Patent Publication Number: US-10766657-B2

Title: Sandbagging attachment to a tiltable dolly

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of sandbagging, and more particularly, to a sandbagging attachment to a conventional two-wheel dolly of the type also known as a hand truck, two-wheeler, stack truck, trundler, box cart, sack barrow, cart, etc. Such a dolly has a small platform onto which the load is placed. Upon loading, the dolly is tilted back as a first-class lever for placing the load into a position stable on the platform and then tilted down at the place of destination for unloading. The attachment of the invention makes it possible to simply secure this device to any standard tiltable two-wheeler, secure a bag on it, fill the bag with sand without use of shovels, and deliver the filled bag to a required location. All these operations are accomplished without the use of manual labor, except for transporting the dolly and removing the filled bag from the dolly. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Without entering into a discussion about whether global warming and climate change are occurring or not, the statistics of recent years show that over the past five years the number of floods has more than doubled compared with the previous five years. 
     Meanwhile, the use of sandbags is still a simple and effective way to prevent a damage that may be caused by flooding. A barrier formed by properly filled and arranged sandbags may prevent penetration of water into the building and divert moving water around it. 
     Traditionally, sandbags are filled manually by using shovels. Filling sandbags involves a team of three people. One team member will hold open the bag to form a collar opening, the second team member places the tip of a pointed shovel with sand into the opened sandbag, and the third team member will transport and stockpile the filled sandbags. 
     Known in the art are various specific devices and machines for filling bags with sand without involving or alleviating the manual labor. Some examples of such devices and mechanisms are disclosed in the patent documents given below. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 430,355 issued on Jun. 17, 1890 to Stone discloses a wheeled frame having a combined shovel and hopper at its upper or forward end, provided in its bottom or lower end with an opening, of a bag-holder at the opening and a bag-supporting platform behind or below the holder. A hook to engage the bottom of the bag is provided. The combination, with the frame having a bag-holder at its upper end, of a tilting bag-supporting platform below the holder. The frame has a bag-holder at its upper end and cross-bars on which the platform is pivoted below the holder, the pivoted ends of the platform at one side of the pivots projecting over the cross-pieces to stop the pivot from tilting downwardly from that side, the said ends at the opposite sides of the pivots being constructed to swing downwardly between the cross-pieces to dump the bag. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,147 issued on Mar. 7, 1995 to Brown, et al. discloses a two-handed scoop apparatus for filling conventional sandbags comprises an elongate rigid scoop having a generally semicircular transverse cross section defining an open upper region and open longitudinal end regions and first and second similar, inverted U-shaped, elongate handles, lower end regions of which are pivotally attached to opposing side regions of the scoop so that each handle straddles the open upper region of the scoop, the first and second handles being attached to the scoop in a longitudinally spaced apart relationship near ends thereof. A transverse cross brace is attached across each handle and a clip is fixed to each cross brace for detachably attaching an open end of a conventional sandbag to either end of the scoop so that when the scoop apparatus is moved in a direction away from the sandbag to scoop up sand or other material to fill the sandbag, the sandbag is moved along with the scoop apparatus, A bag is supported by a hook 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,807 issued on Sep. 8, 1998 to Johnson discloses a versatile apparatus designed specifically for quickly and easily filling bags of sand, dirt, or other particulate material, which includes a scoop mounted on a lower frame and upwardly extending handles, which are braced to the lower frame in use. A latch is provided to detachably secure a bag to the scoop during filling. The entire apparatus can be folded for storage, including relocation of ground wheels and push handles to minimize external size. The invention includes a simplified form for light duty usage. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,896,015 issued on May 24, 2005 to Beveridge discloses a bag holding and filling device that has a light strong portable framework to hold a sandbag, or similar flexible container. The bag to be filled is secured by means of four hooks two of which are arranged on swinging arms and two on the main framework. These hooks engage with the open neck of the sandbag and hold the top of the bag open. A conical shaped funnel with an included angle of approximately 80° is pivotally mounted on the framework so that the funnel is supported in a position such that any material fed into the funnel will be guided into the open neck of the bag. The funnel swings into another position in which access is available to the hooks to place or remove the bag. A spring or springs tension the bag hooks on the swinging arms so that the bag is securely held on the hooks during the filling operation. The bent tubular framework provides strength with lightness and is formed to facilitate hand carrying. The framework is supported on legs that are removable and the funnel is detachable and reattaches into the framework to create a simple and resilient reconstruction of the device with minimal use of space for storage and transport. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,942,171 issued on May 17, 2011 to Hartley III discloses a device and a method for filling multiple sandbags at a time. The patent relates to an implement for mechanically filling multiple sandbags at a time and is used on a loader bucket of loader-type equipment. The implement has a planar surface in which a plurality of filler apertures are formed in a plurality of rows evenly spaced over its surface area. Each filler aperture has a tensioner ring around the aperture for holding a drawstring held in a sleeve around an open end of the sandbag. A trigger mechanism can be moved to a locked position, in which the drawstring of the sandbag is pulled tight so that the open end of the sandbag is held in place on the tensioner ring. The trigger mechanism can be switched to an unlocked position in which the trigger mechanism lifts the drawstring off the tensioner ring to allow the sandbag filled with filler material to pull on and cinch the open end of the sandbag closed. It can also be switched to a release position in which the cinched sandbag is released to the ground. 
     US Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0011492A published on Jan. 20, 2011 (Inventor: Shahbazian) discloses a two-wheel device which is designed specifically for filling bags with particulate matter such as sand. The device consists of a scoop with open front and rear ends for passing sand therethrough. The scoop is carried by a first frame member and a second frame member between which the scoop is located and is supported so that the forward opening receives the sand therein as the device is moved forward. The device also has a first arm extending in a curved manner from the first frame member and a second arm extending in a curved manner from said second frame member such that a first and second handle region of the arms extends back over the scoop, whereby a fulcrum point is located behind the handle regions to allow the scoop member to be easily tilted backward. A bag covers the rearward opening for filling the bag with the sand when the device is tilted. A retainer positioned over the rearward opening is provided to maintain the bag in an open position, yet the retainer is extractable after the bag has been filled with the sand. Therefore, the device does not require a latch. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a three-dimensional view of the sandbagging attachment of the invention secured in a working position on a conventional two-wheeler. 
         FIG. 2  is a partial three-dimensional exploded view of the attachment device of the invention shown in more detail. 
         FIG. 3A  is a side view of a two-wheeler with the attachment of the invention in a sand scooping position. 
         FIG. 38  is a side view of a two-wheeler with the attachment of the invention in an intermediate position between the scooping and transportation positions. 
         FIG. 3C  is a side view of a two-wheeler with the attachment of the invention in a bag transportation position. 
     
    
    
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of sandbagging, and more particularly, to a sandbagging attachment for securing to a conventional two-wheel dolly of the type also known as a hand truck, two-wheeler, stack truck, trundler, box cart, etc. The attachment of the invention makes it possible to simply secure the attachment to any standard tiltable two-wheeler, secure a bag on it, fill the bag with sand or any other scoopable material without use of shovels, and deliver the filled bag to a required location. A sandbagging attachment, which hereinafter is referred to simply as an “attachment”, contains a connectable/disconnectable dolly connection member for connecting the attachment to the chassis of a dolly. The connection member rigidly supports a scoop with a through passage for a sand or any other material to be scooped. A bag is secured to the scoop with an open side facing the inlet end of the scoop. The scoop is rotationally supported on the connection member for turning between a lower or scooping position, at which the bag is filled with the scoped sand, and a raised and transportation position, at which the filled bag can be transported by the dolly to the destination. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the field of sandbagging, and more particularly, to a sandbagging attachment (hereinafter “attachment”) to a conventional two-wheel dolly of the type also known as a hand truck, two wheeler, stack truck, trundler, box cart, sack barrow, cart, etc. Such a dolly has a small platform, onto which the load is placed. Upon loading, the dolly is tilted back as a first-class lever for placing the load into a position stable on the platform and then tilted down at the place of destination for unloading. The attachment of the invention makes it possible to simply secure this device to any standard tiltable two-wheeler, secure a bag on it, fill the bag with sand without use of shovels, and deliver the filled bag to a required location. All these operations are accomplished without use of manual labor, except for transporting the dolly and removal of the filled bag from the latter. 
     The attachment of the invention, which in general is designated by reference numeral  20 , is shown in an assembled state and in a position secured to a dolly  22  in  FIG. 1 , which is a three-dimensional view. It can be a standard tiltable two-wheeler, e.g., a Loop Handle Steel Hand Truck with Rubber Wheels Model H-1786, purchasable from Pleasant Prairie, Wis. The dolly  22  has chasses on two wheels  22   a ,  22   b , a load platform  22   c , and a frame  22   d  with a loop-like handle  22   e . The dolly of this type is given only as an example and many other dollies are suitable for the purposes of the invention. In any case, the dolly  22  is not a subject of the invention and is beyond the invention scope. It is important, however, that the dolly is a tiltable two-wheeler that can be tilted back as a first-class lever for placing the load into a position stable on the platform and then tilted down at the place of destination for unloading. 
     The attachment  20  has a connectable/disconnectable dolly connection member  24  shown in more details in  FIG. 2 , which is a partial three-dimensional view of the attachment  20 . 
     The connectable/disconnectable dolly connection member  24  is formed by a pair of plates, i.e., a front plate  24   a  and a rear plate  24   b , with at least two pairs of aligned openings  24   c  and  24   d  (the openings of the front plate  24   a  are shown by broken lines and not designated) and at least two fastening devices  26   a  and  26   b  for securing the connectable/disconnectable dolly connection member  24  to the dolly  20  by sandwiching the lower part of the dolly frame member  22   d  between the front plate  24   a  and the rear plate  24   b  in their connected state shown in  FIG. 1 . The fastening devices are shown as bolts  26   a   1 ,  26   b   1  and nuts  26   a   2 ,  26   b   2 . It is understood that for clamping the attachment connection member  24  to the dolly frame member  22   d , the nuts  26   a   2  and  26   b   2  are to be threaded onto the ends of the bolts  26   a ,  26   b   1  protruding outward through the respective openings of the front plate  24   a  and tightened on the protruding ends. 
     Attached, e.g., welded, to the upper face of the rear plate  24   b  are rotary bearing portions  28   a  and  28   b  installed on the left and right sides of the plate  24   b . The rotary bearing portions  28   a  and  28   b  have aligned openings (only one opening  30   a  is shown and designated) for insertion of an axle  32  through both openings and through a tubular sleeve  34 , which is, as shown in  FIG. 2 , is placed between the rotary bearing portions  28   a  and  28   b  and constitutes a rotationally supported part. The axle  32  is fixed in the rotary bearing portions  28   a  and  28   b  by L-shaped pins  36   a  and  36   b  through openings  38   a  and  38   b , respectively. The L-shaped pins  36   a  and  36   b  are shown as examples, and other means can be used for securing the axle  32 . 
     The sleeve  34  has a sliding fit on the fixed axle  32  so that the tubular sleeve  34  is installed on the axle  32  rotationally. 
     A foot pedal  40  is attached to the sleeve  34  in a radially outward direction. To prevent contact of the pedal  40  with the front plate  24   a , when the pedal is pushed down for rotation in the counterclockwise direction, the front plate  24   a  has a height H 1  lower than the height H 2  of the rear plate  24   b.    
     A pair of scoop holding members  42   a  and  42   b , which rigidly support a scoop  44 , is rigidly attached, e.g., by welding, at one ends to the scoop  44 . At the opposite ends the scoop holding members  42   a  and  42   b  are attached to the tubular sleeve  34 . The scoop holding members  42   a  and  42   b , and hence the scoop  40 , also extend radially outward from the sleeve  34  but are attached to the outer surface of the scoop  44  in an intermediate position between the open front end and the open rear end of the scoop. Angularly, the scoop-holding members  42   a  and  42   b  are shifted from the position of the pedal  40  to provide convenient manipulation of the scoop by using the pedal. 
     The scoop  44  itself is defined by sidewalls  44   a ,  44   b  and a bottom plate  44   c . The scoop  44  has an open front end  44   d  and an open rear end  44   e  ( FIG. 2 ) for forming a through passage between the front end and the rear end and thus for passing a scoopable material, such as sand, grain, or the like, through the scoop to a bag B which can be fitted onto the scoop from the open rear end. For this purpose, gaps G 1  and G 2  are formed between the sidewalls  44   a ,  44   b  and the scoop-holding members  42   a  and  42   b . The front end of the bag is inserted into the gaps G 1  and G 2 . 
     The front end of the bag is secured to the sides of the scoop  44  by the bag securing devices for keeping the bag open during the scooping operation. For this purpose a small bag-securing device  46   a  is used (a similar bag-securing device not seen in the drawings is located on the other side  44   b ). The securing device may be represented, e.g., by toggle clamps located near said intermediate positions and attached to the outer surfaces of the sidewalls  44   a  and  44   b  ( FIG. 1 ). An example of such a securing device is a toggle clamp E-TING New 4PCS Hand Tool Toggle Clamp  201 A Antislip Red Horizontal Clamp  201 -A, available from Amazon. 
     For preventing sticking of the edge of the open front end  44   d  of the scoop  44  into the ground G and for scooping the sand S only, the scoop  44  has on the outer side of the bottom plate  44   c  near the open front end an arc-shaped slider  48 . The slider  48  may extend over the entire width of the front edge of the scoop  44  or may consist of two arc-shaped portions installed on the sides of the bottom plate. 
     An operation of the attachment  22  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C . 
     If the attachment  22  is stored separately from the dolly  20 , it should first be firmly secured to the dolly by clamping the front and rear plates  24   a  and  24   b  to the lower part of the frame member  22   d  of the dolly  20 . This is done by sandwiching the lower part of the frame member  22   d  between the plates  24   a  and  24   b  and tightening the nuts  26   a   2  and  26   b   2  on the ends of the bolts  26   a   1  and  26   b   1  inserted into and protruding from the openings  24   c  and  24   d . The plates are secured in positions shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2  so that the scoop  44  extends in a forward direction of the dolly. In this state, the foot pedal is oriented in a position convenient for pressing by foot. 
     A bag B is fitted onto the scoop  44  from the side of the rear open end  44   e  and guided further over the scoop through the gaps G 1  and G 2  to the area where the front end of the bag B can be clamped to the outer surfaces of the sidewalls  44   a  and  44   b  by toggle clamps, such as the clamp  46   a  ( FIG. 2 ). This is necessary to keep the bag in an open state during scooping. The attachment is now ready for use. 
     In  FIG. 3A , the attachment  22  is shown in a position for scooping a portion of sand S from a pile P. A user (not shown) pushes the dolly  20 , and hence the scoop  44 , forward for digging the sand. The bag is filled to a certain level leaving the upper part of the bag free for tying it up. 
     Next, upon completion of the filling operation, the user pushes down on the pedal for turning the scoop  44  with the filled bag B to a counterclockwise direction. Under its own weight, the filled bag goes down until it rests on tubular sleeve  34 . This condition is shown in  FIG. 3B . The user then raises the bag and places it onto the load platform  22   c  of the dolly. In this position, which is shown in  FIG. 3C , the dolly  20  may transport the filled bag to the destination without a risk of rollover. 
     Although the attachment of the invention was shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it is understood that these embodiments cannot be considered as limitative and that any changes and modifications are possible without deviation from the scope of the attached claims. For example, the attachment may be used for bagging grains, wooden chips, or any other bulk and scoopable materials. The connection member can be secured to the frame of the dolly by means other than threaded fasteners. Hooks can be used for securing the upper end of the bag to the scoop. The pedal may be removable. The axle may remain loose in the bearing supports. Additional bag security means such as a chain or rope may be used for fixing the bag during the transportation.