EP0633851A1

EP0633851A1 - Trolley

Info

Publication number: EP0633851A1
Application number: EP93907919A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michel Deronzier; Michel Godard
Original assignee: SW TRADING SA
Current assignee: SW TRADING SA
Priority date: 1992-04-01
Filing date: 1993-04-01
Publication date: 1995-01-18
Also published as: NO943650D0; FR2689469A1; FI944562A; CA2133195A1; AU3893693A; FI944562A0; WO1993019967A1; NO943650L

Abstract

Trolley comprising, facing the user, means for displaying advertising information, preferably on both sides. The display means can be electronic (17), of the liquid crystal screen type (18), and are secured to the trolley by means of a resilient joint. The trolley can be used both in a public place and a shop. The advertising information can also relate to daily or weekly specials.

Description

TROLLEY

The invention relates to a trolley of the type making it possible, for example, to transport various objects in public places (stations, airports) or even to collect the items taken from the shelves of a store such as a supermarket, before passing at the register.

We have seen recently that supermarket trolleys, hitherto "impersonal" tended to be covered with inscriptions or billboards. In supermarkets, these registrations are very often related to items for promotional sale. However, these inscriptions or panels are naturally arranged on the walls of the carriages, therefore essentially on the sides. If they allow the customer, that is to say the person shopping, to learn about these promotions by taking a look at a neighbor's cart, reading on his own cart is impossible or inconvenient, while it would be appropriate for maximum advertising effectiveness that these promotions are constantly present before the eyes of the potential reader.

Carts were given which include means for displaying data or information arranged facing the user, for example those described in DE-U-8 601 412, FR-A-2 536 564, DE-A-3 932 550, DE-U-9 111 563, EP-A-0 111 235 and US-A-4 988 025, some of which use electronic and / or telecommunications means.

These trolleys, in addition to the fact that their display means, generally flat, are not intended to present the data on their two faces, have the major drawback that these display means are fixed. rigidly and more or less protrude from the carriage in height. This will prevent for example the free passage of the trolley under the gantries often installed at the exit of supermarkets for reasons of anti-theft control or child safety.

The invention remedies these drawbacks by proposing a cart which comprises, arranged facing the user, means for displaying advertising data, for example promotions on products sold in stores, these means being secured to the cart by through an elastic return joint.

Thus, for example, in order to be able to be placed facing the user of the trolley, the data are placed on a support which is itself placed facing the user. This support is for example an attached part fixed to the crossbar of the carriage, that where the user places his hands to push it, by means of at least one flexible articulation.

Such a flexible articulation can in particular be a double hinge of the type of those well known for hinged doors or "saloon" doors.

Such a hinge can also be produced using an elastomer having, by nature or by construction, sufficient rigidity to keep the support straight, but capable of bending effortlessly as soon as the support meets an obstacle in a defined plane. in advance, to then return by elastic return to its initial position as soon as any pressure on the support stops.

Advantageously, the means for displaying data comprise two sides and advertising data can then be displayed on both sides.

Advantageously also, the carriage comprises at least one orifice for communicating with the outside of inside the display means, this as an "anti-fog" measure if the carriage is suddenly changed environment. The risk exists in fact that in the absence of a communication orifice, the panes protecting the display means are covered with fogging, on one side or the other, if for example the carriage passes suddenly from the atmosphere. overheated from a supermarket with the cold atmosphere of a car park in winter.

In a first embodiment, the display means are mechanical means which advantageously comprise a double frame made up of two parts, an external part fixed on the carriage bar and an internal part which can slide in the external part and receiving by example a small poster. On this flyer are printed the desired advertising data, for example, promotions of the day or the week.

Preferably then, the mechanical display means comprise a ratchet device controlling the opening and closing by sliding of the two parts of the double frame. This ratchet device can be provided with a locking device preventing the user or a child from "playing" with it.

In another embodiment, the display means consist of electronic means, for example, by display by means of a liquid crystal screen or by light-emitting diodes, which screen is periodically updated by means of a magnetic card or plug-in chip. These electronic means are powered by one or more batteries, possibly rechargeable during the store closing hours, or by solar cells supplying the "electronic means directly or through a buffer storage battery.

As a variant, the electronic display means are remotely controlled from a central unit constantly updating the promotions of the store. This central comprises means for entering the data relating to promotions, then means for transmitting signals which are received by appropriate reception means placed on the carriage, which take up the signals and coordinate their display.

In this variant, it can advantageously be provided that the electronic means emit a discreet sound signal when the data displayed is modified, in order to attract the attention of the user of the trolley.

In another variant, which is advantageously combined with the previous variant, the electronic means comprise a barcode reader arranged for example on the edge, so that the information read by the barcode reader can be stored and processed. It then suffices for the user to place the bar code displayed on the article in front of the reader, possibly to validate this operation, so that the corresponding price of the article appears on the display means. In yet another variant of calculation means, very simple and accompanied by a memory, allow the accumulation and display of the number of articles and the prices which correspond to them, in positive when an article is placed. in the cart, negative when an item has come out of a cart to be put back on the shelf, which allows the customer to go to the checkout knowing already the exact amount to pay. In addition to saving time, it also helps to avoid errors that keep happening, especially on busy days.

Of course, the carriage can comprise, as is well known, a coin mechanism serving as a deposit, this coin mechanism being a separate member or forming an integral part of the display means.

This coin mechanism can also serve in parallel as a switch or circuit breaker for supplying electronic means. Thus, when the coin mechanism is empty, the carriages being for example threaded into each other in a gathering place and secured to each other, the electrical supply circuit is cut off by the coin mechanism, which protects the batteries, prevents them from being discharged unnecessarily, or preserves solar cells by leaving them to rest; the display screen is blank. When a coin is placed in the coin mechanism, the carriage is released from its neighbor and the electrical supply circuit is automatically switched on, activating the display means; the data appears on the screen. Naturally, the electrical circuit is turned off when the carriage is again pushed into another, the customer recovering his coin.

The invention will be better understood by reference and by comparison with the appended drawings, given by way of nonlimiting examples. In these drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view of the mechanical display means attached to the crossbar of a carriage not shown, FIG. 2 is a view showing the crossbar of the carriage fitted with the means shown in FIGS. 1 or 4,

FIG. 3 is a variant of FIG. 2,

- "Figure 4 is a view of the display means in an electronic version,

FIG. 5 is a front view of display means according to the invention, with their connection by articulation with elastic return, and

- Figure 6 is a sectional view of the display means of Figure 5, according to C-C.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the means 1 for displaying the advertising data comprise an upper part 2 and a lower part 3. The upper part is hollow and comprises two substantially circular recesses 4 and 4 ′ at the base, while that the lower part 3 which can be hollow or full, comprises two corresponding recesses 5.5 'which are also substantially circular. ^~

The upper part 2 actually comprises an extension 6 acting as fixing means and a substantially parallelepiped cage 7 comprising a hollowed out front face 8 and a solid rear face 9, as well as a solid side wall 10 and a hollowed out side wall 11.

This box 8 receives sliding display means proper comprising a bottom 12 on which will be stuck the placard A containing the advertising data or promotions of the day, as well as two side walls 13 and 14.

Once the placard A is stuck on the bottom 12, the display means are slid inside the cage 8 in the direction of the arrow F so that the placard A is completely visible by the openwork face 10 of this cage

8.

As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper part 2, by means of its extension 6, and the lower part 3 trap the bar 15 of a carriage, a bar which is clamped between the jaws formed by the recesses 4,4 ', 5,5', the blocking in position being carried out by means not shown, for example, by clamping screws, staples or a closure of the "beer bottle" type.

As can also be seen in FIG. 2, the bar of the carriage 5 which receives the display means 1, also receives a coin mechanism 16 making a deposit, as is well known.

FIG. 3 represents, indifferently, a variant of the mechanical display means l 'or of the electronic display means of the following figure, as well as a coin mechanism 16' placed in another place. In FIG. 4, electronic display means 17 have been shown comprising the same fixing members 2,3,4,4 ', 5,5', 6 as in the mechanical version of FIG. 1. The upper part however , also parallelepiped in the figure, comprises a front face comprising a screen 18 for liquid crystal display, a rear face 19 full, two side walls 20, 21 also full and a bottom 22. The screen 18 for liquid crystal comprises advertising data, first a permanent or modifiable title "XXXXX", meaning for example the promotions of the day, then alphanumeric data "yyyy", "zzzz", "tttt", "uuuu", "vvvv", "www" which correspond to the promotions themselves, that is to say the items offered for sale at preferential prices or on sale. For example: "yyyy" can mean "salads", "zzzz""yogurts","tttt""asparagus","uuuu""roastbeef","vvvv""toothpaste","wwww""detergents", etc. ..., all indications followed for example by a price.

The upper face 23 of the liquid crystal display box 17 is divided into two parts. A first part comprises solar cells 24 sensitive to artificial light and supplying the electrical energy, necessary for the display and storage electronics and for the display itself, as well as for processing the signals received from the central unit in a version including the appropriate receivers.

In Figure 4, there are shown three solar cells 24.24 ', 24' 'as required, but it is understood that these can be replaced by batteries, for example rechargeable batteries.

The right part of the upper face 23 comprises a bar code reader 25 on which it suffices to affix the bar code appearing on the packaging of the article, by moving it slightly in a direction indicated by the arrow F ′ so that the price of the product is displayed on a particular area of screen 18, area 26 located here in top left. Next to zone 26 are two other zones 26 'and 26''which respectively indicate the number of articles, that is to say the number of times that the barcode reader has been used, then cumulative 26 ', which is the sum of the prices displayed in zone 26.

To facilitate the customer's task, zone 26 displays the price read by the barcode reader 25 and the user must validate this data, i.e. enter the price by pressing the button 27 (+) located on the side wall 20. Each time the button 27 is pressed, the price 26 will be added to the previous one and the new amount will be displayed in the 26 '' zone, the zone 26 'being incremented by one.

In the event that the consumer changes his mind and decides to bring an item out of his cart, all he has to do is pass the item to the barcode in front of the reader 25 and press the button 28 (-), which will lower the price by the article from the previous accumulation and will increment the number of articles by one unit less. The new number of articles and the new total will be displayed as before in the 26 'and 26' 'zones.

The data appearing on the screen 18, that is to say the promotions of the day for example, can be modified at any time and advantageously before the opening of the store by entering new data, for example using a magnetic or chip card which is placed in a housing 29 formed on the face 20 of the electronic display 17.

In a variant not shown, but more elaborate, the promotions will be updated by remote control from a central, the electronic display means comprising means for receiving the signals sent and for processing them.

In order to attract the customer's attention, a noise generator may be provided which will send an audible signal of the type chime every time the data on promotion is modified.

Of course, the display means can be made of any material, metallic, plastic or composite and have simple geometric shapes or specially designed to be pleasing to the eye. They can be simply attached to the resistant bar of the cart or molded in one piece with it, be separated from the coin mechanism or be integral with it.

The display means shown in Figures 1 to 4 can be understood and according to the invention provided with a connecting member with the carriage bar forming an elastic return articulation. This member can for example be constituted by a double hinge allowing tilting in two opposite directions. This member can also consist of a rubber-like elastomer having, without any stress, the rigidity necessary to ensure the holding and the maintenance of the display means, as will be described in more detail in FIGS. 5 and 6 which follow. In these Figures 5 and 6, the means 1 for displaying the advertising data occupy the two faces 31 and 32 on which are stuck small posters A and A ', A being identical or different from A'. The advantage of being able to have both sides is to double the advertising space available, insofar as the display means can precisely be financed by advertising.

The base comprises an upper part 2 and a lower part 3 which are connected together by a member 34 of rigid elastomer making it possible to maintain the display means in the upright position, facing the user. The member 34 has an elasticity by nature, which can possibly be assisted by an elasticity of structure (hollow form), which allows the display means 1 to fold down so as not to exceed the carriage if they are stressed by a push on the front or on the back. The member 34 may be single, over all or part of the length of the display means, or split, in the form of two legs, as shown in the figure.

Following the member 34, there is the lower part 3 of the base, that in which are formed the recesses 4 which are used for fixing to the bar of the carriage and which are held in position using the means of tightening 3, in this case a screw.

As seen in section in Figure 6, the display means 1 are made of a plastic material, which explains the relatively complicated internal structure, necessary to obtain the rigidity necessary for a minimum weight and taking into account molding constraints. The faces 31, 32, receiving the labels A, 'respectively, are each protected by a window 35 and 36. By observing the figures, it will be understood that the inner part slides in the outer frame, but this time from bottom to top according to arrow F ". To proceed with the sliding, it is sufficient to grasp the means 1 in their upper part 37 and to pull upwards, the separation taking place at the level of the line SS.

As seen in detail in Figure 5, in the left part which is a partial exploded view, the sliding is controlled by a ratchet device, the pawl 38 having here a shape of lug which maintains the locking in the lower part, c that is to say in the closed position. A lug release mechanism, not shown, makes it possible to release the lug 38 in order to slide the inner part upwards. If the lug is only a simple boss making only hard point, this sliding is possible by force, without release mechanism.

As can also be seen in FIG. 5, a drilling hole 39 communicates the interior with the exterior and serves as an anti-fog measure as indicated below. above. It thus prevents fogging from settling on the panes 35 or 36, inside or outside.

The object shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is the mechanical variant of the display means, but there is nothing to prevent the posters A and A 'being replaced' by electronic display screens, for example with crystal displays liquids, displaying the same or different data.

Although the invention has been described in relation to use in a supermarket, it applies just as well to a trolley intended to be used in other places, stations or airports for example.

Claims

_-_ 1 2 CLAIMS

1. Forklift comprising, disposed face to the user, means for displaying data to ^advertising character, characterized in that these means are secured to the carriage via an articulation with elastic return.

2. Trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for displaying data comprise two sides and that advertising data can be displayed on both sides.

3. Trolley according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises at least one orifice for communicating with the outside of the inside of the display means.

4. Trolley according to one of claims 1 to 3, the display means of which are mechanical means (1) receiving a small poster (A), characterized in that these means (1) comprise a double frame in two parts, the inner part can slide into the outer part.

5. Trolley according to claim 4, characterized in that the mechanical display means comprise a ratchet device controlling the opening and closing by sliding of the two parts of the double frame.

6. Trolley according to one of claims l to 3, the display means of which comprise electronic means (17), characterized in that these means (17) comprise a screen on which the data displayed are periodically updated.

7. Trolley according to claim 6, characterized in that the screen is a screen (18) with liquid crystals.

8. Trolley according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the data displayed are periodically updated by means of a magnetic card or a plug-in chip.

9. Trolley according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises a barcode reader (25) and that the information read by the reader (25) and the price aggregates of the articles contained in this information are displayed on the electronic display means (17).

10. Trolley according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the electronic means (17) are powered by solar cells (24).