Patent Application
20210221417
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
The disclosure relates to carts and more particularly pertains to a new collapsible bag cart device for transporting bags. When shopping at a distant location, particularly when a vehicle or other transport is unavailable, a collapsible bag cart may be useful in making the journey easier and more productive by allowing for increased transport volume and reduced physical fatigue. Ideally the personal cart would be configured to carry a variety of bag types and collapsible to allow for ease of transport to the store.
The prior art relates to carts, specifically, carts used to transport shopping bags during and after shopping in a store.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shopping bag cart assembly. The shopping bag cart assembly has a base, a plurality of wheels, a first end frame, a second end frame, a hanger shelf, and a plurality of bag hanging mounts. The base has a front end and a rear end. The plurality of wheels is rotatably coupled to and extends downwardly from the base. The first end frame is removably attached to and extends upwardly from the rear end of the base. The second end frame is removably attached to and extends upwardly from the front end of the base. The hanger shelf is removably attached to and extends between the first and second end frames. The hanger shelf is positioned adjacent to an apex of each of the first and second end frames. The plurality of bag hanging mounts is attached to and extend upwardly from the hanger shelf.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
A plurality of wheels 34 is rotatably coupled to and extends downwardly from the base 12. The wheels 34 may be lockable or rotatably limited to improve control of the collapsible bag cart 10.
A first end frame 36 is removably attached to and extends upwardly from the rear end 16 of the base 12. A second end frame 38 is removably attached to and extends upwardly from the front end 14 of the base 12. The first 36 and second 38 end frames each have a pair of vertical members 40 each with a height between 3.0 and 6.0 feet. A plurality of cross-beams 42 extends between and is attached to the vertical members 40. The plurality of cross-beams 42 includes a bottom cross-beam 44, a middle cross-beam 46, and a top cross-beam 48. The bottom cross-beam 44 abuts the base 12. The top cross-beam 48 has a pair of spaced receivers 50 extending therein.
A hanger shelf 52 is removably attached to and extends between the first 36 and second 38 end frames. The hanger shelf 52 is positioned adjacent to an apex of each of the first 36 and second 38 end frames. The hanger shelf 52 includes a pair of support beams 54 each having a pair of free ends 56. Each of the receivers 50 are configured to removably receive one of the free ends 56. The hanger shelf 52 further includes at least one brace 58 extending between and attached to the support beams 54.
A plurality of bag hanging mounts 60 is provided. Each of the support beams 54 has at least five of the bag hanging mounts 60 attached thereto. The bag hanging mounts 60 are spaced from each other and extend upwardly from a corresponding one of the support beams 54. Each of the bag hanging mounts 60 has a pair of legs 62 and a central member 64 attached to and extending between the legs 62. Each of the central members 64 each have a top surface 66 with a convexly arcuate shape. The convexly arcuate shape helps to reduce the difficulty of hanging items on the bag hanging mounts 60 and to prevent potential damage to the handles hung on the bag hanging mounts 60.
A push handle 68 is attached to the first end frame 36. The push handle 68 is positioned adjacent to the top cross-beam 48 and extends rearwardly therefrom. The push handle 68 is the primary control method of the collapsible bag cart 10 allowing letting the user steer and propel the rear end 16 of the collapsible bag cart 10 during use. A transport handle 70 is attached to one of the vertical members 40 of the second end frame 38. The transport handle 70 extends laterally away from the second end frame 38. The transport handle 70 provides secondary control of the collapsible bag cart 10 during use by allowing maneuvering of the front end 14. The transport handle 70 is primarily used to carry a portion of the collapsible bag cart 10 during storage and transport.
A middle shelf 72 is removably attached to and extends between the first 36 and second 38 end frames. The middle shelf 72 is vertically disposed between the base 12 and the hanger shelf 52. The middle shelf has an outer frame 74 having a pair of end members 76. Each of the middle cross-beams 46 is removably attached to one of the end members 76. A pair of side members 78 extends between and is attached to the end members 76. A plurality of panels 80 is attached to and extends between the side members 78. Each of the panels 80 is attached to a lower side 82 of a respective one of the side members 78.
A plurality of support braces 84 may be removably attached to and extend between one of the first 36 and second 38 end frames and the base 12. The first end frame 36 has two of the support braces 84 attached thereto and the second end frame 38 has two of the support braces 84 attached thereto. The plurality of support braces 84 are removably attached to improve the rigidity of the first 36 and second 38 end frames by providing support between the first 36 and second 38 end frames and the base 12.
A plurality of storage straps 86 is configured to secure each of the first end frame 36, the second end frame 38, and the middle shelf 72 together when each is removed from the base 12. A plurality of the storage straps 86 is configured to secure each of the support braces 84 to the base 12 when removed from the base 12, such as when the collapsible bag cart 10 is not in use. The storage straps 86 may be of various lengths or securing methods sufficient to secure the parts and withstand the forces incurred during transportation.
In use, the components of the collapsible bag cart 10 are assembled and removably fastened. Once assembled the collapsible bag cart 10 is mobile and structurally ready to be pushed around during shopping and loaded with shopping goods. Shopping bags with handles may be hung from the bag hanging mounts 60 and shopping bags or goods without handles may be placed on the middle shelf 72 and base 12. The collapsible bag cart 10 may be maneuvered around by the push handle 68 and transport handle 70 during shopping and transportation. The middle shelf 72, second end frame 38, and hanger shelf 52 may be absent in alternative embodiments of the collapsible bag cart 10 to allow for moving items not requiring the fully assembled embodiment.
When not in use, the components of the collapsible bag cart 10 can be disassembled into their individual components for storage. The individual components are then secured to each other in two groups for storage. During storage the components are secured together to minimize the required space and allow for transport. The support braces 84 are secured to the top of the planks 32 of the base 12 using the storage straps 86. These assembled components may be rolled around during transport and storage. The middle shelf 72 and first end frame 36 may be secured to opposing surfaces of the second end frame 38 using the storage straps 86. The transport handle 70 should be orientated to extend upward from the secured components and the push handle 68 orientated to project away from the second end frame 38. The hanger shelf 52 is removably fastened to the previously secured first end frame 36. The hanger shelf 52 is orientated so the bag hanging mounts 60 project inward toward the second end frame 38 during transport. These assembled components may be carried around by the transportation handle 70 during transport and storage.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
