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MONITORING USAGE OR STATUS OF CART RETRIEVERS

  • US 20160023675A1
  • Filed: 07/24/2015
  • Published: 01/28/2016
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A retriever for shopping carts, the retriever comprising:

  • an electric motor;

    a battery electrically connected to the electric motor;

    a cart connection assembly configured to couple a shopping cart to the retriever;

    a bidirectional wireless radio frequency (RF) transceiver; and

    a control circuit in electrical communication with the electric motor and the RF transceiver, the control circuit configured to;

    communicate a drive command to the electric motor;

    monitor a battery parameter associated with the battery;

    monitor a retriever usage parameter associated with the retriever; and

    communicate information associated with the battery parameter and the retriever usage parameter via the bidirectional RF transceiver;

    wherein the battery parameter comprises one or more of;

    a charge level of the battery, a duration of battery charging, a battery voltage, a battery current, or a state of whether the battery is being charged, andwherein the retriever usage parameter comprises one or more of;

    a time that the retriever has been powered on, a driving time for the retriever, an idle time for the retriever, a number of times a hood of the retriever has been opened, a fault indicator, or an interrupt signal.

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