A top-gate assembly adapted to be detachably or fixedly secured to selected portions of a standard bulk storage cart, said top-gate assembly including a plurality of protected springs connecting by a corresponding number of cables to a foot plate which is to be detachably secured to the cargo bed of said cart, thereby forming a gate therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In general, standard bulk storage carts are utilized as mobile containers 
for transporting stacked products from a production facility or warehouse 
to a retail outlet, for displaying the stacked products at such retail 
outlet, and also collecting empty returnable packages at the retail 
outlet. U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,704 includes a comprehensive survey of the 
prior art, including the use of dollies, trucks and carts, especially 
those designed to carry cases of soft drinks and the like. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The principal object of the invention is to provide a top-gate assembly 
which is adapted for use with all standard bulk storage carts designed for 
the soft drink industry. 
Another object is to provide such a top-gate assembly which is of rigid, 
durable construction yet is attractive in design, a desirable feature when 
used in a retail outlet. 
Still another object is to provide such a top-gate assembly which is 
capable of mass production techniques, relatively inexpensive to 
manufacture, easy to use and maintain in operable condition, and universal 
in its adaptability. 
Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent to those 
skilled in the art from a consideration of the following specification 
when read in the light of the annexed drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate 
like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown 
in FIG. 1 a standard bulk cart 20 of the type illustrated and described in 
U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,704 comprising flat cargo bed 21, opposing left and 
right walls 22-23, back wall 24, and top 25. 
More specifically, cargo bed 21 includes downwardly depending flanges 
21a-21d, two rigid casters 21e mounted on the undersurface thereof in 
proximity to left wall 22, and two swivel casters 21f mounted in proximity 
to right wall 23. Left wall 22 includes front post 22a, rear post 22b, top 
rail 22c, intermediate vertical members 22d and spaced, horizontal braces 
22e. Right wall 23 consists of front post 23a, rear post 23b, top rail 
23c, intermediate vertical members 23d, spaced horizontal braces 23e, and 
a pair of lock pin bushings 23f mounted on the medial, most lateral 
surface of posts 23a, 23b. Backwall 24 includes top rail 24a, intermediate 
vertical members 24b, and spaced horizontal braces 24c. Top 25 consists of 
front rail 25a, member 25b lying in the medial, major plane of said cart, 
and cross members 25c. 
Henceforth throughout the specification and drawings, member 25b and cross 
members 25c of top 25 will not be illustrated, primarily to avoid 
confusion; it is to be understood, however, that such members are not 
necessarily removed prior to attaching the several embodiments of top-gate 
assembly of the subject invention to top 25 of said cart. 
There is shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings one embodiment of top-gate 
assembly 26 of the subject invention, conforming in shape and size, and 
adapted to overlie the corresponding rails 22c, 23c, 24a and 25a, 
respectively, of top 25 of said cart. More specifically, assembly 26 is 
essentially rectangular in plan, preferably of integral construction and 
of tubular or bar stock, consisting of front cross piece 27, back cross 
piece 28, and opposing sides 29-30, each of which lie in the same plane. A 
plurality of transversely extending, laterally spaced tubular members 31 
are fixedly secured to said cross piece 27 and back cross piece 28, 
respectively; each of said tubular members is positioned approximately 
vertically above the normal position of the several soft drink cases 
carried on cargo bed 21. As viewed in FIG. 4, each tubular member 31 
overlies top 27a of cross piece 27 and terminates at least slightly 
anteriorly of the vertical plane of face 27b thereof; rearwardly, each 
tubular member 31 preferably overlies top 28a of back cross piece 28 and 
is secured thereto. 
Compression spring 32 is carried in bore 33 of said tubular member, said 
spring normally lies on its side when no force is applied thereto; an 
elongated generally U-shaped draw bar 34 is carried in said spring with 
bight 34a extending at least slightly forwardly of foremost coil 32a of 
said spring; opposing and forwardly directed hooks 34b on the remote end 
of said draw bar are adapted to partially pass around rearmost coil 32b of 
said spring. As viewed in FIG. 5, draw bar 34 desirably extends diagonally 
across bore 33 and is used to uniformly compress spring 32 in a manner 
hereinafter to be described. 
Opposing depressions 35 or other stop means are provided in the approximate 
medial portion of each tubular member 31 and serve as a forward limit stop 
for spring 32; screw 36 is passed through opposing walls of member 31 at 
any position at least slightly rearwardly of spring 32 and preferably 
through the rearmost end thereof into at least said back cross piece 28 to 
prevent accidental discharge of said spring in the event of cable 
malfunction and to minimize theft of such springs. 
One end of cable 37 is passed through bight 34a of said draw bar, turned 
back upon itself and collar 38 or other securing means passed around such 
parts and crimped or otherwise fastened. Ring 39, desirably secured to the 
foremost end of tubular member 31, serves as a bearing surface and 
minimizes damage to cable 37 passing therethrough. In the modification of 
FIG. 6, a transversely extending roller 40 is mounted in the foremost end 
of said tubular member 31 with cable 37 passing thereover for such 
purpose. 
There is shown in FIG. 7 of the drawings another embodiment of tubular 
member 31' which may be secured forwardly to front cross piece 27 and 
rearwardly to back cross piece 28, or to an intermediate cross piece, as 
shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings. In such embodiment, compression spring 
32' is carried in bore 33' rearwardly of the opposing depressions 35' or 
other forward stop means. Cable 37 is passed rearwardly through said 
spring and thence through washer 41 or the like with collar 42 or other 
securing means carried on the approximate end of said cable. 
Foot plate 43 (see FIGS. 8 and 9) is connected to the remote end of each 
cable 37. Plate 43, of flat metallic stock and at least slightly greater 
in length than the corresponding distance between the most lateral tubular 
members 31 of top-gate assembly 26, consists of longitudinally and 
vertically extending section 43a adapted to bear against the medial 
portion of flange 21a in the secured condition; section 43a terminates 
upwardly in a forwardly and angularly downturned lip 43b, and downwardly 
in a rearwardly and angularly upturned lip 43c adapted to engage flange 
21a. Downwardly depending handle 43d is secured to the medial, outer 
surface of section 43a. A plurality of longitudinally spaced, vertically 
extending slots 43e are provided in radius 43f formed between sections 43a 
and lip 43b. 
A loop 37a is to be formed at a predetermined location on the remote end of 
each cable 37 by turning said cable back upon itself and securing the same 
by collar 37b or the like. Elongated rod 43g, terminating laterally in 
short perpendicular legs 43h, is passed through each such loop 37a, said 
rod normally lies in the interior angle formed between section 43a and lip 
43b. 
It is understood that top-gate assembly 26 thus formed is detachably or 
fixedly secured, in a conventional manner, to top 25 of cart 20. 
The user may depress foot plate 43 by exerting a downward force upon handle 
43d thereby causing spring 32 or 32' remotely connected thereto to 
compress; at such time the user moves plate 43 rearwardly against flange 
21a with lip 43c passing therebelow. Upon releasing such downward force, 
lip 43c engages flange 21a, said compression springs return to normal 
condition, cables 37 are drawn taut, and an effective gate is provided for 
such cart. 
When the gate thus formed is not in use, as illustrated in FIG. 9, foot 
plate 43 is conveniently secured in an out-of-the-way position. More 
particularly, vertically extending pin 44 is secured to the top or either 
side of top rail 23c in approximate vertical alignment with the foremost 
intermediate vertical member 23d of right wall 23. Cables 37 may 
conveniently be passed rearwardly of said pin 44 with foot plate 43 lying 
flat against said right wall. 
Referring now to FIGS. 10-11 of the drawings, top-gate assembly 45 includes 
U-shaped member 46 consisting of cross piece 47 and perpendicularly 
rearwardly extending left and right side members 48-49, each lying in the 
same plane. Cross piece 47 of member 46 is adapted to overlie front rail 
25a, left side member 48 is adapted to at least partially overlie top rail 
22c, and right side member 49 is adapted to at least partially overlie 
top rail 23c. Longitudinally extending cross member 50 of tubular or bar 
stock lies in the plane of side members 48, 49 and is butt welded or 
otherwise fixedly secured to the approximate rear ends thereof. A 
plurality of transversely extending, longitudinally spaced tubular members 
31, or 31', heretofore described in detail, are secured to top 47a of 
cross piece 47 and top 50a of cross member 50, respectively. 
Vertically extending pin 51, corresponding to pin 44 of FIG. 2, is secured 
to top 49a of side member 49 in approximate vertical alignment with the 
foremost vertical member 23d of right wall 23. 
Top-gate assembly 45 thus formed is detachably or fixedly secured to the 
top 25 of cart 20; the plurality of tubular members 31, or 31', and 
associated cables, connecting remotely to foot plate 43, provides an 
effective gate for such cart. 
Referring now to FIGS. 12-13, top-gate assembly 52 is adapted to be used on 
cart 20 of any length and/or width. In such embodiment, a plurality of 
parallel, laterally spaced tubular members 31, 31', heretofore described 
in detail, are secured together by means of spaced, parallel straps 53-54. 
More specifically, tubular members 31, or 31', are desirably at least 
slightly greater in length than the maximum width of such type cart, while 
straps 53, 54 are at least slightly greater in length than the 
corresponding maximum length of such type cart. Strap 53, of relatively 
thin gauge, is tack welded or otherwise fixedly secured to top 31a of each 
of said tubular members approximately six inches rearwardly of the 
foremost end thereof; in like manner, strap 54 is tack welded to the 
corresponding surface of said tubular member at least slightly rearwardly 
of the midpoint of each such tubular member. Top-gate assembly 52 is 
positioned upon the top 25 of said cart in such a manner that tubular 
members 31 overlie rails 25a, 24a; the assembly 52 thus formed is moved 
laterally in such a direction that said assembly is centrally disposed, 
and then moved forwardly or rearwardly so that the foremost end of each 
such tubular member extends at least slightly anteriorly of the vertical 
plane of the front face of rail 25a, at which time each tubular member is 
welded or otherwise fixedly secured in such position. That portion of each 
such tubular member which overlies top rail 24a on back wall 24 is also 
welded or otherwise fixedly secured thereto; any portion of each such 
tubular member which extends posteriorly of the rear face of top rail 24a 
is removed, as illustrated in the upper, right-hand corner of FIG. 12. 
Screw 55, corresponding to screw 36 in purpose, is then passed through the 
opposing walls of each tubular member at least slightly rearwardly of the 
spring carried therein, or preferably, downwardly through such tubular 
member into top rail 24a. Straps 53, 54 may then be completely removed or 
trimmed laterally of the outermost tubular members (see FIG. 13). 
A vertically extending pin 56, corresponding to pin 44 heretofore 
mentioned, is desirably secured to the upper surface of top rail 23c of 
the right wall, to secure cables 37 and foot plate 43 in out-of-the-way 
position. 
As heretofore mentioned, a standard bulk storage cart 20 is used for 
transporting stacked products, especially cases of soft drinks, from a 
production facility or warehouse to a retail outlet, for displaying the 
cases of soft drinks at such retail outlet, and for collecting cases of 
empty bottles at the retail outlet for return to the production facility. 
Normally four or five full cases of soft drinks are placed in side-by-side 
relationship on cargo bed 21; four additional rows of full cases may also 
be placed in such relationship in the cart. Top-gate assemblies 26, 45 and 
52 of the subject invention, when used in combination with such standard 
bulk storage cart, forms an effective gate therefor; cables 37 of each 
such embodiment bear against a selected portion of the foremost end of 
each such case thereby retaining the same in said cart. 
It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates 
to only preferred embodiments of the invention and that it is intended to 
cover all changes and modifications of the invention herein chosen for the 
purposes of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the 
spirit and scope of the invention.