AU2016203449A1 - Sheet Materials Trolley and Stand - Google Patents

Abstract

A trolley for supporting sheet material in upright but slightly inclined orientation, said trolley having a base frame structure, an upright frame structure carried at the base frame structure and devised for supporting a face of a sheet in essentially upright but slightly inclined fashion while the sheet is received edgewise on the base frame structure, and a plurality of wheels at the base frame structure which are mounted thereto in preferably removable manner, wherein the base frame structure has an open rear end which is wider than a front end such as to enable plural base frame members of plural trolleys to slide into each other from the open back end for space saving storage of multiple trolleys. Fig 1 , li

Description

2016203449 25 May 2016 1

SHEET MATERIALS TROLLEY AND STAND FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to appliances used in storing and transporting building material, and particularly to racks and trolleys used for storing and transporting sheet material used in construction such as stone sheets, glass sheets, wood panels, construction panels, doors etc.

[0002] The contents of the specification of provisional patent application AU 2015901920 of same applicant, filed 25 May 2015, are incorporated herein by way of short hand cross-reference.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

[0003] Many types of sheet materials used in the building and manufacturing industries, such as slabs of granite, stone or prefabricated concrete, fibrous cement sheets, glass sheets, wood panels, plasterboard sheets, acrylic sheets, aluminium cladding sheets, etc, are often transported and/or stored in an upright and/or slightly off-vertical orientation, with a lower edge of the sheet(s) resting on a padded horizontal support (eg framework struts, rubberised support decks, flat bed carts, etc) and with a side face resting against an upright support frame. To this end, so called-A-frames are extensively used in industry. An A-frame essentially is comprised of four, pairwise upwards converging upright struts (tubular or otherwise) that are pair-wise spaced apart and braced to each other so that the apices of two A-frame side sub-structures are connected via a horizontal strut, with additional horizontal struts disposed along the vertical extension of the A-frame sides cooperating with the A-frame side structures to form a sufficiently rigid framework able to react loads without toppling over from the weight of the materials resting against it. 2016203449 25 May 2016 2 [0004] In particular in the case of so called A-frame dollies or trolleys, the A-frame is mounted to a wheeled flat-bed cart or lattice-work base frame whose usually four castor or other type of wheels are mounted near or at the corners of the generally rectangular cart and whose footprint dimensions are selected to minimise the risk of the trolley toppling-over when transporting upright supported sheet material over slightly uneven ground.

[0005] One examples of such a trolley, with a nesting arrangement at the flat bed cart to receive and secure the lower edge of the sheet material, is described in patent document DE 10 2006 049 551 B4. More run-off-the-mill type A-frame trolleys are manufactured and available in Australia from R.J. Cox Engineering, see eg https://www.rjcox.com.au/category/2520/gyprock-sheet-metal-trolleys/.

[0006] These special-purpose trolleys for transporting building sheet materials are designed to hold the sheet materials in place while the sheet material is being transported, and thus may include a variety of fastening points to allow strapping of the sheet materials to the A-frame, in addition to the usual rubberised or padded friction pads at the base frame which seek to prevent slipping of the edge when the sheet material is placed in an upright or slightly inclined orientation on the trolley.

[0007] In a warehouse, for example warehouse storing stone sheets, many such trollies are required. Some may be used to transport sheets within the warehouse, some trolleys may be used to temporarily store sheets once delivered by a truck, so that the sheets can be moved quickly to a loading area, etc.

[0008] All of the A-frame trolleys known to the applicant as used in building material ware houses are bulky and lack the facility of being stored in small spaces or with a small foot print. As storage space is expensive, it is desirable to provide a trolley for supporting sheets in upright orientation which may be stored whether with or without sheet material carried thereon using a minimised footprint space. 2016203449 25 May 2016 3 [0009] It would be furthermore desirable to make available a trolley design which is flexible in allowing removal of its wheels to provide a stationary rack for supporting sheet material in an upright orientation without a need to secure the structure to the ground (eg using bolts), perform its storage facility in safe manner and yet be easily retrofitted into its trolley configuration.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] With the aforementioned in mind, broadly defined, the present invention provides a trolley for supporting sheet material in upright but slightly inclined orientation, said trolley having a base frame structure, an upright frame structure carried at the base frame structure and devised for supporting a face of a sheet in an essentially upright but slightly inclined fashion while the sheet is received edgewise on the base frame structure, and a plurality of wheels at the base frame structure which are mounted thereto in preferably removable manner, wherein the base frame structure has an open rear end which is wider than a front end such as to enable the base frame members of plural trolleys to slide into each other from the open back end for space saving nesting of multiple trolleys at each other for storage.

[0011 ] In accordance with a more defined aspect of the present invention there is provided a trolley for supporting sheet material in an about upright or slightly inclined orientation, said trolley having a rigid base frame structure, a rigid upright frame structure carried at the base frame structure and devised for supporting a face of a sheet material while the sheet is received edgewise on the base frame structure, and a plurality of wheels removably mounted to the base frame structure for moving said trolley over ground, wherein the base frame structure has an open rear end and a front end of width-wise narrower dimensions than the open rear end, and wherein the upright frame structure comprises a braced abutment frame defining a forward facing resting plane for sheet material, inclined by a predetermined small angle with respect to a plane extending perpendicular to a support plane defined at the base frame structure, 2016203449 25 May 2016 4 the abutment frame located between the front and rear ends of the base frame structure, preferably about midways, wherein the base frame configuration and location and configuration of the abutment frame permit the base frame members of plural trolleys to slide with the respective front ends into the respective rear ends of each other without interference by the upright frame structures so as to nest in each other for space saving storage of multiple trolleys..

[0012] It will be understood by the skilled addressee that use of relative terms in the present specification, such as upper, lower, left, right, vertical, horizontal, upright, etc, are intended to facilitate understanding of the invention in the context of its use, and not in a limiting sense.

[0013] In essence, the constructional features of the inventive trolley are intended to allow multiple base frame structures to be ‘nested’ horizontally into one another, without interference from the respective upright frame structures, thereby substantially reducing the space required for storage of such trolleys in a warehouse. Such ‘horizontal stacking’ (ie nesting) can be effected even with multiple trolleys supporting some sheet materials on them, given that the sheet materials, which are supported edgewise on the base structure against the forward facing resting plane provided by the abutment frame of the upright frame structure, are located about midway of the trolley, which restricts the extent by which the front end of a trolley could be inserted into the rear open end of a an adjacent trolley, but does not impede such. Several trolleys in a warehouse, when used or not used to support/transport sheets, can be thus be nested together to conserve floor space.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the trolley’s base frame and upright support structures are comprised of metal beams and struts (of closed and/or open cross-section), braced and secured to each other by welding, to provide an essentially unitary, rigid framework body. Consequently, and having regard to the fact that such trolleys are moved on planar ground for most applications, the support plane defined at the base frame structure identified above can be 2016203449 25 May 2016 5 assumed to be in a horizontal plane so that the terms ‘upright’ or ‘vertical’ as appear above have to be considered in the context of such reference plane.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the base frame structure is essentially planar and, in top (or bottom) plan view, tapers preferably continuously from the wider open rear end towards the narrower closed front end thereof. In plan view, such base frame structure will resemble a top-truncated A frame that has increased rigidity against flexing and torsion about a longitudinal and a traverse axis of the structure when compared with a rectangular foot-print base frame..

[0016] The base frame structure comprises structural beam members welded together, including a left side beam member and a right side beam member. At least one, but preferably both of said side beam members have a rear portion exhibiting a width-ward inward opening channel and at a forward portion one or more width-ward outward projecting guiding member(s), the arrangement being such that the guiding member(s) of the base frame structure of a first said trolley are insertable into and guided within the channel(s) of the base frame structure of a second said trolley in the process of sliding the second trolley into the open rear end of the first trolley.

[0017] Whilst it is conceivable that the side beam members are composite beams with a quadrilateral tubular front beam portion and the rear portion constituted by a U-section, preferably both (left and right) side beam members are U-shaped beams of steel or aluminium materials commonly used in trolley manufacture, with the beams arranged such that the U-channels open towards the inside of the base frame structure. C- and l-section beams may also be used.

[0018] The base frame structure may advantageously also be provided with sheet material edge support members on the front end of the base frame structure. These either comprise or are made of preferably resiliently deformable material, such as hard rubber, or felt-padded wedge supports. These can be removably mounted to or fixed to the base frame structure to minimise damage to 2016203449 25 May 2016 6 the edges of sheet material during transport thereof with the trolley, and in particular in the case of rubber, increase the friction coefficient between base frame and supported sheet material and reduce slippage.

[0019] The truncated A-shaped rigid base frame structure will advantageously comprise at least two cross beam members, wherein a first said cross beam member is welded between or to the terminal ends of the two side beam members to provide the closed front end of the base frame (ie the truncated front end of the A-shaped base frame), and wherein a second said cross beam member is welded between the two side beam members at a predefined location rearward of the front cross beam member, preferably midway the length of of base frame structure, such as to provide a stop for the front terminal end of the base frame structure of a second said trolley when being inserted through the rear open end of the base frame structure of a first said trolley. The rearmost cross-member thus acts as a stop to prevent the upright frame structure of said trolley from colliding with the upright frame structure of said corresponding trolley.

[0020] To further assist in preventing such collision and facilitate proper and compact nesting of trolleys, the abutment frame comprises upright left and a right, preferably parallel side struts of closed or open cross section, braced by at least three cross strut members respectively located at or near an upper terminal end, intermediate length and near or at a lower terminal end of the upright struts, wherein the abutment frame preferably has a width approximately the same as the base frame structure at the predetermined location of the second cross beam member that provides the stop of the base frame structure. The abutment frame is secured, preferably welded, to the base frame structure in vicinity of the second cross beam member.

[0021 ] Advantageously, the abutment frame is braced to the base frame structure by two upright support struts that respectively extend from near or at the rear terminal ends of one of the side beam members of the base frame structure to or near the terminal upper ends of one of the upright side struts of the 2016203449 25 May 2016 7 abutment frame. As noted, the abutment frame will maintain a small incident angle with respect to a plane perpendicular to the (horizontal) support plane defined at the base frame structure, which may be as little as 5 degrees, preferably is around 8 to 15 degrees but could be 20 degrees or more. The specific angle of inclination can be selected by the skilled person based on the carriage rating of the trolley and the size of sheet materials that are sought to be transported with the trolley without risk of the trolley toppling over.

[0022] The trolley may include a pair of wheels at the front end and a pair of wheels at the rear end, wherein the pair of wheels at the front end are located inward to the base frame structure and the pair of wheels are the rear end are located outward to the base frame structure. Such location of the wheels facilitates same plane stacking of the trolley with less obstruction when unnesting.

[0023] Advantageously, the trolley will incorporate heavy duty, appropriately weight-rated casters (caster wheels), whereby it is preferred that at least two, but more preferably all four wheels are industrial swivel castors, selected ones of which may incorporate a braking or locking device / arrangement, as known in the art of trolley construction.

[0024] In a much preferred embodiment of the invention, the wheels are modular units that can be removably secured to dedicate mounting structures at the base frame structure such that the trolley is convertible to a stand or rack for supporting sheets. In other words, the invention provides as a further aspect a stationary sheet material storage stand or rack, which but for the wheels, incorporates the above described constructional elements of the base frame structure and the upright frame structure. Such stand can itself be secured (using bolts and other known fastening appliances) onto the tray of a delivery truck for transporting the sheet materials from a warehouse to an installation location. 2016203449 25 May 2016 8 [0025] Accordingly, the dedicate mounting structures at the base frame structure may be configured to securely mount the wheel units and when these are removed, provide a means for fixing the base frame structure to the tray of a motorised utility vehicle or truck. The wheels may be attached to the base frame structure by means of a bolt or through a magnetic connection which allow a release or quick release mechanism to convert the trolley into a stand or a stand into a trolley.

[0026] Traditionally, delivery trucks and vehicles used in the transport of sheet material in upright but inclined orientation, have had permanently affixed A-frame racks. In contrast, the present invention allows the trolleys to be used as a non-wheeled transport rack and conversion of the rack into a trolley, at a customer deployment site. Because of the nesting capability of the inventive base frame structures of the trolleys, it is possible for the transport truck to carry multiple, nested (wheel-less) trolleys, and deploy one or more of the (empty) racks by mounting the wheels as required to the base frame structure, and transfer into these wheeled trolleys the sheet materials from the truck, to provide a local storage facility and a local transport appliance at the delivery site. Once the sheet materials are delivered, the stands are kept at customer’s site until the sheets are used as the customer may not have proper sheet material storing stands. Later on, stands are collected by a pick-up truck from the customer’s site to the warehouse.

[0027] Also, as the trolley proposed by the present invention is multi-purpose, in the warehouse, the number of sheet material handling equipment is reduced by providing a multi-purpose material handling device and consequently space is conserved.

[0028] The edge support members and the upright frame structure are at least partially lined with rubber material. Rubber material reduces slippage of sheets by increasing friction. 2016203449 25 May 2016 9 [0029] It will be readily understood that the upright support structure will preferably have strapping facilities to immobilise sheet material against displacement from the abutment frame.

[0030] These and other features and advantages of this invention are described in more detail in the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, also having reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031 ] Figure 1 shows an isometric view of a trolley for supporting sheets according to one embodiment of the present invention. Edge support members and rubber linings on the upright support frame structure, as illustrated in figures 6 to 8, have been omitted for the sake of clarity; [0032] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of detail ‘A’ seen in figure 1; [0033] Figure 3a is a front view of the base frame structure of the embodiment of figure 1; [0034] Figure 3b is a side view of the base frame structure seen in figure 3a; [0035] Figure 3c is a top view of the base frame structure see in figure 3a and 3b. In figure 3c, four wheels are shown mounted to the base frame structure; [0036] Figure 4 is an isometric view of the base frame structure of the embodiment of figure 1, with four castor wheel modules mounted thereto; [0037] Figure 5 shows a wheel module of the embodiment of figure 1; 2016203449 25 May 2016 10 [0038] Figure 6 is an isometric view of the trolley of figure 1, wherein the wheels have been omitted but, the edge support members and the rubber lining are included; [0039] Figure 7 is an enlarged view of detail ‘B’ seen in figure 6.

[0040] Figures 8a and 8b show front view and isometric views, respectively, of a rubber liner member for mounting on an edge support member seen in figures 6 and 7; [0041] Figure 9 is an illustration (photograph) of a prototype trolley as per the embodiment of figure 1, wherein the wheels are detached from the base frame structure and placed in the wheel storing brackets provided on the upright frame structure; [0042] Figure 10 is an illustration (photograph) of a rear wheel mounting structure of the prototype trolley seen in figure 9 in an open state; [0043] Figure 11 is an illustration (photograph) of a rear wheel mounting structures of the prototype seen in figure 9 in a closed state; [0044] Figure 12 shows two trolleys as seen in the embodiment of figure 1 and three trolleys (only base frame structures of the three middle trolley are shown, remaining components of the three middle trolleys are omitted for clarity) between the two trolleys to illustrate five trolleys positioned before being nested; [0045] Figure 13 shows an isometric view of the five trolleys of figure 12 in a nested state; [0046] Figures 14a and 14b show a top and an isometric view, respectively, of five base frame structures in a nested configuration; and 2016203449 25 May 2016 11 [0047] Figure 15 shows a photograph in which four prototype trolleys, as seen in figure 9, with wheels attached to the respective base frame structures, are in a nested state (or ‘horizontally stacked’ configuration).

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0048] Referring to figures 1 to 11, in one preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a trolley 100 for supporting sheet material in an upright but slightly inclined (vs a vertical) orientation for manual transport, and for storing purposes.

[0049] The trolley 100 has a base frame structure 10. Five sheet edge support members 20 (fig. 6) are mounted on the base frame structure, extending from about midway the length of the base frame 10 towards the front end of the base frame structure 10. An upright frame structure 30 is mounted on the base frame structure 10 and takes up around the rear half of the base frame 10 and comprises a braced abutment frame 31 which defines a forward facing resting plane for the sheet material to be carried by trolley 100, which is inclined by a predetermined small angle (5 to 15 degrees typically) with respect to a plane extending perpendicular to the support plane defined by base frame structure 10 which is located with its lower end approximately midway between the front and rear ends of the base frame structure 10. Finally, the trolley 100 has two front wheel modules 40 and two rear wheel modules 41 mounted to the base frame structure in removable fashion as described in further detail below.

[0050] Sheet materials can be placed on the trolley 100 and secured with straps or the like to upright frame structure 30 to store the sheet materials and for transport from one point to another by simply pulling or pushing the trolley. Large-surface or easily bendable (and thus breakable) sheet materials such as glass panes, thin marble slates, etc, will generally be placed on the trolley such that an edge of the sheet rests supported on edge support members 20 and with a flat face of the sheet is rested against the upright but slightly inclined abutment frame 2016203449 25 May 2016 12 31 of frame structure 30. Consecutive sheet materials can be placed such that an edge is supported on the edge support members 20 and the flat face of the consecutive sheet materials is supported by the first sheet which is resting on the upright frame structure 30.

[0051] As best seen in figures 12 to 14 base frame 10 is configured in plan view as a truncated A-frame structure, tapering from a wider, open rear end to a narrower forward end, so that the (width-ward) narrower front end of one trolley can be pushed into and nest within the open rear end (of the base frame) of a trolley in front of it, such that two or more trolleys can be ‘stacked’ (in the sense of being pushed in compact manner into each other in the same plane, as compared to stacked one upon the other) to reduce space occupied by the multiple trolleys in a warehouse.

[0052] The truncated A-shaped base frame structure 10 comprises two spaced apart, converging side beam members 12 and two parallel spaced apart cross-beam members 14, 15 located between and welded to the side beam members 12 for bracing the structure and imparting torsional and flexural rigidity to the overall structure. Side beam members 12 are U-section steel beams, and are arranged with their U-channels 13 facing towards each other. Cross-beam members 14,15 could be square-tubular steel beams but in the illustrated embodiment are also U-section beams. It will be noted that cross-beam member 14, welded to the terminal front ends of side beam members 12, is arranged so that its U-channel faces inward the base frame structure 10 and the flat side (web portion between the U-legs) outward. The second cross-member 15 which extends parallel spaced apart from front cross-beam member 14 is positioned about mid-way of the length (distance from front to rear of the base frame structure 10) of the base frame structure 10. The U-channel of this second crossbeam member 15 faces the rear of the base frame structure 10.

[0053] The truncated A-configuration of the base frame structure 10 is one of the constructional measures that allow the front end of the trolley to be pushed 2016203449 25 May 2016 13 into and nest within the open rear end of another trolley. The other constructional measure is implemented in the upright frame structure 30, as noted below.

[0054] As best seen in figure 14, it is a preferred feature of the base frame structure 10 to have integral means that enable the trolleys to be securely engaged by and lifted by a two prong fork lifter, for picking up a loaded or empty trolley (with or without its wheels 40, 41 mounted to the base frame structure 10) from the ground and it placing it onto the flat tray of a transport truck. These means are provided by two spaced-apart rectangular apertures 18 in the side webs of both U-section cross-beam members 14,15 such that these align pairwise in axial (lengthwise) direction of the base frame structure 10.

[0055] The base frame structure 10 is further provided with guiding members 16 on both width-ward external sides of the side beam members 12 to facilitate insertion and secure a nesting position of one base frame structure in another base frame structure. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, base frame structure 10 has a total of six such guiding members, three per side beam member 12, spaced apart from each other along the length of the side beams 12, with a first guiding member 16 at the front end of the base frame structure 10, a second guiding member 16 mid-way between the first and third guiding member 16, a third guiding member 16 is proximate the rear end of the base frame structure 10.

[0056] The guiding members 16 are identical quadrilateral tube sections, welded with one flat face to the outside face of the side web of U-section side beam members 12, as best seen in figure 2. The external dimensions of all guiding members 16 (also referred to as a ‘projections’) are selected such that these projections 16 can be received with some degree of play within the U-channels of side beam members 12. Furthermore, as the guiding projections 16 are rectangular tube sections, the outermost face of each of the guiding projections 16 is parallel to the outer faces of the side beam member 12 to which these are attached. 2016203449 25 May 2016 14 [0057] As a front end of a second trolley 2000 is inserted in the rear end of a first trolley 1000, ie to be more precise, the base frame structures 10 of successive trolleys as can be seen from the illustrations in figures 12 to 15, the guiding projections 16 of the second trolley 2000 are received within the hollow region of the U-channels of the side beam members 12 of the first trolley 1000.. Trolley 2000 can be pushed ‘into’ trolley 1000 until the front end cross beam member 14 of the second trolley 2000 butts against the stop cross beam member 15 of the first trolley 1000.

[0058] There are five sheet edge support members 20 welded to the top front part of base frame structure 10, so as to bridge the front and stop cross beam members 14,15, as per figure 6 and 7. A center edge support member 20 is positioned at the center of the base frame structure 10 and runs perpendicular to cross-members 14,15. The center edge support member 20 is at the axis of symmetry of the base frame structure 10 and the trolley 100 in top plan view. The adjoining two edge support members 20 are parallel to and equidistant from the center edge support member 20. They are substantially mid-way between the center support member 20 and the respective side member 12. The remaining two edge support members 20 are end edge support members 20 that extend parallel to and positioned on the respective left and right side beam members 12. The end edge support members 20 are at an angle to the remaining edge support members 20 in top plan view.

[0059] Each edge support member 20 is a cast metal section, with a flat plate and a T-section. The height of T-section at one end of the edge support member 20 is relatively shorter than the height of the T-section at the other end of the edge support member 20. The taller end of each of the edge support members 20 is positioned to the front end of the base frame structure 10. Consequently, the edge support members 20 are at an acute angle to the (horizontal) front portion of the base frame structure 10, see figure 7. This angle of the edge support members 20 relative to the base frame structure 10 helps to push stacked sheet 2016203449 25 May 2016 15 materials towards the inclined abutment frame portion 31 of upright frame structure 30.

[0060] Rubber liners 22 as seen in figures 8a and 8b are mounted on each of the edge support members 20. The rubber liner 22 surrounds the head of the T-section of the edge support members 20. The top portion of the rubber liner 22 which sits atop the T-section is most vulnerable to wear and therefore the thickest portion of the rubber liner 22. The rubber liner 22 helps reduce slippage of sheet materials placed on the trolley 100.

[0061 ] The upright frame structure 30, which spans the rear half-end of base frame structure 10, is comprised of a plurality of struts / beams welded together into a rigid framework, and is fastened through horizontally running side footing beam members 35 to the side beam members 12 of base frame structure 10 by means of an adequate number of fastening bolts 46 (see figure 11), although it is conceivable to permanently secure upright frame structure 30 to base frame structure 10 by welding.

[0062] Upright frame structure 30 is comprised of a sheet supporting portion 31 in form of an essentially quadrilateral abutment frame within a plane that is inclined vs the Normal of the plane in which the side beam members 12 lie, with the lower terminal end of abutment frame 31 positioned about the same, but preferably slightly rearward location as the stop cross beam member 15 of base frame structure 10, as may be gleaned from figs. 2 and 7.

[0063] Abutment frame 31 comprises two, parallel-spaced apart upright struts (or beams) 30, 31 whose upper terminal ends are braced by a horizontally running top rail or strut 38 welded to the uprights, and has two further horizontal cross-bracing struts 39a, 39b extending about midway the height of frame 31 and close to the terminal lower ends of uprights 30, 31, respectively. As Figure 6 illustrates, the middle cross-bracing strut 39a could be located elsewhere along the height of frame 31. Relevantly, a pair of parallel spaced-apart vertically 2016203449 25 May 2016 16 extending, longitudinal brace members 37 are welded endwise between lower and middle cross-brace members 39b and 39a to increase the overall rigidity of abutment frame 31 against bending and torsional forces. The intermediate longitudinal members 37 of abutment frame 31 also allow sheets which are smaller than the width between the two end longitudinal members 36 to be safely supported by the trolley 100.

[0064] The above mentioned footing beam members 35 of support frame 30 are welded to the lower terminal ends of upright struts 30, 31, respectively, so as to define an included angle of between 85 and 70 degrees, so as to define the inclination angle of the abutment frame 31 vis a vis the Normal of the plane in which the side beam members 12 of the base frame structure 10 extend. To assist in maintaining the inclination angle under bending loads that sheet materials will impart onto the abutment frame 31, and counter the cantilever action, two parallel spaced apart support struts 34 serve as vertical braces. These struts 34 are respectively welded to the rearward terminal ends of footing beam members 35 and to the upright struts 36 of frame 31 near their top end below top rail 38.

[0065] The skilled person will appreciate that rather than welding the abutment frame 31 to the footing beam members 35 and to the support struts 34, other ways of securing a rigid, three dimensional upright frame structure 30 can be used. In particular, it may be desired to allow for adjustment of the angle of inclination which abutment frame 31 maintains vis a vis the plane in which the side beam members 12 of the base frame structure 10 lie, and such variation may be readily conceived by an experience framework manufacturer. As noted, the sheet supporting, abutment frame 31 is inclined relative to the base frame structure 10 such that an obtuse angle is formed between the sheet supporting frame 31 and the portion of the base frame structure 10 positioned ahead of the upright frame structure 30. This angle helps secure the position of sheet material received on the trolley through gravitational forces, such that a face of the sheet material will be forced to rest on the upright frame structure 30. The support struts 2016203449 25 May 2016 17 34 assist in reacting the weight of the sheet materials resting on the sheet supporting portion 31. Given that these vertically inclined support struts 34 are footed at the wider rear terminal end of the base frame structure 10, and are inclined to converge slightly towards the abutment frame 31, no obstruction will be created which would prevent or make more difficult the nesting operation described above. As a matter of fact, support struts 34 provide handles to push or pull the trolley when loaded with sheet materials..

[0066] The various struts and beams of the upright frame structure 30 are preferably box tube sections permanently welded to each other, but other steel sections may be equally used, eg I-, U- or C-sections.

[0067] The sides of the struts / beams of sheet supporting frame 31 of upright frame structure 30 that face forward can advantageously be lined with rubber or felt liners 32 (see fig. 6) to reduce slippage of the face of the sheet material resting on the upright frame structure 30. To this end, the strut / beam members 36, 37, 38, 39 of the sheet supporting frame 31 may have apertures on the sheet supporting surface to receive and locate rubber knobs of the rubber liner strips 32.

[0068] As had been mentioned above, four wheel units 40, 41 are removably mounted to the base frame structure 10 such that the base frame structure 10 is supported on a floor by means of the wheels 40, 41. Noting that the general make-up of various types of industrial swivel and rigid casters with or without arresting mechanisms are know in the industry, the following description will be limited to aspects relevant to the present invention. For further details the skilled person may refer to https://en.wikip8dia.Qrg/wiki/Caster [0069] The front wheels (or casters) 40 are positioned at the front end of the base frame structure 10. One front wheel 40 is located at the corner of the front cross-member 14 and the left side beam member 12. The other front wheel 40 is located at the corner of the front cross-member 14 and the right side beam 2016203449 25 May 2016 18 member 12. The two corners being inward to the base frame structure 10. The front wheels 40 do not extend outside the perimeter of the base frame structure 10 which is defined by the outer edges of the two side beam members 12 and the front cross-member 14 seen in the top view. See fig 3c and 4.

[0070] The rear wheels 41 are positioned at the rear ends of the respective side beam members 12. The rear wheels 41 do not extend inside the perimeter of the base frame structure 10 which is defined by the inner edged of the two side beam members 12 seen in the top view; see figs. 3c and 4..

[0071] The positioning of the front wheels 40 and the rear wheels 41 reduces obstruction when nesting one trolley in another one.

[0072] The front wheels 40 and the rear wheels 41 are detachable from the base frame structure 10. One mounting arrangement for securing the wheels 40, 41 in removable fashion to frame 10 is shown in figures 10 and 11. Essentially, such mount can be comprised of a tubular socket 44 with base plate, welded to the side beam members 12 in much the same fashion as the guiding members 16. The wheel units 40, 41 will then have a complementarily shaped cylindrical mounting boss 45 (see fig 5) that is dimensioned to be received with a transition fit within socket 44 and secured therein using suitable bolts 48 that are supported at the upper open end of socket 44 at a bent bridge plate 49 which straddles the top of socket 44 and is welded thereto. The skilled person may devise other more complex mounting structures. Wheel units 40, 41 may be located in the wheel mounts 44 and fastened in place. The wheel units 40, 41 may be detached from the base frame structure 10 by unfastening the wheel attachment provision 48.

[0073] In an alternative, not specifically illustrated embodiment, the wheel units 40, 41 may be located and secured to the base frame structure 10 magnetically. In that case, the cylindrical mounting boss 45 may incorporate permanent magnetic materials, to achieve a sufficient degree of retention of the wheel units 40, 41 at mounting sockets 44. The weight of the trolley 100 and the 2016203449 25 May 2016 19 sheet materials placed on the trolley 100 will ensure that the wheels 40, 41 are not separated from the base frame structure 10 when in use. Removal of the wheels 40, 41 from the base frame structure 10 can then be effected by slightly lifting the trolley off the ground, and pulling the wheel units 40, 41 out of engagement with the mounting sockets 44.

[0074] Once the wheels 40, 41 are detached and removed from the base frame structure 10, the trolley 100 is converted to a stand or rack 100. Such a stand is useful for simply upright-supporting sheet materials for example in a delivery truck. By providing a multi-purpose trolley 100, the number of sheet material handling devices required in a warehouse is reduced, thereby space in the warehouse is saved.

[0075] Referring particularly to figure 9, it will be seen that four wheel unit storing brackets 42 are provided on the upright frame structure 30. The brackets 42 are on the rear face of the upright frame structure 30 so that the stand 100 is available for supporting sheet materials when the wheels 40, 41 are stored in the brackets 42. The brackets are positioned on lower portions of the inside longitudinal members 36 of the upright frame structure 30. The brackets 42 are circular to receive the cylindrical boss portions of wheel units 40, 41.

[0076] The skilled reader will finally note that figures 12 to 15 show the nesting capabilities embodied in identical trolleys 1000 to 5000 that incorporate the above mentioned features of the base frame structure 10 and upright support structure 30 in accordance with the present invention. The nesting sequence is self-evident. 20 2016203449 25 May 2016

REFERENCE NUMBER TABLE

No Feature 10 Base frame structure 12 Side beam member 13 Channel 14 Front cross beam member 15 Stop cross beam member 16 Guiding projections 18 Apertures 20 Edge support member 22 Rubber liner (edge support member) 30 Upright frame structure 31 Sheet supporting portion / abutment frame 32 Rubber liner (upright frame structure) 34 Support member 35 Attachment member 36 End longitudinal member 37 Intermediate longitudinal member 38 End brace member 39 Intermediate brace member 40 Front wheel 41 Rear wheel 42 Wheel storing bracket 44 Wheel mounting structure 46 Fastening bolts 100 Trolley 2000 Second trolley 2010 Base frame structure of the second trolley 3000 Third trolley 3010 Base frame structure of the third trolley 4000 Fourth trolley 4010 Base frame structure of the fourth trolley 5000 Fifth trolley 5010 Base frame structure of the fifth trolley

Claims (18)

1. THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

   1. A trolley for supporting sheet material in upright but slightly inclined orientation, said trolley having a base frame structure, an upright frame structure carried at the base frame structure and devised for supporting a face of a sheet in essentially upright but slightly inclined fashion while the sheet is received edgewise on the base frame structure, and a plurality of wheels at the base frame structure which are mounted thereto in preferably removable manner, wherein the base frame structure has an open rear end which is wider than a front end such as to enable plural base frame members of plural trolleys to slide into each other from the open back end for space saving storage of multiple trolleys.
2. 2. Trolley for supporting sheet material in an about upright or slightly inclined orientation, said trolley having a rigid base frame structure, a rigid upright frame structure carried at the base frame structure and devised for supporting a face of a sheet material while the sheet is received edgewise on the base frame structure, and a plurality of wheels removably secured to the base frame structure for moving said trolley, wherein the base frame structure has an open rear end and a front end of width-wise narrower dimensions than the open rear end, and wherein the upright frame structure comprises a braced abutment frame defining a forward facing resting plane for sheet material, inclined by a predetermined small angle with respect to a plane extending perpendicular to a support plane defined at the base frame structure, the abutment frame located between the front and rear ends of the base frame structure, such as to permit insertion of the front ends of the base frame structures into the open rear ends of the base frame structures of such trolleys for nesting the base frame structures and space saving storage of multiple trolleys.
3. 3. A trolley according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the base frame structure is essentially planar and tapers from the wider open rear end towards a closed front end.
4. 4. A trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the trolley comprises four said wheels, a pair of wheels mounted to or near the front end and a pair of wheels mounted to or near the open rear end.
5. 5. A trolley according to claim 4, wherein the pair of wheels at the front end are located width-wise inward of the base frame structure and the pair of wheels at the rear end are located width-ward outward of the base frame structure.
6. 6. A trolley according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base frame structure comprises structural beam members welded together, including a pair of side beam members, at least one but preferably both of said side beam members having a rear portion with a width-ward inward opening channel and at a forward end one or more width-ward outward projecting guiding member(s), the arrangement being such that the guiding projection(s) of a first said trolley are guidable by and receivable within the channel of the rear portion of the side beam members of the base frame structure of a second said trolley in the process of sliding the second trolley into the open rear end of the first trolley.
7. 7. A trolley according to claim 6, wherein both side beam members are U-shaped beams.
8. 8. A trolley according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the guiding member(s) comprise square tubular sections welded to a width-ward outer side of the side beam members, respectively.
9. 9. A trolley according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the two side beam members are braced to each other in forming a truncated A-shaped rigid framework structure comprising at least two cross beam members.
10. 10. A trolley according to claim 9, wherein a first said cross beam member is welded to the two side beam members to provide a closed front end of the base frame, and wherein a second said cross beam member is welded between the two side beam members at a predefined location rearward of the front cross beam member such as to provide a stop for the front terminal end of the base frame structure of a second said trolley being inserted through the rear open end of the base frame structure of a first said trolley.
11. 11. A trolley according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the abutment frame comprises upright left and a right side struts of closed or open cross section, braced by at least three cross strut members respectively located at or near an upper terminal end, intermediate length and near or at a lower terminal end of the upright struts.
12. 12. A trolley according to claims 10 and 11, wherein the abutment frame has a width approximately the same as the base frame structure at the predetermined location of the second cross beam member that provides the stop of the base frame structure, and wherein the abutment frame is secured, preferably welded, to the base frame structure in vicinity of the second cross beam member.
13. 13. A trolley according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the abutment frame is braced to the base frame structure by two upright support struts that respectively extend from near or at the rear terminal ends of one of the side beam members of the base frame structure to or near the terminal upper ends of the upright side struts of the abutment frame.
14. 14. A trolley according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the base frame structure is provided with sheet material edge support members extending between a front end of the base frame structure and the abutment frame.
15. 15. A trolley according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wheels are modular units devised for removable mounting to dedicate mounting structures at the base frame structure, whereby the trolley is convertible to a stationary stand or rack for supporting sheets.
16. 16. A trolley according to claim 15, wherein the upright frame structure includes a provision for storing detached wheels units.
17. 17. A trolley according to claim 15 or 16, wherein the wheel unit mounting structures comprise a tubular socket permanently affixed to the base frame structure beams or struts, and wherein the wheel units have a complementarily shaped cylindrical mounting boss that is dimensioned to be received with a transition fit within the sockets and removably secured therein using magnetic interaction or mechanical fasteners.
18. 18. A trolley according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the upright frame structure is at an obtuse angle and the edge support members are at an acute angle to a portion of the base frame structure located ahead of the upright frame structure. ABACO MACHINES (AUSTRALASIA) PTY LTD