Monitoring usage or status of cart retrievers

• US 9,403,548 B2
• Filed: 07/24/2015
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Hannah, Stephen E., James, Jesse M., Ekbote, Chandrashekhar
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Assistant Examiner(s): JHA, ABDHESH K
• Application Number:
  US14/808,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20160023675A1
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: 701/2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/70 Interactions with external data bases, e.g. traffic centres
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/65 involving identification of vehicles or their battery types
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/12 responding to state of charge [SoC]
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/14 characterised by provisions for nesting or stacking, e.g. shopping trolleys collapsible shopping trolleys B62B3/027
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 3/1404 Means for facilitating stowing or transporting of the trolleys; Antitheft arrangements B62B5/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 5/0033 Electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: B62B 5/0076 Remotely controlled
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 Electric energy management in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 Plug-in electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/167 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for supporting the interoperability of electric or hybrid vehicles, i.e. smartgrids as interface for battery charging of electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV]
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 30/14 : Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing

Abstract

Examples of systems and methods for controlling or monitoring a fleet of human-propelled, wheeled carts and cart retrievers are described. The carts can be shopping carts at a retail facility, and the cart retrievers can be used to collect and return the shopping carts from a parking lot near the facility to a cart collection area. The carts or cart retrievers can monitor various status or usage parameters (such as retriever battery charge, cart collection trip speed, cart collection path or duration, etc.) and transmit the parameters to a central control unit. The central control unit can analyze and process the status or usage parameters. The system can provide a user interface for access to the status or usage parameters of the cart and cart retriever fleet.

Claims

1. A retriever for shopping carts, the retriever comprising:

an electric motor;

a battery electrically connected to the electric motor;

a cart connection assembly configured to couple a shopping cart to the retriever;

a bidirectional wireless radio frequency (RF) transceiver; and

a control circuit in electrical communication with the electric motor and the RF transceiver, the control circuit configured to;

communicate a drive command to the electric motor;

monitor a duration of charging of the battery electrically connected to the electric motor;

monitor a retriever usage parameter associated with the retriever;

monitor one or more of;

a number of shopping carts coupled to the retriever or identities of the shopping carts coupled to the retriever;

monitor one or more of;

a duration of a cart retrieval trip, a number of stops made during a cart retrieval trip, a path taken during a cart retrieval trip, or a timestamp for a cart retrieval trip; and

communicate information associated with the battery parameter and the retriever usage parameter via the bidirectional RF transceiver;

wherein the retriever usage parameter comprises one or more of;

an amount of time that the retriever has been powered on, an amount of driving time for the retriever, an amount of idle time for the retriever, or a number of times a hood of the retriever has been opened.

2. The retriever of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to monitor a location parameter for the retriever, wherein the location parameter includes one or more of:

a location of the retriever, a path taken by the retriever, or a speed for the retriever.

3. The retriever of claim 1, further comprising a manual throttle configured to communicate a drive signal to the control circuit, and wherein the control circuit is configured to monitor the amount of driving time for the retriever when controlled by the manual throttle.

4. The retriever of claim 1, further comprising a remote control configured to communicate a control signal to the retriever.

5. The retriever of claim 4, wherein the remote control is battery-operated, and the control circuit is further configured to monitor a charge level of a battery in the remote control.

6. The retriever of claim 4, wherein the control circuit is configured to monitor the driving time for the retriever when controlled by the remote control.

7. The retriever of claim 6, wherein the control signal comprises:

a first speed signal to move the retriever at a first speed; and

a second speed signal to move the retriever at a second speed, the first speed being greater than the second speed; and

wherein the control circuit is configured to monitor one or more of;

a driving time for the retriever at the first speed, a driving time for the retriever at the second speed, or an average speed.

8. The retriever of claim 4, wherein the control circuit is configured to monitor an identity of the remote control that is associated with the retriever.

9. The retriever of claim 4, wherein the remote control includes a display, and the display is configured to output one or more of:

the charge level of the battery in the retriever, a speed of the retriever, a number of shopping carts coupled to the retriever, or a trip time of the retriever.

10. The retriever of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is configured to communicate the battery parameter or the retriever usage parameter to a remote computing system via the bidirectional RF transceiver.

19. The retriever of claim 1, wherein the control circuit is further configured to monitor an average speed for a cart retrieval trip.

11. A system for monitoring usage of a cart fleet comprising a cart retriever and a plurality of human-propelled carts, the system comprising:

a plurality of human-propelled carts, each cart in the plurality of human-propelled carts comprising a first radio frequency (RF) communication circuit;

a cart retriever configured to be coupled to a cart train comprising at least some of the plurality of human-propelled carts, the cart retriever comprising a second RF communication circuit configured to communicate with the first RF communication circuits in the carts in the cart train, the cart retriever comprising a control circuit configured to;

communicate with the carts in the cart train to determine a number of carts coupled to the cart retriever; and

monitor event data that occurs during a cart retrieval trip;

wherein the event data includes one or more of;

a path taken by the cart retriever while coupled to the cart train during the cart retrieval trip, a duration of the cart retrieval trip, a number of stops made during the cart retrieval trip, or a timestamp for the cart retrieval trip; and

wherein the cart retriever comprises an electric motor powered by a battery that is electrically coupled to the electric motor, and the control circuit is further configured to monitor a duration of charging of the battery electrically connected to the electric motor; and

a processing system configured to communicate with the second RF communication circuit of the cart retriever, the processing system comprising computer hardware programmed to;

receive the event data from the cart retriever; and

generate a report comprising summary information related to the event data.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the system further comprises a battery-operated remote control configured to control the operation of the cart retriever at a two or more different speeds, and the control circuit is configured to monitor one or more of:

a charge level of a battery in the remote control, a driving time for the cart retriever when controlled by the remote control, a driving time for the cart retriever at a first speed of the two or more different speeds, a driving time for the cart retriever at a second speed of the two or more different speeds, or an identity of the remote control that is associated with the cart retriever.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein each cart in the plurality of human-propelled carts is a shopping cart, and the cart retriever is a shopping cart retriever.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the control circuit is further configured to monitor a speed of the cart retriever during the cart retrieval trip.

14. A method for monitoring usage of a cart fleet comprising a cart retriever and a plurality of human-propelled carts, the method comprising:

under control of a cart fleet management system comprising computer hardware;

receiving cart fleet event data via two-way radio frequency (RF) communication with the cart retriever, the cart retriever configured to collect a train of the human-propelled carts during each of a plurality of cart retrieval trips, wherein the cart fleet event data comprises one or more of;

paths taken by the cart retriever and the train during the cart retrieval trips, durations of the cart retrieval trips, numbers of stops made during the cart retrieval trips, or timestamps for the cart retrieval trips;

aggregating the cart fleet event data for the plurality of cart retrieval trips; and

analyzing the aggregated cart fleet event data to generate statistical information regarding the cart fleet,

wherein the statistical information comprises one or more of;

a total number of carts retrieved, an average number of carts retrieved per cart retrieval trip, an average duration of the cart retrieval trips, an average path length of the cart retrieval trips, or an average number of stops made during the cart retrieval trips.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the cart retriever comprises an electric motor powered by a battery, and wherein the cart fleet event data comprises a state of whether the battery is being charged, and the statistical information comprises information relating to whether or when the battery is nearing an end of its service life, or underutilization of the cart retriever.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises determining, from the aggregated cart fleet event data, an efficient or optimal path for the cart retriever to follow or one or more optimal times for collecting carts.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining, from the cart fleet event data or the aggregated cart fleet event data, whether a particular path taken by the cart retriever adhered to a preset cart collection path.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising determining, from the cart fleet event data or the aggregated cart fleet event data, operator compliance with following the preset cart collection path.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein the cart fleet event data further comprises speeds of the cart retriever during the cart retrieval trips, and the statistical information further comprises an average speed of the cart retriever during cart retrieval trips.