Improvements in Hand Trucks.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 21st Oct., 1897-Accepted, 28th May, 1898
Improvements in Hand Trucks.
I, ERNEST CLIFFORD ATWOOD, Engineer, of 713, Sansome Street, Golden Gate,
in the County of Alameda, and State of California, one of the United States of
America, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in trucks for handling
merchandise, and has for its object to produce a truck which will possess the
requisites of strength and durability, and which will be especially simple in con-
struction and efficient in operation.
A further object of my invention is to improve a device of this character
generally, and thereby greatly facilitate the handling of goods for which it is
designed.
Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent in the course
of the following description, and the points of novelty will be particularly pointed
out in the claims.
The objects of my invention I am enabled to accomplish by the means illus.
trated in the accompanying drawing, in which
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved truck, looking from
the rear.
Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a truck, showing the angle levers
extended to form a lip or support upon which the goods or merchandise are
supported.
Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates my improved truck formed
of two side bars and any desired number of cross bars. The side bars are pro-
vided at their forward extremities with downwardly extending arms or hangers 2
which form bearings for the shaft 3 carrying the wheels 4, which is usual in
trucks of this character. The numeral 5 indicates a shaft or, bar which extends
transversely across the truck at its forward end, upon which are pivotally mounted
two angle levers 6 having their upper ends connected by a cross bar 7, and said
levers are formed with ears 8 thereon, perforated for the passage of the shaft 5.
The rearwardly extending arms 10 of the angle levers are pivotally connected
as indicated by the numeral 11, to the arms of the two-armed lever 12, the arms of
said lever being connected at the rear of the truck by a cross bar 13 having an
off-set 16 in the central portion thereof to form a handle by which the lever is
operated for the purpose which will presently become apparent. Said two-armed
lever is further provided with two short laterally extending arms 17 adapted
to enter notches formed in the lower edges of plates 18 secured to the inner sides
of the side bars of the truck. Suitably secured in the short legs 19 of the truck
are spiral springs 20 having their upper ends in engagement with the under side of
the short arms 17 for the obvious purpose of keeping the two-armed lever normally
elevated at the rear of the truck.
Referring particularly to Figure 2, it will be noted that a lip 21 is formed by
extending the angle levers considerably above the upper bars of the truck, and to

page_text: increase their strength and durability, I connect the angle levers by a cross bar 22.
The cross bars connecting the angle levers in Figures 1 and 2 are also provided
for the same purpose.
When it is desired to load the truck, the lip or support is permitted to rest
upon the ground in position to be conveniently forced under a. box or body to
be moved and the forward ends of the angle levers and the cross bar connecting
them are inserted beneath said body, the short laterally extending arms 17 of the
two-armed lever, meanwhile being out of engagement with the notches in the
plates 18, allowing the angle levers to rock upon the shaft 5 in either direction.
When the lip or support has been inserted under the box or other body a
sufficient distance, the truck is rocked upwardly until the wheels thereof
are lifted from the ground and the truck is in a vertical position,
when the upper ends of the angle levers and the cross bar con-
necting them will be brought in contact with the ground causing said levers to
be rocked and exert a pull on the arm of the two-armed lever causing the short
arms 17 of said lever to move until they engage the notches in the plates 18,
when it will be apparent the lever 12 will be locked against rearward movement,
thus preventing the angle levers from being rocked upon the shaft 5. The truck
is then rocked until the wheels are again in contact with the surface of the ground.
It is obvious that the invention is susceptible to many changes and modifications
involving mechanical skill, and I do not, therefore, desire to be understood as
limiting myself to the precise construction shown in the drawings."
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:
1. The combination in a truck, of a hinged lip or support at its front end,
and means for supporting said lip or support at different angles to the side bars
of the truck.
2. The combination with a truck, of a shaft extending across the forward end
thereof, angle levers fulcrumed upon said shaft and having their forward ends
extended to form a lip or support, a two-armed lever pivoted to the angle levers,
notched plates secured to the rear portion of the truck adapted to be engaged by
the two-armed lever to lock the same and the angle levers, and means for support-
ing said two-armed levers, substantially as described.
3. The combination with a truck, of a shaft extending across the front end
thereof, angle levers fulcrumed upon said shaft and having their forward ends
extended to form a lip or support and adapted to be inserted beneath the body
to be carried, said levers having their ends connected by a cross bar, a two-armed
lever pivotally connected to the rearwardly extending arms of the angle levers,
and means carried at the rear portion of the truck for locking the two-armed
lever and the angle levers, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination with a truck, of a shaft extended across the front end thereof,
angle levers fulcrumed upon said shaft and having their forward ends connected
by a cross bar, a two-armed lever pivotally connected with the rearwardly extend-
ing arms of the two levers, hinged plates upon the side bars of the truck adapted
to be engaged by the two-armed lever to lock the same and the angle levers,
springs having bearings in the truck legs and having their upper ends in engage-
ment with the two-armed lever to keep the same normally elevated, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
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