Storage station

Supports: racks – Special article – Velocipede type

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C211S022000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06298997

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Shopping cart control and storage is a problem in the parking lots of many shopping areas. The problem stems from customers abandoning carts after they have taken the carts from the store to their vehicles for unloading. To avoid damage to customer's vehicles and to the shopping carts themselves, as well as to prevent clogging of parking spaces and thoroughfares, it has become common practice to provide cart corrals or storage areas spaced throughout the parking lot in an effort to encourage customers to return the carts. Store employees or customers on their way into the store can then retrieve the carts from these storage areas.
The cart corrals commonly in use are, as the name implies, primarily all metal, fence-like structures. The metal from which cart corrals are typically made has a number of drawbacks. It is likely to rust and deteriorate, limiting the useful life of the corral and discouraging patrons from using it by its unattractiveness and potential to damage clothing. In the event that a car door is opened into a metal corral, both the car and the corral are likely to be damaged. Visibility of such open, fence-like structures is low, which further deters customers from using them.
Cart corrals as presently constructed are often permanently installed in parking lots. In areas of the country where snow is common, such open corrals may go unplowed, preventing customers from employing them. In other cases, cart corrals may be left freestanding, subject to movement by shifting weather patterns or accidental collisions.
One alternative to metal cart storage stations is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,578 issued to McCue et al., incorporated herein by reference. However, a lower cost, colorful and highly visible, rust and scratch resistant cart storage station is needed.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved storage facility for controlling shopping carts in a parking lot or large area. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved storage facility for other objects such as luggage, stock carts, and warehouse carts. Other objects and advantages of the present invention reside in the provision of an improved, protected storage area for shopping carts which is economical to manufacture, and easy to ship and install. The present invention has further advantages in that it is non-destructive, highly visible, durable in use, and attractive to the customer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a shopping cart storage station for installation in a parking lot or other large area. The storage station has an end structure including first and second side legs. The storage station includes a first elongate side wall assembly connected to the first side leg, and a second parallel elongate side wall assembly connected to the second side leg. The storage station further includes a bumper panel mounted on a side wall assembly for minimizing damage caused by impact with an object. Examples of an object that could impact the storage station include a car, a car door, or a shopping cart. The first and second side wall assemblies are spaced apart a distance sufficient to store a shopping cart.
Optionally, the storage station can include one or more signs to improve visibility, or the storage station can include a roof to protect the stored objects from rain or snow, and to prevent snow accumulation. The storage station can also be fitted with shielding panels above, between, or against the bumper panel members. Such shielding panels can be clear or opaque and are useful for posting instructions or advertising, and as a weather shield.
Preferably, the elongate side wall assembly comprises a metal frame and a non-metallic bumper panel mounted on the metal frame, constituting a substantial portion of the assembly. In preferred embodiments, an overhead front cross bar connects the side assemblies, extending from first and second upright frames extending upwardly from, and co-planar with, the first and second side wall assemblies. Further, at least one of the upright frames has an upper section adapted to mount a sign.
The bumper panel is preferably constructed of a substantially rigid plastic, which may be molded, recycled, composite, or fiber-reinforced plastic. Particularly preferred materials include molded polyethylene and fiberglass. This construction thereby avoids the disadvantages of previous cart corrals in that the bumper panel members, and hence the entire storage station, are highly visible, do not rust, and are not likely to cause damage to a vehicle or other object upon impact. Moreover, the storage station is highly stable, yet will “give” or flex if inadvertently bumped by a car or a shopping cart. Thus, the bumper panel members absorb the force of impact with an object, preventing damage to the storage station itself and to the object, such as a car or a shopping cart. Thus, the present invention provides a low cost, colorful and highly visible, rust and scratch resistant storage station.
Novel features which are considered to be characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which it will be seen that the objects set forth above, including those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.


REFERENCES:
patent: D. 321798 (1991-11-01), Buckley
patent: D. 334301 (1993-03-01), Buckley
patent: D. 350038 (1994-08-01), Buckley
patent: D. 361448 (1995-08-01), Buckley
patent: D. 376854 (1996-12-01), DiPaolo et al.
patent: 1927997 (1933-09-01), Weston
patent: 3950873 (1976-04-01), Stehle et al.
patent: 4236697 (1980-12-01), Savino
patent: 4528974 (1985-07-01), Nakamura et al.
patent: 4609183 (1986-09-01), Ulmer
patent: 5161784 (1992-11-01), Sader
patent: 5184562 (1993-02-01), Hallin
patent: 5201426 (1993-04-01), Cruwell, Jr.
patent: 5279085 (1994-01-01), DiPaolo et al.
patent: 5551578 (1996-09-01), McCue et al.
patent: 5891534 (1999-04-01), Sabin et al.

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