Patent Application
20150191189
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1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to systems and methods for transporting a variety of objects. More particularly, the invention relates to packing and transporting objects in a quick and efficient manner.
2. Background Information
Moving a home or office is not generally considered a pleasant experience. Usually it involves packing all material objects and possessions into boxes or crates, transporting those boxes and crates to the new location and then unpacking the boxes and crates.
The initial packing is often complicated by the simple fact that many objects are not well suited to packing into square boxes. Clothing and other material may be wrinkled and delicate objects may be broken. It may also be difficult to find boxes or crates of an appropriate size.
Once objects have been adequately packed, the boxes or crates must be placed in some sort of transportation vehicle such as for example a truck, a train, a car, a boat, an airplane or the like. Placing the boxes and crates into the transportation vehicle may be difficult. The boxes must be arranged to make efficient use of space and must also be held in place to avoid movement and jostling during the transportation. Persons loading a moving truck may feel as though they are playing a real-life game of Tetris®. Unloading a truck or other vehicle and unpacking boxes is generally less troublesome than the initial loading and transporting.
It is common to hire a moving company to assist in transportation or relocation. While this adds manpower and utilizes skilled workers, it remains a difficult and cumbersome process. This does not eliminate the difficulty of adequately and properly loading boxes and crates into a transportation vehicle.
Skilled workers as well as people moving by themselves often utilize dollies, carts, or other hand driven devices with wheels designed to carry other objects. While use of these carts makes the process easier, they come with their own problems as well. Generally several boxes or crates are stacked one on top of the other on a dolly or cart. Any time the device hits a bump or uneven surface on the ground boxes may potentially slide off. This makes using such carts a slow and time intensive process. There have been efforts in the prior art to design boxes or containers specifically suited to particular dollies or hand carts. However these require purchasing and exclusive use of containers and carts they are still not adequately steady.
The transportation process is notoriously hard on both the objects being moved and the locations they are being removed from and placed into. Furniture and other objects may be scuffed, scraped or broken. It is also common for hallways and especially doorways to get nicked, scratched or marked up by accidental bumping with boxes and furniture. Large apartment and condominium buildings dread the moving process because it inevitably means damage throughout the common areas. To ameliorate these problems movers often utilize thick blankets, foam or other padding to place over or wrap around furniture, large crates and boxes or other objects. However, such blankets and padding easily slide off and often do not adequately cover all sharp corners and hard spots.
In addition, moving often results in the one time use of and often waste of many boxes as well as packaging material. This both increases expenses and is harmful to the environment. Purchasing boxes can be costly. When a move is done, many persons have no desire to store a large number of boxes, which must therefore be discarded.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved system and method for transporting and/or relocating items from one location to another. It is therefore desirable to provide a system and method for transporting and relocating a plurality of objects in a manner that efficiently relocates them without damaging the objects or their surroundings. It is also desirable to provide systems and methods for moving that are more environmentally friendly and better organized.
Accordingly, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an efficient and effective means for transporting and relocating possessions that reduces the damage caused and allows for rapid loading of a transportation vehicle.
The present invention provides a system and method for moving a large number of objects from an office or home into a new location in a manner that is organized, simplified, minimizes waste, is secure, and minimizes damage to homes, offices and the like. Generally, the invention provides a plurality of containers. The containers have a parallelepiped shape and are thus easily packed together when loaded onto a transportation vehicle such as a truck, van, boat, airplane or the like and are sized to fit through doorways and on elevators. Optionally, they also provide for efficient long-term storage.
The moving containers are generally large oblong boxes having wheels at the bottom. One side of the container, generally referred to herein as a door, may be removed so that objects may be packed into the container for transport. Once the container is loaded and packed, the door may be replaced and secured to the container. Because the container has wheels and handles, one person, generally, may manipulate the container as it is transported from a location to a loading vehicle and later from a loading vehicle to a second location. This simplifies the moving process. Persons packing up objects are no longer required to pack several boxes which must be placed on a dolly and then transported and loaded into a vehicle. Instead, the containers of the invention may be packed at the location and loaded onto the transportation vehicle. No dollies are required. The number of boxes used is also greatly reduced because the container may include several shelves on which items may be packed directly. Boxes may still be used if desired, but are less necessary.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims. There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
A more complete understanding of the present invention, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
a is a bottom view of a moving container in accordance with the principles of the invention;
Before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
Each of the top panel 12, side panels 14, the bottom panel 16 and the back panel 18 may be comprised of a frame made up of a plurality of beams 20 and planar boards 22. The beams may be 1″×6″, ½″×6″, 2″×4″ or other dimensions, and may be made of wood. Optionally, the beams 20 may be made of other materials, for example HDPE, carbon fiber, metal, metal alloy or the like, so long as it is substantially rigid, capable of serving as a frame for the container, and has sufficient strength to hold the objects placed in it and to be safely transported.
The planar boards 22 may be supported by the framing beams 20 and therefore may be comprised of less sturdy material. Particleboard, plywood, thin plastic, or even a cloth material may be adequate for at least portions of the boards 22. It may be preferable for boards 22 to be nontransparent.
A plurality of slots 30 may be arranged vertically on the interior of side panels 14 and may optionally also be located on the interior of the back panel 18. One or more shelves 28 may be removably engaged with slots 30 to provide shelves within the container. Objects may be placed on the shelves 28. The shelves 28 may be spaced to best accommodate the objects placed in the container 10. The shelves 28 may be used to support boxes that have been packed. Optionally, items usually packed within a box may be stored directly on the shelves 28. Optionally, a rod or bar may be removably fixed near the top of the inside of the container 10 so that hanging clothes may be placed thereon. Optionally, instead of slots, a single protruding shoulder may be used to support shelves. Similarly, other mechanisms may be used to facilitate removable secure engagement of the shelves within the containers.
Handles 24 may be positioned on the exterior of the sides 14. The handles shown here are comprised of “O” or “D” rings. The handles may be comprised of any suitable mechanical device operable as a handle for firmly grasping. It may be preferable to include handles such as those shown in
A plurality of wheels 26 may be located on the bottom of the container bottom panel 16. In this embodiment, six wheels 26 are located on the bottom of the container. It may be desirable to use more or fewer wheels. The wheels may be capable of swiveling about. In some embodiments, only the wheels located on the corners of the container swivel while the middle wheels do not swivel. It may also be desirable to include one or more wheels 26 in the center of the bottom panel 16 as opposed to the perimeter of the bottom panel 16.
Top panel 12 and bottom panel 16 may also include lips 34. Lips 34 may assist in securing a door over the front of the container 10 in order to seal it during transportation. Optionally, a logo, trademark, or ornamental feature 32 may be included at one or more locations on the container 10.
a shows the container 10 from the bottom. In this figure, it can be seen that bottom 16 and back 18 may also be formed from beams 20 which may create a frame to support panels 22. Container 10 may optionally be comprised of wood or other materials which may be readily availability. Optionally, the container may be comprised of any suitable materials such as plastics, metals, carbon fiber, or other materials.
Container 100 includes handles 104 that are simple U-shaped handles. These handles 104 are relatively inexpensive and easily incorporated into the container 100. However, handles 104 also may be susceptible to being smashed when several containers 100 are packed together inside a truck or other moving vehicle. It may therefore be more desirable to use handles that fold flat or otherwise do not protrude.
Container 100 also utilizes clamps 52, hold the door 106 firmly secured to the container 100. In this embodiment, a clamp 50 is also used to secure the door 106 to the top of the container 100 in addition to the sides.
Optionally, both the interior and the exterior of a container in accordance with the principles of the invention may include padding. It is known to use blankets, pads, other packaging material and the like when transporting objects during a move in order to prevent damage. Such objects may also be used to firmly hold the packed items in place. It may therefore be desirable to line the inside of the container as well as shelves inside the container with felt or other padding. It may also be desirable to coax all or portions of the exterior of the container with rubber or other padding. By padding the outside of the container, or at least the corners and edges of the container and door, damage to hallways doorways and the like may be prevented.
Other optional features include a stopper or break located on one or more of the wheels such that the container may be part and will not roll. Optionally, each container may include a computer chip that allows the real-time tracking of the location of a container. This may assist with logistics, prevent theft and further organize a move by recording which boxes contain which items.
The containers may be used to simplify the methodology by which a home, office or other environment may be packed up and moved to a 2nd location. Initially, a plurality of containers may be provided at the first location. Each of the containers may be individually loaded. Optionally, persons moving may pack boxes, which may be placed in the containers. However, the containers may be directly packed, thereby simplifying and speeding the packing process. Because the containers may contain lining and because additional packing material may be added to the container, items placed or packed in them may not be damaged. Hanging clothes may be placed upon a rod within the container such that they remain hanging, as shown in
Once a container is adequately filled, the door may be placed on the container and secured by means of clamps or other devices. When all of the containers have been packed, they may be placed in a vehicle such as a moving truck. Because the containers have wheels on their bottoms, they may simply be rolled out of the first location, up a ramp and into the loading truck. Each container may be handled by as few as one person. When the containers are loaded in the truck, they may be lined up side-by-side, and in several roads. Because they are all of the same dimensions, they are easily packed together in a secure manner.
When the destination is reached, the containers may simply be rolled out of the truck, down a ramp and into the new location. They may then be unpacked. When the process is complete, the containers may be reused several times over. During the transportation process, little damage may be caused by the containers where they are padded or include other material such as rubber on their exterior. If a corner or doorjamb is bumped, no damage will be caused. In addition, the containers may be left on their own for short periods of time while others are managed. For example, one or more containers may be placed near an elevator for a relatively short period of time with a greatly reduced concern that anyone will remove or steal an object from them. Because the doors are secured by clamps which are relatively difficult to remove, investigating a container requires several minutes. Any opportunistic thieves would be discouraged from tampering with something sealed that tightly.
Whereas, the present invention has been described in relation to the drawings attached hereto, it should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention. Descriptions of the embodiments shown in the drawings should not be construed as limiting or defining the ordinary and plain meanings of the terms of the claims unless such is explicitly indicated.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/880,960 filed on Sep. 22, 2013, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61880960 | Sep 2013 | US |
