Height-Adjustable Personal Shopping Cart with Detachable Basket
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shopping carts pose ergonomic challenges for shoppers of varying heights and contribute to germ transmission due to shared use, and require manual loading and unloading of items from vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A personal shopping cart with a height-adjustable supporting frame, detachable support assembly, and pneumatic foot pedal allows for easy loading and unloading over vehicle lips without lifting, featuring a rotating basket and foldable design for storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If shopping carts have a fixed height, then they are appropriately sized for shoppers within a particular height range, but they present ergonomic difficulties to shoppers with heights outside that range
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart employs a height-adjustable supporting frame with telescopic legs that can be extended or retracted to different lengths. This dynamic adjustment mechanism allows the cart height to be customized for shoppers of various heights, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and ease of operation by making the structure adaptable rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The cart allows modification of the geometric parameter (height) of the supporting frame through adjustable legs. By changing this physical parameter, the cart can accommodate different shopper heights while maintaining ergonomic operation, thus resolving the contradiction between versatility and ease of use.
2Productivity
If shopping carts are shared among many shoppers, then they serve as convenient transportation tools, but they become resources for germ transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart is designed as a personal, dedicated cart rather than a shared public resource. By segmenting the shopping cart usage to individual owners, the system maintains transportation efficiency while eliminating germ transmission risks associated with shared carts. Each shopper has their own cart that remains with them throughout the shopping experience.
Solution Approach 2:
The personal shopping cart acts as an intermediary between the shopper and the shopping environment. Instead of shoppers contacting multiple public surfaces and carts, each shopper interacts only with their own dedicated cart, which serves as a personal barrier against germ transmission while maintaining shopping functionality.
3Productivity
If shopping items are manually loaded into vehicles, then they can be transported home, but it requires physical lifting that may be difficult for some shoppers
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart features height-adjustable supporting legs that can be extended to raise the shopping basket to a level suitable for loading into vehicle trunks. This dynamic height adjustment eliminates the need for shoppers to lift heavy items, as the cart does the lifting by adjusting its own height, thus resolving the contradiction between transportation capability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable supporting frame raises the shopping basket to the same elevation level as the vehicle trunk, creating an equipotential condition where items can be easily transferred without vertical lifting. This eliminates the height difference that causes lifting difficulties, allowing smooth loading and unloading while maintaining transportation efficiency.
4Ease of operation
If the shopping cart is designed with a detachable support assembly for easy loading, then loading becomes simpler, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart is divided into separable components: a base frame with supporting legs and a detachable support assembly with the shopping basket. This segmentation allows the support assembly to be easily detached for storage while maintaining the overall structural integrity and functionality of the cart, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cart employs a height-adjustable supporting frame with telescopic legs that can be extended or retracted to different lengths. This dynamic adjustment mechanism allows the cart height to be customized for shoppers of various heights, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and ease of operation by making the structure adaptable rather than fixed.
Data Source
AI summary
A personal shopping cart includes a supporting frame hingedly connected to a base frame; a plurality of wheels; a detachable support assembly including opposing first and second horizontal support members; opposing first and second side members each being sized and configured for selective attachment to and detachment from a corresponding one of the opposing first and second horizontal support members; a support surface secured between the opposing first and second side members; and wherein the side members and the support surface collectively form a receptacle that is sized for receipt of a shopping basket; wherein the receptacle is detached from the opposing first and second horizontal support members; and wherein the base frame and the opposing first and second horizontal support members are structured and disposed to be folded against the supporting frame when the personal shopping cart is stored.