Abstract:
A manually movable transporting apparatus that is nestable with like transporting apparatuses has a chassis equipped with longitudinal members, which carries a loading device which is mounted on the chassis so as to be movable about respective horizontal axes and rests on at least one support. A supporting element is provided at the front end of the loading device and at least one inclined deflector surface is arranged in the rear region of the apparatus, which drops obliquely towards the rear and being designed to receive the supporting element of a further identical transporting apparatus driven onto the surface. At least one clearance is formed next to each support, and wherein each deflector surface is located in a clearance. When two transporting apparatuses are nested, each deflector surface of one transporting apparatus takes up the clearance assigned to the deflector surface of the other transporting apparatus.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a U.S. National Phase Application under 35 U.S.C. 371 of International Application No. PCT/DE2014/000237 filed on May 8, 2014 and published in German as WO 2014/183737 A1 on Nov. 20, 2014. This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from German Patent Application No. 20 2013 004 429.2 filed May 11, 2013. The entire disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
     The invention relates to a mobile transportation apparatus which is nestable in a space-saving manner with like transportation apparatuses and has a chassis with longitudinal beams, which carries at least one storage installation for storing items, wherein each storage installation is mounted on the chassis so as to be movable in each case about a horizontal axis and bears on at least one support which is located on the chassis, and wherein at the front end of the storage installation at least one support element is provided and in the rear region of the transportation apparatus at least one inclined impact face which is downwardly inclined toward the rear and is specified for the at least one support element of a further like transportation apparatus, which may be pushed into a transportation apparatus located in front, to be run thereonto is disposed. 
     A transportation apparatus of this type is already known by way of a transportation cart which is described in document DE 82 14 932 U1. In order for transportation apparatuses of this type, equipped with a storage installation, to be able to be pushed into one another in a space-saving manner, that is to say to be nested, the chassis of said transportation apparatuses when viewed from above have a trapezoidal plan view, the longer parallel chassis frame side thereof missing. The storage installation which is designed as a load-carrying platform at the front has at least one support element. An impact face which is downwardly inclined toward the rear is disposed at the rear end of the transportation apparatus, so as to facilitate nesting. It cannot be derived from the document how the storage installation is supported on the chassis at the front. In the case of known transportation carts which have neither support elements nor impact faces, support elements which are configured so as to be comparatively high and which support the storage installation on the chassis are located on the lower side of the storage installation. High support elements cause a large nesting spacing between two nested transportation apparatuses, which for reasons of space is not desirable. 
     A transportation apparatus in the preferred form of a shopping cart is described in document DE 20 2011 003 780 U1. This transportation apparatus also has a trapezoidal chassis, but this chassis is designed such that transportation apparatuses which are equipped with such chassis may be nested in a far tighter manner than has been previously possible. However, this transportation apparatus has neither a support element nor an impact face of the type described at the outset. 
     The same similarly applies to a transportation container according to document EP 1 775 193 A3. Also in the case of this transportation container neither impact faces nor support elements are provided for each storage installation. 
     Proceeding from the mentioned prior art, the object of the invention lies in refining a transportation apparatus of the type mentioned at the outset such that this transportation apparatus may be nested with a further like transportation apparatus in an extremely tight manner. Nesting spacings such as are possible in the case of transportation apparatuses according to DE 20 2011 003 70 U1 are targeted. 
     The achievement of the object lies in that at least one free space is formed beside each support, and in that in the horizontal view of the transportation apparatus and when viewed along the longitudinal direction of the latter each impact face is visualized so as to be plunged into a free space, and in that during nesting of two transportation apparatuses each impact face of the one transportation apparatus utilizes or claims the free space of the other transportation apparatus assigned to said impact face of the one transportation apparatus. 
     The decisive advantage of the invention is evident, for example, when a transportation apparatus which is equipped with two supports is pushed into a like transportation apparatus which is located in front, so as to be able to store both transportation apparatuses in a nested and space-saving manner. When being pushed into one another, the two supports of the transportation apparatus to be pushed in pass to the right and the left of the impact face of the transportation apparatus located in front. The clear spacing between the supports is larger than the width of the impact face, such that the impact faces and supports of the transportation apparatuses do not impede one another when being pushed into one another. The impact face of the transportation apparatus located in front here utilizes the free space of the transportation apparatus to be pushed thereinto and thus permits that like transportation apparatuses may be nested in a space-saving manner in an even tighter manner than has been previously possible and without any mutual obstruction. The same advantages are gained when the at least one support and the impact faces and the support elements are disposed in a different manner to what has just been described but in consideration of the proposed concept of the invention, as will be described hereunder. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The invention will be explained in more detail by means of exemplary embodiments. In the figures: 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of a transportation apparatus in the form of a transportation cart, the storage installation of which is configured as a load-carrying platform; 
         FIG. 2  shows the same transportation apparatus in a view oriented in the longitudinal direction of the transportation cart; 
         FIG. 3  shows a side view of a transportation apparatus having three platform-type storage installations, and in outlines a further like transportation apparatus; 
         FIG. 4  shows a transverse piece having two supports and a downwardly extending free space; and 
         FIG. 5  shows a transverse piece having one support and two downwardly extending free spaces. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The same transportation apparatus  1  which is shown in a schematic illustration both in  FIGS. 1 and 2  has a chassis  2 . The chassis  2  has two longitudinal beams  3 , for example, such as have been described in DE 20 2011 003 780 U1. Front and rear castors  4 ,  5  are disposed at the free ends of the longitudinal beams  3 . The wheel track of the front castors  4  is smaller than the wheel track of the rear castors  5 . The longitudinal beams  3  near the front castors  4  are connected by a transverse web  6 . In the rear region  9  of the thus mobile transportation apparatus  1 , and emanating from each longitudinal beam  3 , in each case one spar  21  runs upward. The chassis  2  carries a storage installation  11  in the shape of a known load-carrying platform. In the rear region  9 , the storage installation  11  is mounted on the chassis  2  so as to be movable about a horizontal axis  13 . In the example, the hearings  14  which are specified for this purpose are located on the spars  21 . In the front region  10 , the storage installation  11  bears on two supports  15  which are fastened to the chassis  2  and are upwardly oriented. Each support  15  has a horizontal bearing portion  16 . The bearing portions  16  are disposed so as to be in mutually opposite directions and point outward toward the two longitudinal sides  7  of the transportation apparatus  1 . Shock-absorbing sections  17  on which the storage installation  11  bears may be located on the bearing portions  16 . The illustration drawn with dash-dotted lines clarifies the mobility of the storage installation  11 . In a known manner, this mobility is required in order to be able to nest like transportation apparatuses  1 . The supports  15 , by way of their lower ends, are fastened in each case to one longitudinal beam  3 , for example. However, said supports  15  may also be provided on the transverse web  6 . The spaced-apart vertical portions  18  of the supports  15  may be connected by a transverse piece  19 . As can be seen from the drawing, a free space  20 , which in the exemplary embodiment commences at a transverse stay  23   a  and following the vertical direction terminates at the bottom at the transverse piece  19 , is formed between the sections  18 . At least one free space  20  is thus formed beside each support  15 . The supports  15  are disposed so as to be symmetrical to the vertical central axis  8  of the transportation apparatus  1 , this also applying to the following exemplary embodiments. Lying on the central axis  8 , at least one support element  22  in the form of a roller which is rotatable about a horizontal axis or in the shape of at least one slider which is disposed in a locationally fixed manner is provided at the front end of the storage installation  11 . This at least one support element  22  in the known manner serves for being driven onto an impact face  24  of a transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front when two transportation apparatuses  1  have to be pushed into one another in a space-saving manner. The impact face  24  is located behind the rear end  12  of the storage installation  11 . The impact face  24  points to the rear and is downwardly inclined. The impact face  24 , of which there may also be two, in the example is fastened to the horizontal transverse stay  23   a  which, disposed so as to be spaced apart from the horizontal axis  13 , connects either the two longitudinal beams  3  or the two spars  21 . In the example, the two spars  21  carry a conical basket  25  which is intended for further goods, as is typical in the case of nestable shopping carts. Means  26 , such as handles, which enable the transportation apparatus  1  to be manually moved, are provided on the basket  25 . The transportation apparatus  1  may also be equipped without the basket  25 . In this case, the spars  21  lead further up and at their ends carry the means  26  provided for moving the transportation apparatus  1 . Given a corresponding design, the means  26  may also be formed by the spars  21  themselves. It can be derived from the selected view (front view) in the longitudinal direction of the transportation cart  1  according to  FIG. 2  that the at least one impact face  24  is visualized to be located between the two supports  15 , that is to say beside each support  15  and thus in the free space  20 . Each impact face  24  is thus visualized to be plunged into a free space  20 . The clear spacing of the two supports  15 , and thus also the width of the free space  20 , here is larger than the measured horizontal width of the at least one impact face  24 . The free space  20  is likewise designed to be so deep that there is no collision between the impact face  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front and parts of the transportation apparatus  1  to be pushed in which are adjacent to the free space  20  thereof, when two transportation apparatuses  1  are being pushed into one another (cf. also  FIG. 4 ). The or each downwardly oriented free space  20  therefore in the vertical direction terminates lower down that the lower delimitation  24   a  of the at least one impact face  24  (cf. also  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 4 , dimension a). When transportation apparatuses  1  are pushed into one another, the two supports  15  of a transportation apparatus  1  to be pushed in thus also do not contact the at least one impact face  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front. The impact face  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front utilizes the free space  20  of the transportation apparatus  1  to be pushed in when the transportation apparatuses are being pushed into one another. The same applies in an analogous manner to the following exemplary embodiment. On account of these inventive measures it is possible for like transportation apparatuses  1  to be nested in an extremely tight manner, even when the storage installation  11  in the use position is disposed so as to be exactly horizontal, as is illustrated. In the nested state the storage installations  11  of the transportation apparatuses  1  stored in one row are raised in a known manner. 
       FIG. 3  shows a side view of a mobile transportation apparatus  1  which is likewise manually movable and in contrast to  FIGS. 1 and 2  is equipped with more than one storage installation  11 . In the example there are three storage installations  11  which are disposed on top of one another. Proceeding from the chassis  2  which is equipped with castors  3  and  4 , two spars  21  in pairs extend vertically upward in the rear region  9 , emanating from the two longitudinal sides  7  of the transportation apparatus  1 . Means such as known handle portions for pushing or moving the transportation apparatus  1  are provided on the spars  21 . In the exemplary embodiment each storage installation  11  is mounted so as to be pivotable about in each case one horizontal axis  13  at the rearmost of the two spars  21 . Each storage installation  11  is supported on two supports  15 , located respectively on a transverse connection piece  23 , wherein each transverse connection piece  23  connects the frontmost of the two spars  21  which are disposed in pairs. At the rear end  12  of each of the storage installations  11  in each case at least one impact face  24  which is downwardly inclined toward the rear is provided. Each storage installation  11  at its front end again has at least one support element  22 , wherein each storage element  22 , as has already been described in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , is specified for driving onto an impact face  24  of a transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front when two transportation apparatuses  1  have to be pushed into one another in a space-saving manner. 
     A further like transportation apparatus  1  which has been pushed in a space-saving manner into the just described transportation apparatus, is illustrated with dotted-dashed lines. The minimum spacing of the two transportation apparatuses  1 , which is established here, is identified by the letter A. On account of the formed free spaces  20 , each transverse connection piece  23  by way of its supports  15  has undershot the rearwardly projecting impact faces  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front (cf.  FIGS. 4 and 5 ). On account thereof, it is possible to achieve extremely small nesting spacings having the dimension A. In contrast to the exemplary embodiment which has been described in  FIGS. 1 and 2  and in which the supports  15  are located in the front region  10  and the horizontal axes  13  are located in the rear region  9 , in the exemplary embodiment described here both the supports  15  as well as the horizontal axes  13  are disposed only in the rear region  9 . In the example, the impact faces  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  which is located in front (on the left side of the drawing) claim the free spaces  20  of the transportation cart  1  which has been pushed in (cf. also the enlarged illustration). 
       FIG. 4  shows one of the three transverse connection pieces  23  (cf.  FIG. 3 ) on which the supports  15  are located. By means of the drawing the frontmost of the two spars  21  which are connected by the transverse connection piece  23 , can be seen. The two supports  15  are outlined. Each transverse connection piece  23  in the center is bent downward so that a downwardly extending free space  20  is formed on account of the resulting depth t and on account of the thickness of the transverse connection piece  23 . The free space  20  in the vertical direction terminates lower down than the lower delimitation  24   a  of the impact face  24  (see dimension a and  FIG. 5 ). The two supports  15  are separated by the downwardly extending free space  20 . An impact face  24  of the transportation apparatus  1  is illustrated in a dotted-dashed manner. In relation to each transverse connection piece  23 , at least one downwardly extending free space  20  is thus formed beside the two supports  15 , wherein in the horizontal view of the transportation apparatus  1  along the longitudinal direction thereof the impact face  24  is visualized so as to be located between the supports  15  and plunging into the free space  20  while claiming at least part of the free space  20 . The transportation apparatus may also be equipped with two impact faces  24  which then are also visualized to plunge into the free space  20 . 
     In a modification of the achieved solutions previously shown,  FIG. 5  shows a transverse connection piece  23  having only one support  15  which is located between or beside two free spaces  20 . Two impact faces  24  and two support elements  22  are thus provided, wherein when viewed in the horizontal direction of the transportation apparatus  1 , each impact face  24  plunges into a free space  20 . 
     The mobile transportation apparatuses  1  described above have preferably been described as carts which are manually movable. Notwithstanding, the invention also extends to all mobile transportation apparatuses  1  which have motive power, for example, and either lend a facilitating effect to the user of such transportation apparatuses  1 , or are driven by the user, or are equipped with corresponding steering means so as to be also suitable for autonomous driving. 
     It should also be mentioned that the at least one storage installation  11  need not necessarily be designed so as to be of a platform type. The term storage installation  11  rather extends to all suitable and known installations on which items may be stored or may also be hooked onto rods or hooks. Two storage installations  11 , for example configured as raisable rails, may also be disposed beside one another.