Search

EP-4450368-B1 - CART

EP4450368B1EP 4450368 B1EP4450368 B1EP 4450368B1EP-4450368-B1

Inventors

  • Hirata, Yuhi
  • SAITO, YUSUKE
  • MAEDA, MUNEHIRO

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240328

Claims (7)

  1. A cart (1) comprising: a rack part (10) where a load is placed; and a pair of front leg parts (20) and a pair of rear leg parts provided to the rack part and having wheels (24,45) on distal ends thereof, the cart (1) being able to transition from a use state for use as a cart, through coordinated folding of the pair of front leg parts (20) and the pair of rear leg parts, to a storage state in which the front and rear leg parts are stored below an upper surface of the rack part, each of the pair of front leg parts (20) is connected under a front end portion of the rack part (10) so as to be rotatable from a use position in the use state to a stored position in the storage state, each of the pair of rear leg parts comprises an upper rear leg part (30) and a lower rear leg part (40), the upper rear leg part (30) has one end connected under a rear end portion of the rack part (10) so as to be rotatable from the use position to the stored position, and another end, to which the lower rear leg part (40) is connected so as to be rotatable from the use position to the stored position, a connection part (70) is provided for connection between the front leg part and the lower rear leg part so as to cause the lower rear leg part to move in coordination with rotation of the front leg part, characterized in that the connection part (70) comprises an upper connection part (50) having one end connected to the front leg part, and a lower connection part (60) having one end rotatably connected to another end of the upper connection part (50), another end of the lower connection part (60) is rotatably connected to the lower rear leg parts (40).
  2. The cart according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the upper rear leg part (30) and one end of the lower rear leg part (40) are connected to be restricted from rotation in the use state and allowed to rotate during transition to the storage state.
  3. The cart according to claim 1, wherein a front restriction part (132) is provided under a front end portion of the rack part so as to restrict forward and upward rotation of the front leg part.
  4. The cart according to claim 1, wherein a rear restriction part (142) is provided under a rear end portion of the rack part so as to restrict rearward and downward rotation of the rear leg part.
  5. The cart according to claim 1, wherein each of the other end of the upper rear leg part (30) and one end of the lower rear leg part (40) includes an extension part extending in a horizontal direction in the use state, an opening provided in each of the extension parts, and an insertion member inserted into each of the openings, the other end of the upper rear leg part and the one end of the lower rear leg part are restricted from rotation in the use state by the insertion member inserted across each pair of the openings, and allowed to rotate during transition to the storage state.
  6. The cart according to claim 1, wherein the lower connection part comprises a pair of side walls (61) and a bottom wall (62) provided between the side walls (61), and the bottom wall (62) is oriented horizontally in the state of use.
  7. The cart according to claim 1, wherein the front leg part (20) is configured to rotate rearward and upward toward a bottom surface of the rack part (10).

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cart. 2. Description of the Related Art Demand for a shopping cart with a collapsing mechanism that allows the same to be loaded onto the trunk of a driving vehicle has been rising in recent years. Japanese Translation of PCT Application No. 2022-507885, for example, discloses a shopping cart including a basket, front legs each having a wheel on a lower end thereof, and rear legs each having a wheel on a lower end thereof. The front legs are rotatable from an extended position to a collapsed position, in which the front legs are located adjacent the respective outer sides of side walls of the basket. The rear legs are rotatable from an extended position to a collapsed position, in which the rear legs are located adjacent and above upper edges of the basket. In this shopping cart, the front and rear legs are maintained in the extended positions by locking members. When collapsing the shopping cart, a handle is pulled, which causes an actuator inside the handle to move the locking members so that the front and rear legs shift to the collapsed positions. The shopping cart is placed on the car trunk in the collapsed state. Further background art for the present invention is described in US 2015/097358 A1, US 2020/223465 A1 and FR 2 775 645 B1. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One issue with the shopping cart described in Japanese Translation of PCT Application No. 2022-507885 is that the front legs are folded over the basket, hence the cart in the collapsed state can hardly be stored in a compact manner. The present invention has been made in view of the problem described above, and it is an object of the invention to provide a compactly collapsible cart. The cart according to the present invention includes a rack part where a load is placed, and a pair of front leg parts and a pair of rear leg parts provided to the rack part and having wheels on distal ends thereof, the cart being able to transition from a use state for use as a cart, through coordinated folding of the pair of front leg parts and the pair of rear leg parts, to a storage state in which the front and rear leg parts are stored below an upper surface of the rack part. The cart according to the present invention is able to transition from a use state for use as a cart, through coordinated folding of the pair of front leg parts and the pair of rear leg parts, to a storage state in which the front and rear leg parts are stored below an upper surface of the rack part. The simple configuration allows for a collapsible cart design that achieves compactness in the collapsed state. Each of the pair of front leg parts is connected under a front end portion of the rack part so to be rotatable from a use position in the use state to a stored position in the storage state; each of the pair of rear leg parts includes an upper rear leg part and a lower rear leg part; the upper rear leg part has one end connected under a rear end portion of the rack part so as to be rotatable from the use position to the stored position, and the other end, to which the lower rear leg part is connected so as to be rotatable from the use position to the stored position; and a connection part is provided for connection between the front leg part and the lower rear leg part so as to cause the lower rear leg part to move in coordination with rotation of the front leg part. The connection part is connected between the front leg part and the lower rear leg part so as to cause the lower rear leg part to move in coordination with rotation of the front leg part. Therefore, when the front leg part is rotated, the lower rear leg part, as well as the upper rear leg part rotatably connected thereto, move to the stored position in coordination. Thus, the legs can be brought to the storage state with a simple configuration, without using a component such as an actuator. The rotation of the front leg part initiates the series of actions. When placing the cart onto a cargo rack of a bicycle, for example, the front leg part can be rotated by sliding the cart onto the cargo rack. The cart can thus be brought to the storage state as the cart is being placed onto the cargo rack, so that there is no need to perform the collapsing action before placing the cart onto the cargo rack. Preferably, the other end of the upper rear leg part and one end of the lower rear leg part are connected so as to be restricted from rotation in the use state and allowed to rotate during transition to the storage state. Specifically, the other end of the upper rear leg part and one end of the lower rear leg part may each include an extension part extending in a horizontal direction in the use state, an opening provided in each extension part, and an insertion member inserted into each of the openings, and the other end of the upper rear leg part and the one end of the lower rear leg part may be restricted from rotation in the use state by the