U.S. patent number 3,561,567 [Application Number 04/770,042] was granted by the patent office on 1971-02-09 for storage and dispensing system for shopping carts.
Invention is credited to Woody Bradley.
United States Patent |
3,561,567 |
Bradley |
February 9, 1971 |
STORAGE AND DISPENSING SYSTEM FOR SHOPPING CARTS
Abstract
A storage and dispensing system for shipping carts which
utilizes an elongated product display shelf gondola of the type
found in supermarkets and the like modified to include opposite
open and closed ends and an elongated inner compartment therein for
receiving a plurality of such shopping carts through said open end
with powered conveyor means disposed within the gondola having
spaced drive portions individually engageable with the shopping
carts and including control means operationally associated with the
conveyor means for dispensing said shopping carts one at a time
from the open end of the gondola incident to the actuation of the
control means.
Inventors: |
Bradley; Woody (Winton,
CA) |
Family
ID: |
25087295 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/770,042 |
Filed: |
October 23, 1968 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
186/52 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47F
10/04 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47F
10/00 (20060101); A47F 10/04 (20060101); E04h
003/04 () |
Field of
Search: |
;186/1,1.1,1.1C
;214/16.1,16.16A&B,16.16 ;198/37 ;221/13 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hornsby; Harvey C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A storage and dispensing system for shopping carts comprising an
elongated product display shelf gondola as utilized in supermarkets
and the like having opposite open and closed ends and an elongated
inner compartment extended therebetween for receiving a plurality
of such shopping carts therein through said open end of the
gondola; a conveyor disposed within the gondola having an elongated
endless chain providing predetermined upper and lower runs; a
plurality of longitudinally spaced fingers on said chain
individually engageable with said carts within the gondola so as to
space the carts in longitudinally nested relation without wedging;
a pair of spaced rotatable support members respectively disposed
adjacent to said ends of the gondola mounting said chain for
circuitous movement between the ends; power means disposed within
the gondola; drive means drivingly interconnecting said power means
and said rotatable support member adjacent to the closed end of the
gondola motivating the upper run of said chain in a direction
toward said open end of the gondola successively individually to
discharge said carts one at a time from the gondola; and clutch
means disposed between said drive means and said support member at
the closed end of the gondola for interrupting said drive to the
support member permitting unrestricted movement of said upper run
of the chain away from said open end of the gondola incident to the
loading of the compartment with shopping carts with the carts
engaging successive fingers on the chain.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein said power means is a continuously
driven electric motor, said clutch means is a normally open
magnetic clutch, and said control means includes a customer
actuating switch disposed externally upon said open end of the
gondola having operating connection to said magnetic clutch for
activating the same to transmit the drive from the motor to the
conveyor chain for dispensing said carts from the gondola.
3. The system of claim 2 including a limit switch in said control
system disposed within the gondola for engagement by succeeding
carts during movement toward said discharge opening and connected
to said magnetic clutch to deenergize the same for limiting the
discharge to only one cart at a time from the gondola.
4. A storage and dispensing system for shopping carts comprising a
display shelf gondola in a retail store or the like providing an
elongated compartment therein adapted to receive a plurality of
shopping carts in longitudinally extended nested relation and
including a floor, a closed end wall, and an opposite open end wall
having a cart discharge opening therethrough; an elongated endless
conveyor chain having predetermined upper and lower runs
longitudinally extended between said end walls of the gondola and
including a plurality of spaced fingers individually engageable
with said carts to space them within the gondola in said nested
relation without wedging; a pair of spaced rotatable sprockets
respectively disposed adjacent to said end walls of the gondola
supporting said chain for circuitous movement therebetween
immediately above said floor; a continuously driven electric motor
mounted within the gondola; a speed-reducing drive mechanism
interconnecting said motor and said sprocket at the closed end of
the gondola; a magnetic clutch interposed said sprocket and said
speed-reducing drive mechanism; a customer actuating switch
disposed exteriorly upon said open end wall of the gondola and
connected to said clutch to energize the same to travel said upper
run of the chain toward said discharge opening to carry the carts
toward and outwardly through the discharge opening; and a limit
switch disposed within the gondola engageable by succeeding carts
and having electrical connection to said magnetic clutch to
deenergize the same upon such engagement of the limit switch to
interrupt the drive to the conveyor chain until a subsequent
actuation of the customer actuating switch.
5. The system of claim 4 including a pair of elongated laterally
spaced substantially parallel cart wheel guide tracks disposed in
longitudinally extended relation upon the floor within the gondola
with said conveyor chain disposed substantially centrally
therebetween in cart-engaging relation.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The mobile shopping baskets or carts commonly employed in
supermarkets and other retail stores have presented onerous
problems in storing and conveniently dispensing such baskets and
carts to individual customers. Usually, the carts are merely parked
in the aisles between the product display islands or gondolas near
the entrance of the stores which consume valuable floor space that
could be more profitably employed for additional products, displays
or the like. The carts present a safety hazard by their obstruction
of the aisles to customer traffic and require continual attention
by the store's employees to maintain them in some semblance of
ordered arrangement. The carts are disposed in successively
longitudinally nested relation in order to conserve space but
frequently become so tightly wedged that separation is virtually
impossible without the use of appropriate prying tools.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an
improved storage and dispensing system for shopping carts.
Another object is to provide such an improved storage and
dispensing system which enables a plurality of shopping carts to be
stored without consuming any usable floor space within the store so
as to maintain the aisles completely free of obstructions to
customer traffic.
Another object is to provide a storage and dispensing system for
shopping carts of the character described which utilizes the
compartment within the existing product shelf display islands or
gondolas within the store.
Another object is to provide a storage and dispensing system for
shopping carts which is capable of automatically dispensing one
cart at a time from the product display gondola.
Another object is to provide a storage and dispensing system for
shopping carts which stores the carts in longitudinally closely
spaced nonwedging relation to insure their individual discharge
from the gondola.
Another object is to provide a storage and dispensing system for
shopping carts wherein the storage compartment within the gondola
may be easily and conveniently loaded with a plurality of carts and
which requires only a minimum of attention until the compartment is
emptied and ready for reloading.
Another object is to provide a storage and dispensing system for
shopping carts which employs an endless power-driven conveyor
within the gondola having a plurality of spaced drive fingers
individually engageable with the shopping carts disposed therein
and a control mechanism operationally associated therewith which is
actuatable by the customers successively to dispense the carts one
at a time from the storage gondola.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will
subsequently become more clearly apparent upon reference to the
following description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an elongated product display shelf,
island or gondola in an existing installation modified to include
the shopping cart storage and dispensing system of the present
invention.
FIG. 2 is a somewhat enlarged longitudinal vertical section, taken
centrally through the gondola and storage and dispensing system of
FIG. 1, showing a plurality of shopping carts disposed therein with
portions broken away for illustrative convenience.
Fig. 3 is a somewhat enlarged transverse vertical section through
the gondola and storage and dispensing system, taken generally
along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, showing the drive mechanism for the
cart discharge conveyor.
FIG. 4 is a somewhat reduced longitudinal vertical section through
a modified form of the storage and dispensing system of the present
invention which is partially recessed within the floor in order
further to conserve space within the shelf gondola and which is
particularly adapted for new store installations.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring more particularly to the drawings, a storage and
dispensing system for shopping carts is generally indicated by the
reference numeral 10 and is disposed within the inner compartment
11 of an elongated product display shelf, island or gondola 12 of
the type found in most supermarkets, retail stores and the like.
The gondola provides an upper wall 14 which is supported by spaced
substantially upright parallel sidewalls 16 which circumscribe the
storage compartment 11. The gondola further includes opposite open
and closed ends 17 and 18, respectively, with the open end having a
substantially rectangular cart loading and discharge opening 20
formed therein. A plurality of product display shelves 22 are
supported by the side, end and upper walls of the gondola with the
gondola modified from its usual form by the removal of the shelves
at the open end 17 thereof to provide access to the cart storage
compartment 11. The gondola is disposed upon a support surface 23
which provides a floor portion 24 for the storage compartment.
The storage and dispensing system 10 of the present invention
provides a pair of elongated channular cart wheel guide tracks 30
which are mounted by suitable fasteners, not shown, in spaced
substantially parallel relation upon the floor 24 of the storage
compartment 11 within the shelf gondola 12. An elongated cart
discharge conveyor chain 32 having upper and lower runs 33 and 34,
respectively, is disposed substantially centrally of the guide
tracks in spaced parallel relation therewith immediately above the
floor 24 of the storage compartment. The conveyor chain is mounted
for circuitous movement about a pair of oppositely spaced forward
and rearward guide sprockets 35 and 36, respectively. The forward
sprocket is mounted for rotation on a shaft 37 supported by a pair
of spaced brackets 38 secured to the floor closely adjacent to the
cart loading and discharge opening 20 of the gondola. The rearward
guide sprocket 36 is similarly mounted on one-half of an axially
divided rotatable shaft 40 journaled in a pair of spaced brackets
42 secured to the floor adjacent to the closed end 18 of the
gondola. A plurality of idler sprockets and supporting bracket
assemblies 45 are mounted on the floor in longitudinally spaced
relation between the opposite ends of the gondola in supporting
relation to the upper run 33 of the conveyor chain 32. The chain
further includes a plurality of spaced, outwardly extended cart
driving fingers 47.
The conveyor chain 32 is driven by an electric motor 50 which is
mounted in suspended relation from the upper wall 14 of the gondola
12 by a plurality of mounting bolts 52. The motor has a drive
pulley 54 disposed in coplanar relation with a somewhat larger
diameter speed reducing pulley 55 mounted on a shaft 56. The shaft
is rotatably journaled in a bracket 57 secured to the closed end
wall 18 of the gondola substantially midway between the floor 24
and the upper wall 14. A V-belt 58 is trained about the pulleys 54
and 55. A substantially smaller diameter pulley 60 is mounted in
axially spaced relation to the pulley 55 on the mounting shaft 56.
The pulley 60 is disposed in coplanar relation with a larger
diameter further speed reducing pulley 62 mounted in axially spaced
relation with respect to the rearward guide sprocket 36 on the
other half of the drive shaft 40. A V-belt 64 is trained about the
pulleys 60 and 62 to continue transmission of the drive from the
motor 50. A magnetic clutch 66 is mounted on the shaft 40 between
the drive pulley 62 and the drive sprocket 36 and is normally held
in an open position to interrupt the drive from the pulley 62 to
the sprocket 36.
The electric motor 50 is continually running during operation of
the storage and dispensing system with the magnetic clutch 66 being
operated to actuate the conveyor chain 32 to discharge shopping
carts from the gondola. An electrical circuit is provided between a
customer actuating switch 70 mounted on the open end 17 of the
gondola adjacent to the cart loading and discharge opening 20. Such
switch is connected to the magnetic clutch 66 initially to energize
the same for connecting the drive from the motor to the drive
sprocket 36. A limit switch 72 is provided in the circuit and is
mounted on the upper wall 14 of the gondola in depending relation
within the storage compartment 11 for engagement by the next
succeeding shopping cart to be dispensed for deenergizing the
magnetic clutch to insure that only one cart at a time is dispensed
from the gondola. A flexible camming strap 73 is disposed in
covering relation to the limit switch for sliding engagement with
the carts during their travel past the switch for discharge through
the opening 20 in the gondola.
As best shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of conventional shopping carts
75 are adapted to be disposed within the storage compartment 11 of
the shelf gondola 12. The carts individually include an upper
handle portion 76, a forwardly tapering basket portion 77, and a
lower support frame 78 having sets of forwardly and rearwardly
disposed wheels 80 and 82, respectively. The forward wheels are
conventionally of the swiveling caster type whereas the rear wheels
are rotatably mounted on rigid brackets 85 secured to the frame. A
cart bumper bar 87 is transversely extended across the storage
compartment 11 immediately ahead of the conveyor drive belts 58 and
64 and their respective mounting pulleys in order to preclude
engagement of the carts with the drive mechanism from the motor
50.
A second form of the storage and dispensing system is shown in FIG.
4. This form is particularly adapted to original installation into
a new store where the storage compartment can be initially recessed
into the floor to conserve additional space within the gondola. As
shown, this form has a lower partially recessed storage compartment
90 with an upwardly inclined cart delivery portion 91. A conveyor
chain 92 and a motor-driven reduction drive mechanism 94 are
provided which are substantially identical to that of the first
form except for the need of dividing the conveyor chain into two
segments individual to the angularly related portions of the
storage compartment.
OPERATION
The operation of the described embodiments of the subject invention
is believed to be clearly apparent and is briefly summarized at
this point. The storage compartment 11 of the shelf gondola 12 is
manually loaded by successively inserting the shopping carts 75
through the cart loading and discharge opening 20 in the open end
17 thereof. During such loading, the wheels 80 and 82 of the carts
are received and guided through the channular guide tracks 30 with
the front end of their frame 78 engaging the fingers 47 on the
upper run 33 of the conveyor chain 32. During such insertion of the
carts, the conveyor chain is permitted to freewheel and the upper
run thereof motivated in a direction from left to right, as viewed
in FIG. 2. The fingers are spaced to insure nesting of the
successively inserted shopping carts but preclude wedging of the
carts to insure ease of separation and subsequent individual
discharge from the gondola.
After the storage compartment 11 is completely filled with the
shopping carts 75, the electric motor 50 is energized by a
conventional "on," "off" switch, not shown, and is permitted
continually to run throughout the dispensing operation. Inasmuch as
the magnetic clutch 66 is normally open, the motor can, of course,
be initially energized at any time prior to or during the loading
operation since the magnetic clutch permits the described
freewheeling of the conveyor chain for unrestricted loading and
reverse movement of the chain toward the closed end wall 18 of the
gondola.
When a customer desires to have a shopping cart discharged from the
gondola, the customer switch 70 on the open end 17 of the gondola
is pressed to energize the magnetic clutch 66 for transmitting the
drive from the electric motor 50 to the drive sprocket 36. Upon
such actuation, the upper run 33 of the conveyor chain 32 is
motivated in a direction from right to left, as viewed in FIG. 2,
with the fingers 47 thereon carrying the shopping carts toward the
open end 17 of the gondola. The outermost cart is discharged
outwardly through the discharge opening 20 so that the handle
portion 76 thereof is conveniently accessible to the customer for
full extraction of the cart from the storage compartment.
Concurrently, the next succeeding cart is motivated toward the
opening until its handle portion 76 engages the camming strap 73
and the limit switch 72 which is depressed thereby to deenergize
the magnetic clutch 66 for interrupting the drive from the motor to
the conveyor chain 32. The momentum of the drive mechanism and the
conveyor chain carries the succeeding cart past the limit switch so
that the electrical system is preconditioned for a subsequent cart
discharging sequence upon reactivation of the customer switch
70.
In view of the foregoing, it is readily apparent that the structure
of the present invention provides an improved storage and
dispensing system for shopping carts which, by its utilization of
the compartment within the existing shelf gondolas, does not
consume any usable floor space within the store and which is
capable of automatically dispensing one cart at a time from the
gondola to the customers. The shopping carts are conveniently
manually loaded within the gondola in closely spaced, nonwedging
relation with the system requiring a minimum of attention between
the loading operations. The system is readily adapted to existing
shelf gondolas and alternatively may be recessed beneath the floor
of the store in new store installations.
Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what
are conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments,
it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the
scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details
disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims
so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices and apparatus.
* * * * *