JPH10238149A - System for shopping cart collection - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To return a shopping cart down to the shopping cart collection place of a shopping building from a multi-story parking space juxtaposed on the shopping building. SOLUTION: A shopping cart collection system 2 includes a belt conveyor in a parking space for horizontally moving a shopping cart 16 at each parking story of a multi-story parking space 12. The belt conveyor is set in a space behind each parking space of each parking story of the multi-story parking space 12. A lift 34 in the parking space receives the shopping cart 16 from the belt conveyor in the parking space to lower it to a basement 32 of the multi-story parking space 12. A belt conveyor 48 between the parking space and the shopping building receives the shopping cart 16 from the lift 34 in the parking space to horizontally be moved from the basement 32 of the multi- story parking space 12 to the basement 46 of the shopping building 10. A lift 50 in the shopping building is lifted to one floor which is the setting floor of a shopping cart collection place 18 from the basement 46 of the shopping building 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shopping cart collection system for a store building having a multi-story parking lot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A large-scale suburban store handling groceries, daily necessities and the like has a parking lot in the store, and a shopping cart is prepared in the store. In Japan, where land prices are high, the parking lot of this kind of large store is often regarded as a multi-story parking lot. When the shopper using the shopping cart has paid for the shopping, he or she puts the purchased article on the shopping cart again, carries it to the car in the parking lot, and transfers it to the car. Used shopping carts are brought to the shopping cart collection area near the car, if any, but are otherwise left unattended. The staff in charge of the shopping carts left in this manner must be collected one by one and returned to the shopping cart storage area near the entrance of the store building.

[0003]

In such a situation, the number of shopping carts held by the store is limited. There is a problem that there is a risk of causing trouble. In addition, a staff member must be provided to collect the shopping cart used by the shopper and return the shopping cart to the shopping cart storage area. According to the present invention, the space existing adjacent to each parking space behind each parking space for each car defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot is provided with a conveyor for transferring a shopping cart. It was devised with a focus on being extremely convenient to use as a space, and the object of the present invention is to
An object of the present invention is to provide an automated shopping cart collection system for returning a shopping cart used by a shopper from a multi-story parking lot attached to a store building to a shopping cart storage place of the store building.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention relates to a system for collecting shopping carts in a store building having a multi-story parking garage. A conveyor in a parking lot, which is provided so that a shopping cart can be placed behind each parking space for each of the formed cars, and which horizontally moves the loaded shopping cart behind each parking space. A shopping cart is received from the conveyor in the parking lot at each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot, and a lift in the parking lot for dropping the received shopping cart from each parking floor and a shopping cart dropped by the lift in the parking lot are received. Transfer means for transferring the received shopping cart to the shopping cart storage of the store building, the conveyor in the parking lot, the lift in the parking lot, and the transporter A control system for controlling the parking area conveyor, the parking lot lift, and is characterized in that a power supply system for supplying the driving power of the transfer means. The present invention also relates to a system for collecting shopping carts in a store building having a multi-story parking garage, wherein the system is located behind each parking space for one car defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking garage. The parking cart is provided so that the shopping cart can be placed thereon, and the loaded shopping cart is horizontally moved along the back of each parking space, and the conveyor in the parking lot on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot. Receiving the shopping cart and lowering the received shopping cart from each parking floor to the basement floor, and receiving the shopping cart unloaded by the parking lot lift at the basement floor and placing the received shopping cart in a three-dimensional location. When receiving a shopping cart from the parking lot store building conveyor that horizontally moves from the basement floor of the parking lot to the basement floor of the store building, and the parking lot store building building conveyor A lift in the store building for raising the shopping cart from the basement of the store building to the floor where the shopping cart is placed, the conveyor in the parking lot, the lift in the parking lot, the conveyor between the parking lot store buildings, and the store building A control system for controlling the internal lift, and a power supply system for supplying driving power for the conveyor in the parking lot, the lift in the parking lot, the conveyor between the parking lot stores and the lift in the store building. It is characterized by.

Further, the present invention provides a video camera for monitoring a shopping cart on a conveyor in a parking lot, a monitor device for displaying an image from the video camera to a supervisor, and a monitoring system. A manual control device for manually controlling a conveyor in the parking lot and a lift in the parking lot by a manual operation by a member. Further, the present invention provides the control system, wherein the control system includes a video camera for monitoring a shopping cart on the conveyor in the parking lot, an analysis device for performing image analysis of video by the video camera, and automatic control according to an analysis result of the analysis device. And an automatic control device for controlling the conveyor in the parking lot and the lift in the parking lot. Further, in the invention, it is preferable that the power supply system includes a solar cell installed on a roof on a top floor of the multi-story parking lot and an output adjusting device for adjusting an output of the solar cell.

According to the present invention, the shopper using the shopping cart loads the used shopping cart after loading the goods in the parked car on the conveyor in the parking lot adjacent to the car. Only a small number of shopping carts are left alone, a limited number of shopping carts can be operated efficiently, and labor for collecting the shopping carts can be saved.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a schematic view of a shopping cart collection system for a store building having a multi-story parking lot according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of one parking floor of the multi-story parking lot, and FIG. 3 is a cross section of the multi-story parking lot. It is a side view. FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Is provided with a shopping cart collection system 2. The multi-story parking lot 12 is a so-called self-propelled entrance / exit type multi-story parking lot in which a driver drives a car and puts the car in and out of a parking space on each parking floor. The store building 10 and the multi-story parking lot 12 are built side by side, and the respective third floor portions are connected to each other by a communication passage 14. In the vicinity of the first floor entrance of the store building 10, there is provided a shopping cart place 18 in which a shopping cart 16 is placed so that shoppers can use it freely. The shopper who has made a purchase using the shopping cart 16 puts the purchased goods on the shopping cart 16 again after paying, and moves the storey 10 from the multi-storey parking lot 12.
The user carries the goods to his / her car which has been parked using a passenger elevator (not shown) in the multi-story parking lot 12, and transfers the goods to the car. As shown in FIG. 2, each parking floor of the multistory parking lot 12 is connected to upper and lower floors by an ascending slope 20 and a descending slope 22, and the floor of each parking floor is a white line, each of which corresponds to one automobile. A large number of parking spaces 24 are arranged side by side. In addition, 25 is a drainage ditch in the figure. In front of each parking space 24, vehicle passage 2
7 are arranged, a curb 26 made of a concrete block for a car stop is arranged at the rear in each parking space 24, and behind each parking space 24 is a curb 2.
A relatively narrow space adjacent to the parking space 24 is left between the wall 6 and the wall 28. This space is a space that exists behind and adjacent to each parking space 24 for each car defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot 12 and corresponds to the present invention. In this shopping cart collection system 2, a multi-story parking lot 1
A belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot (corresponding to the conveyor in the parking lot in the claims) for horizontally moving the shopping cart 16 at each of the parking floors 2 is installed. And, on the shopping cart storage area 18 of the store building 10 and the wall 28 of each parking floor, a "request letter" is posted to the shopper who uses the shopping cart 16, whereby the shopping cart after use is used. The shopper is required to place the cart 16 on the belt conveyor 30. Since the shopper has the belt conveyor 30 immediately behind the car in which the items in the shopping cart 16 have been reloaded, it is as if the shopper takes the shopping cart 16 to the shopping cart accumulation place away from the car. I don't feel any trouble.

[0008] The shopping cart collection system 2 further receives the shopping cart 16 from the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot of each parking floor of the multi-storey parking lot 12 and receives the shopping cart 16.
The parking lot lift 34 for lowering the shopping cart 16 from each parking floor to the basement floor 32 is provided. Shopping cart 1 from belt conveyor 30 in parking lot to lift 34 in parking lot
As a delivery mechanism for delivering 6, an appropriate mechanism according to the configuration of the belt conveyor 30 and the lift 34 actually used may be used. For example, the belt conveyor 30 may have the same configuration as a moving sidewalk, and may have a groove or a concave portion for holding wheels of the shopping cart 16 on its tread surface. Conveyors can be used. As the lift 34, FIG.
When a floor type dam weight as shown in FIG. 1 is used, the shopping cart 16 from the belt conveyor 30 to the lift 34 can be used.
Can be relatively easily performed. In this case, as a delivery mechanism of the shopping cart, for example, the shopping cart 16 transferred to the tip of the belt conveyor 30 is used.
A simple electric or hydraulic arm mechanism (not shown) may be installed in front of the door 42 of the dam weight, which functions to push the arm into the basket 38 of the dam weight. Further, as the lift 34, an elevator equipped with a shopping cart suspension mechanism may be used in place of the car of the dam weighter. In this case, the shopping cart delivery mechanism is, for example, an arm mechanism that grips the shopping cart 16 transferred to the end of the belt conveyor 30 and pulls the shopping cart 16 into the elevator, and equips the shopping cart suspension mechanism with the arm mechanism. do it.

Further, the shopping cart collection system 2 includes:
A transfer means 44 is provided for receiving the shopping cart 16 lowered by the lift 34 in the parking lot and transferring the received shopping cart 16 to the shopping cart storage 18 of the store building 10. The transfer means 44 is used for the lift 34 in the parking lot.
From the basement 32 of the multi-story parking lot 12 to the basement floor 46 of the store building 10 for horizontal movement of the shopping cart 16 from the storey belt conveyor 4
8 (corresponding to a conveyor between parking lots and stores in the claims) and the shopping cart 16 for the basement 4 of the store building 10.
6 and a store building lift 50 for raising the shopping cart storage area 18 to the first floor, which is the installation floor. The belt conveyor 48 between the parking lot stores and buildings may have the same configuration as, for example, a moving sidewalk, and the lift 50 in the store buildings may be, for example, a hydraulic lift type dam weighter. The delivery mechanism for delivering the shopping cart 16 from the lift 34 in the parking lot to the belt conveyor 48 between the parking lot stores is, for example, for pulling out the shopping cart 16 from the basket 38 of the dam waiter and placing it on the tip of the belt conveyor 48. A simple electric or hydraulic arm mechanism (not shown) may be installed in front of the door 42 of the dam weighter. A delivery mechanism for delivering the shopping cart 16 from the belt conveyor 48 to the in-store lift 50 may be a known appropriate mechanism suitable for the purpose.

The shopping cart collection system 2 includes a belt conveyor 30 in a parking lot, a lift 34 in a parking lot, a belt conveyor 48 between parking lots and stores, and a lift 50 in a store building.
And a power supply system for supplying drive power for the belt conveyor and the lift. The control system is a system that includes a video camera 52 for monitoring the shopping cart 16 on the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot. An example of the configuration of the control system is a video camera 52, a monitor device (not shown) for displaying an image from the video camera 52 to a monitor, and the monitor manually parking while watching the screen of the monitor device. A manual control device (not shown) for controlling the in-park belt conveyor 30 and the in-park lift 34 is included. Another example of the configuration of the control system is a video camera 52, an analysis device (not shown) for analyzing the image of the video camera 52, and a belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot automatically according to the analysis result of the analysis device. And an automatic control device (not shown) for controlling the lift 34 in the parking lot. In any of the configurations, the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot is normally stopped, and is operated only when necessary. In particular, a certain number of shopping carts 1 are placed on the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot.
If the belt conveyor 30 and the lift 34 in the parking lot are controlled to operate after the 6 have gathered, energy can be saved. The power supply system includes a solar cell 54 installed on the roof of the top floor of the multi-story parking lot 12 and a power adjustment device (not shown) having a known configuration for adjusting the output of the solar cell 54. And an auxiliary general power supply for use at night and on non-fine weather. The power supplied by the power supply system is controlled by the control system.

According to the embodiment described above, the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot for horizontally moving the shopping cart 16 at each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot 12 is connected to the multi-story parking lot 1.
2 is provided in a space adjacent to each of the parking spaces 24 existing behind each of the parking spaces 24 for one vehicle defined on each of the parking floors. The loaded shopping cart 16 is
It is only necessary to put the shopping cart on the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot adjacent to the car, and it is not necessary to take the trouble of bringing the shopping cart 16 to the shopping cart accumulation place away from the car. As a result, the number of shopping carts 16 left unattended is greatly reduced, and a limited number of shopping carts can be operated efficiently. The shopping cart 16 placed on the belt conveyor 30 in the parking lot is connected to the shopping cart storage 1 in the store building 10 via the lift 34 in the parking lot, the belt conveyor 48 between the parking lot stores and the lift 50 in the store building.
8, the labor for collecting the shopping cart can be saved, and the labor cost can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since the solar cell 54 installed on the roof of the top floor of the multistory parking lot 12 is used for the power supply system, energy can be saved. Moreover, the curb 26 of the multistory parking lot 12
Behind, on the roof of the top floor of the multistory parking lot 12,
Since the space (dead space) that has not been used effectively is used effectively, the above-described system can be constructed without securing any special space.

[0012]

As is apparent from the above description, the present invention relates to a system for collecting shopping carts in a store building having a multi-story parking lot, which is defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot. A conveyor in a parking lot, which is provided such that a shopping cart can be placed behind each parking space for each car, and the loaded shopping cart moves horizontally behind each parking space; Receiving a shopping cart from the conveyor in the parking lot at each parking floor of the parking lot, receiving a shopping cart unloaded from the parking lot lifting the received shopping cart from each parking floor, and receiving and receiving the shopping cart unloaded by the parking lot lift. Transferring means for transferring the shopping cart to the shopping cart storage area of the store building, controlling the conveyor in the parking lot, the lift in the parking lot, and the transferring means. And a control system, the parking lot conveyor, the parking lot lift, and has a structure that includes a power supply system for supplying the driving power of the transfer means. For this reason, shoppers only need to load the goods into the parked car and put the used shopping cart on the conveyor in the parking lot next to the car. The number of shopping carts with a limited number can be efficiently operated, and the labor for collecting the shopping carts can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a shopping cart collection system for a store building having a multi-story parking lot according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one parking floor of a multistory parking garage.

FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of a multistory parking lot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Shopping cart collection system 10 Store building 12 Multilevel parking lot 16 Shopping cart 18 Shopping cart storage 24 Parking space 30 Belt conveyor in parking lot 34 Lift in parking lot 48 Belt conveyor between parking lot stores Building 50 Lift in store building

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A system for collecting shopping carts in a store building having a multi-story parking garage, comprising: a parking space for each car defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking garage; A shopping cart is provided so that the shopping cart can be placed thereon, and the loaded shopping cart is horizontally moved along the back of each parking space, and shopping is performed from the parking lot conveyor on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot. Receiving the shopping cart and lowering the received shopping cart from each parking floor, and receiving the shopping cart lowered by the parking lot lift, and transferring the received shopping cart to the shopping cart of the store building. Transfer means for transferring to a parking lot; a control system for controlling the conveyor in the parking lot, a lift in the parking lot, and the transfer means; and a conveyor in the parking lot The parking lot lift, and shopping cart recovery system, characterized in that it and a power supply system for supplying the driving power of the transfer means. 2. A system for collecting shopping carts in a store building having a multi-story parking garage, comprising: a parking space for one car defined on each parking floor of the multi-story parking garage; A shopping cart is provided so that the shopping cart can be placed thereon, and the loaded shopping cart is horizontally moved along the back of each parking space, and shopping is performed from the parking lot conveyor on each parking floor of the multi-story parking lot. A parking lot lift that receives the shopping cart and lowers the received shopping cart from each parking floor to the basement floor, and receives the shopping cart lowered by the parking lot lift at the basement floor, and receives the received shopping cart in a multilevel parking lot. And a conveyor between parking lot store buildings that horizontally moves from the basement of the store building to the basement floor of the store building, and when a shopping cart is received from the conveyor between the parking lot store buildings. A lift in the store building for raising the shopping cart from the basement of the store building to the floor where the shopping cart storage is located; a conveyor in the parking lot, a lift in the parking lot, a conveyor between the parking lot store buildings, and the store building A control system for controlling the internal lift; and a power supply system for supplying drive power for the conveyor in the parking lot, the lift in the parking lot, the conveyor between the parking lot stores, and the lift in the store building. Shopping cart collection system characterized by the following. 3. The control system includes a video camera for monitoring a shopping cart on the conveyor in the parking lot, a monitor device for displaying an image from the video camera to a monitor, and a manual operation by the monitor. The shopping cart collection system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a manual control device for controlling the conveyor in the parking lot and the lift in the parking lot. 4. The control system includes: a video camera for monitoring a shopping cart on the conveyor in the parking lot; an analyzer for analyzing an image of the video camera; and an automatic analyzer according to an analysis result of the analyzer. 3. The shopping cart collection system according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic control device for controlling the conveyor in the parking lot and the lift in the parking lot. 5. The power supply system according to claim 1, further comprising: a solar cell installed on a top roof of the multi-storey parking lot; and an output adjusting device for adjusting an output of the solar cell. 2. The shopping cart collection system according to claim 1.