Patent ID: 6193265
Filing Date: 2001-02-27
Classification: B60B,B62B

Abstract:
A wheelbarrow comprising:a container;a pair of angled wheelbarrow handles rigidly connected to said container, each handle having a free end;and a support system for supporting said container,said support system including at least one wheel assembly and at least one supporting surface, wherein said container has a longitudinal-vertical plane of symmetry, the wheelbarrow having a rollable configuration in which the wheel assembly is in contact with the ground and the supporting surface is spaced from the ground, enabling the wheelbarrow to be rolled, and a self-supporting configuration, in which the wheelbarrow is supported upright by the supporting surface and the at least one wheel assembly, each of said angled wheelbarrow handles extending generally transverse to the plane of symmetry and having an extensional direction angled rearwardly and outwardly relative to the at least one wheel assembly in each of the self-supporting configuration and the rollable configuration such that, in a horizontal projection, said extensional direction forms an angle of between 65.degree. and 85.degree. with said plane of symmetry,said wheelbarrow being moveable from the self-supporting configuration to the rollable configuration by manually grasping and lifting the angled wheelbarrow handles upwards so that the ground-engaging surface is spaced from the ground and the wheelbarrow is supported by only the at least one wheel assembly,and wherein continued lifting of the angled wheelbarrow handles pivots the container about the at least one wheel to a container dumping configuration,the extensional direction of the angled wheelbarrow handles of between 65.degree. and 85.degree. facilitating manual movement of the wheelbarrow from the self-supporting configuration to the rollable configuration and then to the dumping configuration by manually grasping the angled wheelbarrow handles and lifting the angled wheelbarrow handles in a continuous motion, without releasing the grasp from the angled wheelbarrow handles.