JP2024049250A - shopping cart - Google Patents

Abstract

To achieve an increase in the number of basket setting portions and execution of nesting and smooth cancellation thereof without damage by structuring so that keys hung from a coin lock device 40 do not penetrate through bottom face parts of the basket setting portions of another shopping cart to be nested.SOLUTION: A shopping cart 1 includes: a plurality of basket setting portions 6-9 with different setting heights; a handle 5 extending in the horizontal direction at a higher position than a top basket setting portion 9; and a coin lock device 40 mounted on the handle 5. The top basket setting portion 9 is set so that a vertical interval Y from a bottom face of the handle 5 to a the highest position of a bottom face part 30 of the top basket setting portion 9 is smaller than a vertical length K from the bottom face of the handle 5 to the lower end of a key 45 when being hung. At a prescribed position through which the hung key 45 passes fore and aft while coming into contact, of the bottom face part 30, there is provided a face bar 34 through which the key 45 does not pass downward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a shopping cart used when shopping at stores such as supermarkets, convenience stores, and shopping centers.

Customers often move their shopping carts into a parking lot, put their purchases into their cars, and then leave the shopping carts near their cars without returning them to a designated collection point. For this reason, staff must collect shopping carts that are left here and there in the large parking lot by returning them to collection points at designated times, but this collection work is hard work and requires labor costs.

In recent years, so-called coin-lock type shopping carts have become widespread (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This type of shopping cart has a coin lock device attached to a shopping cart, the coin lock device having a key insertion section and a coin insertion section, and a key connected to the coin lock via a chain.
(1) By inserting the key of one of the coin lock devices of the front and rear shopping carts nested in the collection area into the key insertion portion of the other coin lock device of the shopping cart, the two shopping carts are linked together via a chain;
(2) When a coin is inserted into the coin insertion portion of one of the coin lock devices, the lock is released, the two shopping carts are uncoupled, and one of the shopping carts becomes available for use.
(3) After use, one of the shopping carts is returned to the collection area and nested with the other shopping cart. When one of the coin lock devices is locked by inserting the key of the other coin lock device into the key insertion portion of the other coin lock device, the coins are ejected from the coin insertion portion and returned to the user.
This is expected to encourage users to return their shopping carts to the collection area.

As described in Patent Document 1, it is preferable to attach the coin lock device to the handle of the shopping cart in order to facilitate the handling of keys and coins. In this case, the key and chain hang lower than the handle, but the hanging key and chain do not interfere with the top basket rest of another nested shopping cart.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-011909 Patent No. 6796341

Meanwhile, shopping carts have multiple basket carrying sections that are installed at different heights. In the past, those with two basket carrying sections (so-called two-cart types) were common, but in recent years, in response to the trend towards bulk buying, those with three basket carrying sections (so-called three-cart types) have become more common, and even those with four basket carrying sections have appeared (Patent Document 2).

When the coin lock device described above is attached to the handle of a two-cart or three-cart type shopping cart, the key and chain suspended as described above do not interfere with the top basket rest of another nested shopping cart.

However, when the inventors prototyped a four-item shopping cart and attempted to attach a coin lock device to its handle, they discovered that the hanging keys and chain would interfere with the top basket placement of another nested shopping cart. This is because the top basket placement is much higher than that of the three-item type.

If the interference is simply caused by the hanging key coming into contact with the basket mounting section, there is no particular problem. However, because the basket mounting section is generally made of metal wire arranged in a coarse mesh for basket stability, etc., it is conceivable that the hanging key may penetrate the bottom section (the meshes) of the basket mounting section. If nesting or unnesting is attempted with the hanging key penetrating the bottom section of the basket mounting section, the key or chain may become entangled with the basket mounting section, making nesting or unnesting difficult, and continuing too forcefully may result in damage to the entangled parts.

The object of the present invention is to increase the number of basket carrying sections with different installation heights on a shopping cart (for example, to four), and to prevent a key suspended below the handle from penetrating the bottom surface of the top basket carrying section of another nested shopping cart, making it possible to nest or unnest smoothly and without damage.

[1] A plurality of basket mounting sections each having a different installation height;
A handle extending in the left and right directions at a position higher than the top basket placement portion;
A shopping cart having a coin lock device attached to a handle, the coin lock device having a key insertion section and a coin insertion section, and a key connected to the coin lock body via a chain,
The uppermost basket mounting part is disposed so that the vertical distance from the lower surface of the handle near the coin lock device to the highest point of the bottom surface of the uppermost basket mounting part is smaller than the vertical length from the lower surface of the handle near the coin lock device to the lower end of the key when it is suspended,
This shopping cart is characterized in that a surface material that prevents the keys from penetrating downward is provided at a predetermined location on the bottom surface of the top basket carrying part, where the keys hanging from other shopping carts pass back and forth while coming into contact with each other at least when nested.

[2] The shopping cart described in [1] above has a handle that is a bar connecting the left and right frames of the shopping cart, and a coin lock device is attached to the center of the handle in the left-right direction.

[3] A shopping cart as described in [1] or [2] above, in which the multiple basket carrying sections are four basket carrying sections.

[4] A shopping cart according to any one of [1] to [3] above, in which the surface material is a surface material without holes or a surface material with holes through which no part of the key passes.

[5] A shopping cart according to any one of [1] to [4] above, in which the entire bottom surface of the topmost basket carrying section is formed from metal wires arranged in a mesh pattern, and the surface material is attached to the predetermined location of the bottom surface.

[6] A shopping cart according to any one of [1] to [4] above, in which the entire bottom surface of the top basket carrying section is made of a panel having holes that do not allow part of the key to pass through.

According to the present invention, it is possible to increase the number of basket carrying sections with different installation heights on a shopping cart (for example, to four), and to prevent a key suspended below the handle of a shopping cart from penetrating the bottom surface of the top basket carrying section of another nested shopping cart, making it possible to nest or unnest smoothly and without damage.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shopping cart according to a first embodiment, as viewed from the front side. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the top basket carrying portion of the shopping cart. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the shopping cart as viewed from the rear side. FIG. 4 is a front view of the shopping cart. FIG. 5 is a side view of the shopping cart with a shopping basket placed thereon. FIG. 6A is a partial side view of the shopping cart when nested and when the coin lock device is locked, and FIG. 6B is a partial side view of the coin lock device when unlocked. FIG. 7A is a partial side view of the shopping cart during withdrawal, and FIG. 7B is a partial side view of the shopping cart after withdrawal has been completed. FIG. 8A is a partial side view of the shopping cart when nesting starts, and FIG. 8B is a partial side view of the shopping cart during nesting. FIG. 9A is a partial side view of the shopping cart during further nesting, and FIG. 9B is a partial side view of the shopping cart after nesting has been completed and before it has been locked by the coin locking device. FIG. 10 is a partial side view of a comparative shopping cart in the middle of nesting.

1. Handle As mentioned above, it is preferable for the handle to be a single bar connecting the left and right frames from the standpoint of ease of handling and balance, but it may be two separate bars extending inwardly to the left and right from the left and right frames. In the latter case, a coin lock device is attached to one of the two bars.

2. Coin Lock Device The coin lock device is not particularly limited as long as it is a coin lock main body having a key insertion section and a coin insertion section, to which a key is connected via a chain. The length of the chain can be set to an appropriate length depending on the model (nesting width) of the shopping cart. Generally, the nesting width is 120 to 300 mm.

3. Basket Mounting Section As described above, it is preferable that the number of basket mounting sections with different placement heights is four, but three or five basket mounting sections are also acceptable. In the case of three basket mounting sections, only three shopping baskets can be mounted, but the vertical spacing between the basket mounting sections is large, making it easier to put products into the shopping baskets. In the case of five basket mounting sections, the vertical spacing between the basket mounting sections is small, but five shopping baskets can be mounted, making it easier to make bulk purchases. In the case of four basket mounting sections, these balances are optimal.

Each basket carrying section may carry a shopping basket with its depth direction facing forward and backward, or with its width direction facing forward and backward. In addition, the lowest basket carrying section may carry a shopping basket with its depth direction facing forward and backward, and the other basket carrying sections may carry a shopping basket with its width direction facing forward and backward, and so on. They may be combined as appropriate.

The installation structure of the basket carrying section is not particularly limited, but an example is one in which the lowest basket carrying section is fixed to a base frame equipped with casters, and the other basket carrying sections are fixed to left and right support pillars extending upward from the base frame.

4. Positional relationship between the coin lock device and the topmost basket mounting part As described above, the topmost basket mounting part is positioned so that the vertical distance (Y in Fig. 5) from the underside of the handle near the coin lock device to the highest point on the bottom surface of the topmost basket mounting part is smaller than the vertical length (K in Fig. 5) from the underside of the handle near the coin lock device to the bottom end of the key when suspended. This is because the position of the topmost basket mounting part is raised, making it possible to increase the number of basket mounting parts (for example, to four), and also has the effect of preventing the possibility that a suspended key will penetrate the bottom surface of the topmost basket mounting part, with the surface material preventing this penetration.

Therefore, there is no particular limit to how much smaller Y is than K (the difference), but this effect will be greater if Y is 30 mm or more smaller than K, and more pronounced if Y is 60 mm or more smaller than K. There is no particular upper limit to this difference, but taking into account the length of the chain according to the nesting width, it is 250 mm.

5. Bottom surface and surface material of the top basket mounting part The bottom surface of the basket mounting part is required to have the main function of supporting the bottom of the shopping basket, as well as the function of allowing rainwater and drips to fall and not accumulate for hygienic reasons, and the function of preventing small items (placed directly on the basket mounting part without using a shopping basket) from falling. Therefore, the bottom surface of the basket mounting part is often made entirely of metal wires arranged in a rough mesh shape. However, since the key penetrates through such a rough mesh shape, it is preferable to have the surface material attached to the predetermined location of the bottom surface as described above, or to have the entire bottom surface formed of a surface material with holes that do not allow part of the key to penetrate.

Examples of surface materials with holes that do not allow part of the key to penetrate include, but are not limited to, punched metal and fine metal mesh.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the structure, shape, quantity, etc. of each part described are examples and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The shopping cart 1 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 9 is configured to include a base frame 3 equipped with casters 2, left and right support pillars 4 extending upward from the base frame 3, handles 5 extending from the upper ends of the left and right support pillars 4, a first basket mounting section 6 at the bottom, a second basket mounting section 7 located above and to the rear of the first basket mounting section 6, a third basket mounting section 8 located above and to the front of the second basket mounting section 7, and a fourth basket mounting section 9 at the top located above and to the rear of the third basket mounting section 8. The first basket mounting section 6 is fixed to the base frame 3, and the second to fourth basket mounting sections are fixed to the left and right support pillars 4.

The base frame 3 is made of a bent metal pipe and includes a front frame portion 10 and left and right side frame portions 11 that extend rearward from the ends of the front frame.

The left and right support pillars 4 are each made of a bent metal pipe, and are composed of, from bottom to top, a lower section 12 that extends vertically, a middle section 13 that extends diagonally upward and forward from the top end of the lower section 12, and an upper section 14 that extends diagonally upward and rearward from the top end of the middle section 13.

The handle 5 is made of a metal pipe that is continuous with the support 4, and is bent inward from the upper end of each of the upper parts 14 of the left and right support 4, and extends in the left-right direction to connect the upper ends at a point higher than the top fourth basket mounting part 9. The left and right parts of the handle 5 are covered with resin grips 5a.

The first basket loading section 6 is composed of a rear section 16 made of metal wire fixed to the rear section of the base frame 3, a bottom section 17 made of metal wire fixed to the rear section 16 and extending forward, a front section 18 formed by bending upward from the front end of the bottom section 17, and parts of the side frame sections 11 of the base frame 3 which function as left and right side sections 19. The first basket loading section 6 loads a shopping basket B on the bottom section 17 with the depth direction facing forward and backward, and the rear section 16, side sections 19 and front section 18 surround the lower part of the shopping basket B to prevent it from shifting or falling.

The second basket loading section 7 is composed of a bottom section 20 made of metal wires arranged in a mesh shape, a rear section 21 (located higher than the rear end of the bottom section 20) made of metal wires curved into a square ring shape and fixed to the middle section 13 of the support 4, left and right side sections 22, and a front section 23. The bottom section 20 is for receiving the bottom section of the shopping basket B, and the rear end of the bottom section 20 is composed of rear end wires 20a that extend left and right in the mesh in this example. The second basket loading section 7 places the shopping basket B on the bottom section 20 with its width direction aligned in the front-to-rear direction, and the rear section 21, side sections 22, and front section 23 surround the lower part of the shopping basket B to prevent it from shifting or falling.

The third basket loading section 8 is composed of a bottom section 25 and a front section 26, which are fixed to the front side of the upper section 14 of the support 4 and are made of metal wires arranged in a mesh shape and bent into an L shape, left and right side sections 27, which are fixed near the border between the middle section 13 and the upper section 14 of the support 4, and a rear section 28, which is made of metal wires and is installed between the upper sections 14 of the support 4. The third basket loading section 8 places a shopping basket B on the bottom section 25 with its width direction facing forward and backward, and the rear section 28, side sections 27 and front section 26 surround the lower section of the shopping basket B to prevent it from shifting or falling.

The fourth basket loading section 9 is composed of a bottom section 30 and a front section 31 made of metal wires arranged in a mesh shape and bent into an L shape, a part of the upper section 14 of the support 4 which functions as the left and right side sections 32, a rear section 33 made of metal wires installed between the upper sections 14 above, and a surface material 34 described below. The bottom section 30 is for receiving the bottom section of the shopping basket B, and the rear end of the bottom section 30 is composed of rear end wires 30a that extend left and right in the mesh in this example. The fourth basket loading section 9 places the shopping basket B on the bottom section 30 with its width direction aligned in the front-to-rear direction, and the rear section 33, side sections 32 and front section 31 surround the lower section of the shopping basket B to prevent it from shifting or falling.

The rear end of the bottom surface 20 of the second basket loading section 7 (the rear end of the rear end wire 20a) is located 152 to 180 mm rearward and 350 to 402 mm downward with respect to the rear end of the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket loading section 9 (the rear end of the rear end wire 30a). This positional relationship is not limited, but is a preferred range. This positional relationship makes the gap between the upper end of the shopping basket B placed on the second basket loading section 7 and the lower end of the shopping basket B placed on the fourth basket loading section 9 the widest possible, so that products can be easily inserted into the shopping basket B placed on the second basket loading section 7 from this gap. The bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket loading section 9 is mesh-like, but does not prevent products from being inserted into the shopping basket B placed on the second basket loading section 7 from the above gap.

Now, a coin lock device 40 is attached to the upper side of the center of the left-right direction of the handle 5. The coin lock device 40 is composed of a housing-shaped coin lock main body 41 having a key insertion section 42 at the front and a coin insertion section 43 at the rear, and a key 45 connected to the rear side of the coin lock main body 41 via a chain 44. The lower part of the coin lock main body 41 is attached to the handle 5 with screws so that it cannot be easily removed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the fourth basket loading section 9 is positioned so that the vertical distance Y from the underside of the handle 5 near the coin lock device 40 to the highest point on the bottom surface of the topmost fourth basket loading section 9 is 60 to 120 mm smaller in the illustrated example than the vertical length K from the underside of the handle 5 near the coin lock device 40 to the bottom end of the key 45 of the coin lock device 40 when it is suspended. Note that the nesting width in the illustrated example is 160 to 200 mm.

Then, at least at a predetermined location on the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket loading section 9 where the hanging keys 45 of other shopping carts pass back and forth while in contact during nesting, a surface material 34 is provided, through which the keys 45 do not penetrate downward. The bottom surface 30 is formed as a mesh of metal wires as described above, so in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 to 3, the surface material 34 is placed and attached on a predetermined width range (for example, a left-right width of 150 to 250 mm) that includes the predetermined location in the left-right center of the bottom surface 30. In this embodiment, the surface material 34 is bent into an L-shape and extends to the back of the front part 31 of the fourth basket loading section 9. In Figures 5 to 9, the surface material 34 is indicated by a dashed line. The surface material 34 in the illustrated example is a punched metal with a hole through which some of the keys 45 do not penetrate.

According to the shopping cart 1 of this embodiment configured as above, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) As shown in FIG. 6(a), the two shopping carts 1, 1 nested in front and behind each other at the collection site are locked by inserting the key 45 of one of the coin lock devices 40 into the key insertion portion 42 of the other coin lock device 40, thereby connecting the two shopping carts 1, 1 via a chain 44.

(2) As shown in FIG. 6(b), when a user inserts a coin 46 into the coin insertion portion 43 of one of the coin lock devices 40, the lock is released, the key 45 is released from the key insertion portion 42 and hangs down, the connection between the two shopping carts 1, 1 is released, and one of the shopping carts 1 becomes available for use.

(3) As shown in the displacement order in Figures 7(a) and (b) (the arrow indicates the displacement direction), the user unnestates (pulls out) one of the shopping carts 1 and uses it. During this unnesting, since the surface material 34 is provided at least at the specified location on the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket mounting section 9, the suspended key 45 simply slides on the surface material 34 and does not penetrate the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket mounting section 9. Therefore, the key 45 or chain 44 does not get tangled with the fourth basket mounting section 9, and unnesting can be performed smoothly and without damage.

(4) As shown in the order of displacement in Figures 8(a)(b) and 9(a)(b) (arrows indicate the displacement direction), after use, the user moves one of the shopping carts 1 back to the collection location and nests it in the other shopping cart 1. During this nesting, since the surface material 34 is provided at least at the specified location on the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket mounting section 9, the suspended key 45 simply slides on the surface material 34 and does not penetrate the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket mounting section 9. Therefore, the key 45 or chain 44 does not get tangled with the fourth basket mounting section 9, and nesting can be performed smoothly and without damage.

(5) From the state shown in FIG. 9(b), the user inserts the key 45 of one coin lock device 40 into the key insertion portion 42 of the other coin lock device 40 to lock it, bringing it into the state shown in FIG. 6(a), whereby the coin 46 is ejected from the coin insertion portion 43 of the coin lock device 40 and returned.

[Comparative Example]
10 is a partial side view of a comparative shopping cart in the middle of nesting, in which the surface material 34 is not provided on the bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket loading section 9. In this comparative example, the suspended key 45 penetrates the mesh-like bottom surface 30 of the fourth basket loading section 9, so that the key 45 or the chain 44 becomes entangled with the fourth basket loading section 9, making nesting difficult, and if nesting is continued forcibly, there is a risk that these entangled parts will be damaged.

The present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiment and modified examples, and can be embodied by making appropriate modifications, for example, as follows, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
(1) In addition to placing and attaching the surface material 34 on a specified width range of the bottom surface portion 30 of the fourth basket mounting portion 9, the specified width range can be formed with the surface material 34 and the other range can be formed with a mesh-shaped metal wire material (separate production).
(2) The entire bottom surface portion 30 of the fourth basket mounting portion 9 may be formed from the surface material 34 .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Shopping cart 5 Handle 6 First basket loading section 7 Second basket loading section 8 Third basket loading section 9 Fourth basket loading section 30 Bottom surface section 34 Face material 40 Coin lock device 41 Coin lock main body 42 Key insertion section 43 Coin insertion section 44 Chain 45 Key 46 Coin

Claims (6)

A plurality of basket carrying sections (6 to 9) having different installation heights;
A handle (5) extending in the left-right direction at a position higher than the top basket mounting portion (9);
A shopping cart comprising a coin lock device (40) attached to a handle (5), the coin lock device (40) being configured by connecting a key (45) to a coin lock body (41) having a key insertion section (42) and a coin insertion section (43) via a chain (44),
The top basket mounting portion (9) is installed so that the vertical distance (Y) from the bottom surface of the handle (5) near the coin lock device (40) to the highest point of the bottom surface portion (30) of the top basket mounting portion (9) is smaller than the vertical length (K) from the bottom surface of the handle (5) near the coin lock device (40) to the bottom end of the key (45) when it is suspended;
This shopping cart is characterized in that a surface material (34) that prevents the keys (45) from penetrating downward is provided at a predetermined location on the bottom surface (30) of the top basket mounting portion (9) where the keys (45) hanging from other shopping carts pass back and forth while coming into contact with the bottom surface (30) at least when nesting. The shopping cart according to claim 1, in which the handle (5) is a bar-shaped member that connects the left and right frames (4, 4) of the shopping cart, and a coin lock device (40) is attached to the center of the handle (5) in the left-right direction. The shopping cart according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of basket carrying sections are four basket carrying sections (6 to 9). The shopping cart according to claim 1, wherein the surface material is a surface material without holes or a surface material (34) with holes through which no part of the key penetrates. A shopping cart according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the entire bottom surface (30) of the top basket carrying section (9) is formed from metal wires arranged in a mesh pattern, and the surface material is attached to the predetermined location of the bottom surface (30). A shopping cart according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the entire bottom surface (30) of the top basket carrying section (9) is formed of a surface material (34) through which no part of the key (45) penetrates.

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