Standard bulk cart

Claim 2

A standard bulk cart adapted for transporting stacked product from a production facility to a retail outlet and either displaying said products or collecting returnable empty packages at the retail outlet, including the combination of a cargo bed, a back panel, a top panel, a pair of end panels and a plurality of castors and being bounded on the back side by said back panel, on the top side by said top panel and on the end sides by said two end panels, and a removable cluster bar arrangement attached to the top panel of the cart and extending down to the cargo bed so as to enclose the one open front side of the cart, said cluster bar arrangement comprising a series of long straps which are each connected to a spring means at the upper end of said straps and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of said straps, said spring means being attached to the top panel of said cart and said foot plate member locking said removable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, all of said structural elements being releaseably secured together to form a rectangular receptacle bin when assembled, while at the same time defining a cart that may be easily disassembled and the elements stacked in a nested fashion during shipping or storage.

Claim 3

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 1, wherein said cargo bed is constructed of flat sheet steel, and said back panel, top panel, and pair of end panels are constructed of angle iron, formed channel incorporating an offset (elongated) leg, and crimped flat steel stock, and further wherein one of said end panels is provided with a pair of lock pin bushings with their axes vertical to the ground, said bushings being adaptable to lock the cart to a high capacity vehicle during transit from a production facility to retail outlet.

Claim 4

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 2 wherein the cargo bed of cart is provided with a trailing tongue member at each of the respective ends thereof so as to allow a plurality of said carts to be trailed and pulled along together by a fork lift truck or small trailer.

Claim 5

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 1, wherein cargo bed is manufactured integrally with one of said end panels to form a first L-shaped integral portion, and further wherein the top panel is manufactured integrally with the remaining end panel to form a second L-shaped integral portion, said first and second integral portions being capable of being secured together and to the back panel to form said rectangular receptacle bin when assembled, and further allowing said first and second integral portions, when disassembled, to be stacked in a nested fashion during shipping or storage.

Claim 6

A standard bulk cart adapted for transporting stacked product from a production facility to a retail outlet and either displaying said products or collecting empty returnable packages at the retail outlet, including the combination of a cargo bed, a back panel, top panel, a pair of end panels, and a plurality of castors, said cargo bed being supported and mounted on said castors and being bounded on the back side by said back panel, on the top side by said top panel and on the end sides by said two end panels, and further wherein a cluster bar arrangement is provided to enclose the one opeN side of the cart, said cluster bar arrangement comprising a series of long straps which are each connected to a spring means at the upper end of said straps and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of straps, said spring means being attached to the top panel of said cart and said foot plate member locking said movable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, all of said structural elements forming a rectangular solid, and further wherein one of said end panels is provided with a pair of lock pin bushings with their axes vertical to the ground, said bushings being adapted to lock the cart to a high capacity vehicle during transit from a production facility to a retail outlet, and further wherein the cargo bed of the cart is provided with a trailing tongue member at each of the respective ends thereof so as to allow a plurality of said carts to be trailed and pulled along together by a fork lift truck or small trailer.

Claim 7

A standard bulk cart adapted for transporting stacked product from a production facility to a retail outlet and either displaying said products or collecting empty returnable packages at the retail outlet, including the combination of a cargo bed, a back panel, top panel, a pair of end panels, and a plurality of castors, said cargo bed being supported and mounted on said castors and being bounded on the back side by said back panel, on the top side by said top panel and on the end sides by said two end panels, and further wherein a cluster bar arrangement is provided to enclose the one opeN side of the cart, said cluster bar arrangement comprising a series of long straps which are each connected to a spring means at the upper end of said straps and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of straps, said spring means being attached to the top panel of said cart and said foot plate member locking said movable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, all of said structural elements forming a rectangular solid, and further wherein one of said end panels is provided with a pair of lock pin bushings with their axes vertical to the ground, said bushings being adapted to lock the cart to a high capacity vehicle during transit from a production facility to a retail outlet, and further wherein the cargo bed of the cart is provided with a trailing tongue member at each of the respective ends thereof so as to allow a plurality of said carts to be trailed and pulled along together by a fork lift truck or small trailer.

Claim 8

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 5, wherein cargo bed is manufactured integrally with one of said end panels to form a first L-shaped integral portion, and further wherein the top panel is manufactured integrally with the remaining end panel to form a second L-shaped ingegral portion, said first and second integral portions being capable of being stacked in a nested fashion when the cart is knocked down for shipping or storage.

Claim 9

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 5, wherein the cluster bar arrangement comprises a series of chains which are individually connected to spring means at the upper end of chains and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of said chains, said spring means in turn being attached to top panel of said cart and said foot plate member being adapted to lock the removable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, and thus enclosing one open side of cart.

Claim 10

A standard bulk cart as defined in claim 5, wherein a pair of straight castors are mounted on one end of the cargo bed and a pair of permanent swivel castors are mounted on the opposite end of the cargo bed, said castor arrangement allowing the cart excellent maneuverability when wheeled from production facility to retail outlet.

Claim 11

A standard bulk cart adapted for transporting stacked product from a production facility to a retail outlet and either displaying said products or collecting returnable empty packages at the retail outlet, including the combination of a cargo bed, a back panel, a top panel, a pair of end panels and a plurality of castors and being bounded on the back side by said back panel, on the top side by said top panel and on the end sides by said two end panels, and a removable cluster bar arrangement attached to the top panel of the cart and extending down to the cargo bed so as to enclose the one open front side of the cart, said cluster bar arrangement comprising a series of chains which are each connected to a spring means at the upper end of the chains and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of said chains, said spring means being attached to the top of said cart and said foot plate member locking said removable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, all of said structural elements being releaseably secured together to form a rectangular receptacle bin when assembled, while at the same time defining a cart that may be easily disassembled and the elements stacked in a nested fashion during shipping or storage.

Claim 12

A standard bulk cart adapted for transporting stacked product from a production facility to a retail outlet and either displaying said products or collecting returnable empty packages at the retail outlet, including the combination of a cargo bed, a back panel, a top panel, a pair of end panels and a plurality of castors and being bounded on the back side by said back panel, on the top side by said top panel and on the end sides by said two end panels, and a removable cluster bar arrangement attached to the top panel of the cart and extending down to the cargo bed so as to enclose the one open front side of the cart, said cluster bar arrangement comprising a series of chains which are each connected to a spring means at the upper end of the chains and to a single foot plate member at the lower end of said chains, said spring means being attached to the top of said cart and said foot plate member locking said removable cluster bar arrangement to the cargo bed, all of said structural elements being releaseably secured together to form a rectangular receptacle bin when assembled, while at the same time defining a cart that may be easily disassembled and the elements stacked in a nested fashion during shipping or storage.