Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5729697?dq=patent:6144888
Timestamp: 2017-10-24 06:24:45
Document Index: 1754766

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'arts 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150', 'art 150']

Patent US5729697 - Intelligent shopping cart - Google Patents
The present apparatus is a mobile shopping cart that can automatically keep track of objects selected and carried in the cart and provide a customer using the cart information like the total price of the items carried. The cart has a radio frequency cart base station with a cart antenna connected to...http://www.google.com/patents/US5729697?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5729697 - Intelligent shopping cart
Publication number US5729697 A
Application number US 08/428,802
Also published as CA2168919A1, US6032127
Publication number 08428802, 428802, US 5729697 A, US 5729697A, US-A-5729697, US5729697 A, US5729697A
Patent Citations (14), Non-Patent Citations (4), Referenced by (307), Classifications (31), Legal Events (6)
US 5729697 A
1. A mobile shopping cart comprising:
a. a radio frequency cart base station having a cart antenna connected to a radio frequency cart transceiver, the cart transceiver controlled by a cart computer with a cart memory, the cart antenna capable of creating a radio frequency field within the shopping cart;
b. an interrogator executed by the cart computer that controls the can transceiver to periodically interrogate radio frequency tags within the radio frequency field, one or more of the radio frequency tags being attached to an object in the shopping cart; and
c. a data structure in the cart memory that is periodically updated by the interrogator to have an entry for one or more objects in the shopping cart, where the data structure includes an object price for each of the entries and a running total of the prices for one or more of the objects in the shopping cart and where a paid memory location is located in a memory on each of the radio frequency tags and paid information is written on the paid memory location as a result of one or more cart signals sent from the cart antenna after the shopper pays the running total.
2. A shopping cart, as in claim 1, where the running total is displayed to a shopper on a cart display.
3. A shopping cart, as in claim 1, where the running total is presented to a shopper as a bill by a cart printer connected to the cart computer.
4. A shopping cart, as in claim 1, where a shopper pays the running total through an input device connected to the cart computer.
5. A shopping cart, as in claim 4, where the cart input device is a credit card reader on the base station and the shopper pays the running total by swiping a credit card through the credit card reader.
6. A shopping cart, as in claim 1, where the cart passes by a security base station that interrogates one or more of the radio frequency tags in the cart to determine if there is paid information written on the paid memory location of the tag.
7. A shopping cart, as in claim 6, where the security base station activates an alarm if one or more radio frequency tags in the cart does not have paid information written on the paid memory location of the tag.
8. A shopping cart, as in claim 1, further comprising a display for showing store information to a shopper.
9. A shopping cart, as in claim 8, where the information is a menu of item categories in a store.
10. A shopping cart, as in claim 8, where the information is a menu of items in a store on-sale.
11. A shopping cart, as in claim 8, where the information is a map of the store.
The use of RF technology for recognizing items by means of RF tags has been well known for several decades. Examples of this technique include the tagging of animals for experimental purposes as well as tracking herds, pallets moving on the factory floor, the use of tags for inventory, automatically tendering highway tolls, tracking railway freight cars etc. The idea of using tags in place of bar codes at the checkout counter has also been proposed, most recently in public announcements by CSIR, in south Africa in conjunction with the British Technology Group (BTG). Here, it was shown that as many as 50 items in a shopping cart can be poled and registered in 1 second.
In Anders, the tags have several applications; e.g., as a means for maintaining and tracking inventory on the shelves as items are removed by the customer. In addition, the market basket has an attached passive tag. Scanning is done by one or more antennas placed within the store at various positions. The antenna(s) send out interrogation signals over various time intervals. However, the main checkout is done at a counter through which the customer must pass prior to exiting the store. This method seems to require duplicate checking of of objects in the store, i.e., a interrogation of the objects on the store shelf appears to be redundant with a final interrogation done at a check out counter. A necessary check out counter is also disclosed.
In Marsh, a shopping cart containing "transponders", presumably used to tag objects in the cart, is disclosed. An interrogator sends out an interrogation signal that causes the transponders to repeatedly transmit a response signal containing data identifying the transponder. Logic in each of the individual the transponders is used to cease transmission of the individual transponder in response to interruptions in the interrogation signal that indicate the individual transponder has been identified. By doing this, it appears that the system can identify more than one transponder in a field of many transponders. However, the transponders are required to repeat transmission of their response signal to increase the probability of a successful reception (identification) by the interrogator. As the number of objects in the cart increases, it appears that the probability of a successful reception (identification) decreases. Furthermore, the interrogator is located at a "till" that the "trolley full of groceries" has to pass by in order to identify the transponders in the "trolley."
In Chenoweth, a retail checkout system is disclosed that has a manual checkout device attached to a cart. However, each item selected has to be manually logged in by the shopper. This manual operation turns off an anti-theft tag on the selected object. Any object/item returned to the shelf must be manually logged out by the shopper. This process resets the anti-theft tag. Therefore, tracking and/or polling of the objects can only occur by manual customer action.
Buying in a store, such as a department store, convenience store, retail store, supermarket, or consumer warehouse, requires that the shopper perform two basic steps: 1. object/item selection and 2. checkout. When selecting the objects, the shopper goes through the store selecting objects for purchase and moves them toward the store exit. Typically, the shopper is provided a cart or container, e.g. a basket, of some sort to carry the selected items. In the checkout step, a cashier totals the value of the selected objects, presents the shopper with a bill, and accepts payment from the shopper.
The prior art does not disclose or recognize methods of providing a customer "store" information, like marketing information, while the customer is selecting objects. Other then store signs and circulars, there are limited convenient or effective ways of informing a shopper objects offered at a sale price. Further, there are limitations on instructing the shopper of the store layout and the specific locations of items in the store, including objects on sale.
FIG. 5, comprising FIGS. 5A and 5B, is a block diagram of the intelligent shopping cart invention showing shielding and two alternative preferred embodiments for placing a radio frequency field of the base station within the shopping cart, i.e, using one or more loop antennas (FIG. 5A) and one or more dipole antennas (FIG. 5B).
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein the shopping cart 150 has a base station 155 attached to the back of the cart 150 and communicating a cart signal 201 with a cart radio frequency field 250. As before the base station 150 can communicate with all the radio frequency tags 200 on objects 210 carried by the cart 150. However, in this embodiment, the radio frequency field 250 can extend 450 beyond the confines of the cart by a distance, d 410. This is because the cart antenna 220 and the cart transceiver 225 create a cart signal 201 which is just strong enough to extend beyond the physical limits, e.g. slightly penetrates the walls 411, of the cart 150. In this embodiment the distance, d, is between 2 and 8 inches. However, the extended cart radio frequency field 450 will not extend to a distance where tags 200 attached to objects 210 in other carts 150 can be read. This can be achieved by adjusting the power level of the cart transceiver 225 and appropriate cart antenna 220 design. This adjustment and antenna design are well known. Note that no shielding of the cart is required in this embodiment.
FIG. 5A shows one preferred antenna design for the cart 150. The antenna can be designed as a loop located within the cart 150. The loop antenna 520 is oriented so that the axis of the loop 520 propagates an electromagnetic field 530 created mainly in a vertical direction. The antenna can be located at the top 520H, middle 520M, or bottom 520L portions of the cart 150. In one preferred embodiment, the antenna is located in the middle 520M of the cart so that any side lobes of the field 530 are absorbed by shield 551 which is positioned around the cart external to the antenna 520M. In an alternative preferred embodiment, the antenna 520L is located at the bottom of the cart 150. In this case, the side lobes of the field 530 can be attenuated by the shielding 551 around the sides of the cart 150 and external to the antenna 520L. In addition, shielding of the side lobes of the field 530 is provided by shielding 551 at the bottom of the cart. The antenna 520(H,M, and L) can be protected from physical damage by a durable external coating 521 that could also form a lining 522 of the cart 150. Alternatively, the cart body or part of the cart body 523 can be made of a non metallic material, like plastic, in which the antenna 520 can be molded.
This object description 344 can include the price of the object 210 to which the tag 200 is attached. In step 635, the price recorded in a memory location on each of the tags is determined in addition to an identification of the item/object to which the identified tag is attached.
In one preferred embodiment, the entire program/method 245, starting with step 610, runs periodically. This means that all the selected objects in the cart are re-polled periodically. The period is preferably between 1 second and 5 minutes, more preferably between 2 to 5 repetitions per .minute. Other cycle times are possible. The program/method 245 can also be repeated at a customer request, e.g. by pressing button total 770. (See FIG. 7.)
In one preferred embodiment, the entire data structure (tally) 1000 is completely replaced for each repetition of the method 245, i.e, each complete polling of the objects in the cart. This is done to maintain an updated tally of objects/items in the cart. By doing this, objects/items that are removed from the cart will not be present in the most current tally (data structure 1000).
The button input device 550 can have various input selections for the customer. These might include a keyboard that the customer 151 can use to query the store map 720 for specific items of interest, a button 740 that displays the store map, a button 750 displays sale items in a location on the display like location 720 and a menu button 760 which causes the menu 730 to display on the graphical display 525. In addition, a button 780 can be provided on the input device 550 that indicates that the customer is ready to pay. When this button is pushed, program 245 can be run to update the data structure 1000 and the credit card reader 560 can be enabled.
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U.S. Classification 705/23, 235/383, 705/17
International Classification G06Q20/20, G06Q20/34, B62B5/00, G08B13/24, G07F7/02, B62B3/00, H04B5/02, G07G1/00
Cooperative Classification G08B13/2471, G06Q20/208, G07G1/0054, G08B13/246, G08B13/2482, G08B13/2474, G06Q20/203, G07F7/02, G06Q20/204, G06Q20/343
European Classification G08B13/24B7M, G08B13/24B5P, G08B13/24B7A1, G08B13/24B7A2, G06Q20/208, G06Q20/343, G06Q20/204, G06Q20/203, G07G1/00C2D, G07F7/02
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SCHKOLNICK, MARIO;VON GUTFELD, ROBERT J.;REEL/FRAME:007504/0760;SIGNING DATES FROM 19950420 TO 19950424