US 12,240,517 B2
Two position hand truck
Jose' Angel Caceres Mendoza, Wichita, KS (US)
Assigned to Harper Trucks, Inc., Wichita, KS (US)
Filed by Harper Trucks, Inc., Wichita, KS (US)
Filed on Jan. 16, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/413,785.
Application 18/413,785 is a continuation of application No. 17/949,865, filed on Sep. 21, 2022, abandoned.
Application 17/949,865 is a continuation of application No. 16/812,336, filed on Mar. 8, 2020, granted, now 11,472,461.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/815,779, filed on Mar. 8, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2024/0343289 A1, Oct. 17, 2024
Int. Cl. B62B 5/06 (2006.01); B62B 1/00 (2006.01)
CPC B62B 5/06 (2013.01) [B62B 1/002 (2013.01); B62B 1/008 (2013.01); B62B 2205/12 (2013.01); B62B 2206/006 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hand truck, comprising:
a hand truck frame having side members and a handle assembly that is rotatably mounted at least indirectly to the hand truck frame such that the handle assembly is able to rotate between a first position in which the handle assembly is adjacent to the truck frame and a second position in which the handle assembly is rotated away from being adjacent to the truck frame,
a latch assembly that is mounted to the truck frame which is arranged to releasably receive and releasably secure the handle assembly in the first position, the latch assembly including a latch assembly support member that is fixed to the truck frame, a pair of opposite latch bracket support members and a latch bracket, the latch assembly support member being fixed to and extending between the truck frame side members, the latch bracket support members fixed to latch assembly support member in a spaced apart parallel manner and having top edges, the latch bracket having at least one side flange and a handle portion extending from the at least one side flange, the at least one side flange also having a top edge which has a normally extending stop tab, the at least one side flange also presenting a curved bottom edge that presents a notch, the latch bracket being rotatably mounted to the latch bracket support members and biased to rotate in a direction such that the top of the latch bracket rotates toward the truck frame, the rotation of the latch bracket being arrested as the normally extending stop tab of the latch bracket side flange contacts the top edge of at least one of the latch bracket support members,
the handle assembly further including at least one horizontal transverse cross member that presents at least one upwardly extending edge, such that the extending edge is able to be swung toward the truck frame, the upwardly extending edge of the horizontal cross member of the handle assembly being arranged such that the upwardly extending edge is able to contact the curved bottom edge of the at least one side flange of the latch bracket until the upwardly extending edge is received by the notch in the bottom edge of the latch bracket side member thereby retaining the handle assembly in a position that is proximate to the truck frame, the handle assembly also being arranged such that manual pressure against its bias rotates the notch so that the notch disengage the upwardly extending edge of the horizontal cross member of the handle assembly so that the subsequent manual rotation of the handle assembly away from the frame allows the released handle assembly to rotate away from the truck frame.