[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Patent Application No. 61/570,804, hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY

[0002] This invention relates to a dumping platform for tilt trucks.

[0003] Tilt trucks are wheeled bins commonly used for trash collection and construction clean up. Tilt trucks are also known as dump buggies, or portable refuse bins. At construction sites, tilt trucks are used in conjunction with large stationary trash collection bins. The smaller tilt trucks are moved by a worker to and from a specific work location, such as a drywall installation. The tilt trucks are sized to fit through interior hallways, elevators and the like. The loaded tilt truck is then wheeled to the large collection bin. The contents of the tilt truck are dumped into the bin.

[0004] The tilt truck is designed for rolling from place to place, as well as for dumping by tilting. In this regard, a tilt truck includes two large, forward support wheels, normally on a common axle, and two rearward swivel casters. The tilt truck rests on the wheels and casters while stationary, as during loading.

[0005] The rearward end of the tilt truck includes an integrated handle. A tilt truck can be moved by pushing it while it is at the rest position (that is, when resting on the support wheels and casters). The tilt truck is dumped by lifting on the handle so that the tilt truck rotates about the axle of the support wheels. In many tilt truck configurations, the load of the rotating tilt truck is transferred from the support wheels to a fixed fulcrum member formed in the forward wall of the truck so that the tilt truck cannot move on its wheels while it is being emptied.

[0006] The forward wall of a tilt truck normally slopes inwardly and downwardly (rather than substantially vertically) to facilitate sliding of the waste material over the sloped forward wall and out of the tilt truck. This sloping wall enables the tilt truck to be emptied without the need to completely invert the tilt truck. [0007] In the past, tilt truck have been emptied by hand. The tilt truck can be moved to the edge of a dock, adjacent to the collection bin that is below the level of the dock. The worker locates the forward, sloped wall of the tilt truck partly over the wall of the relatively lower collection bin, and then lifts the handle to tilt and empty the truck as described above. This procedure can be hazardous to a worker, especially when the weight of a heavily loaded tilt truck shifts while emptying.

[0008] There are times when a fully loaded tilt truck must be lifted for emptying. This can occur, for example, when the tilt truck is at ground level, outside of a large, high-walled collection bin. In the past, the tilt truck could be cradled by and chained or strapped to the blades of a forklift, which then raised and dumped the tilt truck. Much time is wasted, however, in securing a tilt truck to forklift blades in a manner sufficient to ensure that the entire tilt truck does not fall into the collection bin when tilted for dumping by the forklift.

[0009] The present invention is directed to dumping platform for tilt trucks that enables dumping of a tilt truck in a safe and efficient manner.

[0010] Other advantages and features of the present invention will become clear upon study of the following portion of this specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Fig. 1 is a side perspective view of a dumping platform formed in accordance with the present invention, but with sidewalls removed to show tilt trucks parked on the platform.

[0012] Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the platform of Fig. 1.

[0013] Fig. 3 is side view of the platform of Fig. 1 but with the front ramp removed.

[0014] Fig. 4 is a rear perspective view, partly cut away, of the dumping platform formed in accordance with the present invention including the back and sidewalls.

[0015] Fig. 5 is a front perspective view, partly cut away, of the dumping platform formed in accordance with the present invention showing the front ramp moved into a retainer wall orientation with a loaded tilt truck parked and secured on the platform...

[0016] Fig. 6 is a side view, partly cut away, of the dumping platform illustrating how the floor component of the platform is movable relative to a base component for dumping the tilt truck. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] With reference to Figs. 1 - 6, a dumping platform 20 is used for safely and efficiently dumping a conventional tilt truck 22, 23. The tilt truck 22, 23 may be any of a wide variety of designs, such as one sold under the trademark "Rubbermaid" model 1011 Structural Foam Tilt Truck, Utility Duty.

[0018] An exemplary tilt truck 22 includes two large, forward support wheels 24 on a common axle, and two rearward swivel casters 26. The tilt truck rests on the wheels and casters while stationary, as during loading.

[0019] The rearward end 28 of the tilt truck 22 includes an integrated handle 30. The handle includes at least one handle opening 32 (Figs. 1 and 4) that is completely enclosed by solid material. The tilt truck 22 can be moved by pushing it while it is at the rest position (that is, when resting on the support wheels and casters). The tilt truck is designed to be normally dumped (that is, dumped without the use of the present invention) by lifting on the handle 30 so that the tilt truck rotates about the axle of the support wheels 32. The load of the rotating tilt truck 22 is transferred from the support wheels 24 to a fixed fulcrum member 34 (Figs. 2 and 6) bulging from the forward wall 36 of the truck so that the tilt truck 22 cannot move on its wheels 24 while it is being emptied. The other tilt truck 23 is constructed in a manner similar to truck 22, except that it is larger and has no protruding handle.

[0020] As noted earlier, the forward wall 36 of a tilt truck 22 normally slopes inwardly and downwardly (rather than substantially vertically) to facilitate sliding of the waste material over the sloped forward wall and out of the tilt truck.

[0021] The dumping platform 20 of the present invention includes a generally rectangular base 38 (as viewed from above) upon which a floor 40 is mounted. At the forward edge 42 of the base 38, the edge of the floor 40 is pivotally fastened to a pivot rod 41. The remainder of the floor substantially covers the base 38.

[0022] The base 38 is preferably formed as a rigid, three dimensional frame having a rearward edge 44 that is taller (Fig. 3) than the forward edge. Accordingly, the overlying floor 40 slopes slightly downwardly from the rearward 44 to the forward edge 42 of the base. [0023] In one embodiment, a tilt truck 22 is pulled onto the platform floor 40 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This is facilitated by a thin rigid ramp 46 that is hinged to the floor 40 at the forward edge 42 of the base. The ramp 46 also serves as a retaining wall, as will be discussed.

[0024] It is noteworthy here that the illustrated dumping platform 20 shows (Figs. 1 and 2) two tilt trucks 22, 23 carried on it. It will be appreciated that the dumping platform could be scaled for a single tilt truck or for more than two tilt trucks. This description will detail the components of the platform 20 for use with a single tilt truck 22, with the

understanding that duplication of those components will enable the platform to carry more than one tilt truck.

[0025] The tilt truck 22 is parked on the floor 40 in a position where the wheels 24 are stopped against rotation and the handle 30 of the tilt truck is in a position to be clamped to the dumping platform 20. Specifically, the floor 40 includes wells 48 into which drop the wheels 24 of the tilt truck. The wheels 24 are thus seated in the wells such that further rolling of the tilt truck is restricted in the absence of additional force applied by the worker to remove the tilt truck. The wells 48, therefore, act as detent or stop mechanisms that enable the worker to be certain that the tilt truck 22 is properly parked on the floor 40. It will be appreciated that other stop mechanisms may be employed, such as a pair of spaced apart raised ribs, between which the wheels are captured on the floor of the dumping platform.

[0026] A preferred mechanism for clamping the tilt truck handle 30 to the dumping platform 20 includes a two-part vertical post 50 (Fig. 3) that is mounted to protrude vertically from the rearward edge 44 of the base 38. The post 50 may be, for example, a box-beam with one, upper part 52 telescopically received in the lower part 54. The upper part 52 includes a clamp member 56 extending outwardly, perpendicular to the post 50. The clamp member 56 terminates in a downwardly opening channel that fits over the upper edge 58 of the rearward end 28 of the tilt truck (Fig. 5).

[0027] To operate the clamping mechanism, the upper part 52 of the post 50 is removed until the tilt truck is parked with the wheels 24 in the wells 48. In this parked position, the handle 30 of the tilt truck will protrude over the lower, fixed part 54 of the post. The upper part 52 of the post is then extended through the handle opening 32 and

telescopically received in the lower part. A number of through holes are formed in the upper part 52 of the post and a single through hole is formed in the lower part 54 of the post. When the clamp member 56 engages the upper edge 58 of the tilt truck, a pin 55 (Fig. 3) is inserted through the aligned through holes in the lower and upper parts of the post, thereby to fix the height of the post and thus clamp the tilt truck handle 30 to the dumping platform. It will be appreciated that any of a variety of handle heights

(corresponding to a variety of sizes of tilt truck s) can be accommodated by the adjustable clamp mechanism.

[0028] In addition to securing the handle 30 of the tilt truck 22 to the dumping platform 20, the forward wall 36 of the tilt truck is also secured. Specifically, (see Figs. 2 and 5) the ramp 46 is pivoted about rod 41 into a vertical position where it abuts (Fig. 5) two forward vertical columns 60 protruding from the floor 40, one column at each corner of the floor. The ramp edge is latched (at 62) to each column 60 and thus serves as a vertical, forward retaining wall. In a preferred embodiment, the ramp, in its vertical orientation, will abut the forward wall 36 of the largest tilt truck 22 that can be accommodated by the dumping platform. When slightly smaller tilt trucks are used (See Fig. 5), an auxiliary hold-down strap 64 is tensed between the upper edge 66 of the forward wall 36 and a bracket 68 on the ramp 46. This secures the forward end of the tilt truck to the platform.

[0029] The forward vertical columns 60 are matched by a pair of rearward vertical columns 70 located in the rear corners of the floor 40. In one embodiment, sidewalls 72 extend between these columns to form a three-sided enclosure for the parked tilt truck(s) 22. As an alternative, the sidewalls 72 may be omitted in favor of a frame-like structure comprising the forward and rearward vertical columns 60, 70 joined at the tops by horizontal beams 71.

[0030] With the tilt truck 22 parked and secured to the dumping platform 20 as described above, any of a variety of mechanisms can be used for causing the floor 40 to pivot (See Fig. 6) to thus tip the tilt truck 22 carried on the floor by an amount sufficient to dump its contents. For example, in one embodiment, the rearward edge 44 of the base is provided with pockets 74 for receiving the blades of a shooting-boom forklift (Figs. 1, 4 and 6). It will be appreciated that although only two forklift-blade pockets 74 are illustrated, additional pockets can be including so that the platform 20 can be operated using a variety of forklift configurations. [0031] The dumping platform 20 is provided with mechanism for locking the platform to the forklift after the forklift blade is inserted into the pockets 74. In one embodiment, the lock mechanism comprises a chain or cable 75 (Fig. 4) fixed at one end to one of the frame members. The other end of the lock cable 75 has a loop that carries a hook 77. Once the blade of a forklift is fully inserted into the pocket 74, the lock cable 75 can be wrapped around the exposed vertical part of the forklift blade and hooked to itself or to a suitable bracket or eye on the platform to effectively lock the platform 20 to the forklift.

[0032] The entire dumping platform 20 is raised by a forklift for positioning over a high- walled collection bin, for example. Once so positioned, the base 38, carried by the forklift blades, is tipped downwardly until the weight of the tilt truck 22 causes the floor 40 to pivot (about the rod 41 at the forward edge 42 of the base) with the tilt truck so that the contents of the tilt truck slide out into the collection bin.

[0033] Preferably, the pivotal motion of the floor 40 relative to the base 38 is limited by a cable 76 or other such member fastened between the floor 40 and base 38 (Fig. 6).

[0034] It is contemplated that the floor can be moved relative to the base by mechanisms such as hydraulic lift cylinders or similar actuator. This would be useful in instances where the dumping platform is to remain on, for example, the edge of a dock near an adjacent, lower collection bin. In this case, the sidewalls and ramp of the dumping platform could be omitted so that the tilt truck 22 could be moved onto and off the floor 40 from the sides of the floor, which sides would be configured to have ramped edges.

[0035] While the present invention has been described in the context of preferred embodiments, it is contemplated that modifications to those embodiments may be made without departure from the invention as claimed.