WO2000021817A1

WO2000021817A1 - Improvements in and relating to foldable wheeled trolleys

Info

Publication number: WO2000021817A1
Application number: PCT/GB1999/003387
Authority: WO
Inventors: Frank Lowenstein
Original assignee: Nan Zong Japan Co., Ltd.; Carter, Gerald
Priority date: 1998-10-13
Filing date: 1999-10-12
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: GB9822193D0; GB2342624A; AR020804A1; AU6219099A; CN2506052Y; GB2342624B

Abstract

A foldable wheeled trolley comprises a main body member (1) having telescopable handle means (7) at or adjacent an upper end (5) and a pair of legs (4), each being hinged by hinge means (19) to respective sides of the body member and being adapted to be moveable from a stored position adjacent the support member to an open position in which the free ends of the legs can then be splayed apart via the hinge means at the lower end (6) of the body member, a wheel (9) mounted for rotation at the free end of each leg, and a pair of arms (14), each being hinged at one end to the free end of respective leg and being moveable from a stored position adjacent to the leg to an open position substantially at right angles to the plane of hinged movement of the legs, in which position, in which position the arms are able to support an item to be carried, such as luggage, characterised in that each leg is connected to associated slide means (18) by which each leg may be stored adjacent to the body member in a closed position and may be slid outwards from the stored position to an open position with the legs splayed apart for use, in which position locking formations (17a, 20, 22, 23) associated with each leg and the body member limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart and releasably lock the legs in their splayed apart configuration.

Description

Improvements in and relating to foldable wheeled trolleys

This invention relates to foldable wheeled trolleys, such as luggage trolleys, having telescopable handle means and having arms which can be opened out for carrying

items of luggage.

According to the first aspect of the invention there is provided a foldable wheeled trolley comprising a main body member having telescopable handle means at or

adjacent an upper end and a pair of legs, each being hinged to respective sides of the body

member and being adapted to be moveable from a stored position adjacent the support member to an open position in which the free ends of the legs can then be splayed apart via the hinge means at the lower end of the body member, a wheel mounted for rotation at the free end of each leg, and a pair of arms, each being hinged at one end to the free end of respective leg and being moveable from a stored position adjacent to the leg to an open

position substantially at right angles to the plane of hinged movement of the legs, in which

position the arms are able to support an item to be carried, such as luggage, characterised

in that each leg is connected to associated slide means by which each leg may be stored

adjacent to the body member in a closed position and may be slid outwards from the

stored position to an open position with the legs splayed apart for use, in which position

locking formations associated with each leg and the body member limit the extent to

which the legs may be splayed apart and releasably lock the legs in their splayed apart

configuration.

Preferably, the slide means is mounted on guide means disposed substantially centrally within the main body member and is of length corresponding to the

length of each leg such that, in use, each leg may be stored in substantially parallel relationship to the guide means. The guide means may comprise an elongated tube around the outer circumference of which is disposed the slide means, with the tube being adapted

to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, with the tube being adapted

to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, the free end of which is provided with a handle for towing the wheeled trolley when the legs are in an open position.

The locking formations associated with the body member are conveniently

disposed at the lower end of the body member and extend substantially at right angles to the axis of sliding movement of the slide means to thereby act as a stop member therefor and co-operate therewith to limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a wheeled

trolley characterised in that the ends of the legs remote from the wheels are also

provided with formations co-operable with opposing sides of the main body portion to

thereby provide complementary locking means to the locking formations associated with

the slide means.

According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a foldable

wheeled trolley of the type including telescopable handle means composed of a plurality

of telescopable members characterised in that locking means are provided between each

telescopable member of the ball and detent type, in which adjacent telescopable members are releasably locked together when a ball is forced to assume a position generally within

bores at respective ends of adjoining telescopable members in response to lateral pressure relative to the major axis of the handle means, the lateral pressure being provided by a spring biased detent plunger slidably mounted within the smaller of adjacent pairs of

telescopable members which is deactivated by opposing axial movement to compress the spring and thereby release the ball into the detent and unlock the telescopable members.

The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a front view of a foldable trolley according to the

invention,

Figure 2 shows a rear view of the trolley of Figure 1,

Figure 3 shows a side view of the trolley of Figure 1, Figure 4 shows a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 shown partially

opened,

Figure 5 shows a side view of the trolley of Figure 1 shown partially

opened,

Figure 6 shows a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 shown fully opened,

Figures 7a and 7b are detailed views corresponding to part of Figure 4 and showing the mechanism by which the legs of the trolley may be locked in

a splayed-apart configuration, and

Figures 8-10 are part sectional views of the locking mechanism disposed

between adjacent telescopable members of the handle means in accordance with the second aspect of the invention.

Referring firstly to Figures 1-3 there is shown a foldable wheeled trolley in its folded state, the trolley comprising a main body member 1 having a front plate 2 (shown in Figure 1) and a rear plate 3 (shown in Figure 2) which are spaced apart from each other to define a hollow housing for partially receiving in the folded configuration

shown each of a pair of legs 4 disposed in substantially parallel relationship to each other.

The main body member 1 has an upper end shown generally at 5 and a lower end shown generally at 6. Adjacent the upper end 5 is a foldable handle 7 which

is hinged to a handle support member 8 (shown in Figures 2 and 3) secured to the free end of centrally disposed guide means in the form of a tube in a manner described below with reference to Figures 7a and 7b.

Adjacent the lower end 6 of the main body portion 1 are a pair of wheels

9 each mounted for rotation at the free end of the legs 4 with their respective axes of rotation off-set when the legs 4 are substantially parallel to each other, as shown in the

drawings. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, on the rear plate 3 of the main body portion 1

there protrudes a double-ended hooked bracket 10 around which may be wound an

elastomeric cord (not shown) or similar means of attaching luggage etc. to the wheeled

trolley when in its open state and, similarly, depending from the handle support member

8 is a buckle 11 which may serve as an anchor point for, typically, a hooked end of such an elastomeric cord. Turning now to Figures 4 and 5, the wheeled trolley in accordance with

this embodiment of the invention is shown in a part-opened state in which the handle 7 has been swivelled to an upright position such that its major plane is substantially parallel to the major plane of the rear plate 3, but slightly offset therefrom, and the handle support member 8 is shown mounted on the free end of a telescopable tube 12a. An actuating button 13 permits the release from locking of telescopable member 12a when fully extended in a manner to be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

The legs 4 are shown splayed apart for use, in which position the wheels 9 have axes of rotation which are co-incident i.e. the wheels are substantially parallel to each other and, as can be seen more clearly with reference to Figure 5, a pair of spring- biased arms 14 stored away in correspondingly shaped channels 15 in each leg 4 become released and assume a position substantially at right angles to the plane of swivelling

movement of the legs 4, in which position the arms 14 are able to carry items of luggage etc.

In Figure 6 the wheeled trolley is shown fully extended with telescopable

members 12a, 12b and 12c being releasably locked in position by means of detent balls

16 in a manner to be described more fully with reference to Figures 8 to 10.

It will be apparent thus far that the legs 4 require some means by which

they are prevented from being splayed out further than is shown in Figure 6 and this is

achieved by means of a locking mechanism more fully described with reference to Figures

7a and 7b, Figure 7a being a detailed view of the lower part of the trolley with the front plate 2 removed and with the arms 14 still within their channels 15, although it will be

apparent that because they are spring-biased then without any form of restraint they would ordinarily assume the position shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7b is a part-sectional cut out detailed view from the direction "A" shown in Figure 7a and in which it will be seen that a generally T-shaped end cap 17 plugs

into and closes the lower end of guide means in the form of an aluminium tube 12d running substantially along the whole length of the back plate 3 and secured thereto in a slightly raised position, thereby permitting a correspondingly shaped sleeve 18 to be slideable substantially along its entire length. In the position shown in Figure 7a it will be

apparent that the sleeve 18 is in its most extreme position next to the end cap 17and from that position can only move upwardly.

On either side of the sleeve 18 are hinged the legs 4 at the end remote from the wheels 9 via respective hinge pins 19 so that when the sleeve 18 is in the position

shown in Figure 7a it will be apparent that the extent to which the legs 4 may be splayed

apart is limited by the inside of each leg adjacent the hinge pin 19 bearing against,

respectively, outer surfaces of the sleeve 18 and out edges 17a of the T-shaped end cap 17.

In order to prevent inward splaying of the legs 4 a spring-biased catch

member 20 is secured to the end of each leg 4 and is urged by means of a coil spring 21

(shown in dotted outline in Figure 7a) to move in a generally upward direction as shown

in Figure 7b. A sloping ear portion 22 of the catch member 20 is received within a slot 23 shaped to permit the ear portion 22 to catch behind the corresponding ear portions 17a of the T-shaped end cap 17 so that, in the position shown in Figure 7b, the leg 4 is then releasably locked in place and cannot splay outwardly or inwardly. However, it will be

apparent that because the slot 23 is relatively deep, downward movement of the catch 20

to compress the spring 21 will release the leg to allow it to be splayed inwardly to assume eventually a parallel relationship with respect of the other leg when they are both stored away after use. This can be easily achieved by first of all folding in both of the arms 14 in the direction shown in Figure 7b and, because each of the arms 14 have a

correspondingly inclined end cap 24 to that of the locking member 20 the simple act of folding the arm 14 away into their respective channels 15 automatically deactivates the locking members 20 relative to the end cap 17 to allow the legs to be returned to their stored position as shown in Figures 1-3.

Turning now to Figures 8 to 10, a second embodiment of the invention is described in which, for clarity, adjacent sections of telescopable members 12a and 12b are

shown part-cut out and shortened as to length.

Figure 8 is a front view of primarily the junction between telescopable members 12a and 12b but also shows the free end of telescopable member 12a including the handle 7 and handle support 8, which also acts as an end cap for the tubular

telescopable member 12a and through which protrudes the activating button 13.

The lower end of the activating button 13 is fixed to a plunger rod 25

which abuts at its other end a detent plunger 26 slideably received within the inner bore of the telescopable member 12a. The lower end of the telescopable member 12a is closed

by means of a flanged end cap 27 on the inside of which relative to the telescopable member 12a is a circular slot for receiving a coil spring 28 which thereby urges the detent

plunger 26 upwardly relative to the orientation of the drawing to the limit imposed by the

flanged activating button 13.

The detent plunger 26 has a detent 29 on one face thereof, shown more clearly with reference to Figures 9 and 10, for receiving a steel ball 30 which, in turn, can be received by and within a correspondingly shaped bore 31 near to the lower end of the telescopable member 12a and a slightly smaller bore 32 near to the upper end of the telescopable member 12b so that, in the position shown in Figure 9, when the detent plunger 26 is urged upwards by the spring 28 the ball 30 normally rests within the bores 31, 32 to prevent sliding or telescoping movement of the telescopable member 12a relative to member 12b. This ball and detent locking assembly can be deactivated by downward axial compression of the plunger rod 25, via the activating button 13, until the detent

plunger 26 assumes the position shown in Figure 10, in which position the detent ball 30

is in alignment with the detent 29 and subsequent downward movement of the

telescopable member 12a is thereby permitted such that it can be pushed completely

within the telescopable member 12b. In turn, the lower end of the telescopable member

12b (not shown) has a slightly larger detent plunger 26 which can be moved to the position shown in Figure 10 when the end cap 27 of the telescopable member 12a comes

into contact with it so that successive unlocking of the telescopable members 12b and 12c

is possible until the entire assembly is stored away for use in the position shown in Figures l to 3. Although the locking means in accordance with the second aspect of the invention is particularly useful for use with a foldable wheeled trolley in accordance with

the first embodiment of the invention, nevertheless, it will be understood that such can also be used in other circumstances where telescoping movement of one member relative to another is required including, without limitation, other types of wheeled trolleys, antennae, umbrellas, support structures such as legs and in other circumstances where

telescopable members are required to be releasably locked in their telescoped

configuration. Similarly, it will be understood that the ball may be replaced by any other suitable locking member and the detent may be of other cammed configurations.

Claims

Claim 1 A foldable wheeled trolley comprising a main body member having telescopable handle means at or adjacent an upper end and a pair of legs, each being

hinged to respective sides of the body member and being adapted to be moveable from

a stored position adjacent the support member to an open position in which the free ends of the legs can then be splayed apart via the hinge means at the lower end of the body member, a wheel mounted for rotation at the free end of each leg, and a pair of arms, each being hinged at one end to the free end of respective leg and being moveable from a

stored position adjacent to the leg to an open position substantially at right angles to the plane of hinged movement of the legs, in which position the arms are able to support an

item to be carried, such as luggage, characterised in that each leg is connected to

associated slide means by which each leg may be stored adjacent to the body member in

a closed position and may be slid outwards from the stored position to an open position

with the legs splayed apart for use, in which position locking formations associated with

each leg and the body member limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart and realeasably lock the legs in their splayed apart configuration.

Claim 2 A foldable wheeled trolley according to Claim 1 further characterised in

that the slide means is mounted on guide means disposed substantially centrally within the mainbody member and is of length corresponding to the length of each leg such that, in

use, each leg may be stored in substantially parallel relationship to the guide means.

Claim 3 A trolley according to Claim 2 further characterised in that the guide means comprises an elongated tube around the outer circumference of which is disposed the

slide means, with the tube being adapted to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, with the tube being adapted to receive one or more telescopic sections of handle means, the free end of which is provided with a handle for towing the wheeled trolley when the legs are in an open position.

Claim 4 A trolley according to any preceding claim further characterised in that the locking formations associated with the body member are disposed at the lower end of the body member and extend substantially at right angles to the axis of sliding movement of the slide means to thereby act as a stop member therefor and co-operate therewith to limit the extent to which the legs may be splayed apart.

Claim 5 A wheeled trolley according to any preceding Claims further

characterised in that the ends of the legs remote from the wheels are provided with

formations co-operable with opposing sides of the main body portion to thereby provide complementary locking means to the locking formations associated with the slide means.

Claim 6. A foldable wheeled trolley of the type including telescopable handle means

composed of a plurality of telescopable members characterised in that locking means are

provided between each telescopable member of the ball and detent type, in which adjacent telescopable members are releasably locked together when a ball is forced to assume a position generally within bores at respective ends of adjoining telescopable members in

response to lateral pressure relative to the major axis of the handle means, the lateral pressure being provided by a spring biased detent plunger slidably mounted within the

smaller of adjacent pairs of telescopable members which is deactivated by opposing axial

movement to compress the spring and thereby release the ball into the detent and unlock the telescopable members.