Patent Application
20230025905
Not Applicable
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The disclosure relates to storage assemblies and more particularly pertains to a new storage assembly for increasing a storage capacity of a shopping cart. The present invention discloses a storage assembly comprising a shelf, which is selectively attachable to a front of a shopping cart so that the shelf is positioned proximate to a wheelbase of the shopping cart and extends outwardly from the basket.
The prior art relates to storage assemblies. Prior art storage assemblies may comprise various baskets and shelves, which are engageable to shopping carts so that they are positioned within the shopping carts. Prior art storage assemblies also may comprise shopping carts with shelves that extendible from their back ends. What is lacking is storage assembly comprising a shelf that is selectively attachable to a front of a shopping cart, a position in which it does not impinge upon a user of the shopping cart. The shelf is positioned proximate to a wheelbase of the shopping cart and extends outwardly from the basket, allowing for oversized articles to be positioned upon it rather than in the basket.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a shelving unit, which is configured to be mountable to a front of a basket of a shopping cart. The shelving unit extends outwardly from the basket and a bottom shelf of the shelving unit is substantially coplanar with and positioned proximate to a lower frame element of the shopping cart to which wheels of the shopping cart are attached. The shelving unit is configured for stowage of an article, such as a large package of toilet paper, paper towels, and the like, which normally would occupy a large portion of the basket.
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
The shelving unit 12 comprises a first plate 26, a set of brackets 28 and a second plate 30. The brackets 28 are engaged to and extend from an upper end 32 of the first plate 26 and are configured to selectively engage the front 14 of the shopping cart 18 so that the first plate 26 is removably engaged to the shopping cart 18. The first plate 26 extends along the front 14 of the shopping cart 18 to proximate to the lower frame element 22. The set of brackets 28 may comprise two brackets 28, as shown in
The second plate 30 is engaged to and extends substantially perpendicularly from a lower end 34 of the first plate 26. The second plate 30 is substantially coplanar with and positioned proximate to the lower frame element 22 of the shopping cart 18. The second plate 30 comprises the bottom shelf 20 and is configured to position of the article. The present invention also anticipates the shelving unit 12 comprising additional shelves (not shown).
The second plate 30 is hingedly engaged to the first plate 26 and thus is selectively positionable in a deployed configuration and a stowed configuration. In the deployed configuration, as shown in
Each of a pair of side arms 38 is hingedly engaged to and extends between a respective opposed side 40 of the first plate 26 and an associated opposed edge 42 of the second plate 30. The side arm 38 comprises a pair of sections 44, the sections 44 of which are mutually hingedly engaged. The side arm 38 thus extends substantially linearly between the first plate 26 and the second plate 30 with the second plate 30 in the deployed configuration. The side arm 38 is positioned to fold as the second plate 30 is motivated to the stowed configuration.
A fastener 46 is engaged to the first plate 26 and is configured to selectively engage the article positioned on the first plate 26 so that the article is removably engaged to the shopping cart 18. The fastener 46 may comprise a bungee cord 48, as shown in
In use, the brackets 28 are used to attach the shelving unit 12 to the front 14 of the basket 16. As needed, the second plate 30 can be hinged to the deployed configuration and an article can positioned upon it. The article can be secured with the bungee cord 48.
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.
