be mounted to the front of the support 110 in place of the bumper 116 to cradle and further support the cylindrical keg 106.
In the preferred embodiment, the support 110 remained in either a front or rearward position during handling of the keg 100 to suit the user's preference. In another embodiment, the support 110 may flip from the front to the rearward position during loading, and from the rearward to the front position during unloading. In another embodiment, the support 110 may be fixed and not pivot at all.
In one embodiment, the keg trolley 100 includes a stand for enabling the trolley to stand upright. The stand can include a kick stand.
In compliance with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific to structural or methodical features. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to specific features shown or described since the means herein described comprises preferred forms of putting the invention into effect.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013900091 | Jan 2013 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2014/000011 | 1/9/2014 | WO | 00 |
