Patent ID: 6199878
Filing Date: 2001-03-13
Classification: B62B

Abstract:
A shopping cart safety brake system, comprising:a shopping cart having a basket, a pair of ground engaging rear wheels, and a rearwardly located handle bar;a generally rectangular inverted U-shaped connector member having a spaced apart pair of elongate side rods and an upper rod connecting said side rods together;said upper rod being positioned adjacent said handle bar, said side rods downwardly depending from said upper rod;each of said side rods terminating at a lower end, said lower end of a first of said side rods being positioned adjacent a first of said rear wheels, said lower end of a second of said side rods being positioned adjacent a second of said rear wheels;each of said lower ends of said side rods having a pivot arm coupled thereto, each of said pivot arms being pivotally coupled to said shopping cart at a pivot point;each of said pivot arms having a brake pad;each of said pivot arms being pivotable to position the associated brake pad between an engaged position and a disengaged position, said brake pad of each of said pivot arms abutting the associated adjacent rear wheel when the respective brake pad is in the engaged position such that each brake pad holds the associated rear wheel against rotation;said upper rod being positionable in raised and lowered positions, said upper rod being positioned in said raised position when said pivot arms are in said engaged position, said upper rod being positioned in said lowered position when said brake pads are in said disengaged position;each of said pivot arms being biased to position the associated brake pad towards said engaged position;wherein said upper rod is biased towards said raised position; andwherein an upper spring coiled around said handle bar biases said upper rod towards said raised position.