Patent ID: 6435407
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: A47F,B62B,G06K,G06Q,G07F,G07G

Abstract:
A system comprising a computerized shopping cart and an automatic auxiliary storage and distribution system, said computerized shopping cart comprising a mechanical cart and a computerized product insertion unit, said system providing services of check-out counter queue elimination, shopping information, emission of commercial messages, real time market search, pastimes and related auxiliary systems for use in supermarkets, wherein said mechanical cart comprises a closeable/openable mechanical cart compartment (1) for food products, said compartment being latchable/unlatchable to said computerized product insertion unit by means of a related electromechanical system (19) such as to prevent any access to the compartment by a customer and wherein said computerized product insertion unit checks the correctness of the shopping operations via an electronic unit (6) housed therein, wherein said computerized product insertion unit comprises a shopping-computer (6) with a related data base (6d), operating software (16) and firmware (17) for process control of the related parts, wherein said compartment is closeable/openable by a related system (4) so as to be able to telescope one computerized shopping cart within another; wherein said computerized shopping cart further comprises an automatic system (2) for varying the internal capacity of said compartment; a distributor/attenuator (3) of the products as they are stowed; and wherein the insertion unit (5) comprises a manual mechanical system (5a) for inserting/ejecting the products toward the inside of the compartment and a series of electronic systems, comprising an automatic system for optically scanning (7) standard bar codes UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODE (UPC)/ EUROPEAN ARTICLE NUMBERING (EAN), a system for controlling (8) the correctness of the shopping operations, a system for the exchange of data/messages (9, 10, 11), a system (12) for the emission of multimedia commercial messages, a system (13) for market surveys, a System (14) for pastimes, a system (15) for power supply, and a system (25) for controlling the removal of the insertion unit, whereby the mechanical cart can be parked free outside, whilst the insertion unit is distributed and stored by the automatic auxiliary storage and distribution system (20); wherein the automatic auxiliary storage and distribution system comprises a central system (22) for data exchange via ether/shopping data concentrator, a cash register (22f) control for issuing a receipt, a storage/distribution system control (20); the central system comprises an automatic payment counter (23), and said computerized shopping cart further including an on-board unit having a computerized map (24) of the distribution of the products on the various shelves, aided by orientation units installed within the commercial area, and related orientation units.