Patent Application
20080296855
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to land vehicles adapted to carry a load from one place to another, especially such land vehicles provided with supporting wheels to engage the surface over which the vehicle moves (e.g., shopping carts). This invention also relates to such land vehicles with perfecting features to facilitate the unloading of a basket (e.g., to assist in transferring items to be purchased from a shopping cart to a checkout counter). This invention also relates to such land vehicles that allow their dimensions to vary (e.g., by folding from a condition of use to a more compact or smaller non-use form for ease of storage or transport).
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shopping carts accommodate the transportation of purchased items, for example, to a vehicle or a residence. Typically, shopping carts have a basket or other receptacle for holding items to be purchased, the basket is mounted within a rigid, non-collapsible frame that has a handle and four caster-type wheels, and the either the entire basket or the rear wall thereof is adapted to pivot or articulate so that a part of a second shopping cart will at least partially interfit or be received within the boundaries of the basket to produce a nesting relation.
However, a shopping cart with a basket of fixed size can be very inconvenient. It must be large enough to hold many items, and reaching items may require the user to reach or bend down or over. Such bending movement may be painful or even difficult for certain users of a typical shopping cart. Thus, there is a need for shopping carts adapted to facilitate the retrieving of the contents therein without having a user to reach or bend down into the shopping cart basket.
The size, shape, and weight of a traditional, rigid, non-collapsible cart and its fixed basket can also be a disadvantage. When a shopping cart is used to transport items for any distance outside of a store's immediate vicinity (e.g., a few city blocks), lighter weight, smaller size, and more compact shape are obvious advantages. Moreover, traditional shopping carts are unsuitable for transport in a larger vehicle, such as a taxi or public bus. A traditional shopping cart requires a large storage space when not in use and, thusly, cannot be conveniently stored in, for example, an apartment. Thus, there is a need for a collapsible shopping cart with the above mentioned ability to facilitate the retrieving of contents therein.
In light of the needs described above, the present invention provides a collapsible transportation device comprising a receptacle with a vertically movable bottom wall. The receptacle expands and collapses vertically to facilitate in loading and unloading different amounts of items in the cart, and in storing the cart when not in use. The vertical movement of the bottom wall may be controlled by a biasing assembly including multiple pairs of springs.
The above and other features of the inventive cart will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to an embodiment of the invention that is illustrated in the accompanying figures. Wherever possible, same or similar reference numerals are used in the figures and the description to refer to the same or like parts. For purposes of convenience and clarity only, directional terms, such as top, bottom, left, right, up, down, over, above, below, beneath, upper, lower, rear, and front may be used with respect to the figures. For example, as used herein, the term “moves vertically” includes movement in a direction normal to the ground and any other non-normal direction having a substantially vertical component. These and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope of the invention in any manner.
A shopping cart according to the present invention comprises a wheel assembly and a load-bearing assembly, which load bearing assembly comprises an outer frame and an inner frame. The wheel assembly supports the load-bearing assembly and is adapted to engage the surface over which the shopping cart moves (e.g., with wheels). The outer frame of the load-bearing assembly is attached to the wheel assembly, and, significantly, is adapted to allow its dimensions to vary (e.g., by collapsing or folding from a condition of use to a more compact or smaller non-use form for ease of storage or transport). The inner frame of the load-bearing assembly is attached to the outer frame and, importantly, is adapted to facilitate its loading and unloading (e.g., by expanding and/or contracting).
Referring to the figures, there is shown a shopping cart according to the present invention comprising a wheel assembly that comprises a plurality of wheels and axles arranged to support and maneuver the load-bearing assembly and any load therein. The wheel assembly for the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings comprises lower rear horizontal member 13 and lower front horizontal member 15. As shown, lower rear horizontal member 13 and lower front horizontal member 15 are essentially fixed axles. Lower rear horizontal member 13 comprises two non-caster wheels 30 and lower front horizontal member 15 comprises a caster wheel 40. Although the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings comprises three wheels, two of which are non-caster wheels, the wheel assembly may, of course, comprise three, four, or more wheels, any number of which may be caster or non-caster wheels. Moreover, the wheel assembly may include a shelf extending horizontally between lower horizontal members 13, 15.
A shopping cart according to the present invention comprises a collapsible outer frame comprising vertical side members attached to the wheel assembly and adapted to collapse or fold, upper horizontal members for supporting an inner frame, and a handle. As shown, the collapsible outer frame for the preferred embodiment comprises: a pair of vertical side members 11, 12 attached to lower horizontal members 13, 15, respectively; a pair of upper horizontal members 14, 17; and a handle 16. Side member 11 is attached to upper front horizontal member 14, while side member 12 is attached to upper rear horizontal member 17. Handle 16 is attached to side member 12. A safety strap 110, as shown in
To allow collapsing or folding, side members 11, 12 may be arranged in any suitable manner (e.g., revolute joint (“pivot”), prismatic joint (“slider”), cylindrical joint, screw joint, planar joint, spherical joint (“ball and socket”)). As shown, side members 11, 12 cross each other at about their respective mid-points and that crossing point is also the location of a common pivot joint 20. The preferred pivot joint will, of course, comprise a suitable arrangement of parts (e.g., bolts, pins, screws, rivets, bushings, bearings, holes, etc.) and, for example, may be a bolt 18 that passes through juxtaposed holes in side members 11, 12.
To support an inner frame, upper horizontal members 14, 17 are preferably integrated with side members 11, 12, respectively. The dimensions of upper horizontal members 14, 17 will generally determine the maximum horizontal size the inner frame. As shown in the figures, upper front horizontal member 14 is slightly shorter than upper rear horizontal member 17 because side member 11 crosses inboard of side member 12. Therefore, rear horizontal member 17 may be provided with spacers 310 (as best seen in
A shopping cart according to the present invention comprises an expandable inner frame comprising an upper support member attached to the collapsible outer frame (e.g., by hooks or other suitable mechanism), flexible side walls, a bottom wall, one or more lower support members adapted to hold the flexible side walls apart and disposed below the upper support member, and expandable members adapted to lower and/or raise the bottom wall and connecting the upper support member to at least one of lower support members and/or the bottom wall. As shown, the expandable inner frame for the preferred embodiment comprises: a upper support member 51 removeably attached to upper front horizontal member 14 by hooks 60 and integrally attached to upper rear horizontal member 17; side wall netting 80; bottom wall netting 90; lower supporting members 52, 53; and expandable members 70 connecting the upper support member 51 to lower supporting member 52. Furthermore, as discussed in more detail herein below, the rear horizontal support member 17 receives or is integrated with an inner frame 50 such that the inner frame is operative to pivot about upper rear horizontal support member 17.
To form the side walls of the inner frame, the expandable inner frame is constructed with soft (e.g., fabric or non-metallic) side walls and a bottom wall supported by one or more metal support members. The advantages of a non-metallic material include the feature of eliminating the possibility of fingers or items being crushed by the collapsing sidewall because, unlike metal rods, a non-metallic sidewall will yield. As shown in the figures, the preferred inner frame of the present invention comprises side wall netting 80 attached to upper support member 51 and lower support members 52, 53.
To hold the flexible side wall netting apart, lower support members 52, 53 are preferably of the same dimensions as upper support member 51. The side wall netting 80 is securely attached to upper support member 51 so as to provide support for the netting when items are placed with the inner frame, whereas side wall netting 80 may be less rigidly attached to lower support member 52 merely to maintain the position of side wall netting 80. Lower support member 53, which is preferably the same dimensions as members 51, 52, is attached to the bottom of netting 80. The attachment of netting 80 to support member 53 is more secure than the attachment of netting 80 to support member 52 in order to provide support when items are put in the netting. A bottom wall 90 that is lightweight and firm is attached to lower support 53. Bottom wall 90 may be comprised of rigid plastic or metal mesh. Although three frames are shown in the figures, there may be any number of stages with frames vertically suspended from one to the next.
First lower support member 52 is suspended from upper support member 51 by expandable members 70, which are preferably elastomeric cords. In an alternative construction, the lower support member 52 is suspended from upper support member 51 by larger, expandable segments, such as elastomeric mesh, which may or may not be integrated with side wall 80.
Side wall netting 80 may be tethered to at least a part of the outer frame and supplimentally supported thereby. There may also be a flexible pocket or pouch 100 attached to upper rear horizontal support member 17 and hanging outside the receptacle formed by frames 51-53 and netting 80, as best shown in
Referring to
An actuating component including a brake handle 256 and a transmission element is coupled under handle 16 to the outer frame. In accordance with one aspect, the transmission component has an elongated member 258, which may be, e.g., a flexible wire or rigid rod, attached between brake handle 256 and rod 259. In a rest or parking state, the cable is resiliently biased downwardly to have a pad assembly, as will be explained in reference to
It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that, as the break system defaults in an on position, it would be convenient to have a break disengagement system available at the front of the cart. This particular system would provide main benefit where a cart user is positioned in front of the cart and needs to pull a fully loaded cart forward. Rather than dragging the cart against the break system friction, the user may simply disengage the break system. Such a front-end disengagement system may be readily provided via a flexible cable release system (similar to element 258) with a release handle at the front (not shown)
The pad assembly disclosed above is exemplary and can be modified. For example, instead of the springs, brake assembly 250 may be provided with a pneumatic means. Still a further alternative configuration can include a hydraulic means. Both aspects can be readily adapted by ordinary skilled workers.
As is known, shopping cards are conventionally provided with a secured or temporarily-removable child seat. As shown in
In the embodiment shown in the figures, the child seat comprises a flexible hammock supported by a bar. The bar may be moved from an open position to a closed position along slots provided at the top of the basket. The use of the flexible hammock child seat reduces the ability of a child riding in the seat to gain leverage and lift out of the seat. The child seat may optionally include a safety belt (not shown). For example, the safety belt may be generally Y shaped with two points of securement on the bar and one point of securement on the rear wall of the cart, between the child's legs. Although the child seat shown in the figures comprises a flexible hammock, any other suitable type of child seat may optionally be used.
The shopping cart of the present invention can be collapsed as shown in
The safety strap 110, as shown in
A transportation device according to the present invention may be particularly suitable for commercial and/or industrial use. A commercial and/or industrial transportation device according to the present invention may be made with stronger frame members, reinforced mesh, and other similarly reinforced materials.
This application describes the inventive transportation device for illustration purposes only. Neither the specific embodiments of the invention as a whole, nor those of its features limit the general principles underlying the invention. The specific features described herein may be used in some embodiments, but not in others, without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth. Many additional aspects are intended in the foregoing disclosure, and it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that in some instances some features of the invention will be employed in the absence of a corresponding use of other features. The illustrative examples therefore do not define the metes and bounds of the invention and the legal protection afforded the invention, which function is served by the claims and their equivalents.
This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/941,649 filed on Jun. 1, 2007, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated fully by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60941649 | Jun 2007 | US |
