The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Wheelbarrows have existed for centuries. Therefore, wheelbarrow supports are known since such supports are normally integral parts of wheelbarrows. In general, a support must be configured so that during movement of the wheelbarrow, said support remains in raised position to avoid friction or obstructions with any type of floor and allow the wheelbarrow to advance unencumbered. However, the support must be configured so that during a resting position of the wheelbarrow, said support provides support between the wheelbarrow and the floor.
Currently there are several designs of wheelbarrows, and all of them have different structural features. Within this diversity of wheelbarrows, some designs include modifications of the lateral support component of the wheelbarrow. Due to the fact that wheelbarrow supports transmit a weight of a load to the floor, these components must have proper structural resistance to carry the load. On the other hand, there is the desire to lighten the weight of the components of the wheelbarrow in order to facilitate easier use of the wheelbarrow. In this sense the supports of the wheelbarrows also should be lightweight.
Currently there are wheelbarrows that have pins or lateral supports which are manufactured from a lightweight flat slab. With use, these types of supports begin to bend because there is a fatigue failure due to a lack of resistance to the continuous loading that wheelbarrows generally undergo.
This Summary and the Abstract herein are provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary and the Abstract are not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor are they intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the Background.
An aspect of the present disclosure is a wheelbarrow having a wheelbarrow lateral support that handles greater structural resistance during compression loads generated between the load carried by the wheelbarrow and the floor.
A further aspect of the present disclosure is a wheelbarrow lateral support for use with a wheelbarrow having a frame. The wheelbarrow lateral support comprises a first arm having an upper and a lower end, a second arm having an upper and a lower end, and a horizontal support area configured to connect the lower end of the first arm to the lower end of the second arm. The wheelbarrow lateral support further comprises a first extension of subjection connected to the upper end of the first arm and configured to remain parallel to the frame, the first extension of subjection comprising a horizontal extension element having an inwardly facing surface defining an angle (α1) with an inwardly facing surface of a first lateral portion and an angle (β1) with an inwardly facing surface of a first fold portion. The first fold portion comprises a first planar portion configured to project onto at least one of the inwardly facing surface of the first lateral portion, an inwardly surface forming the angle (α1), the inwardly facing surface of the horizontal extension element, and an inwardly surface forming the angle (α2). The second fold portion comprises a second planar portion configured to project onto at least one of the inwardly facing surface of the second lateral portion, an inwardly surface forming the angle (α2), the inwardly facing surface of the horizontal extension element, and an inwardly surface forming the angle (α1).
This invention refers generally to wheelbarrows and, more specifically, to components of a loading wheelbarrow support. In particular, this invention includes a wheelbarrow lateral support that provides novel advantages over supports of the prior art. Some of those advantages include: improved load distribution which helps with maintaining proper balance while also reinforcing a leg of the wheelbarrow; improved resistance of components of the wheelbarrow; load distribution that supports repeated, alternating and fluctuating loads without loss of basic geometry; load distribution that works under shock absorbing conditions in order to avoid permanent deformation of components of the wheelbarrow.
To provide a better understanding of aspects of the invention herein is attached the following drawings:
Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a wheelbarrow having a wheelbarrow lateral support. As illustrated in
In accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,
In a first embodiment shown in
In one embodiment, the first arm (22) of the lateral support (15) can have coupling means (not illustrated) known to those skilled in the art and configured to allow for the coupling of lateral support (15) to the binding plate (17) shown in
In other words, the first fold portion (44) can be configured such that the planar portion (44B) is projected onto at least one of the inwardly facing surface (42A) of the first lateral portion (42), the inwardly surface forming the angle (α1), the inwardly facing surface (41A) of the horizontal extension element (41), and the inwardly surface forming the angle (α2). Similarly, the second fold portion (45) can be configured such that the planar portion (45B) is projected onto at least one of the inwardly facing surface (43A) of the second lateral portion (43), the inwardly surface forming the angle (α2), the horizontal extension element (41), and the inwardly surface forming the angle (α1). In the exemplary embodiment shown in
In an exemplary embodiment, such as the one illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the second exemplary embodiment, the overall shape of the lateral support (115) is generally equivalent to the shape of the lateral support (15) first embodiment. But in the second exemplary embodiment the first extension of subjection (121) has a bore (131), best seen in
In a further exemplary embodiment, the first arm (122) of the lateral support (15) can have coupling means (not illustrated) known to those skilled in the art and configured to allow the coupling of lateral support (115) to the binding plate (17) shown in
In both exemplary embodiments discussed herein, the wheelbarrow lateral support (15, 115) can be manufactured with profiled sheet according to the profiles described above. Moreover, it should be noted that further embodiments of the present invention includes within its scope all variations existing of lateral support profile that may be between the first embodiment with the angle (β) and the second embodiment with the angle (δ).
For example, the material used to form the profiled sheet can be steel sheet having caliber 14 (1.9 mm) in one embodiment, or caliber 16 (1.5 mm) in another embodiment. Additionally, the wheelbarrow lateral support (15, 115) may be manufactured by a simplified, low-cost process that has three steps which include sheet punching press, profile folding described in press and final classification of the press support.
As described above, the wheelbarrow lateral support (15, 115) allows the wheelbarrow (10) to support a greater load without compromising the structural stiffness of the elements of the wheelbarrow (10). The profiles of cross-sections (40, 140) described above allow the wheelbarrow lateral support (15, 115) to exhibit a greater inertial motion and a greater turning radius than the known supports (shown in Table 1). The above means that the loads received by each one of the lateral supports (15, 115) that make the wheelbarrow (10) during the resting position, the positions of the wheelbarrow lateral supports (15, 115) will resist higher torques. This means that there will have greater resistance by inhibiting kinks derived from the impacts executed along the life thereof. The above also provokes a decrease of the thickness of the wheelbarrow lateral supports (15, 115) of this invention allowing material saving and weight reduction, as can be proved hereinafter.
However, in order to provide greater support to the advantages provided to the wheelbarrow lateral support (15, 115), included herein are tables showing comparisons of the bending stress that will happen in the area of the wheelbarrow lateral support, as well as the normal stress that happens in the leg of the contact area with the floor between an inverted “U” profile (as described, for example, in U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0257456), and two profiles proposed in the object embodiments of this invention:
From the Table 1, it can be seen that the bending stress is lower for the configurations set forth in the two exemplary embodiments described herein. Because a bending stress implies a higher risk of breakdown or failure, the exemplary embodiments illustrated present a better mechanical resistance than the profile of an inverted “U” which is described in the prior art, such as in U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 2007/0257456.
It should be noted that calculations and impact tests using various parameters for the base, height and bending moment were performed. The impact tests compared the profile of a wheelbarrow lateral support having an inverted “U” with no folded portions (as described in the prior art) with the profile of the second exemplary embodiment. The impact test utilizes a stepped ramp wherein each step has a height of 6 inches (15.24 cm). The first step includes raising the wheelbarrow ramp. The second step includes raising the wheelbarrow 17 cm measured from the floor to the lateral support and move it to the following step. In the third step the wheelbarrow is released to produce a first impact. Fourth step consists of raising the wheelbarrow 17 cm measured from the floor to the lateral support and moving it to the following step. In the fifth step the wheelbarrow is released to produce a second impact.
Table 2 presents the results gathered from an first impact test that used a wheelbarrow with a wood frame, having a heaping load of 160 Kg. where the deformation was measured from the height of the lateral support to the floor.
Table 3 presents the results gathered in the second impact test of a wheelbarrow with a tubular frame, with a heaping 160 Kg load. This impact test measured the deformation of the height from the lateral support and the floor.
Table 4 presents the results gathered in the third impact test of a light wheelbarrow, with a heaping 66 Kg load. This impact test measured the deformation of the height from the lateral support and the floor.
Within all the tests performed it may be observed how the lateral support (115) of the second exemplary embodiment herein described manufactured in a smaller size presented a minor deformation for the three types of wheelbarrows. Accordingly, the wheelbarrow lateral support resists a greater amount of impacts before a failure occurs.
Based on the previous revelation, certain embodiments and details have been described in order to illustrate this invention, and shall be evident for persons of ordinary skills in the art that may have variations and modifications without departing from the scope of this invention.
Although the subject matter has been described in a language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above as has been determined by the courts. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
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