Patent ID: 7438300

Claim:
A hand truck for transporting an object by rolling the object over a surface, which comprises: (a) a frame having a generally horizontal base and a generally vertical back, the back including a handle; (b) at least two wheels carried on the frame to permit the frame to roll over the surface when a user grips the handle and pulls or pushes on the handle to manually propel the frame over the surface; (c) a retainer movably carried on the frame, wherein the retainer moves relative to the frame between a transport position in which the retainer obstructs the base sufficiently to prevent the object from sliding substantially horizontally onto or off of the base and a loading position in which the retainer is sufficiently clear of the base to permit the object to be loaded or unloaded from the base by sliding the object substantially horizontally onto or off of the base, wherein the transport and loading positions are vertically displaced or offset from one another relative to the base of the frame.