JP2024068017A - Heavy-duty transport device with legs - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a carrier that can easily move a heavy object with legs back and forth and left and right while lifting it. [Solution] The carrier of the present invention is for lifting a heavy object with legs from below and moving it back and forth, and has a substantially rectangular flat plate that is inserted under the heavy object and pushes the heavy object upward from below, a rod-shaped shaft that is attached to one side of the flat plate and extends upward at an angle of 5° to 50° with respect to the upper surface of the flat plate, a pair of wheels that are attached to the shaft in the vicinity of the flat plate, and a handle that is provided at the end of the shaft opposite to the side where the flat plate is attached and serves as a handle for a worker to hold when transporting the heavy object, and the flat plate has a hook that is cut inward on one side adjacent to the side where the shaft is attached so that the flat plate can be hooked onto the leg of the heavy object. [Selected Figure] Figure 1B

Description

The present invention relates to a carrier for moving heavy objects with legs, and more specifically, to a carrier for moving a product display shelf installed in a commercial store while products are still displayed on the shelf.

In the sales areas of supermarkets, convenience stores, electronics retailers, department stores, and other stores, products are displayed and sold on multi-tiered display shelves. The products displayed on these shelves may change as the seasons change, and the layout of the store may also change, which can require the arrangement of the display shelves to be rearranged.

When changing the position of a display shelf, the products placed on the shelf must first be removed, the shelf must be transported, and finally the products must be returned to the shelf, which is a cumbersome task. In particular, in order to move a display shelf a few meters, it is necessary to remove all the products placed on the shelf, move the shelf a few meters, and then rearrange the products on the shelf. To avoid such hassle, Patent Document 1 (JP Patent Publication 2022-157574) discloses a moving tool that can move heavy objects on the floor while keeping them above the floor.

The moving jig disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a main body portion that is the main body of the moving jig, a caster portion that is located below the main body portion and is used to move the jig on the floor, a holding portion that is located above the main body portion and is used to hold the base frame provided on the bottom surface of the interior unit U from the side, and a height adjustment member that connects the main body portion and the holding portion and is attached in a state in which the height position of the holding portion relative to the main body portion can be changed.

JP 2022-157574 A

When moving a heavy object using the moving jig disclosed in Patent Document 1, first the height of the moving jig and the display shelf are adjusted, and then the moving jig is attached to the display shelf's legs. The display shelf is then moved using the moving jig, and the moving jig is then returned to the display shelf's legs. This attachment and removal process for the moving jig was cumbersome.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a carrier that can lift a heavy object with legs while easily moving it back and forth and side to side.

In order to solve the above problems, the inventors conducted extensive research into the configuration of a carrier for transporting heavy objects with legs. As a result, they discovered that by partially modifying the crowbar's attack, they could create a carrier that could transport heavy objects efficiently, and after further research into the shape and structure of the carrier, they completed the present invention, which is described below.

That is, the carrier of the present invention is for lifting a heavy load with legs from below and moving it back and forth, and has a substantially rectangular flat plate that is inserted under the bottom of the heavy load and pushes the heavy load upward from below, a rod-shaped shaft that is attached to one side of the flat plate and extends upward at an angle of 5° to 50° relative to the top surface of the flat plate, a pair of wheels that are attached to the shaft in the vicinity of the flat plate, and a handle that is provided at the end of the shaft opposite to the side where the flat plate is attached and serves as a handle for a worker to hold when transporting the heavy load, and the flat plate is characterized in that a hook is formed by cutting one side of the flat plate adjacent to the side where the shaft is attached on the inside so that it can be hooked onto the leg of the heavy load.

Regarding the procedure for using the carrier of the present invention, first, the flat plate of the carrier of the present invention is inserted under the heavy object with legs. At this time, since the pair of wheels are in contact with the ground, the flat plate can be easily moved in the front-rear direction by rolling the pair of wheels. Then, the hanging part formed on the flat plate is hooked to the leg of the heavy object, and a downward force is applied to the handle, so that the heavy object is lifted upward by the principle of leverage. In this state, the pair of wheels roll by pulling the handle, and the heavy object can be moved forward, backward, left and right while minimizing the vertical movement of the heavy object. Since the hanging part is provided on the flat plate of the carrier of the present invention, the hanging part can be hooked to the leg of the carrier, so that the flat plate is unlikely to come off from the underside of the heavy object when the heavy object is lifted. Moreover, since the pair of wheels are attached near the flat plate of the shaft, the pair of wheels move forward and backward when the heavy object is lifted, making it easy to move the heavy object forward and backward. In addition, because the shaft extends upward at an angle of 5° to 30° relative to the top surface of the flat plate, when a downward force is applied to the handle to lift a heavy object upward, the upward lift width is not large, and the weight is less likely to become unbalanced when it is lifted upward.

In the above configuration, it is preferable that the notch of the hanging portion is wider on the inside of the flat plate portion while narrowing on the outside of the flat plate portion. By making the hanging portion into the above-mentioned shape, even when the handle portion is pulled with the hanging portion hooked onto the leg of the heavy object, the hanging portion is unlikely to come off the leg of the heavy object, and the heavy object can be pulled back and forth with the hanging portion hooked onto the leg of the heavy object, making it easier to move the heavy object back and forth.

In the above configuration, the shaft has a double structure of an outer frame and an inner frame that is slightly smaller than the outer frame, and it is preferable that the longitudinal length of the entire shaft can be adjusted by pulling the inner frame out from the outer frame. By being able to adjust the length of the shaft, it is possible to change the length of the shaft depending on the size and weight of the heavy object. That is, for example, if the weight of the heavy object is heavy, the length of the shaft can be lengthened to make it easier to lift the heavy object using the principle of leverage, and conversely, if the weight of the heavy object is light, the length of the shaft can be shortened to make it easier to lift the heavy object. In this way, regardless of the weight of the heavy object, the carrying device of the present invention can be used to handle it, thereby significantly improving work efficiency.

In the above configuration, the handle preferably has a foot step that is approximately rectangular and has the same thickness as the shaft and is wider than the shaft, a pair of left and right plates extending from the sides of the foot step in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, and a cylindrical handle attached to connect the inside upper parts of the pair of left and right plates. By providing the foot step in this way, when a heavy object is particularly heavy, the heavy object can be lifted upward by stepping on the foot step. In addition, by attaching the handle to the inside upper part of the pair of left and right plates, the operator's hand is prevented from being pinched between the handle and the floor even if the operator tries to lower the handle to the floor while holding the handle. This makes it possible to prevent injury from the operator's hand being pinched.

The carrier of the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to lift a heavy object with legs while easily moving it back and forth and side to side.

1A and 1B are side and top views, respectively, of a carrier of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a weight with legs. 1A and 1B are side views respectively showing the state before and after the carrier of the present invention is inserted under a heavy object with legs.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely one example of the present invention, and the embodiment of the present invention can be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1A and 1B are respectively a side view and a top view of the carrier of the present invention. The carrier 10 of the present invention can easily move a heavy object with legs back and forth and left and right while lifting it, and as shown in Figs. 1A and 1B, is mainly composed of a flat plate portion 11, a rod-shaped shaft 13 attached to one side of the flat plate portion 11 and extending upward at an angle of 5° to 50° with respect to the upper surface of the flat plate portion 11, a pair of wheels 12 attached to a position of the shaft 13 near the flat plate portion 11, and a handle portion 14 provided at the end of the shaft 13 opposite to the side where the flat plate portion 11 is attached, which is used by a worker to hold when carrying a heavy object.

2 is a perspective view showing an example of a heavy load with legs, and Fig. 3(A) and Fig. 3(B) are side views showing the front and rear of the carrier of the present invention inserted under the bottom of the heavy load with legs. The heavy load shown in Fig. 2 has legs attached to the bottom, which are not shown in Fig. 2. When the carrier 10 of the present invention is used to carry the heavy load 20 shown in Fig. 2, the flat plate portion 11 is inserted under the heavy load while holding the handle portion 14, as shown in Figs. 3(A) and (B), and the flat plate portion 11 is moved upward by applying a downward force to the handle portion 14. At this time, the pair of wheels 12 serve as a fulcrum, and the heavy load 20 can be lifted by the principle of leverage. The longer the shaft 13 is, the greater the effect of the principle of leverage, and therefore the heavy load 20 can be lifted with less force. Moreover, since the pair of wheels 12 serve as a fulcrum when the heavy load 20 is lifted, the heavy load can be easily moved in the front-rear direction of the wheels 12. Here, the "front-rear direction" means the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the shaft 13. In the following, the "left-right direction" refers to a direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction and parallel to the floor surface, and the "up-down direction" refers to a direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction and perpendicular to the floor surface.

The rod-shaped shaft 13 is attached to the top surface of the flat portion 11 at an angle of 5° to 50°, so that the length of the shaft 13 can be sufficiently secured, and the principle of leverage can be fully utilized. Here, if the angle of the rod-shaped shaft 13 to the top surface of the flat portion 11 is less than 5°, the length of the entire carrier becomes too long and difficult to handle. On the other hand, if it exceeds 50°, the angle of the rod-shaped shaft 13 is too large, and the length of the rod-shaped shaft 13 cannot be secured, making it difficult to utilize the principle of leverage and to lift the heavy object 20. Each part that constitutes the carrier 10 of the present invention will be described below.

(Flat plate part)
The flat plate portion 11 is a substantially rectangular leaf-like portion made of a metal with high rigidity to ensure load resistance, and is inserted under the heavy load 20 to lift the heavy load 20 upward from below. The flat plate portion 11 has a hook portion 11a formed by cutting out one side adjacent to the side to which the shaft 13 of the flat plate portion 11 is attached so that the hook portion 11a can be hooked on the leg 21 of the heavy load 20. Since the hook portion 11a is provided on one side adjacent to the side to which the shaft 13 of the flat plate portion 11 is attached (any side other than the side to which the shaft of the flat plate portion 11 is attached and the opposite side), the hook portion 11a can be hooked on the leg of the heavy load 20 when the flat plate portion 11 is inserted under the heavy load 20. This makes it difficult for the flat plate portion 11 to slip under the heavy load 20 when the hook portion 11a is hooked on the leg 21 of the heavy load 20.

As shown in FIG. 1(B), it is preferable that the notch of the hanging portion 11a is wider on the inside of the flat plate portion 11 and narrower on the outside of the flat plate portion 11. By making the hanging portion 11a in this shape, the hanging portion 11a can be hooked onto the leg of a heavy object, and even if the flat plate portion 11 is pulled in the direction of the pair of wheels 12 while hooked, the hanging portion 11a is unlikely to come off the leg of the heavy object, making it easier to move forward and backward when the heavy object is lifted.

Figure 1 shows a case where the hanging portion 11a is provided on the right side of the side of the flat plate portion 11 to which the shaft 13 is attached, but the hanging portion 11a may also be provided on the left side. As shown in Figure 1, the hanging portion 11a is not formed on the flat plate portion 11 on the extension line of the shaft 13. This is because a pulling force is applied to the flat plate portion 11 on the extension line of the shaft 13, and it is necessary to ensure the rigidity of the flat plate portion 11 to counter this force. The shape of the flat plate portion 11 is approximately rectangular, but is chamfered to prevent damage to the object when it collides with something during work.

(shaft)
The rod-shaped shaft 13 is attached to one side of the flat plate portion and extends upward at an angle of 5° to 50° with respect to the upper surface of the flat plate portion. The shaft 13 has a rectangular cross section and is longer in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, thereby ensuring load resistance in the vertical direction. The shaft 13 uses the principle of leverage with the pair of wheels 12 as the fulcrum and the flat plate portion 11 as the point of application, making it possible to lift a heavy load 20 on the flat plate portion 11 upward.

The shaft 13 has a double structure consisting of an outer frame 13a and an inner frame 13b that is slightly smaller than the outer frame 13a. The length of the entire shaft in the longitudinal direction can be adjusted by pulling out the inner frame 13b from the outer frame 13a. By being able to adjust the length of the shaft 13, the length of the shaft can be changed according to the size and weight of the heavy object 20. That is, for example, if the weight of the heavy object 20 is heavy, the length of the shaft 13 can be lengthened to make it easier to lift the heavy object 20 using the principle of leverage, and conversely, if the weight of the heavy object 20 is light, the length of the shaft 13 can be shortened to make it easier to lift the heavy object 20. In this way, regardless of the weight of the heavy object, the carrier 10 of the present invention can be used to handle it, thereby significantly improving work efficiency.

Next, a method of fixing the outer frame 13a and the inner frame 13b will be described. As shown in FIG. 1(B), the upper surface of the outer frame 13a is provided with four equally spaced pin holes 13c, while the inner frame 13b has a built-in fixing pin 13e inside it, as shown in FIG. 1(A). The fixing pin 13e is built in the inner frame 13b in a state where an upward force is applied thereto due to the inclusion of an elastic body, and the outer frame 13a and the inner frame 13b are fixed together by the tip of the fixing pin 13e protruding from the pin hole 13c of the outer frame 13a. By fixing in this manner, it becomes possible to adjust the length of the shaft 13 in four stages. Note that in this embodiment, the case where there are four pin holes 13c has been described as an example, but the number of pin holes 13c is not particularly limited.

(Pair of wheels)
The pair of wheels 12 are supported at a position near the flat plate portion 11 of the shaft 13, and serve as a fulcrum for the transport device 10 to move the transport device 10 in the front-rear direction. A conventionally known pair of wheels 12 can be used for this pair of wheels 12. The size of the pair of wheels 12 is adjusted so that the pair of wheels 12 is in a state of contact with the ground when the transport device 10 transports a heavy object, so that the transport device 10 and the heavy object 20 placed thereon can be moved in the front-rear direction with the pair of wheels 12 in contact with the ground.

(Handle section)
The handle portion 14 is provided at the end of the shaft 13 opposite to the end to which the flat plate portion 11 is attached, and is a portion that an operator holds when transporting the heavy object 20. With the flat plate portion 11 placed under the heavy object, the heavy object 20 can be lifted upward by pushing the handle portion 14 downward. The handle portion 14 needs to be both easy to hold and easy to apply downward force to.

Therefore, the handle portion 14 preferably has a foot step portion 14a that is roughly rectangular and has the same thickness as the shaft 13 and is wider than the shaft 13, a pair of left and right plate plates 14b that extend from the side of the foot step portion 14a in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 13, and a cylindrical handle portion 14c that is attached to connect the upper inside parts of the pair of left and right plate plates 14b. The foot step portion 14a functions as a part that applies a downward force other than the handle portion 14c, and a downward force can be applied by the worker stepping on the foot step portion 14a. Of course, a downward force can also be applied to the foot step portion 14a as well as the handle portion 14c to lift a heavy object upward.

The handle 14c is attached to connect the upper inside parts of the pair of left and right plate panels 14b, so that the hand does not touch the ground when holding the handle 14c. This eliminates the fear that the hand holding the handle 14c will be pinched between the handle 14c and the ground, and allows the user to safely apply downward force while holding the handle 14c.

(Method of using the carrier of the present invention)
When the carrier (product display shelf) shown in Fig. 2 is transported, as shown in Fig. 3(B), with the legs 21 of the heavy load 20 hooked onto the hanging parts 11a of the flat plate 11, a downward force is applied using the grip parts 14c of the handle part 14 as a force point, and the pair of wheels 12 acts as a fulcrum, causing the flat plate 11 to push the heavy load 20 upward. This pushes the heavy load 20 upward, and in this state, the pair of wheels 12 can be moved forward and backward to move the heavy load 20 forward and backward.

When the carrier 10 of the present invention is used to transport a heavy object 20 with legs, the heavy object 20 can be moved back and forth and left and right while being slightly raised upward, which prevents damage to the floor caused by the movement of the heavy object 20. Furthermore, even if the heavy object 20 is in a state where many products are displayed, such as a product display shelf, the heavy object 20 is not moved violently up and down, so even if the heavy object 20 is lifted and moved back and forth, the products displayed on the heavy object are unlikely to fall. Therefore, the carrier 10 of the present invention is particularly suitable for use when moving a product display shelf.

Product display shelves usually have an adjuster attached to the bottom, so with the hook portion 11a of the flat plate portion 11 of the carrier 10 of the present invention hooked onto this adjuster, a downward force is applied to the handle portion 14c to slightly raise the product display shelf upward, and in this state the product display shelf can be moved back and forth, allowing the product display shelf to be moved with products still placed on it. By slightly raising and moving the product display shelf in this way, it is possible to prevent the product display shelf from damaging the floor, and it is also possible to prevent products from falling off the product display shelf and being damaged. Furthermore, since the product display shelf can be moved without removing the products displayed on it, work efficiency can be significantly improved.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Carrier 11 Flat plate portion 11a Hanging portion 12 Pair of wheels 13 Shaft 13a Outer frame 13b Inner frame 13c Pin hole 13e Fixing pin 14 Handle portion 14a Footrest portion 14b Plate 14c Handle portion 20 Weight 21 Leg

Claims (4)

A transport device for lifting a heavy object with legs from below and moving it back and forth,
A substantially rectangular flat plate portion that is inserted into a lower portion of the heavy object and pushes the heavy object upward from below;
A rod-shaped shaft attached to one side of the flat plate portion and extending upward at an angle of 5° to 50° with respect to an upper surface of the flat plate portion;
A pair of wheels attached to the shaft at positions adjacent to the flat plate portion;
a handle portion provided at an end portion of the shaft opposite to the end to which the flat plate portion is attached, the handle portion being used by an operator to carry the heavy object;
The flat plate portion is a carrier having a hook portion formed by cutting out one of the sides adjacent to the side to which the shaft is attached inward so that the flat plate portion can be hooked onto the leg of the heavy object. The carrier according to claim 1, wherein the notch in the hanging portion is wider on the inside of the flat plate portion and narrower on the outside of the flat plate portion. The carrier described in claim 1, in which the shaft has a double structure consisting of an outer frame and an inner frame that is slightly smaller than the outer frame, and the longitudinal length of the entire shaft can be adjusted by pulling the inner frame out from the outer frame. The carrier according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the handle portion has a footrest portion that is roughly rectangular and has the same thickness as the shaft and is wider than the shaft, a pair of left and right plates that extend from the sides of the footrest portion in the longitudinal direction of the shaft, and a cylindrical handle portion that is attached to connect the upper inside parts of the pair of left and right plates.