Patent Publication Number: US-2022212703-A1

Title: Non-contact power supply unit

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/876,324, filed on May 18, 2020, which is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-124030, filed on Jul. 2, 2019, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a non-contact power supply unit, certain embodiments of which can be used for battery charging of electronic devices mounted on shopping carts. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In a retail store such as a supermarket, a shopping cart is often used. It is possible to improve customer convenience by attaching an electronic device such as a commodity registration apparatus for reading commodity information capable of identifying commodities to be purchased. 
     When a battery-operated electronic device is attached to the shopping cart, it becomes necessary to occasionally charge the battery of the electronic device. The charging may be performed in a non-contact manner. In this case, a non-contact power supply device is installed in the store. 
     However, the space that can be occupied by an installed non-contact power supply device in different stores may be different depending on the store. For example, how many carts that need to be charged by the non-contact power supply may be different depending on the store. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a non-contact power supply device for which the number of carts that can be accommodated can be changed according to particular needs of the store. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a non-contact power supply system according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a cart. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a configurable non-contact cart charging station. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of a configurable non-contact cart charging station. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of a wheel positioning portion. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a top view of an example of a top unit of a configurable non-contact cart charging station according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a top view of an example of an extension unit of a configurable non-contact cart charging station according to an embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of an example of an end unit of a configurable non-contact cart charging station according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In general, according to an embodiment, a configurable non-contact charging cart station includes a plurality of connectable units. Each of the connectable units includes a cart wheel guide, a non-contact power supply device configured to perform wireless charging of a cart, a first connector, and a second connector. The first connector of each connectable unit is connectable to the second connectors of other connectable unit in the plurality. Likewise, the second connector of each connectable unit is connectable to the first connector of other of connectable units in the plurality. The cart wheel guides of the connectable units are aligned with each other when connected to each other first connector to second connector. 
     An example embodiment of a non-contact power supply unit for use as a configurable, non-contact cart charging station will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The various embodiments described below are non-limiting examples of a non-contact power supply unit and the present disclosure is not to be considered limited to these particular example embodiments. The non-contact power supply unit of the present disclosure is applicable to a configurable, non-contact charging cart station, but not limited thereto. The configurable, non-contact charging cart station can be used with a shopping cart or the like equipped with a commodity registration apparatus such as those used in a retail store. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of an example of a non-contact power supply system  1 . The non-contact power supply system  1  includes one or more carts  10  and a configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 .  FIG. 1  shows a case where a configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is located at a place in a retail store. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a perspective view of an example of the cart  10 . In a retail store such as a supermarket, an item (commodity) which a customer selects for purchase is placed in the cart  10 . The cart  10  is a pushcart or the like that the customer can move around the store while shopping. 
     More specifically, the cart  10  includes a base portion  11  for movement. The base portion  11  includes a pair of front wheels  111  and  112  and a pair of rear wheels  113  and  114 . The spacing interval between the front wheels  111  and  112  is smaller than the spacing interval between the rear wheels  113  and  114 . A mounting part  117  is disposed below the base portion  11 . A power receiving unit  116 , which can receive electric power from a non-contact power supply, is attached to the mounting part  117 . The power receiving unit  116  is disposed substantially horizontally. 
     A housing part  12  is disposed above the base portion  11 . The housing part  12  may be referred to as a basket part. The housing part  12  is supported by a support column  13  extending from the base portion  11 . A rear side of the housing part  12  comprises a hinged (opening and closing) surface  121 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , by inserting a housing part  12  of a cart  10  into the housing part  12  of the another cart  10 , it is possible to stack/integrate several carts  10  within a relatively small area. It is noted that in some examples the cart  10  does not have to include the housing part  12  as depicted. For example, the cart  10  may instead have a basket receiving part upon which a hand-carriable commodity basket can be received/mounted as the housing part  12 . 
     A holder  14  containing a secondary battery is disposed below the housing part  12 . The secondary battery is a battery for storing the electric power received by the power receiving unit  116 . 
     The support column  13  includes a handle portion  15  to be gripped by a customer using the cart  10 . The support column  13  includes a support part  17  for supporting the commodity registration apparatus  16 . The commodity registration apparatus  16  is used for registering items being purchased by the customer. 
     The commodity registration apparatus  16  is an apparatus for registering a commodity in a sales transaction. The commodity registration apparatus  16  includes a scanner  161  and a display unit  162 . The scanner  161  reads commodity information from items for sale. For example, the scanner  161  reads commodity codes that can be identified in a bar code or the like. The display unit  162  is, for example, a touch panel display. The display unit  162  displays a commodity read by the scanner  161 , for example. The commodity registration apparatus  16  is driven by using the power charged in the secondary battery stored in the holder  14 . 
     Next, a description will be given of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 .  FIG. 3  illustrates a perspective view of an example of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of an example of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  includes a power transmitting unit  21  for transmitting electric power to a power receiving unit  116  of a cart  10  mounted thereon by non-contact power supply. The power transmitting unit  21  may be referred to as a non-contact power supply port. When the power receiving unit  116  of the cart  10  is not located at a position opposed to the power transmitting unit  21  of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 , the power supply efficiency is deteriorated. To address this issue, the configurable non-contact charging cart station is configured such that the cart  10  can be easily arranged at a position where the power receiving unit  116  and the power transmitting unit  21  are opposed to each other. In  FIGS. 1 to 5 , it is assumed that the direction in which the cart  10  enters the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is in the Y direction. 
     More specifically, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is covered with a housing  22 . The housing  22  includes one or more power transmitting units  21 . The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  includes a light emitting part  211  around the power transmitting unit  21 . The light emitting unit  211  emits light when the power receiving unit  116  is located at a position opposed to the power transmitting unit  21 . Thus, the manager or the like of the retail store can identify whether or not the battery is being charged by the non-contact power supply.  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  show a configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  including a power transmitting unit  21  and a light emitting part  211 . 
     The housing  22  of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  has a certain thickness to accommodate the power transmitting unit  21  therein. The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  has a slope  23  on the entrance side of the cart  10 . The slope has an inclination from the surface on which the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is installed to the placement unit  24  on which the cart  10  is placed. The slope  23  may be referred to as a ramp. 
     The placement unit  24  is provided on the upper surface of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . The placement unit  24  is a region in which a cart  10  having a commodity registration apparatus  16  and a power receiving unit  116  for receiving power to be supplied to the commodity registration apparatus  16  is placed. The power transmitting unit  21  is disposed substantially horizontally at a position opposed to the power receiving unit  116  in the placement unit  24 , and generates a magnetic field in the vertical direction. In this way, the power transmitting unit  21  transmits power to the power receiving unit  116  of the cart  10  by non-contact power supply. As a method of non-contact power supply, various methods such as an electromagnetic induction type and a magnetic field resonance type are known, but various other types of methods can be used. In the present embodiment, the term “non-contact” refers to the power transmission being carried out wirelessly. Therefore, even if the power transmitting unit  21  and the power receiving unit  116  are in physical contact with each other at the time of power supply, regardless of whether this physical contact is intended or not, the power can be considered to be supplied in a non-contact manner as long as the power transmission is performed without connection of wires/cables between the power transmitting unit  21  and the power receiving unit  116 . 
     In order to position the power transmitting unit  21  and the power receiving unit  116  opposite each other, the cart  10  must be placed at an appropriate position in the width direction orthogonal to the entering direction of the cart  10 , that is, in the X-axis direction in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . 
     The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  includes a central wheel guide portion  25 , a first side wheel guide portion  26 , and a second side wheel guide portion  27 . The central wheel guide portion  25  is a convex part disposed substantially at the center of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . In an embodiment, the central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26 , and the second side wheel guide portion  27  may be collectively referred to as a cart wheel guide. Further, the central wheel guide portion  25  extends from the entrance side of the cart  10  to the end of the placement unit  24  on which the cart  10  is placed. Further, the central wheel guide portion  25  is widened in width as it advances from the entrance side of the cart  10  to the placement unit  24 . The central wheel guide portion  25  has a width substantially equal to the width from the front wheel  111  to the front wheel  112  of the cart  10  in the placement unit  24 . By such a shape, the central wheel guide portion  25  restricts movement in the width direction of the front wheels  111  and  112  of the cart  10 . That is, the central wheel guide portion  25  is used to position the cart  10  in the X-axis direction in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . 
     The first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  are convex parts which are arranged laterally with respect to the central wheel guide portion  25  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . The first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  extend from the entrance side of the cart  10  to the end of the placement unit  24  on which the cart  10  is placed. Further, the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  increase in width as they advance from the entrance side of the cart  10  to the placement unit  24 . In addition, the first side wheel guide portion  26  has substantially the same width as the width from the front wheel  111  to the rear wheel  113  of the cart  10  in the placement unit  24 . The second side wheel guide portion  27  has substantially the same width as the width from the front wheel  112  to the rear wheel  114  of the cart  10  in the placement unit  24 . 
     Further, the interval between the inner side of the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the central wheel guide portion  25  is substantially the same as the width of the front wheel  111 . The interval from the inner side of the second side wheel guide portion  27  to the central wheel guide portion  25  is substantially the same as the width of the front wheel  112 . 
     Further, the width from the outside of the first side wheel guide portion  26  to the outside of the second side wheel guide portion  27  is substantially equal to the width from the rear wheel  113  to the rear wheel  114  of the cart  10 . By such a shape, the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  position the front wheels  111  and  112  and the rear wheels  113  and  114  of the cart  10  in the width direction. 
     Therefore, when the cart  10  is placed on the placement unit  24 , the central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  can position the cart  10  in the width direction in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . That is, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  can fix the position of the cart  10  in the X-axis direction. 
     The width of the gap between the central wheel guide portion  25  and the first side wheel guide portion  26  is substantially the same as the width of the front wheel  111 . The front wheel  111  guided by the central wheel guide portion  25  and the first side wheel guide portion  26  runs in a gap between the central wheel guide portion  25  and the first side wheel guide portion  26 . That is, the central wheel guide portion  25  and the first side wheel guide portion  26  form a first front wheel running path  242  on which the front wheel  111  of the cart  10  runs. The central wheel guide portion  25  and the first side wheel guide portion  26  forming the first front wheel running path  242  may be referred to as a first wheel guide. 
     Similarly, the width of the gap between the central wheel guide portion  25  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  is substantially the same as the width of the front wheel  112 . The front wheel  112  guided by the central wheel guide portion  25  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  runs in a gap between the central wheel guide portion  25  and the second side wheel guide portion  27 . That is, the central wheel guide portion  25  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  form a second front wheel running path  243  on which the front wheel  112  of the cart  10  runs. The central wheel guide portion  25  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  forming the second front wheel running path  243  may be referred to as a second wheel guide. 
     Further, the central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  are widened in width as they advance from the entrance side of the cart  10  to the placement unit  24 . In other words, the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  are substantially the same width as the front wheels  111  and  112  in the placement unit  24 , but the portions entering the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  extend in the width direction. The central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27  have a convex shape. 
     That is, the placement unit  24  includes a first front wheel running path  242  and a second front wheel running path  243 , which are the running paths of the wheels of the cart  10 , in which the width in the direction orthogonal to the entering direction becomes narrower as the cart  10  advances from the entering side where the cart  10  enters to the entering direction of the cart  10 . The placement unit  24  includes an entrance portion  244  of a first front wheel running path  242  and a second front wheel running path  243 . 
     In this manner, the central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26 , and the second side wheel guide portion  27  guide the front wheels  111 ,  112  of the cart  10 . Therefore, the operator can easily drive the cart  10  along the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  by pushing the cart  10  from the entrance side of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . 
     The first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  include positioning portions  241  for fixing the position of the cart  10  in the entering direction. Each of the positioning portions  241  causes one of the wheels of the cart  10 , i.e., one of the front wheels  111  and  112  to settle at a predetermined position by gravity. The positioning portions  241  may be referred to as a wheel placement region. Here,  FIG. 5  illustrates a cross-sectional view of an example of the positioning portion  241 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , the positioning portion  241  is, for example, a recessed part having a smooth curved surface. 
     In this way, since the positioning portion  241  has a recessed shape, the front wheels  111  and  112  will roll and eventually be disposed at bottom surface of the recessed part. Therefore, the positioning portion  241  can determine the positions at which the front wheels  111  and  112  will be located. 
     That is, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  can the position an entering cart  10  in the placement region  24 . 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 5 , the positioning portion  241  has a smooth curved surface. Therefore, when the cart  10  passes through the positioning portion  241 , the load required to push the cart  10  can be reduced. The positioning portion  241  is not limited to a recessed part having a smooth curve, but may be a simple recessed part or gap having no smooth curved bottom surface. Further, the positioning portion  241  may be a convex part or a simple convex part. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG. 1 , it is possible to stack a large number of carts  10  within a small area. Therefore, the interval between the adjacent positioning portions  241  is shorter than the total length of a cart  10 . 
     The placement region  24  of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  includes a stopping portion  28  for stopping the cart  10  running along the surface on the placement region  24 , and the stopping portion  28  is provided on the front side of the placement region  24  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . More specifically, the placement region  24  of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  includes a stopping portion  28  at the end of the entering direction of cart  10  in the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243 . The stopping portion  28  may be referred to as a wheel stop. The stopping portion  28  is a convex part extending from the outer side of the first side wheel guide portion  26  to the outside of the second side wheel guide portion  27 . With such a shape, the stopping portion  28  prevents the front wheels  111  and  112  from being pushed past the placement region  24  when a cart  10  is pushed by an operator. That is, the stopping portion prevents a cart  10  from being pushed out of the placement region  24 . It is noted that the stopping portion  28  is not limited to a convex part extending from the outside of the first side wheel guide portion  26  to the outside of the second side wheel guide portion  27 , but also may be a projection provided in the first front wheel running path  242  or the second front wheel running path  243 . 
     In general, the number of carts  10  required at each retail store can be different. Furthermore, the cart size and shapes as well as the cart storage location can also be different for each retail store. Thus, the size of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  installed at the store will generally differ depending on the situation at each store. Therefore, it would be preferable for the maximum number of carts  10  that can be charged at the same time by the non-contact power supply to be changeable to account for different circumstances at each of the different stores. 
     The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is formed by connecting a plurality of connectable units, which may be referred to as cart station units. The connectable unit includes a placement region  24  and connecting units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  for connecting the placement regions  24  of other cart station units. The connecting units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  may be referred to as connectors. The configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  connects the non-contact power supply units via the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294 , so that the number of the carts which can be simultaneously charged can be increased. When the connecting units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are connected, the wheel guides of the connectable units are aligned with each other. Further, the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are provided at positions corresponding to the types of the connectable units. 
     The types of the connectable units include a top unit  201 , an extension unit  202 , and an end unit  203 .  FIG. 6  illustrates a top view of an example of the top unit  201 .  FIG. 7  illustrates a top view of an example of the extension unit  202 .  FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of an example of the end unit  203 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the top unit  201  is a connectable unit that is disposed at the front end of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . The top unit  201  may be referred to as a terminal connectable unit. In the top unit  201 , a stopping portion  28  for stopping the cart  10  running on the top surface of the placement region  24  is provided in front of the entering direction of the cart  10 , and a connecting unit  291  is provided behind of the entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     Here, the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are convex parts or recessed parts on a contact surface between the placement region  24  of the own device and the other placement region  24  of the connectable unit which is different from that of the own device. When the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are recessed parts, the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are connected to the convex parts formed in the other connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  provided in the non-contact power supply unit to be connected. Alternatively, the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are holes formed in a contact surface between the placement region  24  of the own device and the other placement region  24  of the non-contact power supply unit which is different from that of the own device. In this case, the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  are connected by inserting a metal fitting or the like into the holes. 
     It should be noted that these connection methods are only one example, and the connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  may connect in any manner. 
     Further, the connecting unit  291  of the top unit  201  can be connected to the connection unit  292  of the extension unit  202  or the connection unit  294  of the end unit  203 , and the connecting unit  291  positions the rear side of the top unit  201  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     Therefore, the top unit  201  may be connected to the extension unit  202  or the end unit  203 . In the top unit  201  shown in  FIG. 6 , there are provided three power transmitting units  21 . However, the top unit  201  is not limited to three, and may include an arbitrary number of power transmitting units  21 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the extension unit  202  is a connectable unit disposed in the middle of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . Further, the extension unit  202  can be connected to the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  in any number. That is, in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 , the extension unit  202  may not be connected, or the one or more extension units may be connected each other. 
     The extension unit  202  includes connection units  292  and  293  on the front side and the rear side of the extension unit  202  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     A connection part  292  corresponds to a connection part  291  of the top unit  201  and a connection part  293  of the other extension unit  202  different from that of its own device, and the connection part  292  is provided on the front side of the extension unit  202  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     Accordingly, the extension unit  202  can be connected to the top unit  201  and the other extension unit  202 . 
     Further, the connection unit  293  corresponds to the end unit  203  and the connection unit  292  of the other extension unit  202  which is different from that of its own device, and the connection unit  293  is provided on the rear side of the extension unit  202  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . Accordingly, the extension unit  202  can be connected to the end unit  203  and the other extension unit  202 . In addition, the extension unit  202  shown in  FIG. 7  includes three power transmitting units  21 . However, the top unit  202  is not limited to two, and may include an arbitrary number of power transmitting units  21 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the end unit  203  is a connectable unit which is disposed at the end of the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 . The end unit  203  may be referred to as a terminal connectable unit. 
     Moreover, a connecting unit  294  is provided on the front side of the end unit  203  in entering direction of the cart  10 , and an entrance portion  244  into which the wheels of the cart  10  enter is provided on the rear side of the end unit  203  in entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     The width of the entrance portion  244  which is orthogonal to the entering direction of the cart  10  becomes narrower and narrower as the cart  10  advances from the entrance side of the end unit  203  in the entering direction of the cart  10 . 
     A connection unit  294  provided on the front side of the end unit  203  in the entering direction of the cart  10  corresponds to the connection unit  291  of the top unit  201  and the connection unit  292  of the extension unit  202 . Accordingly, the end unit  203  can be connected to the top unit  201  and the extension unit  202 . In addition, the end unit  203  shown in  FIG. 8  includes one power transmitting unit  21 . However, the end unit  203  is not limited to one, and may include an arbitrary number of power transmitting units  21 . 
     In such a configuration, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  can increase the number of the cart  10  that can be simultaneously charged by increasing the number of connectable units. For example, in the case where the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  for charging ten carts  10  at the same time is formed, one top unit  201 , three extension units  202 , and one end unit  203  may be connected. 
     As described above, the non-contact power supply unit such as the top unit  201 , the extension unit  202 , and the end unit  203  included in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  according to the present embodiment includes the placement region  24  on which the cart  10  is placed. The placement region  24  includes a power transmitting unit  21  which transmits power to the power receiving unit  116  by non-contact power supply. The non-contact power supply unit includes connection units  291 ,  292 ,  293  and  294  for connecting the placement regions  24  together. In general, the non-contact power supply unit can connect with any number of non-contact power supply units. Therefore, a non-contact power supply unit according to the present disclosure can vary the number of charging sites available for carts or the like. 
     While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions. 
     In the above embodiment, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is placed in a cart place. However, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  may be embedded in a cart place. When the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  is embedded in the cart place, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  does not have to have the slope  23  because there is no step between the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  and the ground. 
     Also, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  may be embedded in the cart place so that the upper surface of the placement region  24  is lower than the ground surface. In this case, the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  may have an inclined surface that descends from the ground to the placement region  24 . As described above, since the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20  has the inclined surface that descends from the ground to the placement region  24 , the cart  10  can be placed on the placement region  24  unless the operator intentionally pulls out the cart  10 . 
     Further, in the above embodiment, in the configurable non-contact charging cart station  20 , the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  are formed by being surrounded by the central wheel guide portion  25 , the first side wheel guide portion  26  and the second side wheel guide portion  27 . However, the first front wheel running path  242  and the second front wheel running path  243  may be formed by a recessed shape.