Tank truck

A hand truck for transporting compressed air tanks. The hand truck has the capacity to carry one, two or three tanks at one time. During transport, the tanks are held in place by a plastic spring clip. The tank truck folds to a compact size to facilitate moving and storing. The tank truck may be fabricated from steel or aluminum. No tools are required to fold or unfold the tank truck.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Some difficulty is encountered in transporting scuba tanks to and from 
various locations that are required in the normal sequence of their use. 
Carts, wagons, conventional hand trucks, etc. can of course be used; 
however, none of these methods are well suited for this task. They provide 
limited security, require cumbersome strapping or tying and are not 
practical to carry from location to location. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to a method of transporting compressed air tanks that 
requires a minimum amount of time and physical effort in order to load the 
tanks onto the tank truck and also to unload or remove the tanks from the 
tank truck. Upon being loaded onto the tank truck the tanks are held 
firmly in place by a molded clip which also protects the tank from being 
scratched or damaged. No tools are required to load the tanks onto the 
tank truck nor are any fasteners other than the aforementioned molded clip 
required to secure the tanks to the tank truck. Other than while loading 
and unloading, the tank truck may be operated in the same manner as a 
conventional set of hand trucks. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a utility that is portable, 
requires no tools nor the separating of parts, with the exception of two 
spring-loaded quick pins in order to fold up for carrying or storing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
Proceeding to describe my invention in detail, reference should first be 
made to FIGS. 1 and 2 which show a scuba tank truck on which are mounted a 
quantity of three scuba tanks. The tank retaining device, which is an 
important feature of this invention, is comprised of a single piece 
plastic retainer (2) the embodiment of which contains three radiused 
openings in a horizontal plane arranged symmetrically about the center 
point of the piece. 
The plastic retainer (2) is supported by and attached to the upper end of 
the vertical mast link (3). See FIG. 3. The embodiment of said mast link 
(3) being comprised of a single straight length of tube to the lower end 
of which and permanently fixed are located a pivot tube (11) and a 
positioning strap (12). 
The vertical mast link (3) is attached to a base plate (5) by means of 
pivot bolt (7) and hinge release pin (6) in conjunction with a pattern of 
lugs permanently fixed to the base plate which locate the center of the 
mast link tube (3) over the center point of the base plate (5). The 
embodiment of said base plate (5) being comprised of a flat triangular 
shaped plate the points of which being formed up at 90 degrees produce 
three equal flanges (9) located symmetrically about the center point of 
the base plate (5). 
The base plate is supported by the front support bracket (10) when the 
scuba tank truck is parked or in an otherwise idle state. The base plate 
(5) when not supported by the front support bracket (10), is supported by 
the axle and wheel assembly (4). The axle is attached to the base plate 
(5) at 90 degrees to the center line of the trailing point of the three 
point base plate (5). This arrangement provides equal access to the 
plastic retainer (2). 
The scuba tanks are loaded onto the scuba tank truck (FIG. 2) by 
positioning the bottom of the tank inside the flange (9) and forcing the 
scuba tank into the plastic retainer (2) which grips the upper part of the 
scuba tank. No additional action is required to hold the scuba tank in 
transpod position. To remove the scuba tank from the scuba tank truck, 
hold the handle (FIG. 1) in one hand and gripping the top of the tank with 
the other hand, give the tank a brisk pull and the plastic retainer will 
release the tank. 
In order to reposition components of the scuba tank truck for moving or 
storing, reference FIG. 3. Remove quick pin (6). Rotate the mast (3) and 
handle (1) approximately 90 degrees in a clockwise direction. Remove 
handle quick pin (8) and slide handle (1) through the mast to position 
shown in FIG. 4 which locks the mast (3) in relation to the base plate 
(5). This maneuver renders the scuba tank truck to a compact size to be 
moved or stored. 
Attention should now be made to the various materials from which the scuba 
tank truck may be fabricated. To produce a heavy duty low cost scuba tank 
truck, the afore described components; base plate (5), vertical mast (3), 
handle (1), pivot tube (11), and positioning strap (12) may be fabricated 
from steel. To produce a lightweight scuba tank truck the afore listed 
components may be fabricated from aluminum.