System for converting a door to a railway cart

Abstract

A cart may include a door forming a bed of the cart and a set of wheel assemblies. The cart may be configured to travel along a pair of railroad rails. Each wheel assembly may include a wheel rotatable about an axis and a guide structure configured to engage a side of one rail of the pair of railroad rails. The cart may include a handle, coupled to a wheel assembly.

I claim: 
     
         1 . A kit for converting a door into a cart configured to travel along a railroad track, comprising:
 a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly including
 a clamp portion configured to couple the wheel assembly to an edge portion of the door; 
 a wheel rotatable about an axle defining an axis perpendicular to the direction of travel, the axle being coupled to the clamp portion; and 
 a guide structure connected to the clamp portion configured to engage a side of a railroad rail. 
   
     
     
         2 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the guide structure comprises a second wheel rotatable about a second axis that is perpendicular to the axis defined by the axle and perpendicular to the direction of travel. 
     
     
         3 . The kit of  claim 2 , wherein the wheel and the second wheel are furniture casters provided by a user of the kit. 
     
     
         4 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the guide structure comprises a flange formed on a radial edge of the wheel. 
     
     
         5 . The kit of  claim 1 , further including two handles configured to be attached to the clamp portion of a wheel assembly. 
     
     
         6 . The kit of  claim 5 , wherein the handles are of a length to extend to approximately waist-height on a user when attached to the clamp portion of a wheel assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The kit of  claim 1 , wherein the clamp portion includes a channel sized to receive an edge portion of the door, and at least one bolt. 
     
     
         8 . The kit of  claim 1 , further including a pair of wheel attachment assemblies for configuring the cart to travel without railroad rails. 
     
     
         9 . The kit of  claim 1 , including exactly 4 wheel assemblies. 
     
     
         10 . A cart configured to travel along a railroad track, comprising:
 a door having one or more apertures for attaching a hinge assembly adjacent a first edge and one or more apertures for attaching a handle adjacent a second edge; and   a plurality of wheel assemblies, each wheel assembly including
 a connector portion configured for attachment to the door; 
 a wheel rotatable about an axle defining an axis perpendicular to the direction of travel; and 
 a guide structure configured to engage a side of a railroad rail. 
   
     
     
         11 . The cart of  claim 10 , wherein the guide structure comprises a second wheel rotatable about a second axis perpendicular to the axis of the wheel and perpendicular to the direction of travel. 
     
     
         12 . The cart of  claim 10 , wherein the guide structure comprises a flange formed on a radial edge of the wheel. 
     
     
         13 . The cart of  claim 10 , further including two handles, each attached to the connector portion of one of the wheel assemblies. 
     
     
         14 . The cart of  claim 13 , wherein the handles extend to approximately waist-height on a user when the cart is disposed on a railroad track. 
     
     
         15 . The cart of  claim 10 , wherein the connector portion includes a channel sized to receive an edge portion of the door, and at least one bolt. 
     
     
         16 . The cart of  claim 10 , further including a pair of wheels configured to travel without a railroad track. 
     
     
         17 . The cart of  claim 10 , including exactly 4 wheel assemblies. 
     
     
         18 . A method of converting a door into a bed of a cart, the method comprising:
 removing a door from a doorway;   coupling a pair of wheel assemblies to the door, each wheel assembly including:
 a clamp portion configured to couple the wheel assembly to an edge portion of the door; 
 an axle defining an axis of rotation, the axle being coupled to the clamp portion, and a wheel rotatable about the axle; and 
 a guide structure coupled to the clamp portion and configured for engaging a side of a railroad rail; 
   coupling a handle to the door; and   placing the cart on a railroad track such that the axis of rotation of each wheel is perpendicular to the railroad track, each wheel resting on a railroad rail, and each guide structure engaging a side of the railroad rail.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the clamp portion includes a channel sized to receive the edge portion of the door and coupling the wheel attachment assembly to the door includes threading a bolt through an aperture in the clamp portion to exert a clamping pressure on the edge portion of the door. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein coupling a pair of wheel assemblies to the door includes coupling exactly four wheel assemblies to the door.