Shopping cart

In a shopping cart having a wheeled base assembly and a basket assembly mounted on said base assembly, comprising the improvement wherein said base assembly includes a one-piece plastics base having rail means associated therewith, said base assembly including a pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said rail means adjacent the forward end of said base assembly and a further pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said rail means adjacent the rear of said base assembly, said one-piece plastics base also including pedestal means fixed to said rail means and projecting upwardly therefrom with said pedestal means having the upper end thereof connected to said basket assembly, said one-piece plastics base also including an enlarged article supporting plate projecting forwardly from said pedestal means and spaced downwardly a substantial distance below said basket assembly, said article supporting plate extending across a major portion of the width of said base assembly and being disposed substantially within a horizontal plane, said supporting plate sloping slightly downwardly as it projects toward the forward end of said base assembly, said pedestal means comprising an upright tubular pedestal member having a front wall portion adjacent the lower end thereof integrally connected to the rearward edge of said article supporting plate, and said one-piece plastics base having a downwardly projecting flange disposed adjacent the rearward of said pedestal member in the vicinity of the lower end thereof, said downwardly projecting flange extending across a substantial portion of the width of said base assembly and being adapted to cammingly engage the article supporting plate of a further cart during nesting of said carts to thereby lift the rear wheel assemblies of one cart relative to said further cart.

A shopping cart, comprising in combination:

• a wheeled base assembly comprising a one-piece plastics base having a plurality of wheel assemblies mounted thereon, said one-piece plastics base including an upwardly projecting pedestal portion;
• a basket assembly fixedly attached to the pedestal portion of said base adjacent the upper end thereof, said basket assembly including a one-piece plastics basket having a bottom wall, a front wall and a pair of side walls, said walls all being integrally connected together;
• said basket assembly also including a one-piece plastics gate swingably mounted on said basket for closing the rearward end thereof, said gate extending between the side walls and projecting upwardly from the bottom wall to a location adjacent the upper edges of said side walls, said gate having the opposite edges thereof hingedly connected to said side walls adjacent the upper rearward corners thereof;
• a collapsible baby seat assembly movably supported on said gate and positioned within said basket, said baby seat assembly having a one-piece plastics backrest member defined by a substantially planar back portion adjacent the upper end of said backrest member and a pair of elongated support arms projecting downwardly from said back portion, said support arms having the lower ends thereof hingedly connected to said gate, said baby seat assembly also including a one-piece plastics planar seat member which is hingedly connected along one edge thereof to said backrest member adjacent the lower edge of said back portion;
• said gate having a pair of elongated L-shaped rails integrally connected thereto and projecting in substantially parallel and vertical relationship therealong, said rails defining a pair of undercut grooves which open sidewardly in opposite directions;
• and
• said one-piece plastics seat member having a pair of projecting pinlike portions integrally formed thereon adjacent the other edge thereof, said projecting pinlike portions being slidably and rotatably received within said grooves, whereby the baby seat assembly can be moved between a collapsed position wherein the gate, seat member and backrest member overlie one another in substantially parallel relationship, and an open position wherein the backrest member extends at a substantial angle relative to the gate and the seat member extends substantially horizontally therebetween.

In a nestable shopping cart having a wheeled base assembly and a basket assembly mounted on said base assembly, said basket assembly including a basket member fixedly connected to the base assembly and defining the bottom wall, the opposed side walls and one of the end walls of the basket assembly, the basket assembly also including a swingable gate assembly associated with the other end of said basket member, comprising the improvement wherein said basket member comprises a one-piece molded plastics body, said other end of said basket member being completely open, and wherein said gate assembly comprises a one-piece molded plastics gate unit having an enlarged wall portion for substantially closing the other end of said basket member, said gate unit also including an elongated rodlike handle integrally connected to and extending along said wall portion adjacent the upper edge thereof, said handle having pinlike bearing portions projecting outwardly from the opposite ends thereof, said pinlike bearing portions being rotatably received within and connected to the opposite side walls of said basket member so that said gate unit is pivotally supported with respect to said basket member, said pinlike bearing portions and said side walls having cooperating projections formed thereon for fixedly interconnecting said handle and said side walls together in the axial direction of said handle to thereby securely interconnect the opposed side walls adjacent the upper rear corners thereof, said handle comprising the sole interconnection between said side walls adjacent the rear upper corners thereof, and means forming a tongue-and-groove connection between the upper portion of the base assembly and the lower portion of said basket member for fixedly connecting said basket member to said base assembly.

In a shopping cart having a wheeled base assembly and an upwardly opening basket assembly fixedly mounted on said base assembly, comprising the improvement wherein said base assembly includes:

• a one-piece plastics base having rail means associated therewith, a pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said rail means adjacent the forward end of said base assembly, and a further pair of wheel assemblies mounted on said rail means adjacent the rearward end of said base assembly;
• said one-piece plastics base including pedestal means fixed to said rail means and projecting upwardly therefrom, said pedestal means being spaced inwardly from the frontward and rearward ends of said base assembly and having the upper end thereof connected to said basket assembly;
• said one-piece plastics base also including an enlarged article supporting plate projecting forwardly from said pedestal means and spaced downwardly a substantial distance below said basket assembly, said article supporting plate extending across a major portion of the width of said base assembly and being disposed substantially within a horizontal plane, said supporting plate sloping slightly downwardly at its projects toward the forward end of said base assembly;
• and
• said plastics base further having a downwardly projecting flange disposed adjacent the rearward side of said pedestal means, said flange extending across a portion of the width of said base assembly and being adapted to cammingly engage the article supporting plate of a further cart during nesting of said carts to lift the rear wheel assemblies of one cart relative to said further cart.