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

Claim 11:
12. A circuit board for counting items stored in a rack, comprising:
an array of sensors arranged along the length of the circuit board, wherein:
the circuit board is arranged along a length of the rack that stores a plurality of items along the length of the rack between a front end and a rear end of the rack;
a magnet travels along the length of the rack between the front end and the rear end of the rack;
a spacing between each pair of the sensors corresponds to a thickness of an item stored in the rack 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.