Antenna-based zone creation for controlling movement of vehicles
First Claim
1. A system for controlling shopping carts usage in the vicinity of a parking lot, the system comprising:
- a device that repeatedly transmits a lock command from a directional antenna, said directional antenna mounted above ground and angled downward to create a lock zone in which shopping cart use is restricted, said lock zone encompassing an exit area associated with the parking lot; and
a plurality of shopping carts, each shopping cart comprising a brake mechanism, and comprising a radio frequency (RF) communication circuit that is responsive to the lock command by activating the brake 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
31 Claims
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1. A system for controlling shopping carts usage in the vicinity of a parking lot, the system comprising:
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a device that repeatedly transmits a lock command from a directional antenna, said directional antenna mounted above ground and angled downward to create a lock zone in which shopping cart use is restricted, said lock zone encompassing an exit area associated with the parking lot; and a plurality of shopping carts, each shopping cart comprising a brake mechanism, and comprising a radio frequency (RF) communication circuit that is responsive to the lock command by activating the brake mechanism. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for controlling vehicle usage, comprising:
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a device that repeatedly transmits a first command from an antenna, said antenna mounted above ground to create a first zone in which vehicle use is restricted; and a plurality of vehicles, each vehicle comprising a brake mechanism, and comprising a radio frequency (RF) communication circuit that is responsive to the command by activating the brake mechanism, wherein each RF communication circuit includes an RF transceiver that is switched between an inactive state in which it is not capable of receiving transmissions from said device, and an active state in which it is capable of receiving transmissions from said device, and wherein each RF communication circuit is operative to generate received signal strength (RSSI) measurements of received transmissions, and to use said RSSI measurements to adjust a wakeup interval used for switching between said active and inactive states. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of controlling usage of carts, comprising:
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providing each of a plurality of carts with communication circuitry coupled to a braking mechanism for inhibiting cart motion, said communication circuitry responsive to first and second commands transmitted over a wireless link by activating and deactivating the braking mechanism; and repeatedly transmitting the first command via a radio frequency signal from an above-ground antenna to create a first zone, such that when a cart with a deactivated braking mechanism enters the first zone, the braking mechanism thereof enters into an activated state. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification