Cart braking control during mechanized cart retrieval
First Claim
1. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
- a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and
a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval;
wherein the shopping carts are ordinarily responsive to detection of a lock zone created via a transmitter by locking their respective braking mechanisms, and wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit is capable, via communication with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts, of causing the nested carts to disregard the lock zone transmission signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle tracking system includes a wheel containing sensor circuitry capable of sensing various types of conditions, such as wheel rotation, wheel vibration caused by skidding, and specific electromagnetic and/or magnetic signals indicative of particular wheel locations. The sensor circuitry is coupled to an RF transceiver, which may but need not be included within the wheel. The wheel may also include a brake mechanism. In one embodiment, the wheels are placed on shopping carts and are used to collect and monitor shopping cart status and location data via a wireless network. The collected data may be used for various purposes, such as locking the wheel of an exiting cart if the customer has not paid, estimating numbers of queued carts, stopping wheel skid events that occur during mechanized cart retrieval, store planning, and providing location-based messaging to customers.
94 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval; wherein the shopping carts are ordinarily responsive to detection of a lock zone created via a transmitter by locking their respective braking mechanisms, and wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit is capable, via communication with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts, of causing the nested carts to disregard the lock zone transmission signal. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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2. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval; wherein the shopping carts are ordinarily responsive to detection of a VLF (very low frequency) signal by locking their respective braking mechanisms, and wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit is capable, via communication with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts, of causing the nested carts to disregard the VLF signal.
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3. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval; wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit includes a directional antenna positioned so as to focus RF transmissions of commands on the nest of carts.
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4. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval; wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit is a mechanized cart pusher, and is configured to command at least one shopping cart at the front of the nest to apply partial braking during mechanized cart retrieval so that the group of carts does not become un-nested.
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7. A system for facilitating retrieval of shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a shopping cart wheel assembly configured for attachment to a shopping cart, said shopping cart wheel assembly including communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said communication circuitry capable of receiving wireless transmissions of commands, and capable of controlling the braking mechanism in response to said commands; and a communication device adapted to be mounted on and electrically connected to a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts, said communication device configured to transmit a command to said shopping cart wheel assembly to cause the braking mechanism to remain in a deactivated state during cart retrieval, wherein the communication device is capable of causing the shopping cart wheel assembly to disregard a lock zone created by a transmitted locking signal that ordinarily causes the wheel assembly to activate the braking mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for retrieving shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a plurality of shopping carts, each of which includes radio frequency (RF) communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said RF communication circuitry being capable of receiving RF transmissions of commands; and a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts to facilitate retrieval, the mechanized cart retrieval unit configured to communicate with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts to cause the braking mechanisms of the nested carts to remain unlocked during mechanized cart retrieval; wherein the shopping carts are ordinarily responsive to detection of an EAS (electronic article surveillance) signal by locking their respective braking mechanisms, and wherein the mechanized cart retrieval unit is capable, via communication with the RF communication circuitry of the nested carts, of causing the nested carts to disregard the EAF signal.
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12. A system for facilitating retrieval of shopping carts, the system comprising:
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a shopping cart wheel assembly configured for attachment to a shopping cart, said shopping cart wheel assembly including communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism, said communication circuitry capable of receiving wireless transmissions of commands, and capable of controlling the braking mechanism in response to said commands; and a communication device adapted to be mounted on and electrically connected to a mechanized cart retrieval unit that pushes or pulls a group of nested carts, said communication device configured to transmit a command to said shopping cart wheel assembly to cause the braking mechanism to remain in a deactivated state during cart retrieval; wherein the communication device is capable of causing the shopping cart wheel assembly to disregard an EAS (electronic article surveillance) signal that ordinarily causes the wheel assembly to activate the braking mechanism.
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Specification