Patent Application
20050205632
The present invention relates to a shopping bag to be attached in a shopping cart.
Shopping bags are known in greatly varying implementations. Thus, for example, jute, paper, or plastic bags and net bags are known which are intended, among other things, to be able to be attached externally to suspension devices on a shopping cart. However, shopping bags are also known which are placed in shopping carts or are suspended therein.
When shopping in supermarkets, it is typical to place products which are taken from shelves located in different locations in the store in shopping carts provided on the part of the store, to move these products in the shopping cart to the cash register, and to take them out at the cash register, lay them on the conveyor belt, and then place them back in the shopping cart. Often, the products are then placed in bags or boxes brought along for this purpose after they have been registered by the cashier. This is cumbersome, since the boxes must first be unfolded or the bags must be stretched out with both hands. Unnecessary waiting times for subsequent customers caused by lengthy repacking at the cash register are to be avoided, and the operators of supermarkets are interested in rapid checkout of the customers at the cash registers.
For this purpose, U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,100 suggests a shopping bag which has stiff upper edges having carrying handles, having a foldable or projecting catch under each of the carrying handles to be engaged in the upper edge of diametrically opposing side walls of a shopping cart.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the known disadvantages of known shopping bags from the related art and to provide a shopping bag which may be securely attached in a shopping cart. Furthermore, it is to be possible to close the bag easily and tightly after removal from the shopping cart and to carry it using carrying straps. In addition, when the bag is no longer suspended using both handles in the shopping cart, it is to be able to be placed in a filled or partially filled state on the loading surface or in the trunk of an automobile, for example, and not tend to tip over.
The present object is achieved by a shopping bag having at least two handles and a sack, the handles being attached to the open side of the sack on diametrically opposite lengthwise edges of the sack, each handle having at least one carrying handle and/or carrying bracket and hooks to be hooked in, on, or over diametrically opposite walls of a fixed vessel or frame, such as a shopping cart, at least two hooks being spaced on each handle by at least half of the length of the handle, preferably spaced from the carrying handles and/or carrying brackets, and being positioned on the lateral surface of the handle which is diametrically opposite the open side of the sack. The hooks preferably have a thickness and/or dimension of less than 2 cm, particularly less than 12 mm, and especially preferably less than 8 mm, measured parallel to the handle.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention are the object of the subclaims or are described in the following.
The bag preferably stretches out over an essentially rectangular opening on top in the stretched out state, the transverse edges and/or transverse surfaces of the bag which are not terminated on top by a handle being stretched out against an elastic resistance.
Furthermore, the carrying handle is preferably part of the handle and the hooks which are spaced out farthest are positioned distal on the right and left of the carrying handle, and also preferably positioned in and/or on the outer fourth of the handle, the handle extending over at least 80%, preferably at least 95%, of the length of the lengthwise edges of the sack in the closed state.
The hooks are preferably implemented to project horizontally approximately perpendicularly outward, i.e., away from the sack opening, and then to curve approximately perpendicularly downward. The hooks have a thickness and/or dimension of less than 2 cm, preferably less than 8 mm, measured parallel to the handle.
In this way, it is possible to lay the handle using the hooks not only on the upper edge of the metal mesh basket of a shopping cart, with the handle lying at least partially inside, but also to engage the hooks of the handle lower, so that the hooks rest on lower-lying horizontal struts and engage behind them.
The horizontal leg of the hooks preferably has a length from approximately 5 to 25 mm, especially preferably from 7 to 15 mm, and the vertical leg has a length from 3 to 25 mm, especially preferably from 5 to 10 mm.
Each two hooks are preferably positioned at one height but on diametrically opposite sides of the two handles, so that the handles may be engaged by being enclosed by two parallel hooks at a distance at one end of a shoulder strap and the two handles are guided in this way between the parallel hooks of the shoulder strap, so that the sack is closed on top.
The hooks of the shoulder strap positioned in parallel are preferably attached to a base body, which has a device for receiving the shoulder strap on its other end, in such a way that when the base body is displaced upward along the upper edges of the pair of handles—independently of the direction—in the region of the handle hooks, each of the two shoulder strap hooks, which are positioned in parallel and point downward, engages in one of the two handle hooks.
Furthermore, at least one chip is preferably removably mounted on at least one handle, which may be used as a replacement for a coin in order to unlock shopping carts which are locked together.
The sack of the shopping bag is preferably at least partially transparent, in order to allow store personnel to check whether and which products are moved past the cash register and/or stored in the shopping cart.
Furthermore, the sack is predominantly made of a flexible plastic material.
The sack may thus be manufactured from three surfaces, one surface connecting the two handles without a seam and the ends of the surface each being permanently connected to one handle essentially over the entire width of the shopping bag. The two remaining side surfaces are then connected at an angle to the main surface by gluing or sewing and are preferably delimited on top by an elastic cord.
According to this construction, the shopping bag has no defined floor surface and the floor surface is formed by the packaged products located at the bottom of the shopping bag. This ensures that the shopping bag tends to bulge out at the bottom and in this way stands up securely with the opening on top. After loading, the shopping bag may be removed from the shopping cart, closed, and transported to the automobile, to then stand up when placed on the loading surface and/or the floor of the trunk. Furthermore, the avoidance of seams or glued points in and/or on the floor surface has the advantage that the shopping bag retains liquid better if it leaks therein.
It is also possible for each handle to have at least one catch, which, when the handles are moved together, is to be assigned to an interruption in the other handle corresponding to the catch, the catches, when guided through the interruptions, preferably in that the handles are moved together downward and initially placed against one another at an angle on top, hold together the two handles plane-parallel and a distance. The catch has at least one support, preferably on the bottom, which moves past the interruption surface and catches behind it. The support is displaceable against the stop surfaces in and/or on the interruption, preferably elastically while reducing the external dimensions of the catch, the catch undergoing an expansion to the rest state dimensions when guided past the interruption surface. The interruption is preferably implemented as essentially a rectangular surface in the top view. The handle or the bag also preferably has internal hook-and-loop closures on top, independently of the description above.
The catch especially favorably has a lower support having a rectangular hook shape for engaging behind a region which tapers to the front and is curved slightly upward on top. The catch also preferably has a recess between the region curved slightly upward and the lower support, so that the region curved slightly upward and the lower support and/or the region of the contact surface may be moved together elastically behind the lower support.
The shopping cart typically includes a cart provided with rollers having a handle and an open wire frame mounted on top in the movement direction in front of the handle. The sack of the shopping bag preferably has a shape which, in regard to volume, fills out the shopping cart in the region between the handles in the stretched out state and preferably rests on the bottom on the floor of the shopping cart.
Of course, the shopping bag may also be used for other products besides store products or suspended in or along other containers besides shopping cart wire baskets.
The statements “bottom”, “top”, “lengthwise”, “transverse” are each to be understood as in relation to one another and are not to be laid out in such a way that the object is to be fixed on an absolute position or alignment in this way. Top is where the open side of the sack is.
The present invention will be described in greater detail by
A shopping bag 1 having two handles 2, sack 3, and shoulder strap 12 is shown. The sack 3 is manufactured from three surfaces which are connected using seams 18. The main surface 17 runs from lengthwise edge 5 to lengthwise edge 5 and is sewed to the handle essentially over the completely of the lengthwise edge 5 of the sack 3. The transverse surfaces 11 each have an elastic cord 19 on the upper transverse edges 10. The floor surface of the sack 3 is formed by the packaged products located therein and has no edges and/or seams along the main surface 17.
The hooks 7 are positioned on the outsides 9 of the handles 2, each in the region of the handle end pieces, i.e., each in the outermost ⅙ of the handle 2 in relation to its length, essentially perpendicularly and bent at right angles downward. These are implemented for engaging behind thinner walls and/or rods, e.g., smaller than 8 mm, and particularly for engaging behind lattices.
Each handle 2 has one catch 20 and an interruption 21 on the other handle which corresponds thereto when the handles 2 are moved together, the catches 20, when guided through the interruptions 21, holding the two handles 2 together plane-parallel at a distance. The catch 20 has a support 22 on the bottom, which, when guided through the interruption 21, catches behind it. The support 22 is elastically displaceable toward the upper stop surface in and/or on the interruption, e.g., while reducing the external dimensions of the catch, the catch 20, when guided through the interruption 21 and engaged, experiencing expansion to the rest state dimensions. The interruption 21 essentially has a rectangular shape.
The lower support 22 has the shape of a rectangular hook surface for engaging behind a region 23 which tapers to the front and is curved slightly upward on top. Furthermore, the catch has a recess 24 between the upper region 23 curved slightly upward and the lower support, so that the upper region 23 curved slightly upward and the lower support 22 and/or the region of the contact surface 25 may be moved together elastically behind the support 22.
Furthermore, the handles are held together in the closed state of the shopping bag 1 by hook-and-loop closures 30 on the handle insides. Furthermore, it is possible for the hook-and-loop closures to be attached under the handles and on top in the region of the lengthwise edges of the sack (optional). A chip 29 is located in each of the handles, using which shopping carts which are locked together may be unlocked.
A typical shopping cart 8 is shown in
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE 402 08 235.4 | Oct 2002 | DE | national |
| EC 08883- | Apr 2003 | EC | national |
