The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 17, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 02, 1999
Yasuhiko Eguchi, Neyagawa, JP;
Heiji Fukutake, Neyagawa, JP;
Exedy Corporation, Osaka, JP;
Abstract
In the front wheel assembly of a luggage or shopping cart, a sensor wheel is supported by a wheel bracket between a pair of caster wheels so as to be rotatable around a common horizontal wheel shaft and moveable downward from a neutral position coaxial with the caster wheels. Thus, even when the cart is tilted sideways, one of the caster wheels always support the load of the cart, and serves as a center of pivotal movement of the front wheel assembly which allows the sensor wheel to be safely lifted out of the slot in the floor. Therefore, the sensor wheel is prevented from being wedged in the slot, and would not be damaged substantially under any circumstances. Additionally, a first locking arrangement allows the cart to be stationary on the conveyor surface, and a second locking arrangement allows the front wheel to remain in the straight ahead position even when the front wheel assembly hangs from an edge of a step of an escalator. These features of the present invention allow the cart to be maneuvered freely on a stationary smooth surface, and to stay stationary in a stable fashion on a moving slotted surface.