Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Tran~por~ Cart
The invention concerns a ~ra~sport cart to accept good~ or
ba~ga~e w~.ich can be pushed by hand and close~y pa~ked with
similar c~rts an~ which, if de~red, can be o~tfitted with a
couplin~ device and who~e p~h;ng device ~an be supported ~y the
handle mounts or c~n be built into a frame construction aligned
upward, whereby ~ carrying device i6 en~ ned for pl~n~ or
depositi~g ~ hand scanne~
is customary in self-se~ice srores to loa~ c~stomers hand
~canners, so that the ~ustomers can calculate ~he co~t of the
goods purcha~ed. In order that the h~nd s~anner does not always
have to ~e carr~ed during sh~p~i.ng, the transport carts whi~h ~re
made available to the custo~ers ~s ~hopping ~ar~ have a ~arryin~
dcvice whi,ch ~an be u~ed to ho~d the ha~ ~c~ler when no
calculatio:ns are bein~ made. The ¢a~ying devic~ which is shaped
like a con-~ainer open o~ the top iR attached a~ a~ i~dependent
part to th,~ pushing device which iB shaped as a handleb~r. When
no~ in use during shopping, the hand sc~nner is placed 0
inser~ed loo~ely in~o the carrying device.
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lt i~ ~ustomary to eq~ip ~uch tran~port carts with couplin~
devices in order to ensure orderly loa~ing ~nd returnLin~ of the
transport ca~ts whic~ are made a~ailable. Such coupli~Lg devices
are ~ y located on, or in the area of, the pu~hing device.
Fi~ally, it is customary to attach advertisement~ in the fonm o~
text, symbols an~ si~ilar ite~s on the pu~hin~ device, in or~ex
to influence the buying habi~s of the cus~omers o~ merely ~o
~haracterize the tr~nsport c~rt as being the proper~y of a
cer~ain s~cre.
It has pro~en di~advantageo~s to atta~h ~he carrying de~ice for
~he ~and scan~er to the pushin~ de~ice be~ause, first of all, the
a]ready menti~e~ ad~ertising i~ made unread~bl~ and, se~ondly,
the ~arryin.~ device gets in the way, when one w~nts to place
goods in ~he por~ion of ~he tran~port cart which i~ shaped like a
~asket. Th~ carrying de~ice i~ then in the moYement area of ~he
hands or the perso~ pushing the tr~Lnspor~ cart. That is even more
of ~ hind¢rarLce w~en a coup~ing device is instead atta~he~ on or
near the pushing device.
I~ US Patent 4, 6~1, 816 i~ ls brief~y no~ed that a clamping
de~ice is envi~ioned on the coupling part in which a flat
electronic pocket ~alculator or a ~hopping li~t can be clamped.
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The listed p~ent provides neither information whe~her the
clamping device ~s capable o~ han~ling a hand ~canner which i~
signirioanl:ly bigger than a pocke~ cal~ulator, nor doe~ it
provide dal~a abou~ the type o~ pla~ement and mea~ o~ att~ching
the clamping device to the ~oupling part. ~t wo~ld, in addi~ion,
be extreme;ly cumbersome when shopping to ha~e to se~ure ~he hand
sca~ner to the tr~nsport car~ by means of the ~lampin~ deYi~e
every time it was not in u~e, since two hands would alway~ ~e
needed for that ~a6k.
The ~erma~ registered patent DE 295 07 772 U~ de~cri~es a
transport cart in whose pushing element, w~!ich is c~n~igured like
a han~leba:r, ~ sau~er-like, small parts con~ainer is molded.
An~ther ~e:rsio~ of the registered pat.ent propose~ con~tructing
the small parts eontainer a~ a ca~ p~ece held by the handleh~r,
whereby a coupling part can be integrated into a cap piece which
is so formed. The re~i~tered patent leaYes open the matte~ of
~hether a :hand s¢anner ~an be inserted in~o the described small
parts ~ontainer.
The ~ask of the invention consiG~E of further developing a
tra~port cart of thi~ ~ype, so that the de~cri~ed di~dvanta~es
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can be a~oided.
I. is propo!3ed as the first solution of the ta~k to place the
carry1 ng delrice either on the handle mount, the coup~ing part or
~he pus~ing device in a non-detaohable manner.
A oecond 50;Lution of the ta~k ~onsist~ of cor~ec:t-n~ the carrying
device to e:Lther the h~ndle mount or ~he ~oupling part in a
detacha~le manner, for exa~ple a~ a s~ap-lock.
Si~ce the carrying device i~ a space-~a~ing compo~e~t part of
ei~hex the handle mount, ~oupling part or pushiI~g device, the
impression i.s ~voided tha~ it is ~nother additional p~rt i~ ~he
area o~ t~e pushing de~ice. The carrying de~ice CA~ thus be so
accommodatecl, that the ad~ert~.~ing i~ not. co~ered up. ~t proves
e~pecially useful to pla~e the carrying device within the outline
of the tr~nsport cart. By doing that dama~ to t.he c;arrying
device and hand sc~nner caused by bu~pi~ o~ ramming can ~e
avoided. If the carr~ing device is constr~cted ~B ~ smooth,
~haped openi.ng or ~8 a projection or a hook, then IlO dirt ca~
~et~le on th.e carrying de~ice. Tha~ i~ a decisi~e adv~nta~e, when
~he transpor~ cart i~ out~itted as a shopping car~ ~or the
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tran~port of food item~.
T~e inventi.On will be explained more clo~ely by ~eans of
executio~ examples. T~ey show:
Figure 1 - A tra~port cart outfitted as a ~hopping cart;
Fi~ure 2 - A carrying ~eviee en~isioned on a coupling part;
Figure ~ - A earryin~ de~l~e placed on a handle mount;
~igure 4 - A carryin~ de~ice i~lco~porated into the p-l~hi ng
device; and
Figure 5 - The outline of a ~ransport cart.
Since the main area of use ror the i,~vention is expected to be
.~elf-service s~ores, trarlsport cart 1 in Figure 1 is configured
as ~ shoppin~ oart. Transport cart l i~ mo~ed ~y ~and. It can ~e
packed clos~31y ~o~ether wi~ other tran~port ~axts l in order to
sa~e ~pace and ;~ so configured, t~at it c~ transpo~t goods,
like shopping pur~hases, but ~it~ appropriate ~onstruction,
bag~age can also be par~ially tran~ported. ~ransport ~art l i~
equipped wit;h a ~usto~ary pipe or b~r-like pu~hing device 4 which
is either ~upported by a separate hand~e mount 6 attached to
tran~port c~lrt l or is a compo~ent p~rt of at le~st one ~rame
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construction w~ich is orien~ed upward. Such c~fisurations are
~ell known. The pushing device 4 ~ounts a coupling part 7,
constructed for example a~ a coin lock which m~kes possible
coupling and de-coupling o~ t~an~port ~art 1 with or fro~ similar
tr~nsport cart~ 1. A coupling de~ice 7 of thiQ type is described
in ~ore delail, for example, in DE 2000582 A1. Tran~port cart 1
incorporatl~ a cha~si~ ~ with wheels 3, where~y o~her u~eful
devices, ~or ex~mple a child ~eat or a ~torage area, ~an
naturally be added. It i~ also po~ible to outfi~ the transporr.
~art 1 with ~emo~able ba~ketB or containers.
Figure 2 ~how~ an overhead vie~- o~ a pipe-type pushlng device 4
which ~ount.~ a cu~tomary ~oupling piece 7. The hou~ing 8 of the
coupling piece 7 inelude~ an exten~ion 10 whi~h manife~ts a
recepta~le lo', ~~r example in the ~hape ~f recess, an opening or
at lea~t ~ protrusion. The extension 10 together with the
re~epta¢le lo' comprise the ¢arrying device 9 for the device to
calculate price~ 3 in the form of a hand s~anner which i~ not
depi~ted. If ~he car~yin~ device 9 i~ a rece~, the hand 5~a~er
would be placed or inserted in the recess. ~f an opening 1~
chosen a~ the carryin~ device g, the hand ~canner c~n be hung in
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the opening where~y the contour of the hand ~c~ner would be ~o
~h~ped, i.e. by an offset ed~e, that the hand ecanner ~ould not
fall thro~gh the openin~. If a protruslon iB selected as the ~o~m
~f the carrying de~ic~ 9, the hand scanner could be affixed or
hung on a hook. In the example, the carrying de~ice 9 i~
configuxed a~ a rece~s or ~n ope~Ling ln~orpora~ed ~nto the
hou~ng 8 of the coupling piece 7. The carrying de~ice 9 thus
depicted cen not be removed fro~ the ~o~pli~g piece 7. Instead o~
~his ~olu~:ion, it would also be poc~ible to construct the
carrying de~ice 9 a~ an independent p~rt which oould be detached
from the eoupling piece 7 especially by snap-lockc. Conto~r~ are
i~clude~ ~o~ that purpose on the carrying de~ce 3 and t~e
coupling p..eee 7 ~hieh mutually e~Lgage and lock each other. Such
contours can ~e fo~med in the c~stomary ~ay~ by recesses,
projections, groo~es, undercu~s, etc. The carrying devi~e 9 is
some distance from ~h~ key insext of the coupling piece 7 whi~h
i R shown by t~Le arrow.
F~gure 3 ~hOWB, that the carrying de~ice 9 for the hand sc~nnor
desoribed i.~ Figure 2 can be lo~ated o~ one of the two handle
mounts 6. I'he handle moun~s 6 ar~ usually composed o~ pla~tic an~
~erve on th.e t~an~port cart 1 to hold and ~upport the pipe or
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bar-type pushin~ de~ice 4. It is al~o pos~ble to place a
~arrying de~i~e 9 in the form of a rece~, opening or pro~rusion
on one of the two h~ e mount~, ~o tha~ the carrying de~i~e 9 i~
in~eparable from ~he handl~ mount 6. But it i~ aleo concelvable
as proposed in Fi~ure ~ ~o construct the carrying devi~e ~ as an
independe:nt part which i8 ~nap-locked on a handle mount 6 with
the assistance of the mean~ ted in Figure 2. The li~ted means
~re then themsel~e~ at~ached in an appropriate way ~o the handle
moun~ 6.
Another Fos~ibility o~ attachins a carrying device 9 for a hand
scanner to ~he ~ansport cart 1 is ~hown in Figure 4. In this
execution model the pushing de~ice 4 i~ a bar--~haped, pla~
injection molding part on whi~h a no~-detachable carrying de~i~e
9 ~haped like an opening las depict~d), a protru~ion or a hook i8
molded. Since a carryin~ de~l~e ~ in the sh~pe of an opening can
rep~e.~ent a weakening o~ the croso-~ection of the bar-~haped
pushing device, the opening i~ preferred to be positioned out~ide
oi this cro~s-~ection, a~ ~hown. A pushing device 4 of ~hi~
configuration can also house a co~pling device, such a~ ~he ~ype
proposed in DE 37 14 115 C2. The p~ h;n~ de~ice ~ can al80
con~iQt of two separate pu~hing handles, whereby the carryin~
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devi~e would be located orl one of the two pushing handles.
It i~ extreme~y u~e~ul, as can be seen in Fi~ure 5, to place the
carrying device 9 de~cribed in Figures 2 to 4 in~ide the outline
of transport cart 1 . The f igure show~ the ~ol~t ion desc~i~ed in
Figure 2, whexeby the lines marked a~ 11 repreQent the outline of
transpo~t cart 1. In the example the carrying detri~e is
positioned betwee~ the pushing devi~e 4 and any device, for
ex~ple a basket 5, u~ed as a ~ecepta~le ~or good6. Since
transport cartQ 1 o' thi~ type frequently bump into o~tacles,
~he proposed ~olution preven~ d~mage to the carrying device g.
The invention also includes tra~port car~s 1 configured as
baggage tran~port carts, ~ince shopp~ng with ~uch carts i~ al~o
done in shop~ which are found for example in ~irports. Tr~n~port
cart~ 1 of thls type usually pos~e6~ a s~all b~sket-like
~ontainer in whi~h purchased goods are placed.
