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US 12,485,302 B2Granted
Balance mobile anchor cart
AssigneeTie Down, Inc.
InventorCharles J. MacKarvich
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An anchor cart assembly can include a cart including a frame defining at least one front foot and at least one rear foot, the at least one front foot and the at least one rear foot defining a bottom plane of the frame; and an axle assembly mounted to the frame, the axle assembly being repositionable relative to the frame between a raised position and a lowered position, the axle assembly positioned above the bottom plane in the raised position, at least a portion of the axle assembly positioned below the bottom plane in the lowered position; and a load supported by the cart.
Claims47
A method of using an anchor cart assembly, the method comprising:
- lifting one or more individual weight plates on to the anchor cart assembly to form a weight stack, such that the weighted anchor cart assembly acts as an anchor for one or more workers to provide fall protection;
- rolling a cart of the anchor cart assembly along a ground surface to a work location, the cart comprising a frame and an axle assembly, the frame supporting the weight stack, the axle assembly comprising a wheel, the frame extending about the wheel between a front crossmember and a rear crossmember of the frame;
- and
- repositioning the axle assembly of the cart relative to the frame from a lowered position to a raised position, the wheel of the axle assembly contacting the ground surface in the lowered position, the wheel of the axle assembly contacting the ground surface or spaced above the ground surface to form a space between the wheel and the ground surface in the raised position, wherein when the wheel is in the raised position, the frame rests on the ground surface in front of and behind the wheel;
- wherein:
- repositioning the axle assembly of the cart from the lowered position to the raised position comprises reconfiguring a jack of the cart from an extended configuration to a retracted configuration;
- the jack is coupled to and located within lateral bounds of the frame;
- the frame comprises a substantially vertical front plate, a substantially vertical rear plate, a substantially vertical first side plate extending between the front plate and the rear plate, and a substantially vertical second side plate opposite the first side plate and extending between the front plate and the rear plate.
5 more elements
A method comprising:
- lifting one or more individual weight plates on to an anchor cart assembly to form a weight stack, such that the weighted anchor cart assembly acts as an anchor for one or more workers to provide fall protection;
- repositioning an axle assembly comprising a wheel of a cart of the anchor cart assembly from a raised position to a lowered position, the cart comprising a frame supporting the weight stack and extending about the wheel, wherein:
- in the raised position the frame rests on a ground surface in front of and behind the wheel of the axle assembly, and the wheel contacts the ground surface or forms a space between the wheel and the ground surface;
- in the lowered position the wheel of the axle assembly contacts the ground surface;
- repositioning the axle assembly in the lowered position comprises pivoting a pivot arm coupled between the frame and the axle assembly to rest the frame on the ground surface in a transition position of the cart;
- and
- the pivot arm is pivotably coupled to a front end of the frame and is pivotable between a substantially horizontal position and an angled position.
4 more elements
A method comprising:
- lifting one or more individual weight plates on to an anchor cart assembly to form a weight stack, such that the weighted anchor cart assembly acts as an anchor for one or more workers to provide fall protection;
- raising an axle assembly within a frame of a cart of the anchor cart assembly, the frame supporting the weight stack, the axle assembly comprising a wheel of the cart in a lowered position where the wheel contacts a ground surface;
- and
- repositioning the axle assembly to a raised position where a front end and a rear end of the frame each rest on the ground surface in front of and behind the wheel and wherein the wheel contacts the ground surface or forms a space between the wheel and the ground surface in the raised position;
- wherein:
- repositioning the axle assembly in the lowered position comprises pivoting a pivot arm coupled between the frame and the axle assembly to rest the frame on the ground surface;
- and
- the pivot arm is pivotably coupled to a front end of the frame and is pivotable between a substantially horizontal position and an angled position.
5 more elements
A method of using an anchor cart assembly, the method comprising:
- lifting one or more individual weight plates on to the anchor cart assembly to form a weight stack, such that the weighted anchor cart assembly acts as an anchor for one or more workers to provide fall protection;
- rolling a cart on an axle assembly, the cart comprising a frame supporting the weight stack, the frame extending about the axle assembly between a front crossmember and a rear crossmember;
- repositioning the axle assembly relative to the frame to a raised position, wherein in the raised position, a front end and a rear end of the frame rests on a ground surface at least one of in front of or behind the axle assembly;
- and
- pivoting the axle assembly about a pivot arm of the cart extending from the frame to the axle assembly;
- wherein:
- pivoting the axle assembly rotates the axle assembly from the raised position to a lowered position to lift the frame of the cart above the ground surface;
- and
- the pivot arm is pivotably coupled to a front end of the frame and is pivotable between a substantially horizontal position and an angled position.
6 more elements
A method of using an anchor cart assembly to provide fall protection to a worker, the method comprising:
- rolling the anchor cart assembly along a ground surface to a work location, the anchor cart assembly comprising a cart and a load, the cart comprising a frame defining a front end and a rear end, the cart further comprising an axle assembly positioned between the front end and the rear end, the load configured to add weight to the cart, wherein the axle assembly is positioned in a lowered position, the axle assembly contacting the ground surface in the lowered position, the frame positioned above the ground surface at the front end and the rear end when the axle assembly is in the lowered position and the anchor cart assembly is rolling along the ground surface;
- repositioning the axle assembly of the cart from the lowered position to a raised position, the front end and the rear end contacting the ground surface when the axle assembly is in the raised position, the load configured to immobilize the anchor cart assembly when the axle assembly is in the raised position;
- anchoring the worker to an attachment point defined by the cart;
- and
- tilting the anchor cart assembly to a transition position wherein the front end or the rear end of the frame rests upon the ground surface after rolling the anchor cart assembly along the ground surface to the work location and before repositioning the axle assembly of the cart from the lowered position to the raised position.
2 more elements
A method of using an anchor cart assembly to provide fall protection to a worker, the method comprising:
- rolling the anchor cart assembly along a ground surface to a work location, the anchor cart assembly comprising a cart and a load, the cart comprising a frame defining a front end and a rear end, the cart further comprising an axle assembly positioned between the front end and the rear end, the load configured to add weight to the cart, wherein the axle assembly is positioned in a lowered position, the axle assembly contacting the ground surface in the lowered position, the frame positioned above the ground surface at the front end and the rear end when the axle assembly is in the lowered position and the anchor cart assembly is rolling along the ground surface;
- repositioning the axle assembly of the cart from the lowered position to a raised position, the front end and the rear end contacting the ground surface when the axle assembly is in the raised position, the load configured to immobilize the anchor cart assembly when the axle assembly is in the raised position;
- and
- anchoring the worker to an attachment point defined by the cart;
- wherein the frame further comprises a front plate coupled to the front end, a rear plate coupled to the rear end, and a pair of side plates each extending from the front end to the rear end at opposing sides of the frame.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.