초록 ▼

A household cart has a wooden or molded plastic rectangular base for carrying household items. Four caster assemblies on the base are close to the four corners of the base. A U-shaped handle has hooks for carrying household items approximately halfway between side edges of the base, about equidistan

A household cart has a wooden or molded plastic rectangular base for carrying household items. Four caster assemblies on the base are close to the four corners of the base. A U-shaped handle has hooks for carrying household items approximately halfway between side edges of the base, about equidistant from front and back edges of the base. The handle can be positioned either transversely or longitudinally of the base. In the handle transverse position, legs of the handle fit into a first pair of receptacles located between (1) the casters close to the base back edge and (2) the cart transverse center line. In the longitudinal position, the legs fit into a second pair of receptacles located along a longitudinal center line of the base. The receptacles of the first pair are spaced from each other by the same distance as the receptacles of the second pair. The handle has hooks for carrying the household items and is selectively extendable so it can carry relatively long household items, such as pants, skirts and topcoats. The handle has spring properties and is dimensioned so it can fit around and be stowed on skirts on the caster assemblies, enabling the cart to be put in small spaces, such as an automobile trunk.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [1.]1. A household cart capable of being in a stowed position, the cart when in use being capable of carrying household items and when in the stowed position being small enough to fit into a trunk of an automobile, the cart comprising a base having a substantially planar face for carryi

[ We claim:] [1.]1. A household cart capable of being in a stowed position, the cart when in use being capable of carrying household items and when in the stowed position being small enough to fit into a trunk of an automobile, the cart comprising a base having a substantially planar face for carrying household items when the cart is in use, the base having front, back and side edges and carrying two wheels adjacent the back edge and at least one wheel adjacent the front edge; a handle including plural holders for carrying household items and for pushing and pulling the cart when the cart is in use, the handle having a bent upper portion; the base including (a) first and second receptacles positioned as a single pair of receptacles extending along a substantially central longitudinal axis of the base for selectively receiving first and second opposed legs of the handle when the cart is in use and (b) third and fourth receptacles positioned as a single pair of receptacles extending along a line extending transverse to the longitudinal axis in proximity to the back edge of the base for selectively receiving the first and second opposed legs of the handle when the cart is in use; the legs having a fixed separation; the handle legs being engageable in and removable from the first and second receptacles when in a first position, the handle legs being engageable in and removable from the third and fourth receptacles when in a second position, and a locking mechanism for selectively holding the handle legs in an expanded position when the cart is in use and for holding the handle legs in a retracted position when the cart is stowed; the handle, when the cart is in the stowed position, being secured to the base so the legs extend (a) longitudinally in a plane substantially parallel to the planar face of the edges and (b) in substantially the same direction as a pair of side edges of the base.