Folding anchor structure for foldable hand trucks

[0001] The present invention relates to a folding anchor structure for foldable hand trucks and particularly to an anchor structure to prevent a foldable hand truck from breaking loose from the folded condition.

[0002] A conventional hand truck for hauling luggage such as the one shown in FIG. 1 generally has a U-shape handle 1 of a selected height and a loading board 2 coupling to the bottom end of the handle 1. There are two wheels 3 coupled to the left and the right sides of the bottom ends of the handle 1. The lower sides of the U-shape handle 1 further are bridged by a transverse bracing bar 4. Luggage may be held on the loading board 2 and lean against the handle 1 and the bracing bar 4. However, such a structure cannot be folded in a smaller size on the front and rear sides when not in use. It takes too much floor space and is difficult to store.

[0003] To remedy this problem, a folding hand truck has been developed as shown in FIG. 2. It has a loading board 5 to couple with a wheel 6 through a gear seat 7 so that they may be driven simultaneously and folded on two sides of a frame 8. While it may save space for storing when not in use, it does not have any means to prevent the folded hand truck from breaking loose. The loading board 5 or the wheel 6 of the loosening hand truck could extend outwards and hurt people walking around. It has safety concern that needs be improved.

[0004] Therefore the primary object of the invention is to provide a folding anchor structure for foldable hand trucks to prevent a folded hand truck from breaking loose and causing harmful effect.

[0005] The invention includes a frame, a loading board, a wheel set and a handle. The loading board and the wheel set are coupled on two sides of the frame through a gear set so that they may be driven simultaneously and folded on two sides of the fame. The handle is extendable and retractable on the frame to shrink the size of the handle truck to facilitate storing. There is a latch lever on the handle to latch on one side of the loading board in the folded and shrunk condition so that the loading board may be prevented from loosening off and hurting people walking around.

[0006] Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art train this detailed description.

[0013] Please referring to FIGS. 3 and 4A, the hand truck according to the present invention includes a frame 10, a loading board 20 and a wheel set 30 located on two sides of the frame 10, and a handle 40 coupled on an upper side of the frame 10. The loading board 20 and the wheel set 30 are coupled through a gear set 50 so that they may be driven simultaneously by the gear set 50 and folded on two sides of the fame 10. The handle 40 is extendable and retractable on the frame 10 to shrink the size of the handle truck to facilitate storing.

[0014] There is a latch lever 401 on the handle 40. When the handle 40 is retracted on the frame 10 as shown in FIG. 4B, the latch lever 401 may latch on one side of the loading board 20 so that the loading board 20 and the wheel set 30 are prevented from loosening off from the folded condition and extending outside on the hall way and hurting people walking around.

[0015] To improve the stability of the latch lever 401, the latch lever 401 has two sets located on two sides of the handle 40 to latch two edges of the loading board 2 on the frame 10 in the folded and shrunk condition.

[0016] As the loading board 20 and the wheel set 30 are driven simultaneously by the gear set 50 to fold or unfold, once the loading board 20 is latched and anchored by the latch lever 401, the wheel set 30 also is latched and anchored without loosening off.

[0017] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one tiled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.