GB2116932A - Trolleys to assist in moving heavy objects - Google Patents

Abstract

A trolley 10 is elongate, with rollers 74 at each end. At either side there are formations 38, 40 for engaging either a like trolley 12 or elongate members (Figure 6:44,46) for coupling two laterally spaced trolleys. The formations may be a channel 40 at one side and an elongate projection 38 at the other. The trolley 10 may have front and rear roller housings 18, (20 Figure 1) connected by telescopic tubes (22, 24, Figure 1). The front rollers 74 may have brakes, 86. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Trolleys to assist in moving heavy objects This invention relates to trolleys which can be used to support heavy objects, to facilitate their movement. Such trolleys can be used with a very wide variety of loads, but are particularly useful when handling heavy domestic appliances such as cookers, washing machines, and refrigerators.

Devices of this type are shown in, for example, UK patent specifications 1350507 and 1515085. They comprise an elongate, telescopically extending frame having ground-contacting rollers at the front and rear end portions, which support the appliance.

The length of the frame is adjusted to suit the depth of the appliance, and normally two such trolley units are used in tandem, one under each side of the appliance. With such an arrangement, there is no connection between the two trolley units. Trolleys are also known which are rectangular in plan, having wheels or rollers at each corner and means for adjusting both the length and width of the device to match the width and depth of the appliance. This can give more stability when necessary.

All these trolleys, however, lack versatility to a certain extent. While each can be used for supporting quite a wide variety of objects, the simple elongate units will not be suitable for very heavy loads or where great stability is needed; while the rectangular devices would tend to be too complex and expensive for relatively undemanding applications.

This invention provides a trolley for supporting a heavy object to facilitate its movement, comprising an elongate frame having ground-contacting rolling elements at each end, and attachment means at the side of the frame arranged for the removable attachment thereto of a further said trolley.

Preferably the length of the elongate frame is adjustable. The opposite sides of the frame may be provided with respective said attachment means with mating configurations enabling two or more of the trolleys to be directly attached together side by side. This is useful in allowing the trolleys to support certain types of heavier loads. Additionally or alternatively, there may be separate elongate members which can be attached to the attachment means so as to extend laterally between two said trolleys, connecting them indirectly and giving a larger composite trolley device. The lengths of the lateral elongate members may also be adjustable. A flexible modular design can be provided, allowing the connection together of a number of trolleys, with or without laterally extending members between them, to suit many different kinds of objects to be supported.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a composite trolley device comprising several trolleys, Figure 2 is a vertical section of two trolleys, on the line ll-ll in Figure 1, Figures 3 and 4 are sections on the lines Ill-Ill and IV-IV in Figure 2, Figure 5 is a partly sectional front view of a trolley, on the line V-V in Figure 1, and Figure 6 illustrates the attachment of laterally extending frame members to a trolley.

The composite trolley device shown in Figure 1 comprises four individual elongate trolleys 10, 12, 14,16, linked together as described below. Each individual trolley comprises two short lengths 18,20 of an aluminium extrusion, one at the front and one at the rear. Other materials can be used in place of aluminium, e.g. an extrusion of high density polyethylene.

The extrusions 18, 20 of each trolley are joined by two lengths of channel section 22, 24, fixed to the extrusions 18, 20 respectively. The channel sections 22,24 are of the same size and are arranged to face each other so that they can slide inside each other.

The channel section 22 has a hole (not shown) in its web at its rearward end, to receive a bolt 26. The web of the channel section 24 has a longitudinal slot (not shown) in which the bolt 26 is slidable to adjust the overall length of the trolley. When the required length has been selected, the channel sections can be secured together by means of a wingnut 28 on the bolt 26, which bears on a U-shaped washer member 30 straddling the slot in the channel section 24.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the channel section 22 is received in a square tube 34 forming part of the extrusion 18, and is secured by rivets 36. The channel section 24 is similarly fixed in the extrusion 20.

The upper surfaces of the extrusions 18,20 have ribbed areas 32 which provide a non-slip supporting surface for a domestic appliance or other object placed on the trolley device.

As best seen in Figure 2, one side of the extrusion from which the lengths 18, 20 are cut is provided with a projecting T-section element 38. The other side is provided with a corresponding restrictedmouth channel 40. Any number of trolleys can be directly linked together side by side simply by slotting together lengthwise the adjacent elements 38 and channels 40 of their extrusions 18,20. The elements 38 and channels 40 are dimensioned to give a push-fit, so that further securing is not necessary.

Furthermore, Figure 1 shows front and rear laterally extending frame members 42 between the trolleys 12 and 14. The members 42 comprise channel sections 44,46 which interconnect in exactly the same way as the channel sections 22,24 permitting adjustment of the width between the trolleys 12, 14.

At their ends, the channel sections 44,46 are rivetted to attachment elements 48, 50 which are provided respectively with a restricted mouth channel attachment and a T-section attachment. These mate with the T-members 38 and the channels 40 of the extrusions 18, 20. They may be secured to them with screws or with bolts and wingnuts (not shown).

Alternatively, Figure 6 shows how one type of attachment element 48 may be used to fit both the T-section 38 and the restricted-mouth channel 40.

The element 48 comprises a collar 52 in which is rivetted the channel 44 or 46, as appropriate; and a restricted mouth channel portion 54. As seen on the right-hand side of Figure 6, the channel portion 54 mates with the T-section 38 of the extrusion 18 or 20, and a screw 56 passes through a threaded hole in the channel portion 54 to thighten it against the T-section.

On the left-hand side of Figure 6, however, the mouth of the channel portion 54 faces that of the channel 40. The head of a bolt 58 lies in the channel 40, and passes through an unthreaded hole in the channel portion 54. The arrangement is secured by means of a wingnut 60 on the bolt 58. Figure 6 also shows the longitudinal slot 62 in the web of the channel section 46.

The trolley devices described above can be used in a very wide variety of ways. The simplest system for normal use comprises just two of the trolleys 10 to 16, not connected at all. Their lengths are adjusted by sliding and securing the channels 22,24, to suit the depth of the object to be supported, e.g. a domestic cooker or refrigerator. Then they are placed in tandem under the object, one at each side.

The four corners of the object are thus supported on the ribbed areas 32 of the extrusions 18,20.

If greater stability is required, then the laterally extending members 42 can be added. Additionally or alternatively, if greater load-bearing capacity is needed, the trolleys can be doubled up at each side of the object, connecting the T-sections 38 to the channels 40. With both the laterally extending members 42 and doubled-up trolleys, the arrangement of Figure 1 is produced. For very wide objects, e.g. a chest freezer, two or more pairs of laterally extending members 42 may be used to interconnect three or more trolleys. For extremely heavy objects, trolleys can be used in threes at each side, or a larger number can be directly connected to give a continuous array across the entire width of the object.

The rollers which give the trolleys 10 to 16their mobility are housed in the extrusions 18, 20. The front extrusions 18 are also provided with brakes so that the object to be supported by the trolleys can be prevented from moving when it is in position. These arrangements will now be described in detail, referring to Figures 2 to 5.

The front of the extrusion 18 is provided with an end plate 64, which is E-shaped in front elevation as best seen in Figure 5. The top of the plate 64 extends above the top of the extrusion 18, to limit any tendency of the object supported to move or skew relative to the trolley. The free end of the depending middle leg 66 of the E-shape is bent inwards at right angles, forming a tongue 68 which is secured to the underside of the square tube 34 of the extrusion by the rivets 36. The tongue 68 has an intermediate portion 70 which is bent locally away from the tube 34 in order to trap an axle 72.Ground-engaging rollers 74 are rotatable on the axle 72 on each side of the square tube 34. (Although the rollers 74 cannot actually be seen in the view of Figure 4, they are indicated by a dot-dashed line in that figure.) The free ends of the axle 72 engage under small flanges 76 on the sides of the extrusion. These distribute the load onto the axle more evenly than if its only load-bearing contact was with the underside of the tube 34.

The two outside depending legs 78,80 of the E-shaped end plate 64 blank off the front of the extrusion 18 on either side of the rollers 74. The leg 78 also blanks off the restricted-mouth channel 40, but the T-section 38 is not blanked off by the leg 80, so that the extrusions can be directly siotted together as described above.

Between each of the legs 78,80 and the middle leg 66, in order to form the E-shape, the material of the end plate 64 is bent inwardly at right angles, forming horizontal tongues 82. These lie just underneath the top surface of the extrusion 18, one on each side of the square tube 34.

A brake member comprises a generally horizontal plate 84 with two depending sides 86 which are journalled at their lower ends to the axle 72. The plate 84 is U-shaped in plan, and the base 88 of the U projects forwardly so that it can be gripped manually to pivot the brake member about the axle 72. The legs 90 of the U straddle the square tube 34 and lie under the tongues 82 of the end plate. By pushing the base 88 of the U downwards, the legs 90 are caused to jam between the tongues 82 and the rollers 74, effectively braking the latter. The brake is released by lifting the base 88 upwards, unjamming the legs 90. The inner ends of the legs 90 may be bent into a slight toe to assist the jamming function.

It will be appreciated that the entire roller/brake assembly is held together by just the two rivets 36, which also hold the channel 22 in the tube 34. This simplifies the construction work.

Brakes will not normally be provided in the rear extrusion 20. This extrusion however houses rollers 74 on an axle 72, which is secured by a tongue 68 of an end plate 64, in exactly the same way as the front extrusion 18.

Claims (8)

1. A trolley for supporting a heavy object to facilitate its movement, comprising an elongate frame having ground-contacting rolling elements at each end, and attachment means at the side of the frame arranged for the removable attachment thereto of a further said trolley.

2. A trolley according to claim 1 wherein the length of the elongate frame is adjustable.

3. A trolley according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein opposite sides of the frame are provided with respective said attachment means with mating configurations whereby two or more of the trolleys are directly attachable together side by side.

4. A trolley according to claim 3 wherein said attachment means comprise, at one side, means defining a longitudinally extending channel and, at the other side, means defining a longitudinally extending projection which is slidably receivable in the channel of another trolley.

5. A trolley assembly comprising at least one trolley according to any preceding claim and one or more separate elongate members attachable to the attachment means of two said trolleys so as to extend laterally between them.

6. A trolley assembly according to claim 5 wherein the lengths of the lateral elongate members are adjustable.

7. A trolley assembly according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein the or each trolley is according to claim 4, and wherein each elongate member has at each end a channel portion engageable over a projection of a trolley; there being for each member at least one projection portion detachably mounted to a said channel portion for engagement with a channel of a trolley.

8. A trolley or trolley assembly substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.