Multipurpose cart

Abstract

A utility cart (1) comprising a base (2), a plurality of storage trays (3) and at least two vertical shafts (4), where each of the plurality of storage trays (3) is attached to at least one of the at least two vertical shafts (4) via at least one fastener (6), where the utility cart (1) comprises at least one horizontal guide rail (5) mounted on the base (2), where each of the plurality of storage trays (3) is attached to at least one of the at least two vertical shafts (4) via at least one fastener (6). The at least two vertical shafts (4) are mounted in a movable manner on the at least one horizontal guide rail (5) via guide rail wheels in order to increase or decrease the horizontal spacing between at least some of the plurality of trays, and wherein the at least two vertical shafts (2) are extendable in a retractable manner, in this way, the vertical distance between at least some trays in the multiple trays can be increased.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a multi-purpose cart for storing and displaying articles.

[0002] To the average user, such a utility cart is perceived as a transportable cabinet that includes multiple drawers and trays, such as a tool storage system, library shelving, jewelry shelving, or medical shelving. Users of known utility carts are unable to comfortably reach all of the trays or drawers of the utility cart at the same time. In the case of a tool storage system, the user wastes time searching for the right tool in the right drawer. Furthermore, when using a conventional tool storage system, the user needs to spend extra time and effort to return the tool to the correct drawer. Most users skip this step, which results in tools piling up on top of the utility cart at the end of the day.

[0003] The object of the present invention is to remedy the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide the user with a multi-purpose trolley in which all trays / drawers can be comfortably reached simultaneously. For this and other objects which will become apparent from the following disclosure, a multi-purpose trolley is provided having the features of one or more of the appended claims.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the invention, a multi-purpose cart comprises a base, a plurality of storage trays and at least two vertical axes, wherein each of the plurality of storage trays is attached to at least one of the at least two vertical axes via at least one fastener, wherein the multi-purpose cart comprises at least one horizontal rail mounted on the base, wherein the at least two vertical axes are movably mounted on the at least one horizontal rail via rail wheels to increase or decrease the horizontal spacing between at least some of the plurality of trays, and wherein the at least two vertical axes are telescopically extendable to increase the vertical spacing between at least some of the plurality of trays. These features allow a user to move the trays sideways and upwards to facilitate access to the trays and improve visibility of items stored inside the trays.

[0005] Additionally, the trays can be stacked in at least one row on top of the base, wherein the plurality of trays are alternately attached to any one of the at least two vertical axes. Alternatively, attachable essentially means that when a tray can be attached to a first axis, a first following tray can be attached to a second axis, a second following tray can be attached again to the first axis, and a third following tray can be attached again to the second axis, and so on.

[0006] To increase the stability of the utility cart, the width of the base is greater than the total width of the stacked plurality of pallets.

[0007] Advantageously, at least two of the vertical axes comprise vertical struts, which are arranged to provide a pulling force or a pushing force for bringing the at least two vertical axes from a retracted position into an extended position and from an extended position into a retracted position. Such vertical struts provide support for the upward movement of the pallet even when the pallet is fully loaded. In order to improve safety and ease of use, the vertical struts are arranged to provide a damping force to control the speed of extension and / or retraction of the at least two vertical axes.

[0008] In order to further increase the structural rigidity of the multipurpose cart, the multipurpose cart comprises at least one horizontal axis, wherein at least two vertical axes can be attached to the at least one horizontal axis, and wherein the horizontal axis can be extended in a telescopic manner.

[0009] The base and / or at least one horizontal axis comprises a horizontal support attached to at least two vertical axes for moving the at least two vertical axes on at least one guide rail and / or for supporting the telescopic movement of at least one horizontal axis by providing a pulling force or a pushing force on the at least two vertical axes. Such a horizontal support provides support for the horizontal movement of the pallet even when the pallet is fully loaded. In order to improve safety and ease of use, the horizontal support is arranged to provide a damping force to control the movement speed of the at least two vertical axes on the at least one guide rail of the base.

[0010] The access to the interior of the tray can be further improved by tilting the tray and / or by moving the tray towards the user. Therefore, the multi-purpose cart comprises at least one vertical rail, which is attached to at least one fastener of at least one storage tray at its terminal end, wherein the at least one storage tray is movably mounted on the at least one vertical rail via rail wheels. Furthermore, the vertical rail can be attached to at least one fastener of the at least one storage tray via a rotatable joint for tilting the at least one storage tray.

[0011] Suitably, the strut is at least one of a gas strut, a hydraulic strut, a mechanical strut, a spring loaded strut and an electrically controlled strut.

[0012] The base includes wheels, such as swivel casters, to facilitate movement of the utility cart, wherein the wheels include locking means, such as swivel locks and caster pads, for securing the utility cart.

[0013] In order to improve the user-friendliness of the multipurpose cart according to the present invention, the multipurpose cart comprises at least one electrical socket that can be connected to an electrical power source. The multipurpose cart comprises a pneumatic reel that can be fluidly connected to a source of pressurized air or an air vacuum. The multipurpose cart comprises a light source that can be mounted on the base and / or at least one horizontal axis for illuminating an area around the multipurpose cart. The multipurpose cart comprises a plurality of light sources that can be mounted on a plurality of storage trays for illuminating the storage trays.

[0014] The invention will be further explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings of an exemplary embodiment of a multipurpose cart according to the invention, which exemplary embodiment does not limit the appended claims.

[0015] In the attached picture:

[0016] - Figure 1 The apparatus of the present invention is shown in a front view;

[0017] - Figure 2 The following view shows the apparatus of the present invention;

[0018] - Figure 3 The apparatus of the present invention is shown in a front view;

[0019] - Figure 4 The apparatus of the present invention is shown in a front view; and

[0020] - Figure 5 The device of the invention is shown in side view.

[0021] Whenever the same reference numbers are used in the drawings, they refer to the same parts.

[0022] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The multi-purpose cart 1 according to the invention is shown in a folded position. The user can move the multi-purpose cart 1 to the unfolded position by moving the tray 3 upwards and sideways. Figure 2 As can be better seen in FIG, the horizontal support 7 supports the lateral movement of the tray 3 by supporting the telescopic extension of the horizontal axis and by pushing the two vertical axes laterally, while the vertical support 7 supports the upward movement of the tray 3 by supporting the telescopic extension of the two vertical axes. Figure 3 As observed in FIG. 1 , the utility cart 1 remains stable on the floor when unfolded because the base 2 has a width greater than the total width of the tray 3. The user can move the utility cart 1 back to the folded position by pushing the tray 3 downward and toward the center of the base 2. The horizontal and vertical struts slow down the movement of the tray, allowing the user to smoothly move the utility cart back to the folded position.

[0023] In a second embodiment of the present invention, the trays of the multi-purpose cart 1 can be arranged in a row, such as Figure 4 The trays 3 are then attached alternately to the two vertical shafts 4. When the vertical shafts 4 are moved sideways, a comfortable reach space is formed between the trays 3, so that there is no need to extend the two vertical shafts 4. If more space is still needed between the trays 3, the vertical shafts 4 can still be extended.

[0024] As in Figure 5 As observed in FIG. 1 , tilting the trays 3 downward and moving them forward toward the user further facilitates the accessibility of the trays and improves the visibility of the items stored inside the trays 3. For this purpose, the trays 3 are movably mounted on vertical rails 5 for allowing forward and backward movement of the trays 3, and the vertical rails 3 are attached to the vertical shaft via rotatable joints for allowing the trays 3 to be tilted downward and upward.

[0025] A light source 15 may be installed on the multi-purpose cart 1 to illuminate the surrounding area. A smaller light source 16 may be installed at the bottom of the upper tray to illuminate the lower tray.

[0026] A pneumatic reel 14 may be installed on the multi-purpose cart 1 to provide vacuum suction and / or air pressure to the user.

[0027] An electrical socket 13 may be installed on the multi-purpose cart to provide high voltage power and / or low voltage power to the user.

[0028] To facilitate transportation, the multi-purpose cart 1 may be equipped with wheels 12, such as lockable castors.

[0029] The multi-purpose cart 1 of the present invention may be at least one of a tool storage system, a library shelf, a jewelry shelf, and a medical shelf.

[0030] Although the present invention has been discussed in the foregoing with reference to an exemplary embodiment of the method of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, which can be varied in many ways without departing from the present invention. Therefore, the exemplary embodiment discussed should not be used to strictly interpret the attached claims in accordance with it. On the contrary, the embodiment is only intended to interpret the wording of the attached claims, rather than to limit the claims to the exemplary embodiment. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be interpreted only in accordance with the attached claims, wherein the exemplary embodiment should be used to resolve possible ambiguities in the wording of the claims.

Claims

1. A multi-purpose cart (1), comprising a base (2), a plurality of storage trays (3) and at least two vertical axes (4), characterized in that: Each of the plurality of storage trays (3) is attached to at least one of the at least two vertical axes (4) via at least one fastener (6), wherein the multi-purpose cart (1) includes at least one horizontal guide rail (5) mounted on the base (2), wherein the at least two vertical axes (4) are movably mounted on the at least one horizontal guide rail (5) via guide wheels so as to increase or decrease the horizontal spacing between at least some of the plurality of trays, and wherein the at least two vertical axes (2) are capable of being extended in a telescopic manner so as to increase the vertical spacing between at least some of the plurality of trays.

2. The multi-purpose cart (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of trays (3) are stackable in at least one row on top of the base (2), wherein the plurality of trays (3) are alternately attached to any one of the at least two vertical shafts (4).

3. The multi-purpose cart (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The width of the base (2) is greater than the total width of the stacked plurality of trays (3).

4. The multipurpose trolley (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The at least two vertical shafts (4) comprise vertical struts (7), which are configured to provide a pulling force or a pushing force to bring the at least two vertical shafts (4) from a retracted position to an extended position and vice versa.

5. The multipurpose trolley (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The vertical struts (7) are configured to provide a damping force to control the speed of extension and / or contraction of the at least two vertical shafts (4).

6. The multipurpose trolley (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The multipurpose cart (1) comprises at least one horizontal axis (4), wherein the at least two vertical axes (4) are attached to the at least one horizontal axis, and wherein the horizontal axis can be extended in a telescopic manner.

7. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The base (2) and / or at least one horizontal axis (4) comprises a horizontal support (7) attached to the at least two vertical axes (4) for moving the at least two vertical axes (4) on at least one guide rail (5) of the base (2) and for supporting the telescopic movement of the at least one horizontal axis (4) by providing a pulling force or a pushing force on the at least two vertical axes (4).

8. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The horizontal support (7) is configured to provide a damping force to control the movement speed of the at least two vertical axes (4) on at least one guide rail (5).

9. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The multi-purpose cart (1) comprises at least one vertical rail (5), which is attached at a terminal end to at least one fastener (6) of at least one storage tray (3), wherein at least one storage tray (3) is movably mounted on at least one vertical rail (5) via rail wheels.

10. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The vertical guide rail (5) is attached to at least one of the fasteners (6) of at least one of the storage trays (3) via a rotatable joint (11) for tilting at least one of the storage trays (3).

11. The multipurpose trolley (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The strut (7) is at least one of a pneumatic strut, a hydraulic strut, a mechanical strut, a spring-loaded strut, and an electrically controlled strut.

12. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The base (2) comprises wheels (12), such as swivel castors, to facilitate the movement of the multi-purpose cart (1), wherein the wheels (12) comprise locking means, such as swivel locks and castor pads, for fixing the multi-purpose cart.

13. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The multi-purpose cart (1) comprises at least one electrical socket (13) which can be connected to an electrical power source.

14. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The utility cart (1) includes at least one pneumatic reel (14) fluidly connectable to a source of pressurized air or an air vacuum.

15. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The multi-purpose cart (1) comprises a light source (15) which can be mounted on the base and / or the top storage tray (3) for illuminating an area surrounding the multi-purpose cart (1).

16. The multipurpose cart (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The multi-purpose cart (1) comprises a plurality of light sources (16) which can be mounted on a plurality of the storage trays (3) for illuminating the storage trays (3).

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