WO2003057544A1

WO2003057544A1 - Brake apparatus for shopping cart

Info

Publication number: WO2003057544A1
Application number: PCT/KR2003/000057
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sang-Don Kim
Original assignee: Sang-Don Kim
Priority date: 2002-01-11
Filing date: 2003-01-11
Publication date: 2003-07-17
Also published as: AU2003235815A1; KR200273304Y1

Abstract

A brake apparatus for a shopping cart in which a brake lever for braking wheels of the shopping cart while carrying articles in a large shopping mall is integrated with a locking device, includes a locking member installed to a handle of the cart so as to lock or unlock neighboring carts, and a brake lever integrally provided with the locking member so as to brake wheels mounted to the cart.

Description

BRAKE APPARATUS FOR SHOPPING CART

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a shopping cart, and more

particularly to a brake apparatus for a shopping cart in which a brake

lever for braking wheels of the shopping cart while carrying articles in a

large shopping mall is integrated with a locking device.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a large shopping mall is very popular to consumers

since they may purchase daily necessaries in a bundle at a cheaper

price. Such a large shopping mall furnishes shopping carts in order to

induce purchasers to buy a large amount of products more

conveniently.

The shopping cart includes a frame having a loading portion on

which articles are loaded and a plurality of wheels mounted to the

frame. Here, the wheel is configured with two front wheels and two

rear wheels, which may rotate 360°.

However, when using the conventional shopping cart, articles on

the loading portion tend to be leaning to one side when changing its

advancing direction. Thus, the shopping cart is sometimes bumped

against a display stand or another shopping cart, not advancing to a desired direction. In addition, the conventional shopping cart cannot

stop abruptly, so it frequently run against a person in front or other

carts.

In order to solve such a problem, the applicant of this invention

suggested "a brake apparatus for a shopping cart" in the Korean

Registration Utility Model No. 0185981.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional

brake apparatus for a shopping cart.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional brake apparatus 100 for a

shopping cart includes a pair of brake levers 21 installed to a cart

handle 13, and a braking unit (not shown) for selectively braking the

rotation of the front wheels 15a and 15b by manipulation of the brake

levers 21. Thus, the shopping cart may change its advancing direction

or stop abruptly by selectively braking the two front wheels 15a and 15b

with the use of the braking unit.

On the other hand, a shopping cart is commonly provided with a

locking device in a cart handle. The locking device not only prevent

robbery of the cart but also ensures convenient safekeeping and

management of the cart. The locking device may lock a key connected

to a locking device of a neighboring cart, and the locking state of the key

may be released by pushing a coin. The coin is drawn out when the

locking state of the key is released. However, since the locking device is installed at one end or

midway of the handle, the conventional shopping cart cannot have any

space for the handle in which the brake lever may be installed. In

addition, through the brake lever is installed, the locking device may

obstacle the pressing operation of the brake lever. Moreover, if the

locking device and the brake lever are installed separately to the cart

handle, assembling the locking and the brake lever is too complex, so

its assembling efficiency is deteriorated. In addition, the locking device

is generally essentially installed to the shopping cart in the large

shopping mall, but the brake device is not so broadly adopted due to

the increase of costs.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

Therefore, a technical object of the present invention is to provide

a brake apparatus for a shopping cart in which a brake lever and a

locking device are integrally provided in order to not only improve the

assembling efficiency of the cart but also guide that the brake lever is

essentially equipped together with the locking device.

In order to accomplish the above object, the present invention

provides a brake apparatus for a shopping cart, which includes a

locking member installed to a handle of the cart so as to lock or unlock

neighboring carts; and a brake lever integrally provided with the locking member so as to brake wheels mounted to the cart.

Preferably in the brake apparatus for a shopping cart according to

the present invention, the locking member is installed at a center

portion of the cart handle, and the brake lever is configured with two

levers for braking first and second wheels respectively.

In the brake apparatus for a shopping cart according to the

present invention, it is also possible that the locking member is

installed at one end of the cart handle, and the brake lever is configured

with a first lever integrally provided with the locking member in order to

brake a first wheel and a second lever installed to the other end of the

cart handle in order to brake a second wheel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of preferred

embodiments of the present invention will be more fully described in the

following detailed description, taken accompanying drawings. In the

drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a conventional

brake device for a shopping cart;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a brake apparatus for a

shopping cart according to a preferred embodiment of the present

invention: FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a brake lever and

a locking member shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plane view showing the brake lever and a locking

member shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a braking unit

shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a plane view schematically showing a brake apparatus

for a shopping cart according to another preferred embodiment of the

present invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will

be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a brake apparatus for a

shopping cart according to a preferred embodiment of the present

invention, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a brake lever

and a locking member shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a plane view

showing the brake lever and a locking member shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGs. 2 to 4, a brake apparatus 200 for a shopping

cart according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a

locking member 30 installed at one end of a cart handle 13 for locking

or unlocking neighboring carts each other, and a pair of brake levers 40 and 50 one of which is integrated with the locking member 30 and the

other end of which is installed at the other end of the cart handle 13 in

order to brake wheels 15a~ 15d of the cart 10.

The cart 10 has the cart handle 13, a loading portion 14 for

loading articles and a frame 11 to which a plurality of the wheels

15a~ 15d are mounted. The wheels 15a~ 15d are configured with two

front wheels 15a and 15b and two rear wheels 15c and 15d. The brake

apparatus 200 of the present invention may either brake the front

wheels 15a and 15b or brake the rear wheels 15c and 15d. However,

the present invention is described with an example that two front

wheels 15a and 15b, hereinafter called first and second wheels 15a and

15b, are braked.

The locking member 30 is installed so that the cart handle 13 is

capable of passing through. The locking member 30 also includes a

locking body 31 which may be fixed at one end of the cart handle 13.

The locking body 31 is fixed to the cart handle 13 with the cart handle

13 passing through, and the locking body 31 is combined to a

connecting unit 61 mounted to a side strip 12 of the cart 10. The

connecting unit 61 is inserted into the side strip 12 of the cart 10 so

that it may be combined at one end of the cart handle 13. In other

words, the connecting unit 61 is combined at one end of the cart handle

13 while being inserted into the locking body 31. The locking body 31 has a coin slot 32 through which a coin may be put in or drawn out,

and a key insert 33 into which a key 34 may be inserted for locking.

The key 34 is connected to the locking body 31 by use of a ring such as

a metal chain. The key 34 is also inserted into the key insert 33 of the

locking body 31 in order to lock the locking body 31. The coin slot 32

may release the locking state of the key 34 when a coin is inserted. In

addition, when the key 34 is inserted into the key insert 33, the coin is

drawn out. When the key 33 is inserted, the key insert 33 may lock

the key 34 to the locking body 31 and make the coin drawn out through

the coin slot 32. Thus, if a key 34 of a neighboring cart 10 is locked to

the key insert 33, the locking member 30 draws out the coin through

the coin slot 32, while if pushing a coin into the coin slot 32, the locking

state of the key 34 locked to the key insert 33 is released.

The brake levers 40 and 50 selectively brake the first and second

wheels 15a and 15b by pulling a brake string 22 to operate a braking

unit 20 (see FIG. 5) installed to the first and second wheels 15a and 15b

corresponding to the front wheels. The brake levers 40 and 50 may

adopt common brake levers used in bicycle. The brake levers 40 and

50 are configured with a first lever 40 integrally formed with the locking

body 31 and a second lever 50 installed at the other end of the cart

handle 13. The first lever 40 has a grip 41 elastically biased by a

torsion spring, and may rotate when a user presses. The grip 41 of the first lever 40 is arranged toward a center portion in a longitudinal

direction of the cart handle 13, and connected to the braking unit 20

(see FIG. 5) installed to the first wheel 15a by means of the brake string

22. The second lever 50 is arranged toward a center portion in a

longitudinal direction of the cart handle 13, and is fixed to the other

end of the cart handle 13 by means of a screw 52. The second lever 50

has a grip 51 elastically biased by a torsion spring, and may rotate

when a user presses. The second lever 50 is connected to the braking

unit 20 installed to the second wheel 15b by means of the brake string

22.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing the brake unit

shown in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 5, the brake unit 20 may selectively brake

rotation of the first and second wheels 15a and 15b in linkage with the

tension of the brake string 22. The brake unit 20 includes an arm 28

which may pivot near a grounding surface of the first and second

wheels 15a and 15b, and a brake pad 27 mounted to the arm 28 so as

to selectively restrict rotation of the first and second wheels 15a and

15b by being in contact with the grounding surface of the first and

second wheels 15a and 15b as the arm 28 pivots toward the first and

second wheels 15a and 15b. The configuration of the brake unit 20 as

mentioned above is disclosed in "a brake apparatus for a shopping cart" in the Korean Registration Utility Model No. 0185981, and not described

here in detail.

Now, assembling procedure and operation of the brake apparatus

for a shopping cart according to the first embodiment of the present

invention are described in detail.

As shown in FIGs. 2 and 3, in order to install the brake apparatus

200 of the present invention to the cart 10, the locking body 31

integrally provided with the first lever 40 is combined at one end of the

cart handle 13. The grip 41 of the first lever 40 is in parallel to a

longitudinal direction of the cart handle 13, and arranged toward a

center portion of the cart handle 13. The connecting unit 61 is

inserted and fixed in the side strip 12 of the cart 10, and combined to

one end of the cart handle 13. The second lever 50 is combined to the

other end of the cart handle 13. The grip 51 of the second lever 50 is

in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the cart handle 13, and

arranged toward a center portion of the cart handle 13. Since the first

lever 40 is provided integrally with the locking body 31 , there can be

spared a room for installing the cart handle 13. Thus, the lever may

operate without disturbance of the locking member 31 , and the locking

device and the brake apparatus can be assembly more simply.

The operation of the shopping cart 10 in which the brake

apparatus 200 as described above is as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, a user presses one of the first and second levers 40 and 50 in order to

change an advancing direction of the cart 10. Then, as shown in FIG.

5, one of the first and second levers 40 and 50 pulls the brake string 20.

Then, the arm 28 pivots on a hinge axis 26 by means of the brake string

22, and therefore the brake pad 27 is contacted with one of the first and

second wheels 15a and 15b. Thus, one of the first and second wheels

15a and 15b stops its rotation due to the brake pad 27.

On the other hand, in order to stop the shopping cart 10 abruptly,

the user pulls all of the first and second levers 40 and 50. Then, the

first and second wheels 15a and 15b are stopped at the same time

according to the above-mentioned operation. The operation of the

brake apparatus 200 is disclosed in "a brake apparatus for a shopping

cart" in the Korean Registration Utility Model No. 0185981, not

described here in detail.

FIG. 6 is a plane view schematically showing a brake apparatus

for a shopping cart according to a second embodiment of the present

invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the brake apparatus 300 according to the

second embodiment of the present invention includes a locking member

70 installed at a center of the cart handle 13, and a pair of brake levers

80 and 90 prepared integrally with the locking member 70, differently to

the first embodiment. The locking member 70 has the same configuration as the first

embodiment, and not described here in detail.

The brake levers 80 and 90 are configured with a first lever 80

and a second lever 90 which are provided integrally to both ends of the

locking member 70. The first lever 80 is arranged in parallel to a

longitudinal direction of the cart handle 13 so that a grip 81 is oriented

toward one end of the cart handle 13 on the basis of the center of the

cart handle 13. The second lever 90 is arranged in parallel to a

longitudinal direction of the cart handle 13 so that a grip 91 is oriented

toward one end of the cart handle 13 on the basis of the center of the

cart handle 13.

According to the present invention, the locking member 70

integrally provided with the first and second levers 80 and 90 is fixed to

a center portion of the cart handle 13 while the cart handle 13 passes

through the locking body 71.

Other operations are identical to the first embodiment.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to an aspect of the present invention, since the brake

lever is integrally provided with the locking member, there can be

spared a room for installing the brake lever to the cart handle, and the

brake lever may operate without disturbance of the locking member. According to another aspect of the present invention, since there

is no need to install the locking member and the brake lever separately,

assembling productivity and work speed are improved.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, since

the locking member and the brake lever are installed to the cart handle

at the same time, it may induce the shopping mall to furnish shopping

carts in which the brake apparatus is installed together with the locking

device.

The present invention has been described in detail. However, it

should be understood that the detailed description and specific

examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are

given by way of illustration only, since various changes and

modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become

apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A brake apparatus for a shopping cart comprising:

a locking member installed to a handle of the cart so as to lock or

unlock neighboring carts; and

a brake lever integrally provided with the locking member so as to

brake wheels mounted to the cart.

2. A brake apparatus for a shopping cart according to claim 1,

wherein the locking member is installed at a center portion of the

cart handle, and the brake lever is configured with two levers for

braking first and second wheels respectively.

3. A brake apparatus for a shopping cart according to claim 1 ,

wherein the locking member is installed at one end of the cart

handle, and the brake lever is configured with a first lever integrally

provided with the locking member in order to brake a first wheel and a

second lever installed to the other end of the cart handle in order to

brake a second wheel.