GB2183773A - An articulated-connection link - Google Patents

Abstract

The link to engage a lattice framework, e.g. of a shopping trolley, is formed by two half-shells of hollow construction. Each half- shell is provided with two lateral guides (13,14) which cooperate in interengaged sliding relation with the opposite guides of the other half- shell. At least one half-shell has two first semicylindrical recesses (19,20) to define two passages between the two half-shells when they cover each other completely, and which receive rods (3,7) of the framework. One of the two half-shells is provided with a resilient tongue which engages within a recess formed in the other half- shell and permanently locking the two half-shells together. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION An articulated-connection link especially for the intermediate partition of a trolley for a self-service store The present invention relates to an articulatedconnection link which makes it possible in particular but not exclusively to provide a coupling between one wall of a self-service store trolley basket and a transverse partition to be mounted within a trolley basket of this type.

It is known that a self-service trolley usually consists of a large carrier basket located at a predetermined height with respect to a base frame on which wheels are fixed, a handle-bar being provided at the top rear end of the trolley structure. As a general rule, the carrier basket is delimited by a bottom wall and four side walls. The basket has a fully open top loading face for placing within the trolley all objects or goods which the customer desires to purchase.

For certain specific applications and purposes, however, it may be an advantage to mount a transverse partition within the trolley, thus defining a compartment which may be closed if necessary by a hinged lid and serves to contain personal belongings such as a bag or like accessory while the customer moves about within the store and selects articles to be purchased.

To this end, the transverse intermediate partition must be connected to the side walls of the trolley basket by means of articulated coupling members so designed that the partition can no longer be removed once it has been placed in position, thus preventing a third party from gaining access to the interior of the compartment when the lid is in the closed position.

The present invention relates to an articulated-connection link of very simple design which achieves the object thus defined. Once it has been mounted on the partition to be pivotally connected, the link in accordance with the invention is tamperproof or in other words can no longer be detached, thus guarding against any attempted fraud or theft of an object placed within the closed compartment.

To this end, the articulated-connection link under consideration is distinguished by the fact that it comprises two hollow oppositelyfacing half-shells each provided with two lateral guides of substantial length which are capable of cooperating in interengaged sliding relation with the opposite guides of the other half-shell. At least one half-shell has two first semicylindrical recesses which open towards the guides so as to define two passages between the two half-shells when they cover each other completely, a rod on which the articulated-connection link is pivotally mounted being intended to be passed through each passage aforesaid.In accordance with another distinctive feature, one of the two half-shells is provided opposite to each of its two guides with a resilient tongue having inherent elasticity which does not prevent the relative sliding displacement of the guides when the two halfshells are interengaged but causes said tongue to undergo inward flexural displacement when the two half-shells cover each other completely and then to engage within a recess formed in the other half-shell, thus permanently locking said half-shells together.

As an advantageous feature, the two halfshells each have a third recess extending at right angles to the direction of the two first semicylindrical recesses so that said third recesses define an open notch for fastening the articulated-connection link on a bearing element located at right angles to rods which pass through the two first recesses.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention in which the articulated-connection link considered is intended to provide a coupling between each side wall of the latticework structure of wires which extend in two perpendicular directions and form a basket for trolleys used in self-service stores and a transverse partition mounted within said trolley basket and also formed of a latticework structure of wires, each half-shell has a fourth recess which extends in a direction parallel to the two first recesses at right angles to the third recess, said fourth recess being open towards the exterior when the two half-shells cover each other completely.

Further distinctive features of an articulatedconnection link constructed in accordance with the invention will become apparent from the following description of one embodiment which is given by way of example without any limitation being implied, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:: Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side view of a carrier trolley basket for a self-service store, in which a transverse partition mounted within the basket is pivotally attached to the sides of said basket by means of at least one articulated-connection link in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary top view of the trolley basket and of the transverse partition which is pivotally mounted on said basket; Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are respectively a bottom view of the first half-shell of the articulatedconnection link, a top view of the second halfshell and a transverse sectional view of the two half-shells assembled together; Fig. 6 is a perspective view which illustrates the relative assembly of the two half-shells of the articulated-connection link during the sliding movement of these half-shells on their respective interengagement guides.

In the exemplified embodiment which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1 designates schematically the front portion of the basket 2 of a carrier trolley of the type employed in self-service stores and constructed in accordance with a technical design which is already known per se. The side walls and bottom wall of the trolley basket are formed by a latticework structure of rigid wires 3 and 4 respectively which extend in two generally perpendicular directions. The trolley basket has a fully open top face for loading the basket with goods to be transported, the contour of said top face being delimited by a rigid peripheral rod 5 in which are fixed the ends of the vertical wires 3.

An intermediate partition 6 is mounted within the trolley basket 2, especially with a view to forming a suitable locker compartment within the basket. This locker compartment is also formed by a metal frame member 7 surrounding a latticework panel of wires 8 which are similar to those employed in the construction of the trolley basket 2 itself. The lower end of said intermediate partition 6 is provided with a hook 9 engaged on one of the lattice wires constituting the bottom wall of the trolley basket. The intermediate partition is also attached to the side walls of the basket by means of one or a number of articulatedconnection links 10 in accordance with the invention. These links are so designed that, once they have been fitted in position, they are tamper-proof or in other words can no longer be dismantled or detached.This feature prohibits any removal of the intermediate partition 6 and consequently prevents any possibility of gaining access to the locker compartment formed on the one hand by said partition if this latter is closed by a hinged lid fixed on the partition and on the other hand by the corresponding side walls of the trolley basket.

As shown more specifically in Figs. 3 to 5, each articulated-connection link 10 is formed by means of two half-shells designated respectively by the reference numeral 11 (Fig. 3) and by the reference numeral 12 (Fig. 4). In both cases, these two half-shells 11 and 12 have an identical external profile. On each side of its central portion, each half-shell is provided with two parallel internal guides designated respectively by the reference numerals 13 and 14. Said guides are capable of interengagement as the two half-shells are displaced against each other in a relative sliding movement in a manner which is more particularly shown in the schematic diagram of Fig. 6.To this end, each guide is provided with an inwardly projecting shouldered portion 15 and a return recess 16 so arranged as to engage one within the other respectively from one guide to the corresponding guide which cooperates with this latter in the two half-shells which are placed in contact with each other.

In addition, one of the two half-shells such as the half-shell 12, for example, is provided opposite to each of its two guides 14 and substantially in the central portion thereof with a resilient tongue 17 which is normally directed towards the interior of the half-shell. Said tongue 17 is intended to engage within a recess 18 formed in the oppositely-facing guide 13 of the other half-shell once this latter has been engaged in the first half-shell and brought to a position in which they cover each other completely.

Fig. 6 provides a clearer illustration of the manner in which the two half-shells 11 and 12 are mounted one against the other as a result of interengagement of their guides 13 and 14 which permit relative displacement of the half-shells in a sliding movement. During this movement, the resilient tongue 17 of each guide 14 is first constrained by the opposite shouldered portion 15 of the guide 13 to move into position in the line of extension of the guide 14 until the two half-shells cover each other completely, whereupon the resilient tongue 17 is then permitted to escape inwards and to penetrate into the recess 18 of the other half-shell.The result of this operation is that the two half-shells 11 and 12 are interlocked in this position and that, owing to the engagement of the resilient tongue 17 within the recess 16, it has consequently become impossible to disengage the two halfshells, for example by displacing the two guides in the opposite direction.

Each half-shell 11 and 12 or if necessary only one of these latter, as illustrated in Fig.6, has two first transverse semicylindrical recesses 19 and 20 respectively which are open and extend at right angles to the direction of the guides 13 and 14. The result thereby achieved is that, when these two half-shells are applied against each other in a position in which they cover each other completely, the aforementioned recesses 19 and 20 are closed laterally while providing through-passages for inserting on the one hand a vertical wire 3 of one of the side walls of the trolley basket 2 and on the other hand the outer peripheral frame member 7 of the partition 6, thus achieving the requisite articulated coupling between these two elements.

Each articulated-connection link 10 thus provides a coupling between the trolley basket and the intermediate partition but cannot be removed once it has been mounted in position and said partition is then permanently secured.

Each articulated-connection link provided by means of two half-shells 11 and 12 offers a further distinctive feature in that it permits a slight relative displacement of the partition 6 either in the forward or rearward direction with respect to the trolley basket by virtue of the fact that a vertical wire 3 of the lattice structure which forms one side wall of the trolley basket and the corresponding vertical portion of the peripheral frame member 7 are passed respectively and freely through the recesses 19 and 20. The relative displacement considered is made necessary in particular when the top portion of said partition is adapted to carry a lid (not shown in the drawings) in order to ensure that the lid is capable either of swinging down to a position of rest against the partition or of being first lifted and then closed against the top portion of the trolley basket 2.

As an advantageous feature, each half-shell 11 and 12 aforementioned is provided with a third recess 21 which extends in a transverse direction with respect to the direction of the first recesses 19 and 20 and thus forms an open transverse passage in which one of the horizontal wires 4 of the trolley basket 2 is engaged, thus permitting suitable height adjustment of the articulated-connection link 10 with respect to the partition.

Finally, the link 10 can also be provided with a fourth recess 22 arranged opposite to the recess 21 and provided in both half-shells 11 and 12 or if necessary only in one halfshell such as, for example, the single half-shell 12 shown in Fig. 6, thus making it possible in addition to engage one of the vertical wires 8 of the partition 6 within the articulated-connection link as illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 2.

There is thus provided a tamper-proof articulated-connection link of very simple design which is particularly well-suited for mounting on the carrier basket of a trolley for self-service stores. It will be readily apparent, however, that the present invention would be equally applicable to any other device having a latticework wall structure which it may be desired to divide into compartments. Similarly, it should also be made clear that the invention as described in the foregoing does not imply any basic assumptions in regard to the nature of materials employed for the fabrication of the half-shells. These components may accordingly be formed of either metal or plastic or even of composite material with a metal body and guides incorporating a resilient tongue of plastic material which is endowed with a suitable degree of elasticity.

Claims (4)

1. A tamper-proof articulated-connection link, characterized in that said link comprises two oppositely-facing half-shells of hollow design each provided with two lateral guides of substantial length which are capable of cooperating in interengaged sliding relation with the opposite guides of the other half-shell, at least one half-shell being provided with two first semicylindrical recesses which open towards the guides so as to define two passages between the two half-shells when they cover each other completely, a rod on which the articulated-connection link is pivotally mounted being intended to be passed through each passage aforesaid, and that one of the two half-shells is provided opposite to each of its two guides with a resilient tongue having inherent elasticity which does not prevent the relative sliding displacement of the guides when the two half-shells are interengaged but causes said tongue to undergo inward flexural displacement when the two half-shells cover each other completely and then to engage within a recess formed in the other half-shell, thus permanently locking said half-shells together.

2. An articulated-connection link in accordance with claim 1, characterized in that the two half-shells each have a third recess extending at right angles to the direction of the two first semicylindrical recesses so that said third recesses define an open notch for fastening the articulated-connection link on a bearing element located at right angles to rods which pass through the two first recesses.

3. An articulated-connection link in accordance with claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that each half-shell has a fourth recess which extends in a direction parallel to the two first recesses at right angles to the third recess, said fourth recess being open towards the exterior when the two half-shells cover each other completely.

4. An articulated-connection link in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said link is mounted between the side wall of the basket of a carrier trolley for self-service stores and a transverse partition placed within said basket.