WO2008064449A1

WO2008064449A1 - Cart for products transportation

Info

Publication number: WO2008064449A1
Application number: PCT/BR2007/000329
Authority: WO
Inventors: Valter Kuba
Original assignee: Valter Kuba
Priority date: 2006-11-29
Filing date: 2007-11-28
Publication date: 2008-06-05
Also published as: BRPI0604966A

Abstract

The present invention refers to a cart for products transportation including a basket structure (1), a retractable forward wheel mechanism including at least one forward leg (7) connected through a joint to the forward region of the basket structure (1) and extending downwards, and at least one forward wheel connected to the lower end of the at least one forward leg, a rearward wheel mechanism comprising at least one rearward leg (9) connected to the rearward region of the basket structure (1) and extending downwards, and at least one rearward wheel (10) connected to the lower end of the at least one rearward leg, said leg (9) being rotatingly connected to the basket structure and including a joint (19) that can be unlocked by gravity and is located between its connection to the basket structure (1) and the rearward wheel (10).

Description

CART FOR PRODUCTS TRANSPORTATION

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers¹ to a cart for product transportation, to be preferably used: for supermarket shopping, with a retractable structure tihan c4n be adapted so as to allow the cart to be placpd iriside j vehicles, specifically car trunks.

PRIOR ART

Shopping at a supermarket or^' sirαiilar retail

In order to make easier this slhoppilng process

from the cart to the car trunk and then t I rom the cal!r trunk to the kitchen. PCT application IB/2OO4/O298!θ describes a shopping cart that supports the aforeπ entioried abtions. It consists of a basket where the produc s are put and three wheel mechanisms for displacement. A first mechanism of forward wheels comprises two vertical bars whϋch ejxtend from the lower forward part of the basket and are connected at their opposite end to two wheels. These two vertical bars are interconnected by a transversal bar wnich is fi|xed to an extremity of a spring, the other extremity of this spring being attached to the basket structure. The '(Connection between the vertical bars and the basket isj provided by a joint located a distance from the gr sund corresponding to the height of a car trunk's floor. Therefore, as the cart is pushed against the open car trunk, the verjtical bars are pushed toward the basket's lower face and' tak position. Said cart also has two small ¹I a folded rheels thatl are fixed to the lower forward end of the basket, alsfo located at a distance from the ground corresponding to the jheight of a car trunk' s floor, so that when the cart is pushed inside the car trunk the forward small wheels slide on the trunk' s floor thus making the cart movement easier.

According to the aforementioned 'prior art document, the cart has also a rearward wheel mechanism made of two vertical bars that extend downwards frbm thje rearward end of the cart's basket and are connected to the, wheels at their lower end. Said rearward vertical bars cari be moved slidingly upwards until the rearward whleels are placed near the basket's lower end and so the cart can be placed inside a car's trunk.

Said cart has the shortcoming of requiring the user to bend down to pull up by hand the rearward wheel mechanism in order to lift it. In case the bar slidling system

can be folded within the upper part o|f the; aforementioned basket.

The aforementioned docum Ients <j'io noI)t describe

legs to be moved upwards instead of being folded, j

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an obj ect of the present indention to provide a shopping cart that allows to take prbductjs from the supermarket ' s cashier to the home storage without any handling . It is also an object of the prjesent invention to provide a shopping cart that can be placed! insijde a car's trunk, having a practical wheel retracting sjystem and furthermore requiring little effort from] the user. ; •

Another object of the prjesent Invention is to provide a shopping cart with a construction thajt is more i easily adjustable to cars' trunks, in particular those having size limitations.

A further object of the present indention is to provide a shopping cart that takes thje leas]t possible room when put into storage.

SUMMARY THE INVENTION

The objects of the present invention can be accomplished with a cart for products transportation comprising a basket structure, a forward retractable wheel mechanism comprising at least one forward leg' connected by a joint to the forward region of the basket, structure and extending downwards, and at least one forward wheel connected to the lower end of the at least one forward |leg, a rearward wheel mechanism comprising at least one : backward leg connected to the rearward region of the basket structure and extending downwards, and at least |one tearward wheel connected to the lower end of the at least one rearward leg, the aforementioned leg being rotatingly connected to the basket structure, and includes a joint that can b£ unlocked by gravity, located between its connection with the basket structure and the backward wheel.

Alternatively, forward . small wheels are attached to the forward end of the bajsket structure at a greater height than the height of the forward and rearward wheel •

The backward leg may comprise a hollow upper bar and a hollow lower bar connected by a joint, and a bolt consisting in a bar with a diameter smaller than the internal diameter of the upper and lower bars, slidingiy placed inside the upper bar and having a screw in its upper region that extends radially outwards, the aforementioned bolt sliding freely inside a vertical groove in the upper bar above the joint .

The objects of the present invjentio'n can also be accomplished with a cart for products . transportation comprising a basket structure, a forward retractable wheel mechanism comprising at least one forward whejel connected by a joint to the forward region of the basket structure and extending downwards, and at least one forward wheel; connected to the lower end of the at least one forward leg, a rearward wheel mechanism comprising at least one vertical rearward wheel connected to the rearward region Df the basket structure, and at least one rearward wheel connected to the lower end of the at least one rearward _.leg, ■ said leg comprising one upper bar and one lower bar with ah external diameter less than the internal diameter of the upper bar, the lower bar fitting inside the upper bar, said lower bar having at least two holes vertically aligned,! and ^: the upper bar having at least one hole is aligned with the holies in the lower bar, and a bolt that fits into thb upper bar hole and into a hole of the lower bar above which the hoi'le of the upper bar is located, the bolt being -ie connected to a lever that displaces the bolt from the holes in the lower' and upper bars . ducts lower lower

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention w Iill now be: described in greater detail referring to exemplar embodiments represented by the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a side view of a first iembodiment of the cart for products transportation acjcordibg to the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of ai detail of the rearward wheel mechanism of the cart for! products transportation shown in fig.l.

Fig. 3 is a side view bf the' detail of the rearward wheel mechanism of the cart for ^■ products transportation shown in fig.2, in an extended 'position.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view bf the rearward part of the cart for products transportation . according to a second embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a front view of the rearward part of the cart for products transportation according to a third embodiment of the invention.

particularly advantageous arrangement i,n the, casq of small cars whose trunk has a limited space.

In an alternative fembodianent _; of the invention, the basket structure can be composed of a single rigid. The upper basket structure carl

several shapes, dimensions and materials). Its igeomeltry can be like any parallelepiped format. The dimensions; of sjaid basket will fit the dimensions of the trunks of existing! vehicles; the materials used in its construction can jbe metals like wire meshes, steel or aluminum foiljs. Salid basket can furthermore be built with high resistance plastic j or cloth. Said basket structure will have a handle useid to ' drive the cart.

The cart further comprises a retractable forward wheel mechanism comprising [at least one, and preferably two forward legs 7 attached through, a jojlnt to the basket structure region 1. Said wheels caln be^: directly attached to the horizontal frame 6 and extending downwards. Each of the forward legs is connected tq a forward wheel 8 in its lower end, each forward wheel being connected to a manual lock in the cart's backward region. Further;, the cart has a backward wheel mechanism comprising at least 1 one, and I preferably two backward legs 9 connec ted to the backward region of the basket structure 1. Said legs .can be directly fixed to the horizontal frame 6 and extend downwards. Each of the backward legs is connected to a bac cward wheel; 10 at its lower end.

A longitudinal lock can be ^'. fitted to the cart, said lock consisting of a longitudinal bar_; connected between a lower bar that links two forv ard legs and a lower bar that links two backward legs, so that the jbackwjard wheels will be locked in a fixed position relatively to j the front wheels when the cart is in its unfolded position with the forward and backward legs extended, so as tio give greater support to the backward legs. Said longitudinal lock can be unlocked by the same mechanism that unlocks the forward wheels' lock, or still by an isolated mechanism. It can also be manually unlocked by the user.

An additional lock can also be added to the cart in the guise of a transversal bar connected between an upper region of the forward wheel mechanism or; a lower region of the basket structure 1 and a bar linking the twb backward legs located, when the case may be, above the lower! bar. Said lock also helps to lock the backward legs in a. fixed position relative to the forward legs when the cart is in it's unfolded position. It can be unlocked by the jsame 'mechanism that releases the front wheels lock or further by art isolated mechanism.

wheels have an adjustable height and a 360 degree's rotating capability.

Each forward leg 7 is further^" connected to a forward bar 11 with a curved shape, fitted in front of the forward leg and at least partially overlaid ' on its forward face with a protective plastic strip.

In the invention embodiment shown jLn figs. 1 to 3 the cart has a backward left leg and a backward right leg which are parallel. The backward legs atfe formed by an i upper bar 14 and a lower leg 13. Bars 13 and 14 are hollow, have an essentially rounded section and are connected by a joint 19. The upper bar 14 is rotatingly connected to the rearward end of the horizontal fram Ξwork 16 iof basket structure 1 and can be rotated upwards. Left and right legs are connected to each other by a horizontal ba|r.

The upper bar 14 has a gravitationally actuated bolt 15 which will keep the upper :and lower bars locked in a stretched position. Fig. 2 s ows the structure of said bolt 15 in detail. The bolt 15 is formejd by j a rounded bar having a diameter which is smallejr thah the internal i I diameter of bars 13 and 14 and is inserted slidingly inside

surface. Screw 16 slides freely inside |a vertical i groove 17 the bar 14 above the joint 19. For the cart for projducts transportation according to the present invention to be put inside a car's trunk it must be placed with its forward legs 7 perpendicular to the bottom of the car trunk. TherL the forward small wheels are positioned on the car trunk bottom surface thus providing support for the cart's forwarji region. The cart is then pushed toward the car until tjhe forward bars 11 protected by the plastic strip touch the vehicle's fenders. Then, the manual lock of the forward wheels should be unlocked allowing the cart to be pushed inside the ^ar trunk. With this, the forward bars 11 and the forward legs 7 with their wheels will fold inwards in t ie direction of the horizontal framework 6 of basket structure 1. 'The cart should be pushed until the forward wheels suppqrt the basket structure and slide inside the trunk.

completely.

To withdraw the cart from a \ car ^'trunk, an inverse sequence is to be followed. The rearward wheels are unfolded and the cart is pulled out until the rearward wheels lay on the ground. The cart continues to be pulled until the forward wheels are completely out of the 'trunk and are locked, the cart then resting totally on the ground. The gravitational bolt! 15 can unlock the joint 19 by gravity, when the upper bar jl4 is ^;tilted upwards, or still manually, by pushing the scrjew lβ^: away from the joint 19.

Figures 4 and 5 show difjferentj embodiments of the invention, in which the rearward legs are; not folded but are moved upwards by means of a telescopjing me'chanism.

As can be seen in fig. 5, the¹ rearward wheel mechanism comprises a single rearward leg ^:fixed to the rearward region of the basket structurej 1 and comprising an upper bar 25 and a lower bar 20, both having a; tubular shape.

A horizontal bar 22 is attached to the lower ! end of the bar 20, both ends of the horizontal bar 22 being iattached to the rearward wheels of the cart.

Furthermore, the rearwarjd leg ,has a spring 21 that is fixed to the lower end of thβ_| lower bar 20 and is wrapped around it. When the lower bar 2.0 is in its retracted position and is partially inserted in the upper bar 25, the spring is in a compressed position between t|he lower end of the lower bar 20 and its connection with 'the upper bar, tending to push the lower bar 20 downwards. When the lever 23 is moved and the bolt unlocks the connection between the upper bar 25 and the lower bar 20, the spring 21 pushes the lower bar 20 downwards and out of the upjper ba|r 25.

Alternatively, the spring 21 can be fixed in such a way to the lower bar 21 that when the ibackWard leg is totally stretched said spring is tensioned, thus pulling the lower bar upwards. Therefore, when the! lever is actuated in i such a way as to remove the bolt from the holes in the upper and in the lower bar, the lever 21 pulls the lower bar upwards, thus causing it to slide inside the u;pper bar.

When the cart is taken o'f the ^■ car trunk, the lever 23 should be moved again in ojrder to unlock the connection between the upper and lower bars. IWith this, the spring 21 pushes the lower bar downwards thus making the rearward wheels touch the ground. The llever is then moved in the opposite direction, thus locking the reariward leg in the stretched position.

Fig. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the invention in which the retracting of tjhe rearward wheel is based on a telescopic mechanism. In order to imake the upward displacement of the lower bar 20 easier, two auxiliary springs 26 are added, the said springs' idwer ends being linked to the horizontal bar and the upper ends being linked to the basket structure. The springs are in! their extended position when the rearward wheel is in its extended position, thus pressuring the lower bar 20 and ihe horizontal bar so as to pull then upwards in the direction of the cart's basket structure. Therefore, when the lock between the lower bar 20 and the upper bar 25 is undone, the auxiliary isprings 26 will push the lower bar 20 upwards. This embodiment relieves the user from having to bend down to retrajct the rearward leg, since the power of the auxiliary springs 26 its sufficient to lift the lower bar 20.

In an alternative embodiment ojf the invention not shown in the drawings, the forward whee'l mechanism is folded in the direction of the lower face of the basket with the help of ropes and pulleys. A rope is tied' to the forward wheel mechanism and then passes through a set of pulleys located in the lower region of the bajsket structure, said rope's opposite end being placed near I the cart's rearward region or near the handle the user uses to pusjh the cart.

In this embodiment of the invention, when the cart is placed inside the car trunk, the user pulls the rope, thus causing the forward wheel mechanism to rojtate upwards in the direction of the basket's lower face¹. The '_'Sliding of the rope through the set of pulleys will fnake the force to be exerted by the user to lift the forward! wheel mechanism much less than the effective weight of said πjechanism.

The preferred embodiment of the invention having been described, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes otherj possible variations, and that it limited only by the purport of the attached claims, including any possible equivalent.

Claims

1. Cart for products transportation, comprising a basket structure (1), a! forward retractable wheel mechanism comprising at least pne førward leg (7) connected through a joint to the forward region of the basket structure (1) and extending downwards, and at least one forward wheel (8) connected to the lower end ¹Of the at least one forward leg; a rearward wheel mechanisiή comprising at least one rearward leg (9) connected to the rearward region of the basket structure (1) and extending downwards, and at least one rearward wheel (10) connected! to the lower end of the at least one rearward leg, wherein the at least one rearward leg (9) is rotatingly connected ;to the basket structure and has a gravitationally unlockajble joint (19) located between its connection to the basket structure (I] and to the rearward wheel (10) .

2. Cart for products _. transportation according to claim 1 wherein said σjart comprises small forward wheels connected to the forward end^: of the basket structure (1) at a height which is supeirior tø the height of the forward and rearward legs.

3. Cart for products transportation according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the! rearward leg comprises an upper bar (14) and a lower] bar ι(13) , said bars being hollow and connected by the joint (19) .

4. Cart for produ Lcts transportation according to claim 3, wherein the rearward leg (9) comprises a bolt (15) consisting in a bar with ja diaimeter which is smaller than the internal diameter of .the upper and lower bars (13,14), placed in a sliding mannerj inside the upper bar (14) and including a screw (16) in itjs upper region, such screw extending radially outwards, and jslidiri.g freely inside a vertical groove (17) located in the upper¹ bar (14) above the joint (19) .

5. Cart for products transportation comprising basket structure ;i); forward retractable wheel mechanism comprising at least one forward leg (7) connected through a joint to the forward regiqn of the basket structure (1) and extending downwards, and at least one forward wheel (8) connected to the lowe:: end bf the at least one forward leg; a rearward wheel meσhanisπi comprising at least one rearward vertical leg (9) connected 'to the rearward region of the basket structure (1) , and at least one rearward wheel connected to the lower end of the at leajst one rearward leg, wherein the at least one rearward leg φ includes an upper bar (25) and a lower bar (20) with an external diameter that is smaller than the internal diameter of the upper bar, said lower bar being inserted inside the upper bar (25) and having at least two holes (24) vertically aliened; the upper bar (25) having at least one hole that aligns^, with the holes (24) of the lower bar; and a bolt that can bie fitted inside the hole in the upper bar (25) and simultaneously inside one of the holes of the lower bar (20) above which the hole in the upper bar is located, said bolt being jconnected to a lever (23) that displaces the bolt out of the holes in the upper and the lower bars.

6. Cart for produpts transportation according to claim 5, including a spring (21) ^; wrapped around the lower bar (20), said spring being! comprjessed when the lower bar (20) is in its retracted position inside the upper bar (25) .

7. Cart for products transportation according to claim 6, wherein the spring (2JL) is tensioned when the lower bar (20) is in its lowest position relative to the upper bar (25) .