A system for supporting and handling one or more objects including a cart having a front (F) and a rear (R), and a furniture. The cart can be extracted along an extraction and insertion axis (X) in the direction from the front (F) towards the rear (R), from the furniture and can be inserted along the extraction and insertion axis (X) in the direction from the rear (R) towards the front (F), in the furniture. The cart comprises a frame, movement means of the frame, operatively connected to the latter in a movable or rotatable manner, which define, when the cart is inserted or partially inserted, a rest operating position (RP) in which they do not support and/or are not able to move the frame and, when the cart is extracted, at least one working operating position (WP) in which they support and/or are able to move the frame.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
. A system for supporting and handling one or more objects comprising a cart or transport device of one or more objects having a front (F) and a rear (R), and a furniture equipped with at least two opposite walls and guide means which define an extraction and insertion axis (X) for said cart or transport device, said cart or transport device being extractable, in use, along said extraction and insertion axis (X) in the direction from said front (F) towards said rear (R), from said furniture so as to define at least one extracted operating position (EP) in which said front (F) of said cart or transport device is outside said furniture, and insertable, in use, along said extraction and insertion axis (X) in the direction from said rear (R) towards said front (F), in said furniture so as to define at least one inserted or partially inserted operating position (IP) in which said front (F) of said cart or transport device is inside said furniture, said cart or transport device comprising a frame, and movement means of said frame, operatively connected to the latter in a movable or rotatable way, which define, when said cart or transport device is in said at least one inserted or partially inserted operating position (IP), at least one rest operating position (RP) in which they do not support and/or are not able to move said frame and, when said cart or transport device is in said at least one extracted operating position (EP), at least one working operating position (WP) in which they support and/or are able to move said frame, wherein said cart or transport device, when it is in said extracted operating position (EP), is moveable as a separate unit from said furniture.
. The system according to, wherein said guide means comprise at least two main parallel sliding guides for said cart or transport device each fixed or mounted on a respective opposite wall of said furniture.
. The system according to, wherein at least one main parallel sliding guide of said at least two main parallel sliding guides comprises or delimits a first section substantially rectilinear and parallel to said extraction and insertion axis (X) and a second section inclined or curved downwards.
. The system according to, wherein said guide means () comprise two secondary parallel sliding guides () each fixed or mounted on a respective opposite wall (,) of said furniture () and configured to support said cart or transport device () during the passage from said extracted operating position (EP) to said inserted or partially inserted operating position (IP) and vice versa.
. The system according to, wherein said frame comprises a bottom wall, two opposite flanks each including a plurality of uprights and a top wall supported by said plurality of uprights.
. The system according to, wherein said frame comprises at least one intermediate wall or shelf interposed between said bottom wall and said top wall.
. The system according to, wherein said top wall or said at least one intermediate wall or shelf comprises side fins and/or a support component, in use, operatively coupled with said guide means to support said cart or transport device during the passage from said extracted operating position (EP) to said inserted or partially inserted operating position (IP) and vice versa.
. The system according to, wherein said movement means comprise a plurality of support elements or legs, and a plurality of displacement members each operatively connected to a respective support element or leg, at least one support element or leg of said plurality of support elements or legs being operatively connected with said actuation means.
. The system according to, wherein said cart or transport device comprises at least one reinforcing component for at least one or each supporting element or leg of said plurality of supporting elements or legs.
. The system according to, wherein said cart or transport device comprises at least one locking component or lever, kinematically coupled with said movement means, which defines a slot slidably engaged with a protruding element or portion included in, or delimited on, said movement means, or comprises or delimits a protruding element or portion slidably engaged in a slot delimited on said movement means.
. The system according to, wherein said locking component or lever delimits or comprises at least one abutment portion configured to abut with said furniture when said cart or transport device is inserted, along said extraction and insertion axis (X) in the direction from said rear (R) towards said front (F), in said furniture so as to activate a displacement or rotation of said movement means to allow, in use, the operative coupling of said actuation means with said guide means.
. The system according to, comprising actuation means, in use, operatively associable with said guide means to actuate a displacement or rotation of said movement means from said at least one rest operating position (RP) to said ad least one working operating position (WP) and vice versa or actuation means configured to actuate the displacement or rotation of said movement means from said working operating position (WP) to said rest operating position (RP).
. The system according to, wherein said actuation means comprise at least one actuation mechanism which includes a first kinematic member or rotation or displacement component operatively rigidly connected in rotation or displacement with said movement means, and a second kinematic member, operatively connected with said first kinematic member or rotation or displacement component, configured to slide in or on said guide means to transmit motion to said first kinematic member or rotation or displacement component so as to actuate a displacement or rotation of said movement means from said at least one rest operating position (RP) to said at least one working operating position (WP) and vice versa.
. The system according to, wherein said movement means comprise, in use, front movement means proximal to said front (F) and, in use, rear movement means proximal to said rear (R), said cart or transport device comprising return means configured to transfer the displacement or rotation of said, in use, front movement means to said, in use, rear movement means.
. The system according to, wherein said return means comprise at least one connecting rod which includes a first end operatively connected to said, in use, front movement means and a second end operatively connected to said, in use, rear movement means, said connecting rod being configured to transfer the displacement or rotation of said, in use, front movement means to said, in use, rear movement means.
. The system according to, wherein said cart or transport device comprises a locking mechanism of said return means which includes an abutment component, operatively connected with said first end of said connecting rod, and a stop component or lever, operatively connected to said frame, said stop component or lever being rotatable or movable between a plurality of operating arrangements (DI, D, D) for locking said abutment component in position when said cart or transport device is in said extracted operating position (EP).
. The system according to, wherein said locking mechanism comprises a control component of said stop component or lever configured to lock said locking component or lever in a first operating arrangement (DI) when said cart or transport device is in said extracted operating position (EP), and to release said stop component or lever from said first operating arrangement (DI), so that said stop component or lever can free the movement of said abutment component, when said cart or transport device is in said operating position inserted or partially inserted (IP).
. The system according to, wherein said stop component or lever comprises elastic means operatively associated therewith and configured to maintain said stop component or lever in said first operating arrangement (DI), i.e., keeping said stop component or lever in a locking position of said abutment component, when said cart or transport device is in said extracted operating position (EP).
. The system according to, wherein said stop component or lever defines a slotted hole slidably engaged with a projecting element or portion included in or delimited on said frame, or comprises or delimits a protruding element or portion slidably engaged in a slotted hole delimited on said frame.
. The system according to, wherein said cart or transport device comprises support and cushioning means, operatively connected to said movement means, configured to support the movement or rotation of said movement means in the passage of the latter from said working operating position (WP) to said rest operating position (RP) and to cushion the movement or rotation of said movement means in the passage of the latter from said rest operating position (RP) to said working operating position (WP).
. The system according to, wherein said support and cushioning means comprise a gas spring which includes a cylinder, a piston enclosed in said cylinder and a rod having a first end operatively connected with said piston and a second end operatively connected with said actuation means of said movement means.
. The system according to, wherein said furniture comprises a baseboard.
. The system according to, comprising selective blocking means designed to selectively block or unblock the extraction of said cart or transport device from said furniture along said extraction and insertion axis (X) when the latter is in said inserted or partially inserted operating position (IP).
. The system according to, wherein said selective blocking means comprise at least a stop element mounted or fixed at said front (F) of said frame of said cart or transport device and a balance wheel, operatively associated to a tilting element, movable between a blocking position (BP) of said stop element and an unlocking position (UP) of said stop element.
. The system according to, wherein said balance wheel comprises an actuation portion designed to be pressed by an operator to actuate the release of said stop element and an interference portion inclined downwards and arranged so that, following the pressure of the operator on said actuation portion, the movement or passage of said balance wheel from said blocking position (BP) to said unlocking position (UP) is generated.
. The system according to, wherein respective selective blocking means are provided on each opposite wall of said furniture and said system comprises a connection element that connect the balance wheel of the selective blocking means provided on said first wall of said furniture to the balance wheel of the selective blocking means provided on the other wall of said furniture so that by acting on a respective balance wheel the motion is also transferred to the other balance wheel.
Complete technical specification and implementation details from the patent document.
The present invention relates to a system for supporting and handling objects.
The present invention relates, in particular, to the sector of kitchen furniture and the like; more in detail, the invention concerns a cart that can be inserted in and extracted from a furniture.
When inserted in the furniture, the cart according to the present invention can be used as a furniture which allows objects and/or kitchen utensils and/or other objects to be stored and, when the cart is extracted, as a device for handling and/or transport of objects and/or kitchen utensils, food, and to provide an additional work surface.
In the state of the prior art, systems for supporting and handling objects are known, in particular in the kitchen furnishing sector.
Typically, these systems consist of carts equipped with a frame mounted on wheels so as to allow the movement of the latter and, therefore, the movement of any objects positioned on the frame itself.
Once used, these carts are generally placed in storage areas present in the operating environment, waiting to be reused or, often, they are abandoned in unsuitable places.
As can be understood, the presence of a cart, often of considerable size, can be cumbersome for the personnel working within the operating environment itself.
Furthermore, the cart in these places is subject to accidental impacts which could damage the cart itself or cause any objects placed on it to fall.
In this regard, the state of the prior art provides carts that can be retracted into the base furniture which allow for saving space in the operating environment.
Moreover, the carts which can be retracted, for example, into a furniture proposed by the state of the art, require profound adaptation of the structural features of the furniture itself; in particular, they require the removal of the plinth and therefore cannot be used with normal kitchen furniture.
Document CN211459440U describes a cabinet with a drawer having automatic retractable supporting wheels according to the state of the art.
The need is therefore felt for a system for supporting and handling objects which allows overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art listed above.
In more detail, the design and construction of a cart which can be inserted into and extracted from a furniture and therefore usable, when inserted, as a support for objects, and when extracted, as a device for handling or transporting objects is advantageous and necessary.
The technical aim of the present invention is to improve the state of the prior art inherent to systems for supporting and handling objects.
Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for supporting and handling objects which comprises a cart which can be inserted into and extracted from a furniture, and therefore usable, when inserted, as a support for objects and/or for storing objects, and when extracted, as a device for handling and/or transporting objects.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for supporting and handling objects which allows, when used in an operating environment, to reduce space obstruction.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for supporting and handling objects which allows quick and simple use.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a system for supporting and moving objects which can also be used with base furniture provided with a plinth.
This aim and these objects are achieved by a system for supporting and handling objects according to the present application.
The present application refers to preferred and advantageous embodiments of the invention.
In the accompanying drawings, identical parts or components are identified by the same reference numbers.
With reference to the attached figures, the numeralindicates as a whole a system for supporting and handling one or more objects according to a non-limiting example of embodiment of the present invention.
The system for supporting and handling one or more objects according to the present invention comprises a car or transport deviceof one or more objects having a front F and a rear R, and a furniture or containment elementincluding guide meanswhich define an extraction and insertion axis X for the cart or transport device.
The cart or transport devicecan be a kitchen cart, a food cart or even a luggage cart or, more generally, any storage cart.
The furniture or containment element, on the other hand, can be a kitchen base furniture, a wardrobe, a shelf or, more generally, any furniture defining a containment or housing space.
As is customary in the sector, the furniture or containment elementalso comprises a baseboardand any support feetfor the furniture or containment elementitself.
The cart or transport devicecan be extracted, in use, along the extraction and insertion axis X in the direction from the front F towards the rear R, from the furniture or containment elementso as to define at least one extracted operating position EP in which the front F of the cart or transport deviceis outside the furniture or containment element, and can be inserted, in use, along the extraction and insertion axis X in the direction from the rear R towards the front F, in the furniture or containment elementso as to define at least one inserted or partially inserted operating position IP in which the front F of the cart or transport deviceis inside the furniture or containment element.
Basically, the cart or transport devicecan be used, when it is in the inserted or partially inserted operating position IP, as a simple object support, while, when it is in the extracted operating position EP, as an object transport device.
In particular, the cart or transport device, when it is in the extracted operating position EP, is moveable as a separate unit from the furniture or containment element.
In this sense, the cart or transport device, when it is in the extracted operating position EP, can be used as an object transport device which can be moved separately from the furniture or containment element, thus constituting in this operating position, a separate unit from the latter, in fact, being able to be moved in the operating environment even for great distances, for example over 10, 20, 50 or even 100 meters from the furniture or containment element.
As will be better understood hereinafter, the present invention provides suitable technical solutions which allow the cart or transport deviceto be inserted into and extracted from the furniture or containment elementin a very simple, fast and effective way.
The cart or transport devicecomprises a frameand movement meansof the frame, operatively connected to the latter in a displaceable or rotatable way, which define, when the cart or transport deviceis in at least one inserted or partially inserted operating position IP, at least one operating rest position RP in which they do not support and/or are not able to move the frameand, when the cart or transport deviceis in at least one extracted operating position EP, at least an working operating position WP in which they support and/or are able to move the frame.
For example, a rest operating position RP in which the movement meansdo not support and/or are not able to move the framecould be an operating position in which the movement meansare not in contact with any surface, while an working operating position WP in which the movement meanssupport and/or are able to move the framecould be an operating position in which the movement meansare in contact with any base surface, for example a floor.
According to the non-limiting example of embodiment of the present invention shown in figures fromto, the cart or transport devicealso comprises actuation meanswhich, in use, can be operatively associated with the guide meansto actuate a movement or rotation of the movement meansfrom the at least one rest operating position RP to the at least one working operating position WP and vice versa.
In other words, the actuation meanscan be coupled with the guide meansof the furniture or containment elementfor the passage of the movement meansfrom the at least one working position WP to the at least one rest operating position RP and vice versa, for example from a working operating position WP in which the latter are in contact with any surface, to a rest operating position RP in which they are not in contact with any surface.
According to the non-limiting example of embodiment of the present invention shown in, the passage of the movement meansfrom the working operating position WP to the rest operating position RP is generated by the impact or collision of the latter with a delimiting lower edgeof the entrance to the internal area of the furniture or containment element.
Therefore, according to this non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, the delimiting lower edgeof the furniture or containment elementcan be considered as actuation means for the passage of the movement meansfrom the working operating position WP to the rest operating position RP.
In this sense, according to this non-limiting example of embodiment, the actuation means are configured to actuate the displacement or rotation of the movement meansfrom the working operating position WP to the rest operating position RP.
With reference to this, when the cart or transport deviceis in the inserted or partially inserted operating position IP, the movement meansor at least some of them, are in contact with a lower or bottom horizontal wall or baseboardof the furniture or containment element, and in the passage of the cart or transport devicefrom the inserted or partially inserted operating position IP to the extracted operating position EP, it is the weight force of the movement meansthemselves which makes them pass from the rest operating position RP to the working operating position WP.
As regards, in more detail, the furniture or containment element, according to the non-limiting example of embodiment of the present invention shown in, it comprises at least two opposite wallsand the guide meanscomprise at least two main parallel sliding guidesfor the cart or transport deviceeach fixed or mounted on a respective opposite wall,of the furniture or containment element.
In particular, at least one main parallel sliding guidepreferably both of the at least two main parallel sliding guidescomprise or delimit a first sectionwhich is substantially straight and parallel to the extraction and insertion axis X and a second sectionwhich is inclined or curved downward.
This particular configuration of at least one main parallel sliding guidewill allow, as will be described in more detail below, through the operative coupling with the actuation means, the effective movement or rotation of the movement meansfrom at least one working operating position WP to at least one rest operating position RP and vice versa.
The guide meanscan also comprise two secondary parallel sliding guideseach fixed or mounted on a respective opposite wallof the furniture or containment element, for example, flush with a respective side entrance edge,of the opposite wallsand configured to support the cart or transport deviceduring the passage from the extracted operating position EP to the inserted or partially inserted operating position IP and vice versa or, more particularly, to support the cart or transport deviceduring the passage of the movement meansfrom the working operating position WP to the rest operating position RP and vice versa.
According to the non-limiting examples of embodiment of the present invention shown in the figures and with particular reference to, these secondary parallel sliding guideseach comprise a first channelfor example substantially U-shaped, and a second channel, for example substantially C-shaped, connected by means of suitable connection means to the first channel
In particular, the first channelcan comprise, at or around one of its first ends, a first roller componentconfigured to facilitate the support and insertion and/or extraction of the cart or transport devicewhile the second channelcan comprise a bottom section, a top sectionand a connecting sectionbetween the bottom sectionand the top section, so as to form a sliding channel, for example substantially C-shaped, for a support component, for example a second roller component, included in the frameor, more generally, in the cart or transport deviceand also configured to facilitate the support and insertion and/or the extraction of the latter.
It should be considered that, in the non-limiting example of embodiment of the present invention illustrated in, only the secondary parallel sliding guidesare present and, therefore, the same can be considered in this embodiment simply as parallel sliding guides.
Basically, the secondary parallel sliding guidessupport the cart or transport devicefrom above when the latter is in the inserted or at least partially inserted operating position IP.
As regards the cart or transport deviceor, more particularly, its frame, according to the non-limiting examples of embodiment of the present invention shown in the figures, it comprises a bottom walltwo opposite flankseach including a plurality of uprightsand a top wallsupported by the plurality of uprights
In other non-limiting examples of embodiment of the present invention, the framecould comprise only a bottom wallfor example in the case where the cart or transport deviceis a luggage cart, or only a top wallfor example in the event that the cart or transport deviceis a simple food cart.
Furthermore, the framecan also comprise at least one intermediate wall or shelfinterposed between the bottom walland the top wallso as to be able to support and transport a greater number of objects.
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November 13, 2025
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