Board carrier

Abstract

A compact and versatile device designed to aid the safe lifting and carrying (in an upright position) of large and awkward man-made sheet materials used in the construction industry, so developed to reduce the hazardous and tiring act of bending the back or legs in order to lift heavy sheet materials in common use. The tool is made of strong and durable materials, whilst remaining small enough to be carried easily on the person, so remaining ready for immediate use and consequently more likely to be used than some other, sometimes complicated, devices already on the market. The device consists of a strong carrying shoe suitable to support the lower edge of the sheet material, with a loop of strong but flexible webbing strap which is secured through a purpose-made slot in the carrying shoe. This strap, when wrapped around the operatives hand or wrist, forms an easy means by which a board may then be lifted clear of the ground, and carried away to another place.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Since the 1980s, man-made sheet materials have become more popular for use in the construction industry and by the home ‘handyman’. With the advent of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), the average weight of such materials has also increased, with a standard sized 25 mm thick sheet weighing approx. 70 kg, sheets are becoming difficult to lift, and are creating the right conditions for back injuries to occur.

[0002] Hand-held sheet carriers designed to aid lifting already exist. Some of these are complicated, are expensive to manufacture and therefore expensive to purchase. Because of this, such devices are unlikely to be in common use. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,843 issued to Nunn, Nov. 2, 1993, whose technicality and attention to detail is commendable, but not necessarily of a design able to withstand the rigours of construction site work.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,442 issued to Moore, Jul. 4, 1978 shows a carrier having two metal plates, connected by a rigid centre column.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,085 issued to Cassels, Sep. 22, 1987, describes one similar to Moore, but with pivoted and angled connecting rods or bars.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,160 to Spiers, issued Sep. 12, 1978, shows 2 metal plates acting at opposite edges of the carried sheet, requiring a tightening element.

[0006] Each of these devices are large, rigid, require adjustment, and are potentially expensive to purchase. Whilst the present invention described within may perform the same task, it is different in essential respects.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This invention is a small hand-tool designed to ease the manual lifting and carrying of potentially heavy man-made sheet materials.

[0008] There are such devices on the market already but many fail to be in common use due to their complexity, awkwardness, size, or initial purchase cost.

[0009] For a tool to be used it must be able to fulfil its task, be easy to understand and use, be to hand and ready for use when required; For construction site use it must also be versatile and tough.

[0010] The Board Carrier has been designed to be easy to carry around and easy to operate. This carrier is so small and flexible it can be kept in the toolbag or slipped into the pocket, so simple and strong that it is unlikely to be broken, and so cheap to make and to buy that it should become available to all—and more likely to be used—so reducing the likelihood of back or muscle strain which is the cause of so much time off work due to injury.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is an isometric view, which shows the webbing strap passing through slot

[0012] FIG. 2 is a front elevation, (without strap shown, for clarity)

[0013] FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line A-A

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Design

[0014] Referring to the drawing (page 9), the device comprises a rigid ‘L’ section shoe of dimensions suitable for carrying wood/plaster-based board without causing damage to the board edge. This component can be made from plastics/nylon, or steel/light alloy, but must be durable, and able to withstand rough handling on a construction job site.

[0015] The small front upstand x must be deep enough to safely retain the sheet material being lifted/carried, but not so deep as to hinder the tools' use.

[0016] The larger rear face y includes a slot through which the carrying strap passes. The strap g should be of a length, width, flexibility, and strength to provide a comfortable and safe means of manually lifting and carrying sheet material, which can weigh as much as 70 kg.

Use

[0017] It is envisaged that one, or a number of boards, would be stacked against a wall or solid item, and stood upon at least two timber battens or laths laid on the ground. Whilst holding the carrier by the strap, the shoe can be offered to the approximate center of the lower edge of the board, the front upstand x may then be passed underneath one or two boards as desired, and with the other hand controlling the top edge, the board can be raised off the floor by simply straightening the shoulders and tilting the body away from the board. The operative may then walk away with the board, without once bending his or her back. The top edge is now approximately level with the shoulder, allowing good visibility and also saving the need to ‘duck’ under doorways/lintels/scaffold which is normally commonplace when carrying a 4 ft high sheet in the hand.

Manufacture

[0018] The ideal material for the shoe is steel, as this is easy to work, and the finished product is then resistant to breakage by being dropped from height, and by the sheet material being accidentally dropped upon it.

[0019] Guillotined squares of 2.5 mm thick mild steel have the slot punched out and de-burred (to protect the webbing strap), then folded twice to form the upstands. These shoes can then be painted or otherwise treated, to protect against corrosion.

[0020] The strap can be from polypropylene webbing, ideally 30 mm width for comfort, approximately 1400 mm long, passed through the horizontal slot then lapped and double stitched to form a strong and reliable loop of around 700 mm in length. 1 Dimensions a: between 65 mm-170 mm (optimum dimension 100 mm) b: between 40 mm-100 mm (optimum dimension 70 mm) c: between 12 mm-45 mm (optimum dimension 30 mm) d: between 4 mm-25 mm (optimum dimension 14 mm) e: between 12 mm-60 mm (optimum dimension 35 mm) f: between 1 mm-7 mm (dependant upon material used) g: Strap. The ideal would be a man-made webbing strong enough to fulfil the task, and comfortable in use. This may or may not be adjustable in length by means of a buckle.

Claims

1. I claim as my invention a compact, rigid and durable, hand-sized open-ended ‘L’ section carrier shoe with the capacity to retain sheet materials within its upstands, having a slot to retain a loop of flexible man-made webbing strap providing the means of manually lifting and carrying sheet materials in an upright position.

2. A hand-sized carrying shoe with strap as claimed in

claim 1, wherein a fixed or removable insert of protective soft material is provided for the carried sheet to sit upon.

3. A hand-sized carrying shoe with strap as described in

claim 1 or

claim 2, wherein an adjustable-length strap is provided e.g. by means of a buckle or other similar device.