Land vehicles – Wheeled – Nesting vehicles
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-07
2001-07-17
Vanaman, Frank (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Nesting vehicles
C280S047350, C280S079300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260863
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to shopping carts, and is particularly concerned with lumber or building materials carts which are designed to support wood panels, beams, and the like in transport from a building materials store to the purchaser's vehicle.
Lumber carts are typically of the order of four feet long and thirty inches wide, and consist of a rectangular frame base, a pair of outer side walls or supports along opposite sides of the cart, and a pair of inner side walls each spaced inwardly from one of the outer side walls to form a central channel for supporting plywood panels and the like in a generally upright orientation. Each of the side walls or supports is formed by an inverted U-shaped metal bar or tube having uprights secured to opposite ends of the base frame. The front and rear upright of each outer side wall is also secured to the respective front and rear upright of the adjacent inner side wall by a cross bar spaced above the base of the cart. The front and rear cross bars at each side of the cart form a support for beams or 2 by 4s placed over the beams, and also act to prevent users from positioning plywood panels, glass panels, or the like in the side channels of the cart, which could cause instability or tipping of the cart.
Up to now, lumber carts have not been stackable, so that they take up considerable amounts of storage space both in stores and in parking lots when not in use. This also adds to the expense in transporting such carts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved lumber cart.
According to the present invention, a lumber cart is provided, which comprises a wheeled base having a front end, a rear end, and opposite sides, the sides of the base tapering outwardly from the front end to the rear end of the cart, an outer side wall extending along at least part of the length of each side from the rear end of the base, and a pair of spaced inner side walls extending along at least part of the length of the cart from the rear end and spaced inwardly from the respective outer side walls, each side wall having an outward taper matching that of the base sides, the base of the cart having a forward end portion at a first, fixed level, and a rear end portion at a level raised above the forward end portion at least when another cart is nested into the rear of the cart with the forward end of the other cart nested beneath the rear end portion, and the side walls and forward end portion of the base defining a clearance for nesting into the rear end of another cart.
In one embodiment of the invention, the side walls extend up to a location at or close to the front end of the base, and each side wall has a forward end which is raised above the base of the cart to provide an undercut providing clearance whereby the front end of a cart can nest into the rear end of another cart. In an alternative embodiment, the side walls terminate at a location spaced from the front end of the cart to provide the necessary clearance. For example, the side walls may terminate approximately half way along the length of the cart, leaving the front half of the cart above the forward end portion of the base completely empty for nesting into the rear end of another cart.
The base of the cart is open at its rear end to allow the narrower forward end of the base of another cart to nest into it from the rear. The tapering sides of the base, and corresponding taper of the inner and outer side walls or supports, permit nesting. The base may have a forward, fixed deck portion and a rear, liftable deck portion having a forward end hinged to the fixed deck portion, as described in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/081,000 of Ondrasik filed May 19, 1998, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. In this case, when the forward end of a first cart is pushed into the rear end of a second cart, the liftable deck portion of the second cart will be lifted up to allow the fixed deck portion of the first cart to engage beneath the lifted deck portion.
In an alternative embodiment, the base may have a forward, lower deck portion and an upwardly stepped rear deck portion raised above the level of the forward deck portion. This avoids the need for any moving parts in the base. The forward deck portion of a first cart can then engage beneath the raised, rear deck portion of the second cart to permit nesting.
In one embodiment of the invention, where each side wall terminates short of the front end of the base, the outer side walls each comprise a tubular metal rod of inverted U-shape configuration forming first and second upright struts secured to the base at their lower ends, with the first upright strut located at the rear end of the base and the second upright strut spaced forwardly from the rear end and also spaced from the front end of the base. The inner side walls are also tubular metal rods of inverted U-shape with first and second upright struts aligned with the respective first and second upright struts of the outer side walls. The second upright strut of each inner side wall is secured to the base at an intermediate location between the front and rear ends of the base. The first upright strut is bent outwardly at a position spaced above the base at the rear end of the cart and is secured to the rear upright strut of the adjacent outer side wall, forming a first cross bar across the rear end of the respective side channel. A second cross bar connects the second upright strut of each outer side wall to the second upright strut of the adjacent outer side wall. The first and second cross bars are aligned to form a support for elongate beams and the like placed across the cross bars in each side channel.
In another embodiment in which the side walls extend up to a location close to the front end of the cart, each outer side wall has a rear upright strut and a second upright strut extending upwardly from the respective side of the base at a location intermediate the front and rear ends of the base. An upper strut extends between the upper ends of the rear and second upright struts, and projects forwardly from the second upright strut towards the front end of the base. The upper strut is then bent downwardly towards the base, and back rearwardly to connect to the second upright strut, forming a generally D-shaped configuration spaced above the base of the cart. At least two cross bars connect each outer side wall to the adjacent inner side wall to provide a support for two-by-fours or wood beams. The cross bars may be located at the rear and front end of the cart, and an additional cross bar may connect the second upright strut to the adjacent side wall, which preferably also has an upright strut at an equivalent location.
The lumber cart of this invention is readily nestable for storage. Each cart is capable of nesting approximately halfway into another cart, such that a plurality of such carts, when nested together, will take up considerably less storage space than would an equivalent number of non-nestable lumber carts.
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Ondrasik V. John
Orozco Miguel J.
Brown Martin Haller & McClain LLP
Vanaman Frank
LandOfFree
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