Powered Hand Truck and Adjustable Dolly for Level Container Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Portable storage units or containers, due to their size and weight, are difficult to transport and often tilt during loading, risking damage to their contents due to uneven loading and lack of wheels, which existing solutions do not adequately address.
Innovation Solution
A container transport system comprising a powered hand truck, a specially configured vehicle with a sloping ramp and dolly wheel sets that support one end of the container, allowing for level loading and unloading by adjusting the height of the fork tines and dolly wheels to maintain the container's contents in a level orientation during transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional loading onto a flatbed is used, then the container can be transported, but the container tilts during loading causing contents to tip or fall
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dollies as an intermediary device between the container and the flatbed. The dollies have adjustable height legs that allow one end of the container to be supported at a higher elevation, compensating for the ramp slope and maintaining the container in a level position during loading and transport, thereby preventing contents from tipping or falling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs adjustable height legs on the dollies to change the vertical position parameter. By extending or retracting these legs, the system can dynamically adjust the support height to match the ramp angle and maintain container levelness throughout the loading process, directly addressing the levelness reliability issue.
2Ease of operation
If the container is moved up a ramp, then the container can be loaded onto the vehicle, but the forward end of the container rises while the opposite end remains at a lower level
Solution Approach 1:
The dollies serve as a mediating support system that decouples the container orientation from the ramp slope. By positioning dollies at strategic locations and adjusting their leg heights, the system enables the container to maintain a horizontal orientation even while being moved up the inclined ramp, resolving the orientation stability problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable height legs on the dollies provide dynamic adaptability. During the loading process, the leg heights can be continuously adjusted to compensate for changing ramp angles and container positions, ensuring the container remains level throughout the entire loading operation rather than being fixed in a single configuration.
3Productivity
If the container is transported without specialized equipment, then the transport system is simple, but the container is difficult to transport due to its size and weight
Solution Approach 1:
The dollies are designed as multi-functional devices that can be easily attached and detached from the container, and can adapt to different ramp configurations. This universality allows the same dolly system to handle various container sizes and vehicle types, improving transport efficiency without requiring specialized equipment for each scenario.
Solution Approach 2:
The dollies act as a mobile intermediary that bridges the gap between the stationary container and the moving vehicle. By placing dollies under the container ends and rolling them along with the container during loading, the system transforms the difficult task of moving a heavy, wheelless container into a more manageable operation using the dollies as rolling supports.
Data Source
AI summary
The container transport system and method provides for the transport of portable storage units. The system includes a powered hand truck, a specially configured vehicle, and a pair of dolly wheel sets for installation to one end of the portable storage unit. The method comprises removal of the hand truck from the vehicle, fitting the dolly wheels to one end of the portable storage unit as needed, lifting the opposite end of the portable storage unit using the powered hand truck, maneuvering the portable storage unit onto the vehicle using the powered hand truck while simultaneously lifting the end of the portable storage unit supported by the hand truck to keep the portable storage unit level, and parking the powered hand truck on the rearward portion of the vehicle. The hand truck may be remotely controlled, and the dolly sets are preferably height adjustable.