JP7228986B2 - shopping cart - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to shopping carts.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a settlement device that collectively acquires information on electronic tags attached to products in my bag that is suspended and supported by a shopping cart.

Patent Literature 2 discloses a system that automatically performs a series of steps to pack products from a shopping basket while collectively acquiring information on electronic tags attached to the products, and then makes payments.

Patent Literature 3 discloses a system in which a cart loaded with products is passed through a tunnel equipped with a tag reader for collectively obtaining information on electronic tags attached to the products.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-27192 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-120368 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-537346

All of the background technologies use technology for collectively obtaining information on electronic tags attached to products. There is a problem of omitting the step of collectively acquiring the collected products and wanting to purchase the products in a shorter time.

In one embodiment, the shopping cart has a surface that faces obliquely upward, a body that rises obliquely from front to back ; a first support portion positioned above the first support portion and engaged with a handle of the commodity container supported by the support portion; the first support portion and the first a commodity ID reader which is located between the engaging support portions and detects the commodity ID of each individual commodity put into the commodity container from the surface on which the commodity container leans; and a frame member which supports the body. a first caster attached to and positioned forward of the first engagement portion; attached to a frame member that supports the body and positioned rearward of the first engagement portion, together with the first caster a second caster that supports the body so that it can run on the store floor;

Front perspective view of cart POS. The back perspective view of cart POS. 1 is a front perspective view of a cart POS in floor extension configuration; FIG. FIG. 10 is a front perspective view of the cart POS in a state where luggage is placed on the top surface of the floor in the form of floor extension; FIG. 11 is a front perspective view of the cart POS in a state in which packages are locked on hooks; FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the cart POS in a state in which a shopping bag is supported by a low hanger; FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the cart POS in a state in which a shopping bag is supported by a high hanger; FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing a state in which cart POSs of the same shape are put together. Functional block diagram of the cart POS.

An embodiment of a shopping cart will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view showing an example of a cart POS (shopping cart type point of sale terminal) according to an embodiment of a shopping cart. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view showing an example of the cart POS according to one embodiment.

The cart POS 1000 includes a controller 1100, a camera 1101, a card reader 1102, a handle 1110, a high hanger 1120, a low hanger 1130, a hook 1140, a stack plate 1150, a floor 1160, a body 1170, an arm 1180, a front caster 1190, a rear caster 1200, and a high product. An ID reader 1210 , a row product ID reader 1220 , a floor product ID reader 1230 , a battery 1240 and an information lamp 1250 are provided.

The body 1170 rises in front of the customer driving the cart POS 1000 behind the cart POS 1000 . The body 1170 is slanted so that the lower part is farther from the customer and the upper part is closer to the customer. The front surface of the body 1170 faces obliquely forward and upward.

An arm 1180 supports a large-diameter front caster 1190 and a small-diameter rear caster 1200 from above. There are two sets of front casters 1190 , rear casters 1200 and arms 1180 symmetrically with respect to body 1170 . There is a front caster 1190 below near the front end of the arm 1180 . A rear caster 1200 is provided below near the rear end of the arm 1180 . The horizontal interval between the two front casters 1190 is narrower than the horizontal interval between the two rear casters 1200 .

A total of four wheels, front casters 1190 and rear casters 1200, support body 1170 in an inclined posture with respect to the store floor via arms 1180. As shown in FIG.

The spacing between the arms 1180 is wider at the rear end than at the front end. The rear ends of the two arms are lower than the front ends so as to absorb the height difference between the large-diameter front caster 1190 and the small-diameter rear caster 1200 .

From the front end of the arm 1180 halfway to the rear end of the arm 1180 there is a floor 1160 parallel to the store floor. The distance between the inner edges of the two arms 1180 at the rear end of the floor 1160 is approximately the same as the distance between the outer edges of the front ends of the arms 1180 .

The top surface of the floor 1160 has an extension plate 1162 that forms part of the top surface of the floor 1160 in the floor storage mode. The front end of extension plate 1162 is connected to floor lip 1161 . The floor lip 1161 protrudes above the floor 1160 and the arm 1180 and has a ridge parallel to the left-right direction. In the floor extension mode in which the floor lip 1161 is pulled forward shown in FIG. 3, the extension plate 1162 pulled out together with the floor lip 1161 forms the top surface of the floor 1160 that is extended forward. The floor lip 1161 protrudes below the floor 1160 and has ribs parallel to the left-right direction, and also serves as a bumper to prevent the extension plate 1162 from breaking when it comes into contact with an obstacle. The front ends of the two arms 1180 are curved so as to be continuous with the floor lip 1161 in the floor storage mode. Beneath floor 1160 is battery 1240 .

As shown in FIG. 4, luggage can be placed on the top surface of the floor 1160 in the form of floor extension. The ridges of floor lip 1161 prevent forward sliding of cargo placed on floor 1160 . Even if the bottom surface of the load 1163 protrudes forward beyond the front edge of the extension plate 1162, the far side of the bottom surface of the placed load 1163 is supported by the high ridges of the floor lip 1161, and the front corner of the bottom surface is supported. Since the low floor 1160 supports the load 1163 placed thereon, the upper part of the load 1163 is tilted forward, which reduces the risk of the load 1163 tipping forward.

The floor 1160 has a floor product ID reader 1230 that acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the package 1163 placed on the floor 1160 . Floor product ID reader 1230 has a product ID reading range above it. Floor product ID reader 1230 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag above floor 1160 . The floor product ID reader 1230 does not acquire the product ID of the product ID tag under the floor 1160 so as not to acquire the product ID of the product lying on the ground.

Body 1170 supports stack plate 1150 above floor 1160 . The stack plate 1150 is laterally parallel to the store floor. The stack plate 1150 slopes down from the front end far from the body 1170 to the rear close to the body 1170, and further warps rearward from the lowest position. The front end of stack plate 1150 is higher than the rear end of stack plate 1150 . The front end of the stack plate 1150 has a slot in the middle of the horizontal straight edge that is slightly wider than the width of the body 1170 at the same height.

Body 1170 has hook 1140 between floor 1160 and stack plate 1150 . The support surface of the hook 1140 that supports the load 1141 to be latched is retracted into the body 1170 in the hook retracted configuration. The hook 1140 is located in the vicinity of the lower end of the hook 1140 in the hook storage mode and rotates around a rotation axis parallel to the left-right direction to take the hook expansion mode. In the hook extended configuration, the supporting surface of the hook 1140 is slanted so that it is higher farther from the body 1170 and lower closer to the body 1170 . The hook 1140 is biased about its pivot axis and automatically transitions from the hook extended configuration to the hook retracted configuration when there is no load on the supporting surface. In the hook storage mode, the front surface of the hook 1140 from the upper end to the pivot shaft is flush with the front surface of the body 1170 . The hook 1140 in the hook storage mode has a lower end below the pivot shaft, and when the lower end is pushed into the body 1170, the front surface of the hook 1140 from the upper end of the hook 1140 to above the pivot shaft protrudes from the front surface of the body 1170. , the hook 1140 is in the hook extended configuration. As shown in FIG. 5, a handle of luggage 1141 is locked to the supporting surface of hook 1140, which is the upper surface in the extended hook configuration.

The body 1170 has a hook 1142 at the height of the rear stack plate 1150 . The hook 1142 can take a hook retracted form and a hook extended form like the hook 1140, and can support the cargo 1141 to be engaged.

Body 1170 has raw product ID reader 1220 between floor 1160 and hook 1140 . Raw product ID reader 1220 is built into body 1170 . The raw product ID reader 1220 has a product ID reading range obliquely upward in front of it. The raw product ID reader 1220 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the package 1141 as the product container hooked on the hook 1140 .

Since the supporting surface of the hook 1140 is inclined so that the side closer to the body 1170 is lower, the cargo 1141 engaged with the hook 1140 is moved closer to the body 1170 . In addition, since the front surface of the body 1170 faces diagonally upward, the load 1141 leans in front of the raw commodity ID reader 1220 of the body 1170 . Since the load 1141 leans in front of the raw product ID reader 1220, the product tends to be closer to the body 1170, and the raw product ID reader 1220 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the load 1141. Cheap.

Also, the raw product ID reader 1220 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the luggage 1163 placed on the floor 1160 as the product container. Also, the raw product ID reader 1220 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the package 1163 placed on the floor 1160 . The raw product ID reader 1220 and the floor product ID reader 1230 complement each other in terms of acquiring product IDs of product ID tags between the floor 1160 and the stack plate 1150 .

Body 1170 supports low hanger 1130 above stack plate 1150 . The low hanger 1130 has a stay that the body 1170 supports forward from the center in the width direction, and a bar that extends straight in the left-right direction from the center stay. The outer end of the bar of the low hanger 1130 bulges more rearward than midway from the central stay to the outer end.

As shown in FIG. 6, a handle string 1152 of a shopping bag 1151 whose bottom surface is supported by a stack plate 1150 as a product container is hung over the stay in order to support the shopping bag as the product container on the low hanger 1130 . The bar prevents the handle string 1152 from coming off the stay. In addition, since the outer end of the bar bulges rearward, the handle string 1152 is less likely to come off from the bar. Since the customer puts products with product ID tags into the shopping bag 1151 one after another, the stability of the posture of the shopping bag 1151 is important, and it is important to avoid the handle string 1152 from suddenly coming off the stay. It's important.

Body 1170 has high hanger 1120 above low hanger 1130 . A body 1170 has laterally extending grooves in which the left and right ends of its upper landing are depressed. A front wall of the groove functions as a high hanger 1120 . The central part of the front wall of the ditch is also depressed.

As shown in FIG. 7, in order to support the shopping bag as a product container on the high hanger 1120, the long handle string 1154 of the shopping bag 1153 whose bottom surface is supported by the stack plate 1150 as the product container is attached to the front wall of the groove. pass over. The depressions at the left and right ends prevent the long handle string 1154 from slipping out of the front wall of the groove.

Since the customer puts products with product ID tags into the shopping bag 1153 one after another, the stability of the posture of the shopping bag 1153 is important, and it is important to avoid the handle string 1154 from suddenly coming off the stay. It's important.

On the other hand, since the central portion of the front wall of the groove is recessed, the center of the long handle string 1154 can be pinched, making it easy to remove the long handle string 1154 from the front wall of the groove.

Body 1170 has high product ID reader 1210 above stack plate 1150 . High product ID reader 1210 may be embedded in body 1170 . The high product ID reader 1210 has a product ID reading range obliquely upward in front thereof. The high product ID reader 1210 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag attached to the product in the shopping bag supported above the stack plate 1150 . The high product ID reader 1210 reads the product ID tags of the products that the customer puts in the shopping bag one after another.

A shopping bag whose bottom is supported by a stack plate 1150 sloping backwards from the front end leans closer to the body 1170 . Since the high hanger 1120 and the low hanger 1130 are stretched over the handle string, the shopping bag can be easily brought closer to the body 1170. - 特許庁Also, since the front surface of the body 1170 faces diagonally upward, the shopping bag leans in front of the high commodity ID reader 1210 of the body 1170 . Since the shopping bag leans in front of the high product ID reader 1210, the product tends to be closer to the body 1170, and the high product ID reader 1210 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the shopping bag. Cheap.

The rear wall of the groove of the upper landing of the body 1170 has a cambered shape. The upper end of the rear wall has a controller stay 1171 for supporting the controller 1100 . The controller stay 1171 supports the touch panel display 1320 surface of the controller 1100 so that it faces upward from the rear.

The surfaces of the camera 1101 and the card reader 1102 are formed flush with the surface of the touch panel display 1320 . The touch panel display 1320 displays the names and prices of the products placed in the shopping bag one after another and the products placed on the extension plate 1162 read by the high product ID reader 1210 and the low product ID reader 1220 one after another. A camera 1101 obtains an image behind the cart POS 1000 . A card reader 1102 communicates with an electronic money card or terminal for contactless payment. The card reader 1102 may be configured to communicate with the membership card for personal authentication.

Since the rear wall of the groove of the upper landing of the body 1170 is curved backward, the front overhang of the controller 1100 supported by the controller stay 1171 can be reduced, and the long handle string 1154 allows the customer to move forward or upward. Easy to access from

The body 1170 has handles 1110 on the sides below the left and right ends of the upper landing. Handles 1110 are a pair of bars on the left and right sides of body 1170, respectively. The top surface of the base of the handle 1110 with the body 1170 is lower than the bottom of the portion where the left and right ends of the upper landing of the body 1170 are depressed. Also, the front surface of the handle 1110 is behind the rear surface of the front wall of the upper landing groove of the body 1170 . With such a configuration, the left and right portions of the long handle string 1154 stretched over the front wall of the groove can sufficiently hang down, so that the long handle string 1154 can be unexpectedly detached from the front wall of the groove. You can prevent it from slipping.

Since the distance between the front outer edges of the two arms 1180 is wider than the distance between the inner edges of the two arms 1180 at the rear end of the floor 1160, the cart POS 1000 can be driven while operating the controller 1100 from the rear side of the cart POS 1000. It is difficult to disturb the movement of customers who do.

Also, since the distance between the outer edges of the front ends of the two arms 1180 is wider than the distance between the inner edges of the two arms 1180 at the rear end of the floor 1160, another cart POS 1000 having the same shape as the cart POS 1000 as shown in FIG. can be put together by inserting them from behind.

Further, since the width between the inner edges of the two arms 1180 at the rear end of the floor 1160 is substantially the same as the distance between the outer edges of the front ends of the arms 1180, another cart POS 1000 having the same shape as the cart POS 1000 can be used. When put together by inserting from the back, the unity is good. When another cart POS 1000 having the same shape as the cart POS 1000 is inserted from behind, the floor lip 1161 hits the rear end surface of the floor 1160, and if the insertion is further advanced, the extension plate 1162, which was in the floor extension form, is put away to the floor storage position. .

Also, since there is a slot slightly wider than the width of the body 1170 in the center of the front edge of the stack plate 1150, when another cart POS 1000 of the same shape is inserted into the cart POS 1000 from the rear and put together, the body 1170 fits into the slot. Good cohesion because it fits.

Thanks to the front casters 1190 which are larger than the rear casters 1200, the cart POS 1000 can get over the unevenness of the store floor relatively easily while traveling, and the clearance between the battery 1240 located behind the beam at the front end and the store floor is sufficiently large. can be secured to

FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram of the cart POS 1000. As shown in FIG.

The controller 1100 is equipped with a CPU 1260 .

CPU 1260 communicates with ROM 1280 , RAM 1290 , host controller 1300 and storage 1310 via bus line 1270 .

ROM 1280 and storage 1310 store programs such as a so-called operating system executed by CPU 1260 and data necessary for CPU 1260 to execute the programs. Storage 1310 also stores a cart POSID to distinguish cart POS 1000 from other cart POS. The cart POSID may be, for example, a form using a software ID such as a MAC address (Media Access Control address) or a contractor's unique ID.

RAM 1290 stores temporary data and the like when CPU 1260 executes a program.

CPU 1260 displays an image on touch panel display 1320 via host controller 1300 . CPU 1260 also receives input from touch panel display 1320 via host controller 1300 .

CPU 1260 controls communication interface 1330 via host controller 1300 to wirelessly communicate with access points to configure a WLAN. In addition, CPU 1260 controls communication interface 1330 via host controller 1300 in order to wirelessly communicate with beacons in the store.

CPU 1260 communicates with card reader 1102 via host controller 1300 in order to communicate with electronic money cards and terminals for contactless payment.

The CPU 1260 obtains a video signal representing the video behind the cart POS 1000 from the camera 1101 via the host controller 1300 .

The CPU 1260 acquires from the high product ID reader 1210 via the host controller 1300 the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the shopping bag 1151 whose bottom surface is supported by the stack plate 1150 .

The CPU 1260 acquires from the raw product ID reader 1220 via the host controller 1300 the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in the package 1141 hooked on the hook 1140 .

CPU 1260 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of package 1163 placed on floor 1160 from floor product ID reader 1230 via host controller 1300 . CPU 1260 acquires the product ID of the product ID tag of the product in package 1163 placed on floor 1160 from floor product ID reader 1230 via host controller 1300 .

The CPU 1260 controls light emission of the information lamp 1250 via the host controller 1300 .

The battery 1240 is a combination of battery cells and a controller that controls charging and discharging, and supplies power to functional blocks that require power.

Although one embodiment has been described above, application to other embodiments is not excluded. For example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the product container is positioned on the front side of the body 1170 has been described.
On the other hand, a body having a surface facing obliquely backward and upward is provided with a hook or a stack plate inclined forward so that the product container can be leaned against, and a product ID reading range is provided to acquire the product ID of the product inside. A product ID reader may be provided that has the .

Further, the body is not limited to the shape of an elongated pillar, and may be of a wider wall-like shape to support the product container to be leaned against in a more stable posture.

In addition, the floor is not limited to being parallel to the store floor, but the floor is inclined so that the farther from the body is higher and the closer is lower, and the product containers placed on the floor lean against the body. There may be.

With the above configuration, it is possible to have the customers put the products with the product ID tags into the product storage container in a stable posture one after another, and once the product IDs of the product ID tags are put into the product ID reader, the products can be stably stored one after another. In addition, it is possible to purchase products in a shorter time than in the past.

Although the program for implementing the functions of the invention is recorded in advance in the ROM, which is the program storage unit inside the device, the present invention is not limited to this, and a similar program may be downloaded from the network to the device. Alternatively, a similar program recorded on a recording medium may be installed on the device. The recording medium may be of any form, such as CD-ROM, memory card, etc., as long as it can store the program and can be read by the device. Also, the functions obtained by installing or downloading a program may be realized in cooperation with an OS (Operating System) or the like inside the apparatus.

Additionally, while several embodiments of the invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention described in the claims and equivalents thereof.

Cart POS...1000, Controller...1100, Controller stay...1171, Camera...1101, Card reader...1102, Handle...1110, High hanger...1120, Low hanger... 1130, hooks...1140, 1142, packages...1141, 1163, stack plates...1150, shopping bags...1151, 1153, handle straps...1152, long handle straps...1154, Floor...1160, Floor lip...1161, Extension plate...1162, Body...1170, Arm...1180, Front caster...1190, Rear caster...1200, High product ID reader 1210, row product ID reader...1220, floor product ID reader...1230, battery...1240, information lamp...1250, CPU...1260, bus line...1270, ROM 1280, RAM...1290, host controller...1300, storage...1310, touch panel display...1320, communication interface...1330.

Claims (4)

a body that has an obliquely upward facing surface and rises obliquely from front to back ;
a first support for supporting a product receptacle into which the product is placed so as to lean against the surface;
a first engaging support portion positioned above the first supporting portion for engaging and engaging a handle of the commodity container supported by the supporting portion;
A product ID reader that is located between the first supporting portion and the first engaging support portion and detects the product ID of each individual product placed in the product container from the surface on which the product container leans. and;
a first caster attached to a frame member that supports the body and positioned forward of the first engaging support;
a second caster attached to a frame member that supports the body, positioned behind the first engagement support, and supporting the body along with the first caster so as to be able to travel on the store floor;
shopping cart. The body has a second engaging portion that engages and supports the product container on a surface different from the surface,
2. The shopping cart according to claim 1, wherein said second caster is positioned rearwardly of said second engaging support. 2. The shopping cart according to claim 1, further comprising a second support positioned below said first support and supporting said product container so as to lean against said surface. The frame member has a first frame portion that supports the body, and a second frame portion and a third frame portion that are separated from each other toward the rear from the first frame portion,
4. The shopping cart according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second casters are attached near rear ends of the second frame portion and the third frame portion.

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