JP7125800B1 - cage connector - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a car connector capable of easily connecting two or more cars stacked one above the other. SOLUTION: The car connector for connecting two or more cars stacked vertically includes a vertically extending flat plate portion, and a first locking portion and a second locking portion extending vertically from the flat plate portion. The flat plate portion, the first locking portion and the second locking portion are integrally formed, the second locking portion abuts the edge of the lowermost car, and the first locking portion hooks on the edge of the topmost car to connect two or more cars. [Selection drawing] Fig. 1

Description

The present invention relates to car couplers.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in order to protect the environment, it has become necessary to bring a shopping bag and a shopping basket when shopping at a store such as a supermarket.

As an example of a shopping basket carried by a user, who is a shopper, "a lightweight foldable container has two handles, and another handle is provided at a different location so that it can be easily carried when folded. '' and ``Foldable Shopping Basket'' have been proposed (see Patent Literature 1).

JP 2008-259785 A

The above-mentioned shopping basket using a collapsible container must be assembled and unfolded before use, and must be folded again after use. Also, because it has moving parts, it is relatively fragile.

On the other hand, an increasing number of users purchase a shopping basket sold by a store and bring the shopping basket with them when shopping. Such shopping baskets are convenient because they are light and easy to use, but they are inconvenient when carrying two or more.

Specifically, if two shopping baskets are placed on top of each other, the handle of the lower shopping basket cannot be used, while the handle of the upper shopping basket will cause the lower shopping basket to fall downward, so both should be carried together. can't Therefore, it is necessary to carry the shopping basket with both hands while gripping the edges of the upper and lower shopping baskets on both sides.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve at least one of the problems described above and to provide a car connector that can easily connect two or more cars stacked one above the other.

In order to solve at least one of the above-described problems, a car coupler according to one aspect of the present invention is a car coupler for coupling two or more cars stacked one on top of the other, comprising a vertically extending flat plate portion; a first locking portion and a second locking portion extending vertically from a flat plate portion; the flat plate portion, the first locking portion, and the second locking portion are integrally formed; The stop portion abuts on the edge of the lowermost car, and the first locking portion hooks on the edge of the uppermost car to connect two or more cars.

Preferably, in the car coupler, when the flat plate portion is pushed toward the car while the second locking portion is in contact with the edge of the lowermost car, the first locking portion moves toward the uppermost car. hooked to the inside of the rim of the car.

Preferably, in the above car coupler, the flat plate portion has an extension portion located above the first locking portion.

Preferably, in the above car coupler, the first engaging portion has an upper stepped portion and an inclined portion having an inclined surface on the lower end surface.

Preferably, in the car coupler, the inclined portion is positioned inside the edge of the uppermost car in the attached state, and the car coupler can be removed from the car by pulling up the inclined portion.

Preferably, in the above car coupler, the second locking portion has a lower step portion and a hook portion whose upper end surface is positioned higher than the lower step portion, and the upper end surface is a convex curved surface. .

Preferably, in the above car coupler, the upper part of the first locking part is longer than the lower part of the second locking part.

Preferably, in the car coupler, the second engaging portion has a lower portion that abuts on the lower surface of the edge of the lowermost car. Preferably, in the car coupler, the inner corner between the upper step of the first locking portion and the flat plate portion and the inner corner between the lower step of the second locking portion and the flat plate portion are: It is made thick.

Preferably, in the car coupler, at least one of the flat plate portion, the first locking portion, and the second locking portion has a display indicating an operation or a direction.

Preferably, the car coupler is provided with a mounting hole for preventing loss.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the cage|basket coupler which can connect two or more cages which were piled up and down simply can be provided.

Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the following description of the embodiments.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the cage coupling tool which concerns on this invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view from another angle showing an example of the car coupler according to the present invention; It is a front view which shows an example of the cage coupling tool which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the attachment state to the car of an example of the car coupler which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5 is an image diagram of attaching/detaching operation of the car coupler according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is an image diagram of attaching/detaching operation of the car coupler according to the present invention; FIG. 3 shows an example of a cage rim; It is a figure which shows another example of the cage coupling tool which concerns on this invention, (a) An example of the edge part of a cage|basket, (b) It is a figure which shows the attachment state to the cage of another example of a cage coupling tool. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of the car coupler according to the present invention;

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this application, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc., of components, etc., unless otherwise specified or in principle, it is clearly considered to be otherwise. etc. shall be included.

1 to 6 are diagrams showing an example of a car connector according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the front side observed from the flat plate portion direction, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the back side observed from the locking portion direction. 3 is a front view with the front side as the front side, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of attachment to a car, FIG. 5 is an example of an image of attachment/detachment operation, and FIG. 6 is another example. In each figure, X is the front-rear direction (+X is forward, -X is rearward), Y is the vertical direction (+Y is upward, -Y is downward), Z is the width direction (+Z is the front side, -Z is the back side). side).

Although details will be described later, the car connector according to the present invention connects two or more cars stacked one on top of the other as shown in FIG. If one car coupler according to the present invention is attached to two or more cars, these cars can be integrated without changing the cars, and the handle of the top car can be grasped with one hand to join together. can be carried to In addition, it is possible to put things in the uppermost basket and carry them in an integrated state.

A basket using the basket connector according to the present invention is, for example, a shopping basket carried by a user when shopping at a supermarket or the like. As such a basket, for example, there is a basket that is sold by a store and purchased by a user for use. As a specific example, for example, there is something called "My Basket" (registered trademark). The basket connector according to the present invention can be applied not only to shopping baskets but also to shopping baskets having the same structure.

First, the structure of a car coupler 1, which is an example of a car coupler according to the present invention, will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. As illustrated, the car coupler 1 includes a flat plate portion 2 and two locking portions, a first locking portion 3 and a second locking portion 4 . The car coupler 1 is integrally formed of these components.

As an example, the car coupler 1 is integrally molded from a resin material. The car coupler 1 may be integrally formed of metal such as aluminum. The raw material is not particularly limited, and other materials may be integrally formed as long as they conform to the spirit of the present invention.

The flat plate portion 2 is a plate-like portion that extends vertically and has a predetermined width (depth in the Z direction). The width of the flat plate portion 2 is, for example, at least twice the thickness. The width of the flat plate portion 2 is set according to the width required to engage with the edge of the car and connect the car. The first locking portion 3 and the second locking portion 4 have the same width as the flat plate portion 2 .

The flat plate portion 2 has a connecting portion 21 and an extension portion 22 . The connecting portion 21 is a portion from the lower end of the flat plate portion 2 to the portion at the same position as the upper end surface of the first locking portion 3 . It can also be said that the connecting portion 21 is a portion that connects the first locking portion 3 and the second locking portion 4 .

The length L of the connecting portion 21 is set according to the number of overlapping cars. In other words, if the length L of the connecting portion 21 is changed, the car connector 1 can be used to connect three-tiered cars, four-tiered cars, and the like.

The extension portion 22 is a portion that extends upward from the connecting portion 21 and is positioned above the first locking portion 3 . As will be described later, the extension 22, together with the upper end portion of the connecting portion 21, constitutes a finger rest portion or an operating portion when the car connecting device 1 is attached.

The first locking portion 3 and the second locking portion 4 are portions extending vertically from the flat plate portion 2 . The upper end surface of the first engaging portion 3 and the lower end surface of the second engaging portion 4 are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the flat plate portion 2 .

The first locking portion 3 has an upper step portion 31 and an inclined portion 32 . The upper step portion 31 is a portion on the rear end side (flat plate portion side), and an inner corner portion 311 is formed between the upper step portion 31 and the connecting portion 21 . The upper section 31 is located above the edge of the uppermost car in the installed state. The length M (the length in the X direction) of the upper section 31 is set according to the width of the edge of the car. The length M of the upper step portion 31 is longer than the length N of the lower step portion 41 of the second locking portion 4 which will be described later.

The inner corner portion 311 is formed thicker than other portions of the upper step portion 31 and the flat plate portion 2 so that the first locking portion 3 does not break even after repeated use. The upper step portion 31 may be an inclined surface in which the lower end surface gently slopes forward and upward from the inner corner portion 311 as shown in the drawing.

The inclined portion 32 is a portion on the front end side following the upper step portion 31 . Between the upper stepped portion 31 and the inclined portion 32, a height difference (step) corresponding to the height H is provided between the lower end surfaces, and a corner portion 321 is formed. At the time of installation, the rear end portion of the corner portion 321 or the inclined portion 32 is hooked to the inner side of the edge of the uppermost car for locking. The ramp 32 extends inwardly of the car so as to intersect the edge of the uppermost car in the installed state. At the time of removal, the car coupler 1 can be removed from the car by pulling up the inclined portion 32. - 特許庁

The sloped portion 32 has a sloped surface 322 that slopes upward toward the front on its lower end surface. In other words, the inclined portion 32 has a portion that gradually becomes thinner toward the front. This thin portion occupies, for example, 1/2 or more, more preferably 2/3 or more of the length of the inclined portion 32 . By forming in this way, a force is gradually applied at the time of attachment, which facilitates attachment.

The inclined portion 32 may have the entire lower end surface formed as the inclined surface 322, or the lower end surface on the rear end side following the inclined surface 322 may be formed in a plane parallel to the upper end surface. Also, as shown in the drawing, the lower end surface on the rear end side may be formed as an inclined surface 323 that is inclined upward toward the rear.

The second locking portion 4 has a lower step portion 41 and a hook portion 42 . The lower step portion 41 is a portion on the rear end side (flat plate portion side), and an inner corner portion 411 is formed between the lower step portion 41 and the connecting portion 21 . The lower section 41 is located below the edge of the lowermost car in the installed state. The length N of the lower section 41 is set according to the shape of the edge of the car. The inner corner portion 411 is formed thicker than other portions of the lower step portion 41 and the flat plate portion 2 so that the second locking portion 4 does not break even after repeated use.

The hook portion 42 is a portion on the front end side following the lower step portion 41 . The hook portion 42 has an upper end surface 421 located above the upper end surface of the lower step portion 41 . In other words, the hook portion 42 protrudes upward from the lower portion 41 . As an example, as shown in the drawing, the hook portion 42 has a shape that bends upward from the lower portion 41 substantially vertically. During installation, the hook 42 hooks and locks onto the edge of the lowermost car.

An upper end surface 421 of the hook portion 42 is a convex curved surface. By forming in this way, the hook 42 gets over the protrusion (B21 in FIG. 7) of the edge of the car and hooks on the back side thereof.

The car coupler 1 is provided with a mounting hole 5 for preventing loss. The attachment hole 5 is provided, for example, in the inclined portion 32 of the first locking portion 3, and a string or the like is passed therethrough. The basket connector 1 is formed according to the size of the edge of the shopping basket, and is compact enough to fit in the palm of the hand, for example. Since there is a risk of losing the car coupler 1 when it is removed from the car, this is prevented by, for example, passing a strap through the mounting hole 5 and tying it to the handle of the uppermost car (A3 in FIG. 4).

At least one of the flat plate portion 2, the first locking portion 3, and the second locking portion 4 of the car connector 1 has a display indicating an operation or a direction so that the user can easily handle it. For example, as shown in the figure, a display 61 indicating "above" on the rear end surface of the extension 22, a display 62 indicating "below" on the rear end surface of the lower end of the connecting portion 21, and a portion straddling the connecting portion 21 and the extension 22 A display 63 indicating "push" is displayed on the rear end surface, and a display 64 indicating a direction arrow is displayed on the upper end surface of the first engaging portion 3 . These indications are formed during molding so as to protrude from the surface of the car coupler 1, for example. Some or all of these indications may be provided by other means such as printing or pasting after molding. Moreover, other display modes such as hiragana, katakana, and alphabet may be used instead of the kanji shown in the figure.

Next, the operation of the car coupler 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. Here, an example in which two cars, that is, a car A and a car B are two-tiered and connected, will be illustrated and explained. When three cars are stacked three times, the third car is placed between car A and B. When four cars are stacked four times, the third and fourth cars are placed between car A and B. Overlapping baskets can be connected together by basket connector 1 in a similar manner. It should be noted that the same applies to the case of 5 stages or more. Moreover, when a large number of baskets are stacked, two cage connectors 1 may be used so that two separated edge portions face each other.

As shown in FIG. 4, the lowest car B has a storage portion B1, an edge portion B2 that is the peripheral portion of the opening of the storage portion B1, and a handle B3 that rotatably protrudes from the edge portion B2. . The edge B2 is generally rectangular, and a pair of handles B3 protrude from the long edge. The car coupler 1 is attached between a pair of handles B3, for example, although the attachment position is not limited. As an example, the top car A is the same as the bottom car B and is stacked on top of the bottom car B. The car connector 1 connects two or more cars by hooking the second locking part 4 on the edge B2 of the lowest car B and the first locking part 3 on the edge A2 of the top car A. do.

Specifically, at the time of installation, first, the extension part 22 labeled "UP" (indication 61) faces upward, and the lower end of the connecting part 21 labeled "DOWN" (indication 62) faces downward, The car coupler 1 is picked up so that the first locking part 3 marked with an arrow (indication 64) faces the car (see also FIG. 1).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(a), the hook portion 42 of the second locking portion 4 is hooked on the edge portion B2 of the car B from below. Here, since the upper end face of the hooking portion 42 is a convex curved surface, the hooking portion 42 climbs over the convex portion B21 of the edge portion B2 and hooks on the back thereof. At this time, the inclined portion 32 of the first locking portion 3 contacts the edge portion A2 of the car A. As shown in FIG.

In this state, when the flat plate portion 2 marked with "Push" (indication 63) is pushed toward the car side indicated by the arrow (indication 64), the first locking portion 3 moves inside the edge A2 of the car A. is caught and fixed, and the attached state shown in FIG. 5(b) is obtained. The operation portion (finger rest portion) labeled “Push” of the flat plate portion 2 is located behind the first locking portion 3 and straddles the connecting portion 21 and the extension portion 22 . By pushing this portion from behind toward the car, the inclined portion 32 climbs over the edge portion A2 and is hooked inside thereof.

It should be noted that the operation is possible even when the extension part 22 is not provided. However, if the extended portion 22 is not provided, the finger slides forward from the outer corner between the connecting portion 21 and the first locking portion 3, or gets on the first locking portion 3, and pushes forward well. sometimes not. By providing the extension part 22 as a part of the operation part, such a problem can be solved and the operation can be facilitated.

Further, here, since the inclined portion 32 has an inclined surface on the lower end surface, a force is applied gradually, so that the mounting can be performed smoothly.

As shown in FIG. 5(b), in the attached state, the edge A2 of the car A is accommodated between the inner corners of the first locking portion 3 and is pressed by the first locking portion 3. As shown in FIG. In addition, the second locking portion 4 is in contact with the edge portion B2 of the car B from below. Therefore, the upper car A and the lower car B are strongly tightened and integrated.

At the time of detachment, the car coupler 1 can be detached from the car A and the car B by pulling up the inclined portion 32 . In the attached state, the first engaging portion 3 intersects the edge A2, and the inclined portion 32 extends toward the center inside the edge A2, so that the lifting operation is facilitated.

The operation or operation of the car coupler 1 has been described above, and these can be performed with one hand and one touch. Therefore, the car coupler 1 can be easily used without much trouble.

Further, in the car coupler 1, the inner angle between the first locking portion 3 and the connecting portion 21 and the inner corner between the second locking portion 4 and the connecting portion 21 are formed thick. It is designed not to break even after repeated use, and can be used repeatedly over a long period of time.

In addition, since the orientation and operation method of the car coupler 1 are displayed in an easy-to-understand manner, it can be operated in a short time without hesitation even when in a hurry. Moreover, by providing the attachment hole 5 for attaching the strap, it is possible to prevent the strap from being lost even when the strap is removed from the car.

Further, since the car connector 1 has a simple integrated structure with no movable parts, it is hard to break. Moreover, since it has a simple structure, it is easy to manufacture, and the cost can be reduced.

The attachment/detachment posture and contact position of the car coupler 1 vary depending on the car to be applied, but as shown in FIG. can be concatenated.

The basket coupler 1, which is an example of the basket coupler according to the present invention, has been described above, but the basket to which the present invention is applied is preferably a shopping basket (cash register basket), which differs slightly depending on the store or manufacturer. However, in many cases, at least the long side edge portion is provided with a convex portion B21 as shown in FIG. The basket connector 1 can be widely applied to such shopping baskets. Note that the shape of the second locking portion may be changed according to the car to which it is applied.

8 and 9 are diagrams showing a car connector 1a which is another example of the car connector according to the present invention, FIG. 8(a) is an example of the edge of the car, and FIG. 8(b) is a car connector. FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the car coupler 1a in an attached state of the car 1a (illustration of the display is omitted).

As shown in FIG. 8(a), the shopping basket does not have the protrusion (B21 in FIG. 7) on the edge B2 (A2) and has a substantially flat bottom surface. There is The car connector 1a of this example is used for such a car. In the car connector 1a, as shown in FIGS. 8(b) and 9, the second locking portion 4a does not have the aforementioned hook portion. The car connector 1a is similar to the car connector 1 described above except for the second locking portion 4a, and the second locking portion 4a will be mainly described below.

As shown in FIG. 9, the second locking portion 4a of the car coupler 1a has a lower step portion 41a. The lower step portion 41a is a portion that extends vertically from the flat plate portion 2, and an inner corner portion 411a is formed between the lower step portion 41a and the connecting portion 21. As shown in FIG. The lower portion 41a abuts on the lower surface of the edge portion of the lowermost car in the attached state. Preferably, the inner corner portion 411a is formed thicker than the other portions of the lower step portion 41a and the flat plate portion 2 so that the second locking portion 4a does not break even after repeated use.

As shown in FIG. 8(b), in the car connector 1a, the first locking portion 3 presses the edge A2 of the car A, and the second locking portion 4a is on the bottom surface of the edge B2 of the car B. By abutting from below, the upper car A and the lower car B are vertically tightened, connected, and integrated. Preferably, the second locking portion 4a is formed so as to come into surface contact with the lower surface of the edge portion B2 of the car B as shown.

At the time of installation, the car coupler 1a is picked up in the same way as the car coupler 1 described above so that the lower part 41a contacts the edge B2 of the car B and the inclined part 32 contacts the edge A2 of the car A. Then, the flat plate portion 2 is pushed toward the car side, and the first locking portion 3 is hooked inside the edge portion A2 of the car A and fixed. At the time of detachment, the car coupler 1a can be detached from the car A and the car B by pulling up the inclined portion 32.例文帳に追加Since the car connector 1a can be attached and detached with one hand in the same manner as in the above-described example, it can be easily used without any trouble.

Although examples of the car connector according to the present invention have been described above, the car connector of the present application may be used to stack and connect different cars. For example, it may be used to connect a store's car and a user's car.

Based on the above description, those skilled in the art may be able to conceive additional effects and various modifications of the present invention, but the aspects of the present invention are limited to the examples of the embodiments described above. is not. Various additions, changes, and partial deletions are possible without departing from the conceptual idea and spirit of the present invention derived from the content defined in the claims and equivalents thereof.

Reference Signs List 1, 1a car connector 2 flat plate portion 21 connecting portion 22 extension portion 3 first locking portion 31 upper step portion 32 inclined portion 4, 4a second locking portion 41, 41a lower step portion 42 hook portion 5 attachment hole

Claims (2)

A car connector for connecting two or more cars stacked vertically,
a flat plate portion extending vertically;
a first locking portion and a second locking portion extending vertically from the flat plate portion;
The flat plate portion, the first locking portion and the second locking portion are integrally formed,
The second locking portion abuts on the edge of the lowest car, and the first locking portion hooks on the edge of the uppermost car to connect two or more cars,
The first engaging portion has an upper step portion that is a rear end portion on the flat plate portion side, and a front end portion following the upper step portion that has an upper end surface perpendicular to the flat plate portion and a lower end surface. and an inclined portion having an inclined surface at
The inclined surface of the inclined portion is inclined upward toward the front, and the inclined portion has a portion that gradually becomes thinner toward the front,
A car coupler, wherein the upper step portion has a flat lower end surface without irregularities. The car coupler according to claim 1,
The upper part of the first locking part is longer than the lower part of the second locking part,
A car coupler, wherein a step is provided between the lower end surfaces of the upper step portion and the inclined portion, and a corner portion is formed.

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