Patent Application
20200223465
The present disclosure is directed to a collapsible locomotion platform and collapsible wheel assemblies therefor. The disclosure is further directed to a cart comprising a payload module used in conjunction with such a locomotion platform.
References considered to be relevant as background to the presently disclosed subject matter are listed below:
Acknowledgement of the above references herein is not to be inferred as meaning that these are in any way relevant to the patentability of the presently disclosed subject matter.
US2008093827 discloses a shopping cart comprising; (a) a basket having an inside level and an outside level, said outside level being higher than said inside level, said basket further including first and second laterally spaced female track sections located on a bottom face of said basket; (b) a handle; (c) first and second pairs of vertical members extending downward from said basket, said first and second pairs of vertical members being laterally spaced from one another; (d) at least one wheel attached to at least one vertical member of each of said first and second pair of vertical members; both vertical members of said first vertical member pair each pivotably connected at respective lower ends to a first lateral side of a longitudinally extending frame; both vertical members of said second vertical member pair each pivotally connected at respective lower ends to a second lateral side of said longitudinally extended lower frame; both vertical members of said first vertical member pair each pivotally connected at respective upper ends to a first male track section; both vertical members of said second vertical member pair each pivotably connected at respective upper ends to a second male track section spaced laterally from said first male track section; said first and second male track sections adjacently slidably connected to said first and second laterally spaced female track sections, respectively, further forming a slidably retractable frame section; a lock and release mechanism attached to said bottom face of said basket, said mechanism selectively engaging said vertical members to lock said vertical members into a downwardly extending position, said mechanism selectively releasing said vertical members to allow said vertical members to be retracted; said vertical members, said male track sections and said longitudinally extending lower frame forming a rotationally retractable structure wherein said vertical members all simultaneously retract in a rotational direction towards said handle; said male track sections and said female track sections forming a slidably retractable structure wherein said vertical members, said male track sections and said longitudinally extending lower frame all simultaneously slide into a position under said basket.
US2014140797 discloses a vehicle storage device comprising: a) a trolley having folding legs with wheels which move from a first in use position with the legs supporting the trolley for wheeled movement along the ground, to a second storage position with the legs folded adjacent the trolley, said trolley providing storage for goods, and b) a housing for mounting in the vehicle to accommodate the trolley with legs in the second position, said housing being rotatable, in use the goods can be placed in the trolley in one location and the trolley can be used to transport the goods with its legs in the first position to the vehicle where the trolley legs can be placed in a second storage position and the trolley placed in the housing in the vehicle whilst still supporting said goods, said housing can be rotated in the vehicle to a preferred storage position, and the trolley can then be removed from the vehicle with its legs placed in the first position to transport goods to a second location
GB2471109 discloses a logistics system which enables the preloading of goods comprising at least one motor vehicle providing a transport volume adapted for carrying a separately displaceable transport container. At least a separately displaceable transport container having a dimension, shape and configuration adapted to perfectly fit in the transport volume provided by the motor vehicle. The transport container is equipped with an undercarriage having liftable and/or foldable legs and wheels or rollers bearing legs which are lifted and/or folded, when the transport container is stored within the transport volume on the load floor of the motor vehicle. Optionally the container has two or more boxes providing a modular configuration. The legs may be telescopic or pivotal and pairs of legs may be connected by a pivotal shaft or crossbar. Preferable the legs are lifted from their ground engaging position when the vehicle moves against them.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,150 discloses a collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks for allowing packages to be placed within the trunk of an automobile without having to lift the packages comprising, in combination:
a basket having a generally rectangular configuration, the basket having an open upper end and a closed bottom;
a pair of forward legs each having an upper end pivotally coupled with a forward portion of the closed bottom of the basket, each of the forward legs having a caster disposed on lower ends thereof, a cross bar extends between the forward legs disposed upwardly of the lower end, a U-shaped handle extends between the forward legs disposed downwardly of the upper ends, a pair of pivot brackets extend between the forward legs and the closed bottom of the basket, each of the forward legs having a supplemental support leg extending therethrough disposed above the lower ends whereby the supplemental support leg is orthogonally disposed with respect to the forward leg, the pair of forward legs having an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby they are folded upwardly to a position where a rearward extending portion of the supplemental support legs about the closed bottom of the basket; and a pair of rearward legs each having an upper segment and a lower segment, the upper segment having a length essentially equal to a height of the basket, a lower end of each upper segment pivotally coupled with an upper end of each lower segment, an upper end of each upper segment pivotally coupled with a rearward portion of the closed bottom of the basket, a lower end of each lower segment having a caster disposed thereon, the pair of rearward legs having an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby the upper segment is folded against a rear wall of the basket and the lower segment is folded within the open upper end of the basket.
US2008303248 discloses a portable shopping cart with foldable front legs and retractable back legs that permits the shoppers to easily unload the cart from the back of their Mini-van or SUVS and load it back to the vehicle, filled with groceries, with a minimum effort. The top part is a plastic rectangular basket or container with inside compartments that will permit the proper separation of different types of products so these will be well protected. It also includes some removable containers that fit in some of the compartments and are made of thermal materials to keep the dairy food and fresh food in good condition while is being transported. The basket is mounted on a metallic frame that holds the two sets of legs with wheels. The front of the basket is also equipped with a set of two wheels intended to hold the front of the cart and guide it inside the vehicle while the front legs are folded. The two front legs fold when the cart is pushed inside the vehicle and open when the cart is pulled out of the vehicle. The two back legs are telescopic designed to be retracted inside the basket when the cart is pushed in to the vehicle, and drop down when the cart is pulled out of the vehicle, by a spring mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,878 discloses a unitary collapsible cart comprising an upper body portion, a lower planar surface and legs for supporting said upper body portion; said upper body portion defining an upper compartment, said upper compartment having opposing side walls, foldable end walls hingedly secured to said side walls and a foldable bottom having a first and a second panel, each of said first and second panels hingedly attached to one of said side walls, and a third panel attached to each of said first and second panels in a hinged manner so that said bottom can be folded into a tri-fold shape, said legs being pivotably secured to said upper body portion to permit the folding of said legs to a position adjacent said upper body portion; said lower planar surface being removably secured to each of said legs and having at least two planar panels hingedly attached along a longitudinal axis; said legs and said cart being held in an unfolded, open position by said lower planar surface, removal of said lower planar surface permits the cart to be collapsed into a compact rectangular shape.
According to one aspect of the disclosure there is a locomotion platform comprising a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, and a payload module articulated to said locomotion platform, said locomotion platform is manipulable between a maneuverable riding position at which said front wheel assembly and rear wheel assembly are deployed at an extended position, and a collapsed position, at which the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are collapsed.
The term ‘payload module’ as used herein denotes any assembly, fixedly or detachably articulated to a locomotion platform of the present disclosure, such as, a basket, bucket, tool cart, shopping cart, hand cart, stretcher, seat, and the like. A payload can also be a load mounted directly or indirectly over the locomotion platform (e.g. different cargo, bags, articles, etc.)
According to another aspect of the disclosure there is a cart comprising a locomotion platform comprising a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, and a payload module fixedly or detachably articulated to said locomotion platform, said locomotion platform is manipulable between a maneuverable riding position at which said front wheel assembly and rear wheel assembly are deployed at an extended position, and a collapsed position, at which the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are collapsed.
Yet an aspect of the disclosure is directed to a payload module fixedly or detachably articulated to a locomotion platform, said locomotion platform comprising a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, and being manipulable between a maneuverable riding position at which said front wheel assembly and rear wheel assembly are deployed at an extended position, and a collapsed position, at which the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are collapsed.
Another aspect of the disclosure is concerned with a front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly, for use in conjunction with a locomotion platform of a cart, at least one of which being manipulable between a maneuverable riding position at which said front wheel assembly and rear wheel assembly are deployed at an extended position, and a collapsed position, at which the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are collapsed. The front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly can be similar or even identical mechanisms, or different.
According to a particular embodiment, the disclosure is direct to a cart wherein the front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly of the locomotion platform are configured to collapse upon encountering an edge of a loading platform extending above the ground.
According to an example of the disclosure, the front wheel assembly and a rear wheel assembly automatically collapse upon encountering a rear portion of a vehicle cargo space, facilitating accommodating the cart within the cargo area/space of the vehicle. The effort required for collapsing the wheel assemblies is minimal, regardless the weight born thereby, i.e. manipulating the cart into the collapsed position does not require overcoming the load born thereby, but rather requires pushing the cart.
The term automatically as used in connection with collapsing and deploying the locomotion platform and cart, respectively, as used herein denotes that the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are configured for collapsing from their riding position into their respective collapsed position upon encountering a barrier disposed at a predetermined height range, wherein the force required for collapsing the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly is transformed from a force acting in a direction progressing the cart against said loading platform. Likewise, the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are configured for deploying into their respective extended position upon displacing from an elevated platform. The front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly will not collapse upon encountering an obstacle disposed over the ground or at an elevation which substantially exceeds the predetermined height range. The term barrier as used herein denotes any object extending at a predetermined elevation range, above the ground, and configured with an edge or an encountering portion, so that when an activating mechanism of the locomotion platform encounters said barrier it causes the respective wheel assembly to collapse.
It is appreciated that whilst the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly are automatically displaceable between their respective riding position and collapsed position, there can be associated safety or locking arrangements requiring interference to facilitate such displacement, respectively.
The term vehicle as used herein in the specification and claims denotes any type of vehicle configured with a cargo area (at times referred to as trunk, storage space, rear bed, etc.), with or without a rear door, of any type. A vehicle suitable for use in conjunction with the cart of the present disclosure is typically similar to a station wagon, estate car, SUV/CUV, pickup car/trunk, or a van, i.e. vehicles typically having relatively a large carrying space. However, it is appreciated that the term vehicle can be extrapolated to denote a ramp, platform, stage, etc.
The term cart as used herein in the specification and claims denotes any sort of cart, however configured with a storage area mounted over the aforementioned locomotion platform. The cart can be, for example, a shopping cart, a tool box and storage caddy recreation/sport gear carrier, a pet carrier, etc. Likewise, the cart can be used for locomoting a load mounted directly or indirectly over the locomotion platform (e.g. different cargo, bags, articles, etc.).
According to the disclosure there is a cart configured with a payload module mounted over a locomotion platform, wherein the locomotion platform is configured for riding over a surface at the normal course of use, and however is readily collapsible upon introducing into a storage space of a vehicle, wherein the locomotion platform collapses in two main steps so that a rear support collapses at last, upon introducing at least a major portion of the cart into the storage space, and further wherein collapsing of the locomotion platform is triggered upon an activating mechanism encountering a portion of the storage space. The locomotion platform is also configured for automatically displacing into its extended, operative position, upon retraction from the storage space.
Yet an aspect of the present disclosure is directed to the front wheel assembly comprising a uniform arm articulated to a break-link mechanism (collapsing link mechanism) associated with the front activating mechanism, said break-link mechanism comprising a first link articulated at one end thereof to the base frame and pivotally linked to a second link which in turn is articulated at an end thereof to a wheel arm fitted at a bottom end with a caster, whereby the at an extended (riding position), the first link and the second link are geometrically locked at coextensive position. The first link is further configured with a lever articulated with the front activating mechanism, whereupon pivotal displacement of the activating mechanism entails corresponding pivotal displacement of the first link, resulting in collapsing of the link mechanism with corresponding swinging of the wheel arm into its collapsed position.
The rear wheel assembly comprises a parallel link mechanism comprising a wheel arm having a top arm link pivotally articulated at one end to the base frame of the locomotion platform and pivotally coupled at its opposed end to a bottom arm link fitted at its bottom end with a caster; and a parallel link having a first end pivotally secured to the base frame and a second end pivotally articulated to the second arm link, below the pivoting point of the top arm link, wherein said parallel link remains parallely disposed with respect to the top arm link.
Any one or more of the following features, design and configurations can be applied to any one or more of the aspects of the present disclosure, separately or in various combinations:
In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Attention is directed to
The cart 10 comprises a utility container, namely payload module generally designated 14, said payload module is a solid cage-like structure made of a grid of steel wire, having a generally rectangular shape comprising a base 22, two side walls 24 disposed between a front wall 26 and a rear wall 28. Disposed at a top of the rear wall there is provided a handle bar 32 disposable between an operative pushing/pulling position (
According to some examples (not shown) the payload module can comprise a child seat (fixed or removable), or the payload module can be compartmented (fixedly or removable as illustrated in
The cart 10 further comprises a locomotion platform generally designated 40 and configured for bearing the payload module 14. In the present example the payload module 14 is detachably mounted over a base frame of the locomotion platform 40 and is secured in place by upwardly extending frame walls 42 of the base frame, and latches 46 (best seen in the top vies) arresting interconnecting bars 48 disposed between the frame walls 42.
Thus, it is appreciated that the cart can be adopted for different purposes, and a different payload module (e.g. as discussed with reference to
The locomotion platform 40 comprises a pair of landing wheels 50 disposed at a front, bottom portion of the frame walls 42 of the payload module 14, said landing wheels 50 configured for encountering a loading surface of a cargo space of the vehicle, at seen in
It is appreciated that the cart is in fact suitable for loading/unloading with respect to any elevated surface such as a stage, ramp, platform, etc. and thus the term vehicle is used herein the specification and claims as an example, and denotes a broad meaning.
The locomotion platform 40 further comprises a front wheel assembly generally designated 54 (
In the present example, and as seen in the drawings, the front wheel assembly 54 and the rear wheel assembly 58 are each bilateral and comprise like components at both sides of the cart, and are configured for cooperation in register in light of inter-connecting bar members 48, 55 and 57 extending therebetween.
As best seen in
At the fully extended, deployed, riding position (
Thus, it is seen that the pushing pin 81 encounters the fore edge wheel arm 60 (
It is noted that at the extended, (
The rear wheel assembly 58 (best seen in
According to one particular example, pivotal displacement of the bottom arm link 106 is restricted whereupon at the fully extended position as it encounters the rear inter-connecting bar member 57.
The rear activating mechanism 130 comprises an activating link 132 pivotally articulated at axle pin 114 to the frame walls 42 and fitted at a fore end thereof with a rear activating mechanism in the form of an encountering wheel 133. The activating link 132 is detachably arrested by a hook portion 134 of a connecting link 136 arresting the top arm link 100 pivot at axle pin 114 and preventing pivotal displacement thereof. Furthermore, the activating link 132 is configured adjacent a top end thereof with a rearward projecting crescent member 135 (shown in dashed lines in
The arrangement is such that as the rear encountering wheels 133 encounter the barrier, the activating link 132 pivots in direction of arrow 141, whereby the tip of crescent member 135 (shown in dashed lines in
At the fully extended, deployed, riding position (
It is appreciated that interconnecting bars members 48, 55 and 57 ensure mutual and simultaneous displacement of the left side and right side wheel assemblies, and further increase rigidity and stability of the cart.
In use, the cart 10 is manipulable between its fully extended, deployed, riding position (
In
As the cart 10 is further pushed into the cargo space 160 of the vehicle the bumper 164 applies further pressure over the front wheel assembly 54, resulting in detaching the casters 78 from the ground and progressive collapsing of the front wheel assembly 54 until obtaining its fully collapsed position as in
As the cart 10 is further pushed into the cargo space 160, riding over cargo surface, by landing wheels 50 (optionally also aided by encountering wheel 66), the rear encountering wheels 133 encounter the bumper 164 (
A final collapsing position, which can take place also earlier, is collapsing the handle bar 32 as illustrated in
It is noted that that at the collapsed position (
It is seen that at the fully collapsed position of the front wheel assembly 54, the front wheel assembly reached a final collapsed position (
Now, when it is required to withdraw the cart 10 from the vehicle 162 (or any elevated surface, as discussed hereinabove), a reverse sequence of operations takes place. Accordingly, first the handle 32 is unfolded and then the cart is gradually pulled out of the vehicle, allowing first the rear wheel assembly 58 to automatically displace into the erect, riding position. However, displacement of the rear wheel assembly takes place gradually (i.e. the top arm link 100 and the bottom arm link 106 reach their final riding position only as the encountering wheel 133 disengages from the loading surface 168 of the vehicle, and upon interlocking at this position, allowing the rear casters 108 to engage the ground.
As the cart 10 is further pulled out of the vehicle, now already riding over the rear wheel assembly 58, front wheel assembly 54 begins to gradually displace into the erect, riding position and likewise, the front wheel arms 60 reach their final riding position only as the front encountering wheel 66 disengages from the loading surface 168 of the vehicle, and upon arresting at this position, allowing the front casters 78 to engage the ground, facilitating riding the cart 10 over the ground.
As seen in the drawings, with an enlarged view in the example illustrated in
The arrangement is such that the wheel assemblies displace sequentially, namely upon loading the cart over a platform the rear wheel assembly begins its collapsing procedure only after the front wheel assembly has completed its collapse, and vise versa upon deploying the cart and unloading it from the platform, the front wheel assembly begins its deployment into the extended position only after the rear wheel assembly has reached its fully extended position and is ready for bearing loads.
In
The cart 210 is illustrated in full in the perspective view of
Similar to the previous example of
The parallel link 310 further comprises a stopper member 320 laterally projecting and configured for limiting pivotal displacement of the bottom arm link 306 as they encounter each other (at point of contact 315).
The rear activating mechanism 330 comprises an activating link 332 pivotally articulated at 315 to the frame walls 242 and fitted at a fore end thereof with a rear activating mechanism in the form of an encountering wheel 333. The activating link 332 is detachably arrested by a hook portion 334 of a connecting link 336 arresting the top arm link 300 and preventing pivotal displacement thereof.
In
As can best be seen in
The arrangement is such that collapsing the rear wheel assembly 258 or deploying it into the fully extended, takes place substantially as discussed hereinabove in connection with the first embodiment, however wherein parallel link 310 is pushed rearwards, into its collapsed position, by virtue of pin 337 displacing to the end of the elongate groove 339, thus bearing against the wall portion marked 347 (as in
It is also seen that the activating link 332 is configured with an arced lever portion 341, having an arresting recess 343, whereby at a folding procedure the pivot 314 slides over the arced lever portion 341 until the pivot 314 nests at the arresting recess 343 (at the folded position the hook portion 334 of a connecting link 336 is disengaged from the pilot point 314).
In the illustration of
Notable, such a manual collapse activating mechanism can activate one or both of the front wheel assembly and the rear wheel assembly, typically gradually.
Further attention is now directed to
In use, the cart 500 operates as disclosed hereinbefore as far as locomoting over the ground and as far as mounting onto an elevated surface while automatically collapsing the front wheel assembly 520 and the rear wheel assembly 526, and reversely upon unloading from the elevated surface and allowing the front wheel assembly 520 and the rear wheel assembly 526 to automatically displace into the fully extended (
It is seen, best in
Turning now to
The cart 620 is illustrated in full at a perspective view in
The cart 620 is configured with a payload module 623, i.e. a loading basket, according to any example as disclosed herein above, said basket fitted at its fore bottom end with a pair of landing wheels 625, as discussed herein before.
Each of the front and rear wheel assembly comprises a parallel link mechanism fitted with a wheel arm having a top arm link 630R; 630F pivotally articulated at one end 632R; 632F to a frame portion 645 of the locomotion platform 622, and pivotally coupled at its opposed, lower end 646R; 646F to a bottom arm link 648R; 648F, the latter fitted at its bottom end with a height adjusting mechanism (e.g. 195 as in
A parallel link 654R; 654F has a first end thereof pivotally secured at 656R; 656F; 656F to the frame portion 645, and a second, bottom end pivotally articulated at 658R; 658F to said bottom arm link 648R; 648F, however below the pivoting point 646R; 646F of the top arm link 630R; 630F, respectively, wherein said parallel link 654R; 654F remains parallely disposed with respect to the top arm link 630R; 630, at all times.
It is seen that the pivot point at the lower end 646R; 646F of the top arm link 630R; 630F is configured with a laterally projecting stopper member configured for limiting pivotal displacement of the bottom arm link 648R; 648F (and of the parallel mechanism) as they encounter each other, so as to restrict pivotal displacement.
An activating mechanism 660R; 660F comprises an activating link 662R; 662F pivotally articulated at 664R; 664F to the frame portion 645, and is fitted at a fore end thereof with a rear activating mechanism in the form of an encountering wheel 668R; 668F disposed at an end of a limiting link 676R; 676F. The activating link 662R; 662F is detachably arrested by a hook portion 670R; 670F of a connecting link 672R; 672R arresting the top arm link 630R; 630F and preventing pivotal displacement thereof.
It is also seen that the activating link 662R; 662F is configured with an arced lever portion 680R; 680F, having an arresting recess 682R; 682F, whereby at a folding procedure the pivot 632R; 632F slides over the arced lever portion 680R; 680F until the pivot 632R; 632F nests at the arresting recess 682R; 682F.
The arrangement is such that collapsing both the front wheel assembly 624 and the rear wheel assembly 626 takes place similar to the disclosure above, however with the front wheel assembly 624 configured for first encountering an elevated platform obstacle (not shown) for collapsing first as in the gradual steps illustrated in
Likewise, deploying the cart 620 into its fully deployed, extended position (i.e. riding position of
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IL2016/050944 | 8/29/2016 | WO | 00 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62212771 | Sep 2015 | US |
