Patent Publication Number: US-2003231945-A1

Title: Shopping cart mover

Description:
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates generally to transport vehicles, and, in particular, to a vehicle for transporting and guiding a plurality of shopping carts from one location to another.  
       2. BACKGROUND  
       [0002] In shopping centers, and particularly in large supermarkets, it is typical for customers to transport their purchased items to their parked vehicles with shopping carts or trolleys. Rather than returning the shopping carts to supermarket, customers conveniently place their shopping carts in shopping cart collection areas that are scattered around the parking lot. Customers may alternatively decide to just leave the carts near their parking space and not go to the trouble of placing the carts in one of the collection areas. Not only do these shopping carts need to be used by other customers, but they also pose a risk of damage to the other vehicles in the parking lot. The shopping carts must therefore be periodically rounded up and manually returned to the interior of the store by employees of the store. Typically, the designated employee will form a long train of these shopping carts by nesting the carts together, each one fitting into the next adjacent one front to rear. Next, the employee pushes the resulting train by hand back into the store.  
       [0003] As shopping centers have continued to expand having a greater number of shoppers and huge parking lots, the job of collecting and transporting shopping carts can prove to be both time consuming and burdensome. Not only can the job be physically straining because of the combined weight of the line of shopping carts, but employees may also feel embarrassed or awkward by the act of transporting the long trains of shopping carts among the customers. Further, a long nested string of such carts is easy to form but extremely difficult to manually manipulate.  
       [0004] Although transport devices have been introduced to make the task of collecting and transporting shopping carts easier, these devices can be difficult to operate and still involve a great deal of manual direction by the store employees. Additionally, the devices do not include features for avoiding either inclement weather or poor safety conditions. Finally, these devices have done very little to raise the status of the job of collecting the carts. The designated employees likely take no pride or enjoyment in the act of walking behind and manually directing the long trains of nested carts.  
       [0005] Thus, there remains a need for an improved vehicle for collecting and transporting shopping carts that will both ameliorate the above noted disadvantages and increase the enjoyment and status of the job.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006] According to its major aspects and briefly recited, the present invention is a vehicle for collecting and transporting nested shopping carts. The vehicle is a user bearing, steerable and motorized machine that is adapted to pull a string of nested shopping carts behind it. The transport vehicle is able to secure and pull the carts through the use of an alignment member extending from the rear of the vehicle and a cable and winch system that is located in the body of the vehicle. The transport vehicle further includes a cabin area, a seat for one or more persons, and vehicle controls. Various safety features are also included on transport vehicle including a raised canopy, a windshield, lights, and a front bumper.  
       [0007] In operation, a row of nested carts is first formed. Next the row of carts is pulled into position behind the transport vehicle. The row of carts is then secured to the transport vehicle by a winch and cable system. The winch and cable system is operated by first releasing the catch that is locking the winch so that the cable is freed to engage the last cart in the row of carts. The end of the cable includes a hook member that is attached to the handle of the last cart in the row. The winch is then operated by a crank to tighten the cable and hold the row of carts together. The winch catch is then set to hold the carts. In order to transport this row of carts back to the store, the driver operates the vehicle similarly to standard motorized vehicles by sitting in the cabin area and maneuvering the vehicle by vehicle controls and a steering means. During the transport, the row of nested carts is maintained in alignment through the use of the alignment member that is located at the rear of the transport vehicle.  
       [0008] A feature of the present invention is the use of a user bearing, steerable and motorized machine in combination with a raised canopy having a windshield and lights. This combination creates a safe and weather-proof environment for the driver of the transport vehicle. In particular, the raised canopy and lights alert customers and other drivers of the transport vehicle. The windshield protects the driver in the case of rain, strong wind or other inclement weather. Further, the overall enjoyment and status of the task of transporting trains of nested carts through the parking lots is improved.  
       [0009] Another feature of the present invention is the use of a user bearing, steerable and motorized machine in combination with a securing means and an alignment member. The securing means of the transport vehicle, which includes a winch and a hooked cable, works in combination with the alignment member to secure the nested carts to the rear of the transport vehicle in an optimal arrangement. As previously discussed, a long nested string of such carts is easy to form but extremely difficult to manually manipulate. Therefore, the securing means and alignment member help to retain the carts in the nested position during the transport, as well as minimize the roll or sway motions of the cart during the transport. Further, the use of a driven motorized vehicle essentially eliminates the need for the physical strength and dexterity typically required for the task of pushing or pulling a train of nested carts. In the present invention, persons of all sizes and/or genders may perform this task without trouble or difficulty.  
       [0010] These and other features and their advantages will be clear to those skilled in the art of transport vehicles from a careful reading of the Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments, accompanied by the following drawings. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0011]FIG. 1A is a side view of a vehicle for transporting nested shopping carts with a row of nested carts secured therein according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and  
     [0012]FIG. 2A is a side view of a vehicle for transporting nested shopping carts with a row of nested carts secured and aligned therein according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMODIMENTS  
     [0013] Referring now to the drawings, a transport vehicle for moving nested shopping carts is shown and is generally indicated as  10  in FIGS. 1A and 1B. As illustrated, transport vehicle  10  has a body  12  that is shaped to define a front end  14  that includes a bumper  36  and plural lights  28 , a cabin area  16 , and a rear end  18  that includes an alignment member  20  extending perpendicular from rear end  18 . Preferably alignment member  20  and bumper  36  are made of a resilient material such as a natural or synthetic rubber or a plastic; however, other materials are contemplated for use in the present invention. Body  12  of transport vehicle  10  is supported by a series of ground engaging wheels  34 .  
     [0014] Transport vehicle  10  further includes a canopy  22  that is supported by body  12  having a top surface  24  and a bottom surface  26 . Although a number of materials are contemplated for use, canopy  22  is preferably made of fiberglass. On top surface  24  of canopy  22  are included additional plural lights  28  that face both the front and the rear of transport vehicle  10 . A windshield  30  is included on bottom surface of canopy  22  that extends substantially perpendicular from canopy  22 . Windshield  30  may also include a rear view mirror  32  to improve the visibility of the driver of transport vehicle  10 . Preferably, canopy  22  is raised to a height greater than the height of average vehicles in a parking lot so that customers and drivers within supermarket parking lots see the top of vehicle  10  and lights  28 , and are thereby alerted as to the presence of transport vehicle  10 .  
     [0015] As previously discussed, a particular feature of the present invention is the use of a riding, steerable and motorized vehicle in combination with a raised canopy  22  having windshield  30  and plural lights  28 . This combination creates a safe and weather-proof environment for the driver of the transport vehicle. Not only do raised canopy  22  and lights  28  alert customers and other drivers of the presence of transport vehicle  10 , but they also improve the visibility of the driver of transport vehicle  10  by shielding driver from inclement weather and illuminating the driving path during dark conditions. Windshield  30  further protects the driver in the case of rain, strong wind or other inclement weather. Additionally, bumper  36  provides protection to body  12  of transport vehicle  10  in the case of collisions. Finally, the overall enjoyment and status of the task of transporting trains of nested carts through the parking lots is improved. Designated employees can enjoy the transporting process as they are able to sit comfortably within protected cabin area  16  of transport vehicle  10 . The strength requirements of this task are also reduced by the use of vehicle  10 .  
     [0016] Cabin area  16  of transport vehicle  10  includes a seat  38  for one or more persons and vehicle controls, including a steering wheel  40 , a pedal for accelerating  42 , a pedal for braking  44 , a park brake  46 , and a switch  47  for setting transport vehicle in forward, neutral or reverse. Transport vehicle  10  further includes a drive means, such as a battery powered electric motor (not shown) that is also operable from cabin area  16 .  
     [0017] A securing means  50  is further included within body  12  of transport vehicle  10 . Securing means  50  includes a winch  52  (shown in phantom in FIGS. 1A and 1B) that is kept in a locked position by a catch lever  54  and a cable  56  having a hook member  58 . In operation, catch lever  54  on winch  52  is first released so as to free up cable  56  and hook member  58 . Hook member  58  is then attached to the handle of the last shopping cart in the formed row of nested carts. Once catch lever  54  is set to hold the nested carts, the shopping carts are then favorably arranged or aligned by alignment member  20  for the transport.  
     [0018] Another particular feature of the present invention is the use of a riding, steerable and motorized machine in combination with securing means  50  and alignment member  20 . Securing means  50  of transport vehicle  10  works in combination with alignment member  20  to secure the nested shopping carts to the rear of transport vehicle  10  in an optimal arrangement. As previously discussed, a long nested string of such carts is easy to form but extremely difficult to manually manipulate. Therefore, securing means  50  and alignment member  20  help to retain the carts in the nested position during the transport, as well as minimize the roll or sway motions of the carts during the transport. Further, the use of a driven motorized vehicle essentially eliminates the need for the physical strength and dexterity typically required for the task of pushing or pulling a train of nested carts. In the present invention, persons of all sizes and/or genders may perform this task without trouble or difficulty.  
     [0019] In operation, a row of nested carts  60  is first formed. Next, row of carts  60  is pulled into position behind transport vehicle  10  by the user. Row of carts is then secured to transport vehicle  10  by securing means  50 . Winch  52  and cable  56  are operated by first releasing catch lever  54  that is locking winch  52  so that cable  56  is freed to engage the last cart in row of nested carts  60 . The end of cable  56  includes hook member  58  that is attached to the handle of the last cart in the row. Cable  56  is then tightened to hold row of carts  60  together and catch lever  54  on winch  52  is set to a locked position. In order to transport row of nested carts  60  back to the store, the user operates vehicle  10  similarly to standard motorized vehicles by sitting in cabin area  16  and maneuvering vehicle by vehicle controls and steering wheel  40 . During the transport, row of carts  60  is maintained in alignment by alignment member  20  that is located at rear end  18  of vehicle  10 .  
     [0020] Finally, those skilled in transport vehicles for shopping carts will recognize that may substitutions and modifications can be made in the foregoing preferred embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.