CA2165897A1 - Forwardly inclined over-the-counter shopping cart - Google Patents
Forwardly inclined over-the-counter shopping cartInfo
- Publication number
- CA2165897A1 CA2165897A1 CA 2165897 CA2165897A CA2165897A1 CA 2165897 A1 CA2165897 A1 CA 2165897A1 CA 2165897 CA2165897 CA 2165897 CA 2165897 A CA2165897 A CA 2165897A CA 2165897 A1 CA2165897 A1 CA 2165897A1
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- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- basket
- shopping cart
- bottom wall
- rear wall
- front gate
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Abstract
An over-the-counter shopping cart having a merchandise carrying basket supported elevated by a structural frame which is displaceable on casters by pushing a handle rearwardly of the basket. The basket is inclined forwardly and is wider at the front end than the rear end. The basket also has a hinged front gate which is easy to disengage and the top surface of the bottom wall as well as the top surface of the front gate are provided with projecting ribs to facilitate sliding of merchandise disposed thereon towards the front gate. The bottom wall of the basket slopes forwardly at a predetermined angle in the range of from 5° to 7° to provide ease of sliding of the merchandise. The frame also permits close nesting of the baskets with one another. The rear gate is also inclined rearwardly to facilitate the placement of a child in the babyseat compartment. The rear wall is also provided with a safety rail.
Description
21658~7 FORWARDLY INCLINED OVER-THE-COUNTER
SHOPPING CART
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an over-the-counter shopping cart having a forwardly inclined bottom wall, an enlarged front end, an improved support frame permitting the transportation of heavy loads and close nesting of carts, an improved front gate, and an improved rear wall for the baby seat compartment.
BACKGROUND ART
The over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention is an improved cart of the type described in U.S.
Patent 3,751,059 issued August 7, 1973. That cart was designed whereby to replace conventional cantilevered shopping carts wherein the basket is hinged upwardly on the frame to permit close nesting. A disadvantage of the cantilevered shopping carts is that the baskets are difficult to hinge upwardly to permit nesting and are dangerous should the basket accidentally fall from its upright nested position. A still further disadvantage of cantilevered shopping carts is that because the basket is constructed in two parts and operated on a hinge it often necessitates repair and most often people do not take the time and bother of lifting the large front basket of the cart to its nesting position resulting in many shopping carts being left unattended and occupying a larger floor space than conventional nestable carts. These carts are also bothersome to customers and to the supermarket proprietors because of their difficulty to nest. Also, these conventional carts have their baskets horizontally disposed and heavy large merchandise is often difficult to remove as they must be lifted out of the carrying basket when positioned adjacent a merchandise processing station operated by a cashier.
Another problem with over-the-counter shopping carts is that most of these do not have a babyseat compartment in the rear end thereof and they are constructed as a square box 21658~7 whereby to place the maximum number of merchandise in the basket. There is therefore the need to provide a babyseat compartment in the rear end of the basket while maintaining this space requirement. However, because these shopping carts are very large it has been heretofore found difficult to incorporate a babyseat compartment therein.
SUMMARY OF INVENT I ON
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart which substantially eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart of the type described in the aforementioned U.S. patent and which facilitates the sliding removal of merchandise from its basket and further provides improved nesting and structural rigidity.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart having a novel baby seat compartment which is automatically actuable to automatically and securely obstruct the leg holes in the rear wall of the cart to prevent merchandise from falling through the leg holes and to further prevent the seat plate from being positioned out of obstructing engagement with the leg holes when the backrest is collapsed.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a novel rearwardly inclined rear wall associated with the babyseat compartment whereby to facilitate the placement and removal of a child from the babyseat compartment from the rear end of the shopping cart.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an over-the-counter shopping cart having a front gate which is easily detached from its connecting frame to unload articles from the shopping cart and wherein the front gate when collapsed inside the shopping cart compartment will substantially prevent articles from sliding out of the shopping cart if the rear gate is in a collapsed position over the bottom wall of the shopping cart basket.
~1658~7 Another feature of the present invention is to provide a displaceable guard rail in association with a rear wall of a shopping cart and wherein the rear wall has a recessed opening in a top end portion thereof, in order to provide added security to a child seated in the babyseat compartment.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a shopping cart wherein there is provided a slidingly connected rail connectable above a top edge of the rear wall and wherein the rail is provided with amusement articles whereby to entertain a child seated in the babyseat compartment.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an over-the-counter shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed diverging side walls, a rear wall and a forwardly hinging front gate in a front end of the basket. The bottom wall has ribs projecting on a top surface thereof and extending horizontally from the rear wall to the front gate to facilitate the sliding of merchandise disposed thereon toward the front gate. The bottom wall also slopes downwardly from the rear wall to the front gate at a predetermined angle in the range of from 5~ to 7~ to further facilitate the discharge of merchandise by sliding the merchandise on the top surface of the bottom wall.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an over-the-counter-shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame. The frame has casters in a lower end thereof for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall and a hinged 216~97 front gate in a front end of the basket. The bottom wall slopes downwardly from the rear wall to the front gate at a predetermined angle to facilitate the sliding displacement of articles disposed in the basket on the bottom wall. The hinged front gate is hingedly supported at a bottom end by hinge means permitting the front gate to extend angularly forward of a vertical plane when in a position of use and pivotable frontward to a discharge position to open the basket front end to permit articles to be removed from the basket.
Front gate support means is engageable by the front gate when pivotally displaced on the hinge means to collapse inwardly of the basket to permit nesting and also to maintain the front gate angled upwardly of the basket bottom wall whereby a top edge of the front gate constitutes a barrier to articles placed on the inclined bottom wall to prevent them from falling out of the open front end.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a shopping cart which comprises an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall with leg holes, a front wall and a collapsible backrest wall hingedly connected to the bottom wall and spaced from the rear wall to define a babyseat compartment between the rear wall and the backrest wall. A
seat plate is hingedly connected adjacent the bottom end of the rear wall. The rear wall has a recessed opening at a top end portion above the leg holes. A slidingly connected rail is displaceable to a position of use where it is retained across the recessed opening and to a position of non-use where it extends at a top edge of the leg holes.
216~g97 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
5Figure 1 is a partly fragmented perspective view of the over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention;
Figure 2 is side view, partly fragmented, of the shopping cart of Figure 1 showing a modification to the support frame;
10Figure 3 is a top, partly fragmented view of the shopping cart illustrating a further modified frame;
Figure 4 is a side view of the shopping cart of Figure 1 illustrating how it nests with other carts of the same type;
15Figure 5 is a fragmented perspective view showing the construction of the baby seat compartment;
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are sectional side views showing the operation of the backrest in relation to the seat plate;
Figure 9 is a simplified side view showing the hinged bracket of the hinged front gate illustrating its operation; with respect to the front gate showing the gate at its different positions;
Figure 10 is a fragmented plan view showing a lower corner of the front gate and its position relative to a coil spring retained captive in a bumper element secured to the front corners of a shopping cart;
Figure 11 is an inner side view of a bumper element showing the location of the coil spring and the corner of the front gate resting thereon;
30Figure 12 is a simplified fragmented view showing the position of the front gate when collapsed inwardly over the bottom wall of the basket of a shopping cart and its function;
Figure 13 is a fragmented perspective view showing the construction of the rear gate of an over-the-counter shopping cart;
216S~97 Figure 14 is a further view of the rear gate showing its attachment to the side walls of a shopping cart and accessory brackets provided in the rear end of the shopping cart;
Figure 15 is a sectional side view showing the babyseat compartment of Figure 13 with the seat plate in an engaged position;
Figure 16 is a fragmented perspective view showing a portion of the rear wall of a shopping cart equipped with a guard rail and showing the guard rail in an engaged position and further wherein amusement articles are secured to the guide rail to entertain a child seated in the babyseat compartment;
Figure 17 is a view similar to Figure 16 but showing the guard rail in a position of non-use; and Figure 18 is a perspective view of the guard rail.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, there is shown generally at 10 the over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention. As herein shown the shopping cart has an open top end merchandise carrying basket 11 supported elevated above a ground surface by a frame 13. Casters 14 are secured under the lower horizontal frame section 15 and a handlebar 16 projects rearwardly of the shopping basket 11 to displace the shopping cart 10 over a ground surface.
As herein shown, the open top end merchandise carrying basket 11 has a bottom wall 17, opposed diverging side walls 18, a rear wall 19 and a hinged front gate 20. A
baby seat compartment 21 is defined in a rear end section of the shopping basket between the rear wall 19 and a hinged backrest 22. A hinged seat plate 23 is spring-biased against leg holes 24 provided in the rear wall 19.
As better seen in Figure 2, the bottom wall 17 of the basket 11 slopes downwardly towards the front end at a predetermined angle. This angle is within the range of from 216~97 about 5~ to 7~ and this facilitates the discharge of merchandise, such as 25 resting on the bottom wall by sliding motion thereof towards the hinged front gate. As herein shown, the basket is constructed of wire rods 26 welded together to form a meshing. Preferably, the bottom wall slopes at an angle of about 7~ It has been found that a sloping angle within the specified range is an important factor of this cart. If the angle is too steep the merchandise slides forwardly and obstructs the front gate. If the shopping angle is not enough, it does not facilitate sliding of the merchandise. It is intended with this type of cart that the customer slides the merchandise to the counter top for scanning by the cash operator.
As can be better seen in Figure 3, the diverging side walls form a shopping basket which is wider at the front end 27 than the rear end 28. The bottom wall 17 of the basket is provided with straight wire rods 17' extending longitudinally thereof and protruding inside the basket top surface to constitute sliding ribs on which the merchandise is disposed. Similarly, the wire rods 20' in the front gate 20 extend in the same direction as the wire rods 17' in the bottom wall 17 and are disposed on the inner surface of the hinged gate 20 whereby when the hinged gate rests on a station counter (not shown) the ribs will all extend in the same direction providing ease of sliding motion for the articles, and particularly heavy articles, contained within the basket.
The elongated side rods 11' provided in the side walls 11 also extend longitudinally whereby the vertical rods 11' do not provide any obstruction to goods that may be resting against the side wall. Because the customer stands to one side of the cart when discharging it, he will be prone to pull merchandise against a side wall while discharging the basket. Still further, the vertical rods 22' in the rear wall of the hinged backrest 22 also extend in the same direction as the rods 17' on the bottom wall of the basket. It can therefore be appreciated that any goods contained within the basket will slide easily out of the basket and without the goods being 2 1 6 ~ 8 ~ 7 damaged by burrs and welds of the wire rods as the junctures and welds are now located outwardly of the basket. Plastic strip guards 29 are also disposed over the top edge of the side walls 11 to protect the person at the processing station against any burrs or rough edges one normally finds in these top edges at the weld junctions of the wire rods.
As shown in Figure 4, the shopping carts 10 are conventionally nestable with one another. As herein shown, the wide front end 27 of shopping cart 10' is nested within the narrower rear end 28 of a forward shopping cart 10' with the engaged hinged front gate 20 of the shopping cart 10 having been automatically collapsed inwardly over its bottom wall 17 by obstruction with the rear end 25 of the forward shopping cart 10'. To re-engage the front gate 20 it is merely necessary to lift it up and it will fall automatically in engagement.
Referring again to Figures 1 to 4, there will be described the construction of the frame 13. As herein shown, the frame is a tubular structural welded frame having a lower horizontal U-shaped section 15 and a rear intermediate elevated frame 30 formed integral extending through about mid-length of the lower frame section 15. It has a pair of transverse spaced top support rods 31 and 31', each secured adjacent an end of a bridge portion 32 of the intermediate elevated frame 30. A first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33, herein constituted by an inverted U-shaped frame having opposed parallel straight rods 34 and a transverse interconnecting rod 35, is secured at a top end across the bottom wall 17 of the basket and between a pair of side brackets 35. The first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33 is spaced from the front end 27 approximately one-third the length of the basket and secured at a bottom end substantially across the rearward transverse support rod 31'. A second forwardly inclined tubular top frame 36 is similarly constructed and secured in a top end across the bottom wall of the basket between the front side brackets 35 and disposed substantially across the front edge of the bottom wall. It is 21G~8~7 g connected at its lower ends substantially across the front transverse support rod 31. This provides for a very rigid frame capable of supporting several hundreds of pounds of merchandise in the basket.
As shown in Figure 2, the forwardly inclined frame 36' may be bent to define a base section 37 extending from the forward transverse support rod 31 upwardly to meet and connect with the first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33 and then angled forwardly in a section 38 to terminate below the bottom wall at the front end 27 of the basket. As better seen in Figure 2, the front end of the side bracket 35 has a forward hinged bracket section 40 to which the front gate 20 is hingedly supported for forward and rearward pivotal displacement.
With reference to Figure 9, it can be seen that the hinge bracket 40 is provided with an angled gate retaining guide slot 41 and a gate support slot 42 provided in a top end. A guide edge 43 is formed inwardly in the bracket below the gate support slot 42. The front gate 20 has a side wire rod 44 provided with a loop rod or shoulder 45 which is engaged by the hinged bracket 40 with the lower leg 45' of the loop 45 retained captive within the gate retaining guide slot 41. When the gate 20 is in its collapsed position, as shown in phantom lines at 46 and resting on the top guide rods 17' of the basket bottom wall 17, the top leg 45" of the loop is disposed close to the guide edge 43 forwardly thereof. By lifting the front gate in the direction of arrow 47, the top leg 45" may slide over the guide edge 43 and enter into the support slot 42. The front gate is retained by the gate retaining slot 42 at a forward angle to a vertical plane, as shown herein. There is no engagement with the side walls of the cart. The gate is collapsed to its position at 46 by the nesting of the cart or simply by pushing the front gate 20 inwardly of the cart with the hand.
In order to disengage the front gate for unloading merchandise by the front of the basket, it is merely necessary to pull the gate up to disengage the top leg 45" of the loop 216~8!~'~
from the slot 42 and to hinge the gate forwardly to rest over a countertop at a processing station or else to leave it hang freely downwardly as shown in phantom lines at 49. Because the gate is liftable upright, any merchandise abutting on the gate will not prevent this gate movement. In most prior art known, the gate has to be displaced rearward and then upwards.
In order to nest the carts, the gate must be at its engaged upward position as shown at 20 or collapsed on the basket bottom wall. The rear edge 42' of the slot 42 is sloped rearwards so that the gate can collapse inwardly when a forward pushing force is exerted thereon.
As can be seen in Figure 1, the shopping basket 11 is provided with a pair of bumper housings 75 in the lower front end and in opposed corners thereof. The hinge brackets are disposed inwardly and slightly recessed from these bumper housings and protected thereby, as shown in Figure 11.
As can also be seen from Figure 11, the bumper housing is provided with an inward projection 76 which has a hole 77 in a top wall 78 thereof whereby to receive captive therein a lower portion of a coil spring 79. The coil spring 79 extends above the top wall 78 of the projection 76 and is engaged by the top leg 45" of the loop 45 when the front gate is collapsed inwardly of the basket. This coil spring 79 maintains the front gate 20 angled upwardly in the basket over the bottom wall, as shown in Figure 12, whereby the top edge 20' of the front gate constitutes a barrier or stopper to prevent articles, such as article 80 positioned on the bottom wall 17 of the basket from sliding out of the shopping cart should the user not have taken the precaution of engaging the front gate in an obstructing position. Accordingly, most articles placed within the shopping cart basket will be arrested by the obstructing edge 20' and be retained in the rear portion of the shopping cart.
The spring 79 is a stainless steel spring and has sufficient force to retain the gate at an angle, as shown in Figure 12, but permits the gate to be pushed downwardly over the bottom wall 17 when the cart is nested within another 216~8~J7 cart. As hereinshown the coil spring 79 is slightly cone-shaped to facilitate its insertion within the retention cavity 77 and the top end extends a predetermined distance above the top plane of the basket bottom wall.
Referring now to Figures 13 to 15, there will be described a further modification of the rear end of the shopping cart as shown in Figure 1. As hereinshown the rear wall 81 slopes rearwardly at an inclined angle and is secured between the rear edge 82 of the bottom wall 17 and the rear edges 83 of the side walls 18. This securement is effected by clamps 84 as shown in Figure 14 and the overlapping of end portions 85 of horizontal wire rods 86 about the end rods 83.
Although not shown, the bottom rod 87 of the rear wall 81 may also be retained by brackets positioned about the rear edge wire rod 82 of the basket bottom wall. The basket side walls also have an inclined rear edge portion 88 to provide safety, wherein the rear edges of the side walls do not have any sharp protrusions. A protective guard 89 is positioned over the top wire rod of the side walls, as hereinshown.
As also shown in Figures 13 and 14 the rear wall 81 has a recessed opening 90 at a top end portion thereof above the leg holes 24 and the purpose of this sloping wall as well as this opening is to facilitate the placement of a child within the babyseat compartment 21 making it readily accessible from the rear end of the shopping cart above the handle 16. Effectively, this brings the babyseat compartment much closer to the handle 16 which would otherwise interfere with the person supporting a child elevated by its arms.
Referring now to Figures 5 to 8, there will be described the construction and operation of the baby seat compartment. As previously described, the baby seat compartment is defined between the rear wall 19 and the backrest 22 which is pivotally secured to pivot rod 50 by a loop 51 formed in two opposed vertical wire rods 52. The pivot rod 50 forms part of the shopping cart basket bottom wall. The seat plate 23 is hinged at a lower edge 53 to a hinge rod 54 secured in a lower edge of the rear wall 19. A
2 ~ 7 coil spring 55 biases the seat plate 23 upwardly against the leg holes 24 formed in the rear wall 19. Accordingly, as the seat plate 23 is pushed inwardly within the cart, it will have a spring force urging it back against the leg holes.
As herein shown, a seat plate engageable frame 56 is formed by a U-shaped wire rod having opposed side rod sections 57 and a transverse interconnecting end rod 60. The side rod sections 57 are looped at a free end 58 to a transverse hinge rod 59 forming part of the backrest 22. The frame 56 is slidingly displaceable over a rear portion of the bottom wall 17 of the basket 11 adjacent the rear wall 19. As better seen in Figures 6 and 7, an arresting rod 61 is secured on the rear side of the backrest 22 and abuts with the top rod 17' of the bottom wall to prevent the backrest from hinging forwardly beyond a predetermined plane as shown in Figure 6. Also, when the seat plate 23 is in its engaged seating position, as again shown in Figure 6, it also arrests the backrest from forward movement. Furthermore, the weight of an infant seated on the seat plate also prevents the backrest from hinging forwardly or collapsing rearwardly due to transverse rod 64.
It can be seen that the seat plate 23 is also provided with a catch 62 protruding from a rear surface thereof and at a predetermined location whereby to engage with a transverse engageable wire rod 63 welded between the wire rods 57 of the seat plate engageable frame 56 when positioned in a downward position as shown in Figure 6. As shown in Figure 7, a further transverse seat plate abutment rod 64 is secured across the side rod sections 57 and spaced inwardly from the backrest for abutment with the rear edge of the seat plate when the backrest is pushed forward in the direction of arrow 65 whilst a Child is seated on the seat plate 23. The abutment rod 64 is of larger diameter to provide positive abutment against the plate rear edge. Accordingly, the backrest cannot be collapsed against the child when seated.
This feature provides protection for the child and also strengthens the frame 56. As can be appreciated, the cart 62 permits the seat plate 23 to be engaged over the bottom wall 216~g7 17 of the basket in the baby seat compartment whilst the hands of the person are free to place a child in the baby seat compartment.
It can also be seen that a projecting handle 70 is formed or connected to a top edge 71 of the backrest Z2 and disposed at least centrally therealong. The handle extends substantially horizontally towards the basket front end when the backrest is in a position of use. This handle has two purposes, one being to retract the backrest to a position of use or to displace the backrest to a position of non-use and furthermore to obstruct the seat plate 23 when the backrest 22 is collapsed, as shown in Figure 8. This permits the basket to be used in totality to carry merchandise while preventing the leg holes 24 to become unobstructed by displacement of the seat plate in the direction of arrow 73. This is particularly useful when the seat plate 23 is not of the spring-bias type or if the spring 55 malfunctions. The baby seat compartment as herein described and particularly the backrest construction is much more simple than that as described in U.S. Patent 3,751,059 and provides numerous advantages thereover. The support frame also provides more rigidity and stability to the basket and can support heavy loads as is also illustrated in Figures 1 to 4. A lower basket 91 may be secured to the frame in a rear portion thereof and substantially in part or close alignment with the space 92 between the rear wall 19 and the handle bars 16 whereby elongated objects can be supported vertically by the lower basket 91 and projecting through this opening 92, as described in another pending patent application to the Applicant. U-shaped guide brackets 93 may also project from the side walls 18 of the shopping cart whereby to retain captive therein elongated objects, such as broom handles, shovel handles, etc. whereby these may extend substantially vertically behind the shopping cart to the side of the babyseat compartments, out of reach from infants and be maintained within the confines of a shopping cart not to strike articles usually stacked in shelving to each side of an aisle where the shopping cart is displaced.
216~97 Figure 15 is similar to Figure 6 with the only different being that the rear wall 81 is rearwardly inclined.
The operation of the seat plate 23 is the same as that illustrated in Figure 6 and need not be repeated herein.
Referring now to Figures 16 to 18, there will be described the construction operation of a novel item associated with a rear wall of a shopping cart and wherein the rear wall is provided with a recessed opening 90 as shown in Figure 13. However, such rear walls may be provided on carts wherein the rear wall extends vertically and not necessarily at an inclined angle, as shown in Figures 13 and 14. As hereinshown a slidingly connected rail 95 is slidingly connected and displaceable with respect to the recess opening 90 from a position of use, as shown in Figure 16, and wherein the rail 95 extends across the recess opening to cause obstruction thereof, and to a position of non-use, as shown in Figure 17, wherein the rail is lowered and extends along the top edge wire rod 96 of the rear wall, herein designated by reference numeral 97.
As shown in Figure 18, the guard rail 95 is constructed from a wire rod and has a straight elongated portion 98 and transverse connecting end portions 99 which are displaceably connectable to wire rods in side end portions 100 of the rear wall 97. The transverse connecting end portions 99 are straight rod portions and each formed with a transversely extending closed loop end 101 and a U-shaped formation 102 spaced adjacent a top end thereof. The top end has a transverse spacer rod section 103 to permit the straight portion 95 to be aligned substantially with the top rod 96 of the rear wall.
As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the straight wire rod section 98 may be provided with amusement articles, such as colored balls 104 which are displaceable about the rail whereby to provide entertainment to a child seated in the babyseat compartment. These balls 104 have a hole therein for the passage of the straight rod section 98 whereby the balls can be rolled about the rod and slid therealong. The guard 216~7 rail is connected to the side end portions 100 by closing the loop 101 along the vertical rod 105. The U-shaped engageable formations 102 are dimensioned to be removably engaged with the horizontal wire rod 96 passing through the side end portions 100. These U-shaped loops are dimensioned for receiving the wire rod in close fit therein. Because the end sections 99 are disposed outwardly of the rear wall 97 and the top section extends inwardly from between a pair of wire rods 98 and 106 this applies a forward biasing force at the top end of the connecting end portions 99 biasing the U-shaped formation 102 against the rod 98 to prevent a child from easily disengaging the guard rail.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment and its modifications described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
SHOPPING CART
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an over-the-counter shopping cart having a forwardly inclined bottom wall, an enlarged front end, an improved support frame permitting the transportation of heavy loads and close nesting of carts, an improved front gate, and an improved rear wall for the baby seat compartment.
BACKGROUND ART
The over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention is an improved cart of the type described in U.S.
Patent 3,751,059 issued August 7, 1973. That cart was designed whereby to replace conventional cantilevered shopping carts wherein the basket is hinged upwardly on the frame to permit close nesting. A disadvantage of the cantilevered shopping carts is that the baskets are difficult to hinge upwardly to permit nesting and are dangerous should the basket accidentally fall from its upright nested position. A still further disadvantage of cantilevered shopping carts is that because the basket is constructed in two parts and operated on a hinge it often necessitates repair and most often people do not take the time and bother of lifting the large front basket of the cart to its nesting position resulting in many shopping carts being left unattended and occupying a larger floor space than conventional nestable carts. These carts are also bothersome to customers and to the supermarket proprietors because of their difficulty to nest. Also, these conventional carts have their baskets horizontally disposed and heavy large merchandise is often difficult to remove as they must be lifted out of the carrying basket when positioned adjacent a merchandise processing station operated by a cashier.
Another problem with over-the-counter shopping carts is that most of these do not have a babyseat compartment in the rear end thereof and they are constructed as a square box 21658~7 whereby to place the maximum number of merchandise in the basket. There is therefore the need to provide a babyseat compartment in the rear end of the basket while maintaining this space requirement. However, because these shopping carts are very large it has been heretofore found difficult to incorporate a babyseat compartment therein.
SUMMARY OF INVENT I ON
It is a feature of the present invention to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart which substantially eliminates the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart of the type described in the aforementioned U.S. patent and which facilitates the sliding removal of merchandise from its basket and further provides improved nesting and structural rigidity.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an improved over-the-counter shopping cart having a novel baby seat compartment which is automatically actuable to automatically and securely obstruct the leg holes in the rear wall of the cart to prevent merchandise from falling through the leg holes and to further prevent the seat plate from being positioned out of obstructing engagement with the leg holes when the backrest is collapsed.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a novel rearwardly inclined rear wall associated with the babyseat compartment whereby to facilitate the placement and removal of a child from the babyseat compartment from the rear end of the shopping cart.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide an over-the-counter shopping cart having a front gate which is easily detached from its connecting frame to unload articles from the shopping cart and wherein the front gate when collapsed inside the shopping cart compartment will substantially prevent articles from sliding out of the shopping cart if the rear gate is in a collapsed position over the bottom wall of the shopping cart basket.
~1658~7 Another feature of the present invention is to provide a displaceable guard rail in association with a rear wall of a shopping cart and wherein the rear wall has a recessed opening in a top end portion thereof, in order to provide added security to a child seated in the babyseat compartment.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a shopping cart wherein there is provided a slidingly connected rail connectable above a top edge of the rear wall and wherein the rail is provided with amusement articles whereby to entertain a child seated in the babyseat compartment.
According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides an over-the-counter shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed diverging side walls, a rear wall and a forwardly hinging front gate in a front end of the basket. The bottom wall has ribs projecting on a top surface thereof and extending horizontally from the rear wall to the front gate to facilitate the sliding of merchandise disposed thereon toward the front gate. The bottom wall also slopes downwardly from the rear wall to the front gate at a predetermined angle in the range of from 5~ to 7~ to further facilitate the discharge of merchandise by sliding the merchandise on the top surface of the bottom wall.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided an over-the-counter-shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame. The frame has casters in a lower end thereof for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall and a hinged 216~97 front gate in a front end of the basket. The bottom wall slopes downwardly from the rear wall to the front gate at a predetermined angle to facilitate the sliding displacement of articles disposed in the basket on the bottom wall. The hinged front gate is hingedly supported at a bottom end by hinge means permitting the front gate to extend angularly forward of a vertical plane when in a position of use and pivotable frontward to a discharge position to open the basket front end to permit articles to be removed from the basket.
Front gate support means is engageable by the front gate when pivotally displaced on the hinge means to collapse inwardly of the basket to permit nesting and also to maintain the front gate angled upwardly of the basket bottom wall whereby a top edge of the front gate constitutes a barrier to articles placed on the inclined bottom wall to prevent them from falling out of the open front end.
According to a still further broad aspect of the present invention there is provided a shopping cart which comprises an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing the cart on a ground surface. A handle is provided in a rear end of the basket for moving the cart over the ground surface. The basket has a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall with leg holes, a front wall and a collapsible backrest wall hingedly connected to the bottom wall and spaced from the rear wall to define a babyseat compartment between the rear wall and the backrest wall. A
seat plate is hingedly connected adjacent the bottom end of the rear wall. The rear wall has a recessed opening at a top end portion above the leg holes. A slidingly connected rail is displaceable to a position of use where it is retained across the recessed opening and to a position of non-use where it extends at a top edge of the leg holes.
216~g97 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
5Figure 1 is a partly fragmented perspective view of the over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention;
Figure 2 is side view, partly fragmented, of the shopping cart of Figure 1 showing a modification to the support frame;
10Figure 3 is a top, partly fragmented view of the shopping cart illustrating a further modified frame;
Figure 4 is a side view of the shopping cart of Figure 1 illustrating how it nests with other carts of the same type;
15Figure 5 is a fragmented perspective view showing the construction of the baby seat compartment;
Figures 6, 7 and 8 are sectional side views showing the operation of the backrest in relation to the seat plate;
Figure 9 is a simplified side view showing the hinged bracket of the hinged front gate illustrating its operation; with respect to the front gate showing the gate at its different positions;
Figure 10 is a fragmented plan view showing a lower corner of the front gate and its position relative to a coil spring retained captive in a bumper element secured to the front corners of a shopping cart;
Figure 11 is an inner side view of a bumper element showing the location of the coil spring and the corner of the front gate resting thereon;
30Figure 12 is a simplified fragmented view showing the position of the front gate when collapsed inwardly over the bottom wall of the basket of a shopping cart and its function;
Figure 13 is a fragmented perspective view showing the construction of the rear gate of an over-the-counter shopping cart;
216S~97 Figure 14 is a further view of the rear gate showing its attachment to the side walls of a shopping cart and accessory brackets provided in the rear end of the shopping cart;
Figure 15 is a sectional side view showing the babyseat compartment of Figure 13 with the seat plate in an engaged position;
Figure 16 is a fragmented perspective view showing a portion of the rear wall of a shopping cart equipped with a guard rail and showing the guard rail in an engaged position and further wherein amusement articles are secured to the guide rail to entertain a child seated in the babyseat compartment;
Figure 17 is a view similar to Figure 16 but showing the guard rail in a position of non-use; and Figure 18 is a perspective view of the guard rail.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Figure 1, there is shown generally at 10 the over-the-counter shopping cart of the present invention. As herein shown the shopping cart has an open top end merchandise carrying basket 11 supported elevated above a ground surface by a frame 13. Casters 14 are secured under the lower horizontal frame section 15 and a handlebar 16 projects rearwardly of the shopping basket 11 to displace the shopping cart 10 over a ground surface.
As herein shown, the open top end merchandise carrying basket 11 has a bottom wall 17, opposed diverging side walls 18, a rear wall 19 and a hinged front gate 20. A
baby seat compartment 21 is defined in a rear end section of the shopping basket between the rear wall 19 and a hinged backrest 22. A hinged seat plate 23 is spring-biased against leg holes 24 provided in the rear wall 19.
As better seen in Figure 2, the bottom wall 17 of the basket 11 slopes downwardly towards the front end at a predetermined angle. This angle is within the range of from 216~97 about 5~ to 7~ and this facilitates the discharge of merchandise, such as 25 resting on the bottom wall by sliding motion thereof towards the hinged front gate. As herein shown, the basket is constructed of wire rods 26 welded together to form a meshing. Preferably, the bottom wall slopes at an angle of about 7~ It has been found that a sloping angle within the specified range is an important factor of this cart. If the angle is too steep the merchandise slides forwardly and obstructs the front gate. If the shopping angle is not enough, it does not facilitate sliding of the merchandise. It is intended with this type of cart that the customer slides the merchandise to the counter top for scanning by the cash operator.
As can be better seen in Figure 3, the diverging side walls form a shopping basket which is wider at the front end 27 than the rear end 28. The bottom wall 17 of the basket is provided with straight wire rods 17' extending longitudinally thereof and protruding inside the basket top surface to constitute sliding ribs on which the merchandise is disposed. Similarly, the wire rods 20' in the front gate 20 extend in the same direction as the wire rods 17' in the bottom wall 17 and are disposed on the inner surface of the hinged gate 20 whereby when the hinged gate rests on a station counter (not shown) the ribs will all extend in the same direction providing ease of sliding motion for the articles, and particularly heavy articles, contained within the basket.
The elongated side rods 11' provided in the side walls 11 also extend longitudinally whereby the vertical rods 11' do not provide any obstruction to goods that may be resting against the side wall. Because the customer stands to one side of the cart when discharging it, he will be prone to pull merchandise against a side wall while discharging the basket. Still further, the vertical rods 22' in the rear wall of the hinged backrest 22 also extend in the same direction as the rods 17' on the bottom wall of the basket. It can therefore be appreciated that any goods contained within the basket will slide easily out of the basket and without the goods being 2 1 6 ~ 8 ~ 7 damaged by burrs and welds of the wire rods as the junctures and welds are now located outwardly of the basket. Plastic strip guards 29 are also disposed over the top edge of the side walls 11 to protect the person at the processing station against any burrs or rough edges one normally finds in these top edges at the weld junctions of the wire rods.
As shown in Figure 4, the shopping carts 10 are conventionally nestable with one another. As herein shown, the wide front end 27 of shopping cart 10' is nested within the narrower rear end 28 of a forward shopping cart 10' with the engaged hinged front gate 20 of the shopping cart 10 having been automatically collapsed inwardly over its bottom wall 17 by obstruction with the rear end 25 of the forward shopping cart 10'. To re-engage the front gate 20 it is merely necessary to lift it up and it will fall automatically in engagement.
Referring again to Figures 1 to 4, there will be described the construction of the frame 13. As herein shown, the frame is a tubular structural welded frame having a lower horizontal U-shaped section 15 and a rear intermediate elevated frame 30 formed integral extending through about mid-length of the lower frame section 15. It has a pair of transverse spaced top support rods 31 and 31', each secured adjacent an end of a bridge portion 32 of the intermediate elevated frame 30. A first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33, herein constituted by an inverted U-shaped frame having opposed parallel straight rods 34 and a transverse interconnecting rod 35, is secured at a top end across the bottom wall 17 of the basket and between a pair of side brackets 35. The first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33 is spaced from the front end 27 approximately one-third the length of the basket and secured at a bottom end substantially across the rearward transverse support rod 31'. A second forwardly inclined tubular top frame 36 is similarly constructed and secured in a top end across the bottom wall of the basket between the front side brackets 35 and disposed substantially across the front edge of the bottom wall. It is 21G~8~7 g connected at its lower ends substantially across the front transverse support rod 31. This provides for a very rigid frame capable of supporting several hundreds of pounds of merchandise in the basket.
As shown in Figure 2, the forwardly inclined frame 36' may be bent to define a base section 37 extending from the forward transverse support rod 31 upwardly to meet and connect with the first forwardly inclined tubular top frame 33 and then angled forwardly in a section 38 to terminate below the bottom wall at the front end 27 of the basket. As better seen in Figure 2, the front end of the side bracket 35 has a forward hinged bracket section 40 to which the front gate 20 is hingedly supported for forward and rearward pivotal displacement.
With reference to Figure 9, it can be seen that the hinge bracket 40 is provided with an angled gate retaining guide slot 41 and a gate support slot 42 provided in a top end. A guide edge 43 is formed inwardly in the bracket below the gate support slot 42. The front gate 20 has a side wire rod 44 provided with a loop rod or shoulder 45 which is engaged by the hinged bracket 40 with the lower leg 45' of the loop 45 retained captive within the gate retaining guide slot 41. When the gate 20 is in its collapsed position, as shown in phantom lines at 46 and resting on the top guide rods 17' of the basket bottom wall 17, the top leg 45" of the loop is disposed close to the guide edge 43 forwardly thereof. By lifting the front gate in the direction of arrow 47, the top leg 45" may slide over the guide edge 43 and enter into the support slot 42. The front gate is retained by the gate retaining slot 42 at a forward angle to a vertical plane, as shown herein. There is no engagement with the side walls of the cart. The gate is collapsed to its position at 46 by the nesting of the cart or simply by pushing the front gate 20 inwardly of the cart with the hand.
In order to disengage the front gate for unloading merchandise by the front of the basket, it is merely necessary to pull the gate up to disengage the top leg 45" of the loop 216~8!~'~
from the slot 42 and to hinge the gate forwardly to rest over a countertop at a processing station or else to leave it hang freely downwardly as shown in phantom lines at 49. Because the gate is liftable upright, any merchandise abutting on the gate will not prevent this gate movement. In most prior art known, the gate has to be displaced rearward and then upwards.
In order to nest the carts, the gate must be at its engaged upward position as shown at 20 or collapsed on the basket bottom wall. The rear edge 42' of the slot 42 is sloped rearwards so that the gate can collapse inwardly when a forward pushing force is exerted thereon.
As can be seen in Figure 1, the shopping basket 11 is provided with a pair of bumper housings 75 in the lower front end and in opposed corners thereof. The hinge brackets are disposed inwardly and slightly recessed from these bumper housings and protected thereby, as shown in Figure 11.
As can also be seen from Figure 11, the bumper housing is provided with an inward projection 76 which has a hole 77 in a top wall 78 thereof whereby to receive captive therein a lower portion of a coil spring 79. The coil spring 79 extends above the top wall 78 of the projection 76 and is engaged by the top leg 45" of the loop 45 when the front gate is collapsed inwardly of the basket. This coil spring 79 maintains the front gate 20 angled upwardly in the basket over the bottom wall, as shown in Figure 12, whereby the top edge 20' of the front gate constitutes a barrier or stopper to prevent articles, such as article 80 positioned on the bottom wall 17 of the basket from sliding out of the shopping cart should the user not have taken the precaution of engaging the front gate in an obstructing position. Accordingly, most articles placed within the shopping cart basket will be arrested by the obstructing edge 20' and be retained in the rear portion of the shopping cart.
The spring 79 is a stainless steel spring and has sufficient force to retain the gate at an angle, as shown in Figure 12, but permits the gate to be pushed downwardly over the bottom wall 17 when the cart is nested within another 216~8~J7 cart. As hereinshown the coil spring 79 is slightly cone-shaped to facilitate its insertion within the retention cavity 77 and the top end extends a predetermined distance above the top plane of the basket bottom wall.
Referring now to Figures 13 to 15, there will be described a further modification of the rear end of the shopping cart as shown in Figure 1. As hereinshown the rear wall 81 slopes rearwardly at an inclined angle and is secured between the rear edge 82 of the bottom wall 17 and the rear edges 83 of the side walls 18. This securement is effected by clamps 84 as shown in Figure 14 and the overlapping of end portions 85 of horizontal wire rods 86 about the end rods 83.
Although not shown, the bottom rod 87 of the rear wall 81 may also be retained by brackets positioned about the rear edge wire rod 82 of the basket bottom wall. The basket side walls also have an inclined rear edge portion 88 to provide safety, wherein the rear edges of the side walls do not have any sharp protrusions. A protective guard 89 is positioned over the top wire rod of the side walls, as hereinshown.
As also shown in Figures 13 and 14 the rear wall 81 has a recessed opening 90 at a top end portion thereof above the leg holes 24 and the purpose of this sloping wall as well as this opening is to facilitate the placement of a child within the babyseat compartment 21 making it readily accessible from the rear end of the shopping cart above the handle 16. Effectively, this brings the babyseat compartment much closer to the handle 16 which would otherwise interfere with the person supporting a child elevated by its arms.
Referring now to Figures 5 to 8, there will be described the construction and operation of the baby seat compartment. As previously described, the baby seat compartment is defined between the rear wall 19 and the backrest 22 which is pivotally secured to pivot rod 50 by a loop 51 formed in two opposed vertical wire rods 52. The pivot rod 50 forms part of the shopping cart basket bottom wall. The seat plate 23 is hinged at a lower edge 53 to a hinge rod 54 secured in a lower edge of the rear wall 19. A
2 ~ 7 coil spring 55 biases the seat plate 23 upwardly against the leg holes 24 formed in the rear wall 19. Accordingly, as the seat plate 23 is pushed inwardly within the cart, it will have a spring force urging it back against the leg holes.
As herein shown, a seat plate engageable frame 56 is formed by a U-shaped wire rod having opposed side rod sections 57 and a transverse interconnecting end rod 60. The side rod sections 57 are looped at a free end 58 to a transverse hinge rod 59 forming part of the backrest 22. The frame 56 is slidingly displaceable over a rear portion of the bottom wall 17 of the basket 11 adjacent the rear wall 19. As better seen in Figures 6 and 7, an arresting rod 61 is secured on the rear side of the backrest 22 and abuts with the top rod 17' of the bottom wall to prevent the backrest from hinging forwardly beyond a predetermined plane as shown in Figure 6. Also, when the seat plate 23 is in its engaged seating position, as again shown in Figure 6, it also arrests the backrest from forward movement. Furthermore, the weight of an infant seated on the seat plate also prevents the backrest from hinging forwardly or collapsing rearwardly due to transverse rod 64.
It can be seen that the seat plate 23 is also provided with a catch 62 protruding from a rear surface thereof and at a predetermined location whereby to engage with a transverse engageable wire rod 63 welded between the wire rods 57 of the seat plate engageable frame 56 when positioned in a downward position as shown in Figure 6. As shown in Figure 7, a further transverse seat plate abutment rod 64 is secured across the side rod sections 57 and spaced inwardly from the backrest for abutment with the rear edge of the seat plate when the backrest is pushed forward in the direction of arrow 65 whilst a Child is seated on the seat plate 23. The abutment rod 64 is of larger diameter to provide positive abutment against the plate rear edge. Accordingly, the backrest cannot be collapsed against the child when seated.
This feature provides protection for the child and also strengthens the frame 56. As can be appreciated, the cart 62 permits the seat plate 23 to be engaged over the bottom wall 216~g7 17 of the basket in the baby seat compartment whilst the hands of the person are free to place a child in the baby seat compartment.
It can also be seen that a projecting handle 70 is formed or connected to a top edge 71 of the backrest Z2 and disposed at least centrally therealong. The handle extends substantially horizontally towards the basket front end when the backrest is in a position of use. This handle has two purposes, one being to retract the backrest to a position of use or to displace the backrest to a position of non-use and furthermore to obstruct the seat plate 23 when the backrest 22 is collapsed, as shown in Figure 8. This permits the basket to be used in totality to carry merchandise while preventing the leg holes 24 to become unobstructed by displacement of the seat plate in the direction of arrow 73. This is particularly useful when the seat plate 23 is not of the spring-bias type or if the spring 55 malfunctions. The baby seat compartment as herein described and particularly the backrest construction is much more simple than that as described in U.S. Patent 3,751,059 and provides numerous advantages thereover. The support frame also provides more rigidity and stability to the basket and can support heavy loads as is also illustrated in Figures 1 to 4. A lower basket 91 may be secured to the frame in a rear portion thereof and substantially in part or close alignment with the space 92 between the rear wall 19 and the handle bars 16 whereby elongated objects can be supported vertically by the lower basket 91 and projecting through this opening 92, as described in another pending patent application to the Applicant. U-shaped guide brackets 93 may also project from the side walls 18 of the shopping cart whereby to retain captive therein elongated objects, such as broom handles, shovel handles, etc. whereby these may extend substantially vertically behind the shopping cart to the side of the babyseat compartments, out of reach from infants and be maintained within the confines of a shopping cart not to strike articles usually stacked in shelving to each side of an aisle where the shopping cart is displaced.
216~97 Figure 15 is similar to Figure 6 with the only different being that the rear wall 81 is rearwardly inclined.
The operation of the seat plate 23 is the same as that illustrated in Figure 6 and need not be repeated herein.
Referring now to Figures 16 to 18, there will be described the construction operation of a novel item associated with a rear wall of a shopping cart and wherein the rear wall is provided with a recessed opening 90 as shown in Figure 13. However, such rear walls may be provided on carts wherein the rear wall extends vertically and not necessarily at an inclined angle, as shown in Figures 13 and 14. As hereinshown a slidingly connected rail 95 is slidingly connected and displaceable with respect to the recess opening 90 from a position of use, as shown in Figure 16, and wherein the rail 95 extends across the recess opening to cause obstruction thereof, and to a position of non-use, as shown in Figure 17, wherein the rail is lowered and extends along the top edge wire rod 96 of the rear wall, herein designated by reference numeral 97.
As shown in Figure 18, the guard rail 95 is constructed from a wire rod and has a straight elongated portion 98 and transverse connecting end portions 99 which are displaceably connectable to wire rods in side end portions 100 of the rear wall 97. The transverse connecting end portions 99 are straight rod portions and each formed with a transversely extending closed loop end 101 and a U-shaped formation 102 spaced adjacent a top end thereof. The top end has a transverse spacer rod section 103 to permit the straight portion 95 to be aligned substantially with the top rod 96 of the rear wall.
As shown in Figures 16 and 17, the straight wire rod section 98 may be provided with amusement articles, such as colored balls 104 which are displaceable about the rail whereby to provide entertainment to a child seated in the babyseat compartment. These balls 104 have a hole therein for the passage of the straight rod section 98 whereby the balls can be rolled about the rod and slid therealong. The guard 216~7 rail is connected to the side end portions 100 by closing the loop 101 along the vertical rod 105. The U-shaped engageable formations 102 are dimensioned to be removably engaged with the horizontal wire rod 96 passing through the side end portions 100. These U-shaped loops are dimensioned for receiving the wire rod in close fit therein. Because the end sections 99 are disposed outwardly of the rear wall 97 and the top section extends inwardly from between a pair of wire rods 98 and 106 this applies a forward biasing force at the top end of the connecting end portions 99 biasing the U-shaped formation 102 against the rod 98 to prevent a child from easily disengaging the guard rail.
It is within the ambit of the present invention to cover any obvious modifications of the preferred embodiment and its modifications described herein, provided such modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (30)
1. An over-the-counter shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing said cart on a ground surface, a handle in a rear end of said basket for moving said cart over said ground surface; said basket having a bottom wall, opposed diverging side walls, a rear wall and a hinged front gate in a front end of said basket; said bottom wall having ribs projecting longitudinally on a top surface thereof and extending from said rear wall to said front gate to facilitate the sliding of merchandise disposed thereon toward said front gate, said bottom wall sloping downwardly from said rear wall to said front gate at a predetermined angle in the range of from 5° to 7° to further facilitate the discharge of merchandise by sliding same on said top surface of said bottom wall.
2. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottom wall is angled at a sloping angle of about 7°.
3. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 1 wherein said forwardly hinging front gate has ribs projecting vertically and disposed over an inner surface thereof, said side walls also having longitudinal ribs projecting inwardly and disposed longitudinally from said rear end to said front end of said basket.
4. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 3 wherein said shopping cart carrying basket is constructed of a meshing of wire rods, said ribs of said bottom wall, side walls and front gate being constituted by straight wire rods.
5. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 4 wherein said basket is wider at said front end than at said rear end thereof, said shopping cart being nestable with other like shopping carts with said narrow rear end of a forwardmost cart received in said wider front end of a nesting shopping cart having its said front gate in an engaged upright or inwardly collapsed position, said front gate automatically collapsing on said bottom wall when said rear end of a nesting cart enters said rear end of said forwardmost shopping cart.
6. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 1 wherein said frame is a tubular structural frame having a horizontal lower frame section to which said casters are secured, a rear intermediate elevated frame extending to about mid-length of said lower frame section and having a pair of transverse spaced top support rods, a first forwardly inclined tubular top frame secured in a top end across said bottom wall of said basket spaced from said front end of said basket and secured at a bottom end substantially across a rear one of said pair of transverse spaced support rods, and a second forwardly inclined tubular top frame secured in a top end across said bottom wall of said basket at substantially a front edge of said basket and secured at a bottom end substantially across a front one of said pair of transverse spaces support rods, said tubular structural frame permitting close nesting of said carts and the support of heavy loads in said basket.
7. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 6 wherein said second forwardly inclined tubular top frame has a base section extending from said front one of said pair of transverse spaced support rods to meet and connect with said first forwardly inclined tubular top frame and then angled to said bottom wall of said basket.
8. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second forwardly inclined tubular top frames are inverted U-shaped frames having an opposed parallel straight rod section and a straight transverse rod section.
9. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 6 wherein said first and second forwardly inclined tubular top frames are secured at said top ends thereof between a pair of side brackets, said side brackets having a forward hinge bracket section to which said front gate is hingedly supported for forward and rearward pivotal displacement.
10. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 1 wherein said basket is constructed from wire-rods, said rear wall being provided with leg holes therein, a hinged backrest pivotally connected at a lower end to a transverse wire rod of said basket bottom wall, a seat plate engageable frame pivotally connected to said backrest and slidingly displaceable over a rear portion of said bottom wall adjacent said rear wall, arresting means to prevent said hinged backrest from forward hinge displacement over said bottom wall, a seat plate spring biased over at least portions of said leg holes to obstruct same and hingeable inwardly over said seat plate engageable frame for releasable connection to said engageable frame, said seat plate being automatically disconnected from said engageable frame by displacing said hinged backrest a limited displacement toward said rear wall.
11. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 10 wherein said seat plate engageable frame has a transverse engageable wire rod for snap engagement with a catch formed in a rear surface of said seat plate, said engageable wire rod being displaced out of engagement to release said catch when said backrest is displaced toward said rear wall.
12. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 10 wherein said backrest has a handle formed in a top edge thereof and at least centrally located therealong, said handle extending substantially horizontally towards said basket front end when said backrest is in a position of use, said handle forming an abutment member to prevent said back plate from inwardly displacement to a position of use when said backrest is collapsed rearwardly over said basket bottom wall.
13. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 11 wherein said seat plate engageable frame is formed by a U-shaped wire rod having opposed side rod sections and a transverse interconnecting end rod, said side rod section being looped at a free end to a transverse hinge rod of said backrest.
14. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 13 wherein said transverse wire rod is connected across said side rod sections, there being a further transverse seat plate abutment rod spaced inwardly toward said backrest for release abutment of said catch after release by said forward hinge displacement of said backrest, said abutment rod permitting said hinged seat plate to return to its obstructing position against said rear wall prior to said backrest collapsing over said basket bottom wall.
15. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 14 wherein said seat plate has a coil spring urging same against said leg holes of said rear wall, said engageable wire rod maintaining said seat plate engaged substantially horizontally above said bottom wall of said basket to permit a person to use both hands to position an infant seated on said seat plate.
16. An over-the-counter shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing said cart on a ground surface, a handle in a rear end of said basket for moving said cart over said ground surface; said basket having a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall and a hinged front gate in a front end of said basket, said bottom wall sloping downwardly from said rear wall to said front gate at a predetermined angle to facilitate the sliding displacement of articles disposed in said basket on said bottom wall, said hinged front gate being hingedly supported at a top end by hinge means permitting said front gate to extend angularly forward of a vertical plane when in a position use and pivotable frontward to a discharge position to open said basket front end to permit articles to be removed from said basket, and front gate support means engageable by said front gate when pivotally displaced on said hinge means to collapse inwardly of said basket to permit nesting and also to maintain said front gate angled upwardly of said basket bottom wall whereby a top edge of said front gate constitutes a barrier to articles placed on said inclined bottom wall to prevent them from falling out of said open front end.
17. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 16 wherein said front gate support means is a resilient support means permitting said front gate to collapse over said basket bottom wall when said shopping cart is nested and supporting said top edge at a predetermined elevated level above said bottom wall when said shopping cart is un-nested.
18. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 17 wherein said hinge means is comprised by a pair of hinge brackets, said brackets each having a gate retaining guide slot and a support slot cooperating with an engaging shoulder formation formed in opposed lower ends of said front gate to permit said hinging and support of said front gate at a forward angle from said vertical plane.
19. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 18 wherein said resilient support means is comprised by a spring element retained captive in a bumper housing secured to a respective lower forward end of said basket, said resilient element being engaged by a respective one of said shoulder formation when said front gate is pivotally displaced inwardly of said basket.
20. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 19 wherein said spring element is a coiled spring retained at a lower end in an engaging cavity of said bumper housing and protruding upwardly to expose a top support end at a predetermined height above a top plane of said basket bottom wall.
21. An over-the-counter shopping cart having an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing said cart on a ground surface, a handle in a rear end of said basket for moving said cart over said ground surface; said basket having a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall and a hinged front gate in a front end of said basket, a babyseat compartment defined between said rear wall and a backrest hinged wall member inside said basket and spaced from said rear wall, said rear wall being secured between a rear edge of said bottom wall rearwardly inclined rear edges of said side walls whereby said rear wall slopes at a rearwardly inclined angle toward said handle to permit a person close access to said babyseat compartment from said rear wall and handle, said rear wall having leg holes therein and a recessed top edge.
22. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 21 wherein said rear wall is secured to said inclined rear edges of said side walls by clamps, and wherein wire protrusion end sections of said rear walls extend in friction fit on opposed sides of an end wire rod of said side walls.
23. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 21 wherein a U-shaped clamp is secured to at least one of said side walls and defines a mouth opening which extends beyond said inclined rear edge of said side walls to permit access and vertical guided retention of rod-like elements supported in a bottom basket of said shopping cart and extending through a space between said handle and said rear wall within the confines of said basket.
24. A shopping cart comprising an open-top-end merchandise-carrying basket supported elevated by a frame having casters in a lower end for displacing said cart on a ground surface, a handle in a rear end of said basket for moving said cart over said ground surface; said basket having a bottom wall, opposed side walls, a rear wall with leg holes, a front wall, and a collapsible backrest wall hingedly connected to said bottom wall and spaced from said rear wall to define a babyseat compartment between said rear wall and said backrest wall; a seat plate hingedly connected adjacent a bottom end of said rear wall, said rear wall having a recessed opening at a top end position above said leg holes, and a slidingly connected rail displaceable to a position of use where it is retained across said recessed opening and to a position of non-use where it extends at a top edge of said leg holes.
25. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 24 wherein said rail is provided with amusement articles to entertain a child seated in said babyseat compartment.
26. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 24 wherein said rail is a guard rail to obstruct said recessed opening to provide additional height for said rear wall when a child is seated in said babyseat compartment.
27. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 25 wherein said amusement articles are each provided with a hole therein for the passage of said rail therethrough, said rail being a wire rail having an elongated straight portion on which said articles are displaceably connected.
28. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 24 wherein said rail is constructed from a wire rod, said wire rod having a straight elongated portion and transverse connecting end portions displaceably connectable to wire rods in side end portions of said rear wall.
29. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 28 wherein said transverse connecting end portions are straight rod portions;
each straight rod portion being formed with a transversely extending closed loop end, and a U-shaped formation spaced adjacent a top end thereof.
each straight rod portion being formed with a transversely extending closed loop end, and a U-shaped formation spaced adjacent a top end thereof.
30. A shopping cart as claimed in claim 29 wherein said transverse connecting end portions depend from a transverse spacer rod section at opposed ends of said straight elongated portion, said closed loop end extending about a vertical wire rod in said end portions of said rear wall, and said U-shaped formation being dimensioned to be removably engaged with a horizontal wire rod in said end portions of said rear wall.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US50476395A | 1995-07-20 | 1995-07-20 | |
| US08/504,763 | 1995-07-20 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2165897A1 true CA2165897A1 (en) | 1997-01-21 |
Family
ID=24007630
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2165897 Abandoned CA2165897A1 (en) | 1995-07-20 | 1995-12-21 | Forwardly inclined over-the-counter shopping cart |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2165897A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112249209A (en) * | 2020-11-09 | 2021-01-22 | 何宁 | Multifunctional shopping cart capable of being ridden |
-
1995
- 1995-12-21 CA CA 2165897 patent/CA2165897A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN112249209A (en) * | 2020-11-09 | 2021-01-22 | 何宁 | Multifunctional shopping cart capable of being ridden |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |
Effective date: 19981221 |