A DEVICE FOR A SHOPPING CART

Abstract: The present invention describes an arrangement for a shopping cart comprising a panel for the display of advertisements/information. More specifically the invention relates to an information supporting sheet which is fastened at its one edge portion to a roller which is integrated in a sleeve, the information supporting surface in a first position being able to be rolled up on the roller, and in a second position being able to be drawn partially or wholly out of the roller since in such a drawn out position it shows the advertisements/information which it carries.

Description: A DEVICE FOR A SHOPPING CART The present invention relates to an arrangement for a shopping cart comprising a panel for the display of advertisements/information, where the arrangement comprises an information supporting sheet, one edge portion of which is fastened to a roller which is integrated with reference to a sleeve, the information surface in a first position being able to be rolled up on the roller, and in a second position being able to be drawn partially or wholly out of the roller since in such a drawn out position it shows the advertisements/ information which it carries. In connection with shopping carts it is known to employ a display, which is fastened to the upper edge portion of the shopping cart by a set of fastening arrangements, for the exhibiting of information. The display is usually limited to exhibiting permanent advertising text. Furthermore a number of solutions have emerged where a rigid board is fastened to the handle of the shopping cart in that advertisements, note blocks, calculators and the like can be fastened to the board. It is usual to-day to employ shopping carts on selecting goods in shops. First and foremost this applies to businesses for daily goods, but also to other types of businesses which are based on self-service. Owing to the fact that almost all traders employ shopping carts, which are made available by the shop, this has become an important tool in connection with the exhibiting of information and advertisements. Often offer material is presented in the form of newspapers or brochures, and these are placed either in shelves set up at the entrance to the shop, or loosely in shopping carts. In this way the material is placed casually and can either disappear or become concealed when the cart is filled up with goods. It is also unpractical to find the information in these loose sheets at the same time as steering the shopping cart and orienting oneself in the shop. With the present invention the aim is therefore to arrive at a solution for displaying advertisements and/or information to the customer in a simple and well arranged manner. An object is that the advertisements/information shall be fastened to the shopping cart, and that the advertisements/information shall be able to be replaced easily. A problem with the displays/boards which are used for exhibiting advertisements is that they often get in the way of the customer when the shopping basket is to be filled with goods. The displays also get in the way if children are placed in the " child seat " of the shopping cart. In addition children will use the display as a toy and thus is readily able to damage it. Another object of the present invention is therefore to produce a solution which is flexible in such a manner that the advertisement can be readily removed/concealed, so that it is not in the way of the customer, at the same time as the customer is easily able to find the advertisement again in need. The arrangement comprises an information supporting sheet which at its one edge portion is fastened to a roller which is integrated with reference to a sleeve, it being able in a first position to be rolled up on the roller, and in a second position to be able to be drawn partially or wholly out of the roller in that the infor- mation sheet in such a drawn out position shows the advertisement/information which it carries, and the present invention is characterised in that the arrangement is positioned in the handle (15,15') of the shopping cart (10), the roller (23,23') surrounding a shaft (24), and that a spring (25) which is fastened to the shaft (24) at its one end and at its other end is fastened to the roller (23,23') is wound around the shaft (24), so that the spring (25) is tightened as the roller (23,23') rotates about the shaft (24) in that the information supporting sheet (17,17') is drawn out, and that this elastic force is used so as to draw the roller (23,23') and the information supporting sheet (17,17') back to the starting position. More specific solutions according to the invention are indicated in the dependent claims 2 - 4. In this manner the customer can, when it is desirable, bring forward the information supporting sheet, and when the customer has read the information he/she is interested in, it is automatically drawn in again in the sleeve . A preferred solution is to arrange the information supporting sheet in connection with the handle of the shopping cart, for example as an integrated part of the handle. When the surface is rolled in the sleeve/handle it is therefore not visible, or occupies space in the region around the handle so that it gets in the way of children who are to sit in the shopping cart, or on filling up the shopping cart with goods. By applying this solution the offer of goods/ information is arranged and presented in a simple and easy manner. The material is simply replaceable (further explained below) , and the customer has access to the information in an easy and well arranged manner. Such advertisements/information can by way of example comprise goods facts, advertised goods, localising of the goods on the shop premises and the like. An especially preferred solution of the invention is based on the information supporting sheet being received in the handle of the shopping cart by a roller blind mechanism, that is to say that the sheet is rolled up on an internal roller in the handle. This roller is equipped with a spring which is tightened as the sheet is drawn out, so that as the customer lets go of the sheet it is automatically rolled up on the roller by the traction of the spring. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the information surface consists of a transparent pocket which surrounds an advertising/information sheet. In one of the edge portions there is an opening so that the advertising material can be replaced. Further features of the present invention will be evident from the following description having regard to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows in a perspective view a shopping cart equipped with an information supporting surface according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows in a more detailed view how the information supporting surface is arranged in the handle of a shopping cart . Fig. 3 shows a section of a cross-section where it is evident how the roller for rolling up the information supporting sheet is arranged. Fig. 4 shows a core portion in a section of a cross- section. Fig. 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention where a handle can be opened in order to gain access to the roller. Fig. 6 shows in a section of a cross-section a catch mechanism which is applied in connection with the handle according to Fig. 5. In Fig. 1 there is illustrated a shopping cart 10 consisting of four walls 11 in the main vertical and a bottom portion 12 in the main horizontal, which together form a space for the reception of goods. To the walls 11, or to the bottom portion 12 there are fastened a set of legs 13, where each leg 13 comprises a vertical stay 13a and a housing portion 13b for the reception of a wheel 13c, which is rotatable in the housing portion 13b relative to a horizontal axis. On the one wall 11, preferably that which is closest to the customer on driving the shopping cart , the shopping cart 10 is equipped with two vertical fittings 14 which carry a horizontally transverse handle 15. In the concrete embodiment which is shown in Fig. 1 the handle 15 is arranged with a gap 16. Within the handle there is arranged a roller 23 for the rolling up of an information supporting sheet 17. This will be further explained below. In Fig. 1 the information supporting sheet 17 is shown in a drawn out position where it stretches through the gap 16 in the handle 15, and further out over the handle 15 so that a panel of the sheet 17 becomes visible. In the illustrated example the sheet 17 is further provided with a border 18 and a knob 19. Since the sheet 17 is rolled up the border 18 will be on the outside of the gap 16 so that the sheet 17 can be simply drawn out by pulling the knob 19. The sheet 17 can consist of a transparent pocket, for example of plastic, having an opening in one or both vertical edge portions, or in the uppermost portion, below the border 19, so that sheets of paper with advertisements/information can be easily installed, and removed. Alternatively the information supporting sheet can itself be the advertisement/information, that is to say be as a poster. How it is fastened to the roller is explained below. The terms " information supporting sheet " and " sheet ", which are employed mixed up, designate therefore both a transparent plastic pocket for the installing of an advertising sheet, and an advertisement/information sheet, for example a foil-coated sheet of paper/poster. Figs. 2 and 3 show in more detail how the handle 15 is adapted so that a sheet 17 can be drawn through a gap 16 in the handle 15. The handle 15 is arranged with fastening means 20 for fastening to the shopping cart 10. In the embodiment of the invention which is shown in Fig. 2 and 3 the handle 15 consists of an outer sleeve 21, and it is in this that the gap 16 is arranged. The information supporting sheet is drawn through the first portion 16a of the gap 16 when it is drawn off the roller 23. A second portion 16b of the gap 16 makes it possible to change the roller 23 and the information supporting sheet 17 by pushing the roller/ sheet 23/17 sideways through the opening 16b. Furthermore the handle 16 comprises two core portions 22a, 22b which are constructed so that the sleeve 21 having a catch mechanism forms an engagement with them. The roller 23, which receives the information supporting sheet 17, is arranged between the two core portions 22a, 22b. Axially, inside the roller 23 a shaft 24 is arranged which is carried by recesses 22c in the core portion 22a and 22d in the core portion 22b, respectively. The shaft 24 cannot be rotated relative to the core portions 22a, 22b since an end portion 24a on the shaft 24 at the end which is received in the recess 22c is rectangularly formed and thus fits the rectangular recess 24a. This is shown in Fig. 4. The shaft 24 thus does not rotate unless the core portion is rotated. However the roller 23 will rotate relative to the shaft 24. The information sheet 17 is fastened at its lower portion, wholly over the longitudinal edge portion, to the roller 23. As the sheet 17 is drawn out, the roller 23 will rotate about the shaft 24. A spring 25 connects the shaft 24 to the roller 23. The spring 25 is fastened at one end of the spring 25 to the shaft 24 at a fastening point 25a, and at the other end to the roller 23 at a fastening point 25b. Between these fastening points 25a, 25b the spring is twisted a number of times around the shaft 24, approximately uniformly distributed over the longitudinal direction of the shaft 24 so that the tractive force of the spring 25 is distributed uniformly over the whole shaft/roller 24/23. On mounting of the arrangement 10 the sheet 17 is first fastened to the roller 23. This is not shown directly in the Figures but can be carried out in that the roller 23 is arranged with a recess which the sheet 17 is drawn sideways into, and that on the lowermost portion of the sheet 17 there is a longitudinal flange portion which thereby provides for engagement with the roller 23. The information supporting sheet 17 is thereafter rolled up on the roller 23. Thereafter the sleeve 21 is positioned on the outside of the core portion 22b and the roller 23, with the upper portion of the sheet, that is to say the border 18 and the knob 19, on the outside of the sleeve 21. Finally the core portion 22a is positioned in the sleeve. The core portion 22a is thereafter rotated a few times so that the spring 25 is tightened somewhat. The handle 15 is fastened to the cart 10 via the fastening means 20. On replacing the sheet 17 the core portion 22a is released from the sleeve 21 and the whole roller 23 is replaced with a new one by drawing it sideways through the gap 16b. Alternatively, as mentioned above, the advertising sheet can be removed from the side opening of the pocket when the sheet 17 is drawn approximately completely out, or from a top opening of the pocket by removing the border 18. On applying the present invention the knob 19 is pulled, and the sheet 17 drawn out of the gap 16 as the sheet 17 is rolled by the roller 23. Simultaneously the spring 25 is tightened so that as the sheet 17 is let go the sheet 17 is drawn back on the roller 23 by means of the tractive force of the spring 25. In an embodiment which is not shown further the sheet 17 can be held in place in a drawn out position by drawing the roller 23 down in a groove in the core portions 22a, 22b so that it is not drawn back by the tensioned spring 25 before the roller 23 is released from the engagement by an additional tractive force in a direction from the roller 23 so that it is drawn out of the groove, and thus the spring 25 becomes active again and the sheet 17 is drawn back on the roller 23, that is to say to its original position. This is approximately the same principle as for roller blinds. Furthermore in an embodiment which is not indicated further in the Figures the handle 15 is equipped with a rod which stretches out from the handle 15 so that the information supporting sheet 17 in an extracted position can be fastened to the rod so that it is not drawn back on the roller 23 before it is released from the rod. The most preferred solution is however that which is indicated in the Figures 1 - 4 where the poster is held in an extracted position by a person who desires to read the contents of the information supporting surface 17, and that it is automatically drawn back when this person lets it go. Fig. 5 - 6 shows a second embodiment of the invention. In Fig. 5 a handle 15' is shown for use in connection with a shopping cart 10. The handle 15' is divided into two longitudinal portions 15a' and 15b' . The handle 15' is further equipped with means for fastening the handle 15' to the shopping cart. The two portions 15a' , 15b' are connected by hinges in parts of the one longitudinal connecting edge, and are rotatably connected to each other about an axis 15c' . In a region of the portion 15b', preferably in the middle, a roller 23' is arranged. Through this a shaft 24' is drawn which is carried by two recesses 24' . In a corresponding manner as in the embodiment which is indicated in Figures 1 - 4 a spring 25 (not shown in the Figure) is arranged between the shaft 24' and the roller 23'. The information supporting sheet 17' can thus be drawn through the gap 16' and out of the handle 15' . The two portions 15a' and 15b' are latched in position and are locked with a mechanism which is explained further below. Exchange of roller 23' thus takes place simply by rotating the one portion 15a' , and with that one has access to the roller 23' which can be easily exchanged with another roller 23' with another information support- ing sheet 17'. Alternatively the information material can be replaced, if the sheet 17' consists of a plastic pocket, via openings in the side edges of the plastic pocket . Fig. 6 shows the locking mechanism for the embodiment of Fig. 5. The two portions 15a', 15b' are now seen in a section of a cross-section. The hinging occurs about an axis at the point 15c' . In a recess 15d' in the portion 15b' a Z-shaped pin 26' is arranged. As the portion 15a' is closed, that is to say is rotated at an angle about 15c', an equivalent pin 27' which is fastened to the portion 15a' is latched to the pin 26' so that the two portions 15a' , 15b' are fastened in engagement with each other. In order to open the handle 15' again, for example in order to replace the sheet 17' which is fastened to the roller 23', a tool 29' is used which is pressed through an opening 28' in the portion 15b' so that the pin 26' is displaced horizontally for the engagement with the pin 27' to be released. Thus the handle 15' can be opened about the axis 15c' at the portion 15a' . The pins 26 ',27' can be fastened respectively to the portions 15b', 15a', by using fastening means, such as screws. Other mechanisms can also be used in order to latch the two portions 15a' , 15b' together, at the same time as they are to be securely fastened together. Furthermore it is an advantage that a specific tool must be used in order to release the latch mechanism so that intruders cannot get the handle opened, or that this is made unintentional. It is preferred that the arrangement is a part of the handle 15,15' of the shopping cart, but this is not a precondition. It is within the scope of the invention for example to arrange a sleeve 23 with a roller/sheet 23,15 at other locations on the cart also, for example uppermost on the front portion of the cart 10 so that the sheet 17,17' can be drawn towards the customer.

Claims: Patent Claims 1. Arrangement for a shopping cart (10) comprising a panel for the display of advertisements/information, where the arrangement comprises an information supporting sheet (17,17'), one edge portion of which is fastened to a roller (23,23') which is integrated with reference to a sleeve (21,21'), the information sheet (17,17') in a first position being able to be rolled up on the roller (23,23'), and in a second position being able to be drawn partially or wholly out of the roller (23,23') since in such a drawn out position it shows the advertisements/ information which is carries, characterised in that the arrangement is positioned in the handle (15,15') of the cart (10), the roller (23,23') surrounding a shaft (24), and that a spring (25) which is fastened at its one end to the shaft (24) and is fastened at its other end to the roller (23,24') is wound around the shaft (24), so that the spring (25) is tightened as the roller (23,23') rotates about the shaft (24) on drawing out the information supporting sheet (17,17'), and that this tractive force is used in order to draw the roller (23,23') and the information supporting sheet (17,17') back to the starting position. 2. Arrangement in accordance with claim 1, characterised in that a gap (16) is arranged in the sleeve (21) which the information sheet (17,17') can be drawn through, and that the roller (23) and the shaft (24) are arranged between two core portions (22a, 22b) which are positioned in the sleeve (21) . 3. Arrangement in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 2, characterised in that a pipe-shaped handle (15') is divided in a longitudinal direction into two portions (15a' , 15b' ) which are rotatably hinged about a longitudinal axis (15c') so that the portions (15a', 15b') can be rotated from each other and thereby open the handle (15') and make the roller (23') and the sheet (17') accessible for replacement, and that on closing of the handle (15') the two portions (15a' , 15b') are locked together with a latch mechanism. 4. Arrangement in accordance with one of the claims 1 - 3, characterised in that the information sheet is a transparent pocket, and that in one edge portion of the information sheet an opening is arranged so that the information material can be replaced when the information sheet (17,17') is in a wholly or partially drawn out position.

Inventors: TRAEET HELGE, TRAEET, HELGE
Applicants: TRAEET HELGE, TRAEET, HELGE
Application year: 1998
Main classification: G09F23
IPC codes: B62B3