Abstract:
A shopping cart handle includes a housing having a display, electronic circuitry in the housing for generating images on the display, and first and second grip portions each having a flared proximal end connected to the housing and a distal end. The display optionally includes a electronic interface that may be covered by a selectively releasable cover to protect the interface.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/675,849 filed Apr. 29, 2005, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention is directed to an electronic handle for a wheeled cart, and more specifically, toward a shopping cart handle including an electronic module and display for providing a user with information while shopping.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Shopping carts have remained essentially unchanged in form for many years. Recently, however, with the availability of inexpensive, compact computing power, attempts have been made to add small computers to shopping carts to assist users with shopping. For example, it is known to attach bar code readers to shopping carts to allow users to perform price checks and/or to perform a self-check out. One example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,871 to Gupta, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. However, the Gupta device appears likely to interfere with proper cart nesting and requires an electrical contact depending from the bottom of the cart for recharging which would likely be damaged in moving the cart through store aisles and/or over curbs in a store parking lot. It is not believed that systems such as the one disclosed in Gupta have been widely adopted.  
         [0004]     Related shopper-assisting devices that clip or otherwise detachably mount to a shopping cart handle are also known. However, these must be taken from a rack or other storage location by a user and attached to a cart handle before use. When a shopper reaches the check-out line, store personnel must detach the unit from the car and return the unit to a storage and/or charging station or rely on the customer to perform these actions. It is believed that these inconveniences have kept such devices from being widely adopted.  
         [0005]     It would therefore be desirable to provide an electronic shopper assisting device that is easy to use and maintain and that does not suffer from the aforementioned drawbacks. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     Various aspects and features of embodiments of the present invention will be better understood after a reading of the following detailed description together with the accompanying drawings wherein:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a cart handle including an electronic module according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a rear perspective view of the cart handle of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of the cart handle of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a side elevational view of a first activation device for use with an electronic handle according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a side elevational view of a second activation device for use with an electronic handle according to an embodiment of the present invention that includes a key for unlocking a slot in an electronic module;  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the activation device of  FIG. 5  with its cap removed;  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  illustrates a slot for receiving the activation device and key of  FIG. 5 ;  
         [0014]      FIG. 8  illustrates the activation device of  FIG. 5  being received in the slot of  FIG. 7 ;  
         [0015]      FIG. 9  illustrates an electronic handle according to an embodiment of the present invention used with a cart wheel locking device wherein the wheel locking device is controlled by an electronic cart handle;  
         [0016]      FIG. 10  illustrates the wheel locking device of  FIG. 9  locking a cart wheel when an activation device is disconnected from the electronic cart handle;  
         [0017]      FIG. 11  illustrates the wheel locking device of  FIG. 9  unlocking a cart wheel when an activation device is inserted into a slot in the electronic cart handle;  
         [0018]      FIG. 12  schematically illustrates the nesting of several shopping carts which carts include the electronic cart handles of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0019]      FIG. 13  is a perspective view of several nested carts that include the electronic cart handles of  FIG. 1  wherein the cart handles are electrically interconnected for battery recharging;  
         [0020]      FIG. 14  illustrates a plurality of nested carts including a second embodiment of an electronic cart handle according to the present invention having batteries being recharged by a corral having charging rails;  
         [0021]      FIG. 15  is a perspective view of one end of the electronic cart handle of  FIG. 14 ;  
         [0022]      FIG. 16  is an elevational view of the end of the electronic cart handle of  FIG. 15 ;  
         [0023]      FIG. 17  schematically illustrates an electronic cart handle between two charging rails of the corral of  FIG. 14 ;  
         [0024]      FIG. 18  illustrates a third embodiment of an electronic cart handle in which electrical connectors are integrated with a locking device for securing adjacent carts to one another;  
         [0025]      FIG. 19  illustrates one of the electrical connectors of  FIG. 18  in a housing on an adjacent cart;  
         [0026]      FIG. 20  is a plan view of the connector end of  FIG. 19 ;  
         [0027]      FIG. 21  illustrates a charging rail and guide channel arrangement for charging the battery of an electronic cart handle;  
         [0028]      FIG. 22  is a sectional view of an end of the electronic cart handle and charging rail of  FIG. 21 ;  
         [0029]      FIG. 23  illustrates a first cart handle grip cross section;  
         [0030]      FIG. 24  illustrates a second cart handle grip cross section;  
         [0031]      FIG. 25  illustrates a third cart handle grip cross section; and  
         [0032]      FIG. 26  illustrates an alternate version of the cart handle and module of  FIGS. 1-3 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0033]     Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings are for purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention only, and not for the purpose of limiting same,  FIG. 1  illustrates a cart handle  10  comprising first and second grips  12  extending from a central housing  14 . Central housing  14  includes a display  16 , preferably a touch screen display, and a hollow interior for containing an electronic module or modules, a battery  15 , illustrated in  FIG. 17 , a circuit board, a bar code reader  17 , and other functional elements discussed herein. Housing  14  includes a first or front portion  18  formed integrally with grips  12  and a rear portion  20  mounted to front portion  18  either removably using fasteners such as screws or via a snap fit, or permanently using suitable adhesives, for example. When rear portion  20  is removably mounted, a suitable gasket is provided to ensure an watertight seal that will at the same time allow the unit to breathe and minimize condensation build up in the hollow interior of housing  14 .  
         [0034]     Grips  12  include gripping portions  21  and join housing  14  at reinforced portions  22  to increase the strength of handle  10  and to reduce the likelihood of damage where the grips  12  join housing  14  when the handle is pushed or pulled or when downward pressure is placed on the housing  14 . The gripping portions  21  have a circumference (or periphery if the grip portion does not have a circular cross section) of about 3 inches or 8 centimeters over most of their length to make them comfortable to grip for a user. Reinforced portions  22  are flared and have a larger circumference or periphery which increases from the periphery of the gripping portion  21  to the sidewall of housing  14 . As will be appreciated from  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the flared reinforced portion  22  surrounds the gripping portions  21  of grips  12  on all sides so that a cross section of the gripping portion  21  projected toward housing  14  will pass through without intersecting the largest circumference or periphery of reinforced portions  22 .  
         [0035]     As illustrated in  FIG. 26 , housing  14  may optionally include a ratchet mechanism  29  to allow the angle of housing  14  and thus of screen  16  to be changed. Preferably, the ratchet mechanism  29  allows housing  14  to be pivoted until screen  16  faces a child seat in the cart so that, for example, videos could be displayed on screen  16  to entertain children while shopping. The ratchet mechanism could be provided at any point along the length of gripping portions  21  of grips  12  or, with a somewhat modified housing  14 , not shown, at the interface of grips  12  and housing  14  or inside housing  14 .  
         [0036]     Grip portions  12  are formed to have the greatest length required for a standard shopping cart and can be cut to shorter lengths for smaller carts. The gripping portions  21  of grips  12  can have various cross sections such as the round cross section illustrated in  FIG. 23 , the generally ovate cross section of  FIG. 24  and the kidney shaped cross section of  FIG. 25 . While gripping portions  21  are described herein as being integrally formed with front portion  18  of housing  14 , they can alternately be formed separately from housing  14  and connected thereto in a suitable manner. Alternately, for existing carts having handles that are not readily removable, housing  14  can be provided with suitable clamps or other fasteners to connect housing  14  and the electronic modules contained therein to an existing shopping cart handle in a permanent or semi-permanent manner.  
         [0037]     The housing and internal components are adapted to operate over a wide range of temperatures, −45° C. to 70° C., for example, so that the device can, for example, be stored outdoors in both extreme winter conditions and in direct sunlight in summer, and be resistant to both moisture and the impacts that are likely to be suffered by a shopping cart handle. The grips and housing are preferably formed from a suitable thermoplastic material.  
         [0038]     Battery  15  is rechargeable and should be capable of operating the electronic modules for approximately 16 hours before recharging.  
         [0039]     Housing  14  includes an opening  24  for receiving a modular bar code reader  17  and an opening  28  providing access to an internal I/O port  30 , illustrated in  FIG. 8 , for example, which in the presently preferred embodiment comprises a USB port. Hardware contained within housing  14  will perform various functions and provide various displays on screen  16  which functions and displays do not comprise a part of the present disclosure.  
         [0040]     The hardware in housing  14  may be activated by inserting an activation device into port  30 . In the present embodiment, the activation device comprises a solid state storage device  32  having a USB interface compatible with port  30 . Alternately, the electronic module could be activated using bar code reader  17  to scan a bar code carried by an authorized user—on a customer loyalty card, for example. When storage device  32  is used, information about a user on device  32  can optionally be made available to a processor in housing  14  and/or transmitted to a central server in wireless communication with electronic cart handle  10 .  
         [0041]     Storage device  32  can be used to receive and store information from electronic cart handle  10  or a server in communication with the handle which information a user may later access using, for example, a home computer. Where privacy is an issue, device  32  may merely contain a serial number to identify the device  32  to a secure server in communication with the electronic module. In such cases, no personal information would be stored on device  32 . This would substantially prevent the disclosure of private information if a device  32  is lost. For purposes of the present disclosure, it is merely necessary to know that an authorized user can be identified to a processor in housing  14  with either device  32  or a bar code on a customer loyalty card, and that a processor in the electronic module, which may for example be in wireless communication with a server and/or the internet, can provide information to the user of the electronic cart handle  10  based on previously stored preferences.  
         [0042]     Memory device  32  is illustrated in  FIG. 4  and includes a body portion  34  in which a suitable compact flash or other solid-state memory is contained, a USB connector  36  insertable into drive  30 , a cap  38  and a ring  40  or similar arrangement to allow device  32  to be connected to a key ring.  
         [0043]     An alternate memory device  42  is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . Memory device  42 , in addition to a body portion  44  holding solid state memory, a USB connector  46 , a cap  48  and a ring  50 , includes a key member  52  having a predetermined shape, which is a cross in the present embodiment. The shape of key member  52  matches the shape of a key opening  54 , illustrated in  FIG. 7 , in a housing adjacent port  30 . Key member  52  fits into key opening  54  when memory device  42  is used. Key member  52  projects further from body  44  than connector  46  and thus enters key opening  54  and actuates a release mechanism  56  which unlocks doors  58  over port  30 . This arrangement makes it less likely that foreign objects will be inserted into drive  30  and makes it more difficult for a user to use an unauthorized device in USB port  30 . Key  52  may be retractable, with a thumb slide  53 , for example, to make USB drive  30  usable with standard USB ports, such as the ports found on a user&#39;s home computer.  
         [0044]     In addition to activating electronic modules in housing  14 , the insertion of memory device  32  or  42  can perform a security function as well. As illustrated in  FIGS. 9-12 , the cart  59  to which electronic handle  10  is attached may include a wheel locking arrangement for securing the wheels  60  of shopping carts. These wheel locking devices may comprise a solenoid  62  for selectively driving a rod  64  into an opening in wheel  60  to substantially prevent wheel  60  from turning. Solenoid  62  is controlled by signals from the processor in housing  14  and only unlocks wheels  60  when an authorized memory device  32 ,  42  is inserted into port  30 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 12  illustrates a plurality of nested shopping carts  70  equipped with electronic handles  10 . The size and position of housing  14  substantially prevents the handles  10  from interfering with cart nesting when mounted on a variety of standard carts. In addition, electronic cart handle  10  is preferably mounted so that display  16  makes an angle of about 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal to improve visibility and minimize glare, while not interfering with the use of a child seat in the cart or with cart nesting.  
         [0046]      FIG. 13  illustrates a daisy chain arrangement for recharging batteries  15  contained within housing  14  of a plurality of nested carts  80 ,  82 ,  84 . As will be apparent from these figures, each housing  14  includes a power cord  86 , a power outlet  88  and a power LED  90  which lights when power is being supplied to the cart on which LED  90  is mounted. The power cord  86  on first cart  80  is attached to a suitable DC power source  92  (such as a transformer connected to an AC power source), the power cord  86  of second cart  82  plugs into power outlet  88  of the first cart  80 , and the power cord  86  of third cart  84  plugs into power outlet  88  of second cart  82 . LED&#39;s  90  on each cart turn on when that cart is connected to a source of electric power. In this manner, it can readily be determined whether all carts in a nested series are being recharged. This arrangement is best suited for a last-in first-out arrangement of carts and therefore is primarily intended for situations wherein groups of carts are connected and fully charged, overnight, for example, before being used by purchasers. In an alternate arrangement, each of the plurality of nested carts could be plugged individually into a power source until fully charged. This would allow for the carts that have been charging the longest to be removed from a series of carts first, over the course of a business day.  
         [0047]      FIG. 14  illustrates a cart corral  100  having first and second rails  102  each of which is provided with an electrically conductive charging rail  104 , best seen in  FIG. 17 , connected to a power source  103 . Corral  100  includes first and second angled guide members  106  for guiding a cart into the corral. Electrical contacts  108  on the ends of grip portions  12  make electrical contact with these charging rails to recharge a battery  15  inside housing  14 . The contacts  108  may alternately be formed in separate end caps  107  which can be attached to the grip portions  12  after grip portions  12  are cut to a proper length. Either contacts  108  or charging rails  104  may be flexible or displaceable to ensure a good electrical connection between contacts  108  and charging rail  104  even when the separation between rails  102  and or the separation between the ends of handle  10  is not constant. Alternately, end caps  107  can be telescopically mounted within handle grip portions  12  and spring biased away from one another to accommodate variations in the separation between the charging rails. Corral  100  may further includes hinged flaps  112  or similar structures to ensure that carts pass through the corral in a single direction and that the cart that has been charging for the longest period time is removed first to provide for first in first out recharging.  
         [0048]      FIG. 18  illustrates a charging system integrated into a daisy chain cart security system. In such a security system, nested carts are secured by inserting a member  114  chained to one cart into a slot  116  on an adjacent cart. The member  114  may be released by inserting a coin or token to release a single cart. The coin or token is returned when the cart is returned to the nested line of carts after use. An example of such a daisy chain locking system (which does not include the electrical charging system of the present invention) is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,282 to Lenader, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.  
         [0049]     As illustrated in  FIGS. 19 and 20 , member  114  includes a hasp  115  that connects to a locking mechanism in slot  116  and electrical contacts  118  that engage electrical contacts  120  in slot  116  to electrically connect two carts. Electrical contacts  120  in slot  116  are in turn connected by wire  121  to the electrical contacts  118  of a member chained to that cart which can be inserted into a slot  116  of an adjacent cart in a similar manner to electrically connect and mutually secure a plurality of nested carts in series.  
         [0050]      FIG. 21  illustrates a recharging system that comprises a single rail  130 , mounted, for example on a wall  132 . Rail  130  includes a channel  133  in which a pair of spaced electrical contacts  134  are mounted, one above the other for making electrical contact with a pair of vertically projecting electrical contacts  136  on the end of a cart handle  138 . A guide channel  140  is provided on the ground adjacent rail  130  to help guide the cart wheels and properly position cart handle  138  with respect to rail  130 . This arrangement is space-efficient and allows for the recharging of a battery through a single end of a cart handle.  
         [0051]     The present invention has been described herein in terms of several preferred embodiments. Obvious additions and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts upon a reading of the foregoing description. It is intended that all such obvious modifications and additions be included within the scope of this invention.