Abstract:
A shopping cart having a foam pad designed to reduce bruising and other damage to fruits and vegetables as well as provide additional comfort to young children sitting on the pad is provided. The pad should be formed of closed-cell FDA approved foam, having a protective water impermeable skin substantially surrounding exposed surfaces of the foam. The skin should also be FDA approved.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 60/072,332, filed Jan. 23, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to shopping carts, and more particularly, to a shopping cart having a shelf pad designed to reduce bruising and other damage to fruits and vegetables, baked goods and other damage sensitive items while in the shopping cart and also to provide additional comfort to young children while sitting on the same shopping cart shelf, which can also function as a seat. 
     Shopping carts are produced by a variety of manufacturers in a variety of different sizes and configurations. They are generally made of steel or other metal with nickel-chrome plating and possibly an acrylic coating. They are also made of high impact plastic combined with steel or other metal components. Such shopping carts generally feature a collapsible rear shelf designed to seat small children and which can also function to hold fruit, vegetables and other damage sensitive items which could be damaged if placed in the main body of the shopping cart. 
     The use of a suitable shelf/seat pad would not only reduce damage to fruits, vegetables, baked goods and other delicate and damage sensitive items but also provide additional comfort to young children sitting on the shelf/seat. It is desirable for the padded material to be sanitary and clean looking. However, at the present time, no cushioning or padded material is used to cover the shopping cart shelf/seat area. 
     Accordingly, it is desirable to improve shopping carts by making them more comfortable for small children to ride in and to provide greater damage protection for sensitive items. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a shopping cart shelf/seat pad is provided that exhibits the following characteristics: 1) the pad should have high shock absorption to reduce damage to fruits, vegetables, baked goods, and other delicate and damage sensitive items as well as provide additional comfort to young children sitting on the shelf/cat; 2) the pad should be 100% closed-cell foam construction, so as not to absorb any water, fungus or bacteria; 3) the pad should be fully-covered on all surfaces by a tough skin highly resistant to impact forces caused by dropping items onto the pad and to ensure that any liquid or other substances spilled onto the pad does not enter the padding or somehow remain on the surface and therefore can be cleaned with soaps, steam or other disinfectants to meet the strict sanitary guidelines of supermarkets and grocery stores; 4) the pad should display high weather resistance and also be resistant to ultraviolet light since the shopping carts are frequently taken outdoors to the customers&#39; cars for unloading and left in the shopping cart corrals for variable lengths of time in all weather conditions; 5) the padding should have FDA approval for contact with fruits and vegetables since it is envisioned that the great majority of shoppers would not have young children sitting on the shelf/seat but would use such shelf/seat to hold bruise and damage sensitive fruits, vegetables, baked goods and other damage sensitive items; and 6) the pad can display an indicia, such as a character or advertisement. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a fuller understanding of the invention, references is made to the following description taken connection with the accompanying drawings and which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the shopping cart shelf/seat pad in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shopping cart shelf/seat pad of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of a pad constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the pad of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of a pad constructed in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; and 
     FIG. 6 is a top view of the pad of FIG.  5 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A shopping cart shelf/seat pad constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention can be constructed of closed-cell foam, such as 100% PVC closed-cell foam. One particularly well suited foam to be used is now manufactured for Connecticut Valley Corp., 6 Bridge Street, Shelton, Conn. 06484 by Spongex Corp. of Shelton, Conn., under a designation VS-300 and under the trademark NOBRUZE PROTECTIVE PADDING. In a preferred embodiment, the pad is about ½ inch thick with one edge tapered about to ¼ inch to permit the shopping cart shelf/seat to be easily folded or collapsed without interference or damage to the pad. Thicknesses of about ¼ to about 1 inch are acceptable. In a preferred embodiment the padding can have a density of 2-5 preferably 3-4 lbs per cubic foot. A compressive resistance at 25% deflection under ASTM D-1667-91 should be about 1.0 to 3.0, preferably about 1.5 to 2.5 psi. 
     In a preferred embodiment the width is from about 4 to 7 inches to match the width of the shopping cart shelf/seats manufactured by various companies but in any event the pad would be custom made to match the various widths of shelf/seats manufactured and sold to date. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the pad has lengths ranging from about 10 to 30, preferably 15 to 30 inches, to match the various lengths of the shopping cart shelf/seats manufactured and sold. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the pad is thermo-compression molded to create a pad with a tough protective skin that is not a laminate but rather an integral part of the pad itself The full skin surface can prevent the infiltration of water fungus and bacteria and enable the pad to be easily cleaned with soap, steam or disinfectants. 
     In a preferred embodiment the pad will have no cut edges without a skin surface. Such cut surfaces can be hard to clean, particularly if stained by urine or fecal matter from a child and would pose a definite sanitary risk of contamination to consumers particularly with regard to fruits, vegetables and baked goods placed on such a contaminated pad. Cut surfaces of the foam pad should have water absorption under ASTM D-1667-91 of under 0.1 lb/ft 3 , preferably 0.06 or less. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the pad would be manufactured from the same materials used to make NOBRUZE PROTECTIVE PADDING™, which is FDA approved closed-cell 100% PVC flexible foam currently sold to the agricultural market by Connecticut Valley Corp. and manufactured for Connecticut Valley Corp. by Spongex Corp., 6 Bridge Street, Shelton, Conn. Although other closed-cell foams with similar characteristics may be used, particularly if they have FDA approval and are fully covered with a protective skin also FDA approved to meet the sanitary requirements of supermarkets particularly with regard to contact with fruits, vegetables and baked goods, this foam in the following specification: 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                              PROPERTY 
                 UNITS 
                 METHOD 
                 VALUE 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Compressive Resistance 
                 PSI 
                 ASTM 
                 1.5-2.5 
               
               
                 25% Deflection 
                 D-1667-91 
                 ± 0.5 
               
               
                 Density 
                 lbs./cu ft. 
                 ASTM 
                 3 ± 1 
               
               
                   
                   
                 D-1667-91 
               
               
                 Buoyancy 
                 lbs./cu ft 
                 CG-164.015 
                 55 ± 1 
               
               
                 Tensile Strength 
                 PSI 
                 Mil-P 15280D 
               
               
                 S15 
                   
                   
                 50 
               
               
                 NS 
                   
                   
                 30 
               
               
                 Ultimate Elongation 
                 % 
                 Mil-P 15280D 
                 75 
               
               
                 Water Absorption 
                 lbs/cu. ft. 
                 ASTM 
                 0.06 
               
               
                   
                 cut surface 
                 D-1667-91 
               
               
                 Flammability 
                 seconds 
                 Mil-P25280D 
                 2.0 
               
               
                 Flame out seconds 
                 inches 
                 1.0 
               
               
                 Char Length 
               
               
                 Compression Set (room 
                 % of 
                 ASTM 
                 20 
               
               
                 temperature) 25% 
                 original 
                 D-1667-91 
               
               
                   
                 Deflection 
                 height 
               
               
                 High Temperature 
                 ° F. 
                 — 
                 125° F. 
               
               
                 Resistance 
                   
                   
                 Continuous/ 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 212° F. 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 Intermittent 
               
               
                 Cold Crack 180° bend 
                 ° F. 
                 Mil-P. 12420C 
                 40 
               
               
                 around ½″ Mandrel 
               
               
                 Linear Shrinkage 7 days/ 
                 % 
                 Mil-P. 15280D 
                 0-1.5 
               
               
                 140° F. 
               
               
                 Weather Resistance 
                 — 
                 ASTM 
                 Excellent 
               
               
                 Weatherometer 
                 — 
                 D-1449 
               
               
                 Odor 
                 — 
                 Mil-P.15280D 
                 Not 
               
               
                   
                   
                   
                 offensive 
               
               
                 Thermal Conductivity 
                 BTU/Hr. 
                 ASTM 
                 0.25 
               
               
                 K Factor @ 75° F. 
                 in./sq. ft. 
               
               
                 R Factor 
                 ° F. 
                 C-177-63 
                 R-4 
               
               
                 Energy Absorption 
                 Inches 
                 Mil-P-12420C 
                 — 
               
               
                 30″ Rebound 
                 % Max 
               
               
                 1¼″  Steel Ball 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     In a preferred embodiment, the cart shelf/seat pad has soft or hard plastic grommets in the two forward comers through which plastic, ball-chain, or wire tie strings can be inserted. 
     In a preferred embodiment, the tie strings are tied to the forward-most steel rod of the shelf/seat and the ends of the tie strings would join to each other with a ball and pocket type mechanism to prevent removal of the pad but tie strings with self-locking apparatus of other types may be used along with plastic circle rings with interlocking ends. 
     In a preferred embodiment the tie apparatus discussed above are tied to the forward-most steel rod of the shelf/seat to permit the rear edge of the pad to be lifted to allow the hard plastic seat/leg hole cover to be raised to cover the leg holes on the rear panel of the cart. 
     This invention also relates generally to a shopping cart front basket pad to be used to line the entire bottom floor or portions of elevated front baskets which manufacturers offer on certain lines of shopping carts. These front baskets are attached to the front wall of the shopping cart in which they are installed, and are typically used to carry fruit, vegetables, baked good sand other damage sensitive items. The same padding, in ½ inch thickness can line the bottom dimensions to match each front basket. 
     This invention also relates generally to a shopping basket floor pad to line the bottom of plastic or metal stackable shopping baskets. These baskets typically measure 10-30 inches long, 4-15 inches wide and 5-11 inches deep. The same padding can line the bottom and be manufactured to match the dimensions of shopping baskets produced by manufacturers. 
     In one preferred embodiment, the pad can display an indicia such as a decorative or promotional character or advertisement, and even be in the shape of such character. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween. 
     Particularly it is to be understood that in said claims, ingredients recited in the singular are intended to include compatible mixtures of such ingredients wherever the sense permits.