JP5111168B2 - Shopping basket charging device, shopping basket, shopping basket theft monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shopping basket provided with an electric device and a rechargeable battery serving as a power source for the electric device, a charging device for the shopping basket, and a system for monitoring the theft of the shopping basket.

  In recent years, there have been cases of theft in which convenience stores, supermarkets, and other commercial facilities take items out of the store with items in their shopping carts. In order to prevent the shopping basket from being stolen, it is conceivable that a store clerk is placed at the doorway and monitored by the store clerk.

However, in the method of arranging the clerk at the doorway as described above, a large number of clerk must be arranged at all times, requiring a lot of manpower. In addition, the range that can be monitored is limited by the monitoring by the store clerk, and monitoring cannot be sufficiently performed in a large-scale commercial facility.
Therefore, for example, an IC tag is incorporated into the shopping basket, a radio signal including a shopping basket identification ID for identifying the shopping basket is transmitted by the IC tag, and the wireless signal is received by a sensor provided in the store to be sent to the shopping basket. A method for monitoring the above can be considered. However, in this method, it is necessary to continuously transmit a radio signal from the IC tag. However, if the battery as a power source runs out, the IC tag cannot be operated.

  This invention is made | formed in view of said problem, The objective is to enable it to charge the battery used as the power supply of the electric equipment integrated in the shopping basket.

The shopping basket charging device of the present invention is a shopping basket charging device comprising an electric device and a storage battery serving as a power source for the electric device, and a box-shaped shopping basket having an open top surface is stacked on top of the other. a shopping basket table possible, provided on the shopping basket table, placed on and a rechargeable battery charger to the shopping basket, the basket includes a flange portion formed along an edge of the opening A pair of substantially conical first electrodes embedded in the brim formed on one of the side surfaces of the shopping basket and having an acute apex , and the electric device and the storage battery include the pair of first electrodes Provided on the side surface of the shopping basket on which the collar portion provided with one electrode is formed, and the tops of the pair of first electrodes protrude upward from the upper surface of the collar portion, Each of the bottom surfaces of the first electrodes is recessed and exposed on the bottom surface of the flange, The shopping basket includes a pair of second electrodes having sharp tops to which the output terminals of the charger are connected, and the shopping basket is stacked below in a state where the shopping basket is stacked one above the other. The top of the first electrode of the basket is in contact with the bottom surface of the first electrode of the shopping basket overlaid thereon, and the bottom surface of the first electrode of the shopping basket placed on the lowest stage is The shopping basket is configured to come into contact with the top of the second electrode provided on the shopping basket .

Also, the basket is provided with a coil for generating an induced voltage by receiving the radio wave transmitted from the charger, the 蓄 battery may be charged by the induced voltage generated in the coil.

Further, the shopping basket of the present invention is a box-shaped shopping basket comprising an electrical device and a storage battery serving as a power source for the electrical device, the upper surface being open , and a ridge formed along the edge of the opening. A pair of substantially conical first electrodes embedded in the brim formed on one of the side surfaces of the shopping basket and having an acute apex , and the electric device and the storage battery include the pair of first electrodes Provided on the side surface of the shopping basket on which the collar portion provided with one electrode is formed, and the tops of the pair of first electrodes protrude upward from the upper surface of the collar portion, Each of the bottom surfaces of the first electrodes is recessed and exposed on the bottom surface of the collar, and the first electrode of the shopping basket stacked below is placed in a state where the shopping basket is placed one above the other. The top abuts against the bottom surface of the first electrode of the shopping basket superimposed thereon; The bottom electrode of the first electrode of the shopping basket placed on the lower tier includes a pair of second electrodes having sharp tops to which the output terminals of the charger are connected. It is comprised so that it may contact | abut to the said top part .
In the above shopping basket, the electric device included in the shopping basket may be an IC tag capable of transmitting a radio signal including a shopping basket identification ID for identifying the shopping basket.
The shopping basket theft monitoring system of the present invention is a system for monitoring the above shopping basket being stolen from a store, and is installed in the store and receives a radio signal transmitted from the IC tag. A plurality of possible sensors, and determination means for determining whether or not the shopping basket is in the store based on the shopping basket identification ID included in the wireless signals received by the plurality of sensors. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to charge the rechargeable battery of the shopping basket simply by placing the shopping basket on the shopping basket main body so as to be stacked one above the other.

Hereinafter, an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a theft monitoring system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a theft monitoring system 10 according to the present embodiment. The theft monitoring system 10 of the shopping basket 20 according to the present embodiment has a plurality of sensors 40 installed in a store of a commercial facility such as a supermarket, and the ICs incorporated in the shopping basket 20 possessed by the shopper by the sensors 40. A radio signal transmitted from the tag 21 is received, and the theft of the shopping basket 20 is monitored based on the radio signal received by the sensor 40.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a theft monitoring system 10 is attached to a shopping basket 20, an IC tag 21 that transmits a radio signal including a shopping basket identification ID for identifying the shopping basket 20, a monitoring device 30, and a monitoring device. 30, a plurality of sensors 40 connected to 30, and a plurality of speakers 50 connected to the monitoring device 30.

  The monitoring device 30 includes a theft determination unit 31, a shopping basket monitoring unit 32, an alarm transmission unit 33, a reception history recording unit 34, a reception history acquisition unit 35, and a reception history database 36.

A plurality of sensors 40 are arranged so that the receivable range covers the entire area of the store, and a speaker 50 is provided in the vicinity of the sensor 40 corresponding to each sensor 40. The sensor 40 receives a signal transmitted by the IC tag 21, and the shopping basket monitoring unit 32 acquires a shopping basket identification ID included in the wireless signal received by the sensor 40 and a sensor identification ID that identifies the sensor 40. .
The theft determination unit 31 determines whether or not the shopping basket 20 has been stolen based on the shopping basket identification ID acquired by the shopping basket monitoring unit 32 by a method described later.
A speaker 50 is connected to the alarm transmission unit 33, and an alarm is transmitted from the connected speaker 50 when the theft determination unit 31 determines that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen.

In the reception history database 36, each shopping basket identification ID and a sensor identification ID indicating the sensor 40 that last received the shopping basket identification ID are recorded in association with each other.
The reception history recording unit 34 records the sensor identification ID acquired by the shopping cart monitoring unit 32 in the reception history database 31 for each shopping cart identification ID.
When the shopping basket monitoring unit 32 determines that the theft has occurred, the reception history acquisition unit 35 refers to the reception history database 31 and stores the shopping basket identification ID corresponding to the shopping basket 20 determined to be stolen. The sensor identification ID (that is, the sensor identification ID of the sensor 40 that last received the shopping basket identification ID of this shopping basket) is acquired in association with it.

In addition, the monitoring apparatus 30 is comprised by the computer, for example, and each function part 31-35 is implemented when a computer runs a program. The database 36 is constructed in a storage device such as a memory or a hard disk.
In the store, there is a shopping basket 60 for placing the unused shopping baskets 20 on top of each other.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing the configuration of the shopping basket 20, wherein FIG. 2A is a perspective view, FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view along CC ′ in FIG. (D) is a DD ′ cross-sectional view in (B). As shown in the figure, the shopping basket 20 is a box-shaped plastic basket whose upper surface is open, and a hook 20A extending outward is formed around the opening, and the shopping basket 60 The upper and lower baskets 20A of the shopping basket 20 are overlapped with each other.
A pair of electrodes 23 project upward from the flange portion 20A of the opening, and the lower surface thereof is provided so as to be exposed on the lower surface of the flange portion 20A of the shopping basket 20. A storage battery 22 is electrically connected to the pair of electrodes 23, and the storage battery 22 is electrically connected to the IC tag 21. The IC tag 21 is an active type IC tag, and always transmits the above-described radio signal when power is supplied from the storage battery 22.

  3A and 3B are diagrams showing the configuration of the shopping basket 60. FIG. 3A is a perspective view, and FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. As shown in the figure, the shopping basket 60 is composed of a frame member 61 that can accommodate the shopping basket 20. The frame member 61 is provided with an electrode 62 so as to protrude upward at a position directly below the electrode 23 in a state where the shopping basket 20 is accommodated. The electrode 62 is connected to a charger 64 that operates with electric power supplied from an outlet 63.

  4A and 4B are views showing a state in which a plurality of shopping baskets 20 are placed on the shopping basket 60, wherein FIG. 4A is a perspective view, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged cross-sectional view in the vicinity of the shopping basket electrodes 62. And (C) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC 'in (B). As shown in the figure, the electrode 62 protruding upward from the frame member 61 of the shopping basket 60 is in contact with the portion exposed on the lower surface of the collar portion 20A of the electrode 23 of the shopping basket 20 located at the lowest level. Thus, power is supplied from the electrode 62 to the electrode 23. Further, in the shopping basket 20 stacked up and down, a portion of the shopping basket 20 positioned in the lower stage that protrudes above the electrode 23 comes into contact with the lower surface of the electrode 23 of the shopping basket 20 positioned in the upper stage. Thereby, the electrodes 23 of the plurality of shopping baskets 20 placed in an overlapping manner are electrically connected to each other.

  Thereby, electric power is supplied from the electrode 62 to the electrodes 23 of all the stacked shopping baskets 20, and the storage batteries 22 of all the shopping baskets 20 are charged.

Hereinafter, the flow of monitoring the theft of the shopping basket 20 by the theft monitoring system 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
As described above, a radio signal including a shopping basket identification ID for identifying the shopping basket 20 is constantly transmitted from the IC tag 21 of the shopping basket 20. Since the sensor 40 is arranged so that the receivable range covers the entire area in the store, when the shopping basket 20 is in the store, the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21 is the sensor 40 in the store. Are received by at least one of them.

First, in STEP 1, the monitoring device 30 acquires the shopping cart identification ID included in the radio signal received by the sensor 40 from all the sensors 40 by the shopping cart monitoring unit 32.
Next, in STEP 2, the theft determination unit 31 determines whether or not the shopping basket identification IDs corresponding to all the shopping baskets 20 have been acquired.

  If it is determined in STEP 2 that the shopping basket identification IDs corresponding to all the shopping baskets 20 have been acquired (YES in STEP 2), all the shopping baskets 20 exist in the store, so the shopping basket 20 It is determined that no theft has occurred.

In this case, in STEP 3, the monitoring device 30 uses the reception history recording unit 34 to add the sensor 40 from which the shopping basket monitoring unit 32 has acquired the shopping basket identification ID to the reception history database 36 for each shopping basket identification ID. The sensor identification ID shown is recorded as a pair.
Then, returning to STEP 1, the above steps 1 to 3 are repeated at predetermined time intervals.

  If it is determined in STEP 2 that the shopping basket identification ID of any shopping basket 20 has not been acquired (NO in STEP 2), the shopping basket 20 corresponding to the shopping basket identification ID that has not been acquired is Since it was taken out of the store which is outside the receivable area by the sensor 40, it is determined that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen.

  In this case, in STEP 4, the monitoring device 30 refers to the reception history database 36 by the reception history acquisition unit 35 and refers to the sensor identification ID associated with the shopping basket identification ID of the shopping basket 20 determined to be stolen. get.

  Next, in STEP 5, the monitoring device 30 transmits an alarm indicating that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen from the speaker 50 provided in the vicinity of the sensor 40 corresponding to the acquired sensor identification ID by the alarm transmitter 33.

  As a result, the employee can immediately know not only that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen, but also the location of the occurrence. In addition, the number of witnesses can be increased because it is possible to notify the shoppers around the location where the shopping basket 20 has been taken away that the theft has occurred. For this reason, it is hoped that the case can be resolved early even if theft occurs.

  Moreover, according to this embodiment, since the charging device for charging the storage battery 22 is incorporated in the shopping cart stand on which the unused shopping cart 20 is placed, the shopping cart 20 is not used. It is possible to charge the battery while it is placed, and this can avoid a situation where the battery runs out and the IC tag becomes inoperable.

  Further, by providing the electrode 23 so as to protrude from the upper surface of the basket 20A of the shopping basket 20 and to be exposed on the lower surface of the basket 20A, even when the shopping basket 20 is stacked and placed, Since these electrodes 23 become conductive, the storage battery 22 can be charged even when the shopping basket 20 is stacked.

  Further, since it is possible to detect the theft of the shopping basket 20 based on whether or not the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21 attached to the shopping basket 20 can be received by the sensor 40 installed in the store, You can discover theft of shopping basket 20 without spending. Moreover, even if it is a large commercial facility, the theft of the shopping basket 20 can be monitored by providing the receivable range of the sensor 40 so as to cover the inside of the store.

  In addition, since the alarm is issued by the speaker 50 provided in the vicinity of the sensor 40 from which the wireless signal is finally received, the number of witnesses increases and even if theft occurs, an early case resolution can be expected.

  In the present embodiment, the electrode 23 is provided on the basket 20A of the shopping basket 20. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the electrode 23 is provided in a state where a plurality of shopping baskets 20 are stacked. It is only necessary to be provided at a position where the electrodes 23 are in contact with each other.

  In the present embodiment, the alarm is issued from the speaker 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a screen display indicating that the theft has occurred may be displayed, and any means for transmitting the alarm is usable.

  In the present embodiment, the occurrence of theft of the shopping basket 20 is monitored based on whether or not the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21 by the sensor 40 can be received. Based on the radio signal received by the sensor 40, the position of the shopping basket 20 may be estimated to monitor the occurrence of theft.

  Further, for example, the sensor 40 may be provided only outside the store entrance, and when a wireless signal is received by the sensor 40, it may be determined that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen. In addition, when a parking lot or the like is installed in the store, the sensor 40 is installed so that the parking lot is included in the receivable range, and the theft occurs when a wireless signal is not received by the sensor 40. You may determine that you did.

  In the present embodiment, the alarm is issued from the speaker 50 provided in the vicinity of the sensor 40. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a speaker is incorporated in the shopping basket 20, and the alarm is issued from the speaker. Is also possible. In such a case, an antenna for transmitting a radio signal is connected to the monitoring device 30, and if the shopping basket monitoring unit 33 determines that the shopping basket 20 has been taken away, it is taken away by the antenna. A radio signal for warning including an identification ID corresponding to the shopping basket 20 is transmitted. When the IC tag 21 receives this wireless signal in each shopping basket 20, it is determined whether or not the shopping basket identification ID included in the wireless signal corresponds to the shopping basket 20, and if so, from the speaker 50. An alarm should be issued. In such a configuration, when it is determined that the shopping basket 20 has been stolen because the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21 cannot be received, there is a possibility that the transmission IC tag 21 cannot receive the signal from the antenna. However, by making the wireless signal transmitted from the antenna stronger than the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21, even if the antenna cannot receive the wireless signal transmitted from the IC tag 21, it is transmitted from the antenna. It is possible for the IC tag 21 to receive a radio signal.

  In the present embodiment, the storage battery 22 is charged by electrically connecting the electrode 23 provided on the basket 20A of the shopping basket 20 and the electrode 61 of the shopping basket 60. The storage battery can also be charged by a non-contact type charger. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the shopping basket 120 and the shopping basket 160 when charging is performed by the non-contact type shopping basket 160. As shown in the figure, a non-contact type power transmission device 161 having a planar coil 162 is provided on the lower surface of the shopping basket 160, and power is supplied to the power transmission device 161 from an outlet 163. Further, a non-contact type power receiving device 123 including a planar coil 124 is provided on the bottom surface of the shopping basket 120, and the power receiving device 123 is electrically connected to a storage battery 122 that supplies power to the IC tag 121. Has been.

With this configuration, when the shopping basket 120 is placed on the shopping basket 160, the voltage induced in the coil 162 of the power transmission apparatus 161 induces the voltage of the coil 123 of the power reception apparatus 124 by electromagnetic induction. Thereby, electric power is supplied to the storage battery 122 and the storage battery 122 can be charged.
Although the coils of the upper shopping basket 120 are separated from the power transmission device 161, an induced voltage is generated due to electromagnetic induction caused by the induced voltage of the coil 123 of the shopping basket 120 directly below, so that regardless of the stacking position of the shopping basket 20. It can be charged.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the theft monitoring system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of a shopping basket, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is the B section enlarged view in (A), (C) is CC 'sectional drawing in (B), (D) FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line DD ′ in FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of a shopping basket stand, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is the B section enlarged view in (A). It is a figure which shows the state by which the several shopping basket was piled up on the shopping basket stand, (A) is a perspective view, (B) is an expanded sectional view of the vicinity of the electrode of a shopping basket, (C) is ( It is CC 'sectional drawing in B). It is a flowchart which shows the flow which prevents the theft of a shopping basket by a theft monitoring system. It is a figure which shows the structure of the shopping basket and charger when charging with a non-contact-type charger.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Anti-theft system 20, 120 Shopping basket 21, 121 IC tag 22, 122 Storage battery 23 Electrode 30 Monitoring device 31 Theft determination part 32 Shopping basket monitoring part 33 Alarm transmission part 34 Reception history recording part 35 Reception history acquisition part 36 Reception history database 40 Sensor 50 Speaker 60, 160 Shopping basket 61 Frame material 62 Electrode 63, 163 Outlet 64 Charger 123 Power receiving device 124 Coil 161 Power transmission device 162 Coil 164 Transformer

Claims (4)

A shopping basket charging device comprising an electrical device and a storage battery serving as a power source for the electrical device,
A shopping cart stand that can be placed on top of each other with a box-shaped shopping basket with an open top ;
Provided in the shopping basket table, and a chargeable charger placed on said basket,
The shopping basket is a pair of substantially conical shapes having a hook formed along the edge of the opening and a hook formed on one of the side surfaces of the shopping basket and having an acute apex. One electrode ,
The electrical device and the storage battery are provided on the side surface of the shopping basket in which the collar portion provided with the pair of first electrodes is formed,
Each top part of the pair of first electrodes protrudes upward from the upper surface of the flange part,
Each of the bottom surfaces of the pair of first electrodes is recessed and exposed on the lower surface of the flange,
The shopping basket comprises a pair of second electrodes having sharp tops to which the output terminals of the charger are connected,
With the shopping basket placed one above the other, the top of the first electrode of the shopping basket stacked underneath the bottom of the first electrode of the shopping basket stacked thereon The bottom surface of the first electrode of the shopping basket placed in contact with the bottom is in contact with the top of the second electrode provided on the shopping basket. A shopping basket charging device. A box-shaped shopping basket comprising an electric device and a storage battery serving as a power source for the electric device, the upper surface of which is open ,
And a pair of substantially conical first electrodes embedded in the collar formed on one of the side surfaces of the shopping basket and having an acute apex. ,
The electrical device and the storage battery are provided on the side surface of the shopping basket in which the collar portion provided with the pair of first electrodes is formed,
Each top part of the pair of first electrodes protrudes upward from the upper surface of the flange part,
Each of the bottom surfaces of the pair of first electrodes is recessed and exposed on the lower surface of the flange,
With the shopping basket placed one above the other, the top of the first electrode of the shopping basket stacked underneath the bottom of the first electrode of the shopping basket stacked thereon The shopping basket comprising a pair of second electrodes, wherein the bottom surface of the first electrode of the shopping basket placed in contact with the lowermost stage has an acute apex to which an output terminal of a charger is connected. A shopping basket characterized by being configured to abut against the top of the two electrodes . A shopping basket according to claim 2 ,
The shopping basket characterized in that the electrical equipment provided in the shopping basket is an IC tag capable of transmitting a radio signal including a shopping basket identification ID for identifying the shopping basket. A system for monitoring the shopping basket according to claim 3 being stolen from a store,
A plurality of sensors installed in the store and capable of receiving radio signals transmitted from the IC tag;
-Out the basket identification ID based Dzu included in the radio signals received by the plurality of sensors, a determination unit configured to determine whether the shopping basket is in the store,
A shopping basket theft monitoring system characterized by comprising: