The present invention is related to transportable service carts, of the type commonly used for the convenient storage and transportation of items.
Service carts of the described type come in a variety of shapes and sizes that are typically tailored to a specific application or for use with particular items. They usually comprise a storage compartment and a plurality of wheels. The storage compartment may also comprise surfaces and/or shelves that provide a support surface for the stored items and may comprise drawers, cabinets, or other components that may completely enclose the stored items. The plurality of wheels is provided for convenient transport of the service cart.
One application for a service cart is in automotive repair facilities, wherein the service cart stores a technician's tools. The service cart may be transported to the approximate area that the technician is working, typically near a vehicle, to provide convenient access to the stored tools. Occasionally, a service cart will strike a vehicle while the vehicle is in the automotive repair facility, which is undesirable because such impacts between the service cart and vehicle may damage the exterior of the vehicle or the service cart and may damage the internal components of the vehicle or the stored items in the service cart. Repair facility equipment may also come into contact with the service cart on occasion. Such equipment may comprise shelving, vehicle lift systems, or other machinery that may also be damaged if impacted by a service cart.
The damage to the struck object or the service cart is typically caused by the extremities of the cart, such as the corners of the cart, protruding shelves, protruding handles, or the like. The extremities of the cart are most likely to come into contact with other objects, and the extremities often define relatively sharp features, such as a non-radiused corner or a corner with minimal curvature. Such sharp features concentrate the impact on the struck object during the impact, which increases the amount of damage to the object rather than dispersing the impact over a larger area and reducing the damage.
Therefore a need exists for a transportable service cart that reduces or prevents damage to struck objects and the service cart when the service cart impacts other objects. A further need exists for a transportable service cart that reduces the likelihood of impacts between a service cart and other objects.