US2901263A - Wheel barrow handles - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 25, 1959 P. J. VAN LOON, JR

WHEEL BARROW HANDLES Filed Dec. 26, 1956 F It. l 1 H INVENTOR. PETER J. VAN LOON,JR

ATTORNEY 5 United States Patent Of WHEEL BARROW HANDLES Peter J. Van Loon, Jn, Portland, Oreg.

Application December 26, 1956, Serial No. 630,502

1 Claim. (Cl. 280--47.31)

The present invention relates to wheel barrows, and more particularly to wheel barrow handles.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a hand grip for wheel barrow handles that will remain in fixed relation to the hand of the operator, not only when wheeling the wheel barrow, but when dumping the same.

Heretofore, the operator had to change his grip on the wheel barrow handles when dumping the load from the barrow, but with this new grip he can retain a tight hold on the handle at all times.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the following specification when considered in the light of the attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side view of a conventional wheel barrow incorporating the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view of one of the handles.

Figure 3 is a side view of a portion of the handle and the grip, parts broken away for convenience of illustration.

Referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures, the reference character B indicates generally a wheel barrow constructed in accordance with the invention. The wheel barrow B includes combination frame members and handle bars for supporting a hopper 11 thereon. A wheel 12 is journalled to the frames 10 at 13. The frames 10 extend beyond wheel 12 as at 14. Supporting legs 15 are also of conventional form and are secured to the rames 111.

The invention consists of providing handles G on the outer ends 16 of the framework 18. The handles G consist of hand grips 17, which are pivotally connected at 18 to body members 19. The body members 19 consist of reduced cylindrical bosses 20, which are telescoped within the ends 16 of the wheel barrow frame members 10, and locked therein by cross pins 21.

The body member 19 has a tongue 22 integrally formed thereon and extending oppositely of the boss 20; the tongue 22 is positioned between a pair of spaced parallel ears 23 forming bifurcated ends of the hand grips 17. A pivot pin 24 is inserted through the tongue 22 and the ears 23 and secured therein by riveted ends 25.

The lower outer end of the tongue 22 of the body member 19 forms a radius 26 about the pin 24, while the lower forward end 27 of the bifurcated extensions 23 are also rounded. This permits their movement relative to shoulders 28 formed at the juncture of the tongue 22 and the body member 19 and in relation to the crotch 29 between the ears 23 of the grip 17. The upper edge of the ears 23 are squared at 30, as best illustrated in Figure 3. This squared end 30 engages the shoulders 2,901,263 Patented Aug. 25, 1959 28 of the body member 19 when the hand grip 17 is in the position shown in full line in Figure 3 of the drawings.-

A finger guard 31 forms part of the grip 17 and ex= tends downwardly to protect the fingers of the operator when the wheel barrow B is raised to the broken line position shown in Figure 1. This finger guard 31 also limits the movement of the hand grips 17 to the broken line position as shown in Figure 3.

In the operation of this new and improved handle for wheel barrows B, the grip 17 operates in a straight line position while wheeling the barrow B, but on tipping the wheel barrow B on its extension 14 of the frames 10 the hand grip 17 will move to the broken line position, permitting the operator to keep a solid grip on the hand grips 17 while dumping the wheel barrow B.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In combination a wheel barrow having a tubular frame, a pair of hollow substantially cylindrical rearwardly extending free end portions integrally formed on said frame, a body member arranged in axially aligned relation to each of said free end portions of said frame, a cylindrical boss integrally extending from one end of each of said body members and telescoped respectively within the adjacent free end portions, means rigidly securing said boss in said frame, a vertically disposed tongue integrally formed on the other end of each of said body members and extending oppositely of said boss, each of said tongues having a width less than the width of said body members and forming oppositely disposed shoulders at the juncture of said body member and said tongue, a handle adjacent said other end of each of said body members, a pair of spaced parallel ears integrally formed on one end of said handle and positioned on opposite sides of said tongue, a horizontal pivot pin securing said ears to said tongue, means on said ears for engaging said shoulders to limit upward swinging movement of said handle to a point with said handle axially aligned with the free end of said frame, and means on said handle for engaging said body member to limit downward swinging movement of said handle to a point with said handle depending substantially perpendicularly from said tongue, said handles pivoting downwardly into engagement with said body members during dumping of the contents of said wheel barrow whereby the user may retain his grasp on said handles at all times during the dumping operation without having to shift the position of his hands.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 314,185 Knowlton Mar. 17, 1885 633,648 Kauffman Sept. 26, 1899 1,242,418 Booth Oct. 9, 1917 1,243,153 Gabler Oct. 16, 1917 1,485,179 Funk Feb. 26, 1924 1,881,990 Zitzer Oct. 11, 1932 2,441,689 Daniel May 18, 1948 2,516,852 Burry Aug. 1, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 159,334 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1933

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