Nested cart pusher

A vehicle for moving a plurality of nestable shopping carts while in a nested position, each cart having a plurality of wheels and a frame which includes a pair of vertically extending rear support members which are laterally spaced apart, the vehicle comprising:

• a main body portion;
• a centrally located drive wheel extending below said body portion;
• a motor connected to said drive wheel for propelling said vehicle;
• a caster for supporting a rearward end of said vehicle;
• a wheel assembly located adjacent to and forwardly of said drive wheel, said wheel assembly including a pair of wheels and means for raising and lowering said pair of wheels into and out of engagement with a supporting surface for moving said drive wheel into and out of engagement, respectively with respect to the supporting surface;
• and,
• automatic connecting means for connecting said vehicle to a rearmost one of the nested shopping carts, said connecting means including a pair of laterally spaced latch members attached by bracket means to a forward end of said vehicle, each latch member having a U-shaped guide bar with rearwardly extending inner and outer legs, a latching hook overlying an outer leg of the guide bar, the latching hook having a longitudinally extending portion which is pivotally mounted at a rearward end and a hook portion extending outwardly and rearwardly from a forward end of said longitudinally extending portion, said hook portion having a forwardly facing surface for engaging a respective one of the vertically extending rear support members of the cart and a rearwardly facing surface for retaining the respective rear support member, spring means for biasing the latching hook into a latching position, and a separate cable connected at one end to the forward portion of each hook and at an opposite end to a common actuator ring for permitting simultaneous movement of the latching hooks into a release position.