CA1059046A - Base construction for basket for mass merchandising, handling and display of goods - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A basket, with no movable parts, for holding and dis-playing goods is provided with opposed bails at the upper end and support feet at the lower end, constructed and arranged to provide secure but separable stacking character by a separable interconnection of bails and feet of two sim-ilar baskets, wherein the basket construction effects resilient snap-together and locking of bails and feet to provide a stacking, or columnar, arrangement with great stability. Addi-tional safety means to prevent inadvertent unstacking is pro-vided by cooperating elements on the baskets. Two baskets may be nested, for reducing volume occupied by baskets when stored or shipped, by use of interfitting such baskets in an inverted and offset arrangement that is accommodated by slots defined adjacent basket corners. A base basket and support base com-bination provides a very stable construction, that may have additional baskets stacked in a column upon the base basket, by use of wire elements that are shaped and arranged to interfit for maximizing resistance by the base basket to tipping relative to its support base.

Description

This application is a division of Canadian Serial No.
252,654, filed May 17, 1976.
BASKETS AND SUPPORT TIl~REFOR, FOR MASS
MERCHANDISING, HANDLING AND DISPLAY OF GOODS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a portable container or bin, and more particularly, to a basket which may be stacked upon another basket without obstructing the lading-carrying space of the basket and which may be partially nested or telescoped within another basket to occupy the other basket's lading-carrying space.
There are many types of stackable and nestable baskets available for use with a large variety of products. A common characteristic of these baskets are that they are open-ended or without a top to permit easy accessability. Generally, these baskets are made of sheet material, wire or plastic, in order to provide lightness and visual control of the COII-tents. Engineering and design criteria generally necessitate that the baskets occupy the least possible storage space during nesting, for purpose of storage or shipping, and maximize the lading-carrying space during stacking.
In an effort to achieve nesting, prior art contAiners have heretofore been designed with tapered sidewalls or end walls, resulting in diminished lading-carrying capacity during stacking. It has therefore been found that baskets having a plurality of perpendicular upright walls generally optimize lading-carrying space and capacity during stacking.
However, such basket construction makes nesting difficult.
Stacking'baskets are old as disclosed in U.S. Patents 1,936,164;2,554,232 and 2,662,662. Some stackable baskets have been designed with inwardly or upwardly projecting shoulders for engaging or supporting the bottom frame of another basket.
Others have heretofore sought to provide baskets that selectively nest as well as stack upon each other. Such prior constructions generally have used movable elements 5 :~oS~o46 or geometrical features that permit of alternate use, but stability in such instances normally relies upon gravity of interference between basket wall members. For example see U.S. Patents 2,252,964, 2,931,535, and 3,409,163.
U.S. Patent Nos. 3,039,643, 3,481,507, and 3,622,031 disclose utility in rotating the basket either 90 or 180 about a vertical axis to effect stacking rather than nesting.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
_ _ _ It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, stackable basket which is constructed and arranged to snap-fit and interlockingly stack upon another basket.
To this end, the end walls of the stackable basket are arranged vertically and generally perpendicularly to a plane defined by the basket bottom with each of the end walls including an endless loop-like peripheral frame providing upper and lower end runs. Stacking means in the form of a resilient U-shaped bail and resilient shoulder-defining feet are provided in each of the end walls, with the bail extending above the upper run and portions of feet extending below the lower run, so that during stacking the feet of one basket enter the bail of another basket and snap-fittingly engage the other basket's upper run, as the shoulders of one basket interlockingly and resiliently engage the bail of the other basket.
Another object of this invention is to provide baskets having improved safety features for preventing the basket from tipping over when a downward force is applied to tlle front rim of the basket.
Still a further objec-t of this invention is to provide (l) a nestable basket construction of improved character,

(2) where the nesting character is not achieved at the ex-pense of the lading-carrying capacity of the basket, or at 1059~46 s the expense of the ability of nested baskets to be readily separated, (3) where the nesting character is ma~imized to the extent that loss of vertical space during nesting is at a minimum, (4) where the nesting character is accomplished simply by turning one basket upside down relative to the basket beneath and then.shifting the baskets laterally of each other so that the end walls of the two baskets are in adjacent planes, (5) where the nesting character includes slideways or slots provided in each of the basket's end walls for receiving a side wall of the other basket and (6) where the nesting character assures nesting without jamming.
These objects are attained by the invention which contemplates a stacking basket construction wherein the basket includes spaced upright end walls extending upwardly from a basket bottom, with the end walls of similar stacked baskets being substantially vertically aligned, and frame means for each end wall defining substantially horizontal upper and lower frame runs such that a lower run of an upper basket is positioned vertically adjacent an upper run of a lower basket when the baskets are stacked. The construction comprises, in combination, resilient upright stacking means fixedly secured to each end wall frame means including an elongated inverted U-shaped bail extending above the upper frame run and inclined outwardly therefrom, and at least one depending foot disposed in substantially vertical alignment beneath the bail and spanning a horizolltal distance less than the minimum interior length of the bail. The foot extends beneath the lower frame run and is cantilevered slightly outward therefrom and carries an outwardly-projecting shoulder element above the lower frame run so that the foot of one basket may enter the bail of another basket and be snap-fittingly engaged lOS9046 therewith. The foot engages the other basket's upper run on the outer side thereof with another portion of the foot engaging the bight of the bail on its inner side thereof and with the shoulder element of the one basket interlockingly resiliently engaging the underside of the bail of the other basket so as to provide a substantially rigid, snap-together, stacking assemblage.
In another embodiment the invention contemplates a nesting basket construction wherein the basket includes a basket bottom, spaced upright side walls, and spaced, substantially vertical end walls. This construction comprises in combination, upright slot-defining means provided in each of the end walls, adjacent the uppermost ends of one side wall for slidably-receiving the upper end of the other side wall of a similar-type basket during nesting. Thus, when two such baskets are inverted by rotation of 180 about a longitudinal axis parallel to the basket bottom and are shifted laterally so that the end walls of two baskets are in adjacent planes, the two baskets may be partially telescoped into a nesting relation-ship.
In a further embodiment, the invention contemplates a tier of stacked baskets wherein each basket includes a basket bottom, spaced upright side walls and spaced, sukstantially vertical end walls with stacking means thereon. The tier includes, in combination, a base basket, the side walls of which each include horizontal frame means above the basket bottom and a support base including upright resilient bail means for snap-fitting, interlocking engagement with the horizontal frame means of the base basket.

1059(~46 In a still further embodiment, the invention contemplates a tier of stacked baskets wherein each basket is stacked on and held in position by a basket therebelow, the lower basket of the tier being a base basket that is supported on a support base, and wherein each basket includes a basket bottom, spaced upright side walls and spaced, substantially vertical end walls with stacking means thereon for cooperative engagement with a basket thereabove.
The tier includes, in combination, a base basket having side walls which each include a plurality of spaced upright wires extending upwardly from the basket bottom, a horizontal frame means secured to the side walls and spaced above the basket bottom and extending outwardly of the side walls of the basket, and a support base including upright resilient bail means thereon for snap-fitting, releasable, interlocking engagement with the outwardly extending horizontal frame means of the base basket.

. -4a-lOS9(~46 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a double dolly supporting two base baskets and a plurality of stackable baskets arranged in stacking relationship;
FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic end view of Figure 1 illustrating different size stackable baskets;
FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a single dolly supporting a base basket and a plurality of stackable baskets arranged in stacking relationship;
FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of two stackable baskets in preparation for nesting;
FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective end-view of two stackable baskets positioned in nesting relationship;
FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective end-view of two stackable baskets in stacking relationship;
FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary front view of a stackable basket with a wire divider or partition;
FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary end view of a stackable basket with a wire divider or partition taken substantially along line 8-8 of Figure 7;
FIGURE 9 illustrates in solid line an end view of a stackable basket and in broken line or phantom a fragmentary portion of another stackable basket in stacking relationship therewith;
FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary rearward view of a stackable basket taken substantially along line 10-10 of Figure 9;

~059046 FIGURE 11 is an end view of a base basket in accordance - with principles of the present invention;
FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary rearward view of a base basket taken substantially alony line 12-12 of Figure 11;
FIGURE 13 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the single capacity dolly shown in Figure 3;
FIGU~E 14 is an end view of the single capacity dolly;
FIGURE 15 is a front elevational view of the single capacity dolly;
FIGUR~ 16 is a top plan view of the double capacity dolly shown in Figure l; and FIGURr. 17 is a front elevational view of the double capa-city dolly.

DETAIL~D DESCRIPTION OF TIIE ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT
Stackable Baskets Referring now to the drawings, Figure 6 shows two iden-tical wire baskets, or bins, stacked one u~on the other, while Figure 5 shows two identical baskets nested. Since the baskets are identical, the same numerals will be used to describe iden-tical elements of the basket. To distinguish the baskets, the top basket will sometimes be referred to as the "A" basket, and the lower basket will sometimes be called "B" basket. As seen in tile figures, the basket is generally indicated at 20 and includes a generally rectangular basket bottom 22 defilled by a grid of cross wires that are welded together at their point of contact. One set of wires of the grid may be part of the wires that form the vertical end walls 2~ and 26 of the basket, and another set may include portions of the wires that form the upright front and rear sidçwalls 28 and 30, respectively, of the basket.

lOS9046 In tlle particular construction illustrated, the front wall is inclined outwardly from the basket bottom and is of a lesser vertical height than the vertical rear wall and end walls so as to define an access opening into the interior lading-carrying space of the basket, the top edge of the front wall being defined by the forward run or rail 32 of an end-less, generally horizontal frame member 34, which is of a larger gauge size and dimension than the cross wires of the basket bottom. The horizontal frame member serves to ricjidify and strengthen the upright walls of the basket, with the ends of the forward rail bent to extend horizontally and continually across the end walls, until reaching the rear wall where they extend generally upright to provide the ends 36 and 38 of the rear wall. The horizontal frame member further includes a rearward run or rail 40 horizontally interconnecting the uppcr-most ends of the rear wall to provide the rear wall's top edge.
A second rigidifying frame member 42, of a similar gauge size as the horizontal frame member, defines a horizontal loop-like rib extending along the upright walls of the basket at a position slightly above the basket bottom. The 1OW-~r rigidif~
ing frame member 42 is formed by an endless or continuous wire, as does the horizontal frame member, and is located in A hori-zontal plane spaced parallel and below a horizontal plane de-fined by the end portions and forward rail of tlle horizontal frame member.
In the illustrative embodiment, the rear wall includes a series of equally spaced, parallel, vertical wires 44 located generally along aliquot horizontal sub-portions of the rear wall, each of the vertical wires being welded to the inner surfaces of the horizon-tal frame member 34 and the lower `\
1059~46 rigidifying frame member 42 and turned inwardly and horizon-tally along the basket bottom at 46 until reachinc3 the front wall where it is inclined upwardly at 48 to the height of the forward rail or upper front edge 32. The inclined wires of the front wall are welded to the inner surfaces of the horizontal frame member 34 and the lower rigidifying frame mcmber 42 and lie in a common vertical plane witll the rearward vertical wires 44. ' The vertical wires of the rear wall may also include a pair of parallel, closely adjacent vertical wires 44a and 44b, lying in a common vertical plane with a pair of parallel, closely adjacent inclined wires, 48a and 48b, respectively, of the front wall so as to provide means for receiving a wire partition or divider S0. Each of the partition-receivill(J vertical wirc~ and is inclined wires are bent inward to define and carry an inwardly-projecting shoulder element 52 and are located longitudinally between and parallel to the end walls. In the illustrative embodiment the vertical wires 44a and 44b and the inclined wires 48a and 48b generally vertically biscct ~lle ~ron~ and rcar w.llls, so that the wire partition or divider 50 will sub-divide the lading-carrying space into two generally equal sub-compartments, but it is to be understood that these wires could be located closer to one end wall than the other.
Referring now to the end walls 24 and 26, an irregularly-shaped vertically elongated wire loop of a gauge size and dim-ension similar to the horizontal frame mcmbcr 34 is wcldcd to the end portions of horizontal frame member and the lower rigid-ifying frame member 42, so as to define an u~ricJht, peripheral end frame member 54 or 56 which is bent to provide an upper horizontal end runner 58, providing the upper edge of the end wall, and a lower horizontal end runller 60 descen~ing below the basket bottoM to provide the lcwer edge of the end wall.
The upper and lower horizontal runners lie generally in a common vertical plane with both .he horizontal frame member and the lower rigidif~ing frame member, with the forward end of the upper horizontal runner turned and inclined downwardly toward the upper edge and corner of the front wall. Thc for-ward end of the lower horizontal runner is also turned and inclined upwardly toward the upper edge and corner of the front wall to form a rounded apex 62 welded to the outer sur-face of the horizontal frame member 34 adjacent said upper edge and corner. Rearwardly, the upper and lower horizontal runners are bent to provide an upright generally-vertical rearward extension 64 extending above upper edge 40 of the rear wall and welded to the outer,rearward side of the horizontal frame mem-ber.
An important feature of this invention is that the upright extensions 64 are spaced forwardly of the rear wall and coop-erate with the endwise elements and the upright rearward ele-ments 36 and 38 of the horlzolltal frame mem~er 3~ so as to define a pair of downwardly extendillg slots or slideways 66 and 6~ in the end walls. The vertical extent and forward edge of each slot is defined by that portion of the upright rear-ward extension 64 extending above the horizontal frame member 34. The botton~ost extent of each slot is formed by a horizon-tal bight portion 70 provided by the endwisc clemcllts of the horizontal frame member extending rearwardly of thc upri~Jht rearward extension 64, while the upright rearward edge of each slot is defined by the end or upright rearward elements 36 or 38 of the rear wall. The horizontal spacing or span between 1059~46 the upright extension 64 and the rear wall is slightIy greater than the thickness o the upper end of the front sidewall 28 and defines the horizontal s~an of the slot.
Mo,,re particularly, the upright extension is spaced from the ends 36 and 38 of the rear wall at a distance slightly greater than the horizontal traces formed by the projection of the inclined wires 48 of the front wall extending above the lower rigidifying frame member 42 upon a horizolltal plalle coinciding with the lower rigidifying frallle mcmber. rl`hus, eacll slot is of a size and dimension to receive the upper end of the front wall of another basket "B" during nesting.
The left-hand end wall 24 (as viewed looking toward the front wall) includes a series of parallel vertical wires 72 which are welded along aliquot horizontal sub-portions of tlle inner surfaces of the upper horizontal end runner 58, the hor-izontal frame member 34 and the lower rigidifying frame member 42. These vertical end wires 72 are of a similar gauge,size a'nd dimension as the upright side wires 44 and are turned to long-itudinally extend along the underside of the basket bottom, until reaching the rig}lt-iland end wall wllele the wires are bent upward to provide a set of vertical end wires 74 along the right-hand end wall 26.
An important feature of this invention is tllat each cnd , wall 24 and 26 is provided with an inverted vertically-elongated U-shaped resilient wire-frame member 76 whose upper bigllt defines a U-shaped horizontally-elon~ated bail 78 and whose legs B0 and 82 diverge downwardly to provide a pair of upright reverse-bent U-shaped feet 84 and 86 extending beneath the lower rigidifying frame member 42. The feet are deformed or bent outwardly at a point slightly above the basket bottom ~OS9~346 .

and below the lower rigidifyin~ frame member to provide outwardly-extending shoulders 88. Preferably, the inverted U-shaped end member 76 is formed of wire havil-~c3 some sprinc3-.
like elasticity or resilience and is of a c3auge, size and dimension similar to the peripheral end members 56 and the horizontal frame member 34. The inclined legs 89 and 82 of the U-shaped end member lie generally in a common vertical plane and are welded to the outer surfaces of the peripheral end frame member's upper runner 58 as well as the endwise elements of the horizontal and lower rigidifying frame mem-bers 34 and 36.
In the embodiments shown, the bail is positioned slightly closer the rear wall than the front wall and spans about 3/5ths the length of the peripheral end frame's upper runner 58. The bail itself extends above the upper runner 58 and is inclincd slightly outwardly thereof so as to lie vertically above the feet 84 and 86.
Tlle legs 80 and 82 of the U-shaped frame member 76 are tapered or inclined so that the maximum exterior length of the feet spans a distance less thall the interior lcn-~th of the bail. The unattached end of cach foot is ill ~cllcral horizontal alignment with the outwardly-extending shoulders 88 and are spaced intermediate the lcgs of the U-shaped frame member, with each foot being welded to the outer surface of the peripheral end member's lower runner 60 so that the lowermost extent of the foot extends below the lower runller, while the shoulder element 88 is located above thc lower runner. The lowermost extent of each foot is cantilevered and inclilled slightly outwardly of thc lower runller so as to snap-fittingly engage the upper runner 58 of another basket "A"
during stacking.

~L059~46 Referring now to the rear sidewall 30, a rearward continuous or endless irregularly-shaped vertically-elongated wire-frame member 90 defines a safety or stability-enhancing loop-like frame whose upper end or bight provides an inverted, horizontally-elongated U-shaped rearward bail ~2 witll depelld-inq inclined legs 93 converging downwardly to provide a lower, inwardly-extending horizontal bail or hooked foot 94 beneath the basket bottom in general horizontal alignme;lt witll the lower end runners 58 and 60. The upper rearward bail extends above the upper edge of the rear wall and is inclined slightly inward to lie generally in a common vertical plane with the upper edge or rearward horizontal runner 40 of the horizontal frame member 34. The leg elements 93 of the rearward frame 90 are welded to the outer surfaces of the upper rearward horizontal runner 40 as well as rearward portions of the lower rigidifying frame member 42. These leg elements are located generally in a common upright plane along central portions of the rear wall and extend below the lower rigidify-ing frame member 42 and basket bottom, so that the hooked foot 94 has an external longitudinal length sliglltly less tllall the interior longitudillal length of the rear~ard bail 92.
In the illustrative embodiment, the endless or contilluous rearward frame member '~0 is formed by bending an elongated wire into an irregular loop-like configuration and butt-welding or joining the ends of the loop toc3ether. The loops comprising the peripheral end frame members 54 and 56 as well as the horizontal and rigidifying frame members 34 and 42 can bc formed in a similar manllc!r.
In order to stack the baskets upon each other, the upper basket A is first vertically aligned abovc lower basket B, so that the hooked foot 94 and downwardly-extending end feet 84 and 86 of upper basket respectively enters the con-fines of the interior space defined by the respective rear-ward and endwise bails 92 and 78 of the lower basket. After this is accomplished, the next step in stacking is to move the baskets A and B toward each other with suf~icient force so that the lower end runs 60 of the upper basket contact the upper end runs 58 of the lower basket. Such inter press-fittlng action between the baskets A and B will cause the end feet 84 and 86 of the upper basket to snap-~ittil1-~ly en-gage against the outer surfaces of the upper el1d runs of tl1e lower basket while the outwardly projecting shoulders 88 carried by the end feet of the upper basket snap-fittingly interlocks and supports the inward underside of the side bails 78 of the lower basket. Such interaction will further cause the crotch of the upper basket's rearwaL-d hoo~e-l foot 94 to engage the outer surface of the lower basket's rearward, upright bail 92. Stacking between two baskets is now com-plete. Such interaction between foot 94 and bail 92 provides a safety feature deterring separation of an upper basket from its support, such as the lower basket, wl1el1 a downward force is applied to the front rim of the up~er basket.
The stacked baskets form a substantially rigid stacked assemblage which substantially prevents relative shifting between the stacked baskets both laterally and in front to rear directions. Such an assemblage, furthermore, enables the lower basket to be carried by the upper basket when the upper basket is lifted off the ground. It can be appreciated that numerous baskets can be stacked upon each other in 1.his manner. Furthermore, different size/capacity baskets, such as 20a in Figure 2, can bc stacked UpOI1 eacl1 o-l1er in this manner. The stacked basket can be removed from a stacked 1059(~46 position by reversing the aboveforesaid procedure.
Another advantage of the particular basket construction, is that during stacking, the lading-carryin-3 intelior S~ C~
afforded by the stacked bas]cets are enlarged. The vcrtical extent of this enlarged interior space is dependent on the vertical extent o the peripheral end frame member 54 and 56 extending below the basket bottom.
In order to nest a pair of baskets as seen in the Fig-ures 4 and 5, the upper basket is rotated about a longitudinal axis parallel to the basket bottom to an inverted position and is shifted or maneuvered laterally so that the end walls of the upper basket are in adjacent planes and offset from the end walls of the lower basket. The upper basket is then lowered into the lower basket so that each basket substantially lS occupies the interior lading-carrying space of the other bas-ket. When the baskets are in the nested position, the par-tially telescoping basket assemblage is arranged to provide a left-hand pair of end walls and a right-llalld pair of end walls, one of each pair belonging to the upper basket and the other belonging to the lower basket and with the innermost end wall at one end of the nesting basket belonging to the lower basket and the other innermost end wall of the ncsting basket belong-ing to the upper basket. During nestincJ the innermost inverted end wall of the upper basket cooperates with the lower basket such that the upper basket's innermost endwise bail 78 engages and is supported by the lower basket's bottom wall 22, concom-itantly, as the upper basket's innermos-t slot 66 or 68 receives the upper end of the lower basket's front wall 28. Concurrelltly, during nesting, the innermost upright slot of the lower bas-ket receives the upper end of the upper basket's inverted ~osso46 front wall, as the lower basket~s innermost end bail engages and supports the upper basket's bottom wall. ~hus, the vol-ume occupied by a pair of baskets can be substantially reduced --when storing or transporting the baskets by nesting the bas--kets in inverted relationship to each other.

Base Basket While a plurality of stackable baskets 20 can be stacked upon each other, it is generally desirable that the bottommost, or base, basket be constructed without downwardly extending feet. Thus, the lowermost basket in a column or tier of stacked baskets is preferably a base basket 96 as best shown in Figures 11 and 12.
The base basket 96 is substantially identical with the stacking baskets 20, heretofore described, witll similar parts being identified with similar numerals. There docs exist, however, some differences between the base basket 96 and the stacking basket 20. First, the inverted U-shaped end frame member 98 along each end wall of the base basket does not ex-tend below the lower end runner 100 so that the base basket does not include end feet 84 and 86 nor need it include out-wardly extending shoulder elements such as 88 as foulld in the stacking basket 20. Similarly, the rearward frame member 99, of the base basket does not descend below the lower rigid-ifying frame 42, thereby eliminating the rearward hooked foot 94.
Furthermore~ in the base basket 96, tl~e l~wer el~d rullllel-s 100 extend to a horizontal position intcrmediatc thc front of the basket bottom 22 and the top edge 32 of the front wall 28 with the forward tips of the lower end runner turned upward to 10~46 provide forwardly vertical end extensions 102 joining the apex of the peripheral end frame member 103, the forward upright extension 102 lying generally in a conunon plane Witi - and is parallel to the rearward upric3ht extension 69 of the peripheral end frame member 103t secause of the increascd length of the lower end runners 100, the lower end runners serve to increase resistance to the base basket 96 tipping over when the front side wall 28 is subjected to a downward load, such as when a child stands UpOII the upper rail 32 of the front wall.
The base basket further includes a horizontal wire-frame element 105 along each end wall 24 and 26 welded to the inner surfaces of the forward and rearward upward extensions 102 and 64 of the peripheral end frame member 103, and positioned generally horizontally at a height coincidill-3 witll the pOillt where the forward upright extensions 102 intersect thc front wall.
The endwise and rearward upright bails, 78 and 92, of the base basket cooperate with the endwise and rearward ~eet 84 and 94 of a stackable basket 20 to achieve stacking in a manner similar to the stacking solcly betwcon sta~k.l~le bas-kets. Nesting between a pair of base baskets is also accom-plished in a manner similar to the nesting of the stackable baskets 20.

_he _artition In order to separate the lading carrying space of the basket into two compartments a wire divider or partition 50 may be provided to fit into the vertical partition receiving wires 44a and 44b of the rearwall 30 and into the inclined 1~59~46 partition~receiving wires 48a and 48b of the front wall 28.
The periphery of the partition or divider is generally of the same shape and gauge as the peripheral end frame member - 56 of the end wall. The peripheral or divider wire-frame member 108 is slightly thicker or greater than the horizontal spacing of the vertical wires 44a and 44b and the inclined wires 48a and 48b, so that the parti-tion or divider snaps into and out of the partition-receivinq wires of the basket.
The divider can be inserted into the basket to form two separate compartments or can be removed from the basket to provide a unitary non-compartmentalized lading-carrying space.
The peripheral frame member 108 includes upper and lower rails 110 and 112 substantially equal in length to the horizontal endwise extent of the basket bottom 22. A
set of parallel, vertical partition wires 11~ of a gau~e, size and dimension similar to the cross wires of tlle basket bottom are welded along aliquot sub-portions of one side of the upper and lower rails 110 and 112. When positioned, the partition 50 is substantially parallel to the cnd walls 24 and 26 of the basket.
It is to be understood, of course, that the basket can be constructed and designed to accommodate more than one partition along pre-selected intervals of the lading-carrying space to provide a multitude of compartments.

Basket-Supporting Dollies For conveniently moving a tier of stacked haskets, the base basket 96 may preferably be mounted upon a mobile sup-port or dolly 116 or 118, Figs. 1 and 16 illustrate a wide 10590~6 dolly 116 capable of having two base baskets positioned thereon, end-to-end, while Figs, 3 and 13 illustrate a dolly 118 for a single base basket. As the goods in the basket are to be pxesented to the customers through the open front wall thereof, reference to the various sides of the dollies herein described follow the corresponding reference to sides of the baskets.
Referring to Figure 13, each single dolly 118 includes a pair of forwardly and rearwardly elongated, longitudinal loop-like wire frames 120 and 122, that are spaced in par-allel relationship to each other. The forwardly and rear-wardly wire frames 120 and 122 each include a pair of parallel elongated legs comprising an inwardly-positioned longitudinal leg 124 and an outwardly-positioned longitudinal leg 126. The ends of the legs are interconnected and turned upward to pro-vide substantially vertical bail-like retainers 128 and 130, to be located outwardly of, but adjacent, the end walls of the base baskets positioned on the dolly frame.
The forwardly and rearwardly wire frames are rigidly interconnected by and supporting carry two pairs of parallel endwise cross-wires 132 and 134 positioned inward of the bail-like retainers 128 and 130. The cross-wires extend across and are welded to the top surfaces of the frame legs 124 and 126 to fixedly carry four support plates 136 for carrying downwardly-extending casters 138, one caster plate and one wheel being located adjacent each corner of the dolly.
Positioned parallel to the forward and rearward frame legs are a pair of sidewise longitudinal wire elements 140 spaced adjacent the outward longitudinal frame legs 124.
The wire elements are welded to the top surfaces of the ~059046 .~
cross-wires 130 and 132 and terminate adjacent the bail-like end retainers 128 and 130.
Welded to the top surfaces of the inward lon~itudi frame legs 1'4 is a crosswise loop~like wire frame 142 positioned between the pairs of cross-wires 132 and 134.
The crosswise frame defines a pair of transverse parallel crosswise legs 144 which extend to a position inward of the sidewise longitudinal elements 140. The crosswise legs have ends turned upward to provide forwardly and rearwardly side bails 146 and 148. Each of the side bails are inclilled slightly inwardly to provide portions that cooperate with side portions of the lower rigidifying frame member 42 adja-cent the front and rear walls of the base baskets.
The wire-like parts of the single capacity dolly should be of a wire gauge, size and dimensioll sufficient to support the weight of a column of baskets. When it is desired to accommodate two columns of tiered baskets in side-by-side relationship, a mobile double-capacity dolly 116 may be pro-vided as shown in Figs. 1 and 16. The mobile double dolly is substantially similar to the single dolly 118 except the sides 150 and forwardly and rearwardly loop-li~e wire frames 152 and 154 are longer to accommodate two base baskets. The double dolly further includes two crosswise loop-like wire frames 156 and 158 spaced parallel to each other intermediate the endwise crosswires 160 and 162 so as to provide two sets of forwardly and rearwardly side bails 164 and 166, one set for each base basket. The double dolly shown in Figure 16 further includes a central pair of cross-wires 168 between the two crosswise wire frames 156 and 158 to fixedly carry another pair of caster wheels 170 so that the double dolly is lOS9046 provided with six wheels. When desired the double dolly may include eight caster wheels as shown in Figure 1.
~mong the advantages of the mobile stac~ 3 assemblac~e are:
1. From one to five stackable baskets may be tiered on a base basket for increased versatility in store layout and merchandising.
2. The baskets secure together with substantial sta bility without tools or special attachin~ hardware.

3. The mobile basket module does not require shelving for supporting the baskets.

4. Multi-tiered baskets permit the transporting of merchandise on mobile display units directly from storeroom to the selling area, thereby eliminating piece-by-piece stock-ing and costly multiple handling.

5. The mobile stacked assemblage makes it easier and faster for stockers to replenish displays without the use of stock trucks congesting the aisles

6. The press-fit construction of the baskets insures rigidity and stability of the stacked baskets while moving or in position for display. Furthermore the mobile stackable baskets permit interchangeability and flcxibility of display.

7. An inverted U-shaped sign holder of extruded scratch resistant plastic or the like may engagingly hook the front wall s top edge or horizontal frame member of the stackable or base basket and include an elongated readily-visible pocket of transparent plastic for displaying a price tag product identification or inventory code from t:he basket's front walls to avoid when desired individual marking or pricing of the merchandise in the basket. I~hen desired a rectangular self-1~59~146 clamping display frame may be attached to the front wall's top edge in either an upward or inverted position for hold-ing a rectangular sign or the like.
It will ~e appreciated that numerous changes and modi fications can be made to the embodiments shown herein witll-olt departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

Claims (4)

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a tier of stacked baskets wherein each basket is stacked on and held in position by a basket therebelow, the lower basket of said tier being a base basket that is supported on a support base, and wherein each basket includes a basket bottom, spaced upright side walls and spaced, sub-stantially vertical end walls with stacking means thereon, for cooperative engagement with a basket thereabove, the im-provement comprising, in combination:
the base basket having side walls which each include a plurality of spaced upright wires extending upwardly from said basket bottom, a horizontal frame means secured to the side walls and spaced above the basket bottom and extending out-wardly of said side walls of the basket, and a support base including upright resilient bail means thereon for snap-fitting, releasable, interlocking engagement with said outwardly extending horizontal frame means of the base basket.

2. A construction as in Claim 1 wherein the support base includes a plurality of upright end bails for position-ing adjacent the end walls of the base basket and cooperating with said basket end walls for substantially preventing relative endwise lateral movement between the base basket and the support base.

3. A construction as in Claim 2 wherein the support base is part of a mobile dolly having a plurality of wheels extending below the upright end bails.

4. A construction as in Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3 wherein the end walls of said base basket each includes an elongated horizontal end runner extending forwardly of and below the basket bottom, and upon which the basket is supported to enhance the stability of said base basket.