How Sylvan Goldman Invented the Modern Grocery Shopping Cart
A 1940 patent for a folding metal frame designed to hold two wire baskets, enabling shoppers to carry more items than their arms could hold.
Original patent title: “Folding basket carriage for self-service stores”
A 1940 patent for a folding metal frame designed to hold two wire baskets, enabling shoppers to carry more items than their arms could hold. Granted to Individual in 1940 with 15 forward citations, and it is now in the public domain.
Key facts
Coverage
What does this patent actually cover?
The invention describes a wheeled carriage with a collapsible frame designed to hold two standard wire shopping baskets. It uses a hinged metal structure that allows the basket supports to fold flat when not in use, saving floor space in stores. The design includes a handle for pushing and a set of wheels to distribute the weight of heavy groceries, effectively moving the burden from the shopper's arms to the floor.
The gap
What does this patent NOT cover?
- Does not cover the single-basket nested design found in modern grocery stores.
- Does not cover plastic shopping carts or carts with integrated child seats.
- Does not cover motorized or automated shopping cart systems.
These exclusions are unique to PatentBrief — derived from the actual claim language, not patent-office boilerplate.
What made this novel
The innovation was not just the basket, but the folding frame mechanism that allowed stores to store dozens of carts in a small footprint when the shop was closed.
The Patent Drawing
Schematic visualization of the patent's claim structure. Hand-drawn diagrams in progress for each landmark patent.
Where you've seen this
Real-world examples
Early 1940s grocery store carts
Folding wire-frame shopping trolleys
Why it matters
The bigger picture
This invention transformed the retail industry by allowing customers to purchase significantly more goods per trip. It is widely credited with enabling the rise of the modern self-service supermarket by removing the physical limit of how much a shopper could carry by hand.
Filed
March 14, 1938
Granted
April 9, 1940
Market context
Who's building on this
Companies in this space
Companies like Unarco and various global retail equipment manufacturers evolved this initial folding concept into the modern nested, high-capacity steel carts used by retailers like Kroger and Walmart today.
Market impact
This patent laid the foundation for the modern supermarket layout. By increasing the average basket size per customer, it fundamentally changed inventory management and retail floor space requirements across the United States.
Claim 1 — Plain English
What this patent covers
The invention describes a wheeled carriage with a collapsible frame designed to hold two standard wire shopping baskets. It uses a hinged metal structure that allows the basket supports to fold flat when not in use, saving floor space in stores. The design includes a handle for pushing and a set of wheels to distribute the weight of heavy groceries, effectively moving the burden from the shopper's arms to the floor.
The clever bit
The innovation was not just the basket, but the folding frame mechanism that allowed stores to store dozens of carts in a small footprint when the shop was closed.
What it does not cover
- Does not cover the single-basket nested design found in modern grocery stores.
- Does not cover plastic shopping carts or carts with integrated child seats.
- Does not cover motorized or automated shopping cart systems.
Patent Journey
From filing to expiry
PatentBrief Score
Impact Score
Early stage
Citation count
24/40
Moderately cited
Claim breadth
0/20
Narrow claimsclaimsThe numbered statements at the end of a patent that legally define what the inventor owns.Read more →
Recency
0/20
Older than 20 years
Assignee scale
0/20
Independent or smaller assigneeassigneeThe entity that owns the patent — usually the inventor's employer or a company.Read more →
PatentBrief Impact Score — based on citation count, claim breadth, recency, and assignee scale. Not a legal assessment.
Heuristic Value Estimate
What this patent might be worth
$4K – $14K
Midpoint $9K · expired or expiring · industry ×0.9
Heuristic only — blends forward/backward citation counts, claim scope, time remaining, litigation history, and CPC-derived industry baseline. Real valuations need a professional appraisal.
Concepts involved
Citations
Patent lineage
Cite this patent
Goldman, S. N. (1940). How Sylvan Goldman Invented the Modern Grocery Shopping Cart (U.S. Patent No. 2,196,914). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/2196914/shopping-cart-goldman
Auto-generated from the patent record. Double-check author order and the issue date against the official USPTO document before submitting.
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Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What does How Sylvan Goldman Invented the Modern Grocery Shopping Cart cover?
A 1940 patent for a folding metal frame designed to hold two wire baskets, enabling shoppers to carry more items than their arms could hold.
Who owns patent US 2196914?
Individual owns this patent, granted in 1940.
When does this patent expire?
This patent has expired and is now in the public domain — anyone can use the invention freely.
What is patent US 2196914 cited by?
This patent has been cited by 15 later patents that build on its ideas.
What problem does this patent solve?
This invention transformed the retail industry by allowing customers to purchase significantly more goods per trip. It is widely credited with enabling the rise of the modern self-service supermarket by removing the physical limit of how much a shopper could carry by hand.
What does this patent NOT cover?
Does not cover the single-basket nested design found in modern grocery stores.
Same assignee
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