Two-way communication system for tracking locations and statuses of wheeled vehicles
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for use on a shopping cart to enable movement of the shopping cart to be monitored and controlled, the system comprising:
- a shopping cart wheel;
a braking mechanism configured to inhibit movement of the shopping cart; and
electronic circuitry coupled to the braking mechanism, said electronic circuitry configured to detect signals that reflect a current location of the shopping cart wheel, and to transmit status messages via a wireless radio frequency (RF) link, including status messages reflective of said signals detected by the electronic circuitry, said electronic circuitry comprising;
a Very Low Frequency (VLF) receiver configured to detect VLF signals transmitted by a VLF transmitter;
an RF transceiver configured to communicate bi-directionally over the wireless RF link in a frequency band that falls substantially higher than a VLF frequency band; and
a controller coupled to the VLF receiver, the RF transceiver, and the braking mechanism, said controller configured to control the braking mechanism;
wherein the electronic circuitry is configured to determine, based at least in part on messages received over the RF link with the RF transceiver, whether to respond to detection of a VLF signal by the VLF receiver by activating the braking mechanism.
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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.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A system for use on a shopping cart to enable movement of the shopping cart to be monitored and controlled, the system comprising:
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a shopping cart wheel; a braking mechanism configured to inhibit movement of the shopping cart; and electronic circuitry coupled to the braking mechanism, said electronic circuitry configured to detect signals that reflect a current location of the shopping cart wheel, and to transmit status messages via a wireless radio frequency (RF) link, including status messages reflective of said signals detected by the electronic circuitry, said electronic circuitry comprising; a Very Low Frequency (VLF) receiver configured to detect VLF signals transmitted by a VLF transmitter; an RF transceiver configured to communicate bi-directionally over the wireless RF link in a frequency band that falls substantially higher than a VLF frequency band; and a controller coupled to the VLF receiver, the RF transceiver, and the braking mechanism, said controller configured to control the braking mechanism; wherein the electronic circuitry is configured to determine, based at least in part on messages received over the RF link with the RF transceiver, whether to respond to detection of a VLF signal by the VLF receiver by activating the braking mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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12. A system for enabling a human-propelled wheeled vehicle to be monitored and controlled, the system comprising:
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a wheel assembly configured for use on the human-propelled vehicle, the wheel assembly including a wheel and a brake mechanism, and including sensor circuitry capable of detecting at least one type of condition, said sensor circuitry including a Very Low Frequency (VLF) receiver operable to receive VLF signals; and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver system connected to the sensor circuitry and to the brake mechanism, said RF transceiver system configured to communicate bi-directionally, in a frequency range substantially above VLF frequencies, with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network to report events detected via the sensor circuitry and to receive commands; wherein the RF transceiver system is configured to respond to commands received over the wireless network, and to VLF signals received by the VLF receiver, by at least activating the brake mechanism to control movement of the vehicle, and the RF transceiver system is additionally configured to determine, based at least partly on messages received over the wireless network, whether to respond to a VLF signal by activating said brake mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification