PENN STATE- DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING
Under the Seat Shopping Cart
Course: E-DSGN 100 Introduction to Engineering Design
Section: 008
Team: 5
Prepared for: Xinli Wu
Prepared by: David Paillex, John Murphy,
Kevin Allen, Baron Shang
October 24, 2016
i
ABSTRACT
The objective of this project is to design a folding shopping cart (satisfying following standards) for people without
cars, or people that need to carry groceries longer than from garage. As the market survey shows, most
customers are not satisfied by the current shopping cart. In order to be competitive with the current shopping cart,
the design of the new shopping cart must be as collapsible as possible, be easy to use, and have weight capacity
at least 100 lbs. In this report, it details the design task at part 5, the design approach at part 6, and the final
design and its prototype at part 7. Finally, it brings the engineering analysis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Cover-(David Paillex)..............................................................................................................................................i
Abstract-(Baron Shang)........................................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents-(Kevin Allen/David Paillex).....................................................................................................iii
Introduction-(Baron Shang).................................................................................................................................1
Executive Summary-(Kevin Allen)...................................................................................................................... 2
Problem Statement..............................................................................................................................2
Mission Statement............................................................................................................................... 2
Design Specifications..........................................................................................................................
2
Project Management-(John Murphy)................................................................................................................3
Customer Needs Assessment-(David Paillex) ................................................................................................3
Concept Generation-(John Murphy).................................................................................................................3
Design Matrix-(John Murphy)..............................................................................................................................4
Working Drawings-(David Paillex)...................................................................................................................... 5
Pictures of Prototype-(David Paillex).................................................................................................................8
Design Features-(John Murphy).........................................................................................................................9
Operation Instructions-(Baron Shang)..............................................................................................................9
Working Mechanisms-(Baron Shang).............................................................................................................10
Cost Analysis-(Baron Shang)............................................................................................................................10
Summary-(Kevin Allen).......................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion-(Kevin Allen)....................................................................................................................................11
References-(David Paillex).................................................................................................................................12
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INTRODUCTION
The current sopping cart mostly have frame with “X” design to make it collapsible; however, the market survey
shows that 70% people feel that the design is complicated, and 63% housewives find it is hard to fold and unfold
the shopping cart. Besides, the “X” design of the frame also makes the shopping cart not collapsible enough.
Moreover, in order to enlarge the capacity of the shopping cart, most current design have deep bag fixed on the
frame. This kind of design unfortunately makes customers, especially senior people, hard to get goods on the
bottom of the bag. So a new design of sopping cart to solve these problems is needed. As such, the ultimate
objective is to create a simple design of a foldable shopping cart without the “X” design but still has maximum
collapsibility, a removable bag which can be bound to the pull rods and can support more than 100 lbs goods.
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Problem Statment
The problem from getting a multitude of groceries from your car, the store, or the bus, to your home, is that it can
be a hassle. Especially if multiple trips are needed. For someone who is living in the city to an elderly person who
cannot carry a lot of weight.
Mission Statement
Our goal is to produce a device that will allow individuals to transport their groceries from point A to point B easily.
However, a bulky cart is not ideal. So, our device will not only be able to transport items, it will also be lightweight,
and easily collapsible for quick storage.
Design Specifications
• The Under the Seat Shopping Cart is easy to use and assemble
• The Under the Seat Shopping Cart is ideal for transporting groceries and other materials up to 100 lbs.
• The Under the Seat Shopping Cart collapses into about the size of a laptop and fits under the seat of your car.
• The material cost for the Under the Seat Shopping Cart is roughly $30.
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DESIGN APPROACH
Project Mangement
Customer Needs Assessment
In an effort to learn more about the customers looking for improvements in a product of this type, a survey was
conducted to find a target audience. The survey found that over 60% of the primary shoppers spoke to were
female shoppers, between the ages of 35-50, who used a car to get their groceries home. Some of the things
they were looking for in a product like this were ease of use, “something their kid could open,” easily stored in the
car, so that if they decided to stop by on their way home, it would always be there, and easy to assemble. The
results suggested the primary audience was looking for a medium sized cart, easily collapsible and easily stored in
a car.
Concept Generation
Six main criteria were decided upon for overall cart design; Stability, Weight, Ease of Manufacturing, Ease of Use,
Production Cost, and Collapsibility. It was decided that these were to be the most important aspects of the
shopping cart due to customer polling and manufacturing constraints. On the consumer side, stability and ease of
use were desired traits, and portability meant that the product needed to be collapsible and lightweight. On the
manufacturer side, we had limited time, resources, and skills, meaning that a design that was easy and
inexpensive to make was desired. It was decided using a design matrix that the “hand truck” design would be
used, since it best fit the six original criteria.
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Design Matrix
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FINAL DESIGN AND PROTOTYPE
Working Drawings
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Prototype
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Design Features
• Rubber-lined wheels give extra traction.
• Telescopic body and foldable bottom allow product to collapse into an easy-to-store shape and size.
• Optional bag allows for carry of larger objects.
• Body allows for attachment of nearly any bag by hanging them small hooks, velcro, or knots. Tote, plastic,
string, or cooler bags can be used.
• Aluminum body allows for carry of heavy objects without fear of damaging product.
Operation Instructions
To unfold
1. Unfold the hard plastic bottom board until it is perpendicular to the pull rods.
2. Pull the aluminum alloy pull rods until they are unable to move.
3. Bound the bag to the aluminum alloy pull rods
To fold
1. Take off the bag from the alloy pull rods.
2. Push the aluminum alloy pull rods down to the bottom.
3. Fold the hard plastic bottom board until it is parallel to the pull rods.
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ENGINEERING ANALYSIS
Working mechanism
1. The pull rods of this shopping cart work like the pull rods of luggage. They can be draw out to certain position
and fixed.
2. The inside of the bag has insulating layer, so it can easily transport frozen food such as ice cream. Beside, the
bag is separate part of the sopping cart, so customer can use it alone and use washing machine to clean it. (Just
make sure that the insulating layer is removed before the bag is put into the washing machine)
3. The wheels can provide convenience for customer to move the shopping cart.
4. The bottom board is the support for the goods in the bag
Cost Analysis
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SUMMARY
In summary, the objective of this project was to design a folding shopping cart for people who struggle with getting
their groceries from point A to point B. The current shopping cart that are on the market mostly have a frame with
an “X” design to make it collapsible; however, the market survey revealed that 70% people feel that the design is
complicated. The survey also revealed that over 60% of the primary shoppers spoke to were female shoppers,
between the ages of 35-50, who used a car to get their groceries home. Some of the things they were looking for
in such a product were things such as ease of use, “something their kid could open,” easily stored in the car, so
that if they decided to stop by on their way home, it would always be there, and easy to assemble. Six main
criteria were decided upon for overall cart design; Stability, Weight, Ease of Manufacturing, Ease of Use,
Production Cost, and Collapsibility. Using the criteria prior listed, a design matrix was used to sift through a
multitude of designs. First, a model of the product was developed using Solid works and then from the model a
scale model was created to demonstrate and show the public the new innovative design.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, or survey revealed that the public wants a lightweight and collapsible design. The current foldable
shopping carts on the market they are bulky and not easily collapsible, so with the new design these problems
needed to be fixed. The ultimate objective was to create a simple design of a foldable shopping cart without the
“X” design, still maintain maximum collapsibility, a removable bag which can be bound to the pull rods and can
support more than 100 lbs. With the results from the survey, it was revealed the primary audience was looking for
a medium sized cart, easily collapsible and easily stored in a car. On the consumer side, stability and ease of use
were desired traits, and portability meant that the product needed to be collapsible and lightweight. On the
manufacturer side, the desired design should be easy and inexpensive to make. It was decided using a design
matrix that the “hand truck” design would be used, since it best fit the six original criteria. The final design includes
rubber wheels which give traction, a telescopic body and foldable bottom allow the product to collapse into an
easy-to-store shape and size, an optional bag allows for carry of larger objects, a body allows for attachment of
nearly any bag by hanging them small hooks, Velcro, or knots. Tote, plastic, string, or cooler bags can be used,
and an aluminum body allows for carry of heavy objects without fear of damaging product. With the final chosen
design, along with the Solid works model and scale model that was created, along with funding, the plan is to go
forth with production of the model and make it available to the public.
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REFERENCES
ED&G 100 INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING DESIGN. (n.d.). Retrieved October 20, 2016, from http://
www.engr.psu.edu/xinli/edsgn100/Guideline4Rpt1_FoldingShoppingCart_FA16.pdf
1 Week Aluminum Prices and Aluminum Price Charts ... (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2016, from http://
www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/aluminum/1-week/
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