GB2414706A

GB2414706A - Panel carrier device

Info

Publication number: GB2414706A
Application number: GB0412330A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Keith Vernon Bunker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-03
Filing date: 2004-06-03
Publication date: 2005-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 2024-06-03
Also published as: GB2414706B; GB0412330D0

Abstract

A panel carrier device 1 for use by one person 2 where both hands of the person are required to be engaged in moving a large panel of sheet material 3. The carrier device 1 has a central column 4 with two spaced handles or hand grips 6,7 the column supporting a clamp means 11,13 at one end, and the clamp means having at least a single movable clamp jaw 13. The movable clamp jaw 13 may be of a cam shape so that it will have a self-closing action when a panel body is secured therein, and may be supported on a pivot on an extension 8 of the column 4. The clamp means may also include a fixed jaw or head 11 which may be spaced at an adjustable distance from the column 4 by means of notches 12.

Description

24 1 4706

PANEL CARRIER DEVICE

This invention relates to a panel carrier device. It relates particularly to such a carrier that can be used to lift and move a large sheet of building or other material.

In building operations, in a building material warehouse or in DIY house renovations, it is frequently necessary for a thin sheet material such as wall board or a wood panel to be carried from one place to another. The material also has to be handled accurately in order to place it where it is required to be used. Since the sheet of material may be four feet in width and eight or ten feet in length the carrying of a single sheet is sometimes too much for one man to do without additional help being required. The difficulty is not so much in managing the weight of the material but more in the problem of gripping the sheet area when only one person's hands are available. The handling operation may need a worker to be located at both ends of the panel or the panel may have to be lifted from a stack of similar sheets so that a suitable carrying device can be inserted beneath the sheet area.

There have been attempts already to provide means whereby a single man may safely and conveniently carry and hold a large sheet of material. One such carrying device has been disclosed in Patent No. US4135655. However, this patented device is not able to make use of both hands of the worker for the carrying operation.

The present invention was devised in order to provide a means whereby a large sheet of material may be lifted and transported in safety by one man in a way that enables both hands of the operator to be used.

According to the invention, there is provided a panel carrier device having a central column supporting two spaced hand grips, the column having a clamp means at one end, the said clamp means having at least one movable clamp jaw. The clamp means may have one jaw formed in a cam shape which will have a self-closing action when a body of significant weight is secured therein. The said movable clamp jaw may be supported on a pivot located on said column. The movable clamp jaw may be provided with a lever means such that the angular position of the jaw can be readjusted when necessary.

The said clamp means may be provided with one fixed jaw. The spacing of the fixed jaw relative to the column may be adjustable. The adjustment may be effected by the provision of a tooth on the jaw which is able to be engaged in a selected notch on a clamp arm which extends from the central column.

The central column may be adjustable in its length such that the clamp means may be moved relative to the positions of the hand grips. The adjustment may be effected by the column being formed with an inner portion which is slidable within a hollow outer portion. The adjustment may be done by having through holes in the inner and outer portions and providing a locking pin which is passed through the relevant holes to secure the central column at a required working length.

The two spaced hand grips may be arranged to extend outwards from the central column. Preferably, both hand grips are mounted on the hollow outer portion of the column. The hand grips may take the form of hollow tube members which extend on both sides of the column outer portion.

One or more of the hand grips may be provided with a buffer such as an end buffer positioned to hold a sheet being carried away from a hand of a worker using the said hand grip when such a sheet is present in the clamp means. The end buffer can also serve as a friction element in contact with the surface of the sheet material to provide additional stability in the carrying operation.

In one embodiment, the central column is provided with a wheel support at a lower end to assist the movement over smooth ground of the carrier device when it is in service.

By way of example, some particular embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 depicts one example of the panel carrier device being used to lift and move a large sheet of material, Figure 2 is a second example of the carrier device in a modification which is fitted with a wheel support to aid transport of the sheet over a smooth surface, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the carrier device components, Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the device, Figures 5 and 6 are respectively side and front views of the third embodiment.

As depicted in Figures I and 2, the panel carrier device 1 is shown when being used by a worker 2 for the purpose of lifting and transporting a large panel 3. The panel 3 is clearly too large to be gripped by the hands of a single worker and normally two people would be required to move an article of this size and to fit it in the position needed for a building job.

The panel carrier device 1 is formed with a central column 4 which supports two spaced hand grips. These are an upper grip 6 and a lower grip 7. The central column 4 is of a hollow tube construction. A column extension 8 extends from the column 4 and this extension 8 carries a top arm 9 on which a fixed head 11 is supported. The fixed head 11 in fact can be adjusted in its position on the top arm 9 by securing a stop on the head in any one of a row of notches 12 positioned along a lower edge of the top arm 9.

The extension 8 also carries a movable clamp jaw 13 which is secured on a pivot mounting to the extension 8. The clamp jaw 13 is of a cam shape so that it will be able to grip a panel 3 between its surface and a surface of the fixed head 11. The weight of the panel 3 will then tend to hold the clamp jaw 13 in a clamp closed condition against the fixed head 1 1. When required, the clamp jaw 13 is able to be released by operation of a lever 14 which acts to pivot the clamp jaw 13 and move the cam shape away from the panel 3. The panel 3 will then be released from the carrier device.

Since the column 4 is of a hollow construction, the extension 8 is able to be supported partially within the hollow interior of the column 4. The amount by which the extension 8 protrudes from the column 4 can be adjusted by the provision of through holes on both these members. A locking pin can then be passed through appropriate ones of these through holes when it is required to set the panel carrier device to a particular working length. This provision serves to make the carrier device effective for use in carrying panels in a very wide range of sizes.

Figure 2 shows an alternative construction of panel carrier device which includes a wheel support 16 to aid transport of the sheet carried by the device over a smooth surface.

Figure 3 illustrates the device construction in greater detail. The hand grips 6, 7 are seen to extend outwards on both sides of the central column 4. The hand grips 6, 7 are in the form of hollow tube members and this enables them to be lengthened outwards if necessary by the insertion of a short extension rod 17 into the hollow centre of each hand grip. In a different embodiment, the hand grips 6, 7 could be positioned away from the main axis of the column 4 so that a long extension rod could be passed completely through two hand grips on a common axis. This provision might be helpful if it was required to lift and move a particularly heavy or awkward building panel.

Figure 3 also shows the locking pin 18 which is used to connect through holes in the column 4 and the extension 8 together so that the panel carrier device can be set to a required working length in relation to the size of the panel to be carried. The modified embodiment as depicted in Figure 2 can also be seen in the wheel support 16 which is shown in the lower portion of Figure 3. This wheel support 16 could clearly be a permanent part of the column 4 in a different heavy duty model of the panel carrier.

Figure 4 shows a third embodiment of the panel carrier device which is made in a form having a fixed length and with a cast metal body. In this instance, an upper grip 6 is located above the pivot supporting the clamp jaw 13 and this grip 6 has a curved construction. A lower grip 7 is situated at the bottom end of the column 4 and this grip is provided with end buffers 19 at the outer ends thereof. When using the panel carrier device, these end buffers 19 prevent a panel being supported in the device from striking against the fingers of a worker who is holding the lower grip 7. The end buffers 19 also serve as a friction element in contact with the surface of the sheet material to provide additional panel surface stability during the carrying operation.

Figure 5 is a side view of the third embodiment and Figure 6 a front view.

In use of the panel carrier device, it will be clear that this is of a lightweight construction with a single cam gripping means which is intended to grip a panel centrally along a top edge. The clamp part of the device has one fixed jaw which can be slid along the top arm so that the device can be adjusted for different thicknesses of panel. When the carrier device has been positioned centrally along the top edge of the panel, the clamp jaw 13 is rotationally sprung loaded against the panel and as a result this will grip the panel surface and push this against the fixed head 11. The carrier device may then be lifted and the cam shape of the jaw 13 will serve to increase the grip of this jaw on the panel. The gravitational force of the panel weight will also cause the cam shaped jaw to grip more tightly.

The worker may then use the carrier device to lift the panel and this can be done by a single operator provided the total weight is not excessive. The shape of the upper hand grips allows these to be grasped with both hands with the hands clear of the panel surface so that risk of injury is reduced. The worker is able to use both the upper and lower hand grips for convenience in moving and handling the panel. The lower hand grips 7 include the end buffers 19 which will tend to rest against the surface of the carried panel and thus keep the hands clear from being struck by the panel surface. The end buffers 19 also give some additional stability to the panel surface when the carrying operation is in progress.

The geometry of the carrier device ensures that the lifted panel will be supported close to the body of the operator so that a maximum lifting capacity is available. The lower handle grips or possibly both the lower and upper handle grips are formed of hollow tube members so that an extension rod can be inserted in the hand grip, if required. This extended handle can then be helpful if a second operator should be needed to help in the movement or the placement of a heavy panel. The extended handles may also help to make the assembly of panel and lifting device more manoeuvrable when the model of the carrier device incorporating the ground wheels is being used.

A soft plastics material is used on the fixed head 1 1 and on the clamp jaw 13 to ensure that the lifted panels can be moved without causing significant marking of the panel surface. This provision can also assist if it is required for more than one panel to be gripped and lifted simultaneously.

The lever 14 allows the clamp to be released very easily upon completion of the lifting and handling operation.

The panel carrier device of the invention has been found to be capable of being built at a comparatively low cost and it is sufficiently robust for it to give many years of service when used for handling the usual building panels. The device is able to be used without the panel having to be lifted first to enable a carrying tool to be inserted beneath the panel. This can make it easier for a single panel to be taken from a stack of similar panels. The panel carrier device is not restricted to employing only one hand of the operator and the hand grips provided enable both hands to be used.

The foregoing description of embodiments of the invention has been given by way of example only and a number of modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. For instance, the movable clamp jaw 13 is seen to have two separate clamping means which are spaced apart from one another. In a different embodiment, these two areas could be replaced by a single unbroken clamping area. Similarly, the wheel support 16 could be replaced by three wheels mounted at the corners of a triangular frame so that the device would be wheeled over a step in the ground surface.

Claims

W)4 Z 5,: , CLATMS

1 A pane] carrier device having a central column supporting two spaced hand grips, the column having a clamp means at one end, the said clamp means having at least one movable clamp jaw.

2 A carrier device as claimed in Claim I, in which the clamp means has one jaw formed in a cam shape such that it will have a self:closing action when a panel body is secured therein.

3 A carrier device as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, in which the movable clamp jaw is supported on a pivot located on the said column.

4 A carrier device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 3, in which the movable clamp jaw is arranged with a lever means such that the angular position of the jaw can be adjusted when necessary.

A carrier device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 4, in which the said clamp means includes one fixed jaw.

6 A carrier device as claimed in Claim 5, in which the said fixed jaw is mounted such that it may be spaced at an adjustable distance from the column.

7 A carrier device as claimed in Claim 6, in which the distance adjustment is effected by the provision of a tooth on the jaw which is able to be engaged in a notch on a clamp arm of the column.

8 A carrier device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 7, in which the central column is adjustable in length between the clamp means and said hand grips.

9 A carrier device as claimed in Claim 8, in which the adjustment is arranged with an inner portion which is slidable within an outer portion of the column.

A carrier device as claimed in any one of Claims I to 9, in which the said hand grips are arranged to extend outwards from the column.

11 A panel carrier device substantially as hereinbelore described with reference to any one of the accompanying drawings.