GB2035225A - Applications of calculators - Google Patents

Abstract

A shopping basket or trolley is provided with a calculator to enable the customer to totalise the prices of goods selected for purchase. The adding device may have a casing (2) containing an electronic totalising circuit (11), with operating controls (10) and a digital display (8) on the outside of the casing. A mounting structure (5, 6) is connected to the casing for use in mounting the device on a convenient supports such as a handle (1) of a shopping trolley. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Adding devices This invention is concerned with adding devices.

When purchasing goods in a supermarket or other self-service establishment a customer may wish to keep a check on the total cost of goods selected by him. For this purpose an electronic calculator of the hand-held kind may be used, but this has the disadvantage that it may not be possible simply and conveniently to operate the calculator, or at least to carry same ready for use, whilst loading goods into or holding the usual basket or trolley provided by the self-service establishment.

An object of the present invention is to provide an adding device which can conveniently and simply be used or carried ready for use by a person whilst holding or loading such a basket or trolley.

According to one aspect of the invention therefore there is provided a container for goods, such as a basket or trolley suitable for use in a self-service establishment to receive goods selected for purchase by a customer, wherein an adding device is provided on and is supported by said basket or trolley for operation by the customer.

With this arrangement it will be appreciated that the adding device can be maintained in a ready-foruse easily accessible position whilst the customer is holding or loading goods into the basket or trolley and the arrangement may even be such that the customer may be able to operate the adding device whilst he is holding the basket or trolley or loading goods into same.

With regard to the nature of the adding device this may take any suitable mechanical, electrical or electronic form. Preferably however and in accordance with a second aspect of the present invention the adding device comprises a case containing an electronic totalising circuit, operating controls accessible externally of said case for entering amounts to be totalised by said totalising circuit, and a digital display device visible externally of said case and connected to said totalising circuit for displaying a digital total of said entered amounts; and mounting means connected to said case for mounting same in a supported position relative to the container. Most preferably, the adding device is in the form of an electronic calculator having a digital display of the LED or LCD kind and a keyboard.For the sake of simplicity and to facilitate use by customers who may not be familiar with the operation of calculator devices, such electronic calculator device may have relatively few keys and operational functions. In particular the sole arithmetical function of the device under the control of said keyboard may be that of totalisation. In addition to totalising entered amounts, the device may be operable to count items entered and produce on demand a display of the total thereof. If desired, a start switch may be provided which is linked to a timing device associated with a battery providing power for the adding device whereby the device is switched off at a predetermined time after operation of the start switch to conserve battery power and prolong operational life of components thereof.

The said mounting means may take any suitable form. In one embodiment the mounting means can hold the adding device in a prominent position detachably connected to the bracket or trolley in such a manner that detachment cannot be effected readily or can only be readily effected by an authorised person. Thus, the mounting means may be a clip or basket or other clamp structure which is engageable at least partially around a rim or handle of the basket or trolley, such engagement being of a tight nature or incorporating a screw clamp or key-operated locking mechanism. If desired, it is possible to incorporate the adding device as an integral part of the basket or trolley. In an alternative embodiment, the mounting means provides for readily detachable engagement with a support such as the handle or rim of a basket or trolley.In this case, the mounting means may be retractable into or foldable against the case of the adding device so that the device is conveniently portable and storable when not in use.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of an adding device applied to a handle of a shopping trolley in accordance with one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic sectional view of the arrangement of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a block circuit diagram of the device of Figure 1; and Figures 4, 5and 6 are diagrammatic perspective views of alternative embodiments.

Figure 1 relates to a shopping trolley of conven tionalform having a large wheeled basket with a rearwardly projecting handle having a horizontally extending handgrip bar 1.

Mounted on the bar there is an adding device having a thin generally rectangular plastics casing 2.

One large face 3 of the casing is the front face thereof and this is directed towards the rear of the trolley, i.e.

in a position facing a person pushing the trolley. The opposite large face 4 of the casing 2 is the back face thereof and this is clamped against the trolley bar 1 by two moulded plastics part-tubular clamp members 5,6 which grip the bar 1 on opposite sides thereof. One clamp member 5 is secured to the back face 4 of the casing 2 and the other clamp member 6 is secured to the first clamp member 5 by screws 7.

The casing 2 is held in position longitudinally of the bar 1.

On the front face 3 of the casing 2 there is a keyboard 10 of control buttons (or touch switches or the like) and a large digital display 8 of the LCD kind.

At one end of the casing 2 there is an on-off switch 9 and within the casing there is an electronictotalising circuit utilising a single i.c. chip 11 of the kind designated TOSHIBA T3804 connected to the display 8 and to the control buttons 10 on the front face 3. A power supply 12 incorporating a battery is also mounted within the casing 2 and is controlled by the switch 9. The battery may be accessible for replacement purposes via a covered opening in the casing 2 which may be provided in the back face 4 thereof so that the casing must be removed from the trolley bar 1 before the battery can be removed.

In use, a customer using the trolley fitted with the adding device in a self-service establishment first operates the on-off switch 9, although if desired the switch 9 may be omitted and the circuitry may be permanently actuated, the power consumption of the circuitry and the LCD device being sufficiently low to to give a long enough operating life for the battery.

During the period of use of the trolley, as the customer selects goods and loads same into the trolley, the purchase price of the goods can be entered into the adding device by appropriate operation of a row often buttons of the keyboard 10 numbered 1 to 9 and 0. Each entered price is displayed on the digital display device 8. It will be noted that a decimal point key is not provided and instead the circuitry allows for automatic display of entered amounts to two decimal places. Thus, for example, entry of the numbers 65, 3, 357, 1000 (corresponding for example to 65 cents, 3 cents, 2 dollars 57 cents, 10 dollars) will give displays of 0.65, 0.03,2.57, 10.00.

After one price has been entered, the customer may press an add button 11 of the keyboard before entering the next price, whereby a running-total is displayed.

An item error button 14 is provided for clearing a single erroneous entry, and a start button 15 is provided for clearing all entries so that the adding device is ready for re-use.

If desired, in order that the customer can keep a check on the number of purchases, the electronic circuitry may perform an item counting function. In this case, the digital display 8 may have a separate digit or digits (not shown) producing a display of the running total of number of purchases. Alternatively, the circuitry may include a memory and the same display digits may be used both for the totalised price and for the total number of items, buttons 16, 17 being provided for selecting the desired display.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only. Thus, tor example, entry of prices need not involve the use often keys but instead if desired the adding device may have fewer keys (say representing 10,5, 1,10.05, .01) which are pressed selectively one or more times to give a totalised numerical entry.

Further, and as indicated in Figures 4 and 5, the device may be provided with a mounting structure which is adapted for easy detachable engagement with the bar 1 of the trolley and which is retractable or foldable when not in use so that the device can be conveniently carried for example in a person's pocketora bag orthe like.

As shown in Figure 4, the back face of the casing 20 of the device has two hinged flat clip structures 21 at opposite ends thereof. The clip structures 21 can be moved downwardly about hinge joints 22 so as to extend perpendicularly to the back face as indicated in the drawing. In this position, the device can be clipped onto the bar 1. When not in use, the clip structures 21 hinge upwardly towards each other to positions at which they lie flat on the back face. Easy release catches (not shown) or the like may be provided to hold the clip structures 21 in this stored position.

With the embodiment of Figure 5, one or more flexible bands 23 or straps are provided on the casing 24. Such bands or straps may be permanently fixed at one end to the casing and adjustably or detachably connected thereto at their other ends 25 via interengagement of Velcro fasteners on such ends 25 and on the casing (at 26).

This embodiment can also be used on a person's wrist or forearm.

With the embodiment of Figure 6, the device can be mounted on a basket or trolley, or indeed on any other suitable support, by means of an upper hook 27 at the back face of the casing 28 which engages a projecting part of the support (such as the rim 29 of a trolley in front of the handle 1), and a lower projection 30 (in the form of an arm or other structure) which acts to space the casing 28 away from the trolley or the like. The hook 27 and the projection 30 may be hinged to the casing 28 (or otherwise movably connected thereto) so that they can be retracted or folded for storage purposes.

Claims (16)

1. A container for goods, such as a basket or trolley suitable for use in a self-service establishment to receive goods selected for purchase by a customer, wherein an adding device is provided on and is supported by said basket or trolley for operation by the customer.

2. A container according to claim 1, which is a trolley having a handle, the adding device being mounted on said handle.

3. A container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said adding device is detachably mounted on the container.

4. An adding device for use with a container according to claim 1, comprising a case containing: an electronic totalising circuit, operating controls accessible externally of said case for entering amounts to be totalised by said totalising circuit, and a digital display device visible externally of said case and connected to said totalising circuit for displaying a digital total of said entered amounts; and mounting means connected to said case for mounting same in a supported position relative to the container.

5. An adding device according to claim 4, which is adapted to be mounted on an elongate support, such as a handle of said container, and the said mounting means comprises a clamp structure adapted to fit at least partially around said support.

6. An adding device according to claim 5, wherein said case is of elongate form and is adapted to be mounted on said support longitudinally thereof.

7. An adding device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said clamp structure comprises a strap.

8. An adding device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein said clamp structure comprises a spring clip.

9. An adding device according to claim 4, wherein the mounting means comprises a hook adapted to engage a support, such as a body part of said container.

10. An adding device according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein said mounting means is detachably engageable with said support and is foldable against or retractable into said case when not in use.

11. An adding device according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein said digital display is an LCD display.

12. An adding device according to any one of claims 4 to 11,wherein said operating controls comprise a keyboard.

13. An adding device according to any one of claims 4 to 12, wherein totalisation is the only arithmetical function which can be performed by said electronic circuit under the operation of said controls.

14. An adding device according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein said electronic circuit is also operable to count items added therewith and to produce on demand a display on said digital display of such count.

15. An adding device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

16. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, with an adding device according to any one of claims 4 to 15.