Anti-sway clip for rear gate of shopping cart basket

In a nestable shopping cart having a wheeled base, and upwardly opening basket mounted on said base, said basket having a bottom wall fixed to the base and side and front walls fixed to the bottom wall and to one another and projecting upwardly from the edges of the bottom wall, said bottom wall having an upper surface defining a support surface for goods deposited in the basket, the bottom wall also having a free rear edge extending thereacross, a cross member extending along the free rear edge of the bottom wall and projecting slightly upwardly above said upper surface, and a rear gate for closing off the rear of the basket, said rear gate having hinge means for swingably supporting the gate adjacent the rear upper corners of the side walls so that the gate can be swingably moved between a closed position wherein the gate closes off the rear of the basket and an open position wherein the gate is swung inwardly and upwardly into the basket to permit nesting of like carts, said gate having structure at the lower free end thereof which abuts said cross member when the gate is in said closed position, and anti-sway means coacting between said basket and said gate when the latter is in said closed position for minimizing sideward sway of the basket, the improvement wherein said anti-sway structure comprises a one-piece anti-sway clip which is fixed to the basket adjacent the center of the rear free edge of said bottom wall and defines a forwardly directed slot which is closed at its rearward end, said anti-sway clip projecting forwardly relative to said cross member through only a short extent, said clip being substantially W-shaped when viewed from above and includes center legs which define said slot, said center legs being joined by a base portion which is fixed to said cross member, said W-shaped clip also having outer legs which at their free ends are also fixed to said cross member, and said gate adjacent the lower free edge thereof, substantially at the center of the gate as measured between the sides thereof, having vertically extending means which enter into the slot and is closely sidewardly confined within the slot when the gate is in said closed position.

In a nestable shopping cart having a wheeled base, and an upwardly opening basket supported on said base, said basket including a bottom wall which is fixed to said base and has a cross member extending along the rear edge thereof, said cross member defining a forwardly facing abutment surface thereon, said basket also including a pair of side walls and a front wall which extends upwardly from the rear edges of the bottom wall, all of said walls being rigidly joined together, and a swingable rear gate for closing the rear of said basket, said rear gate extending between the side walls and having means associated with the upper end thereof for hingedly supporting same relative to said side walls for permitting the rear gate to be moved between a closed position wherein it closes off the rear of the basket and an open position wherein the gate swings inwardly and upwardly relative to the basket to permit nesting between baskets of two like carts, said rear gate having a transversely extending structure at the lower free end thereof which abuts said cross member when the gate is in said closed position, said gate also having rod means disposed substantially at the center thereof and extending vertically between the upper and lower edges thereof, the improvement comprising anti-sway means fixedly mounted on the bottom wall of the basket adjacent the center of the rear edge thereof for sidewardly confining said center rod means when said gate is in said closed position, said anti-sway means including a pair of substantially parallel but sidewardly spaced leg portions which are fixed to said cross member adjacent the middle thereof and project forwardly therefrom through only a small extent, said leg portions defining a slot therebetween which opens forwardly toward the front wall of the basket, said leg portions at their forward ends being rounded outwardly away from one another to define a widened flared opening at the open outer end of the slot, said center rod means of said gate being closely sidewardly confined within said slot when said gate is in said closed position, said leg portions being spaced upwardly only a small distance above the bottom wall of the basket, and the transversely extending structure being positioned vertically between said bottom wall and said leg portions when the gate is in said closed position.