Patent ID: 8726848

Claim:
A cart-handler for handling mobile carts within narrow confines, comprising: a mobile elongate frame with opposite ends supported on wheels enabling movement of said elongate frame along an underlying floor surface, said frame having at least one upright support rail; a pair of stabilizers connected to said frame, each stabilizer being movable into a retracted position on said frame and into a laterally-extended position in which said stabilizer directly engages the underlying floor surface to support said frame thereon, one of said stabilizers being located at one of said ends of said frame and the other of said stabilizers being located at the other of said ends of said frame, and, in said laterally-extended position, each of said stabilizers extending outwardly from a common side of said elongate frame; and a cart-lifter mounted on said support rail and movable upwardly along said support rail for engaging, elevating and supporting a separate mobile cart above said underlying floor surface, wherein said cart-lifter includes a gripping assembly extending laterally relative to said upright support rail, said gripping assembly being laterally extendable and retractable so as to be able to extend underneath a cart and clamp onto a base of the cart before the cart is elevated by said cart-lifter; and further wherein said support rail is mounted on said frame in a manner enabling said support rail to rotate relative to said frame about a longitudinal axis of said support rail such that said cart lifter and gripping assembly are positionable between a stowed position on said frame and deployed position in which said gripping assembly extends laterally from said common side of said frame at a central location between said pair of stabilizers.