Patent ID: 11922371
Assignee: 7-ELEVEN, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  A  H | IPC A  G  H

Claim 0:
1. A system for counting items stored in a rack, comprising:
a longitudinal rack that stores a plurality of items along the length of the rack between a front end and rear end of the rack;
a shoe movably attached to the rack such that the shoe travels between the front end and the rear end of the rack, wherein the items are placed adjacent to a front end of the shoe, wherein the shoe is pushed back towards the rear end of the rack with each item loaded on the rack;
a magnet coupled to the shoe; and
a longitudinal circuit board arranged along the length of the rack and comprising:
an array of sensors arranged along the length of the circuit board, wherein:
a spacing between each pair of the sensors corresponds to a thickness of an item such that, for any number of items stored in the rack, the magnet is directly above one of the sensors;
each of the sensors generates a maximum voltage value when the magnet is directly above the sensor; and
each sensor corresponds to a particular number of items placed in the rack based on the position of the sensor on the circuit board;

a memory that stores voltage values generated by the sensors; and
a processor coupled to the sensors and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to:
monitor the voltage value generated by at least a subset of sensors of the array of sensors;
detect that a particular sensor of the array of sensors has generated the maximum voltage value; and
determine a number of items actually stored in the rack based on the particular number of items corresponding to the particular sensor that is detected to generate the maximum voltage value.