Abstract:
A utility cart having a platform supported by a pair of casters at its front and a pair of traction wheels at its rear. A pair of battery-powered motors drive the traction wheels and are controlled by switches secured to a handlebar extending upwardly from the rear of the platform. A hopper is pivotally mounted atop the platform and its rear end may be elevated by a motorized dumping mechanism. The hopper is provided with a dual-hinge, swinging gate at its front end which permits the hopper to be unloaded with great ease.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to motor vehicles steered by walking attendants. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Carts of various sorts have been used around the home and in business settings to haul goods from one place to another. Many of these carts are of uncomplicated construction, lacking automated features and costing relatively little. Others, produced at great expense, can transport large and heavy loads with minimal human intervention. A need presently exists for a utility cart which fills a niche between these two extremes. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In light of the problems associated with the prior art, it is a principal object of the invention to provide residential and commercial users with a motorized utility cart for transporting heavy and bulky loads of minimal complexity and cost. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a utility cart of the type described with motor-driven, traction wheels whose speed and direction of rotation are controlled by a walking attendant. 
     Still another object of the invention is to provide a utility cart with a load-carrying hopper which may be automatically elevated for dumping. 
     It is a further object of the invention to a utility cart with a hopper that may be readily detached from a supporting platform so that loads having dimensions large than the hopper can be carried directly upon the platform without impediment. 
     It is an additional object of the invention to provide a utility cart with a “three-way,” swinging gate which: pivots up, pivots down, and is removable for expedited loading and unloading its associated hopper. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a utility cart for the purposes described which is lightweight in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and dependable in use. 
     Briefly, the cart in accordance with this invention achieves the intended objects by featuring a platform supported by casters and traction wheels. Atop the platform is positioned a hopper which may be lifted by a motorized dumping mechanism for dumping through a swinging gate. The hopper may be detached from the platform and lifting mechanism, if desired, by means of removable pins. Similar pins permit the gate to be operated from different positions on the hopper. A handlebar extends upwardly from the platform and supports a plurality of switches for selectively controlling the direction of electric current flow to the motors powering the wheels and dumping mechanism. 
     The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention may be more readily described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a utility cart in accordance with the present invention with its hopper in a lowered position. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the utility cart of FIG. 1 with its hopper removed. 
     FIG. 3 is a rear view of the utility cart. 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the utility cart with its hopper in an elevated, dumping position and with an alternative positioning for the swinging gate shown in broken lines. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating details of the hopper lifting mechanism. 
     FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the electrical control system for the utility cart. 
     Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the FIGS., a utility cart in accordance with the present invention is shown at  10 . The cart  10  includes a platform  12  supported by a pair of casters  14  at its front and a pair of traction wheels  16  driven by electric motors  18  at its rear. A handlebar  20  extends upwardly from the rear of platform  12  so that a walking user may guide cart  10 . A hopper  22  is pivotally mounted atop platform  12  so that the rear end of hopper  22  may be elevated for dumping. A swinging gate  24  at the front end of hopper  22  quickens material discharge therefrom. 
     Platform  12  is rectangular in shape and has a caster  14  or wheel  16  mounted at each of its four corners. Each caster  14  is adapted to turn freely about its horizontal and vertical axes. Each wheel  16 , however, is carried by the drive shaft  26  of a motor  18  and may be rotated only about a fixed horizontal axis. Motors  18  are attached to the underside of platform  12  by vertical struts  28 . Lateral support to motors  18  is offered by a horizontal rod  30  which connects their inner ends together. 
     Platform  12  is provided with a longitudinal slot  32  between its front and rear ends. Secured within slot  32  is an open-topped receptacle  34  which serves as a housing for the hopper dumping mechanism  36 . As shown, a portion of receptacle  34  is suspended from the underside of the platform  12  and the rear end of this suspended portion offers an attachment point for battery housing  38 . 
     Dumping mechanism  36  includes an electric motor  40  mounted at the rear end of receptacle  34 . A threaded, drive shaft  42  extends forwardly from motor  40  and is rotated when motor  40  is energized. At its front end, shaft  42  is journaled in a bearing  44  affixed to platform  12  by support member  46  to which a rearwardly-extending, lifting arm  48  is also pivotally attached by pin  50 . An internally threaded sleeve  52  is engaged with shaft  42  such that sleeve  52  may be driven along shaft  42  when motor  40  is energized. Sleeve  52  and the middle of arm  48  are connected by a link  54 . Link  54  is connected by a pivot pin  56  to sleeve  52  and by a pivot pin  58  to arm  48 . 
     Handlebar  20  includes a pair of uprights  60  connected by a cross piece  62  in an inverted “U” shape. The uprights  60  are bolted or otherwise secured at their bottom ends to the sides of platform  12 . The upper ends of uprights  60  support cross piece  62  which is shaped for comfortable grasping by a user. 
     The cross piece carries a manually operated switch  64  which connects motor  40  to electrical current source—storage battery  66 . Switch  64  is of self-centering type and serves to control, in a conventional manner, the direction of electrical current flow through motor  40 . Selective operation of motor  40  in one direction serves to drive sleeve  52  forwardly on shaft  42  and elevate arm  48  by means of link  54 . Operation of motor  40  in an opposite direction moves sleeve  52  rearwardly on shaft  42  and lowers arm  48 . 
     Cross piece  62  also carries manually operated switches  68 ,  70  and  72  which connect motors  18  to battery  66 . Switches  68  and  70  are self-centering and control the direction of electrical current flow through motors  18 . Thus, rotation of motors  18  and wheels  16  in a forward or reverse direction may be regulated by a user. Of course, the independent operation of switches  68  and  70  permits cart  10  to be steered in any direction. The switch  72 , on the other hand, serves to selectively disconnect motors  18  and  40  from battery  66 . 
     Cross piece  62  also carries a variable resistor  74 . The resistor  74  is manually operated and is connected between battery  66  and motors  18  to control electrical current flow to motors  18  and thereby their speed. Increased current flow to motors  18  increases their speed and the revolutions per minute (rpm) of wheels  16 . Similarly, decreased electrical current flow to motors  18  reduces the rpms of wheels  16 . 
     Hopper  22  has a bottom wall  76 , a pair of side walls  78  and  80 , and a rear wall  82  which are rigidly attached together so as to form a box open at its top and front. A pair of flanges  84  extend downwardly from the front ends of side walls  78  and  80 . A pin  86  extends through each flange  84  into the platform  12  to pivotally join hopper  22  and platform  12 . A retaining tab  88  extends downwardly from the rear of hopper  22  and is adapted to fit into slot  32  in platform  12  when hopper  22  is lowered. The tab  88  is pivotally connected by a pin  90  to the rear end of arm  48  of dumping mechanism  36 . 
     The gate  24  is secured by pins  92  and  94  to side walls  78  and  80  so as to selectively close the front of hopper  22 . Withdrawal of upper pins  92 , for example, permits gate  24  to pivot downwardly and serve as a ramp as shown by solid lines in FIG.  4 . Selective withdrawal of lower pins  94 , however, permits gate  24  to swing from its top as shown by broken lines in FIG.  4 . Of course, removing all of pins  92  and  94  permits gate  24  to be disassociated completely from the remainder of hopper  22 . 
     Preferably, each of the pins  84 ,  88 ,  92  and  94  are removably positioned in axially aligned sockets (not shown) within the components that such attach together. The pins  84 ,  88 ,  92  and  94  may be of any suitable type and may be threaded fasteners. Thus, the gate  24  may be removed from hopper  22  and hopper  22  may be detached from platform  12  and arm  48  easily to carry large or unusually shaped loads if desired. 
     While the invention has been described with a high degree of particularity, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that modifications may be made thereto. Therefore, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the sole embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.