GB2496629A - Wheelbarrow - Google Patents

Abstract

A barrow 10 comprises a pan 12, a support structure having handle members 30 & 32 and a V-shaped member 45 supporting a wheel 60, wherein the pan may substantially accommodate the remaining components when the barrow is in a disassembled form.

Description

Title: Wheelbarrow Descrirtion of Invention This invention relates to a wheelbarrow.

Although wheelbarrows can include many different details of design, the overall configuration of the most common type of wheelbarrow in general use in the UK is well known. It comprises an open-topped load-carrying body (sometimes, and herein, termed the "pan') which most commonly is made of pressed sheet steel or possibly moulded plastics or other material, having a base wall which is usually of rectangular or similar configuration, and side and end walls extending upwardly therefrom. Usually the side walls diverge slightly from one another, as they extend upwardly, while the end walls also diverge so that the overall footprint of the pan is somewhat larger than the dimensions of the base wall. The pan is secured to a support structure or frame, commonly of tubular metal such as steel, which carries a single wheel at the front of the pan. The wheel usually lies generally beneath the inclined front wall of the pan. Respective parts of the frame extend rearwardly of the barrow from the wheel, to form respective legs" or support portions spaced laterally of the barrow and generally beneath the pan, for supporting the barrow in a generally horizontal orientation on a ground surface engaged by the wheel, so that the barrow may be loaded or unloaded. From the support portions, the respective parts of the frame extend upwardly and rearwardly behind the rear wall of the pan, to end in handle portions spaced laterally of the barrow from one another, at a convenient height and spacing that a user may lift the support portions of the frame from the ground and manoeuvre the wheelbarrow on its wheel. In many cases, the frame, in plan view, provides a generally U or V shaped portion in front of the wheel of the barrow, which is able to engage the ground when the rear of the barrow is lifted and tilted forward, for unloading the barrow.

Many variations in the above design in terms of pan and frame configuration are possible; more wide-ranging versions may also be made -for example barrows are known with twin laterally-spaced wheels and with other features.

The overall footprint of such a wheelbarrow is fairly large. In particular, the handle portions of the frame extend a significant distance behind the pan of the barrow and are spaced by a distance of the same order as the overall width of the top of the pan, to give sufficient leverage for a user to be able to lift the rear of the barrow when it is heavily loaded, and to prevent it from tipping sideways when it is being wheeled over rough ground. In lateral view, the wheel and support portions of the frame extend a significant distance below the pan, while the handle portions of the frame extend significantly above the top of the pan. Therefore, in storage and transportation, an assembled wheelbarrow occupies a considerable amount of space. In many cases, therefore, wheelbarrows are stored after manufacture, and distributed in the market, in CKD (completely knocked down) form. The wheel and small components such as fastenings of the barrow might then be accommodated in the pan, but the frame, if in one piece, still occupies a substantial amount of space, although the shape thereof is usually such that a large number of frames can be partially nested in one another. Similarly, the pans can be nested, thereby cutting down the volume required for storage or transportation of a large number of barrows. Nevertheless, it remains the case that even a small number of assembled barrows occupy a large volume, while the volume occupied by a single assembled barrow might be greater than that readily accommodated in a small car.

Therefore, particularly in the case of barrows intended for domestic use where a purchaser may only wish to transport a single barrow (as distinct from barrows for commercial or industrial use, e.g. by builders, where several barrows may be transported at a time) it is particularly desirable to have a barrow which can be stored as a single unit without being of excessive volume.

One of the broad objects of the present invention is to provide for a significant reduction in the overall storage volume occupied by a barrow in CKD form, without requiring a complex assembly process.

According to a first aspect of the invention, we provide a wheelbarrow comprising a pan, a support structure, and a wheel, wherein the pan can substantially accommodate the support structure and the wheel when the barrow is in disassembled form.

The wheelbarrow may have a support structure comprising three main members.

The two main members of the wheelbarrow support structure may be substantially identical to one another.

The substantially identical main members of the support structure may form handles of the barrow.

The pan of the wheelbarrow may be dimensioned such that both handle members may be accommodated by the pan when oriented diagonally of the pan.

The main member of the support structure may be provided with wheel-supporting formations.

The wheelbarrow wheel-supporting member may be substantially U or V-shaped.

The wheel supporting member may comprise limbs extending rearwardly from a joining portion which lies generally ahead of the wheel.

There may be a bracing member which extends between the two limbs of the wheel-supporting member.

The limbs of the wheel-supporting member of the wheelbarrow may have rear portions which extend downwardly to form at least part of leg formations for supporting the wheelbarrow when not in use.

The rear portions of the limbs of the wheel-supporting member may connect to the two other main members in the respective leg formations.

The main members of the support structure may be tubular.

When the wheelbarrow is in CKD form, the pan may contain the remaining components of the wheelbarrow.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with the aid of the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows a barrow in assembled form.

Figure 2 shows the components of the barrow in kit form.

Figure 3 shows the dismantled barrow, packed with its components inside the pan.

Referring firstly to figures 1 and 2, these show a barrow indicated generally at 10, which has a pan 12 with a base 24, left and right side walls 18 and 20, a front wall 14 and a rear wall 16. The walls of the pan 12 are angled so as to diverge from one another as they extend upwards, so that the area defined by the upper rim of the pan 12 is larger than the area of the base 24 of the pan 12. The base 24, and the front wall 14 and rear wall 16 of the pan 12 are each provided with two fastener mounting holes. The pan 12 is mounted on a support structure made of three main members of tubular metal e.g. steel, namely; a V-shaped member 45, and two curved handle members 30 and 32, and these join together to form legs 39a and 39b.

The V-shaped member 45 has an arcuate end part 40 from which two limbs 44a and 44b diverge. Towards the arcuate end 40, there are wheel support brackets 42a and 42b joined to the respective limbs 44a and 44b, and there is a fastener mounting hole provided in the top of each limb. When the barrow is in assembled form, a wheel 60 is rotatably mounted to the wheel mounting brackets. Towards the opposite end of the V-shaped member there is a cross-member 46, which is an elongate flat member which joins limbs 44a and 44b, and has two holes in it for receiving fasteners. At the opposite end to arcuate end 40, the limbs curve downwards to form two leg sections 47a and 47b, and at the end of these, two receiving ends 48a and 48b are provided. Each of these receiving ends is provided with holes for receiving fasteners.

Handle members 30 and 32 are identical to one another, and each of them has a hand-grip mounting portion Sla 31b, onto which a hand grip 34a 34b is fitted. The handle members 30 and 32 continue at 33a 33b at an angle from grip mounting portions 31a 31b, and then further at an angle to these to form mounting portions 35a 35b, which have holes each for receiving a fastener.

These each join to a leg portion 37a 37b, which is followed by U-shaped foot portions 36a 36b. The members 30 and 32 end at the opposite end of the foot portions, and at the end of each of the members 30 and 32 there is a mounting spigot 38a 38b of reduced diameter, which is provided with fastener mounting holes.

In addition to the components above described, the barrow comprises two identical bracing members 56a and 56b, which are solid elongate members provided with angled flanges at each of their ends. Each flange is provided with a fastener receiving hole. There is a tubular sleeve 54, and also a wheel mounting bolt 50, which is a bolt type fastener, accompanied by a nut 52.

Fasteners 22 and 26 are also of a common bolt type construction, and are used in conjunction with nut 28.

In order to construct the barrow from the dismantled form, shown in figure 2, sleeve 54 is passed through the centre of wheel 60, which is then slid between two wheel support brackets 42a and 42b. Bolt 50 is then passed through holes in the wheel support brackets 42a and 42b and through the centre of the wheel 60, and is fastened in place using the nut 52 on the opposing side.

Curved handle members 30 and 32 are attached to the V-shaped member 45 by sliding spigot ends 38a and 38b into receiving sections 48a and 48b respectively, and then fixing them in place using fixings 22. Hand grips 34a and 34b are then slid onto the ends of the hand-grip mounting portions so that they may be used as handles. The pan 12 is placed in the orientation shown in figure 1, so that the front side 14 faces away from the handles, and the holes in base 24 align with the holes in a cross-member 46 which is joined to the V-shaped member 45, and fixed in place using fasteners 26 and 28.

Bracing members 44a and 44b are fixed to the pan using fasteners 26 and 28, and to the V-shaped member 45 using fasteners 22 and 28, and the rear of the pan is fixed to each of the curved handle members 30 and 32 using fixings 22 and 28. Since the handle members 30 32 are identical, i.e. not "handed", a person assembling the barrow does not have to have concern that the respective handle members are correctly positioned.

In use, the user grasps the left hand grip 34b and the right hand grip 34a and lifts the handles so that foot sections 36a and 36b are no longer in contact with the ground. The user may then direct the barrow on wheel 60 and steer it using the hand grips 34a and 34b. The arcuate end 40 of the V-shaped member 45 protects the leading edge of the wheel when the barrow is moving, and can be brought into contact with the ground to act as a fulcrum when emptying the contents of the pan 12.

Advantageously, the bracing portions 56a and 56b provide a load path between the pan and the support frame to minimise deflection in pan wall 14.

The cross-bracing portion 46 on the V-shaped member 45 substantially prevents the two arms of the V-shaped member 45 from flexing relative to one another, which could otherwise result in flexing in the pan base 24. It will be appreciated that these bracing features permit this embodiment of the invention to be suitable for heavy duty use, although these would not be essential on a barrow intended for light duty work only.

Figure 3 shows the embodiment of the invention in knocked down form. The wheel 60 may be placed into the pan 12, and the V-shaped member 45 placed over the wheel. One of the handle members 30 may then be placed diagonally in the pan 12 in one direction, with the other handle member 32 diagonally in the opposite direction. As the drawing shows, the diagonal dimension of the pan is sufficient to substantially accommodate the curved handle members.

The remaining components may be placed elsewhere in the pan 12, perhaps in a bag or other container, and this may be attached to one of the members, or placed beneath the wheel 60. Such an arrangement allows the barrow to be stored and/or transported as a single unit in completely knocked down form.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims (1)

1. <claim-text>Claims 1. A wheelbarrow comprising a pan, a support structure, and a wheel, wherein the pan can substantially accommodate the support structure and the wheel when the barrow is in disassembled form.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A wheelbarrow according to claim 1 wherein the support structure comprises three main members.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. A wheelbarrow according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein two main members of the structure are substantially identical to one another.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. A wheelbarrow according to claim 3 wherein the substantially identical main members form handles of the barrow.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. A wheelbarrow according to claim 4 wherein the pan is dimensioned such that both handle members may be accommodated by the pan when oriented diagonally of the pan.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. A wheelbarrow according to any one of the preceding claims wherein a main member of the support structure is provided with wheel-supporting formations 7. A wheelbarrow according to claim 6 wherein the wheel-supporting member is substantially U or V-shaped.8. A wheelbarrow according to claim 7 wherein the wheel supporting member comprises limbs extending rearwardly from a joining portion which lies generally ahead of the wheel.9. A wheelbarrow according to claim 6 wherein there is a bracing member which extends between the two limbs of the wheel-supporting member.10. A wheelbarrow according to claim 8 or 9 wherein the limbs of the wheel-supporting member have rear portions which extend downwardly to form at least part of leg formations for supporting the wheelbarrow when not in use.11. A wheelbarrow according to claim 10 as appendant to claim S or 4 wherein the rear portions of the limbs connect to the two other main members in the respective leg formations.12. A wheelbarrow according to claim 2 or any claim appendant thereto wherein the main members are tubular.13. A wheelbarrow according to any of the preceding claims wherein the wheelbarrow is in CKD form, and the pan contains the remaining components of the wheelbarrow.14. A wheelbarrow substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.15. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.</claim-text>