FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of industrial trolleys.

BACKGROUND

The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art. Seamless flow of raw material and parts plays a vital role in manufacturing setups in any industry which implement principles of just-in-time manufacturing, lean manufacturing and so on. Particularly in an industry such as the automotive industry, when it comes to delivery of parts or sub-assemblies to the OEM’s (original equipment manufacturer’s) line, seamless flow of material defines bigger success of inbound supply chain. Size and availability of the a carrier such as a truck, delivery schedules, availability of the dock and material handling equipment (MHE), packaging of parts, line-feeding equipment like crates, trolleys, kit trays and visual controls like Kanban are few of the factors involved, which when optimized, can help in making such an inbound supply chain more lean, agile and efficient.

Suppliers of components or of sub-assemblies of components is categorized into various tiers, for example, tier 3 suppliers supplying material to tier 2, tier 2 suppliers supplying components to tier 1, tier 1 suppliers supplying sub-assemblies to the OEM. A material handling solution which would ensure a seamless flow of parts from tier 1 suppliers to the assembly lines of the OEM directly by eliminating multiple material handling steps using multiple MHEs, decanting of parts from one packaging to another before directly feeding those parts to the line, disposal/recirculation of line feeding equipment for the next cycle/use would be of considerable value to OEM supply chains.

Hence, a material handling solution is sought, which ameliorates the shortcomings of conventional material handling equipment as well as fulfills the abovementioned requirements. OBJECTS

Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:

A primary object of the present disclosure is to provide an industrial trolley. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an industrial trolley, which eliminates multiple material handling steps.

Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide an industrial trolley, which is easily recirculated for next cycle/use.

Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure envisages an industrial trolley. The trolley comprises a cart, a plurality of basket assemblies, a plurality of separators, a handlebar and a plurality of wheels. The cart has a base and three upright walls, including an operative rear wall and a pair of side walls extending from the base. Each of the basket assemblies comprises a cradle frame and a basket. The cradle frames are hingeably attached to the operative rear wall one above the other. The baskets are inserted in the cradle frames and removably fixed therein, for holding material. The separators are removably inserted in the baskets. The handlebar is provided on one of the side walls. The wheels are provided on the base. One of the side walls of the trolley is provided with a plurality of stoppers corresponding to the cradle frames for restricting operative downward angular displacement of the cradle frames. Each of the cradle frames is provided with a biasing spring which biases the frame towards an operative lifted configuration thereof. Each of the stoppers is provided with a locking means for preventing the frame from being lifted upwards. In an embodiment, the bottommost cradle frame amongst the plurality of cradle frames is rigidly attached to the operative rear wall of the cart.

In an embodiment, the trolley is provided with a tow handle. In an embodiment, the trolley is provided with an identification device. In another embodiment, the trolley is provided with a GPS device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING

The industrial trolley, of the present disclosure, will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of the trolley according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Figure 2a is a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 showing all basket subassemblies in a horizontal position;

Figure 2b is a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 showing all but one basket subassembly in a vertical position;

Figure 3 illustrates the body of the trolley of Figure 1 ;

Figure 4 illustrates an operative right side view of the trolley of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5a is a top view of the basket subassembly of the trolley of Figure 1 ;

Figure 5b is a bottom view of the basket subassembly of the trolley of Figure 1 ;

Figure 6 is a rear view of the trolley of Figure 1 in an operative configuration;

Figure 7 is a close-up view of the locking tab of the present disclosure;

Figure 8a a lifting spring mechanism of the present disclosure in a first operative state;

Figure 8b lifting spring mechanism of the present disclosure in a second operative state;

Figure 9a illustrates a first folding state of the basket subassemblies of the present disclosure; and

Figure 9b illustrates a last folding state of the basket subassemblies of the present disclosure.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

100 Trolley of the present disclosure

10 Cart 12 Handlebar

20 Wheels

30 Basket subassembly

32 Basket 34 Cradle frame

36 Hinge element

38 Locking tab

39 Stopper

40 Lifting spring mechanism 42 Spring

50 Tow handle

52 Tow hook

54 Floor lock

60 Lid 62 Lid bracket

70 Label holder

80 Separators

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.

The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms“a”,“an”, and“the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms“comprises”,“comprising”,“including” and“having” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

When an element is referred to as being“mounted on”,“engaged to”,“connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements.

The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another component, region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specific sequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.

Terms such as“inner,”“outer,”“beneath”,“below”,“lower ”,“above”,“upper”, and the like, may be used in the present disclosure to describe relationships between different elements as depicted from the figures.

The present disclosure seeks to provide a material handling trolley for industrial applications such as automotive industry, for handling components and subassemblies, and delivering them to the assembly lines of the manufacturing plant, which minimizes steps of handling of the parts/subassemblies, packaging steps, while also providing the possibility of using the trolley for the recycling for the next cycle/use.

The present disclosure envisages a trolley 100 for material handling applications in industries, as shown in an isometric view in Figure 1. Moreover, the working configurations of the trolley are shown in Figure 2a and Figure 2b. Figure 2a is a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 showing all basket subassemblies in a horizontal position. Figure 2b is a front view of the trolley of Figure 1 showing all but one basket subassembly in a vertical position. The trolley 100 can comprise of a cart 10, a set of wheels 20 and a basket subassembly 30. The cart 10, as shown in Figure 3, is made out of a high-strength material such as stainless steel tubes or any similar material of any suitable cross-sectional shape such as rectangular, circular and the like, coupled together using a suitable technique such as welding. The tubes is welded or joined using a suitable welding technique in a rectangular configuration to form the side walls (operative left, operative right and operative rear) and the bottom side of the cart 10 of the trolley 100, and the front portion of the cart 10 is left open for providing access to the basket subassemblies. The wheels 20 is 6-inch diameter nylon or similar plastic material castors or the like, at least two of which are rotatable about a vertical axis, thus allowing steering of the trolley in left and right directions.

In an embodiment, the trolley 100 comprises a handlebar 12. The handlebar 12 is provided on one of the left and the right side walls of the cart 10 of the trolley 100. The handlebar 12 is a cylindrical or rectangular tube of a high-strength material such as stainless steel or plastic tubes. The handlebar 12 is formed by bending the cylindrical tube at each end of the tube, wherein the ends of the bent portion is welded to the cart 10. The length of the handlebar 12 is equal to the width of the trolley 100 along the shorter sides (i.e., the operative left or the operative right sides) for allowing ease in pulling and steering of the trolley 100.

In another embodiment, the trolley 100 is provided with a tow handle 50 on one of the operative left side and the operative right side and a tow hook 52 on the side opposite to where the tow handle 50 is provided. The tow handle 50 and the tow hook 52 make the trolley adaptable to be attached to a tugger, wherein a tugger is a compact vehicle operated by an individual by seating thereon or by using a remote control and is configured to pull trolleys such as the trolley 100 of the present disclosure. The trolley 100 can also be provided with a foot-operated floor lock 54, shown in Figure 4, which can lock the trolley to the floor in a fixed position.

In still another embodiment, the trolley 100 is provided with a lid 60. A lid bracket 62 is provided at the operative rear side of the cart 10 for supporting the lid 60 in a snuggled manner with the rear wall of the cart 10 when the lid 60 is removed from the trolley 100 for accessing components/subassemblies stored therein, as shown in Figure. The lid can also be foldable / made in the form of a Tollable sheet attached to the trolley instead of being a rigid part.

In yet another embodiment, the trolley 10 is provided with a label holder 70 on one of the sides (i.e., operative left, operative right or operative rear) as shown in Figure 4 for inserting a label or a tag or the like containing information such as that of the contents of the trolley 100. The label holder 70 can have a window on its operative outer side to facilitate display of information printed/written on the label/tag.

According to an aspect of the invention, the basket subassembly 30 can comprise of a cradle frame 34 and a basket 32, as shown in Figure 5a and Figure 5b. The frame 34 is configured to encase the basket 32. The frame 34 is made out of tubes a high strength material such as stainless steel or similar, and be of any suitable cross-sectional shape such as rectangular, circular and the like. The tubes is coupled together using a suitable technique such as welding. The tubes are welded using a suitable welding technique in a rectangular configuration to form the frame 34. The basket 32 is made of any suitable material with high strength and low weight and is selected from a group consisting of wood, polymers such as HDPE, PVC, resins, sheet metal and the like. The basket 32 is made from sheets of the raw material by moulding or forming the sheets, or by 3-D printing, and similar other methods. The basket 32 is of a depth suitable for storing a given component or a sub-assembly. The basket 32 is inserted into the frame 34. One basket in a frame is replaced by another basket with a different depth based on dimensions of the component or the subassembly, or even with multiple baskets / frame based on requirement. The basket 32 is fixed to the frame 34 using a suitable technique such as by using threaded fasteners or is left as it is without fixing. The detachable basket is easy for cleaning, repair and maintenance.

According to another aspect of the invention, at least one basket subassembly 30 is swivellably fitted on the inner side of the cart 10. The arrangement for swiveling of the basket subassembly allows access to the basket immediately below once the first basket becomes empty. The mechanism for swiveling of the basket assembly can comprise at least one hinge element 36, illustrated in Figure 8b. The hinge element 36 is provided between the longer sides or between the shorter (i.e., operative left and the operative right) sides of the frame 34 and the cart 10. For restricting the forward rotation of the basket subassembly 30 to a horizontal position, a stopper 39 is provided on the cart 10, which is shown in Figure 7. The basket subassembly is provided with at least one locking tab 38 for locking the basket subassembly in a horizontal configuration, as illustrated in Figure 7. The mechanism for operating the locking tab 38 is sliding or rotating or any similar mechanism. Further, a lifting spring mechanism 40, illustrated in Figure 8a and Figure 8b showing a first and a second operative state respectively, for rotating the basket subassembly 30 upwards from the horizontal position is provided between the cart 10 and the frame 34 of the basket subassembly 30. The spring 42 of the lifting spring mechanism 40 is under tension when the basket subassembly 30 is in a horizontal position, as shown in Figure 8a. The lifting spring mechanism 40 is configured to be able to lift the basket subassembly 30 only at a predetermined upper limit of weight contained in the basket 32. The predetermined upper limit of weight is zero weight.

In another embodiment, the basket subassembly 30 is completely removed by lifting or by sliding. In yet another embodiment, the basket 32 is removed by lifting or by sliding from the frame 34, wherein the frame remains attached to the cart 10.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the cart 10 is provided with a plurality of evenly-spaced receiving slots (not shown in drawing) for the plurality of basket subassemblies 30 arranged in a vertical configuration. The slot (not shown) for swivellably fitting a given basket subassembly is determined by taking into consideration the dimension of the component contained in the basket as well as other basket subassemblies to be fitted along with the first-mentioned basket subassembly. The frame of a basket subassembly received at the lowermost slot is permanently fitted to the cart 10 without providing a mechanism for swiveling therefor. In an embodiment, the position of the hinge element 36 between a frame 34 of a basket subassembly 30 and the cart 10 is selected anywhere along the width of the cart 10. The position of the first hinge element which is for the topmost basket subassembly is rearmost, followed by positioning the hinge element immediately below the first hinge element at a position which is operatively forward to that of the first hinge element, in order to account for a length equal to at least the height of the topmost basket so as to allow the second basket subassembly to attain a vertical position on being allowed to swivel upwards.

According to still another aspect of the present disclosure, the baskets 52 of the basket subassembly 30 of trolley 100 is provided with vertical separators 80, illustrated in Figure 9a and Figure 9b. Figure 9a illustrates a first folding state of the basket subassemblies of the present disclosure, and Figure 9b illustrates a last folding state of the basket subassemblies of the present disclosure. The vertical separators 80 are of a honeycomb configuration of any suitable shape and size of the sections. The shape and size of the sections of a honeycomb separator 80 is determined based on the size of the given component/subassembly to be inserted therein. The separators 80 can separate components/ subassemblies of the same type or altogether different components and/or subassemblies, kept inside the same basket 32. The separators 80 are made of a material which is light in weight, which is easily folded and which easily is cut into different shapes manually. Thus, materials such as corrugated cardboard sheets, sheets of HDPE, polypropylene, recyclable plastic, and the like, are used for making the separators 80. Moreover, a separator 80 is a single piece or is multiple pieces placed side-by-side inside the basket 32. A separator is assembled by inserting sheets of the abovementioned material provided with notches one inside the other in a criss-cross pattern. Thus, such sheets with notches offer infinite possibility of configuration of the separator 80 with regard to dimensions and variety of components and/or subassemblies to be contained simultaneously within a given basket 32.1n another embodiment, the basket itself is a VF tray (or of similar material) with component cavities. The shapes of the component cavities are matching with the external shape of the components, thereby securing the components firmly therein.

The present disclosure also envisages a trolley-pooling model for optimizing the efficiency of material handling using the trolley 100 of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the same trolley is used by a tier-1 supplier for multiple OEMs to which similar components/subassemblies are supplied by the supplier. In another embodiment, the same trolley is shared between two tier-1 suppliers which supply similar components/subassemblies to the same OEM. According to this embodiment, the trolley filled with a particular component/subassembly is sent by a first tier-1 supplier to the OEM, and after the trolley becomes empty, the trolley is sent to a second tier-1 supplier for filling a similar component/subassembly to be sent back to the OEM. In yet another embodiment, the trolley is shared by at least two tier-1 suppliers and at least two OEMs wherein the first supplier and the second OEM are located in a first location, and the second supplier and the first OEM are located in a first location. According to this embodiment, the trolley filled with a particular component/subassembly is sent by the first tier-1 located at the first location supplier to the first OEM located at the second location, and after the trolley becomes empty, the trolley is sent to the second tier-1 supplier located at the second location in the vicinity of the first OEM for filling a similar component/subassembly, who thereafter sends the trolley to the second OEM back at the first location in the vicinity of the first tier-1 supplier. These embodiments for sharing/pooling of trolleys are extended to any tiers of suppliers. Once a trolley is configured for a component/subassembly of similar type and dimensions, the trolley is pooled amongst all the suppliers and OEM which deal with similar components/subassemblies. In yet another embodiment, by supplying different types of separators to each tier, the same trolley is deployed for a single subassembly, wherein a number of tier-2 suppliers provide individual components and the final subassembly is provided by a tier-1 supplier. The tier-2 suppliers each insert their respective components in the trolley one after the other, whereupon the trolley goes to the tier-1 supplier, where the subassembly of the components is done and is inserted in the same trolley, which finally goes to the OEM. This embodiment, again, is extended to any number of tiers of suppliers.

Such a pooling would not have been possible without the possibilities of customization within the trolley 100 of the present disclosure. While the external cart 10 along with its set of wheels 20, handlebar 12, tow handle 50 and tow hook 52 can form a standard external construction, the internal configuration including the number of basket subassemblies 30, the depth of the baskets 52, the configuration of the basket subassemblies along the plurality of slots available in the cart 10, the innumerable possibilities of design of the separators 80, is customized as per customer and component/subassembly requirement. Even if a particular component/subassembly is no longer required, the trolley is reconfigured easily for an altogether different specification of the component/subassembly, without requiring any alteration to the standard external construction. Thus, the trolley of the present disclosure has tremendous scope for reusability. Also, the pooling of the same trolley as described in the various embodiments above, minimizes packaging requirements for the components/subassemblies as they remain safely packed in the trolley 100 of the present disclosure, separated by the separators 80 covered by baskets from above and beneath. For additional cushioning, any suitable cushioning such as sheets of foam, corrugated cardboard, bubble wrap and the like, is supplied with the trolley for inserting between two adjacent basket subassemblies.

The present disclosure also envisages a system for supply interchange management of the trolleys of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment, for information of location of the trolley at any given point of time, the trolley of the present disclosure is provided with a GPS device. Alternatively, the trolley of the present disclosure is provided with an RFID unit. The RFID unit is an active or a passive RFID tag. The RFID unit includes an RFID tag. The RFID unit is attached to one of the operative left, right or rear wall surfaces of the cart 10 of the trolley 100. The RFID tag can provide unique identification for the trolley. The trolley is scanned at various locations - supplier in, supplier out, OEM in, OEM out and so on. The information from the scanner is transmitted through cables or wirelessly to the Internet. The trolley manufacturer, the suppliers and the OEMs can access information of the location and timing for a particular trolley from the Internet, through a dedicated website configured for the purpose. Such information can thereafter be fed to the supply chain management system of the concerned parties.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS

The present disclosure described herein above has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of an industrial trolley, which:

• eliminates multiple material handling steps;

• is easily recirculated for next cycle/use;

• is configured easily as per component size and other customer requirements;

• minimizes waste by minimizing use of packaging material; and

• is shared between multiple suppliers and OEMs.

The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein is practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.

The use of the expression“at least” or“at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.

While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments is made and that many changes is made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.