US-12623703-B1 - Wheeled cart for material management system

US12623703B1US 12623703 B1US12623703 B1US 12623703B1US-12623703-B1

Abstract

A material cart of a material management system includes a base frame having a bottom surface which lies substantially in a horizontal plane and also includes a plurality of wheel-including casters which are pivotally attached to the base frame in a manner which permits a pivotal movement of the wheels of the casters relative to the frame between a condition of use and an out-of-the way condition so that no portion of the wheels of the casters is disposed beneath the horizontal plane in which the bottom surface of the base frame lies and thus enables the bottom surface of the base frame to be lowered onto the floor or underlying support surface without interference from the casters. In addition, a bearing plate embodied in the casters relieves at least some of the weight of any pivot pin used to join a caster to the base frame.

Inventors

David S. Jordan
Michael C. Jordan
Scott M. Jordan

Assignees

David S. Jordan
Michael C. Jordan
Scott M. Jordan

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230922

Claims (10)

1 . A material cart comprising: a base frame which defines a bottom surface which lies substantially in a horizontal plane; and a plurality of wheel-including casters; and the casters are attached to the base frame in a manner which permits a pivotal movement of the wheels of the casters relative to the base frame between a condition of use at which the wheels of the casters engage the floor or underlying support surface and thereby permit the base frame to be wheeled to an alternative site and an out-of-the-way condition so that the bottom surface of the base frame can be lowered onto the floor or underlying support surface without interference from the wheels of the casters; and means for releasably securing the wheel-including casters to the base frame in at least one of the condition of use and the out-of-the-way condition; and wherein the frame includes a first set of through-openings, each caster defines a first set of through-openings which are aligned with the first set of through-openings of the frame when the casters are positioned relative to the frame in the condition of use; the means for releasably securing includes a first pin having a shank which is positionable through the first set of aligned through-openings of the frame and the first set of through-openings of the caster for pinning the caster to the frame when the caster is positioned in the condition of use; the frame includes a second set of through-openings, and each caster defines a second set of through-openings which are aligned with the through-openings of the second set of through-openings of the frame when the casters are positioned relative to the frame in the out-of-the-way condition; and the means for releasably securing includes a second pin having a shank which is positionable through the aligned through-openings of the second set of frame through-openings and the through-opening of the second set of caster through-openings for pinning the caster to the frame when the caster is positioned in the out-of-the-way condition.
2 . The material cart as defined in claim 1 wherein the base frame is substantially rectangular in shape and each wheel-including caster of the plurality of casters is mounted adjacent a corner of the base frame.
3 . The material cart as defined in claim 2 wherein each of the plurality of wheel-supporting casters is joined to the base frame so that when the casters are moved to the out-of-the-way position, each wheel of the casters is positioned outboard of the base frame.
4 . The material cart as defined in claim 1 wherein each caster includes a bearing plate disposed between the frame and the wheels of the casters and through which the weight of the frame of the material cart is transferred to the wheel of the caster so that no pivot pin used to secure the casters to the frame is required to support any appreciable weight of the frame of the material cart when the caster is positioned in the condition of use.
5 . A material cart comprising: a base frame which defines a bottom surface which lies substantially in a horizontal plane; and a plurality of wheel-including casters which are attached to the base frame in a manner which accommodates a movement of the wheels of the casters relative to the base frame between a condition of use at which the wheel of each caster engages the floor or underlying support surface to permit the base frame to be wheeled to an alternative site by way of the casters and an out-of-the-way condition at which no portion of the wheels of the casters is disposed beneath the horizontal plane in which the bottom surface of the base frame lies so that the bottom surface of the base frame can be lowered onto the floor or underlying support surface without interference from the wheels of the casters; and means for releasably securing the wheel-including casters to the base frame in at least one of the condition of use and the out-of-the-way condition; wherein the frame includes a first set of through-openings, each caster defines a first set of through-openings which are aligned with the first set of through-openings of the frame when the casters are positioned relative to the frame in the condition of use; the means for releasably securing includes a first pin having a shank which is positionable through the first set of aligned through-openings of the frame and the first set of through-openings of the caster for pinning the caster to the frame when the caster is positioned in the condition of use; the frame includes a second set of through-openings, and each caster defines a second set of through-openings which are aligned with the through-openings of the second set of through-openings of the frame when the casters are positioned relative to the frame in the out-of-the-way condition; and the means for releasably securing includes a second pin having a shank which is positionable through the aligned through-openings of the second set of frame through-openings and the through-opening of the second set of caster through-openings for pinning the caster to the frame when the caster is positioned in the out-of-the-way condition.
6 . The material cart as defined in claim 5 wherein the base frame is substantially rectangular in shape and each wheel-including caster of the plurality of casters is mounted adjacent a corner of the base frame.
7 . The material cart as defined in claim 5 wherein each of the plurality of wheel-supporting casters is joined to the base frame so that when the casters are moved to the out-of-the-way position, each wheel of the casters is positioned outboard of the base frame.
8 . The material cart as defined in claim 5 wherein each caster includes a bearing plate disposed between the frame and the wheels of the casters and through which the weight of the frame of the material cart is transferred to the wheel of the caster so that no pivot pin used to secure the casters to the frame is required to support any appreciable weight of the frame of the material cart when the caster is positioned in its condition of use.
9 . The material cart as defined in claim 5 wherein the base frame includes two opposite sides and each wheel-including caster is pivotally attached to the base frame so that when each caster is moved from the condition of use to the out-of-the-way condition, the wheel of the caster is disposed outboard of the opposite sides of the base frame.
10 . A material cart comprising: a base frame which defines a bottom surface which lies substantially in a horizontal plane; and a plurality of wheel-including casters; and the casters are attached to the base frame with pivot pins which permit a pivotal movement of the wheel of each caster relative to the base frame between a condition of use at which the wheel of the caster engages the floor or underlying support surface and thereby permits the base frame to be wheeled to an alternative site and an out-of-the-way condition so that the bottom surface of the base frame can be lowered onto the floor or underlying support surface without interference from the wheels of the casters; and wherein each caster includes a bearing plate disposed between the base frame and the wheel of the caster and being disposed in such a relationship to the pivot pin so that when each caster is positioned in the condition of use, the weight of the frame is transferred to the wheel of the caster through the bearing plate rather than through the pivot pin used to pivotally secure the caster to the frame.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to material management systems and relates, more particularly, to a transportable material cart upon which items are placed for use at a job site or for storage. Once items are placed thereon, the material cart can be bodily transported by way of, for example, a forklift truck, in order to move the items from one site to another. An example of a material cart having inventors in common with those of the instant invention is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D781,080. Some material carts of the class to which this invention relates possess wheels, or casters, which enable the cart to be wheeled between two sites while the wheels move in rolling engagement with an underlying floor or support surface. It would be desirable to provide a wheeled material cart of the aforedescribed class whose wheels can be shifted in position from a condition of use at which the wheels engage the floor or underlying support surface to enable the cart to be wheeled across the floor or underlying support surface and an out-of-the-way condition at which the wheels are prevented from interfering with the placement of the remainder of the cart flatly upon the underlying floor or support surface. One such support surface may be the bed of a truck with which the material cart can transported, or driven, from one site to another by way of the truck. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved wheeled material cart whose wheels can be shifted in position from a condition of use which enables the cart to be wheeled, or rolled, across a floor or underlying support surface and an out-of-the-way condition at which the wheels are prevented from interfering with the placement of the remainder of the cart flatly upon the underlying floor or support surface. Another object of the present invention is to provide such a new and improved material cart which can be positioned in a stacked relationship with material carts of like construction. Still another object of the present invention is to provide such a material cart which is uncomplicated in construction yet effective in operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention resides in a material cart capable of supporting or storing items for use at a jobsite. The material cart includes a base frame which defines a bottom surface which lies substantially in a horizontal plane. Also included in the cart are a plurality of wheel-including casters which are attached to the base frame. In addition, the casters are attached to the base frame in a manner which permits a pivotal movement of the wheels of the casters relative to the base frame between a condition of use at which the wheels of the casters engage the floor or underlying support surface and thereby permit the base frame to be wheeled to an alternative site and an out-of-the-way condition at which no portion of the wheels of the casters is disposed beneath the horizontal plane in which the bottom surface of the base frame lies so that the bottom surface of the base frame can be lowered onto the floor or underlying support surface without interference from the wheels of the casters. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a material cart within which features of the present invention are embodied, shown exploded. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fragment of the FIG. 1 material cart, shown exploded. FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the FIG. 2 fragment, as seen generally from the right in FIG. 2, shown exploded. FIG. 4 is a view of the FIG. 2 fragment like that of FIG. 3, as seen generally from the right in FIG. 2, but shown assembled and with the wheel of the caster positioned in its floor-engaging condition of use. FIG. 5 is a view like that of FIG. 4, but showing the wheel of the caster in an out-of-the-way condition. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT Turning now to the drawings in greater detail and considering first FIG. 1, there is illustrated an embodiment of a wheeled material cart, generally indicated 20, within which features of the present invention are embodied. Briefly, the material cart 20 includes a base frame 22 upon which a plurality of rack components, generally indicated 24, are positioned for supporting construction materials, such as conduits 25, supported by the rack components 24 for use at a job site. Meanwhile, the cart 20 also includes a plurality of (i.e. six) wheel-including casters 26 which are joined to the frame 22 for movement relative to the cart 20 between a condition of use at which the wheels of the casters 26 engage the floor 18 (or other underlying support surface) and thereby support the weight of the cart 20 (and any materials supported thereby) as the cart 20 is wheeled across the floor 18 and a condition of non-use at which the wheels of the casters 26 are disposed in an out-of-the-way condition (at which the wheels of the casters 26 are out of engagement