Abstract:
A children&#39;s wagon has a molded plastic body including a horizontal floor with surrounding pockets. The wagon also includes front and rear wheels with the former mounted upon a pivoting bolster to which a handle is attached. Molded plastic front, rear and side walls surround the horizontal floor and are removably fastened to the body via their bottom edges by tabs and hook projections that engage the wagon body pockets. Horizontal surfaces are formed adjacent to the side edges of the front, rear and side walls. A knob and a cup are formed on each horizontal surface. The knobs of the side walls engage the cups of the front and rear walls while the knobs of the front and rear walls engage the cups of the side walls so that the front, rear and side walls are joined together in a secure but removable fashion.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The invention relates generally to children&#39;s wagons and, more particularly, to a children&#39;s wagon having improved removable walls. 
     Children&#39;s wagons are well-known in the art. The typical wagon includes a horizontal supporting surface or floor where a child may sit or cargo may reside, side walls extending up from the horizontal supporting surface to prevent the child or cargo from falling out of the wagon, front and back wheel assemblies for movement and some type of handle attached to the wagon body whereby a user may pull the wagon. 
     Wagons often include removable side walls so that the wagon may be more easily transported, in the trunk of a car, for example, or stored. In addition, wagons with removable side walls more easily accommodate oversized cargo. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,323 to vom Braucke et al. discloses a wagon with removable side walls. The wagon of the vom Braucke et al. &#39;323 patent includes a horizontal supporting surface mounted upon a frame that includes the front and rear wheel assemblies. The frame also includes a number of open-ended poles that protrude above the supporting surface. The poles accept vertical projections from the right and left side walls to secure the side walls to the wagon frame. The opposing and generally vertical edges of the front and rear walls slide into grooves formed in the right and left side walls so that the horizontal supporting surface is surrounded. Because the front and rear walls are not locked down to the frame or supporting surface, the cargo, whether it is children or some type of material, could fall out of the front or back of the wagon by knocking the side walls out of position. Moreover, a child could have difficulty assembling this wagon since it requires significant coordination to align the -front and rear walls with the left and right side walls to form the cargo area. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,617 to Pasin et al. describes a wagon with an improved removable wall arrangement. The wagon of the Pasin et al. &#39;617 patent includes a horizontal supporting surface surrounded by front and rear walls and right and left side walls. Each such wall consists of a number of horizontal rails and a pair of vertical legs. The horizontal rails and vertical legs are either held together by fasteners or are formed as a one-piece molded part with simulated fasteners. The side walls include horizontal-extending tangs formed on their ends. The tangs engage corresponding recesses formed on the ends of the front and rear walls. Each wall also includes vertical tabs which extend downward and interlock with pockets formed in the horizontal supporting surface. While the wagon of the Pasin et al. &#39;617 patent offers a significantly improved removable wall arrangement, room for improvement still exists in terms of ease of wall assembly and sturdiness. 
     Other wagon designs do little to improve upon the prior art in terms of ease of wall assembly and/or sturdiness. U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,222 to Bro et al. illustrates a toy wagon having a seat that is large enough for a child to sit upon. The wagon includes front, rear and side walls that enclose the seat. Similar to the wagon designs of the patents described above, the walls of the Bro et al. &#39;222 patent are removably attached to the wagon. In particular, the walls feature downward-extending tabs that are slid into corresponding receptacles formed in the body of the wagon. The side walls, however, do not attach to one another. Such an arrangement does not provide optimal structural support or stability for items and/or children positioned upon the seat. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,831 to Valiga et al. discloses a wagon with a pair of opposing and removable wall extension sections. Each single-piece section is roughly “C-shaped” and features a side portion and front and rear portions. The side portion extends the length of the wagon while the front and rear portions each extend halfway across the width of the wagon. Each section also includes a horizontal groove formed in its side and positioned near its bottom edge. The groove of each section accommodates a rim or lip circumferentially positioned upon the tops of the permanent walls of the wagon. Each end of each section is provided with a slot or tab that engages a tab or slot that is formed upon or in a facing end of the other section. The two wall extension sections are positioned upon the wagon so that their grooves receive the permanent wall circumferential rim and the tabs and slots of their ends engage one another. The tabs and slots of the ends of the sections secured together by screws. As such, the side extension sections of the Valiga et al. &#39;831 patent require tools for installation and removal to and from the wagon. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a children&#39;s wagon with removable walls that may be securely assembled to both one another and the wagon. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a children&#39;s wagon with removable walls that may be easily assembled to both one another and the wagon. 
     It is a further object of the invention to provide a children&#39;s wagon with removable walls that may be installed or removed without the use of tools. 
     It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wagon with removable walls that is economical to manufacture. 
     It is still a further object of the invention to provide a wagon with removable walls that is durable. 
     Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the remaining portion of the specification. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The children&#39;s wagon of the present invention includes a body, preferably molded of plastic, including a horizontal floor with a surrounding lip. The surrounding lip has pockets formed therein. A pair of rear wheels are attached to the body as is a pivoting bolster. A pair of front wheels and a handle are attached to the bolster. 
     The wagon also includes front, rear and side walls that are preferably constructed of molded plastic. Each wall includes a bottom edge with at least one tab formed thereon. Each of the tabs is sized to engage one of the pockets of the wagon body. The bottom edges of the front and rear walls each also includes at least one hook projection. The hook projections also engage corresponding pockets formed in the wagon body. As a result, the walls are removably attached to the wagon body so as to surround the horizontal floor. 
     The front and rear walls each include a first side edge and a second side edge while the side walls each include a leading edge and a trailing edge. Horizontal surfaces are formed on each wall and are positioned adjacent to each of the side, leading and trailing edges. Each horizontal surface has a cup and a knob formed thereon. Each side wall cup is sized. to receive one of the front or rear wall knobs and each front and rear wall cup is sized to receive one of the side wall knobs so that the side walls are connected by their leading edges to the front wall and by their trailing edges to the rear wall. 
    
    
     The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, provide a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of the invention. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the wagon of the present invention with the walls installed; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the wagon of FIG. 1 with the walls removed; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation view of the rear wall of the wagon of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of the rear wall of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the wagon of FIG. 1 with the side walls removed and the rear wall in the process of being installed; 
     FIG. 6 is an enlarged side elevation view of the front wall of the wagon of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 7 is a front elevation view of the front wall of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is an enlarged top perspective exploded view of the right side and rear walls of the wagon of FIG. 1 in the process of being joined; 
     FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of the walls of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the walls of FIGS. 8 and 9 after they have been joined; 
     FIG. 11 is a perspective exploded view of the wagon of FIG. 1 with the front, rear and right side walls installed with the left side wall in the process of being installed; 
     FIG. 12 is an enlarged top perspective exploded view of the left side and front walls of the wagon of FIG. 1 in the process of being joined; 
     FIG. 13 is a bottom perspective view of the walls of FIG.  12 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A wagon constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG.  1 . The wagon includes a wagon body  15 , a pair of front wheels  14   a , a pair of rear wheels  14   b  and a pulling and steering handle, indicated in general at  16 . The rear wheels of the wagon are preferably mounted to the wagon body by a metal axle. The front wheels  14   a  of the wagon are mounted upon a bolster  21 , also preferably by a metal axle. The bolster is pivotally connected to the bottom of the body  15 . The handle  16  is pivotally connected to the bolster  21  through use of a hinge  18  and features a loop portion  19  for easy gripping. 
     The wagon also features left and right side walls, indicated in general at  22   a  and  22   b , respectively, a front wall  24  and a rear wall  26 . The left and right side walls include leading edges  17   a  and  17   b , respectively, and trailing edges  29   a  and  29   b , respectively. As will be explained below, the walls may be removed from the wagon to increase utility and ease of transport and storage. The wagon body, removable walls, bolster and handle preferably are constructed of molded plastic for durability and light weight. For strength, the walls are preferably molded with channels  25   a  and  25   b . These channels present the appearance that the walls are constructed of stacked horizontal members and thus also serve an aesthetic purpose. A cup holder  23  may optionally be molded into the inner surface one or more of the walls. 
     FIG. 2 shows a top view of the wagon with the front and rear walls,  24  and  26 , respectively, and the side walls  22   a  and  22   b  of FIG. 1 removed. The wagon body, indicated in general at  15 , consists of a horizontal floor  20 . Ribs  27  may be molded into the horizontal floor to provide increased strength and traction. A lip  28  surrounds and extends slightly above the horizontal floor  20 . The lip  28  includes side wall pockets  30   a ,  30   b ,  31   a ,  31   b ,  32   a  and  32   b  that extend downward into the body  15 . In addition, lip  28  includes front wall pockets  33   a - 33   c  and rear wall pockets  34   a - 34   c . As illustrated at  35  in FIG. 1, the body may optionally include a hollow storage compartment that is accessible by lifting the removable padded seat panel illustrated at  37  in FIG.  2 . 
     The rear wall of FIG. 1 is indicated in general at  26  in FIGS. 3 and 4. The rear wall includes a downward extending center tab  36  mounted to its bottom edge  39  that is flanked by hook projections  38   a  and  38   b . The rear wall also includes cutout portions  41   a  and  41   b  which define-horizontal surfaces  42   a  and  42   b  that are positioned adjacent to side edges  43   a  and  43   b . Knobs  44   a  and  44   b  are mounted upon the horizontal surfaces  42   a  and  42   b  of cutout portions  42   a  and  42   b , respectively. As will be explained below, the knobs and cutout portions allow the rear wall to be secured to the left and right side walls ( 22   a  and  22   b  in FIG.  1 ). 
     The rear wall  26  is installed upon the wagon body  15  in the manner illustrated in FIG.  5 . More specifically, the rear wall is lowered towards the wagon body, as indicated by arrow  52 , and is oriented so that center tab  36  is aligned with pocket  34   b  and hook projections  38   a  and  38   b  are aligned with pockets  34   a  and  34   c , respectively. The rear wall is then tilted with its top edge  51  urged towards the front of the wagon or floor  20 , as illustrated in FIG.  5 . Hook projections  38   a  and  38   b  are then inserted into pockets  34   a  and  34   c  as the rear wall is further lowered towards the wagon body in the direction indicated by arrow  52 . The rear wall is then moved in the direction of arrow  54  so that the hook projections fully engage the pockets  34   a  and  34   c  and tab  36  engages pocket  34   b.    
     As illustrated at  55  in FIGS. 3 and 4, tab  36  may optionally be equipped with a raised nub  55  to provide a tighter fit in pocket  34   b . In addition, center tab  36  and hook projections  38   a  and  38   b  may be dimensioned so that a snug fit with their respective pockets is achieved when the rear wall is assembled to the wagon. While the rear wall will remain in place due to gravity, a snug fit between the hook projections and pockets and the center tab and the pocket will lend stability to the assembled walls and when it is desired to use the wagon without all of the walls in place. The same holds true for the tab and hook projections of the front wall and the tabs of the left and right side walls described below. 
     The front wall of FIG. 1 is indicated in general at  24  in FIGS. 6 and 7. Similar to the rear wall of FIGS. 3 and 4, the front wall includes a downward extending center tab  56  mounted to its bottom edge  59  that is flanked by hook projections  58   a  and  58   b . The front wall also includes cutout portions  61   a  and  61   b  which define horizontal surfaces  62   a  and  62   b  that are positioned adjacent to side edges  63   a  and  63   b . Knobs  64   a  and  64   b  are mounted on horizontal surfaces  62   a  and  62   b , respectively. As with the rear wall, the knobs and cutout portions allow the front wall to be secured to the left and right side walls ( 22   a  and  22   b  in FIG. 1) as will be explained below. 
     The front wall  24  is attached to the wagon body  15  (FIGS. 1 and 2) in the manner illustrated for the rear wall  26  in FIG.  5 . More specifically, the hook projections  58   a  and  58   b  of the front wall are inserted into pockets  33   a  and  33   c  of the wagon body (FIG. 1) while the front wall is tilted with its top edge  65  urged towards the rear or floor of the wagon. As the hook projections initially enter their respective pockets, the front wall is rotated towards a fully vertical orientation so that its center tab  56  is inserted into pocket  33   b  of the wagon body (FIG. 1) and the hook projections fully engage pockets  33   a  and  33   c.    
     Once the front and rear walls are assembled to the wagon body, the left and right side walls,  22   a  and  22   b  in FIG. 1, may be installed. The left and right side walls each engage both the wagon body and the front and rear walls in a manner that will now be described. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the trailing end  29   b  of right side wall  22   b  includes a horizontally extending portion  72 . A knob  74  extends downward from the underside  75  of the horizontally extending portion  72 . In addition, a cup  76  is formed in the underside of the horizontally extending portion  72  between the downward extending knob  74  and the remaining portion of right side wall  22   b.    
     As described with regard to FIGS. 3 and 4, rear wall  26  includes cutout portions defining horizontal surfaces  42   a  and  42   b  upon which knobs  44   a  and  44   b  are mounted. As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, cup  78  is also formed in horizontal surface  42   b  between knob  44   b  and the remaining portion of rear wall  26 . Though not shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, horizontal surface  42   a  in FIGS. 3 and 4 is also equipped with a cup positioned between knob  44   a  and the remaining portion of the rear wall. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 8, right side wall  22   b  includes a downward extending tab  82  positioned upon its bottom edge  84 . Tab  82  engages pocket  32   b  when the wall is installed upon the wagon body  15 . Right side wall  22   b  also includes two additional tabs extending downward from its bottom edge  84 . These two additional tabs (not shown) are sized and positioned to engage pockets  30   b  and  31   b  of FIG. 2 when the wall is installed upon the wagon body  15 . 
     The cup  78  of the rear wall is sized to receive the downward extending knob  74  of right side wall  22   b . Likewise, the cup  76  of the right side wall is sized to receive-the knob  44   b  of the rear wall. As a result, as tab  82  of the right side wall is being lowered into pocket  32   b , and the remaining right side wall tabs are being lowered into pockets  30   b  and  31   b , knob  74  engages cup  78  while knob  44   b  engages cup  76 . The somewhat enlarged configurations of cups  76  and  78  facilitate molding of the walls during production and also the introduction of the appropriate knobs during assembly. 
     The installed rear and right side walls form the joint indicated. in general at  88  in FIG.  10 . The interaction of the knobs  44   b  and  74  with cups  78  and  76 , respectively, results in the walls being joined in an interlocking fashion thus preventing movement of the right side and rear walls relative to each other in a number of directions. As a result, the joint is very strong, however, it may be easily disassembled by lifting right side wall  22   b.    
     As illustrated in FIG. 5, due to hook projections  38   a  and  38   b , the rear wall  26  must be tilted with its top edge urged forward before it can be removed from the wagon body  15 . The right side wall  22   b , and/or left side wall  22   a , when installed prevents the rear wall  26  from being tilted forward. As a result, the installation of one or more of the side walls in effect locks the rear wall into the wagon body. Due to the similarity of construction of the front and rear walls, the installation of one or more of the side walls also locks the front wall into the wagon body. 
     The final step in installing the wagon walls is to install the left side wall  22   a , as illustrated in FIG.  11 . Similar to the right side wall, the left side wall features three tabs  90 ,  92  and  94  extending downward from its bottom edge  96 . The left side wall is installed by aligning tabs  90 ,  92  and  94  with pockets  30   a ,  31   a  and  32   a , respectively, and lowering the left side wall toward the wagon body as indicated by arrows  100 ,  102  and  104 . 
     As indicated in FIG. 12, the horizontal surface  62   a  of front wall  24  is equipped with knob  64   a  and a cup  106 . Though not shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, horizontal surface  62   b  in FIGS. 6 and 7 is also equipped with a cup positioned between knob  64   b  and the remaining portion of the front wall. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 13 (and FIG.  11 ), the leading edge  17   a  of left side wall  22   a  includes a horizontally extending portion  108 . A knob  112  extends downward from the underside  114  of the horizontally extending portion  108 . In addition, a cup  116  is formed in the underside of the horizontally extending portion  108  between the downward extending knob  112  and the remaining portion of right side wall  22   a.    
     The cup  106  (FIG. 12) of the front wall is sized to receive the downward extending knob  112  (FIGS. 11 and 13) of left side wall  22   a . Likewise, the cup  116  of the left side wall is sized to receive the knob  64   a  of the front wall. As a result, as the left wall is being lowered into the installed position, as illustrated in FIG. 11, knob  64   a  engages cup  116  while knob  112  engages cup  106 . The somewhat enlarged configurations of cups  106  and  116  facilitate introduction of the appropriate knobs and, in addition, facilitate the molding of the walls during the productions process. The installed front and left side walls form a joint similar to the one illustrated in, and described with reference to, FIG.  10 . 
     The trailing edge  29   a  (FIG. 11) of the left side wall  22   a  features a structure that is the mirror image of the horizontally extending portion  72 , knob  74  and cup  76  of FIG.  8 . The right side wall leading end features a structure that is the mirror image of the extending portion  108 , knob  112  and cup  116  of FIG.  13 . As a result, both the right front and left rear corners of the wagon, when the walls are installed, feature joints such as the one illustrated in, and described with respect to, FIG.  10 . 
     While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.