AU703722B2

AU703722B2 - Motor trolley apparatus

Info

Publication number: AU703722B2
Application number: AU50511/96A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Stewart Andrew Stacey
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Stacey Stewart Andrew
Priority date: 1995-04-04
Filing date: 1996-04-04
Publication date: 1999-04-01
Anticipated expiration: 2016-04-04
Also published as: AU5051196A

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT (Original) APPLICATION NO:

LODGED:

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION LODGED:

ACCEPTED:

PUBLISHED:

RELATED ART: o o o s a r NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR(S): ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: WILLIAM GRANT STACEY STEWART ANDREW STACEY -NOEL F RNCIS HANRTY STEWART ANDREW STACEY LORD COMPANY, Patent Trade Mark Attorneys, of 4 Douro Place, West Perth, Western Australia, 6005, AUSTRALIA.

"MOTOR TROLLEY APPARATUS" DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED PROVISIONAL APPLICATION NO'S: PN2165 The following Statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me/us: April 1, 1996 4(FR~R The present invention relates to a motor trolley apparatus which can be used to transport loads.

The motor trolley apparatus of the present invention is particularly useful for transpoirting heavy loads for all purposes. The apparatus is particularly envisaged to be used in the building and construction industries where heavy load work is common. A most preferred use for the apparatus is in the transportation of bricks on a construction site.

The present invention has particular application in the building and construction industries. The problems with conventional manual load carrying apparatuses is that they can become bogged down in mud, sand or other uneven ground which are comrmon on new building sites.

15 In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a motor trolley apparatus including a body frame having front and rear drive shafts with respective pairs of wheels mounted thereon a motor mounted on the body frame and connected to a four wheel drive transmission means, a load carrying means mounted on the body frame, wherein there is provided a drive shaft selector arranged to engage selectively with a first means for forward drive and a second means for reverse drive.

The apparatus of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of the four wheel drive apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a top view of the four wheel drive apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 3 is an expanded side view of the apparatus of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 1 in a loading position; and, Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 showing the apparatus in a transport position.

In the drawings there is shown a four wheel drive apparatus 10 which has a leading end 12 and a trailing end 14. The apparatus 10 includes a main frame 16. At the trailing end W 14 of the apparatus 10 the main frame 16 has an engine frame 18 mounted thereon. A motor 20 such as a petrol drive motor, is mounted on the engine frame 18. The motor is connected to a rotatable shaft 22 which has a first centrifugal clutch 24 mounted thereabout. The first centrifugal clutch 24 has a circumfei entially extending endless belt 26 which also extends around the circumference of a second drive pulley 28.

The second drive pulley 28 forms part of a drive selector 30 (shown in Figure The drive selector 30 is mounted on a cross-member 32 which forms a junction with opposite extremities 34 and 36 of the main frame 16. The drive selector 30 includes a shaft 33 having the second drive pulley 28 mounted thereabout. The drive selector 30 is pivoted on a drive selector pivot 31. The drive selector 30 is mounted on the shaft 33 by bearings 29. The drive pulley 28 is arranged to rotate the shaft 33. At an end remote from the drive pulley 28 the shaft 33 is provided with a bevelled gear wheel 35 which rotates with the shaft 33. The gear wheel 35 is drivingly engaged with either one of a pair of further bevelled gear wheels 37A or 37B. The gear wheels 37A and 37B are mounted on a shaft 39 and rotation of the gear wheels 37A or 37B causes rotation of the shaft 39 in either a forward or reverse direction. Further, a third drive pulley 38 is mounted on the shaft 39 for rotation therewith. A further drive pulley 42 is mounted on a further shaft 41 for rotation therewith. The drive pulleys 38 and 42 are interconnected by a drive belt which extends circumferentially around the drive pulleys 38 and 42. Each of the shafts 39 and 41 has a wheel 44 mounted at each end thereof. The ends of the shafts 39 and 41 are rotatably mounted in housings 43 and 45 respectively (shown in Figure 1).

The drive pulleys 38 and 42, hence, transmit power to all four wheels 44 and allow four wheel drive motion. The drive selector 30 also allows the motion of the apparatus 10 to be in either a forward or reverse direction; forward being in the direction of the leading end 12 and reverse being in the direction of the trailing end 14. This occurs when the drive selector 30 is shifted in the direction of either extremity 34 or 36 (as shown in Figure 2 by the arrows). The drive selector 30 when shifted in either direction causes the bevelled gear wheel 35 to engage with either further bevelled gear wheel 37A or further bevelled gear wheel 37B. The further bevelled gear wheels 37A and 37B rotate independently in opposite directions when engaged by bevelled gear wheel 35. This ~e I allows the further bevelled gear wheels 37A and 37B to rotate the shaft 39 in opposite directions, thereby causing the apparatus 10 to move in either a forward or reverse direction. The drive selector further preferably includes a locking means whereby the selector is fixable in either forward or reverse mode (not shown).

The apparatus 10 further includes a removably attached load carrying means 49 which is attached to the main frame 16 through a first pivot means 46. The pivot means 46 is attached to the main frame 16 towards the leading end 12 of the apparatus 10. There is also attached to the main frame 16 an inclined ramp 48 and stop means 50 which are at the leading end 12 of the apparatus :o oi The load carrying means 49 has an attached handle assembly 52 which is attached to the load carrying means 49 at its trailing end 51. The load carrying means 49 also has a roller 54 mounted on the lower end of the load carrying means 49 which is arranged to contact the ramp 48. The load carrying means 49 also has attached at its lower end a second pivoting means 56. A telescopic ann 58 is attached to the second pivoting means 56 which is further removably attached to the first pivoting means 46. The load carrying means 49 further includes a raised support member 60 which extends outwardly in S. "Figure 1 from the load carrying means 49. This raised support member assists in picking up and setting down heavy loads such as brick packs. The load carrying means 49 may also be a tub like container (not shown) which is removably attached. The load carrying S .means 49 is preferably also adjustable in length.

The manner of use and operation of the apparatus 10 will now be described.

The motor 20 is started which rotates the shaft 22. Power is transmitted from the shaft 22 via the first centrifugal clutch 24 and the belt 26 to the drive pulley 28. The drive selector 30 is either put in a forward or reverse direction. The second drive pulley 28 is mounted on the shaft 33. The shaft 33, hence, transmits the power to the bevelled gear wheel 35 which is at the end of the shaft 33, the end being remote from the second drive pulley 28. The bevelled gear wheel 35 then engages either of a pair of further bevelled gear wheels 37A or 37B. These pair of further bevelled gear wheels 37A and 37B are mounted on the shaft 39 which are in turn rotated by the power transmitted through the -L O~ bevelled gear wheel 35. The third drive pulley 38 is then rotated by the shaft 39. The belt then transmits power to a fourth drive pulley 42 which is mounted onil the shaft 41.

The fourth drive pulley 42 then causes the shaft 41 to rotate and hence provides the wheels 44 to move. The apparatus 10 then moves in either direction towards the leading end 12 of the apparatus 10 (forward) or towards the trailing end of the apparatus (reverse) by shifting the drive selector to either forward or reverse. The apparatus 10 is then steered in the desired direction by gripping the handlebar assembly 52 and shifting the apparatus 10 into the desired direction.

When it is desired to pick up a heavy load, the handlebar assembly 52 is lifted so that the telescopic arm 58 extends and lifts the load carrying means to a substantially vertical position. The roller 54 also slides down the inclined ramp 48 until thile roller abuts against the stopping means 50. The roller 54 and inclined ramp 48 assist the user in picking up heavy loads whilst the telescopic arm 58 allows the load carrying means 49 to be fixed 15 in either a pick up mode, rest mode or travel mode. Figure 1 presently illustrates the pick up mode of the load carrying means 49.

*9 The pickup mode is when the telescopic arm 58 is fully extended and the load carrying i" means is positioned such that the handlebar assembly is substantially in the upward direction. The roller 54 also abuts the stopping means 50. In one preferred embodiment as shown in Figure 1, the raised support member 60 is in a position to pick up heavy .goods such as brick packs. Once the heavy load is secured, the load carrying means 49 can be moved to a rest mode. See Figure 4. The rest mode occurs when the user pulls up the handlebar assembly and the load carrying means is fixed in a position as shown in Figure 4.

The travel mode is shown as in Figure 5 and occurs when the roller 54 slides up the inclined ramp 48 and the load carrying means 49 moves into a substantially horizontal position such that the handlebar assembly 52 is substantially horizontal and hence steering is possible.

Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are 6 deemed to be within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A motor trolley apparatus including a body frame having front and rear drive shafts with respective pairs of wheels mounted thereon a motor mounted on the body frame and connected to a four wheel drive transnmission means, a load carrying means mounted on the body frame, wherein there is provided a drive shaft selector arranged to engage selectively with a first means for forward drive and a second means for reverse drive.

2. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with claim I wherein the four wheel drive transmission means includes a first pair of pulleys positioned in a substantially vertical plane, the uppermost pulley of the first pair of pulleys being connected to the motor by way of a first rotatable drive shaft.

3. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with claim 2, wherein the lowermost pulley of the first pair of pulleys has mounted thereon a second rotatable drive shaft. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with claim 3, wherein the drive shaft selector d is pivotally mounted about an end thereof and a pair of spaced gears are mounted on a third rotatable drive shaft on opposite sides of the drive shaft selector so that the drive o shaft selector may be selectively engaged with either one of the spaced gears for either forward or reverse drive. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein a second pair of pulleys is mounted respectively on the front and rear drive shafts so that the rotation of the pulley mounted on one of the drive shafts will cause the rotation of the other drive shaft.

6. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the :i drive selector is arranged to be locked in a forward or reverse drive position.

7. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the load carrying means has an attached handle assembly for steering the apparatus and moving the load carrying means from a first generally upstanding loading position to a second generally horizontal transport position.

8. A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with claim 7, wherein the load carrying means is in an intermediate resting position.

9.A motor trolley apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims, wherein the load carrying means is arranged to carry brick packs. motor trolley apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings. 8 DATED APRIL 1, 1996 WILLIAM GRANT STACEY STEWART ANDREW STACEY NOEL FRANTIS IANfETY- By their Patent Attorneys LORD AND COMPANY PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 0 f I- l ~----qp~pylly ABSTRACT The present invention relates to a motor trolley apparatus (10) including a main body frame (16) mounted on four wheels (44) on respective front and rear drive shafts (39, 41), a motor (20) mounted above the main body frame (16) and connected to a four wheel drive transmission means and a load carrying means (49) capable of a first loading position, a second transport position and a third resting position. 4 e