Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a shopping cart
and particularly to the provision of a drinking container
support bracket secured intermedlate a handle bar and a top
edge of a rear wall of the shopping cart.
There exists a need to provide a shopping
cart which will suit many of the needs of the user of
the cart while pushing the cart through the isles of
a shopping store. Often, the shopping person is wearing
an article of clothing which needs to be removed when
in a warm environment. Usually, that person will place
the article of clothing in the basket of the shopping
cart or on the rear seat attached to the rear gate of
the caxt. There are many disadvantages in placing
articles of clothing in a shopping cart. For example,
the clothing may be crumpled or soiled by the goods
placed in the shopping basket. Also, there is less
room in the shopping basket to place goods therein.
Furthermore, the placement of a coat or similar apparel
within the basket constitutes a vehicle for theft in
that small goods may be easily placed in the pockets
of the apparel, which articles are undetected.
A further disadvantage when using shopping
carts is that often a person will carry a glass or a
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can containing a drink and often the liquid i5 spilled
within the b~sket by accident. Another problem is
that of-ten these cups or cans are left in shelves or
ash containers within the shopping store and are an
eyesore and also require constant cleaning of the shelves.
It is a feature of the present invention
to provide an improved shopping cart which substantially
overcomes all of the above-mentioned problems.
Another feature of the present invention
is to provide a shopping cart which is provided with
an elongated support rod which is secured to the frame
and extends substantially vertically from one of the
side walls to support an article of clothing outside
the shopping basket.
Another Eeature of the present invention
is to provide an improved shopping cart having a drinking
container support brac]cet secured intermediate the
handle bar and the top edge of -the rear wal.l of the
shopping cart.
According to the above features, from a broad
aspect the present invention provides a shopping cart
having a frame supported on casters. The frame defines
a basket having side wall.s~ a front and a rear wall,
a bo-ttom wall and an open top end. A handle bar secured
-to the frame rearwardly of a top edge of the rear wall
whereby to displace the shopplng cart on the casters. The
improvement comprises a drinking container suppor-t bracket
secured intermediate the handle bar and the -top edge of
the rear wall.
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A preferred embodlment of the present invention
will now be described with reference to the examples
thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings
in which:
FIGURE 1 is a fragmented perspective view
illustrating the ciothing support rod which i.5 secured
to the shopping cart;
FIGURE 2 shows another example of the clothing
support rod and having a telescopic attachment with
the shopping cart;
. . FIGURE 3 is a perspective fragmented view
of a portion of the support rod; and
FIGURE ~ is an enlarged view o~ the drinking
container support bracket which is secured intermediate
the handle bar and top edge of the rear wall of the
shopping cart as shown in Figure 1.
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Referring to the drawings and more particularly
to Figures 1 to 3, there is shown at 10, a clothing
support rod secured to a side wall 11 of a shopping
cart, generally shown at 12. The shopping cart is
of the type well known in the art and has a frame
(not shown) supported on casters (not shown) with
the frame supporting a basket having opposed pairs
of side walls 11, a front wall, and bottom wall (not .
shown) and a rear wall 13. The basket has an open
top end defined intermediate the front wall, rear
wall and side walls. A handle bar 14 is secured to
the frame rearwardly of the rear wall 13 and slightly
above the top edge 15 of the rear wall 13 whereby
the shopping cart can be displaced on its casters
by pushing or pulling the handle bar 14.
The improvement in -this shopping cart 12
is the provision of the clothing support rod 10 and
as hereinshown, this rod is comprised by an elongated
support rod which is secured to the side wali by suitable
securement means such as the clamps 16 interconnecting
a straight securement section 10' of the rod to the
vertically extending wire rods 11' forming the side
wall 11. As hereinshown, the rod 10 i.s further provided
with a notched section 17 to provi.de passage for the
structural rod 18 forming part of the shopping cart.
The top end of the support rod 10 is provided with
a clothing support means 11". This clothing support
means may have various configurations and as shown
in Figure 1, it is constituted by forming the top
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end of a support rod in a loop, herein a triangular
closed loop 19. This loop forms a support bar 19'
on which a coat hanger 20 is immovably secured through
an attachment ring 21.
As shown in Figure 2, the clothing support
means is constituted by Eorming the top end
11' oE the support rod 10 in a hook configuration 22.
Also,as shown in Figure 2, the support rod 10 is a
straight rod which is telescopically received in a
pipe coupling 23 which is welded or otherwise secured
to the side wall 11 of the shopping cart. The pipe
coupling 23 extends substantially vertically and has
an elongated straight guide slot 24 formed in a section
thereof. A locking cavity 25 is formed integral with
the guide slot 24 in a top end -thereof. This locking
cavity is constitu~~ed by forming the top end of the guide
slot 24 in an inverted-U whereby a transverse guide
finger or pin 26 (see Fig. 3), which is secured to
the rod 10, may be engagedly supported. As shown in
Figure 3, the guide finger comprises a transverse pin
section 27 having an enlarged head 28 spaced from the
outer wall of the support rod 10. The length of the
guide slot 24 is selected to arrest the telescopic
displacement of the rod 10 in its uppermost and lowermost
position.
As shown in Figure 2, the support rod 10
may be further provided with an engaging bottom end
29 which is constituted by forming the support rod
as an offset angulated engagement finger whereby to
overlap a support rod 30 of a bo-ttom section of the
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shopping car-t frame when the rod is retracted within
the pipe coupling 23.
Referring now to Figures 1 and 4, reference
numeral 31 denotes a drinking container support bracket
which is secured intermediate the handle bar 14 and
the top edge 15 of the rear wall 13. The drinking
container support bracket 31 comprises essentially
a loop wire member 32 supported substantially in a
horizontal plane by at least two spaced-apart vertical
support rods 33 and 34. A bottom support member, herein
a transverse rod section 33' of the vertical support
rod 33, extends diametrically across and spaced downwardly
from the loop wire rod 32 whereby a drinking container,
as shown by phantom lines 35, may be supported on the
bottom rod 33' and extend through the loop 32.
In order to support the drinking container
support bracket in the position as shown in Figure
1, there is provided a connecting means in the Eorm
of a connecting wire rod 36 provided with a loop end -
37 for securement about a locking bolt 33 which is
threadedly engaged in the end of the handle bar 14.
The connecting wire rod 36 is :Eurther provided with
a hook end 39 which is configured to be supported over
the wire rod 15' at the top edge 15 of the rear wall
13. The connecting wire rod 36 is also welded or other- .
wise secured to the vertical support rod 33. .
In order to add rigidity to the connection
of the drinkiny container support bracket 31 with -the
shopping cart, the connecting means may further comprise
forming the other vertical support rod 34 with an extended
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hook end 40 which is also supported over the top wire
rod 15' oE the rear wall 13. Both hook ends 39 and
40 may be bent over the rod 15' whereby to immovably
secure the drinking container support bracket 31.
However, by simply resting these loop ends on the top
rod 15', it can be seen that the drinking container
support bracket 31 may be hinged outwardly and hang
under the handle bar 14 in a corner thereof.
It is within the ambit of the present invention
to cover any obvious modifications of the examples
of the invention as herein described, provided such
modifications fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
