Conveying tool

Abstract

A carrier C has a placing frame 1, left and right posts 2, left and right gripping frames 3, and inserting portions 4. The placing frame 1 has front and rear left-right frames 10 that extend in the left-right direction and on which firewood is to be placed. The left and right posts 2 each have front and rear post bodies 21 that are joined to the placing frame 1 and extend in the vertical direction. The left and right gripping frames 3 each are each being bridged between upper ends of the front and rear post bodies 21. The insertion portions 4 each are joined to the post 2, into which the gripping frame 3 of another carrier is inserted from below, thereby connecting the carriers C together vertically.

Claims

1. A carrier for firewood, comprising: a placing frame comprising front and rear left-right frames each extending in a left-right direction, on which the firewood is configured to be placed; left and right posts each comprising front and rear post bodies that are joined to the placing frame and that extend vertically; left and right gripping frames each being bridged between upper ends of the front and rear post bodies; and left and right inserting portions each being joined to the left and right posts, into which gripping frames of another carrier are configured to be inserted from below to connect the carriers together vertically, wherein the front and rear post bodies and the gripping frame define opening; wherein the post bodies are inclined each are tilted inward in a front-rear direction; wherein each of the left and right inserting portions comprises a pair of plate members spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction; and wherein, when the gripping frames of the another carrier are inserted between the pair of plate members of the corresponding inserting portions, upper portions of the front and rear post bodies of the another carrier are configured to be inserted between the pair of plate members and to be placed adjacent to inner sides of the front and rear post bodies of the carrier.

2. The carrier according to claim 1, wherein the left and right posts each are collapsibly connected to the placing frame.

3. The carrier according to claim 2, wherein the placing frame further comprises four vertical frames extending upward from ends of the left-right frames, and left and right front-rear frames each being bridged between upper ends of respective front and rear vertical frames from the four vertical frames, wherein the left and right posts further comprise front and rear bottom frames extending from lower ends of the front and rear post bodies toward a center in the left-right direction of the placing frame, and are collapsibly connected to the left-right frames by axis members via the front and rear bottom frames, and wherein the front and rear post bodies are positioned inside the front-rear frames in the left-right direction, and the front and rear post bodies are configured to be restricted to swing in the left-right direction beyond the front-rear frames.

4. The carrier according to claim 3, further comprising left and right engaging portions each provided on the front and rear post bodies, and each engaged with the front-rear frame when the front and rear post bodies are upright.

5. The carrier according to claim 3, wherein the left and right inserting portions each have an engaging portion that is engaged with the front-rear frame when the front and rear post bodies are upright.

6. The carrier according to claim 1, wherein the left and right inserting portions each are separated into front and rear sections, and respectively provided on lower parts of the front and rear post bodies.

7. The carrier according to claim 1, wherein the left and right inserting portions have a flared shape in a front view.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a carrier according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a front view of the carrier shown in FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inserting portion shown in FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 4 shows the carrier shown in FIG. 1 placed with firewood and stacked.

(5) FIG. 5 is a front view of the carrier shown in FIG. 1 when the carrier is folded.

(6) FIG. 6 shows a cycle of operation of the carrier by a firewood dealer and a user.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) The following is an embodiment of a carrier for firewood according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the X-axis indicates the left-right direction, the Y-axis indicates the front-rear direction, and the Z-axis indicates the vertical direction. Each axis is orthogonal to each other.

(8) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present embodiment of the carrier C has a placing frame 1, left and right posts 2, left and right gripping frames 3, and left and right inserting portions 4.

(9) The placing frame 1 consists of, for example, steel rods, metal shafts, or metal pipes, and has front and rear left-right frames 10, four vertical frames 11, and left and right front-rear frames 12. The left-right frames 10, vertical frames 11, and front-rear frames 12 are integrally formed, but are merely an example, and may be separately and independently formed and connected to each other.

(10) The front and rear left-right frames 10 extend in the left-right direction and are spaced front to rear and parallel to each other. The four vertical frames 11 extend upward from each end of the left-right frames 10. The left and right front-rear frames 12 each are bridged from the upper end to the upper end of the front and rear vertical frames 11. The upper surface of the left-right frames 10 are to be placed with firewood. The left and right frames 10 each may have a length of, for example, 350 mm to 450 mm. The front and rear frames 12 each may have a length of, for example, 250 mm to 350 mm.

(11) The left and right posts 2 each consist of metal pipes, with front and rear bottom frames 20, front and rear post bodies 21, and a reinforcement frame 22. The bottom frames 20, the post bodies 21, and the reinforcement frame 22 are integrally formed, but this is merely an example. The bottom frames 20, the post bodies 21, and the reinforcement frame 22 may be formed separately and independently and connected to each other.

(12) The front and rear bottom frames 20 are adjacent to the inside of the left-right frames 10 and extend along the left-right frames 10 in the left-right direction. The front and rear bottom frames 20 are connected to the left-right frames 10 in a collapsible manner via axis members B. The upper surface of the bottom frames 20 is configured to have the same height as the upper surface of the left-right frames 10.

(13) The front and rear post bodies 21 are integrally formed with the bottom frame 20 and extend upward from each outer end of the front and rear bottom frames 20, being adjacent to the inside of the front-rear frames 12. In the present embodiment, the front and rear post bodies 21 each are tilted inward in the front-rear direction, and the front and rear post bodies 21 as a whole form a truncated chevron shape in a side view. The pillar body 21 may have a height of, for example, 300 mm to 400 mm.

(14) The reinforcement frame 22 is integrally formed with the bottom frames 20 and extends from the inside edge of the front bottom frame 20 to the inside edge of the rear bottom frame 20.

(15) The left and right gripping frames 3 each consist of metal pipes and are formed integrally with the front and rear post bodies 21. The gripping frame 3 is bridged between the upper ends of the front and rear post bodies 21. The gripping frame 3 is to be gripped by a user when the carrier C is carried. The gripping frame 3 and the post bodies 21 are integrally formed, but this is merely an example. The gripping frame 3 may be formed separately and independently and connected to each other.

(16) As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the left and right inserting portions 4 each are separated front to back and welded to the lower portions of the front and rear post bodies 21. The inserting portion 4 consists of a plate member 4a and a plate member 4b that are welded to the lower portion of the post body 21 and that are provided inside or outside of the post body 21 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the inserting portion 4 is formed in a flared shape in front view by the plate members 4a and 4b. The inserting portion 4 is inserted with the gripping frame 3 of another carrier C, as will be described later.

(17) The upper part 4c of the plate member 4a is hook-shaped in front view, and when the post body 21 is upright, the upper part 4c is engaged to the front-rear frames 12 to stabilize the upright state of the post body 21. This hook-shaped portion 4c corresponds to the engaging portion 4c of the present invention.

(18) The user places firewood W on the upper surface of the left-right frames 10 and grips the gripping frame 3 to lift the carrier C and carries firewood W. In the present embodiment of the carrier C, the left-right frames 10 restrict the opening of the post body 21 in the left-right direction, and the engaging portion 4c restricts the inward swing of the post body 21, so the upright state of the post 2 is stable. In addition, the upper surface of bottom frame 20 is configured to be the same height as the upper surface of left-right frame 10, so that firewood W is also placed on bottom frame 20. As a result, the weight of firewood W also regulates the swing of post 2. This allows the user to properly carry firewood W. Furthermore, carrier C in the present embodiment is small enough for women to carry, and lightweight with pipe-shaped material.

(19) As shown in FIG. 4, the left and right posts 2 each can be folded inward by pivoting the axis members B as a pivot point. In the present embodiment, the front and rear post bodies 21 have a truncated chevron shape in a side view, so that the upper part of one post body 21 can be accommodated inside the lower portion of the other post body 21. This allows the carrier C to be compactly stored when not in use.

(20) As shown in FIG. 5, multiple carriers C can be stacked by inserting the gripping frame 3 of the lower carrier C into the inserting portion 4 of the upper carrier C. Thus, the carrier C can serve as a carrier C for carrying firewood W, as well as a firewood storage rack for storing firewood W and a firewood rack.

(21) As shown in FIG. 6, the firewood dealer S can place firewood W in carriers C of the present embodiment and load carriers C with the firewood W on a truck and transport them from the warehouse of the firewood dealer to the user U's home. The firewood dealer S can then carry the carriers C with firewood W from the truck to a predetermined place in the user U's home to form a firewood storage rack T. This allows firewood dealer S to avoid loading firewood W transported by truck into a basket. Moreover, firewood dealer S can also eliminate placing firewood W from the basket onto user U's firewood storage rack T.

(22) As shown in FIG. 6, when user U carries firewood W close to the heating system D, they lift up the carrier C with firewood W and carry the carrier C close to the heating system D. This eliminates the need for user U to load firewood W from the firewood storage rack T to the basket. Moreover, the user U can also skip placing the firewood W from the basket onto the firewood rack R. Furthermore, the carrier C can be compactly folded by folding post 2 when the firewood W is emptied. As a further benefit of carrier C, carrier C also serves as the carrier C for the firewood W, the firewood storage rack T, and the firewood rack R, eliminating the need to purchase each separately and thus contributing to the cost. In addition, Carrier C in the present embodiment makes Carrier C, in which firewood W is stored, easy to change its position. Thus, it is easy to organize the firewood W such that Carrier C with the new firewood W is on the bottom and Carrier C with the old firewood W is on the top. Furthermore, according to Carrier C, the user may enter into a contract with firewood dealer S for a cycle in which the user gives the empty Carrier C to firewood dealer S, who returns Carrier C with the firewood W in it at the next purchase of firewood W. This has the advantage for firewood dealer S to keep its customers (user U) firmly connected.

(23) Although the above-described embodiment of the present invention has been described, the carrier according to the present invention is not restricted to the above-described embodiment. For example, the carrier of the present invention may be implemented by the following variations.

(24) The carrier C is not limited to a metal material such as steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or duralumin. For example, the carrier C may be made of carbon fiber or wood. The carrier C is not limited to a circular cross-sectional shape of each frame. For example, the carrier C may have a non-circular cross-sectional shape of each frame.

(25) The engaging portion 4c may be separately and independently from the inserting portion 4 and joined to the post body 21.

(26) The reinforcement frame 22 is not an essential component. For example, instead of the reinforcement frame 22, an engaging portion may be provided on the lower frame that is engaged to the left and right frames 10.

(27) The left and right inserting portions 4 each may, for example, not be separated front and rear, but the front and rear inserting portions 4 may be formed integrally and extend in a front-rear direction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE CHARACTERS

(28) C carrier W firewood B axis member S firewood dealer T firewood storage rack R firewood rack U user D heating system 1 placing frame 10 left-right frame 11 vertical frame 12 front-rear frame 2 post 20 bottom frame 21 post body 22 reinforcing frame 3 gripping frame 4 inserting portion 4a, 4b plate member 4c engaging portion