Trolley with removable containers for the use of customers in supermarkets

The invention relates to a trolley for use by customers in supermarkets, of the type comprising a base mounted on orientable wheels, two vertical uprights and cross pieces joining the uprights together at their lower part and at their upper part. At the upper part of the uprights are fixed, horizontally and perpendicularly to the plane formed by the uprights, at least two tubular sleeves having a longitudinal slit which extends over the whole length of their lower generatrix, the sleeves serving for hooking parallelepipedic bags comprising at their upper part two pairs of hooking straps formed by flexible strips fixed by one of their ends to the upper edge of the longitudinal walls of the bag ad which are wound about rigid rods, each rod being slid over at least a portion of its length inside a sleeve, the straps passing through the slit in the sleeve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a handling trolley for transporting goods 
and more particularly a trolley of the type generally used in self service 
supermarkets. 
It is known that trolleys of this type generally comprise a metal basket of 
latticed structure which is fixed firmly to a base mounted on wheels, said 
basket being provided with a transverse handle for moving the trolley. 
These trollies are generally heavy and expensive because of the amount of 
metal used for manufacturing the basket. Furthermore, because the basket 
is inseparable from its base and is in any case the inalienable property 
of the supermarket, it is necessary to transfer the goods either into bags 
distributed or bought, or directly into the trunk of the customer's car. 
In both cases, such transfer forms a time wasting operation often 
detrimental to the goods. Moreover, the supply of free bags to the 
customers necessarily increases the cost of the goods. 
This is why, in the past a certain number of types of trollies have already 
been proposed which overcome these drawbacks because they comprise means 
for hooking on removable baskets or bags, which may then be separated from 
the trolley and taken away by the customer. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Thus from the patent FR No. 1 163 199 a trolley is known comprising a 
platform mounted on wheels, two lateral slanting uprights and having a 
series of superimposed hooks able to receive stepped baskets. All the 
elements of this trolley are made from metal tubes welded together, which 
confer on the trolley an unesthetic and solid appearance. Moreover, 
because of the amount of material used, such a trolley is heavy and of a 
high cost price. 
The patent PCT No. 84 00940 relates to a handling trolley which comprises, 
above a wheeled base, a container having means for hooking the handles of 
removable bags. The container is not removable, so that the trolley even 
empty is heavy and relatively space consuming. 
From the patent DE No. 2 557 976, a trolley is known of the pushchair type 
comprising two rectangular frames hinged together substantially at the 
middle of their slanting uprights and which comprise on these uprights 
hooks for hanging a bag. This latter has a parallelepipedic shape and 
comprises, at the upper edge of each of its two longitudinal sides, two 
straps welded by their ends to the wall of the bag so as to form tubular 
passages. Two gripping rods are introduced through said passages and their 
bare portions between the straps serve for gripping by the hands of the 
user. Such a trolley is much less heavy and space consuming than the 
preceding ones, but it is relatively fragile and can therefore transport 
only one bag of small weight. In addition, such a trolley cannot be placed 
at the disposal of the customers in supermarkets, but it is more suitable 
to be the personal property of each customer. 
The patents GB No. 2 116 940 and CN No. 1 124 275 each relate to a trolley 
having a fixed metal basket in which may be placed one or more removable 
baskets, but because the fixed basket cannot be removed, these trollies 
are relatively heavy and cumbersome. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a handling trolley free of all the drawbacks 
of the trollies of the prior art cited, namely a trolley which is robust 
although light, taking up little room and which may transport one or more 
removable bags. 
To this end, the trolley of the invention is of the type comprising a base 
mounted on orientable wheels, two vertical uprights and cross pieces 
connecting said uprights together at their lower part and at their upper 
part, said trolley further comprising at least two tubular sleeves fixed 
at the upper part of the uprights or on the upper cross piece, in a 
substantially horizontal position perpendicular to the plane formed by the 
uprights, said sleeve having a longitudinal slit which extends along the 
whole of their generatrix, and wherein said sleeves serve for hanging 
parallelepipedic bags comprising at their upper parts two pairs of hanging 
straps formed by flexible strips fixed by one of their ends to the upper 
edge of the longitudinal walls of the bag and which are bent back and 
fixed on themselves at their other end, so that in the passages formed by 
the two strap relative to each longitudinal side of the bag, two rigid 
rods may be introduced, each rod being slid over at least a portion of its 
length inside the sleeves, and the straps passing through the slit of the 
sleeves. 
For hanging such a bag on the trolley, the two rods of the bag are slid 
into two adjacent sleeves, the longitudinal slit of these latter allowing 
the free passage of the straps. 
Advantageously, the sleeves have a length double the width of each strap 
and comprise in the middle of their length an internal stop intended to 
limit the penetration of the rod. The result is that two bags may be hung 
on two adjacent sleeves, one at each of the ends of said sleeves. The bags 
are thus hung in cantilever fashion since only the portion of each rod 
which is covered by a strap is engaged in the corresponding sleeve, the 
rest of the length of the rods not being supported. 
The lower cross piece of the trolley is advantageously formed as a vertical 
flat plate, against which the bottom of the bag which itself comprises a 
rigid plate comes into abutment. The cooperation of the bottom plate of 
the bag and said lower cross piece, under the action of the weight of the 
bag, prevents the cantilever rod portions from assuming too much flexion. 
In a variant of the invention, the straps of the bag are held tightly about 
the rods by means of resilient tubular sheaths, split longitudinally and 
having an internal diameter slightly less than that of the rods and an 
external diameter less than the inner diameters of the sleeves, the ends 
of the sleeves being opened out so as to facilitate the introduction of 
the rods and having two tongues obtained by bending inwardly and upwardly 
the end edges of the sleeves situated on each side of the slit, as far as 
a level where they form stops for the sheaths in the case of accidental 
withdrawal of the bag.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The trolley shown in FIG. 1 comprises a support structure formed of three 
tubular elements 10, 12, 14 welded together. The first two elements 10, 12 
are identical and are disposed in two vertical substantially parallel 
planes They have substantially a U shape and each comprise a vertical arm 
or upright 16, a lower downwardly slanted arm 18 extended by a horizontal 
portion to which is fixed a pivoting wheel 17, and an upwardly slanted 
upper arm 21 ending in a handle 23 for manoeuvering and guiding the 
trolley. Arms 18 and 21 are bent rearwardly of the trolley, that is to say 
on the side where the customer is positioned when he is conducting the 
trolley. 
The third tubular element 14 also has a U shape comprising a horizontal 
central arm 25 with two pivoting wheels 17 and two side arms 26, 28 bent 
rearwardly and centered slightly upwardly. The ends of arms 26, 28 are 
fixed by rivetting, welding or similar, respectively to the tubular 
elements 10, 12 substantially at the level of the lower end of upright 16. 
The tubular elements 10, 12 are disposed in two vertical parallel planes 
and are joined together on the one hand by a lower cross piece 30 formed 
by a vertical flat plate and which is fixed by rivetting or welding to the 
lower ends of the uprights and, on the other hand, by an upper cross piece 
which, in the present case, is formed by a rectangular frame 32 of tubular 
structure, which is disposed horizontally and is welded by the middle of 
its small sides to the upright. This frame may be used for carrying bulky 
or weighty products. 
On the two small sides of the frame are fixed two cylindrical lateral 
sleeves 34, 36 which are therefore parallel to the longitudinal axis of 
the trolley. Two other sleeves 38, 40 parallel to the first two are 
mounted under the frame and are welded by their ends to the middle of the 
large sides thereof. These four sleeves each have a longitudinal slit 42 
extending along the whole of its lower generatrix. 
On this trolley may be hung parallelpipedic bags 44 whose transverse walls 
46 have a width substantially equal to the distance between a lateral 
sleeve 34 or 36 and the adjacent central sleeve 38 or 40. The bottom of 
the bag is held flat by means of the rigid plate 48. The bag is provided 
on the upper edge of each of its two longitudinal walls 50 with two straps 
52. These may be formed either by separate strips of plastic material 
which is welded to the bag or, preferably, cut out in a single piece with 
the longitudinal walls 50. The straps associated with each longitudinal 
wall are wound about the ends of a gripping rod 54, 56 and are folded back 
to the inside of the bag and are fixed by welding or bonding. To prevent 
the rods from sliding out of the straps these latter are tightened about 
the rods by longitudinal weld lines 58 between the two walls of the 
straps, and by means of end weld lines 60 which close the straps beyond 
the ends of the rods. 
Once the rods are positioned in the straps, these latter define on each 
longitudinal wall an indentation 62 through which a person may pass his 
hand for gripping the central portion of the rod which is not covered by 
the straps. Each strap has a width substantially equal to a third of the 
length of the strap. 
For hooking a bag on a trolley, the two rods 54, 56 are slid into two 
adjacent sleeves 34, 38 or 36, 40. In this movement, the straps pass 
freely through the slits 42. 
In the variant shown in FIG. 2, the sleeves have a length substantially 
twice the width of the straps and have in their middle an internal stop 63 
for limiting the introduction of the rods to a length corresponding to the 
width of the straps, i.e. about a third of the total length of the rods. 
The result is that the bags may be fitted indifferently by one or other of 
the ends of the sleeves, and four bags may be hung on the trolley. The 
bags are hung in cantilever fashion since about two thirds of the rods are 
free. So that the rods do not bend too much under the weight of the bag, 
they are made from a hard inflexible material. Moreover, the bag will be 
given a height such that in the suspended position its bottom 48 comes 
into abutment against the lower cross piece 30. Finally, during 
manufacture, sleeves 34 to 40 will be given a shape slightly bent in the 
middle (see FIG. 2), so that their free ends are at a level slightly 
higher than that of the central portion. The bags are thus in a stable 
position since the rods tend to slide against stops and therefore do not 
risk becoming unhooked under the action of jerks or shocks. 
For unhooking a bag, the two bare portions of the rods are gripped by 
passing the hands through the indentations 62 and the rods are pulled out 
so as to release them from the sleeves. 
Such a trolley comprises only a very few parts. It is therefore light and 
inexpensive, in addition, its line reduced to the essentials is esthetic, 
the slightly resilient suspension of the bags and the facility of guiding 
make it a very attractive article for the user. 
In the variant of construction shown in FIG. 3, the frame of FIG. 1 is 
replaced by a rectangular table 66 which comprises a downwardly turned 
peripheral flange 68. The table has, in the vicinity of its small sides, 
two cut-outs 70 through which the handles 23 of uprights 16 may be passed 
during manufacture. The uprights are welded or rivetted to the flange 68 
of the small sides. Under the table are fixed four horizontal sleeves, 
parallel to the longitudinal axis of the trolley, two sleeves 72, 74 being 
situated in the vicinity of the small sides of the table, the other two 
76, 78 being near the middle thereof. 
The sleeves in this construction also have a longitudinal slit 80 which 
extends along the whole of their lower generatrix but, as can be seen more 
clearly in FIG. 4, they differ from the sleeves of FIG. 1 because they end 
at both ends in widened portions 82 and because the ends situated on each 
side of the slit are raised inwardly of the sleeves so as to form tongues 
or stops 84. 
As can be seen in FIGS. 3 to 5, straps 52 of bag 44 are tightened on the 
rods 54, 56 by means of tubular sheaths 86 which have a longitudinal slit 
88 over the whole of their length. These sheaths are made from a rigid 
material having a certain resilience and have an internal diameter 
slightly less than the diameter of the rods and an external diameter 
substantially less than the internal diameter of the sleeves. The sheaths 
thus grip round the straps on the rods and the edges of their slit nip the 
two walls of the straps at the base of the rods. Thus it is not necessary 
to weld the straps at the base of the rods and at the ends thereof, as was 
the case in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Only two weld lines 90 are 
required for connecting the end of the straps to the wall of the bag. 
As shown in FIG. 4, the tongues 84 project inside the sleeves over a height 
substantially equal to the thickness of sheaths 86. 
Thus, for hanging on a bag, the two rods 54, 56 are introduced into two 
adjacent sleeves. This introduction takes place rapidly and without trial 
and error since the sleeves are widened out at their ends. The rods are 
pushed in over the whole width of a sheath, the permitted travel being 
limited by stops 92 provided inside the sleeves, half way therealong. Once 
the bag has thus been hooked on, the external ends of the sheaths are in 
line with tongues 84 which, as has already been mentioned, project in the 
sleeves over a height equal to the thickness of the sheaths. Said tongues 
therefore lock the sheaths against any accidental removal forwards out of 
the sleeves. On the other hand, when it is desired to unhook the bag, rods 
54, 56 are raised slightly so as to release the sleeves 86 out of the 
range of the tongues which is possible because of the relatively large 
diameter of the sleeves, and then the rods may be entirely removed from 
the sleeves. 
The trolley shown in FIG. 6 is distinguished from that of FIG. 1 by the 
fact that its uprights and its base are formed of two tubular elements 
only 100 and 102, substantially in the form of a U, which are suitably 
shaped and welded together. The first element 100 comprises two vertical 
arms 104, 106 forming the uprights and which end at their upper end in 
rearwardly bent handles 107 for guiding the trolley. The uprights are 
extended at their lower end by upwardly curved semicircular portions 108 
which are connected together by a horizontal cross arm 110. The second 
tubular element 102 extends in a substantially horizontal plane at the 
lower part of the trolley. It comprises a horizontal cross arm 112 and two 
side arms 114, 116. At the corners of said horizontal arm and at the ends 
of the side arms are fixed orientable wheels 17. The cross arm 112 is at a 
lower level with respect to that of arm 110 of element 100. The side arms 
114, 116 are first of all horizontal, then rise upwardly as far as the 
level of arm 110 and then go down again. Elements 100, 102 are welded 
together are four points. 
Another difference resides in the shape of sleeves 118. These latter have 
the shape of a truncated pyramid in FIG. 6, but they may also have the 
shape of a truncated cone. They also comprise a longitudinal slit 120. At 
their widest opening, the sleeves comprise, on each side of the slit, two 
stampings 122 which project inwardly and which have the same function as 
tongues 84 in FIG. 4. 
The bags which may be used with such a trolley are the same as that 44 
shown in FIG. 3. The section of the sleeves 118 at their narrow end is 
slightly less than that of the sheaths 86. The result is that when a rod 
56 is fitted in a sleeve 118, its end is jammed in the narrow section 
thereof thus the rods cannot rise inside the sleeves, under the weight of 
the bag. 
The sleeves are fixed into the bottoms 126, 128 of baskets 130, 132 which 
are disposed on each side of the plane formed by uprights 104, 106. Said 
bottoms are formed by flat rectangular shelves which are inserted exactly 
between the uprights. Basket 130 is parallelepipedic in shape and its side 
walls are formed with rigid wires, but they may also be solid. For a 
clearer understanding of the drawing, the rear wall 134 of basket 130 has 
been shown in the form of a solid plate. It is situated substantially in 
the plane formed by the uprights. 
Basket 130 is fixed to these latter by any appropriate means, for example 
by welding. The front wall 136 of this basket is mounted for pivoting 
along the whole of its upper large side, about a transverse shaft 138 
forming the upper edge of the basket. In the rest position, the front wall 
hangs downwardly thus forming the front side of the basket. Stops 139 are 
provided for preventing said wall from pivoting beyond its vertical 
position outwardly of the basket. 
This basket may serve for sitting two babies therein For this, the front 
wall 136 is formed of vertical rods which form therebetween four openings 
140 through which the legs of the babies may be passed, the rear wall 134 
then serving as seat back. 
The other basket 130 serves for transferring weighty or bulky products 
which cannot be placed in the bags. It has the form of a truncated pyramid 
whose large base is formed by the rear wall 134 and whose small base is 
formed by the opposite rear wall 142. The horizontal bottom 128 of this 
basket is flat and its small sides converge slightly from the back plate 
towards wall 142. Similarly, the height of the basket decreases 
progressively from the rear wall to wall 142. 
The bottom 128 of basket 132 is at a higher level with respect to the 
bottom 126 of basket 130, the difference of level h being at least equal 
to the height h' of sleeves 118 in line with their widest opening. Bottoms 
126 and 128 are joined together by a front plate 144. 
The result of such dimensioning is that the trollies may be stacked 
together one behind the other. If in fact a trolley, not shown, is brought 
in the direction of arrow f in FIG. 6, its basket 128 which, as has 
already been mentioned has the form of a truncated pyramid, fits inside 
the baby carrier basket 130 of the trolley shown in FIG. 6, without the 
walls or the bottom of this basket opposing such stacking. Basket 132 and 
the sleeves which are fixed thereunder are then housed exactly in the 
basket 130 of the other trolley. During stacking, the basket 132 causes 
the front wall 136 to pivot about the axis 138 so as to bring it into 
substantially horizontal position. The permitted stacking travel is 
defined by the abutment of the rear wall 142 of basket 132 against the 
front plate 144. It will be noted that the open U shape of base 102 also 
allows stacking of the trollies. 
The lower cross piece 148 of the trolley is removable in this embodiment. 
It may for example be formed by a metal plate bent about a bend line 150, 
this plate being fixed by sliding over fixing means 152 carried by the 
uprights. Besides its function already mentioned as stop for the bags, 
this cross piece may receive advertising announcement on its two faces. 
This is why it has a height greater than that of cross piece 30 of the 
trolley of FIG. 1. 
Referring now to FIG. 7, the trolley in this embodiment comprises, as in 
that of FIG. 1, a support structure formed of three tubular elements 160, 
162, 164 substantially in the form of a U, welded together. Elements 160, 
162 are identical and are disposed in two parallel vertical planes They 
each comprise two arms 166, 168 bent in a V shape ending respectively in a 
handle 170 and a rearwardly bent horizontal portion 172 comprising an 
orientable wheel 17. The third element 164 comprises a lower U shaped 
portion 170 situated in a horizontal plane and carrying two orientable 
wheels 17. The arms of said U shaped portion are bent and are extended 
upwardly by uprights 173, 174 bent forwardly at their upper end so as to 
form horizontal portions 176, 178. Uprights 173, 174 are welded at their 
intersection point with the V shaped arms 166, 168. On the arms 166 of the 
two elements 160, 162 are welded, on each side of the uprights 173, 174, 
two substantially horizontal trays 180, 182 preferably slanted slightly 
downwards and towards each other. Tray 180 situated in front of the 
uprights serves as a seat for a baby, whereas that which is behind the 
uprights serves for carrying bulky products which cannot be placed in the 
bags. 
The position of the baby is limited laterally by the above mentioned 
horizontal portions 176, 178, on the front by a simple metal rod frame 184 
which hangs downwards and which is mounted for pivoting on said horizontal 
portions, and at the rear by a back plate 186. 
As in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, sleeves 170 are fixed under the 
shelves 180, 182 for hooking on one to four bags. 
Arms 166 are cross braced by a cross piece 188 serving as a support for the 
products which are laid on tray 182. Similarly, uprights 173, 174 on the 
one hand and arms 168 on the other are cross braced by cross pieces 190, 
192 against which the bottom 48 of the bags are engaged, as explained with 
reference to FIG. 1.