A carrier attachment for a handtruck is comprised of a simple, foldable, detachable panel system to laterally support and tightly secure carried articles. A back plate and two side plates, interconnected by hinges, may be secured against a carried load by straps that extend across the front of the two side plates. The hinges are restricted to 90-degrees of movement. The back plate includes hang brackets on its rear side which are fitted over horizontal cross braces of the truck frame to attach the carrier. The carrier may be easily collapsed into a folded position so that the unit is very compact and easily stored.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to wheeled, hand-propelled carts, such as a 
handtruck, for transporting articles. More specifically, it includes an 
attachment for a handtruck which increases the ease of carrying small 
articles. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
The workman's handtruck is omni-present in today's industrial, 
cargo-handling environment. The handtruck is a two-wheeled, manually 
propelled carrier for large boxes and other industrial items which allow 
the weight of the articles to be lifted and moved easily between 
locations. The primary component of a handtruck is a support frame, which 
stands vertical at rest, and includes two side rails. The frame carries a 
pair of axle-mounted wheels at the bottom, where a toe plate extends 
horizontally forward. Handles extend from the top of each side rail. In 
use, articles are stacked on the toe plate and the frame is rocked 
backwards, tilting on the wheels so that the articles rest against the 
frame as they are wheeled between locations. 
While a small number of large objects can be easily stacked and balanced on 
the toe plate, a standard handtruck is very difficult to use when handling 
a large number of small packages or a plurality of elongate items, such as 
pipes or tubing which cannot be laterally contained from falling off the 
sides of the handtruck. In order to secure carried articles, handtrucks 
have employed horizontal straps which wrap around the front of the 
handtruck. Handtrucks having fixed, rigid sides have also been used to 
contain articles laterally. 
The closest patent art of which the applicant is aware includes U.S. Pat. 
No. 1,716,611 issued to L. E. Wilson on Jun. 11, 1929. This patent shows a 
detachable carrier for a handtruck which includes a caged body having 
hinged side pieces. U.S. Pat. No. 3,436,093 issued to M. F. Ruffley, Jr. 
on Apr. 1, 1969 shows the use of a specialty handtruck attachment for 
carrying cylindrical containers. This container-handling attachment is 
secured to the back of the handtruck by a bracket which hooks over a 
horizontally-extending brace between vertical frame members. 
The prior art device as described above, however, do not provide an 
efficient means for providing a universal attachment for a standard 
handtruck which may be used to carry many different types of articles that 
would otherwise be difficult to transport. It is therefore the primary 
object of the present invention to provide an accessory for a handtruck 
which is easily attached and that facilitates transporting a large number 
of small articles or items which are irregularly shaped. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In order to fulfill the need in the art described above, the present 
carrier attachment for a handtruck has been devised. The present invention 
comprises a simple, foldable, detachable panel system which may be used to 
laterally support and tightly secure articles loaded onto the handtruck. 
The present device includes three planar panels which are interconnected 
by hinges. The panels include a back plate and two side plates that may be 
secured together by straps across the front of the carrier that extend 
across the two side plates. The back plate includes hang brackets on its 
rear side which are fitted over horizontal cross braces of the handtruck 
frame. Attachment of the present carrier by these hang brackets makes the 
unit extremely versatile, since it is easy to attach and remove from the 
handtruck. Furthermore, the hinged sides may be easily collapsed into a 
folded position so that the unit is very compact and easily stored. 
The invention may be more specifically described as a handtruck, 
comprising: a vertical, ladder-back frame including a plurality of 
horizontal cross-braces extending between vertical side rails, the frame 
having handles at the top and a pair of axle-mounted wheels at the bottom; 
a toe plate affixed to the bottom of the frame and extending substantially 
horizontally from the front of the frame; and three panels, a back panel 
and two side panels. The side panels are connected to the rear panels by 
hinges, the panels being detachably suspended from at least one of the 
horizontal cross-braces by a plurality of brackets fastened to the rear of 
the back panel. The handtruck further includes a plurality of 
angle-bracket stops affixed to the side edges of the back panel. The stops 
restrict the range of motion of the side panels to a maximum of 
90-degrees. At least one strap travels across the front of the handtruck 
and is detachably affixed between the opposing side plates. A 
shock-absorbing bumper is located along the bottom edge of the rear panel 
to vertically support the rear panel and to reduce vibration and rattle. 
The back plate extends downward beyond the side panels. The panels are 
planar sheets of metal and the strap may include a hook and loop VELCRO 
attachment. In an alternate embodiment, the toe plate is connected to the 
frame by a hinge so that it will fold up for storage. 
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become 
apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when 
considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and description 
of the preferred embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to FIG. 1, a standard handtruck is shown with the carrier 
panels installed. The handtruck shown in this figure includes a main frame 
with handles 11 at the top and wheels 13 carried on an axle at the bottom, 
more clearly shown in FIG. 2. A toe plate 15 is also attached to the 
bottom of the frame. Carrier panels 17, 19, and 21 are interconnected by 
hinges 23. These panels comprise a back panel 19 and two side panels 17 
and 21. Straps 25 may be attached across the front of the opposing side 
panels to enclose and hold articles between the side panels. A back panel 
shock-absorbing bumper 27 is fitted along the bottom edge of the back 
panel for added support and to reduce vibration and rattle. The bumper 27 
is preferably a strip of rubber mounted across the bottom edge of the back 
plate. 
Referring now to FIG. 2, the construction of the handtruck frame and 
attachment means of the carrier panels are clearly shown. The handtruck 
frame is of ladder-back construction, including vertical side rails 31 and 
horizontal cross-braces 33. As shown in this figure, three pairs of hang 
brackets 35 are affixed to the rear of back panel 19 by hinges 23. When 
installed on the handtruck, the carrier panels are attached to the truck 
by way of the hang brackets 35 which are fitted over the horizontal 
cross-braces of the frame. Vertical support is also supplied by the rear 
plate bumper 27 which rests on the toe plate 15. The carrier panels thus 
remain affixed to the handtruck only by the force of gravity. Side panel 
stops 37 are fixed 90-degree angle brackets located along the hinged 
joints between pairs of panels. These brackets restrict the range of 
motion of the side panels relative to the back panel to a maximum of 
90-degrees. This is a critical feature of the present invention which 
enables the handtruck to be easily loaded and to hold the side panels into 
position for easy attachment of straps 25. Alternatively, the brackets may 
be replaced by the use of special hinges which include means for 
restricting their extent of opening to 90-degrees. The straps 25 may 
include hook and loop VELCRO attachment means 40 which cooperate with 
other attachment means 41 located on the outside of the opposite side 
panel. A sufficient length of Velcro.RTM. material is included at the ends 
of the straps so that the length of the straps may be varied to secure the 
panels firmly against the items being carried. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, a top view of the present invention is shown. As 
shown in this figure, the back panel rests directly against vertical side 
rails 31. Hang brackets 35 are fitted over cross-brace 33 dimensioned so 
that there is a snug fit between the back panel and the frame members. 
This view also shows a pair of wheels 13 at the bottom of the frame which 
are affixed thereto by way of an axle 14. As further shown in this figure, 
the side panels 17 and 21 are supported by hinges 23 and are opened to 
their fullest extent of 90-degrees, being restrained only by the angled 
bracket stops. 
Referring now to FIG. 4, an alternate embodiment of the present invention 
is shown. In this embodiment, the toe plate 43, a hinged plate affixed to 
the bottom of the back panel 19, is added. This additional plate may be 
used to extend the reach of the fixed toe plate of the handtruck. 
It should be understood that the above description discloses specific 
embodiments of the present invention and are for purposes of illustration 
only. There may be other modifications and changes obvious to those of 
ordinary skill in the art that fall within the scope of the present 
invention which should be limited only by the following claims and their 
legal equivalents.