Abstract:
A cart includes a plurality of placement boards, a plurality of connecting posts mounted between the placement boards, a plurality of side plates mounted between the placement boards and the connecting posts, two handles mounted on an uppermost placement board, and a plurality of castors mounted on a lowermost placement board. Thus, each of the side plates is located between any two of the placement boards and between any two of the connecting posts to reinforce the combination strength of the placement boards and the connecting posts so as to reinforce the structural strength of the cart. In addition, the cart is assembled solidly and stably so that the cart is not loosened or detached easily after assembly to provide a safety to a user.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a cart and, more particularly, to a serving cart for placing dishes or a tool cart for placing hand tools. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    A conventional cart in accordance with the prior art shown in  FIG. 10  comprises a plurality of transverse placement boards  70 , a plurality of upright connecting posts  80  mounted between the placement boards  70 , two handles  73  mounted on an uppermost one of the placement boards  70 , and a plurality of castors (not shown) mounted on a lowermost one of the placement boards  70 . Each of the placement boards  70  has a periphery provided with a plurality of protruding stop flanges  71  which extend upward and downward from each of the placement boards  70 . Each of the placement boards  70  has a plurality of corners each formed with a slot  72  to allow insertion of a respective connecting post  80 . However, each of the connecting posts  80  is mounted in the respective slot  72  of each of the placement boards  70  in a loosely fit manner, so that the connecting posts  80  are easily detached from the placement boards  70  when the placement boards  70  are pulled by the handles  73  to upset the articles placed on the placement boards  70 , thereby causing danger to the user. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a cart, comprising a plurality of transverse placement boards, a plurality of upright connecting posts mounted between any two of the placement boards, and a plurality of side plates mounted between any two of the placement boards and located between any two of the connecting posts. 
         [0006]    The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a cart that is assembled solidly and stably so that the cart is not loosened or detached easily after assembly to provide a safety to a user. 
         [0007]    Another objective of the present invention is to provide a cart, wherein the insertion edge of each of the side plates is inserted into the insertion slot of the support flange of the respective connecting post, and the clamping pieces of each of the side plates are clamped on the stop flanges of each of the placement boards, so that each of the side plates is located between any two of the placement boards and between any two of the connecting posts to reinforce the combination strength of the placement boards and the connecting posts so as to reinforce the structural strength of the cart. 
         [0008]    A further objective of the present invention is to provide a cart, wherein when the connecting posts are mounted between the placement boards, the insert of each of the placement boards is inserted into the insertion hole of the respective connecting post, and each of the limit pieces of each of the placement boards is inserted into the respective limit groove of the respective connecting post by a tapering engagement, so that the connecting posts are combined with the placement boards tightly and closely. 
         [0009]    A further objective of the present invention is to provide a cart, wherein when the handles are mounted on the uppermost one of the placement boards, the mounting groove of each of the handles is mounted on the insert of the uppermost one of the placement boards, and each of the limit slots of each of the handles is mounted on the limit pieces of the uppermost one of the placement boards by a tapering engagement, so that the handles are combined with the uppermost one of the placement boards tightly and closely. 
         [0010]    Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cart in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a partially exploded perspective view of the cart as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partially exploded perspective enlarged view of the cart as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the cart taken along line  4 - 4  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of the cart taken along line  5 - 5  as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a cart in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  is a partially exploded perspective view of the cart as shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 8  is a schematic operational view of the cart as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 9  is a partially exploded perspective view of a cart in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of a conventional cart in accordance with the prior art. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0021]    Referring to the drawings and initially to  FIGS. 1-5 , a cart in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of transverse placement boards  10 , a plurality of upright connecting posts  30  mounted between any two of the placement boards  10 , a plurality of side plates  20  mounted between any two of the placement boards  10  and located between any two of the connecting posts  30 , two handles  40  mounted on an uppermost one of the placement boards  10 , and a plurality of castors  50  mounted on a lowermost one of the placement boards  10 . 
         [0022]    Each of the connecting posts  30  has a tubular shape and has an inner wall formed with an insertion hole  31  which extends axially through a whole length of each of the connecting posts  30 . The insertion hole  31  of each of the connecting posts  30  has a peripheral wall formed with two axially extending limit grooves  32 . Each of the limit grooves  32  of each of the connecting posts  30  has a tapered cross-sectional profile. Each of the connecting posts  30  has an outer wall formed with at least one protruding support flange  33  which has an inside formed with an elongated axially extending insertion slot  330 . 
         [0023]    Each of the placement boards  10  has a plurality of corners each provided with a protruding insert  12  inserted into the insertion hole  31  of the respective connecting post  30 . The insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  has a tubular shape and extends upward and downward from each of the placement boards  10 . The insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  has an upper end and a lower end each provided with two protruding limit pieces  121  each inserted into the respective limit groove  32  of the respective connecting post  30 . Each of the limit pieces  121  of each of the placement boards  10  has a tapered cross-sectional profile and has a size greater than that of each of the limit grooves  32  of each of the connecting posts  30 . Each of the limit pieces  121  of the upper end of the insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  has a thickness reduced gradually in an upward direction, and each of the limit pieces  121  of the lower end of the insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  has a thickness reduced gradually in a downward direction as shown in  FIG. 4 . Each of the placement boards  10  has a periphery provided with a plurality of protruding stop flanges  11  which extend upward and downward from each of the placement boards  10 . 
         [0024]    Each of the side plates  20  is a sheet plate. Each of the side plates  20  has two opposite sides each provided with a reduced insertion edge  21  inserted into the insertion slot  330  of the support flange  33  of the respective connecting post  30 . Each of the side plates  20  has an upper end and a lower end each provided with a plurality of recessed clamping pieces  22  clamped on the stop flanges  11  of each of the placement boards  10 . 
         [0025]    Each of the handles  40  has two ends each provided with a downward extending mounting stud  41  which has an inside formed with an annular mounting groove  42  mounted on the insert  12  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 . The mounting groove  42  of each of the handles  40  has a peripheral wall formed with two axially extending limit slots  43  mounted on the limit pieces  121  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 . Each of the limit slots  43  of each of the handles  40  has a tapered cross-sectional profile and has a size smaller than that of each of the limit pieces  121  of each of the placement boards  10 . 
         [0026]    Each of the castors  50  is mounted on the insert  12  of the lowermost one of the placement boards  10 . 
         [0027]    In assembly, when the connecting posts  30  are mounted between the placement boards  10 , the insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  is inserted into the insertion hole  31  of the respective connecting post  30 , and each of the limit pieces  121  of each of the placement boards  10  is inserted into the respective limit groove  32  of the respective connecting post  30  by a tapering engagement, so that the connecting posts  30  are combined with the placement boards  10  tightly and closely. In addition, when the handles  40  are mounted on the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 , the mounting groove  42  of each of the handles  40  is mounted on the insert  12  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 , and each of the limit slots  43  of each of the handles  40  is mounted on the limit pieces  121  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10  by a tapering engagement, so that the handles  40  are combined with the uppermost one of the placement boards  10  tightly and closely. In addition, the insertion edge  21  of each of the side plates  20  is inserted into the insertion slot  330  of the support flange  33  of the respective connecting post  30 , and the clamping pieces  22  of each of the side plates  20  are clamped on the stop flanges  11  of each of the placement boards  10 , so that each of the side plates  20  is located between any two of the placement boards  10  and between any two of the connecting posts  30  to reinforce the structural strength of the cart. 
         [0028]    Referring to  FIGS. 6-8  with reference to  FIGS. 1-5 , the cart further comprises at least one drawer unit  60  movably mounted on one of the placement boards  10 . Each of the placement boards  10  has a bottom provided with a plurality of fixing seats  13 . The drawer unit  60  includes two opposite upright support plates  62  each secured on one of the placement boards  10 , and a drawer  61  movably mounted between the support plates  62 . The drawer  61  of the drawer unit  60  has two opposite sides each provided with a transverse slide track  63  movably mounted on the respective support plate  62 . Each of the support plates  62  of the drawer unit  60  has a top provided with a protruding bent edge  620  having a plurality of through holes  621 , and the drawer unit  60  further includes a plurality of locking screws  64  each extended through the respective through hole  621  of the bent edge  620  of each of the support plates  62  and each screwed into the respective fixing seat  13  of the respective placement board  10 . 
         [0029]    Referring to  FIG. 9 , the drawer unit  60   a  further includes a reinforcing piece  62   a  located between the bent edges  620  of the support plates  62  and secured to the respective placement board  10  to reinforce the structural strength between the support plates  62  and the respective placement board  10 . 
         [0030]    Accordingly, the insertion edge  21  of each of the side plates  20  is inserted into the insertion slot  330  of the support flange  33  of the respective connecting post  30 , and the clamping pieces  22  of each of the side plates  20  are clamped on the stop flanges  11  of each of the placement boards  10 , so that each of the side plates  20  is located between any two of the placement boards  10  and between any two of the connecting posts  30  to reinforce the combination strength of the placement boards  10  and the connecting posts  30  so as to reinforce the structural strength of the cart. In addition, when the connecting posts  30  are mounted between the placement boards  10 , the insert  12  of each of the placement boards  10  is inserted into the insertion hole  31  of the respective connecting post  30 , and each of the limit pieces  121  of each of the placement boards  10  is inserted into the respective limit groove  32  of the respective connecting post  30  by a tapering engagement, so that the connecting posts  30  are combined with the placement boards  10  tightly and closely. Further, when the handles  40  are mounted on the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 , the mounting groove  42  of each of the handles  40  is mounted on the insert  12  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10 , and each of the limit slots  43  of each of the handles  40  is mounted on the limit pieces  121  of the uppermost one of the placement boards  10  by a tapering engagement, so that the handles  40  are combined with the uppermost one of the placement boards  10  tightly and closely. 
         [0031]    Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.