FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a material handling and transporting apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dunnage trolley with multiple racks providing lodging and transportation for automotive or other parts.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Almost every sector of industry requires shipping and transportation of goods, which were mainly done by rails, ships and aircrafts. For transporting goods from one place to another, it is of utmost importance that the goods do not get damaged during the journey. Hence, packaging and containers that accommodate the goods play a vital role while transportation. Therefore, there have been advances in the shipping and transportation industry, as to how the goods should be packaged and lodged in the containers or boxes.

Utmost care is taken when heavy goods, such as automobile parts like ABS parts, are transported. Since, the parts are heavy and made of strong metals, the packaging and containers should be such that the automobile parts do not collide with each other, or against the walls of the containers or trolleys that are carrying them. Also, it becomes difficult to move those containers around, in or out of the transport vehicle, owing to the heaviness of the parts. Therefore, the shipping and transportation industry employ trolleys with compartments to lodge these parts, which made the movements easy.

Further, securely placing such big and heavy parts safely in the trolleys, without causing any damage becomes a concern. Since, mostly the compartments in the trolleys are rigid and immovable; the placement of the heavy automobile parts or other goods becomes unmanageable for middle or lower compartments. This may lead to inappropriate placement of the parts, which may in turn lead to physical damage. Additionally, chances of the parts to collide with each other increases, due to movements of the transporting vehicle, if the parts are not securely placed. Furthermore, presently available trolleys do not provide an efficient space and provision for placing the parts/goods which involve less operator efforts.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Therefore there exists a need of a dunnage trolley which is designed in such a way that it efficiently transports goods, such as automobile ABS parts, without causing any damage.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a dunnage trolley which allows for easy and comfortable placing and handling of the goods inside the trolley.

Another objective of the present invention provides a dunnage trolley that comprises a pair of foldable side and front curtains supported on the main frame that are folded open and close to allow accessing and placing of the goods from the sides and the front of the dunnage trolley respectively.

Yet another objective of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing the dunnage trolley, described in the above mentioned embodiment, for accommodating and/or transporting goods.

Yet another objective of the present invention provides the dunnage trolley for accommodating and/or transporting goods, preferably automobile ABS parts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an embodiment of the present invention to provide a dunnage trolley which allows for easy and comfortable placing and handling of the goods inside the trolley.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a dunnage trolley comprising a main frame supporting at least three racks including at least two fixed racks provided at two sides of the main frame and at least one rotatable rack provided in middle of the at least two fixed racks; the at least two fixed racks and the at least one rotatable rack include a plurality of fixed rack modules and a plurality of rotatable rack modules respectively, forming a plurality of compartments to place and secure goods; the plurality of rotatable rack modules are hinged around the main frame in such a way that the plurality of rotatable rack modules are rotatable anticlockwise to more than one angle and up to 360 degrees; and wherein the plurality of fixed rack modules and the plurality of rotatable rack modules are positioned at a vertical distance from each other to comfortably accommodate the heights of the goods; and wherein the rotation of the plurality of rotatable rack modules allow the rotatable rack modules to be lifted up anti-clockwise one by one for securely placing the goods.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a dunnage trolley that comprises a pair of foldable side and front curtains supported on the main frame that are folded open and close to allow accessing and placing of the goods from the sides and the front of the dunnage trolley respectively.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides a method of manufacturing a dunnage trolley, described in the above mentioned embodiment, for securely accommodating and/or transporting goods, wherein the dunnage trolley is manufactured comprising a main frame supporting at least three racks including at least two fixed racks provided at two sides of the main frame and at least one rotatable rack provided in middle of the at least two fixed racks; the at least two fixed racks and the at least one rotatable rack include a plurality of fixed rack modules and a plurality of rotatable rack modules respectively, forming a plurality of compartments to place and secure goods; the plurality of rotatable rack modules are hinged around the main frame in such a way that the plurality of rotatable rack modules are rotatable anti-clockwise to more than one angle and up to 360 degrees; and wherein the plurality of fixed rack modules and the plurality of rotatable rack modules are positioned at a vertical distance from each other to comfortably accommodate the heights of the goods; and wherein the rotation of the plurality of rotatable rack modules allow the rotatable rack modules to be lifted up anti-clockwise one by one for securely placing the goods.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descriptions of exemplary embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The illustrated embodiments of the subject matter will be best understood by reference to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain selected embodiments of devices, systems, and processes that are consistent with the subject matter as claimed herein.

FIG. 1 illustrates an isometric view of front of a dunnage trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a transparent internal view of the dunnage trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a transparent side view of the dunnage trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 illustrates the isometric view of the dunnage trolley with open front curtains, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates the isometric view of the dunnage trolley with lifted up middle racks, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates the side view of the dunnage trolley with lifted up middle racks, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a pictorial method of lifting up the middle racks of the dunnage trolley, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A few inventive aspects of the disclosed embodiments are explained in detail below with reference to the various figures. Embodiments are described to illustrate the disclosed subject matter, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations of the various features provided in the description that follows.

Reference throughout the specification to "various embodiments," "some embodiments," "one embodiment," or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in various embodiments," "in some embodiments," "in one embodiment," or "in an embodiment" in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

The present invention provides a dunnage trolley which has a plurality of horizontal racks positioned inside a main frame of the trolley. The main frame may be in the shape of a cuboid and manufactured from steel or any other hard material suitably providing the strength to the dunnage trolley. Further, each of the horizontal racks of the trolley may be divided into three parts, in such a fashion that the dunnage trolley has two fixed side racks and one rotatable middle rack. The fixed side racks and rotatable middle rack further consist of a plurality of fixed rack modules and rotatable rack modules respectively, forming a plurality of compartments for accommodating goods, preferably automobile ABS parts.

The middle rack modules are hinged and hence, are able to rotate around an axis at different angles. Therefore, the middle rack modules may be lifted up one by one to place the ABS parts easily and comfortably. The middle rack modules are positioned at a vertical distance with each other, such that each individual rack module is able to comfortably accommodate the dimensions, such as height, of the ABS parts, without causing any damage to the other parts. Further, the rack modules are designed in such a way to comfortably place and fit the ABS parts. Furthermore, the dunnage trolley also comprises foldable side and front; and back and bottom wall supported by the main frame for enclosing the ABS parts inside the trolley and prevent them from falling outside the trolley. Referring now to FIG. 1 which illustrates an isometric view of front of the dunnage trolley 100. In an embodiment, the dunnage trolley 100 may be utilized to transport vehicle ABS parts. The dunnage trolley 100 may include two fixed racks 102a and 102b on extreme two sides of the trolley 100. Further, there is present a rotatable rack 104 that may be provided at the middle of the two side racks 102a and 102b of the trolley. The rack 104 may have multiple rotatable rack modules which will be described later. The dunnage trolley 100 may further include a couple of side curtains 106a and 106b that may be opened and closed on two sides of the trolley 100 to easily access the multiple rack modules of the fixed racks 102a and 102b; and rotatable middle rack 104 too. Furthermore, the trolley 100 also include foldable front curtains 108a and 108b that may be folded open and close to expose the side racks 102a and

10b and the middle rack 104 of the trolley 100 from the front. There may also be present a plurality of wheels 110 to easily move the trolley 100 around.

Referring now to FIG. 2 which illustrates a transparent front view of the trolley 100. The trolley 100 includes multiple rotatable rack modules 200 within the rack 104 that may be provided in the middle of the trolley 100. The rotatable rack modules 200 may be lifted up one by one to accommodate the goods, such as vehicle ABS parts, easily. This arrangement allows easy placement and prevents the parts, which are transported, to be placed without any damage. The parts can be placed easily by lifting the rotatable rack modules 200 up and placing the parts within the spaces between the rack modules 200 through side curtains 106 a and 106b or the front curtains 108a and 108b. FIG. 3 provides a side transparent view of the dunnage trolley 100.

Referring now to FIG. 4 which provides an isometric view of the trolley 100 with open front curtains 108a and 108b to place the vehicle ABS parts easily within the trolley 100 from the front. Therefore, the dunnage trolley may provide multiple provisions and ways to place the ABS parts inside the racks 102a, 102b and 104, including placing the parts from the side by opening up the side curtains 106a and 106b; and additionally, placing the parts from the front by opening up the front curtains 108a and 108b. The side and the front curtains along with the back wall and a base, supported by the main frame, enclose the trolley 100 from outside and prevent the parts to fall out from the trolley 100.

FIGs. 5 and 6 provide an isometric view and a side view for the trolley 100 with the multiple rack modules 200 in uplifted position. The multiple rack modules 200 may be hinged on the main frame and rotated in only one side, which is anti-clockwise, to different angles up to 360 degrees. In an embodiment, the rotatable rack modules 200 may also include a plurality of provisions, such as multiple protuberances, around the hinges that may act as a stopper and allow the rack modules 200 to temporarily stop at a certain desirable angle. Hence, the rack module 200 is prevented from rotating on its own under gravity and falling down. Therefore in the embodiment, the rotatable rack modules 200 can be rotated at a certain desirable angle and can be temporarily fixed at that position for placing the ABS parts. This, further, prevents any accidental harm to the worker who is placing the parts into the rack modules 200.

Further the trolley 100 may also include a fixed base 202 above which the multiple rack modules 200 may rest. There may be some gap present between the multiple rack modules 200 and the fixed base 202. Further, there are also gaps present between each of the rack modules of the multiple rack modules 200 to place and secure the vehicle ABS parts.

FIG. 7 illustrates a pictorial method of lifting up the middle rack modules 200 of the dunnage trolley 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. A method of manufacturing the dunnage trolley 100, as described herein, is also provided. The dunnage trolley is manufactured comprising a main frame supporting at least three racks including at least two fixed racks provided at two sides of the main frame and at least one rotatable rack provided in middle of the at least two fixed racks. The at least two fixed racks and the at least one rotatable rack include a plurality of fixed rack modules and a plurality of rotatable rack modules respectively, forming a plurality of compartments to place and secure goods. The plurality of rotatable rack modules are hinged around the main frame in such a way that the plurality of rotatable rack modules are rotatable anti-clockwise to more than one angle and up to 360 degrees and the plurality of fixed rack modules and the plurality of rotatable rack modules are positioned at a vertical distance from each other to comfortably accommodate the heights of the goods and wherein the rotation of the plurality of rotatable rack modules allow the rotatable rack modules to be lifted up anti-clockwise one by one for securely placing the goods.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that several of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined into other systems or applications.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods, devices, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods, devices, and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.