Collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks

A collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks including a basket having a generally rectangular configuration. The basket has an open upper end and a closed bottom end. A pair of forward legs are included each having an upper end pivotally coupled with a forward portion of the closed bottom end of the basket. Each of the forward legs has a caster disposed on lower ends thereof. The pair of forward legs have an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed bottom end of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby they are folded upwardly to a position abutting the closed lower end of the basket. A pair of rearward legs are each pivotally coupled with a rearward portion of the closed bottom end of the basket. A lower end of each rearward leg has a caster disposed thereon. The pair of rearward legs have an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed lower end of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby they are folded within the open upper end of the basket.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a collapsible utility cart for use with 
automobile trunks and more particularly pertains to allowing packages to 
be placed within a trunk of an automobile without having to lift the 
packages with a collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of collapsible carts is known in the prior art. More specifically, 
collapsible carts heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of 
transporting articles are known to consist basically of familiar, expected 
and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of 
designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for 
the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. 
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,541 to Ferneau discloses a cart 
having extensible auxiliary wheels. U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,388 to de Wit 
discloses a collapsible shopping cart. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 348,549 to 
Trubiano discloses the ornamental design for an elevated shopping cart. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,295 to Stollenwerk discloses a carriage for an 
ambulance stretcher. U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,024 to Bloemer discloses a 
carriage for a stretcher. U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,334 to Ferneau et al. 
discloses an all level cart with swivel casters. 
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and 
requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a collapsible 
utility cart for use with automobile trunks for allowing packages to be 
placed within a trunk of an automobile without having to lift the 
packages. 
In this respect, the collapsible utility cart for use with automobile 
trunks according to the present invention substantially departs from the 
conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so 
provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing 
packages to be placed within a trunk of an automobile without having to 
lift the packages. 
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for 
new and improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks 
which can be used for allowing packages to be placed within a trunk of an 
automobile without having to lift the packages. In this regard, the 
present invention substantially fulfills this need. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of 
collapsible carts now present in the prior art, the present invention 
provides an improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile 
trunks. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will 
be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use-with automobile trunks and 
method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the 
disadvantages. 
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a basket having 
a generally rectangular configuration. The basket has an open upper end 
and a closed bottom. The device includes a pair of forward legs each 
having an upper end pivotally coupled with a forward portion of the closed 
bottom of the basket. Each of the forward legs have a caster disposed on 
lower ends thereof. A cross bar extends between the forward legs disposed 
upwardly of the lower ends. A U-shaped handle extends between the forward 
legs disposed downwardly of the upper ends. A pair of pivot brackets 
extend between the forward legs and the closed bottom of the basket. Each 
of the forward legs has a supplemental support leg extending therethrough 
disposed above the lower ends whereby the supplemental support leg is 
orthogonally disposed with respect to the forward leg. The pair of forward 
legs have an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the 
closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby they are 
folded upwardly to a position where a rearward extending portion of the 
supplemental support legs abut the closed bottom of the basket. The device 
includes a pair of rearward legs each having an upper segment and a lower 
segment. The upper segment has a length essentially equal to a height of 
the basket. A lower end of each upper segment is pivotally coupled with an 
upper end of each lower segment. An upper end of each upper segment is 
pivotally coupled with a rearward portion of the closed bottom of the 
basket. A lower end of each lower segment have a caster disposed thereon. 
The pair of rearward legs have an extended orientation whereby they are 
perpendicular to the closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed 
orientation whereby the upper segment is folded against a rear wall of the 
basket and the lower segment is folded within the open upper end of the 
basket. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, 
additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter 
and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks which has 
all the advantages of the prior art collapsible carts and none of the 
disadvantages. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved 
collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks which may be 
easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks which is 
of durable and reliable construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks which is 
susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and 
labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to 
the consuming public, thereby making such a collapsible utility cart for 
use with automobile trunks economically available to the buying public. 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks for 
allowing packages to be placed within a trunk of an automobile without 
having to lift the packages. 
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and 
improved collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks including 
a basket having a generally rectangular configuration. The basket has an 
open upper end and a closed bottom. A pair of forward legs are included 
each having an upper end pivotally coupled with a forward portion of the 
closed bottom of the basket. Each of the forward legs has a caster 
disposed on lower ends thereof. The pair of forward legs have an extended 
orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed bottom of the 
basket and a collapsed orientation whereby they are folded upwardly to a 
position abutting the closed bottom of the basket. A pair of rearward legs 
are each pivotally coupled with a rearward portion of the closed bottom of 
the basket. A lower end of each rearward leg has a caster disposed 
thereon. The pair of rearward legs have an extended orientation whereby 
they are perpendicular to the closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed 
orientation whereby they are folded within the open upper end of the 
basket. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

The same reference numerals refer to the same parts through the various 
figures. 
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular, to FIGS. 1 through 4 
thereof, the preferred embodiment of the new and improved collapsible 
utility cart for use with automobile trunks embodying the principles and 
concepts of the present invention and generally designated by the 
reference number 10 will be described. 
Specifically, it will be noted in the various Figures that the device 
relates to a collapsible utility cart for use with automobile trunks for 
allowing packages to be placed within a trunk of an automobile without 
having to lift the packages. In its broadest context, the device consists 
of a basket, a pair of forward legs and a pair of rearward legs. Such 
components are individually configured and correlated with respect to each 
other so as to attain the desired objective. 
The device 10 includes a basket 12 having a generally rectangular 
configuration. The basket has an open upper end 14 and a closed bottom 16. 
The basket is of a rigid construction preferably metal or plastic similar 
to standard grocery store carts in a mesh type configuration. Note FIGS. 
1-4. The basket is dimensioned to fit into a trunk 100 of an automobile. 
Note FIG. 4. Different sized baskets can be constructed that are suitable 
for different sized automobiles and their trunks, i.e. compacts or sedans. 
Next, the device includes a pair of forward legs 18 each having an upper 
end 20 pivotally coupled with a forward portion of the closed bottom of 
the basket. Each of the forward legs have a caster 22 disposed on lower 
ends thereof. A cross bar 24 extends between the forward legs disposed 
upwardly of the lower ends. A U-shaped handle 26 extends between the 
forward legs disposed downwardly of the upper ends. A pair of pivot 
brackets 28 extend between the forward legs and the closed bottom of the 
basket. Each of the forward legs has a supplemental support leg 30 
extending therethrough disposed above the lower ends whereby the 
supplemental support leg is orthogonally disposed with respect to the 
forward leg. The pair of forward legs have an extended orientation whereby 
they are perpendicular to the closed bottom of the basket and a collapsed 
orientation whereby they are folded upwardly to a position where a 
rearward extending portion 31 of the supplemental support legs abut the 
closed bottom of the basket. Once the forward legs are in the collapsed 
orientation, the supplemental support legs and the U-shaped handle will be 
positioned to support the basket so that the contents of the basket will 
be supported in an upright position. Note FIG. 4. 
Lastly, the device includes a pair of rearward legs 32 each having an upper 
segment 34 and a lower segment 36. The upper segment has a length 
essentially equal to a height of the basket. Note FIG. 4. A lower end of 
each upper segment is pivotally coupled with an upper end of each lower 
segment. An upper end of each upper segment is pivotally coupled with a 
rearward portion of the closed bottom of the basket. A lower end of each 
lower segment have a caster 38 disposed thereon. The pair of rearward legs 
have an extended orientation whereby they are perpendicular to the closed 
bottom of the basket and a collapsed orientation whereby the upper segment 
is folded against a rear wall of the basket and the lower segment is 
folded within the open upper end of the basket. 
As to the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same 
should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further 
discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and the 
manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and 
obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to 
those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modification and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modification and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.