Modular Shopping Cart Handle and Frame for Basket Compatibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shopping carts lack versatility and modularity, requiring multiple designs to accommodate different basket types and configurations, which increases manufacturing costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A shopping cart frame designed to support multiple basket assembly types, with a pivotable deck and adjustable handle, allowing for customizable basket configurations and easy nesting, using a combination of over-molding and gas-assist plastic forming processes for strength and cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional shopping carts use fixed basket designs, then manufacturing is simpler, but versatility and adaptability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shopping cart frame is designed with a universal interface system that can accommodate multiple types of basket assemblies. The frame includes standardized mounting structures, attachment points, and connection mechanisms that work with various basket configurations, allowing a single frame design to serve multiple functions and support different shopping needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The basket assembly is divided into separate modular components that can be independently attached and detached from the frame. This segmentation allows different basket types to be swapped on the same frame, enhancing versatility without requiring multiple complete cart designs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cart designs are created for different basket types, then versatility is improved, but manufacturing costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
A single standardized frame design serves as a universal platform for multiple basket configurations. By designing the frame with universal attachment mechanisms and standardized interfaces, the same frame can be used across different cart models and basket types, significantly reducing the number of unique parts that need to be manufactured and lowering production costs.
Solution Approach 2:
Common structural elements, mounting mechanisms, and attachment systems are merged into a standardized frame design that can accommodate various basket assemblies. This consolidation reduces manufacturing complexity by eliminating the need to produce separate frames for each basket type.
3Ease of operation
If the handle is made fixed, then structural integrity is maintained, but user comfort and accessibility are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The handle is designed with dynamic adjustment capabilities, allowing it to move or pivot within certain parameters while maintaining structural connection to the frame. This dynamic design enables the handle to adapt to different user heights and pushing positions, improving ergonomics and accessibility without compromising the overall structural integrity of the frame.
Data Source
AI summary
A shopping cart includes a frame, a plurality of wheels for supporting the frame for movement over a floor, an arm connected to the frame, and a projection positioned proximate at least one of the wheels. The frame has a front end and a rear end. The arm is configured to engage the tow member for moving the frame. The projection engages the guide member to prevent one of the front end and the rear end from rotating over the other of the front end and the rear end. A handle assembly may include an elongated slot positioned proximate a handle. The shopping cart may also include a tray is releasably secured to the frame by inserting a tab into a slot. The shopping cart may also include a tab received within a slot to secure a basket against movement relative to the frame.