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US-12623706-B2 - Dump cart bolt system

US12623706B2US 12623706 B2US12623706 B2US 12623706B2US-12623706-B2

Abstract

A dumping cart is disclosed. The cart allows for complete dumping while maintaining four wheels on the ground and can rotate the rear set of wheels to allow the bed of the cart to be completely turned over for emptying. Also disclosed is a method of attaching an article retaining bed to a cart.

Inventors

  • Joseph P. Foley
  • Benjamin P. Williams
  • Benjamin M. Wernberg
  • Dennis D. Simpson

Assignees

  • TRICAM INDUSTRIES, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20251208

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis comprising: an article retaining bed comprising a bolt receiver, the bolt receiver comprising: a receiver head comprising: a receiver head width; a receiver head length, the receiver head length being substantially equal to the receiver head width; a receiver head depth; and a receiver bearing surface; and a receiver shaft comprising a receiver shaft diameter and a receiver shaft depth; a chassis; a bolt comprising: a bolt head comprising: a head surface; a head width, the bolt head width being less than the receiver head width; a head length, the bolt head length being substantially equal to the bolt head width and less than the receiver head length; a head depth, the bolt head depth being less than the receiver head depth; and a head bearing surface; wherein the bolt head width is substantially equal to the bolt head length; and a bolt shank comprising: a bolt shank diameter; and a bolt shank depth; and a nut configured to screw onto the bolt shank.
  2. 2 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 1 wherein the head bearing surface rests against the receiver bearing surface.
  3. 3 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 2 wherein the bolt head cannot rotate.
  4. 4 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 3 wherein the receiver shaft comprises at least one nub.
  5. 5 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 4 wherein the nub is formed as part of the retaining bed.
  6. 6 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 5 wherein the nub prevents the bolt from dislodging from the bolt receiver by gravity.
  7. 7 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 6 wherein the nub is located adjacent to the receiver bearing surface.
  8. 8 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 6 wherein the nub is located distal to the receiver bearing surface.
  9. 9 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 8 wherein the receiver shaft comprises two nubs.
  10. 10 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 8 wherein the receiver shaft comprises three nubs.
  11. 11 . The system for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 1 wherein the nut is a nylon insert lock nut.
  12. 12 . A method for attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis: inserting a bolt through an article retaining bed bolt receiver and the chassis, the bolt receiver comprising: a receiver head comprising: a receiver head width; a receiver head length, the receiver head length being equal to the receiver head width; a receiver head depth; and a receiver bearing surface; a receiver shaft comprising a receiver shaft diameter and a receiver shaft depth; and at least one nub; the bolt comprising: a bolt head comprising: a head surface; a head width, the bolt head width being less than the receiver head width; a head length, the bolt head length being equal to the bolt head width and less than the receiver head length; a head depth, the bolt head depth being less than the receiver head depth; and a head bearing surface; wherein the bolt head width is substantially equal to the bolt head length; and a bolt shank comprising: a bolt shank diameter; and a bolt shank depth; wherein the head bearing surface rests against the receiver bearing surface; wherein the bolt head cannot rotate more than 90 degrees; wherein the nub prevents the bolt from dislodging from the bolt receiver by at least a force of gravity; and securing the chassis to the article retaining bed by screwing a nut to the bolt shank.
  13. 13 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 12 wherein the nut is a nylon insert lock nut.
  14. 14 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 12 wherein the bolt receiver comprises two nubs.
  15. 15 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 12 wherein the bolt receiver comprises three nubs.
  16. 16 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 15 wherein one of the nubs is formed as part of the retaining bed.
  17. 17 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 12 wherein the nub prevents the bolt from dislodging from the bolt receiver by gravity.
  18. 18 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 17 wherein the nub is located distal to the receiver bearing surface.
  19. 19 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 17 wherein the nub is located adjacent to the receiver bearing surface.
  20. 20 . The method of attaching an article retaining bed to a chassis of claim 17 comprising a nub located distal to the receiver bearing surface and a nub located adjacent to the receiver bearing surface.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 18/962,203, filed Nov. 27, 2024, entitled “Dump Cart Bolt System,” which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 18/406,934, filed Jan. 8, 2024, entitled “Dump Cart Bolt System,” which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 16/266,750, filed Feb. 4, 2019, entitled “Dump Cart”, and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 11,299,187 on Apr. 12, 2022, all of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates generally to carts used for transporting and dumping articles. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved dumping utility cart designed for cost effectively transporting and dumping articles. And, specifically, the present invention relates to means of attaching a cart bed to a frame. BACKGROUND It is often desirable to transport cumbersome articles, through the use of a cart or wagon, from point A to point B that could not otherwise be easily transported by one or more individuals. Furthermore, it is desirable to transport and easily dump various types of particulate matter, such as dirt, loose gravel, and livestock feed as well as a multitude of other articles. Such a cart may function as a trailer towed behind a motorized vehicle, towed by a person, or self-propelled. There are many forms of carts that have been used for carrying and dumping a variety of items. Many of which contain a relatively flat bed used to contain the articles in transit and a pivoting mechanism for slidably removing the articles from the bed to an alternate location. Various mechanisms have been employed to transfer cumbersome cargo from the transport cart to another location. Manual unloading has been used. However, multitudes of pivoting mechanisms have been exploited to achieve the desired dumping. Placement of the pivot and the size of the dumping cart vary considerably throughout the prior art. Larger carts employ pneumatic cylinders and hydraulics to pivot the bed and allow for dumping of the articles transported. Dumping carts and hinging trailers are known, including those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,833,263 to Jackson; U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,499 to Fortin; U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,390 to Campbell; U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,163 to Mandell et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,944 to Keech; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,301 to Bockman, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Improvements over these earlier patents include U.S. Pat. No. 6,662,679 to Hobdy et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,756 to Pieschel; U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,370 to Simpson; U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,205 to Simpson; U.S. Pat. No. 7,210,697 to Simpson; U.S. Pat. No. 7,390,065 to Pieschel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,792 to Simpson; U.S. Pat. No. 7,818,865 to Pieschel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,887,141 to Pieschel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. D819,917 to Simpson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. D826,507 to Wernberg et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference. The desirable elements of the present invention are neither taught nor disclosed in the prior art. The present invention is therefore a useful improvement upon the prior art of record. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosed invention improves the functionality of dumping carts by allowing a cart to be oriented in multiple dumping positions that help remove articles or materials being transported by the cart. The dumping cart includes a chassis and an article retaining bed that has articulation axis intermediate a front set of wheels and a rear set of wheels when in a carrying orientation. When it is desired to empty the contents of the dumping cart, a lock is released, which allows the article retaining bed and rear wheels to pivot with respect to the chassis. The dumping cart can be rotated to a full-dump position or alternatively, be rotated to a dump or over-dump orientation in which the rear wheels rotate around the articulation axis from an approximately 90 degree relation with the chassis to approximately 180 degree rotation where the floor of the article retaining bed is parallel and facing the ground. Also disclosed is an improved means of attaching an article retaining bed to a cart. The above summary is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the subject matter hereof. The figures and the detailed description that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The disclosure can be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the disclosure, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a top front perspective view depicting a dumping cart in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure in a carrying orientation. FIG. 2 is a left elevation view of the dumping cart of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a top view of the dumping cart of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the dumping cart of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a front elevation view of the dumping cart of FIG. 1