Patent Abstract:
A method of constructing a bottle carrier for a two-wheeled hand truck having a normally generally vertically disposed hand truck frame comprising transversely spaced side rails joined by at least a pair of vertically spaced cross rails between its upper and lower ends includes the steps of providing a generally upright carrier frame having a projecting platform of a size to support a bottle in upright position and which incorporates a bottle girth enveloping element of a size to closely embrace the diameter of an upright bottle on the platform; and providing vertically spaced load bearing parts on the carrier frame spaced apart vertically a distance corresponding to the vertical spacing of the pair of cross rails and configured to disengagably latch the carrier against the cross-rails.

Full Description:
This application claims the priority of provisional application Serial No. 60/078,155, filed Mar. 16, 1998. The invention relates generally to two-wheeled hand trucks, and more particularly to those adapted for transporting bottled water containers. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Drinking water is commonly packaged and sold in large glass or plastic bottles having volume capacities of about five gallons. The containers are very bulky and heavy, weighing about 50 lbs. each. 
     Various two-wheeled hand trucks have been devised for carrying such bottled water containers. Co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/812,935, which I incorporate herein by reference, discloses a two-wheeled hand truck having multiple, foldable bottle-carrying trays that are mounted to the side rails of the truck and extend forwardly over the nose plate in vertically spaced relation to one another for the accommodation of up to four such containers. When not in use, the trays are foldable flush with the rails so that the hand truck can be used in the usual manner to transport other types of cargo on the nose plate. 
     Other known hand truck constructions include single or multiple bottle-carrying racks carried off the frame that are either fixed or foldable, but not detachable from the frame of the truck. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One of the prime objects of the present invention is to provide a carrier for such bottled water containers that is mounted releasably to the frame of a two-wheeled hand truck to serve as the sole, or as an auxiliary, carrier for bottled water containers. 
     Another object of the invention is to construct the bottle carrier in such manner that it mounts on the frame of a two-wheeled hand truck without modification of the standard hand truck design. In particular, it is an object of the invention to construct such a carrier to include at least one, and preferably two, hangers that releasably engage the cross braces of the truck frame to support such a container outwardly of the frame. 
     It is a further object to construct a carrier that can be releasably selectively hung off either the front or back side of the frame. In an application employing a conventional hand truck, the carrier could be hung from the cross braces off the front side of the frame above the nose plate. In another application in which the carrier serves as an auxiliary support for an additional water bottle on a hand truck fitted with one or multiple bottle racks that project forwardly of the frame, such as in the case of the aforementioned hand truck with multiple, foldable bottle-carrying trays, the auxiliary carrier can be mounted detachably on the cross braces off the back of the hand truck frame to provide additional carrying capacity and counterbalance. 
     The mount hangers for the carrier uniquely cooperate with the vertically spaced cross braces in all instances to provide the results achieved. 
    
    
     THE DRAWINGS 
     A presently preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the following description and in the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a detachably mountable water bottle carrier constructed according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the carrier of FIG. 1 mounted detachably on the frame of a hand truck; 
     FIG. 3 is a top view of the carrier of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the carrier of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a side elevational view showing the carrier mounted detachably on a hand truck fitted with multiple, foldable bottle-accommodating trays; 
     FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the carrier shown mounted detachably off the front of the frame of a conventional hand truck; and 
     FIG. 7 is a view like FIG. 5 but showing the carrier mounted off the back of the hand truck, and a load carried on the nose plate of the hand truck. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A detachable bottled water carrier  10  constructed according to the present invention for a two-wheeled hand truck  12  is shown in the drawing FIGS. 1-7 and includes a generally planar, and preferably rectangular back or base wall or frame  14  having an upper end  14   a  and a lower end  14   b . A platform or bottom  16  projects outwardly from the lower end  14   b  of the back wall  14 , preferably at a right angle thereto, presenting an upper surface  18  sized to typically receive and support a five-gallon bottled water container C in an upright orientation. 
     A retaining band  20  is secured to the back wall  14  above the platform  16  about midway between the upper and lower ends  14   a ,  14   b  of the back wall  14 . The band  20  encloses a space  22  that is no smaller across than the outer diameter of the bottled water container C, and preferably slightly larger than the diameter of the container C. The band  20  encircles the container C and supports the container C against tipping off the platform  16 . A typical 5-gallon water container has a nominal diameter of about 10⅜ inches, and thus the space  22  should have a minimum measurement across the space  22  of at least about 10⅜ inches, although a larger space could be provided so long as it provides the recurring support to the container C to retain the container C on the platform  16 . It will be understood that the space  22  is dependent on the size of the container C it is to support, and it may vary in size depending on the size of the container. 
     At least one, and preferably two, sets of load bearing vertically spaced hangers, parts, elements, or hooks, generally designated  24 ,  26 , are provided on the opposite face of the back wall  14  for mounting the carrier  10  on the hand truck  12 , as will be described in greater detail below. The upper hangers  24  are preferably in the form of a pair of downwardly opening hooks  24   a ,  24   b , mounted on the opposite upper corners of the back wall  14  and defining a generally rectangular, downwardly opening channel  28  near the upper end  14   a  of the back wall  14 . The lower hangers  26  are preferably of the same construction and comprise a pair of downwardly opening hooks  26   a ,  26   b  fixed to the back wall  14  at the opposite lower corners thereof and presenting similar downwardly opening channels  29  that are spaced a predetermined distance from the upper channels  28 . The channels  28 ,  30  facilitate the mounting of the carrier  10  on the cross braces of the hand truck frame, which will now be described. 
     The hand truck  12  is typically of the type generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,997,182, 5,393,081, and co-pending application Ser. No. 08/812,935 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,527, all of which are commonly owned by the assignee of the present-invention, and their disclosures incorporated herein by reference. 
     The hand truck  12  includes a generally rectangular, load-carrying, primary or main frame  30 , preferably of the type having a pair of parallel vertical side rails  32  which are preferably channel-shaped extrusions that open laterally inwardly of the frame. A plurality of vertically spaced cross braces or rails  34  extend between the side rails  32  and are secured in position by means of suitable fasteners, such as bolts, rivets, weldments or the like such that the cross braces  34  and side rails  32  constitute a rigid, fixed framework for supporting the remaining components of the hand truck. Such a mainframe construction is generally uniform in design among numerous hand trucks on the market, and particularly those manufactured by the assignee of the present invention. 
     The hand trucks illustrated in FIGS. 5-7 are essentially of the same design except that the hand truck of FIG. 5 includes additional bottle-accommodating trays mounted to the frame  12  that are not included in the hand truck of FIGS. 6 and 7. For simplicity, the same reference numerals will be used to designate corresponding components in the two illustrated hand truck designs, as the hand truck of FIG. 5 is essentially a modification of the basic hand truck of FIGS. 6 and 7. 
     The hand trucks  12  of FIGS. 5-7 include a pair of laterally spaced wheels  36  mounted on opposite ends of an axle  38  which in turn is secured to the lower end of the frame  30 . A bale-shaped handle member  40  or other handle surface may be provided on the upper end of the side rails  32  according to conventional practice. Projecting forwardly from a front side  42  of the frame  30  is an angle-shaped nose piece, generally designated  44 , having a forwardly extending platform  46  with an upper load-supporting surface  48 , upon which a load to be transported may be supported in the usual manner. 
     The hand truck illustrated in FIG. 5 includes the addition of a plurality of bottle-carrying support trays  50  that are hinged to the side rails  32  and, when in use, project forwardly of the front of the frame  42  to support a corresponding plurality of the large five-gallon type bottled drinking water containers C, arranged one above the other crosswisely to the frame  12 . The trays  50  define trough-shaped platforms  52  including generally rectangular bottom wall portions  52   a  that lie generally perpendicular to the side rails  32  when supporting the containers C, and forward and rearward product stabilizing wall portions or abutments  52   b ,  52   c , respectively, that project upwardly and outwardly fore and aft of the bottom wall  52   a  at an acute angle with respect to the plane of the bottom wall portion  52   a . The abutments  52   b ,  52   c  are of a restricted width and length so as to fit between the side rails  32  when the trays  50  are swung or folded to an inoperative stowed position flush with the front  42  of the frame  30 . 
     Turning now to the operation or use of the carrier  10  with the hand truck  12  of the present invention, the upper and lower hangers  24 ,  26  are so located on the back wall of the carrier and their channels  28 ,  29  so sized as to enable the carrier  10  to be hung on the cross braces  34  of the frame  30 . It will thus be appreciated that the configuration, size, and spacing of the upper and lower hangers  24 ,  26  corresponds to the configuration, size and spacing of the cross braces  34  of the frame  30  to enable an operator of the hand truck to attach the carrier  10  to the frame  12  by simply locating the hangers  24 ,  26  in position over the cross braces  34  and than lowering them into engagement with the cross braces  34 . When mounted, the offset weight of the carrier  10  and the engagement of the upper and lower hangers  24 ,  26  with the cross braces  34  retains the carrier  10  securely but releasably in position on the frame  30 . It will be appreciated that the upper and lower brackets cooperate with one another to maintain the carrier  10  in attachment with the frame  30  during normal use of the hand truck  12 . For instance, when an operator rocks the hand truck rearwardly back onto its wheels, the lower hangers  26  support the carrier  10  and the container C in position against the frame  30 , restraining the lower end of the carrier and platform from swinging outwardly of the frame  30  under the forces of gravity. The operator may readily detach the carrier  10  by simply lifting the carrier vertically free of the cross braces  34 . 
     As illustrated in FIG. 5, the carrier  10  may serve as an auxiliary bottle carrier to be used in conjunction with a hand truck having the aforementioned multiple bottle-carrying trays  50 . In this application, the carrier  10  is hung off the back side  54  of the hand truck frame  30  so as not to interfere with the operation of the trays  50 . 
     FIG. 6 illustrates an arrangement wherein the carrier  10  is serving as the primary or sole bottle carrier for a conventional hand truck, and is shown hung off the front  42  of the frame  30  in position above the nose plate  44 . 
     FIG. 7 shows an alternative arrangement, wherein the carrier  10  is hung off the back side  54  of the same type of hand truck, leaving the platform  46  of the nosepiece  44  available to support a load L which may comprise, for example, cartons or boxes of smaller size beverage containers, or other products which are normally carried on the nosepiece  44 . 
     The bottle carrier  10  may be constructed from any of a number of materials, provided the carrier  10  is sufficiently strong to support the weight of a bottled water container C when mounted on the hand truck frame  30 . The presently preferred material for the carrier  10  is aluminum, wherein the back wall  14  and platform  16  may be formed of a single piece of aluminum sheet stock, cut and bent to the generally L-shaped configuration shown. The retaining band or girth retainer or element  20  may be made of the same or similar aluminum alloy sheet stock material, bent to a generally U-shaped configuration as shown in the top view of FIG.  3  and joined to the back wall  14  by weldments or suitable fasteners (i.e., rivets, bolts, etc.). The upper and lower hanger sets or hooks  24 ,  26  may be fabricated from U-shaped channel stock cut to length and fixed such as by weldments or fasteners to the backside of the back wall  14  in the manner illustrated in the drawings. They uniquely will be fixed to the wall or base plate  14  at a vertically spaced distance correlating to the spacing of cross braces  34 . 
     Once mounted on the frame  30 , the carrier  10  may support a container C by simply loading the container C onto the platform  16  in an upright position from above, whereupon the bottom of the container C is supported on the platform  16  and the band  20  and back wall  14  together encircle the container C to retain the container C on the platform  16  during transport. To unload the bottle, the user simply lifts the container C off the platform  16  through the band  20 . 
     The disclosed embodiments are representative of presently preferred forms of the invention, but are intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 1