SHOPPING CART WITH ASSEMBLY FOR VEHICLE STORAGE

• US 20110169235A1
• Filed: 01/11/2010
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chaim Moster
• Original Assignee: Chaim Moster
• Inventors: MOSTER, CHAIM
• Granted Patent: US 8,333,404 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/30
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/027 collapsible shopping trolleys
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 5/0003 Adaptations for loading in or on a vehicle

Abstract

A shopping cart has a basket having left and right sides, a floor, a rear wall and a front wall and has a handlebar. Squeezing the handlebar and moving it down causes a front wheel assembly to rotate from a down position in which the front wheels contact the ground toward a storage position in which the front wheels are positioned adjacent or above the floor. A rear wheel assembly is rotatable from a down position in which the rear wheels contact the ground to a storage position in which the rear wheels are positioned at or behind the rear wall. After positioning the loaded shopping cart adjacent a trunk vehicle, slide the cart and rotate the front and rear wheel assemblies, which may be lockable, to get the cart into the trunk for storage during transportation home. Reverse the process once home. The cart basket collapses into two dimensions for closet storage.

Claims

1. A shopping cart, comprising:

a basket having sides, a floor, a rear wall and a front wall;

a front wheel assembly including a left front wheel and a right front wheel, the front wheel assembly rotatable from a down position in which the front wheels contact a ground to a storage position in which the front wheels are positioned adjacent or above the floor;

a handlebar having a projecting member and squeezable to move an internal crossbar of the handlebar toward a user, the internal crossbar connected to at least one movable rod of a right and/or left lever on a right and/or left side of the handlebar, the right and left levers connected to the front wheel assembly; and

a rear wheel assembly rotatable from a down position in which the rear wheels contact the ground to a storage position in which the rear wheels are positioned at or behind the rear wall.

2. The shopping cart of claim 1, wherein the rear wall is tapered so that a lower portion of the rear wall is closer to the front wall than an upper portion of the rear wall.

3. The shopping cart of claim 1, wherein the sides, front wall and rear wall are collapsible to the floor for storage.

4. The shopping cart of claim 1, further including left and right mini-wheels where the floor of the basket meets the front wall.

5. The shopping cart of claim 1, wherein the front and rear wheel assemblies are lockable in storage and/or down position.

6. A method, comprising:

squeezing a handlebar of a shopping cart having a basket, the basket including a floor and a rear wall, a front wheel assembly of the shopping cart including front wheels and a rear wheel assembly of the shopping cart including rear wheels;

moving the handlebar downward to rotate the front wheels from a down position in which the front wheels contact a ground toward a storage position in which the front wheels are positioned adjacent or above the floor of the basket;

positioning the shopping cart onto a floor of a vehicle trunk so that a portion of the floor of the basket forward of the front wheel assembly rests on the floor of the vehicle trunk;

sliding the basket further into the trunk past a point at which a front of the front wheel assembly bumps into a rear of the vehicle;

rotating the front wheel assembly further to the storage position in which the front wheels are positioned adjacent or above the floor of the basket;

moving the shopping cart so that the baskets slides further into the trunk; and

rotating the rear wheel assembly from a down position in which the rear wheels contact the ground to a storage position in which the rear wheels are positioned at or behind the rear wall.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein moving the shopping cart so that the basket slides further into the trunk involves moving the shopping cart until a front of the rear wheel assembly contacts the rear of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a momentum of the sliding of the basket into the vehicle trunk past the point at which the front of the front wheel assembly contacts the rear of the vehicle urges the rotation of the front wheel assembly from the down position to the storage position.

9. A method, comprising:

loading a shopping cart that has a basket that includes a floor, a rear wall, a front wall, a handlebar and a front and rear wheel assembly;

positioning the shopping cart onto a floor of a vehicle trunk so that a portion of the floor of the basket forward of the front wheel assembly rests on the floor of the vehicle trunk;

sliding the basket into the trunk near a point at which a front of the front wheel assembly contacts a rear of the vehicle;

by squeezing the handlebar and moving the handlebar down and forward rotating the front wheel assembly from a down position in which the front wheels contact a ground towards a storage position in which the front wheels are positioned adjacent or above the floor of the basket;

sliding the basket further into the trunk; and

rotating the rear wheel assembly from a down position in which the rear wheels contact the ground to a storage position in which the rear wheels are positioned at or behind the rear wall.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising storing the entire shopping cart in the trunk of the vehicle.

11. The shopping cart of claim 9, further comprising collapsing the basket into a substantially two-dimensional form.

12. A shopping cart, comprising:

a basket having a floor and a rear wall;

a handlebar, the handlebar connected to a right lever on a right side of the handlebar and to a left lever on a left side of the handlebar,

a front wheel assembly rotatable from a down position to a storage position and including right and left frame members that extend and connect to a forward end of the right and left levers respectively and that pivot on right and left frame fulcrums affixed to the basket;

a rear wheel assembly rotatable from a down position in which a rear wheel contacts the ground to a storage position in which the rear wheel is positioned behind the rear wall.

13. The shopping cart of claim 12, wherein the right and left frame fulcrums are affixed to the floor of the basket.

14. The shopping cart of claim 12, wherein the rights and left frame members are generally perpendicular to an axle of the front wheel assembly.

15. A method of storing a shopping cart having a basket, comprising:

positioning the shopping cart adjacent a rear of a trunk vehicle;

manipulating a handlebar of the shopping cart to rotate a front wheel assembly of the shopping cart so that wheels of the front wheel assembly are positioned adjacent or above a floor of a basket of the shopping cart;

rotating a rear wheel assembly of the shopping cart so that wheels of the rear wheel assembly are positioned at or behind a rear wall of the basket;

storing the shopping cart in the vehicle trunk;

removing the shopping cart from the vehicle trunk and rotating the front and rear wheel assemblies so that they contact the ground;

removing the contents of the basket; and

collapsing sides of the basket and the rear wall and a front wall to the floor of the basket.

16. The method of claim 15, further including standing the collapsed shopping cart up lengthwise so that the floor of the basket faces a wall.