Zone-based control of cart usage using RF transmission for brake activation
First Claim
1. A system for controlling usage of carts, comprising:
- a plurality of wheel assemblies that attach to respective human propelled carts, each of the wheel assemblies comprising a wheel, a brake unit for inhibiting cart movement, and communication/control circuitry;
a first antenna that repetitively emits a transmission of a first command that instructs the wheel assemblies to activate their brake units, said first antenna positioned to create a first zone in which cart movement is inhibited; and
a second antenna that repetitively emits a transmission of a second command that instructs the wheel assemblies to deactivate their brake units, said second antenna positioned to create a second zone in which cart movement is not inhibited, said second zone located adjacent to the first zone such that a cart with an activated brake unit can be moved from the first zone to the second zone to cause its brake unit to become deactivated;
wherein at least one of said antennas is a directional antenna that is mounted above ground and positioned to radiate downward toward a ground surface on which the carts move.
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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 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
20 Claims
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1. A system for controlling usage of carts, comprising:
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a plurality of wheel assemblies that attach to respective human propelled carts, each of the wheel assemblies comprising a wheel, a brake unit for inhibiting cart movement, and communication/control circuitry; a first antenna that repetitively emits a transmission of a first command that instructs the wheel assemblies to activate their brake units, said first antenna positioned to create a first zone in which cart movement is inhibited; and a second antenna that repetitively emits a transmission of a second command that instructs the wheel assemblies to deactivate their brake units, said second antenna positioned to create a second zone in which cart movement is not inhibited, said second zone located adjacent to the first zone such that a cart with an activated brake unit can be moved from the first zone to the second zone to cause its brake unit to become deactivated; wherein at least one of said antennas is a directional antenna that is mounted above ground and positioned to radiate downward toward a ground surface on which the carts move. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for controlling cart usage, comprising:
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a plurality of wheel assemblies that attach to respective human propelled carts, each of the wheel assemblies comprising a wheel, a brake unit for inhibiting cart movement, and communication/control circuitry, said communication/control circuitry configured to activate the brake unit in response to receiving a radio frequency transmission of a braking command; and a device configured to repetitively transmit the braking command from a directional antenna that is mounted above ground, the directional antenna positioned to focus radiation downward toward a surface on which the carts move, the device thereby configured to create a zone in which cart movement is inhibited. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A wheel assembly that attaches to and controls usage of a human propelled cart, the wheel assembly comprising:
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a wheel; a braking unit coupled to the wheel; and circuitry coupled to the braking unit, said circuitry configured to respond to a received radio frequency transmission of a brake activation command by at least; measuring a received signal strength of the received transmission; comparing the measured received signal strength to a threshold; activating the braking unit when the threshold is met; and refraining from activating the braking unit when the threshold is not met. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification