GB2415416A - A shopping trolley and a load carrying device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

A load supporting device 9 adapted to be carried by a shopping trolley having a frame mounted on at least three wheels, the device including load responsive means 11 through which the device is adapted to be mounted on said trolley, so that when so mounted on said trolley, the means 11 biases a load supporting surface upwardly to an upper position, the means 11 being responsive to loads placed on the load supporting surface 9 to vary the height of the load supporting surface above the frame in dependence upon the load placed on or removed from the surface. The load responsive means may comprise one or more coil springs or elasticated cords, or an elasticated net (figure 11). Hydraulic or pneumatic rams are also discussed.

Description

A shopping trolley and a load carrying device therefor This invention

relates to a load carrying device adapted to be mounted on a shopping trolley, and to a shopping trolley incorporating such a device.

A conventional supermarket trolley comprises a framework defining a boxlike space which is enclosed by a bottom wall and four sidewalls formed of a wiremesh.

Typically, the framework is mounted on four wheels and has, adjacent to a rear end, a handle by which the trolley can be pushed along. When viewed in plan, the framework has an upper framework which is rhomboid in shape having a rear upper frame member adjacent the handle which is joined by two inwardly tapering upper side frame members to a upper front frame member which is shorter than the rear upper frame member. A corresponding lower framework defines the bottom wall. When viewed from the side, the framework is also rhomboid in shape, the upper side frame members tapering downwardly slightly and the lower side frame members tapering upwardly, so that the front wall of the trolley is smaller than the rear wall. The rear wall consists of a wire mesh hinged to the upper rear frame member so as to be pivotable upwardly when pushed from behind. in this way, it is possible to nest trolleys one inside the other storage purposes.

The trolleys are typically made with high sides, with the base as low as possible to maximise the volume of the trolley so that it can accommodate as much shopping as possible. This leads to a disadvantage, particularly for elderly people, inasmuch as it is not easy to bend down into the trolley to pick up small items from the bottom. The perception of inconvenience is increased when only a small amount of shopping is purchased. Frequently, shoppers need more volume than that provided by a basket but not sufficient to justify a large trolley. To address this problem, supermarkets in recent years have produced a second type of trolley having a relatively shallow basket with relatively low sides. This provides a solution to the problem but has disadvantages in as much as the volume is limited and therefore there is a tendency for sales to be reduced whilst there is an added problem that these trolleys cannot be nested with the traditional deep trolleys, which causes a logistical problem.

The present invention endeavours to provide a solution to this problem.

According to the present invention there is provided a load supporting device adapted to be carried by a shopping trolley having a frame mounted on at least three wheels, the device including load responsive means through which the device is adapted to be mounted on said trolley, so that, when so mounted on said trolley, the means biases a load supporting surface upwardly to an upper position, the means being responsive to loads placed on the load supporting surface to vary the height of the load supporting surface relative to the frame in dependence upon the load placed on or removed from the surface.

Preferably, said means biasing the load supporting surface comprises resilient means, such as one or more coil springs or elasticated cords, or a hydraulic or pneumatic ram device or devices.

The base frame may have at least two side members located a predetermined distance above the base frame from which side members the load supporting surface is connected through said means.

The load supporting surface preferably comprises a wire basket or tray, which may be suspended from said at least two side members.

In a preferred embodiment, the means comprises an Masticated net and the load supporting surface may comprise two elements securable together with the net clamped therebetween. The load supporting surface may be formed of a plastics material or The invention also provides a shopping trolley including a device as referred to, in which the frame is generally rectangular and has four upstanding walls secured to the frame, the load supporting surface being suspended from the upper sides of said four upstanding walls.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I shows a schematic view of the frame of a shopping trolley, Figure 2 shows a side view of the frame, Figure 3 shows a load supporting device adapted for use with the shopping trolley, Figure 4 illustrates the operation of the load supporting device, Figure 5 illustrates the suspension of the device in the trolley frame, Figures 6, 7 and 8 illustrate an alternative embodiment, Figures 9 and 10 illustrate a further embodiment, and Figures 11, 12, 13a and 13b illustrate a further embodiment using an elasticated net.

Referring now to Figures l-S,, there is shown in schematic form, a frame of a supermarket trolley. The trolley comprises a framework 1 defining a boxlike space which is enclosed by a bottom wall 2 and four sidewalls formed of a wiremesh.

Typically, the framework is mounted on four wheels (not shown) and has, adjacent to a rear end 3a, a handle (not shown) by which the trolley can be pushed along. When viewed in plan, the framework has an upper framework which is rhomboid in shape having a rear upper frame member 5a adjacent the handle which is joined by two inwardly tapering upper side frame members 6a to a upper front frame member 7a which is shorter than the rear upper frame member 5a. A corresponding lower framework 5b, 6b, 7b defines the bottom wall 2. When viewed from the side, the framework I is also rhomboid in shape, the upper side frame members 6a tapering downwardly slightly and the lower side frame members 6b tapering upwardly, so that the front wall 3b of the trolley is smaller than the rear wall. As shown in Figure 2, the rear wall 3a consists of a wire mesh wall hinged to the upper rear frame member 5a so as to be pivotable upwardly when pushed from behind. In this way, it is possible to nest trolleys one inside the other storage purposes.

Figure 3 discloses a perspective, schematic, view of a load carrying device 9 having a loaf supporting surface consisting of a substantially rigid generally rectangular or rhomboid shape in plan designed to fit relatively closely into the trolley so that purchases cannot slip down between the sides of the load supporting surface and the side walls of the trolley. In this embodiment, the device incorporates a load supporting surface formed of a wire mesh, but it could also be formed of a plastics material, wood or similar rigid material. At its rear end to be positioned adjacent to the widest end of the trolley, the surface l O is curved upwardly to facilitate nesting of adjacent trolleys, as shown in Figure 2. When a trolley is pushed into another trolley for nesting purposes, the rear wall 8 pivots upwardly and engages the inclined part 10 of the load supporting surface to push the surface up out of the way, with the wall 8 itself.

The load supporting surface 9 is suspended in the trolley by means of four elasticated cords l l which hook onto the upper side members 6a of the trolley. Figure 5 shows schematically an elasticated cord l l which carries on one end a clip 12 by means of which it can be clipped onto the upper side members 6a of the trolley frame, the other end of the cord l l being secured by a similar clip 13 to the load supporting surface 9.

The resilience of the cords may be progressive so that the more they extend the stiffer the spring effect In operation, as illustrated in Figure 4, in its normal position, the elasticated cords 11 are retracted to their minimum length and the load supporting surface 9 is at its highest position relative to the trolley frame l to provide a shallow tray having an effective depth of around 10 ems. As loads are placed on the surface 9, the surface gradually lowers, in dependence upon the amount of weight. In this way, the surface is lowered in dependence upon the weight, and to an extent, the volume of the products, as weight is to some extent proportional to volume, placed on the surface. Thus, when being unloaded at a checkout station, it is relatively easy to reach the loads in the trolley because as the load is reduced during the unpacking stage the surface 9 gradually rises.

The device therefore retains the advantage of the basic trolley in having a relatively large volume when a large number of purchases are made, but also has the advantage of the shallow tray type of trolley when only a relatively small number of items are purchased.

Preferring now to Figures 6-8, there is shown an alternative embodiment in which the resilience is provided by a single elasticated cord 14, or bungee. The cord this fixed at intervals to the load supporting surface 9 by means of links 15 and, intermediate each link 15 the cord carries a clip 16 adapted to clip over the upper frame member 5a, 6a, 7a of the trolley, as shown in Figure 8. In this embodiment, there are two clips 16 on the three longer sides of the trolley upper frame and one on the narrower front frame member 7a. In other respects, this embodiment functions in the same way as the embodiment described with reference to Figures 1-5.

Referring now to Figures 9-10, there is shown an alternative, high-back version of the load supporting device. This embodiment is intended particularly for those large supermarket trolleys which incorporate a child seat 17, in which the child sits facing the person pushing the trolley. In this embodiment, the device has a high back 18 extending substantially vertically upwards adjacent to the part 19 of the trolley against which a child's back would rest. This arrangement has the advantage that any items placed on the surface 9 when it is at its uppermost position in particular, would not fall onto a child sitting in the child seat 17, or fall into the mechanism thus preventing the seat from being moved to a position of use. Also, in this type of trolley there is a void below the child seat and the high back serves to prevent items falling into this void irrespective of the height of the load surface. In other respects, this embodiment functions in the same way as that of the earlier embodiments.

Figures 11-13 illustrate a further embodiment of the present invention in which the resilience is provided by an elasticated net 20, rather than the elasticated cords of the earlier embodiments. In this embodiment, the elasticated net 20 is secured to a framework 21, shown particularly in Figure 11, adapted to clip over the upper frame members 6a, 7a of a trolley, but to leave the child seat area free. The framework 21 is shown in cross-section in Figure 12, where it can be seen that the framework 21 has a first arcuate portion 22 designed to fit over the upper frame members of the trolley and, at intervals along its length has resilient elements 23 extending inwardly which are deformed resiliently outwardly as the framework 21 is clipped over the trolley and then returning to the position shown to provide a means of preventing the framework 21 from being inadvertently dislodged. Throughout the length of the framework 21, the upper edge of the net is clamped securely between a U-shaped part 24 of the framework 21 to thereby clamp and support the upper edge of the net 20 substantially throughout its entire length.

As shown particularly in Figures 12 and 13a and lab, the load supporting the surface 9 comprises a two-part member having a load supporting surface 25 and a base member 26 to which the load supporting surface 25 is clipped to clamp the net 20 therebetween as shown in Figure 12 and Figure lab. The load supporting surface 25 has on its underside, a plurality of recesses 27 of generally keyhole-shaped cross-section into which protuberances 28 on the base member 26 engage to clamp of the two members 25, 26 together. The clamping force is enhanced by a peripheral rim 29 on the base member which engages over the peripheral edge 30 of the base member 26. The peripheral rim also serves to prevent the net chafing on the side of the trolley.

The load supporting surface and the base member are preferably made of a plastics material but equally may be of wood, expanded metal mesh or the like. It is envisaged that the device may be adapted to fit on to existing Volleys but it is also within the scope of the present invention for the device to be incorporated in a trolley during manufacture. Although the described embodiments utilise elasticated cords or an elasticated net, it will be understood that the resilience may be provided by other means such as a hydraulic or gas strut or struts. It is also possible that the load dependent movement of the device could be provided by a system of weights. It is possible when the device is incorporated in the original manufacture of the trolley for the trolley to be simplified by omitting, for example, the mesh from the base wall and/or the side walls particularly when the net version is used. All that would be needed would be the framework and one or two cross struts on the base under the load supporting surface to prevent it from fouling the ground if over-loaded.

Claims (14)

1. A load supporting device adapted to be carried by a shopping trolley having a base frame mounted on at least three wheels, the device including load responsive means through which the device is adapted to be mounted on said trolley, so that when so mounted on said trolley, the means biases a load supporting surface upwardly to an upper position, the means being responsive to loads placed on the load supporting surface to vary the height of the load supporting surface above the frame in dependence upon the load placed on or removed from the surface.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said means biasing the load supporting surface comprises resilient means.

3. A device according to claim I or 2 adapted to be mounted on a frame with at least two side members from which side members the load supporting surface is connected through said means.

4. A device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the resilient means comprises one or more coil springs or elasticated cords.

5. A device according to claim I to 4, wherein the resilient means comprises a hydraulic or pneumatic ram device.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the load supporting surface comprises a wire basket or tray.

7. A device according to any one of claims 3-6, wherein the load supporting surface is suspended from said at least two side members.

8. A device according to any one of claims I to 3, wherein the means comprises an elasticated net.

9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the load supporting surface comprises two elements securable together with the net clamped therebetween.

10. A device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the load supporting surface is formed of a plastics material or wood.

11. A shopping trolley including a device according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the frame is generally rectangular and has four upstanding walls secured to a base frame, the load supporting surface being suspended from said four upstanding walls.

] 2. A shopping trolley including a device according to any one of claims I to 10 in which the frame is tapered in plan view being narrower in the front, a rear side member comprising a pivotable wall member pivotable about the upper edge of the rear side member to enable a further trolley to nest in the trolley for storage purposes.

13. A shopping trolley according to claim 12, wherein the rear edge of the load supporting surface is curved upwardly to provide a lead-in ramp to facilitate the load supporting surface being moved upwardly during nesting of an adjacent trolley.

14. A load supporting device adapted to be mounted on a shopping trolley, substantially as described herein, with reference to and as illustrated in, the accompanying drawings.