GB2452915A

GB2452915A - Shopping trolley moving device

Info

Publication number: GB2452915A
Application number: GB0718159A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dean Rolland
Original assignee: SYMONDS HYDROCLEAN Ltd
Current assignee: SYMONDS HYDROCLEAN Ltd
Priority date: 2007-09-18
Filing date: 2007-09-18
Publication date: 2009-03-25
Also published as: GB0718159D0

Abstract

A sled 2, in the form of a dolly or cart, for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys 4 is pedestrian maneuverable and is arranged and configured to raise the casters of the trolleys off the ground during transportation. The trolleys 4 may be supported by a rigid fixed-height platform. The sled 2 may be steered by a tiller 12 and steerable wheel 14, and include or be releaseably attached to a motive power unit 18, which may be controlled remotely from the steering position. Ridges 6 may be provided on the bed to locate the trolleys 4.

Description

Trolley Sled The present invention relates to a sled suitable for the transport of trolleys or carts, in particular trolleys for the use in supermarket environments.

With the increasing size of shopping complexes and supermarkets, there has been an increased demand on the number of trolleys required. Furthermore, as the size of the shopping complex and/or supermarket increases, so does the area for the customers vehicles to be parked and, as such, the distances over which trolleys move is increased.

Trolleys are therefore abandoned at various places around a supermarket's car park or, alternatively, are dropped back at specific collection points. The supermarket or shopping complex generally employs attendants to collect the abandoned trolleys and take them back to collection point at or near the supermarket or shopping complex entrance. The attendant generally moves a great number of shopping trolleys at once through their interaction with one another whereby a pivotally mounted back portion is provided such that the front of the next trolley may locate within the rear of the previous trolley. A long line of trolleys is then moved around the car park to the desired location.

A significant problem associated with moving trolleys in this way is that the castors on which the trolleys move get damaged during transit of the trolley. This is generally due to the uneven nature of the car park surfaces and additionally the force put on each castor as a result of the weight when changing direction. There is also the added danger of an attendant hitting either a person or a vehicle with the long line of interconnected trolleys.

There have been various arrangements proposed to overcome this problem such as, for example, the disclosure of US4902 188, which discloses a driveable vehicle which is arranged to carry a number of trolleys or carts on a rear-loading bed. However, it will be appreciated that such a vehicle is complex, and furthermore requires the user to have passed various tests in order to comply with regulations. Furthermore, the arrangement as disclosed in US4902 188 utilises having a bed having a mechanical leverage mechanism which raises and lowers the tray as required. The present invention aims to overcome a number of the problems associated with such an arrangement.

According to the present invention, there is a pedestrian manoeuvrable sled for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the sled being arranged and configured to enable the castors of the trolleys to be raised off the ground during transportation.

The sled is preferably pedestrian manoeuvrable. A significant benefit of such an arrangement is that the sled can be pedestrian controlled rather than being a sit-on vehicle.

Known sled tugs may be utilised to push the sled, under the control of an attendant.

The sled preferably comprises a sled bed on which the trolleys are supported. The sled bed is arranged to support the castors of the trolleys, thereby preventing excess wear of the castors.

The sled beneficially includes a ramp arranged to enable the trolleys to be manoeuvred onto and off the bed. The ramp is preferably retractable. The ramp in the retracted configuration is arranged to retain the trolleys on the bed.

The bed is a rigid structure, and is preferably manufactured of a lightweight rigid material such as aluminium.

The sled wherein the bed is positioned at a substantially fixed height relative to the ground.

The sled preferably comprises a first end being arranged to be connected to a direction control device.

The direction control device preferably comprises a tiller connected to a wheel, the wheel and tiller arranged to enable steering of the sled. The tiller enables an attendant to direct the sled as required.

The sled bay preferably includes a profile including at least one protrusion to separate respective lines of nested trolleys on the sled bay. At least one protrusion will prevent a nested line of trolleys from coming into contact with a second line of nested trolleys.

Alternatively, and/or in addition, the sled bed may comprise two protrusions, each protrusion arranged to guide the trolley, and acting to prevent relative movement between bed and trolley during movement of the sled. These protrusions may be shaped and configured such that the front wheels of the trolley locate at either side of the protrusion.

The sled may comprise a motive power unit for causing movement of the sled.

Alternatively, a second end of the sled may be arranged to be releasably coupled to a motive power unit. A motive power unit acts to provide motion to the sled bed.

The wheel is beneficially arranged to support the first portion of the bed. Means are preferably provided to support the second portion of the sled bed. The means to support the sled may beneficially comprise at least two wheels.

The means to support the sled may alternatively comprise a retractable support.

The sled preferably further comprises control means arranged to control activation of the motive power unit. The sled may further comprise control means enabled to activate the motive power unit remotely.

Also according to the present invention, there is a system for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the system comprising: (i) a sled for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the sled being arranged and configured to enable the castors of the trolleys to be raised off the ground during transportation; (ii) a motive power unit; (iii) a direction control device for the sled positioned remotely from the motive power unit.

The motive power unit is preferably releasably connectable to the sled at a first end.

The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which; Figure la is a schematic perspective view of a sled according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, together with a sled tug.

Figure lb is a plan view of a sled according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including a sled tug.

Figure Ic is a schematic side view of a sled according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, including a sled tug.

Figure 2 is a schematic end view of the profile of the sled according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures la-c and Figure 2, three different views of the sled according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are indicated, the sled comprising a bed 2, which is shaped and configured to support a plurality of shopping trolleys 4. As can be seen with respect to Figure 2 in particular, the bed may have a profile comprising two protrusions 6, arranged such that the forward wheels of the trolleys locate either side of the protrusions 6. Alternatively, a single protrusion 6 may be located at the central portion of the bed 2 which is arranged to prevent the two lines of trolleys coming into contact. This prevents contact, whilst also enabling the castors to run freely on the sled bed 2. In the exemplary embodiment, indicated in Figure 2, some disruption of the running of the castors may occur. Side protrusions 8 are provided which communicate with the rearward wheels of each trolley and also act to protect the wheels of the trolley from the outside elements and in particular from contacting anything when the sled itself is being moved. The bed 2 is generally made of aluminium due to aluminium exhibiting suitable properties of being lightweight and corrosion resistant, however, any materials showing these properties would

be equally suitable.

The forward portion of the sled includes an angled support 10 arranged to communicate with a tiller 12 and a forward wheel 14. The angled support 10 is arranged to extend from substantially the mid point of the bed 2 enabling the provision of a single forward wheel 14 only. The tiller 12 is arranged to be a suitable height for grasping by an attendant. The tiller 12 communicates with a fork which is rotatably mounted relative to the angled support 10 by one or more bearings sets, such that rotation of the tiller 12 causes rotation of the front wheel 14.

Referring to the rearward area of the sled, there may be rearward wheels 16 mounted with respect to the bed 2. The rearward wheels act to maintain, in conjunction with the forward wheel 14, the bed 2 in a raised configuration. In one embodiment of the present invention, a motive power unit is located in or on the sled to cause movement of the sled. In a preferred embodiment, a sled tug 18, as known in the art, is arranged to couple to the bed 2 via any releasable connection means. The sled tug 18 may be an electric-powered arrangement configured to be operated by the attendant either via remote or wired control.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the rearward wheels 16 may be removed and instead a support provided in order to raise the bed 2 off the ground. The forward wheels of the sled tug 18 may then perform the same function as the rearward wheels of the sled.

The support (not shown) that may be provided for the sled bed 2 may be retractable arms for example and may have, for example, castors located at the distal end thereof. An advantage of this embodiment of the present invention is that the components required to manufacture the sled are reduced, thereby reducing associated costs.

In use, an attendant grasps the tiller arm 12 and directs the sled as required. The sled tug 18 acts to cause the bed 2 to move, and can be activated by a control on the tiller 12 for example, or alternatively may be activated by a wired or wireless remote control unit. The coupling mechanism may or may not enable rotation between the sled tug 18 and sled bed 2 as required. When trolleys 4 are manoeuvred onto or off the bed 2, ramps are provided (not shown) at the forward end of the bed 2 that enable the trolleys to be pushed onto the bed 2 or off as necessary. These ramps (not shown) are arranged to lift to a raised configuration to prevent the trolleys sliding off the bed 2 during transportation.

The present invention has been described by way of example only and it will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that modifications and variations may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of protection afforded by the appended claims.

Claims

Claims: 1. A sled for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the sled being arranged and configured to enable the castors of the trolleys to be raised off the ground during transportation.
2. A sled according to claim I, wherein the sled is pedestrian manoeuvrable.
3. A sled according to claim I comprising a raised bed on which the trolleys are supported.
4. A sled according to claim 2 comprising a ramp arranged to enable the trolleys to be manoeuvred onto and off the bed.
5. A sled according to claim 4, wherein the ramp is retractable.
6. A sled according to claim 5 wherein the ramp in the retracted configuration is arranged to retain the trolleys on the bed.
7. A sled according to claim 3 wherein the bed is a rigid structure.
8. A sled according to any of claims 3-7 wherein the bed is positioned at a substantially fixed height relative to the ground.
9. A sled according to any preceding claim having a first end arranged to be connected to a direction control device.
10. A sled according to claim 9, wherein the direction control device comprises a tiller connected to a wheel, the wheel and tiller arranged to enable steering of the sled.
11. A sled according to any of claims 2 -10 wherein the bed has a profile including at least one protrusion to separate respective trolleys on the bed.
12. A sled according to any of claims 3-11, wherein the bed comprises two protrusions, each protrusion arranged to guide the trolley.
13. A sled according to any preceding claim further comprising a motive power unit.
14. A sled according to any of claims 3-12 wherein a second end of the sled is arranged to be releasably coupled to a motive power unit.
15. A sled according to claim 10 wherein the wheel is arranged to support the first portion of the bed.
16. A sled according to any of claims 3 -15 comprising means to support the second portion of the sled bed.
17. A sled according to claim 16 wherein the means to support the bed comprises at least two wheels.
18. A sled according to claim 16 wherein the means to support the sled comprises a

retractable support.
19. A sled according to any preceding claim further comprising control means arranged to control activation of the motive power unit.
20. A sled according to claim 19 wherein the control means is enabled to activate the motive power unit remotely.
21. A sled as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
22. A SyStem for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the system comprising: (i) a sled for transporting a plurality of shopping trolleys, the sled being arranged and configured to enable to castors of the trolleys to be raised off the ground during transportation; (ii) a motive power unit; (iii) a direction cable device for the sled positioned remotely from the motive power unit.
23. A system according to claim 22 wherein the motive power unit is releasably connectable to the sled at a first end.