Child support for attachment to shopping cart

Abstract

A child carrier attachable to a shopping cart having a basket mounted to a frame supported by a plurality of caster wheels for contacting a ground surface. The child carrier comprises a support member having at least one stabilizing wheel connected thereto for contacting the ground surface. The support member has a bottom member, with a seat disposed on the support member; and an attachment fixture is connected to the support member for connecting the support member to the cart.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] The present application claims the benefit and priority of prior filed provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 546,037 entitled Child Support for Attachment to Shopping Cart, filed on Feb. 18, 2004, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to child support and securement devices, and in particular, to a device for attachment to a conventional shopping carts for securing, supporting and protecting children. [0004] 2. Description of Related Art [0005] Carts, such as conventional shopping carts for storing, conveying or transporting groceries or other products are known in the art to comprise a basket rigidly connected to a frame supported by two front swivel caster wheels and two rear caster wheels and the frame forms a handle at an upper, rear extremity of the cart. Conventional shopping carts usually have a collapsible...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0014] Yet another object of the support attachment of the present invention is to provide a support attachment that is easily connected to and detach from the basket and / or frame.

[0016] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a support attachment capable of being a stable, freestanding cart and attachable to a conventional cart.

[0020] A further object of the present invention is to provide a freestanding support attachment that is capable of fully supporting the weight of the attached shopping cart.

Problems solved by technology

Conventional shopping carts usually have a collapsible child seat near the handle of the cart, suitable for only a single child and often inadequately designed for a child weighing more than 35 pounds.

Placement of children in these conventional seats alters the center of gravity of the cart, thereby making the carts, especially with an empty basket, susceptible to tipping.

Furthermore, these carriers are not stackable or nestable along a horizontal axis, making them difficult for shopkeepers to store or retrieve from the store and / or parking lot after use.

These designs fail to address the advantages associated with a nestable attachment, specifically, a shopkeeper can move several carriers in unison by interlocking them together along their horizontal axis.

Also, these carriers are rigidly attached to the cart with a nut and bolt arrangement making the cart and child carrier accessory an integral unit and therefore are not easily removable from one another.

These carts are then not nestable and are undesirable to shoppers not accompanied by small children.

This additional length associated with this attachment significantly reduces the functionality of a cart because it places the cart basket out of a user's arms reach when pushing the cart from the rear handle.

Furthermore, the apparatus is bolted to the cart creating an apparatus that is not easily detachable carrying the same disadvantages as discussed above.

Also, the attachment lacks entertainment value to children.

Other attempts at modifying the child seat accommodations of conventional shopping carts have resulted in complete redesigns and abandonment of the conventional shopping cart.

While this cart is nestable, it fails to meet the child seating needs for shopping centers having an inventory of conventionally designed carts because these devices require replacement of existing, conventional carts to obtain the benefits of their child seating capabilities.

For at least the same reason, U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,210 to Lamnberecht fails to meet the child seating needs for shopping centers because it shows an attachable shell designed to accommodate only a particular cart design and not the standard, conventional shopping cart.

This design is not adaptable to the conventional cart design because there is not enough room to safely place a child underneath the basket on a conventional cart.

The device described incorporates a shopping basket in a supporting structure, for example, shaped like an automobile, and thereby is a complete redesign of a shopping cart and is not adaptable to conventional shopping carts.

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