Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6490979?dq=7,496,943
Timestamp: 2013-12-05 16:14:41
Document Index: 650271807

Matched Legal Cases: ['art.\n4', 'art.\n5', 'art. 9', 'art.\n22', 'arts 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 28', 'art 12', 'art 12', 'art 12']

Patent US6490979 - Inclined shopping cart conveyor system - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Advanced Patent Search | Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAn inclined conveyor for transporting shopping carts between an upper floor and a lower floor. The inclined conveyor includes a continuous conveyor assembly having a conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced drive lugs that engage a shopping cart. The moving conveyor belt transports the shopping...http://www.google.com/patents/US6490979?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6490979 - Inclined shopping cart conveyor systemPublication numberUS6490979 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/846,812Publication dateDec 10, 2002Filing dateMay 1, 2001Priority dateMay 1, 2001Fee statusPaidPublication number09846812, 846812, US 6490979 B1, US 6490979B1, US-B1-6490979, US6490979 B1, US6490979B1InventorsRobert H. Pfleger, Michael H. Sohn, Craig S. SchmidtOriginal AssigneePflow Industries, Inc.Patent Citations (30), Referenced by (14), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetInclined shopping cart conveyor systemUS 6490979 B1Abstract An inclined conveyor for transporting shopping carts between an upper floor and a lower floor. The inclined conveyor includes a continuous conveyor assembly having a conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced drive lugs that engage a shopping cart. The moving conveyor belt transports the shopping cart between the upper and lower floors. The inclined conveyor includes a jam detector that interrupts operation of the conveyor upon detection of a jam along the conveyor. The inclined conveyor further includes sensors that prevent operation of the conveyor assembly if a person is present at either the unloading end or loading end of the conveyor assembly. At least one cart arrester is positioned along the length of the inclined conveyor to prevent uncontrolled descent of a shopping cart along the length of the inclined conveyor.
We claim: 1. A combination inclined tow conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building, the combination comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of a pair of front wheels contained on the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each back wheel track positioned to receive one of a pair of back wheels contained on the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the shopping cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor positioned to engage the shopping cart and move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a cart arrester positioned along the inclined tow conveyor, the cart arrester being operable to allow movement of the shopping cart in the desired direction and to prevent unrestricted movement of the shopping cart in an opposite, undesired direction along the inclined tow conveyor. 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the continuous conveyor includes a continuous conveyor belt extending between the infeed end and the discharge end of the conveyor, the continuous conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced drive lugs extending from the conveyor belt, wherein the drive lugs engage the shopping cart to move the shopping cart between the upper floor and the lower floor.
3. The combination of claim 2 wherein the shopping cart includes a front cross bar, wherein the drive lugs of the continuous conveyor belt engage the cross bar of the shopping cart.
4. The combination of claim 3 wherein the front cross bar is attached to a pair of side rails of the shopping cart.
5. A combination inclined tow conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building, the combination comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of a pair of front wheels contained on the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each back wheel track positioned to receive one of a pair of back wheels contained on the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the shopping cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor positioned to engage the shopping cart and move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a heat sensor positioned at the loading end of the inclined conveyor to detect the presence of heat generated by a person at the loading end, wherein the heat sensor prevents operation of the drive motor upon detection of heat from a person. 6. A combination inclined tow conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building, the combination comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of a pair of front wheels contained on the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each back wheel track positioned to receive one of a pair of back wheels contained on the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the shopping cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor positioned to engage the shopping cart and move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a pair of sensors spaced along the loading end of the inclined conveyor to detect the presence of an object at the loading end, wherein simultaneous detection of an object by the sensors prevents operation of the drive motor. 7. A combination inclined tow conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building, the combination comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of a pair of front wheels contained on the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each back wheel track positioned to receive one of a pair of back wheels contained on the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the shopping cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor positioned to engage the shopping cart and move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a pair of sensors spaced along the unloading end of the inclined conveyor to detect the presence of an object at the unloading end, wherein simultaneous detection of an object by the sensors prevents operation of the drive motor. 8. A combination inclined tow conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor of a building, the combination comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of a pair of front wheels contained on the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each back wheel track positioned to receive one of a pair of back wheels contained on the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the shopping cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor positioned to engage the shopping cart and move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a jam detector positioned to detect the restricted movement of the shopping cart relative to the movement of the driven continuous conveyor, wherein the jam detector prevents further operation of the continuous conveyor upon detection of the restricted movement of the shopping cart. 9. the combination of claim 8 wherein the jam detector includes a pair of electrified conductor strips extending along the length of the inclined conveyor, wherein the restricted movement of the shopping cart relative to the movement of the continuous conveyor causes the shopping cart to contact the pair of electrified strips.
10. The combination of claim 2 wherein the conveyor belt and drive lugs are formed from elastic material.
11. An inclined tow conveyor for moving a shopping cart in a sired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor, the shopping cart including a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels, the inclined conveyor comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the front wheels of the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each of the back wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the back wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined and extend from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor belt including a series of spaced drive lugs engageable with the shopping cart to move the shopping cart in the desired direction along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and at least one cart arrester positioned along the inclined tow conveyor, wherein the cart arrester permits movement of the shopping cart in the desired direction while preventing movement of the shopping cart in an opposite, undesired direction. 12. An inclined tow conveyor for moving a shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor, the shopping cart including a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels, the inclined conveyor comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the front wheels of the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each of the back wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the back wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined and extend from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor belt including a series of spaced drive lugs engageable with the shopping cart to move the shopping cart along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a heat sensor positioned at the loading end of the conveyor to detect the presence of heat generated by a person at the loading end, wherein the heat sensor prevents operation of the continuous conveyor belt upon detection of heat from a person. 13. An inclined tow conveyor for moving a shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor, the shopping cart including a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels, the inclined conveyor comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the front wheels of the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each of the back wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the back wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined and extend from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor belt including a series of spaced drive lugs engageable with the shopping cart to move the shopping cart along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a pair of spaced sensors positioned at the loading end of the inclined conveyor to detect the presence of an object at the loading end, wherein the sensors prevent operation of the drive motor when both of the sensors simultaneously sense an object. 14. The inclined tow conveyor of claim 13 further comprising a second pair of spaced sensors positioned at the unloading end of the inclined conveyor to detect the presence of an object at the unloading end, wherein the sensors prevent operation of the drive motor upon the simultaneous detection of an object by the sensors.
15. An inclined tow conveyor for moving a shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor, the shopping cart including a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels, the inclined conveyor comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the front wheels of the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each of the back wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the back wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back wheel tracks are inclined and extend from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor belt including a series of spaced drive lugs engageable with the shopping cart to move the shopping cart along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and a jam detector positioned along the length of the inclined conveyor to detect the restricted movement of the shopping cart relative to the movement of the conveyor belt, the jam detector being operable to prevent operation of the conveyor belt upon detection of the restricted movement of the shopping cart along the inclined conveyor. 16. The inclined tow conveyor of claim 15 wherein the jam detector includes a pair of conductor strips extending along the length of the conveyor belt, wherein a jam of the shopping cart causes the shopping cart to electrically connect the conductor strips.
17. An inclined tow conveyor for moving a shopping cart in a desired direction between an upper floor and a lower floor, the shopping cart including a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels, the inclined conveyor comprising:
a pair of spaced front wheel tracks extending between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, each of the front wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the front wheels of the shopping cart; a pair of spaced back wheel tracks extending between the loading end and the unloading end of the conveyor, each of the back wheel tracks positioned to receive one of the back wheels of the shopping cart, wherein the front wheel tracks and the back heel tracks are inclined and extend from the lower floor to the upper floor to guide the movement of the cart therebetween; a driven continuous conveyor belt including a series of spaced drive lugs engageable with the shopping cart to move the shopping cart along the front wheel tracks and the rear wheel tracks between the upper floor and the lower floor; and means for preventing unrestricted movement of the shopping cart in an undesired direction along the inclined conveyor. 18. A combination inclined conveyor and shopping cart for moving the shopping cart between an upper floor and lower floor, the combination comprising:
a shopping cart having a pair of spaced front wheels and a pair of spaced back wheels; an engagement member extending beneath the shopping cart and positioned between the pair of front wheels; and a driven continuous conveyor belt extending along the length of the inclined conveyor between a loading end and an unloading end of the inclined conveyor, the conveyor belt including a plurality of spaced drive lugs that contact the engagement member formed on the shopping cart such that movement of the conveyor belt in a desired direction causes the drive lugs to contact the engagement member on each shopping cart to move the shopping cart in the desired direction; and a cart arrester positioned along the length of the inclined conveyor, the cart arrester being operable to allow passage of the shopping cart in the desired direction and prevent passage of the shopping cart in an opposite, undesired direction. 19. The combination of claim 18 further comprising a jam detector positioned along the length of the inclined conveyor, the jam detector being operable to prevent movement of the conveyor belt upon detection of a jam of the shopping cart along the continuous conveyor belt.
20. The combination of claim 19 wherein the jam detector includes a pair of conductor strips extending along the length of the continuous conveyor belt, wherein a jam of the shopping cart causes the shopping cart to contact the pair of electrified strips.
21. The combination of claim 20 wherein the engagement member includes a horizontal cross bar that is positioned beneath the conductor strips during normal operation of the conveyor belt, wherein the cross bar contacts the conductor strips during a jam of the shopping cart.
22. The combination of claim 21 further comprising a pair of cover members extending along the length of the continuous conveyor belt between the loading end and the unloading end of the inclined conveyor, the pair of cover members being positioned above the continuous conveyor belt and spaced by a guide slot, wherein the horizontal cross bar is positioned beneath the cover members when the shopping cart is engaged by the drive lugs of the conveyor belt.
23. The combination of claim 22 wherein each of the conductor strips is mounted to one of the cover members.
24. The combination of claim 19 further comprising a heat sensor positioned at the loading end of the conveyor, wherein the heat sensor prevents operation of the continuous conveyor belt upon detection of heat from a person.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a tow conveyor for moving shopping carts between two different floors of a building. More specifically, the present invention relates to an inclined shopping cart conveyor that can be positioned adjacent to a people-moving escalator such that the shopping cart conveyor moves the shopping carts between two different floors of a building to coincide with the movement of the shoppers.
Large department stores are most often located in suburban areas where enough land is available to build a store large enough to include all of the merchandise to be offered by the retailer. Thus, many large department store chains have been unable to open stores in large, populated urban areas due to the unavailability of large blocks of single floor retail space. However, in these same urban areas there are often a number of multi-floor vacant buildings that would be large enough to accommodate the floor space required by the department store. Department stores are unable to utilize these multi-floor buildings due to the inability of the department store to transport shopping carts between the various floors of a multi-level store. Although elevators can move shopping carts between he various floors of a multi-floor store, elevators are unable to handle the large number of consumers typically found in one of the large chains of department stores.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an inclined tow conveyor for transporting loaded or unloaded shopping carts between floors of a building. The inclined conveyor of the present invention is constructed to be positioned and used along side a conventional, people-moving escalator such that shopping carts can be loaded onto the inclined shopping cart conveyor and transported along side the shopper who is using the shopping cart.
The upwardly moving inclined conveyor includes a plurality of cart arresters positioned along the length of the conveyor. Each of the cart arresters is operable to prevent the uninhibited downward movement of a shopping cart should the shopping cart become disengaged from the conveyor belt. Each of the cart arresters includes a spring-biased stopping arm that allows the cart to move freely in the upward direction, while preventing the uninhibited movement in the downward direction.
The downwardly moving inclined conveyor also includes a plurality of spaced cart arresters. In the downwardly moving conveyor, each of the cart arresters includes a stopping arm that extends into the path of travel of the shopping cart. Upon detecting a cart moving at the proper speed, the control unit of the inclined conveyor retracts a solenoid to pull the stopping arm inward and out of the path of the shopping cart. However, if the control unit does not activate the solenoid, the stopping arm prevents the downward movement of the shopping cart. Thus, the control unit must positively activate the solenoid in order to allow the shopping cart to move past the cart arrester.
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating the movement of a shopping cart past one of the cart arresters positioned along the length of the inclined conveyor;
FIG. 6a is a top view illustrating the movement of the back upright of a shopping cart in both the upward and downward direction relative to the cart arrester;
FIG. 6b is a top view illustrating the movement of the stopping arm of the cart arrester to permit passage of the back upright past the cart arrester;
FIG. 7 is a section view taken along line 7�7 of FIG. 6 illustrating the engagement between the shopping cart and the conveyor belt;
FIG. 8 is a section view taken along line 8�8 of FIG. 6 illustrating the construction of the upwardly moving inclined shopping cart conveyor;
FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating the position of a cart arrester along the downwardly moving inclined shopping cart conveyor;
FIG. 12 is a magnified top view illustrating the operation of the cart arrester to prevent uncontrolled descent of the shopping cart along the shopping cart conveyor;
FIG. 13 is a magnified top view illustrating the movement of the shopping cart past the cart arrester;
FIG. 14 is a section view taken along line 14�14 of FIG. 11 illustrating the interaction between the shopping cart and the conveyor belt;
FIG. 15 is a section view taken along line 15�15 of FIG. 11 illustrating the construction of the downwardly moving inclined shopping cart conveyor;
FIG. 17 is a section view taken along line 17�17 of FIG. 16 further illustrating the movement of the shopping cart during jamming of the shopping cart conveyor;
FIG. 23 is a third alternate embodiment of the engagement between he conveyor assembly and the shopping cart;
FIG. 24 is a fourth alternate embodiment of the engagement between he conveyor assembly and the shopping cart; and
FIG. 25 is a fifth alternate embodiment of the engagement between the conveyor assembly and the shopping cart.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, thereshown is an upwardly moving inclined conveyor 10 a (FIG. 1) and a downwardly moving inclined conveyor 10 b (FIG. 2) for moving shopping carts 12 between a lower floor 14 and an upper floor 16. The inclined conveyors 10 a and 10 b of the present invention are similar in construction and are each particularly useful in a multi-floor department store having escalators for moving shoppers between the lower floor 14 and the upper floor 16. In the preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated, the angle of both the upwardly moving and downwardly moving inclined conveyors 10 a and 10 b is the same as a conventional people-moving escalator. Preferably, the inclined conveyors are sloped at an angle of 30% Thus, the inclined conveyors 10 of the present invention are able to move a series of shopping carts between the upper and lower floors and can be positioned adjacent to a conventional escalators.
Referring now to FIG. 5, thereshown is the operation of one of a plurality of cart arresters 90 that are spaced along the length of the rear wheel track 30. As illustrated in FIG. 6a, the cart arrester 90 includes a stopping arm 91 that is pivotable about a center point 92. During normal conditions, the stopping arm 91 is biased by a spring 93 such that its stopping surface 94 extends into the path of the back upright 68 of the shopping cart. The pivoting movement of the stopping arm 91 is limited by a fixed stopper 95, as illustrated in FIG. 6a. As shown in FIG. 5, the shopping cart 12 is normally engaged by the upwardly moving inclined conveyor and is preferably moving in the desired direction, as indicated by arrow 96. However, should the shopping cart 12 become disengaged from the continuous conveyor assembly, the force of gravity will cause the shopping cart to move in an uninhibited manner in the direction illustrated by the arrow 97. This unintentional movement of the shopping cart in the undesired direction will be stopped by the interaction between the back uprights 68 and the cart arrester 90. Specifically, the back uprights 68 will contact the stopping surface 94, as shown in FIG. 6a. The stopper 95 prevents further rotation of the stopping arm 91, which halts further movement of the shopping cart 12 in the direction of arrow 97.
During the normal upward movement of the shopping cart 12 along the inclined conveyor, the movement of the shopping cart 12 causes the stopping arm 91 to overcome the spring bias and pivot in the direction illustrated by arrow 98 in FIG. 6b such that the shopping cart 28 can pass the stopping arm 91. As can be understood in FIGS. 6a and 6 b, the cart arrester 90 for the upwardly moving inclined conveyor allows the shopping cart to move freely in the desired direction, while preventing unintentional movement of the shopping cart in the undesired direction.
Referring now to FIG. 11, when the shopping cart 12 is being transported by the downwardly moving inclined conveyor between the upper floor and the lower floor, the rear wheels 28 travel along the rear wheel tracks 30. As shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of spaced cart arresters 110 are positioned above the rear wheel tracks 30. The cart arresters 110 are similar to the cart arresters 90 used on the upwardly moving conveyor previously discussed.
As shown in FIG. 12, the cart arrester 110 includes a stopping arm 112 that is mounted about a pivot point 114. In the normal condition, the stopping arm 112 is biased by spring 113 such that the stopping end 116 extends into the path of the shopping cart as the shopping cart moves downward along the conveyor. Thus, as can be understood in FIGS. 11 and 12, during normal conditions the shopping cart 12 is unable to pass the cart arrester 110. This configuration is specifically designed into the system to ensure that the cart arrester 110 has a fail-safe mode of operation.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the inclined conveyor includes a photoelectric sensor 118 spaced slightly above each of the cart arresters 110 and coupled to a controller 120 for the entire inclined conveyor. The controller 120 receives signals from the photoelectric sensors 118 to indicate the amount of time the shopping cart 12 was in front of the sensor 118. Based on the sensed speed of the shopping cart, the controller 120 selectively activates a solenoid 122, which retracts the plunger 123 to pull the stopping arm 112 in the direction illustrated by arrow 124 in FIG. 13. In its retracted position of FIG. 13, the stopping arm 112 is flush with the side rails of the conveyor such that the shopping cart can pass the cart arrester 110 and continue moving in the direction illustrated by arrow 128.
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