Power-assisted cart retriever with attenuated power output
DCFirst Claim
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1. A shopping cart retriever comprising:
- an electric motor;
a drive system powered by the electric motor;
a controller that controls power to the electric motor and includes a first power limit and a second power limit; and
a throttle control in communication with the controller, wherein the first power limit is the controller'"'"'s normal power limit that results when the controller self-limits its maximum power output through a sensing feature of the controller that exists to prevent damage to the controller,wherein the second power limit is selectable and limits the controller'"'"'s maximum power output to a level that is less than that of the first power limit, andwherein the sensing feature is a temperature sensing feature that senses a temperature of the controller.
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Abstract
The present invention is a motorized shopping cart retriever that includes a controller that attenuates the power provided to the drive system of the retriever to prevent the retriever from being utilized to move an excessively heavy load of shopping carts. By preventing the retriever and carts from being subjected to overloaded conditions, the operational lives of the retriever and carts are maximized. The retriever is also provided with a burst mode that allows the power provided to the drive system to rapidly increase past the normal attenuated level for a brief period of time in order to reduce the time required to accelerate a retriever loaded with carts to a terminal velocity.
118 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A shopping cart retriever comprising:
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an electric motor; a drive system powered by the electric motor; a controller that controls power to the electric motor and includes a first power limit and a second power limit; and a throttle control in communication with the controller, wherein the first power limit is the controller'"'"'s normal power limit that results when the controller self-limits its maximum power output through a sensing feature of the controller that exists to prevent damage to the controller, wherein the second power limit is selectable and limits the controller'"'"'s maximum power output to a level that is less than that of the first power limit, and wherein the sensing feature is a temperature sensing feature that senses a temperature of the controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification