Land vehicles – Wheeled – Nesting vehicles
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-05
2001-02-27
Camby, Richard M. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Nesting vehicles
C280S047350
Reexamination Certificate
active
06193246
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to shopping carts, and is particularly concerned with a shopping cart with a front gate to permit a checker to unload and scan the contents of the cart.
Conventional shopping carts with no front gate must be unloaded by the shopper onto a conveyor at the check out counter, where they are conveyed to the checker who scans the items to be purchased. However, some shopping carts have a front gate which can be opened outwardly and dropped down onto the check out counter in front of the cart, permitting the checker to unload and scan each item from the cart. It can be difficult for the checker to reach into the back of the basket of such carts to retrieve items, and the gate is very vulnerable to damage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved shopping cart with a front gate.
According to the present invention, a shopping cart is provided which comprises a wheeled base, a frame projecting upwardly from the base, and a basket having a rear end secured to the frame and projecting forwardly from the frame, the basket having a lower wall, a front end, and spaced side walls, the front end of the basket having an opening, and a gate movably mounted in the opening for movement between a closed position closing the opening and an open position inside the basket lying on top of the lower wall.
In an exemplary embodiment, the gate is movable from the closed position in one direction only into the basket, and cannot be moved outwardly from the basket. With this shopping cart, the checker can first remove and scan items from the front end of the basket, opening the gate inwardly when sufficient space has been cleared, and can then remove and scan items from the remainder of the basket. When used in conjunction with a cantilevered scanner, this shopping cart allows checkers to more readily empty the basket, since front end of the cart can be moved beneath the scanner when the gate is opened, allowing the checker to reach the items in the rear end of the basket.
This arrangement ensures that the checker does not have to reach all the way into the back of the basket from the front end of the basket, since the front end can be pulled forwardly, placing the rear end of the basket closer to the checker. Additionally, the fact that the gate is only opened into the basket, and not outwardly from the basket, makes the gate much less vulnerable to damage. Gates that open outwardly may hang down and be damaged when carts are nested.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3115975 (1963-12-01), Thompson
patent: 3297108 (1967-01-01), Davis
patent: 3443665 (1969-05-01), Zschaech
patent: 3751059 (1973-08-01), Bunder et al.
patent: 3815932 (1974-06-01), Ruger
patent: 4118044 (1978-10-01), Celms
patent: 4353564 (1982-10-01), Joseloff
patent: 4560180 (1985-12-01), Ulmer
patent: 5385358 (1995-01-01), Adamson
patent: 317586 (1969-11-01), None
Brown Martin Haller & McClain LLP
Camby Richard M.
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