Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to mechanics and more particularly to an arrangement for carrying and stair climbing LPG cylinder.

Background of the Invention

The era of firewood, kerosene and firewood stoves have gone and the kitchens have graduated to modular kitchens. Gas stoves are now the favourites in the kitchens. The ash less, smokeless and char less cooking offered by LPG gas stoves have made it a good companion in kitchens.

Earlier, gas stoves were rare and expensive articles. But as time changed, scarcity of firewood and necessity for a faster cooking system made the gas stoves a common home utility. The subsidies awarded by the government have made it reachable to all despite the economic standards of living of the people.

LPG cylinders are used for both domestic and industrial purposes. Domestic cylinders have their tare weight printed on them and gas agencies fill them with 14.2 kilograms LPG. The gross weight of the cylinder is the sum of the tare weight and the amount of 14.2 kg LPG. Thus the gross weight of a domestic LPG cylinder comes around 30 kg. In case of industrial cylinders, the amount of gas filled is 19 kg and above. The lifting of filled LPG cylinders isn't an easy task; especially carrying it through stairs is cumbersome.

Hand lifting of LPG cylinders is the common prevalent practice for shifting the cylinders. Many a times women or even children at home are forced to shift the gas cylinders. This activity creates health problems, physical exhaustions etc.

Other conveyance means available are trolleys or carts. These do serve the purpose of shifting the cylinders with less effort, but however do not consider the placement of the cylinder onto the trolley or cart and back. The loading and unloading of the cylinder is itself a heavy duty.

Many of the existing carriers for gas cylinders require power and work with the help of motor. But at this age, where we search and opt for alternative sources for reducing power consumption, such systems are again a burden. There are gas cylinder carriers with the provision of hooks for hanging the cylinders; but they are dangerous to use as long as the fixing and hanging of the cylinders to the trolleys are strong enough. For household use, bulky carriers are inconvenient to use. A cylinder carrier that can be used for climbing up and down the stairs is an unfocussed or unanswered area.

Hence there exists a dire need to develop a cylinder carrier which satisfies the above requisites. A safe and strong carrier that can be operated with ease and less effort will be a great aid to all, especially housewives.

Summary of the invention

The invention herein discloses an arrangement for carrying and stair climbing LPG cylinder. The arrangement comprises a main C frame for carrying load of the gas cylinder; a movable frame attached to the main C frame by hinged joint which further comprises two L shaped rods welded to a hollow rectangular bar; stair climbers for rolling through steps; locking system controlled by a lever fixed in the main C frame to lock movement of the movable frame with respect to the main C frame; and a detachable handle connected to long rod of the movable frame. Two 360° rotating wheels on the front and two step climbing wheels on the rear side of the main C frame control the movement of the arrangement. Stair climber is a three wheel arrangement made of three flat plates placed at 120° to each other to form a 'Y shaped frame.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the LPG carrier and stair climber. Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the detachable handle arrangement. Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic representation of the stair climber.

Detailed Description of the invention

The invention herein discloses accordingly an arrangement for carrying and stair climbing a LPG cylinder. The arrangement comprises a main C frame for carrying load of the gas cylinder; a movable frame attached to the main C frame by hinged joint which further comprises two L shaped rods welded to a hollow rectangular bar; stair climbers for rolling through steps; locking system controlled by a lever fixed in the main C frame to lock movement of the movable frame with respect to the main C frame; and a detachable handle connected to long rod of the movable frame.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the LPG carrier and stair climber (arrangement)

The main C frame (101) is the main load carrying part. It carries load of the gas cylinder and other parts of the arrangement. The main C frame (101) is made up of galvanized iron (Gl) hollow rectangular bar (111)and resembles the shape of English letter 'C. The wheels are attached to the main C frame (101). Two 360° rotating wheels (103) on the front and two step climbing wheels (105) on the rear side control the movement of the arrangement. Two front wheels (103) rotate in 360° and steer the equipment in all directions.

The movable frame (102) is attached to the main C frame (101) by hinged joint. It is made up of mild steel and Gl. It comprises two 'L' shaped rods welded to a Gl hollow rectangular bar (111). This configuration makes the base of the arrangement perfectly line up with the reducing cross section of the gas cylinder. The Gl hollow rectangular bar (111) has a circular long rod (110) welded to its centre and perpendicular to it. It is a long rod mounted vertically. The 'C shaped frame (106) welded to the circular rod (110) support the gas cylinder. The strap belts attached to the holes drilled at the end of the C shaped frame (106) holds the gas cylinder to the movable frame (102).

The main C frame (101) has a locking mechanism. The locking system (104) consists of spring and screw arrangement. It locks the movement of movable frame (102) with respect to the main C frame (101). Two holes on the 'L' section bar lock the movable frame (102) to main C frame (101) at two different positions or angles. The upper hole will lock the frame at its no load position where the movable frame (102) will be parallel to the main C frame (101). At this position, the arrangement can be moved to contain the gas cylinder. The lower hole will lock the movable frame (102) at its loaded position where the movable frame (102) will be at an angle of 20-25° with the main C frame (101) and the gas cylinder will be at approximately two centimeter above from the ground. A lever fixed in the main C frame (101) controls the locking mechanism. By pushing the lever it pulls the string which is attached to the rear end of the locking pin releasing the lock by compressing the spring. The stiffness of the spring is directly proportional to the force to release the lock.

The movable frame (102) is pivoted to the main C frame (101) on its Gl hollow rectangular bar (111) so that it is able to rotate the frame about the pivot and there by lifting the cylinder by mechanical advantage of lever.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the detachable handle arrangement.

The circular rod (110) of the movable frame (102) has a union joint (108) at top to attach and detach the detachable handle. Detachable handle (201) is connected to the circular rod (110) of movable frame via screwed union joint. A chain (202) is inserted inside the rod and attached to the detachable handle (201). The detachable handle (201) can be detached from the circular rod (110); but connected to the arrangement via the chain (202) and can be used to pull the entire carriage. It helps when the equipment is in the stair climbing mode. At the stair climbing mode pulling is more comfortable than pushing. After the stair climbing the detachable handle (201) can be attached to the circular rod (110) and the chain (202) can be mounted inside the circular rod (110).

At the stair climbing mode, the three stair climbers (105,107) drive the carrier. As the detachable handle (201) is detached from the circular rod (110), the carrier can be pulled through the stairs; the three stair climbers (105,107) touch the floor and roll through stairs. The carrier moves perpendicular to the floor in the normal mode; in the stair climbing mode, the carrier moves parallel to the stairs.

Figure 3 shows a diagrammatic representation of the stair climber.

Stair climber is a three wheel arrangement inside two frames which is made of three flat mild steel plates placed at 120° (302) to each other to form 'Y shaped frame. Holes are made at the centre also. The two frames (302) and tyres (301) are joined by nut and bolt. Tyres (301) are made up of rubber. Stair climbers are designed to roll through steps of up to 12-18 cm height. Two stair climbers (105) are attached to main C frame (101) and one (107) is attached to long rod (110) of the movable frame (102). The individual wheels can rotate in its own centre and the stair climbers can rotate in its own centres. The revolving individual wheels help to move the equipment on plane or rough surfaces whereas the revolving stair climbers help to climb stairs smoothly without any shock. Stair climbers at long rod are used while moving through staircases.

Another embodiment of this invention is that the present carrier may be used for carrying similar heavy articles, wherein the 'C shaped frame (106) welded to the circular rod (110) is replaced by such suitable structures to support the heavy article to be carried. A 'C plate may be used in case of a cylindrical article and a rectangular plate for a rectangular article. It should be noted that the above arrangement has been described for the purposes of illustration only. It should not be construed to be limiting to the one shown in the described above and various modification and combination that are known in the art are possible. However, all such modifications will be deemed to be within the scope of the claims that will be claimed hereunder.

Claims

We claim:

1. An arrangement for carrying and stair climbing LPG cylinder, the arrangement comprising: a main C frame for carrying load of gas cylinder; a movable frame attached to the main C frame by hinged joint which further comprises two 'L' shaped rods welded to a hollow rectangular bar; stair climbers for rolling through steps; locking system controlled by a lever fixed in the main C frame to lock movement of the movable frame with respect to the main C frame; and a detachable handle connected to circular long rod of the movable frame.

2. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein the main C frame is a hollow rectangular bar resembling shape of English letter 'C.

3. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein two 360° rotating wheels and two step climbing wheels are attached to the main C frame.

4. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (3) wherein the two 360° rotating wheels rotate in 360° and steer the arrangement in all directions.

5. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein the circular long rod is welded at centre of the hollow rectangular bar of the movable frame and perpendicular to it.

6. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (5) wherein a 'C shaped frame is welded to the circular long rod to support the gas cylinder.

7. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (6) wherein strap belts are attached to the 'C shaped frame for holding the gas cylinder.

8. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein two holes are provided on the L shaped rods to lock the movable frame to the main C frame, upper hole to lock at its no load position and lower hole to lock the movable frame at its loaded position.

9. The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (8) wherein at the loaded position angle between the movable frame and the main C frame is 20-25°.

10.The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein the stair climber is a three wheel arrangement made of three flat steel plates placed at 120° to each other.

11.The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (10) wherein two stair climbers are attached to the main C frame and one is attached to the circular long rod of the movable frame.

12.The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein a union joint is mounted at top of the circular long rod to attach or detach the detachable handle.

13.The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) wherein a chain is inserted inside the circular rod of the movable frame and attached to handle.

14.The arrangement as claimed in claim (1) & (6) wherein the 'C shaped frame is replaced by such suitable structures to support and carry different heavy articles.