Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
[0001] A transportable display cart.
FIELD
[0002] A transportable display carts having multiple modes.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Canadian patent application no. (not yet known) filed July 20, 2007
entitled
"Portable Shelter" describes a shelter that may be pulled by a bicycle.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to an aspect, there is provided a transportable display cart,
comprising
a chassis with ground engaging wheels and an upper body removably supported by
the
chassis. The upper body comprises a first side portion and a second side
portion hingedly
connected in a clamshell arrangement such that the first and second side
portions pivot
between a closed position and an open position. Each of the first side portion
and second side
portion have a flat side panel such that in the open position, the first and
second side portions
form a flat surface. There is a transport connector on the chassis for
supporting the upper
body in the closed position for transport or storage. There is a display
connector on the
chassis for supporting the upper body in the open position or in a position
intermediate the
closed position and the open position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] These and other features will become more apparent from the following
description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings
are for the
purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting,
wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the transportable display cart.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the transportable display cart.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper body in a partially open position.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the transportable display cart in an
advertising
display mode.
FIG. 5 through 7 are perspective views of the transportable display cart in
alternative advertising display modes.
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FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the transportable display cart in a table
display
mode.
FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the transportable display cart in a cot mode.
FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of an alternative transportable display cart
in a
display mode.
FIG. 11 is a side elevation view an alternative transportable display cart in
an
alternative display mode.
FIG. 12 is a front elevation view of an alternative transportable display cart
in the
display mode of FIG. 11.
FIG. 13 is a side elevation view an alternative transportable display cart in
the
alternative display mode of FIG. 10.
FIG. 14 is an exploded front elevation view of an alternative transportable
display
cart.
FIG. 15 is an exploded front elevation view of an alternative transportable
display
cart in a table display mode.
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an alternative transportable display cart in
a
display mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0006] A transportable display cart generally identified by reference numeral
10, will
now be described with reference to FIG. 1 through 16.
Structure and Relationship of Parts:
[0007] Referring to FIG. 1 and 2, transportable display cart 10 has a chassis
12 with
ground engaging wheels 14. There is an upper body 16 that is removably
supported by
chassis. Referring to FIG. 3, upper body 16 has a first side portion 18 and a
second side
portion 20 that are connected by a hinge 22 in a clamshell arrangement. First
and second side
portions 18 and 20 pivot between a closed position shown in FIG. 1 and an open
position
shown in FIG. 9 or 14. Referring to FIG. 14, first and second side portions 18
and 20 have a
flat side panel 24 and 26, respectively, such that in the open position, first
and second side
portions 18 and 20 form a flat surface. First and second side portions 18 and
20 also include a
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fixed or removable support frame 21. Upper body 16 may also have a removable
top panel
23 with a hinge 25. In the depicted embodiment, hinge 25 is a vertical hinge,
however, it will
be understood that hinge 25 may also be horizontal. Side panels 24 and 26 may
be
removable. Side panels 24 and 26 may be connected to upper body 16 by a hinge
27 along a
top edge 29 such that side panels 24 and 26 are permitted to pivot when
released on the
bottom and sides, such as by releasing tabs 31. Chassis 12 has an attachment
28, which is a
section of square tubing as shown that allows either a bicycle attachment 30
to be attached as
shown in FIG. 2, or a set of wheels 32 as shown in FIG. 1.
[0008] Referring to FIG. 2, there is a transport connector on chassis 12 that
supports
upper body 16 in the closed position for transport or storage. As shown, the
transport
connector is a series of female receivers including front transport connectors
34 and rear
transport connectors 35 that receive corresponding pins 36 on the bottom of
upper body 16.
Referring to FIG. 8 and 11 - 13, a display connector on chassis 12 is provided
for supporting
the upper body in the open position. As will be apparent to those of ordinary
skill, instead of
an open position, it may also be a position intermediate the closed position
and the open
position (not shown). FIG. 8 and 11 - 13 show different types of connectors
that may be
provided in alternative or in combination. As shown in FIG. 8, the rear
transport connectors
35 are also used as display connectors, and front transport connectors 34 may
also be used, if
desired. Other display connectors 38 may be included that are spaced back from
the front
transport connectors 34 in the case of display connectors 38. Connectors 34,
35, and 38 used
as display connectors may be supplemented by L-shaped supports 42. Referring
to FIG. 11
and 12, connectors 34, 35 or 38 may also be located on the top of, or
integrally formed with, a
frame 44 used to define a lower body 46. As shown, connectors 34 support upper
body 16
such that the first and second side portions 18 and 20 are in a vertical
orientation. Referring
to FIG. 10 and 13, connectors 34 and 35 may also allow for a table to be
formed by
supporting upper body 16 in a horizontal position. In the depicted embodiment,
only
removable support frames 21 and optionally side panels 24 and 26 are used
while the
remainder of upper body 16 remains mounted on top of chassis 12, such as to
provide
advertising. Chassis 12 may have stabilizer legs 47 to stabilize display cart
10.
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[0009] It will be understood that the number and position of the various
connectors will
depend on the preferences of the user. For example, the connectors may play a
role in
mounting both upper and lower bodies 16 and 46. In addition, upper portion 16
may be
longer than the lower body 46, in which case more than one set of transport
connectors would
be needed. Furthermore, the spacing requirements will be different if upper
portion 16 is
attached to chassis 12 in the display mode based on it length or width.
[0010] As mentioned previously, there may also be a lower body 46 supported by
chassis
12. Referring to FIG. 2, lower body 46 may be a removable box 48. Referring to
FIG. 14,
lower body 46 may be a pair of side portions 50 and 52 that attach to a frame
44 to form a
lower compartment. In this embodiment, frame 44 may support either upper body
16 in a
display position, or, as shown in FIG. 15, side portions 50 and 52 may be
removed and
supported by frame 44 in a display position. To allow for this, each of the
first and second
lower portions 50 and 52 are detachable, and have a flat side panel 54 and 56
and connectors,
such as holes that allow lower portions 50 and 52 to be pin connected to
chassis 12. In a
display mode, flat side panels 54 and 56 are supported by chassis 12 via frame
44 in a
horizontal orientation to form a table top. Alternatively, lower body 46 may
be a clamshell
design similar to the design of upper body 16 shown in FIG. 3, although the
height may be
varied, depending on the preferences of the user. If used for a sleeping
surface, this allows an
extra wide sleeping surface to be formed by placing the two clamshell
structures next to each
other in the open position.
[00111 Both lower body 46 and upper body 16 may have a structural frame, or
constructed from a sufficiently strong material such that a structural frame
is not required.
[0012] In addition to advertising in the display mode, transport display cart
10 may also
be used for advertising in the transport mode. For example, panels 24 and 26
may be
advertisements. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 5, side panels 24 and 26 of
upper body 16
may be removed, and an advertisement 58 may be hung from structural members 60
in upper
body 16. Advertisement 58 would be permitted to swing freely in the event of a
wind to
prevent damage. Another advertisement 62 may also be hung below upper body 16
as shown,
supported by either upper body 16, or lower body 46 in a similar fashion.
Advertisements 58
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and 62 may take various shapes aside from the rectangular shape shown, as will
be
recognized by those in the art. In another embodiment, referring to FIG. 6,
side panels 24
and 26 may be transparent or translucent, with advertisement 58 positioned
within upper body
16. Advertisement 58 may be illuminated by a light source 64 positioned within
upper body
5 16. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 7, advertisement 58 may be mounted on
top of upper
body 16 and supported by a display frame 66 mounted on top of upper body 16
for that
purpose. Light source 64 may be positioned on top of upper body 16 to
illuminate
advertisement 58. Referring to FIG. 2, top panel 23 may also be used as
advertising space by
rotating it about its hinge 25. Referring to FIG. 16, other attachments may be
included to
increase advertising space or to advertise in different ways. For example, as
shown, a length
of flexible plastic 72 is shown that may be extended to form an arch over
upper portion 16
from which advertisement 58 may be suspended. Plastic 72 may then be removed
or retracted
against upper portion 16 when not required. As discussed previously,
advertisement 58 may
take various shapes, and as shown, may be designed to fit within flexible
plastic 72.
Advertisement 58 is preferably attached using elastic connectors 74 to reduce
wind resistance.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 9, upper body 16 may also be used as a horizontal
sleeping
surface when positioned on the ground in the open position. The sleeping
surface is
supported by frames 21, which are preferably removable, as shown in FIG. 2.
While not
shown, a shelter structure may also be provided that attaches to either side
of the sleeping
surface, either by being attached to the ground, or by providing attachments
on either side of
the side portions. In the depicted embodiment, supporting frames 21 form a
fluid passage for
passing heated fluid through the fluid passage. For example, water may be
heated by a heater
68, such as an electric, combustion, or solar heater, and heated fluid may be
circulated by a
pump 70.
Operation:
[0014] As mentioned above, display cart 10 has a transport mode and a display
mode. In
a preferred embodiment, display cart 10 has multiple display modes,
combinations of
transport and display modes, and a camping mode.
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[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, display cart is shown in a transport mode, with
wheels 14
mounted to chassis 12, and wheels 32 connected to connector 28. This would be
suitable for
pushing. Alternatively, referring to FIG. 2, a bicycle attachment 30 may be
connected to
connector 28 to allow chassis 12 to be pulled by a bicycle. It will be
apparent that other
attachments may also be used, such as an attachment for connecting to a
motorized vehicle
such as a golf cart, etc.
[0016] In the transport mode, the various components as well as any equipment
or objects
required by the user may be stored in lower body 46 and possibly upper body
16. Upper body
16 is mounted on chassis 12 by inserting pins 36 into connectors 34 and 35.
Lower body 46
is also preferably mounted on chassis 12 using connectors 34, for example, by
having them
pass through body 46, or by sizing body 46 such that it fits closely within
connectors 34.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 4, side panels 24 and 26 may be released, such as by
rotating
tabs 31 to allow side panels 24 and 26 to move in the wind, which provides
some protection
from cart 10 being upset by wind. One display mode may be achieved by mounting
an
advertisement 58 on side panel 24.
[0018] Referring to FIG. 4 and 5, one display mode may be achieved by mounting
advertisements 58 on upper body 16 and/or lower body 46, such as by attaching
them to
structural members 60, which also allow advertisements 58 to move in the wind
to reduce
wind resistance. Referring to FIG. 6, alternatively, upper body 16 may have
transparent sides
24 and 26 with advertisement 58 mounted within, or, referring to FIG. 7,
structural frame 66
for mounting advertisement 58 thereon. Upper body 16 may also have one or more
light
sources 64 for illuminating advertisement 58 either within upper body 16 as
shown in FIG. 6,
or on top as shown in FIG. 7.
[0019] In addition to transportable display modes, which are particularly
useful for
advertising, cart 10 may also be arranged as a display table or advertisement.
These modes
may be particularly useful for street vendors, etc. Referring to FIG. 8, a
table may be formed
by inserting L-shaped supports 42 into connectors 35 and 38, and mounting
removable frames
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21 thereon. While not shown, a flat surface may be provided by laying panels
24 and 26 on
top of frames 21. Frames 21 may be mounted by their width as shown or their
length,
depending on the preference of the user. Referring to FIG. 10 and 13, cart 10
may be
arranged with frames 21 and panels 24 and 26 removed from upper body 12, and
mounted on
either side to form table tops. Upper body 12 may then be used to hang or
display other
objects between the tabletops formed by panels 24 and 26 and frames 21.
Referring to FIG.
14 and 15, a tabletop may also be formed by using sides 50 and 52 of lower
body 46 in one
embodiment. Referring to FIG. 11 and 12, a fixed advertising surface may be
provided by
opening upper body 16 and mounting it on chassis 12 using connectors 34 in the
open
position.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 9, cart 10 may also be used to provide a sleeping
surface if
desired. Upper body 16 is removed from chassis 12, opened, and set onto a
flat, horizontal
surface. Frames 12 keep the user off the ground, while panels 24 and 26
provide a flat
surface. In one embodiment, frames 12 may be made from hollow metal rods, and
connected
such that they form a fluid path. A heater 68 and pump 70 may be provided to
circulate warm
fluid under the sleeping surface.
[0021] In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used in its non-
limiting sense to
mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically
mentioned are not
excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article "a" does not
exclude the
possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context
clearly requires that
there be one and only one of the elements.
[0022] The following claims are to be understood to include what is
specifically
illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can
be obviously
substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations
and modifications
of the described embodiments can be configured without departing from the
scope of the
claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and
should not be
taken as limiting the invention. It is to be understood that, within the scope
of the following
claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated
and described.
