CN1155262A - folding trolley - Google Patents

Abstract

A foldable trolley (1) comprising an elongated body (3) having a lower end (5) and an upper end (7) comprising a handle (9); and a pair of pivotable legs (11) adjacent the lower end (5) of the vehicle body. The legs (11) are movable between a position alongside the body (3) and a position in which the free ends of the legs (11) diverge from the body (3). A pair of wheeled arms (13) are pivotally mounted to the ends of respective legs (11) and are movable between a storage position in which the respective legs (11) are substantially alongside each other and an operative position extending perpendicular to the respective legs (11) for supporting luggage. The arms (13) are each connected to a respective end of a foldable support member (17) such that when they are in their storage position the support member (17) lies substantially alongside the arms (13) and when the arms (13) are in their operating position the support member (17) is straight and in this position prevents or inhibits the arms from moving relative to each other when the trolley (1) is loaded.

Description

folding trolley

The invention relates to a foldable trolley, in particular to a foldable trolley for pushing luggage and other similar items.

International Patent Application No. PCT/GB92/01670 (publication number WO 93/05993, whose description is quoted here as a reference) discloses a foldable luggage trolley. This trolley includes an elongated car body, which has A lower end and an upper end comprising a handle; a pair of pivotable legs close to the lower end of the vehicle body can be positioned relative to the vehicle body at a position where the two legs are substantially adjacent to the vehicle body and the free ends of the two legs can be Movable between a position away from the vehicle body; and a pair of arms each pivotably mounted to the end of a corresponding leg and movable in a storage position in which the arms are substantially adjacent to the corresponding leg and Moves between an operable position substantially perpendicular to the plane of coincidence of the legs and the elongated body, in which the arms are capable of supporting luggage when the dolly is tilted during use, each arm The rod is also equipped with a roller which extends from the end of the arm near the leg so that when each arm is in its operable position and the trolley is tilted, each arm is also tilted so that the load on it The luggage is supported by each outrigger.

For such a known type of trolley, we have found that when the luggage loaded on the trolley is very heavy, it will cause the arms to move relative to each other, for example, the free ends of the arms will move relative to each other. near. This can shorten the life of the luggage trolley by deforming one or more of the pivot points. A previously proposed solution to overcome this problem is to provide a separate collapsible support with engaging means at both ends of the support for engaging the respective arms. While such a construction may substantially overcome the possible relative movement of the arms when the luggage trolley is heavily loaded, the arms cannot move toward their stowed position until the support means are first disengaged . There is also a need to store both the trolley and the support, and there is the potential for the support to be misplaced and lost.

Another disadvantage is that the trolley and support must be assembled together before use, which can be inconvenient for the user.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved collapsible stroller in which the aforementioned disadvantages are avoided.

According to the present invention, there is provided a collapsible trolley comprising an elongated body with a lower end and an upper end including a handle; movable between a position in which they are substantially adjacent to the vehicle body and a position in which the free end of each leg is deployed from the vehicle body; and a pair of arms each pivotally mounted to the end of a corresponding leg , and is movable between a stowed position in which the arms are substantially adjacent to the respective outriggers, and an operable position substantially perpendicular to the plane in which each outrigger and the elongated vehicle body coincide, in the latter position each arm Capable of supporting luggage when the trolley is tilted during use, each arm is also fitted with a roller at or near its end near the leg so that when each arm is in its operable position and the trolley is tilted When tilting, each boom is also tilted, and the luggage loaded on it is supported by each roller. The trolley of the present invention is characterized in that each arm is connected to a respective end of a collapsible support member, so that when each arm is in its stowed position, the support member substantially abuts against each arm and When the arms are in their operative positions, the support members are substantially straight and in this position prevent or restrain the arms from moving relative to each other when the dolly is under load.

Each arm of the collapsible trolley is preferably connected by a universal joint to a respective end of the support member.

The support element can conveniently be folded by means of a hinge, and the part close to the hinge can be substantially rounded to reinforce this area. The hinge is preferably provided with a locking device to prevent the support element from collapsing itself when under load. The collapsible support element can also be equipped with a number of gripping ridges for gripping luggage loaded on the trolley.

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

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a luggage trolley of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a partial perspective view showing the collapsible support member and arms in their operable positions;

Figure 3 is a partial perspective view showing the collapsible support member and arms when the legs are substantially adjacent to the elongated vehicle body; and

Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a support element locking device.

Referring to Figure 1, it shows a collapsible trolley 1 in its fully unfolded position. The trolley 1 comprises a hollow body 3 of telescopic rectangular section, which has a lower end 5 and an upper end 7 equipped with a handle 9 . A pair of pivotable legs 11 are provided near the lower end 5 of the trolley 1 . Each leg 11, in a manner described in more detail in International Publication No. WO 93/05993, can be positioned in relation to the position of each leg 11 substantially on both sides of the lower end 5 and against the vehicle body 3. The free end moves between the positions diverged from the car body 3, as shown in Figure 1. Each leg 11 is pivotally connected to a corresponding arm 13, and a roller 15 is mounted at the rear end of each arm.

A collapsible support element in the shape of a two-part articulated bar 17 is connected at its two ends to each arm 13 via a pair of coupling joints 19 . The support bar 17 can be folded about a hinge 21 arranged centrally between the two coupling joints 19 . In order to reinforce the bar 17, the portion close to the hinge 21 is wider than the rest of the bar 17 and its horizontal section with respect to the plane of revolution is substantially circular.

Figure 2 shows in more detail the folding movement of the support bar 17 in use. The solid lines show the positions of the arms 13 and the bars 17 when the arms 13 are in the operative position, while the dashed lines show the support bar 17 in the partially folded position. It can be seen that at the same time that the supporting bar 17 is folded back together about the hinge 21 , the two ends 23 of the bar 17 each rotate about an axis 25 defined by the corresponding coupling joint 19 . Each coupling joint 19 can also rotate a smaller angle around an axis passing through each arm bar 13 and substantially parallel to its main axis on a corresponding pivot pin (not shown), such as above the horizontal plane and about 1O degrees below. The coupling joints 19 thus function as universal joints by means of which the support bar 17 is connected to each arm 13 .

Fig. 3 shows a part of the perspective view, at this moment, the support bar 17 is fully folded and closed together, and each supporting leg 11 is then leaned against the lower end 5 of the elongated car body 3. Many grasping ridges 27 are arranged on the upper surface of the horizontal bar 17, and are used to firmly grasp the luggage placed on the trolley 1.

Turning now to Figure 4, there is shown a partial sectional view of a locking device generally indicated at 29, of which hinge 21 is an integral part. In this embodiment of the invention, the two halves of the support element 17 are coupled to each other and can be folded together via a hinge 21 which can be locked so that when the support element 17 is in its fully extended and thus straight position , the angular displacement of the arms 13 relative to each other can be prevented. This is possible due to the provision of a spring-loaded lock comprising a finger- or thumb-operable element 31 connected via a screw 33 in a central eye in the hinge 21 . A helical spring 35 is arranged between the hinge and the element 31 so that the element 31 is urged away from the hinge 21 . In the lower part of the hinge 21 is a substantially annular chamber 37 which contains a part of a cuboidal recess 39 forming a locking structure. This locking structure 39 can cooperate with a correspondingly shaped part-cubic locking protrusion 41 so that in the position shown, each half of the support element 17 cannot pivot about the main axis of the hinge 21 .

It will be apparent that once the element 31 is depressed, the recess 39 will disengage from the protrusion 41, thereby enabling the support element 17 to be folded back together when the trolley is to be folded for storage.

It can thus be seen that the present invention provides a compact structure by arranging a collapsible hand cart and auxiliary support means for its arms in a single unit. Using this arrangement overcomes the various problems associated with prior art trolleys.

It should be understood that the above describes only one embodiment of the practice of the invention and that other modifications may be made to the above embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

1. A collapsible trolley comprising an elongated body with a lower end and an upper end comprising a handle; a pair of pivotable legs near the lower end of the body that can be moved relative to the body movable between a position in which they are substantially adjacent to the vehicle body and a position in which the free end of each leg is spread out from the vehicle body; and a pair of arms each pivotably mounted to the end of a corresponding leg, and movable between a stowed position in which the arms are substantially adjacent to the respective outriggers, and an operable position substantially perpendicular to a plane coincident with each outrigger and the elongated vehicle body, in the latter position each arm Capable of supporting luggage when the trolley is tilted during use, each arm is also equipped with a roller at or near its end near the outrigger so that when each arm is in the operable position and the trolley is tilted When facing up, each arm is also inclined, and the luggage loaded on it is supported by each roller. The trolley is characterized in that each arm is respectively When the arms are in their stowed position, the support member is substantially adjacent to each arm, and when each arm is in its operable position, the support member is substantially straight and in this position prevents or inhibits the movement of each arm. The arms move relative to each other when the dolly is loaded. 2. A collapsible trolley as claimed in claim 1, wherein each arm is connected to a respective end of the support member via a universal joint. 3. A collapsible trolley as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the support element is foldable by means of a hinge. 4. A collapsible trolley as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the area of the support member adjacent the hinge is substantially circular about the axis of rotation of the hinge. 5. A collapsible trolley as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the collapsible support member includes locking means for releasably securing the support member in its operative position. 6. A collapsible trolley as claimed in claim 6, when combined with claim 3 or claim 4, further characterized in that the locking means comprises a spring-loaded pin adjacent to one of the support members. A hinge on or in the foldable part and adapted, in use, to slidably engage a locking formation on or in the other foldable part of the support member so that the support member can be folded when the pin is depressed. 7. A collapsible trolley according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collapsible support member is provided with a plurality of gripping ridges on its uppermost surface for gripping luggage. 8. A collapsible hand cart substantially as herein seen and shown in the accompanying drawings.