WO2012033401A1

WO2012033401A1 - Trolley

Info

Publication number: WO2012033401A1
Application number: PCT/NL2011/000062
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rudolf Klaas Van Beelen; Jacobus Wilhelmus Cornelis Anna Gofers
Original assignee: Promolding B.V.
Priority date: 2010-09-06
Filing date: 2011-09-06
Publication date: 2012-03-15
Also published as: NL1038221C2

Abstract

A trolley (100) has a top surface (102) with an upright rim (103) surrounding this top surface (102). The trolley (100) further comprises a clamping device (120) attached on the top surface (102), the clamping device (120) having a 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), and the clamping device (120) having an operative position in which the vertical extent is larger such that the clamping device (120) is capable of engaging the upper edge of a side wall of a service drawer (10) when placed on the rim.

Description

TITLE : Trolley

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

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

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 device is higher, so that the clamping device can engage the upper edge of the service drawer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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:

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; 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;

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;

figure 3C illustrates details of an embodiment of locking means

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The general operation of the present invention will be 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 scope .

Claims

1. Trolley (100) having a top surface (102) with an upright rim (103) surrounding this top surface (102) , the trolley

(100) further comprising a clamping device (120) attached on the top surface (102) , the clamping device (120) having a 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) , and the clamping device (120) having an operative position in which the vertical extent is larger such that the clamping device (120) is capable of engaging the upper edge of a side wall of a service drawer (10) when placed on the rim.

2. Trolley according to claim 1, wherein, in the operative position, the clamping device (120) prevents movement of the drawer in three directions.

3. Trolley according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein 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) .

4. Trolley according to claim 3, wherein the clamping device (120) comprises a scissor mechanism or a telescopic mechanism.

5. Trolley according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the clamping device (120) comprises:

a base part (121) fixedly attached to the trolley;

a 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) .

6. Trolley according to claim 5, wherein the clamp part (122) and the support part (123) are provided with mutually

cooperating locking means (130) .

7. Trolley according to claim 6, wherein said locking means (130) are designed for defining at least one but preferably a plurality of fixed positions for the clamp part (122) with respect to the support part (123) .