NL1038221C2

NL1038221C2 - Trolley.

Info

Publication number: NL1038221C2
Application number: NL1038221A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Rudolf Klaas Beelen; Jacobus Wilhelmus Cornelis Anna Gofers
Original assignee: Promolding B V
Priority date: 2010-09-06
Filing date: 2010-09-06
Publication date: 2012-03-07
Also published as: WO2012033401A1

Description

P 2010 NL 041 TITLE: Trolley

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates in general to a catering trolley or serving trolley for use in airplanes.

5 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Such catering trolleys are generally known; an example of such trolley is disclosed in WO-2009/008707. They comprise a cabinet-shaped body, at least one door, an upper panel, wheels, etc. The trolleys are used for presenting for instance 10 meals and drinks, or other articles, to airplane passengers, the trolleys riding through the aisle of the airplane, pushed or pulled by the serving cabin personnel.

As far as dimensions are concerned, there is a high degree of standardization. The outside dimensions are 15 restricted by the fact that they must fit in an aisle and in a storage cabinet. The inside dimensions are set by the fact that they must be able to accommodate standard trays and drawers. Basically, there are two major variations: there are half-size trolleys and full-size trolleys. A half-size trolley 20 has a depth in the order of 60 cm for accommodating one tray or drawer per level. Such trolley has a front side with a door and a back side with a fixed panel. A full size trolley is twice as deep so that it can, at each level, accommodate two trays or drawers behind each other. Such trolley has two doors 25 at the opposite ends.

At the top, the trolley has a top surface surrounded by an upstanding rim of a few centimeters high. In use, one of the drawers will be taken out and placed on top of the trolley. Such drawer will be indicated as service drawer. In 30 the case of a full size trolley, there are two service drawers, each in one of the opposite trolley compartments, and normally two service attendants will be at work at the opposite sides of the trolley so that the two service drawers 1038221 2 will be placed on the top at the same time. Since the footprint of a trolley corresponds to the trolley size and hence to the top surface, the service drawer occupies the entire top surface, and there is no surface room left for, for 5 instance, writing something down. In practice, there is a desire to have some working surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to fulfil this desire.

10 According to the present invention, a clamping device is attached to the top surface of the trolley, somewhere in a central portion of the top surface. The service drawer is placed on the rim, and projects horizontally from the trolley.

The clamping device is used to clamp the service drawer 15 horizontally and vertically, so that it can not topple. The clamping device is preferably attached so that it can not be removed easily or can not be removed at all, for instance by gluing, screwing, etc.

The clamping device generally has two positions: a 20 storage position and an operative position. In the storage position, the vertical extent of the clamping device is low, and the clamping device does not project above the highest point of the trolley, i.e. the upper side of the trolley rim.

In the operative position, the vertical extent of the clamping 25 device is higher, so that the clamping device can engage the upper edge of the service drawer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

30 These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will be further explained by the following description with reference to the drawings, in which same reference numerals indicate same or similar parts, and in which: 35 figure 1A is a schematic top view of a trolley; figure IB is a schematic cross section of the upper portion of | the trolley; | figure 2A is a schematic top view of a trolley according to the present invention; 3 figure 2B is a schematic cross section of the upper portion of the trolley of figure 2A; figures 2C and 2D are comparable to figures 2A and 2B, respectively, service drawer placed on the trolley; 5 figure 3A is a schematic side view, partly in cross section, of an exemplary embodiment of a clamping device in its storage position; figure 3B is a view comparable to figure 3A, showing the clamping device in its operative position; 10 figure 3C illustrates details of an embodiment of locking means

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The general operation of the present invention will be 15 explained with reference to figures 1A-B and 2A-D. Figure 1A is a schematic top view of a trolley 1, showing the top surface 2 and the upstanding rim 3 surrounding the top surface 2. Figure IB is a schematic cross section of the upper portion of the trolley 1. In dotted lines, a service drawer 10 is 20 shown, placed on top of the top surface 2, as is done conventionally; it can be seen that there is no free working surface for the service attendants.

Figure 2A is a schematic top view comparable to figure 1A, of a trolley 100 according to the present invention, and 25 figure 2B is a schematic cross section comparable to figure IB of the upper portion of the trolley 100. The top surface is indicated at 102, and the rim is indicated at 103. Reference numeral 120 indicates a clamping device attached to the top surface 102, for instance by screws (not shown for sake of 30 simplicity). Details of the clamping device will be discussed later. Figure 2C is a schematic top view comparable to figure 2A, showing in dotted lines a service drawer 10 placed on the rim 103 and horizontally projecting out from the trolley 100. Figure 2D is a schematic cross section comparable to figure 35 2B, also showing this service drawer 10 in dotted lines.

In figure 2B, the clamping device 120 is shown in its storage position, in which the vertical extent of the clamping device 120 is low and the clamping device 120 does not project above the rim 103. In figures 2C and 2D, the clamping device 4 120 is in its operative position in which the vertical extent is such that the clamping device 120 engages the upper edge of a side wall of the service drawer 10. It is possible that the clamping device 120 holds the service drawer 10 by positive 5 shape-lock, but normally it is sufficient if the contact faces of the clamping device 120 are made of or provided with a friction material so that the service drawer is held on the basis of friction. Further, it is possible that the service drawer 10 in its bottom surface is provided with a small 10 transverse groove 127, as indicated, into which the upper portion of the rim 103 would fit, so that horizontal locking of the service drawer is provided by the rim 103.

The invention provides several implementation principles 15 for the clamping device 120. In all embodiments, the clamping device 120 comprises a base part 121 fixedly attached to the trolley, and a clamp part 122 that can be vertically displaced with respect to the base part 121. For vertical displacement, the clamping device 120 may comprise a scissor mechanism or a 20 telescopic mechanism; such mechanisms are known per se, and an explanation and more detailed description are omitted here.

Figure 3A is a schematic side view, partly in cross section, of an exemplary embodiment of the clamping device 120 comprising a base part 121 fixedly attached to the trolley, a 25 support part 123 hinged to the base part 121, and a clamp part 122 that can be shifted with respect to the support part 123. In figure 3A, the support part 123 is hinged to its storage position in which the support part 123 lies flat on the base part 121. Figure 3B is a view comparable to figure 3A, showing 30 the support part 123 hinged to its operative position, in which the support part 123 extends substantially vertically. Embodiments are conceivable where the clamp part 122 is fixedly attached, or integral with, the support part 123, but since there are several versions possible of the service 35 drawer, with notably different height dimensions, a slidable clamp part 122 has the advantage of adaptability. The clamp part 122 and the support part 123 are provided with mutually cooperating locking means 130, for instance in the form of projections/recesses, defining specific height positions of 5 the clamp part 122. Figure 3C is a schematic cross section showing a possible embodiment of such locking means 130 at a larger scale. The support part 123 has a series of recesses or holes above each other. The clamp part 122 has a resilient 5 strip with a projecting cam. A handle attached to the strip allows a user to pull the cam out of a recess so that the clamp part 122 can be shifted, until the cam snaps into another recess. In this position, the can prevents the clamp part 122 from shifting vertically, so that the clamp part 122 10 can hold the service drawer.

In all embodiments discussed above, it should be clear that the service drawer covers a portion of the trolley's top surface, but leaves free another portion, which can be used as 15 working surface. The more the service drawer projects out of the trolley (as defined by the position of the clamping device 120), the larger is the size of the working surface.

It should be clear to a person skilled in the art that 20 the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments discussed above, but that several variations and modifications are possible within the protective scope of the invention as defined in the appending claims. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the 25 scope.

1038221

Claims

A trolley (100) with an upper surface (101) and a raised edge (103) surrounding this upper surface (102), which trolley (100) further comprises a clamping device (120) mounted on the upper surface (102), which clamping device 5 (120) has a storage position in which the vertical extension of the clamping device (120) is small and the clamping device (120) does not protrude above the edge (103), and wherein the clamping device (120) has an operating position in which the vertical extension is larger so that the clamping device (120) being able to engage the upper edge of a side wall of a service drawer (10) when placed on the edge.

The trolley according to claim 1, wherein the clamping device 15 (120) in the operating position prevents movement of the drawer in three directions.

A trolley according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the clamping device (120) comprises a base part 20 (121) fixedly attached to the trolley, and a clamping part (122) that can be moved vertically relative to the base part (121).

The trolley according to claim 3, wherein the clamping device (103) comprises a scissor mechanism or a telescope mechanism. 25

The trolley of claim 1 or 2, wherein the clamping device (120) comprises: a base member (121) fixedly attached to the trolley; a support member 30 (123) pivotally connected to the base member (121); and a clamping member (122) that can be shifted relative to the support member (123).

6. Trolley according to claim 5, wherein the clamping part (122) and the supporting part (123) are provided with mutually cooperating locking means (130). 1038221

The trolley according to claim 6, wherein said locking means (130) are designed to define at least one but preferably a plurality of fixed positions for the clamping part (122) relative to the supporting part 5 (123). 1038221