GB2317593A - Shopping trolley with supplementary load carrier - Google Patents

Abstract

A shopping trolley 10 comprises a chassis 14, 16, a basket 12 and a supplementary load carrier (28 figure 2) with guide means 32, 36 received in at least one passage 20 defined by the basket and/or the chassis, said load carrier being guided for substantially planar sliding motion. The load carrier may move in a plane parallel to the base of the basket in passage(s) defined by the basket and chassis. Actuating means 40 may be provided to cause the load carrier to move to a retracted position when another trolley is inserted into said trolley, to facilitate nesting. The actuating means may be pivoted to the trolley.

Description

2317593 SUPPLEMENTARY LOAD CARRIER FOR A SHOPPING TROLLEY The invention

relates to shopping trolleys and more particulary to a supplementary load carrier for shopping trolleys.

Known shopping trolleys used in supermarkets typically comprise a chassis having wheels fixed at the corner regions thereof, a basket which is fixed to the chassis by means of welding and a push handle f ixed to the upper rear end of the basket.

In order to improve the load carrying capacity of shopping trolleys it is known to provide a supplementary load carrier comprising a shelf-like structure and a supporting structure for the shelf.

Typically, the shelf and its support structure are arranged to allow the shelf to be drawn outwardly of the trolley to allow goods such as crates of beer to be carried thereon. The support structure is often relatively complex and can only be fitted to the trolley for which it was specifically designed.

Furthermore, the complexity of the known support structures is such that retrofitting to existing trolleys is impossible or uneconomic. Examples of known supplementary load carriers are disclosed in US2890058, US2903269, DE2742958 and DE3448335.

It will be appreciated that it would be 2 advantageous to provide a supplementary load carrier which: has a support structure which is simple and cheap to manufacture; is capable of being easily fitted to a wide range of trolley designs; and can readily be retrofitted to existing trolleys.

It is an object of the invention to at least partially overcome the above-described disadvantages associated with known supplementary load carriers.

Accordingly, the invention provides a shopping trolley comprising a chassis, at least one goods receiving basket mounted on said chassis and a supplementary load carrier having a load carrying portion and comprising guide means at least partially received in at least one passage defined by said chassis and/or the or one said goods receiving basket, the arrangement being such that said supplementary load carrier is guided for substantially planar sliding movement relative to the trolley by cooperation between said guide means and the or each said passage.

The invention also includes a supplementary load carrier for a shopping trolley, said supplementary load carrier having a load carrying portion and comprising guide means to be slideably received in at least one elongate passage defined by a chassis and/or a goods receiving basket of such a trolley such that, 3 in use, movement of the load carrier is guided by cooperation between said guide means and the or each said passage.

In order that the invention may be well understood an embodiment thereof, which is given by way of example only, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a partial side elevation of a shopping trolley provided with a supplementary load carrier which is shown in its non-use position; Figure 2 shows the trolley of Figure 1 with the supplementary load carrier partially extended; Figure 3 shows the trolley of Figure 1 with the supplementary load carrier fully extended; Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a partial plan view of the trolley of Figure 1 with the goods receiving basket removed; Figure 6 is a rear end elevation of the trolley of Figure 1 with the rear end gate of the goods receiving basket removed.

Referring to the drawings, a shopping trolley 10 comprises a chassis and a goods receiving basket 12 disposed on the chassis.

The chassis comprises two side members 14 which extend in the lengthwise direction of the trolley 10 4 and are disposed in parallel spaced apart relationship. The side members 14 are interconnected by two transverse chassis members 16. The chassis further comprises two mounting members 18 on which the goods receiving basket is seated. As shown in Figure the mounting members 18 are each generally U-shaped and extend in the lengthwise direction of the trolley with their free ends disposed at the rear end of the trolley. The mounting members 18 are disposed on and welded to the transverse chassis members 16.

As best seen in Figure 6, the transverse chassis members 16, mounting members 18 and the underside of the basket 12 seated on the members 18 define three passages 20 which extend in the lengthwise direction is of the trolley.

Castors 24 are fitted to the opposite ends of the side members 14 in the conventional way.

The trolley 10 is provided with a supplementary load carrier 28. The carrier 28 is disposed at the rear end of the trolley and is moveable from a non-use position (shown in Figure 1) to a fully extended, use, position (shown in Figure 3).

As best seen in Figure 5, the carrier 28 comprises an outer base member which is generally U shaped in plan and is made up of a transverse central portion 30 and respective elongate guide legs 32 extending from the ends of the central portion 30.

The guide legs 32 are received in the two outermost of the three passages 20 and are generally L-shaped such that the central portion 30 is disposed below the plane of the passages 20.

The carrier 28 further comprises an inner U shaped base member which comprises a transverse central portion 34 and a respective elongate guide leg 36 disposed at the ends of the central portion 34.

The inner base member has the same configuration as the outer base member but is narrower such that the guide legs 36 are each disposed in the central one of the passages 20.

The central portions 30, 34 of the base members is are disposed in abutting relationship and are joined together by means of welding.

The carrier 28 additionally comprises actuating means by which it can be automatically returned to the non-use position shown in Figure 1 by insertion of the basket of another trolley into the rear end of the basket 12 to allow nesting of the trolleys.

The actuating means comprises a generally U shaped frame member 40 which is pivotably mounted to the rear of the basket 12. The frame member 40 has its free ends mounted to opposite sides of the basket by means of respective two-part clamps 42. The clamps 6 42 releasably secure the frame member 40 to the trolley by means of screws or the like. Preferably security screws are used with a view to preventing unauthorised removal of the carrier 28 from the trolley.

As best seen in Figure 6, the frame member 40 defines an opening which has a width greater than that of the basket 12 such that the basket of another such trolley can be inserted into the rear of the basket 12 for nesting.

The actuating means further comprises a driven member 44 which is f ixed by means of welding to the frame member 40. The driven member 44 is slideably received in a generally rectangular slot 48 defined by the inner base member and a rod 50 which is f ixed at its respective ends to the guide legs 36 of the inner base member in the region of its central portion 34.

The driven member 44 is made from a rod bent to def ine two legs which are slidable through the slot 48. The legs of the driven member 44 are interconnected by a U-shaped lower portion 441 which projects at an angle to the respective axes of the legs and is arranged to limit extension of the carrier 28 thereby defining a fully extended use position of the carrier.

An upper portion of the driven member 44 is 7 provided with a transversely extending hand grip 52 which serves as a handle by means of which a user can pull the carrier 28 to an extended position as explained in more detail hereinbelow.

Referring to Figure 4, each of the legs of the driven member 44 has a recess 56 defined therein. The recesses 56 are arranged to interengage with the rod when the carrier is in its fully extended use position. The interengagement of the rod 50 and recesses 56 forms a friction lock sufficient to resist movement of the carrier inwardly of the trolley and thereby hold the carrier in its fully extended use position but can be readily overcome when the driven member 44 is acted on by the basket of another trolley 10 during nesting of such trolleys.

Use of the carrier 28 will now be described with particular reference to Figures 1 to 3. Starting from the non-use position shown in Figure 1, in order to provide the trolley 12 with additional load carrying capacity for carrying, for example, a crate of beer, the user grips the hand grip 52 and pulls the driven member 44 away from the rear of the trolley. As indicated by Figures 1 to 3, the driven member 44 moves through an arc as it is pulled from the trolley due to its fixed connection to the frame member 40.

As the driven member 44 swings upwardly and away from 8 the rear end of the trolley, its legs slide through the slot 48 causing the inner and outer base members to be drawn outwardly, or rearwardly, of the trolley 12.

Continued pulling on the hand grip 52 gradually moves the carrier 28 to its fully extended use position shown in Figure 3. The user is prevented from withdrawing the inner and outer base members beyond the fully extended position by abutment of hooked lower portion 441 of the driven member 44 with the underside of the central portion 30 of the outer base member as shown in Figures 3 and 4. In this position, the recesses 56 cooperably interengage the rod 50 so that the carrier is locked in position.

It will be appreciated with reference to Figure 3 that in an extended condition of the carrier 28, portions of the guide legs 32, 36 disposed rearwardly of the rear end of the trolley define a load carrying portion of the carrier on which a load such as a crate of beer 60, indicated by phantom lines, can be carried.

It will be noted that in the extended position of the carrier 28, the frame member 40 can provide lateral support for the load. Likewise, the driven member can act as a rear end stop to prevent the load falling off the rearward end of the carrier 28.

9 It will be appreciated that during the operation of extending the carrier 28, the pivoting movement of the frame member 40 and driven member 44 causes planar sliding movement of the inner and outer base members which are constrained to move in a plane substantially parallel to the underside of the basket 12 by cooperation between the guide legs 32, 36 and the respective passages 20 in which they are received.

When the trolley 10 is not in use it can be stored in a nested arrangement with similar such trolleys whether or not those trolleys are provided with a supplementary load carrier 28. Referring to Figure 3, if another trolley is to be nested with the trolley 10, the basket of the other trolley is pushed is towards the rear of the trolley 10 bringing the leading end of the basket of that trolley into contact with the hand grip 52 of the driven member 44.

Continued movement of the other trolley causes the underside of its basket to move over the driven member 44 acting as a can and gradually driving the driven member downwardly and towards the rear of the trolley 10. The downward pivoting movement of the driven member 44 is transmitted to the inner and outer base members by the legs of the driven member which slide through the slot 48 causing the inner and outer base members to be driven inwardly of the trolley. As with the extending movement of the carrier, the inner and outer base members are constrained to move in a plane substantially parallel to the underside of the basket 12 by cooperation between the guide legs 32, 36 and the respective passages 20 in which they are received.

The driven member 44 is arranged such that the carrier 28 can be driven to the non-use position shown in Figure 1 by the insertion of the basket of another trolley into the basket 12 of the trolley 10. It will be appreciated that when in this position the carrier presents no obstacle to the nesting of the trolley 10 with similar such trolleys. For the avoidance of any doubt, the basket 12 is provided with a rear end gate which can swing upwardly and forwardly of the trolley is 10 to allow nesting to occur.

It will be understood that the carrier 28 is arranged such that movement thereof from the fully extended use position to its non-use position can be achieved automatically during nesting of the trolleys.

The movement of the carrier is obtained by the basket of the rearward trolley acting on the driven member 44 of the forward trolley. It will also be appreciated that although in the detailed description of the nesting of the trolleys reference has been made to the rearward trolley being pushed into the rear end of the forward trolley, nesting may be achieved by moving the 1 1 rear end of the forward trolley onto the leading end of the rearward trolley. All that is required is relative movement between the two trolleys bringing the basket of the rearward trolley into contact with the driven member 44 of the forward trolley.

It will be appreciated that the carrier 28 is a simple robust structure which can be manufactured economically and easily fitted to a trolley; all that is required in order to fit the carrier to the trolley is that the guide legs 32, 36 are inserted into the passages 20 and the frame member 40 is clamped to the basket 12 by means of the clamps 42. The carrier 28 can thus be readily retrofitted to trolleys on site since no special equipment and no modification of the trolley structure is required.

It will be understood that the simple robust structure of the carrier 28 can be achieved at least in part because the movement of the carrier base members is controlled by making use of the existing trolley structure. That is the guide passages 20 for the carrier are defined by the chassis and underside of the basket of the trolley.

It will be appreciated that although in the described embodiment the passages for the guide legs of the supplementary load carrier are defined by the chassis and a portion of the underside of the basket, 12 the chassis or basket could if so desired be configured to define passages for the guide legs according to the design of the trolley.

It is to be understood that although the preferred use condition of the carrier 28 is the fully extended position shown in Figure 3, the carrier may be used through a whole range of extended positions such as that shown in Figure 2. Furthermore, recesses such as the recesses 56 may be provided in a range of positions on the driven member to define a plurality of locked use positions of the carrier 28.

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Claims (21)

CLAIMS:.

1. A shopping trolley comprising a chassis, at least one goods receiving basket mounted on said chassis and a supplementary load carrier having a load carrying portion and comprising guide means at least partially received in at least one passage defined by said chassis and/or the or one said goods receiving basket, the arrangement being such that said supplementary load carrier is guided for substantially planar sliding movement relative to the trolley by cooperation between said guide means and the or each said passage.

2. A trolley as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supplementary load carrier is guided for movement in a plane substantially parallel to an underside of the or one said goods receiving basket.

3. A trolley as claimed in claim 2, wherein the or each said passage is defined by said chassis and said underside of the or one said goods receiving basket.

4. A trolley as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said guide means at least partially define said load carrying portion.

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5. A trolley as claimed in claim 3 or claim 4 when claim 4 is dependent on claim 3, wherein said chassis comprises a plurality of transversely extending members and at least two members disposed on said transversely extending members and extending substantially in the lengthwise direction of the trolley, the or one said goods receiving basket being arranged such that the or at least one said passage is defined by said transversely extending members, said lengthwise extending members and said underside of said goods receiving basket.

6. A trolley as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said supplementary load carrier comprises actuating means arranged to be operable by is insertion of a similar such trolley into an end region of the trolley for causing said supplementary load carrier to be moved inwardly of the trolley to a non use position for facilitating nesting of such trolleys.

7. A trolley as claimed in claim 6, wherein said actuating means is releasably secured to the trolley.

8. A trolley as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein said actuating means is pivotably mounted to the is trolley.

9. A trolley as claimed in claim 8, wherein said actuating means comprises a substantially U-shaped member the free ends of which are mounted to the trolley, said U-shaped member defining an opening through which, in use, a leading end of a goods receiving basket of a similar such trolley can be inserted.

10. A trolley as claimed in claim 9, wherein said actuating means further comprises driven means connected with said U-shaped member and engageable by an underside of a goods receiving basket of another such trolley inserted into said opening whereby said supplementary load carrier is driven to a non-use position during nesting of such trolleys.

11. A trolley as claimed in claim 10, wherein said driven means is slideably received in at least one aperture defined by said load carrying portion.

12. A trolley as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein said driven means defines a handle by which the supplementary load carrier can be moved to a use position.

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13. A trolley as claimed in claim 10, 11 or 12, wherein said driven means comprises abutment means arranged for limiting movement of said supplementary load carrier outwardly of the trolley and defining a fully extended use position of the supplementary load carrier.

14. A trolley as claimed in claim 13, wherein said supplementary load carrier is provided with means for resisting movement of the supplementary load carrier inwardly of the trolley when the supplementary load carrier is in a use position.

15. A trolley as claimed in claim 14, when dependent on claim 11, wherein said resisting means comprises at least one recess defined in said driven means and is engageable with the or at least one said aperture defined by said load carrying portion.

16. A trolley as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein said guide means comprises a plurality of elongate members disposed in parallel spaced apart relationship.

17. A supplementary load carrier for a shopping trolley, said supplementary load carrier having a load carrying portion and comprising guide means to be slideably received in at least one elongate passage defined by a chassis and/or a goods receiving basket of such a trolley such that, in use, the load carrier is guided for substantially planar sliding movement relative to the trolley by cooperation between said guide means and the or each said passage.

18. A supplementary load carrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein said guide means at least partially define said load carrying portion.

19. A supplementary load carrier as claimed in claim 17 or 18, wherein said guide means comprises a plurality of elongate members disposed in parallel spaced apart relationship.

is

20. A shopping trolley substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.

21. A supplementary load carrier substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the drawings.