Abstract: A shopping cart has a molded plastic basket and a chassis including a generally U-shaped cart handle tube and a reinforced plastic molded lower support structure. A basket support wire braces the basket against the cart handle tube and lends rigidity and strength to the basket. The support wire has legs that extend within respective channels provided along opposing side segments of an upper peripheral edge portion of the basket, less than the entire lengths of the opposing side segments. Bent end portions of the legs, extending into openings provided in the basket peripheral edge portion, fixedly secure the support wire to the basket. A cross-arm portion of the support wire connects the legs and engages the cart handle tube. Upper leg portions of the cart handle tube extend downwardly along a rear panel of the cart basket. Lower leg portions of the cart handle tube extend along rear edge surfaces of the lower support structure and provide at their ends wheel assembly mounting locations.

Abstract: A collapsible child seat assembly for a shopping cart has a plastic seat panel and a plastic leg opening cover, both of which are pivotally mounted on a horizontal hinge wire that itself is fixedly mounted on a swingable rear gate of the cart. The forward edge of the seat panel is slidably mounted to a seat back pivotally attached to the rear gate. The rear edges of the seat panel and leg opening cover have interdigitated hinge extensions forming slots that accept therein the horizontal hinge wire for pivotal motion thereon. The hinge wire has protuberances corresponding to the locations of the hinge extensions of the leg opening cover. These protuberances cooperate with cantilevered leaf springs extending into the slots of the hinge extensions of the leg opening cover to frictionally retain the leg opening cover in its upright position covering the leg openings until it is manually folded against the seat panel.