Patent Description:
Self-facing retail merchandise displays are generally known in the art. Once such display is the pusher system. A conventional pusher system incorporates one or more pusher paddles or pusher bodies that ride along a respective elongated track. A spring is connected between the pusher body and a leading edge of the track. The spring acts to bias the pusher body forward along the track towards the leading edge thereof.

A user can retract the pusher body away from the leading edge of the track and position items of retail merchandise in a linear row on top of the track and between the leading edge of the track and the pusher body. The biasing force provided by the spring and exerted upon the pusher body serves to bias the linear row of retail merchandise forward to ultimately "front face" the merchandise.

That is, when a customer removes the leading most item of merchandise from the linear row of merchandise, the pusher body will be drawn forward by the spring to index the row of merchandise forward so that the next item of merchandise in the row is positioned proximate the leading edge of the track in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Such automatic front facing eliminates the necessity for retail store employees to manually face the merchandise, and thus ultimately reduces the cost of labor of the retailer.

The aforementioned pusher systems have been utilized in various retail display environments. One example is a retail shelf. Typically, a plurality of pusher bodies and their corresponding tracks are arranged in a side by side manner along the shelf. Each pusher body and its corresponding track are separated by dividers to maintain a plurality of generally straight rows of merchandise that run from the front to the back of the shelf. Such a familiar configuration can be found in many retail stores for selling hygiene items such as deodorant, as one example.

In another configuration, the pusher system may be embodied as a stand-alone pusher tray. These trays may include means for mounting the tray as a cantilevered extension from another structure, such as a bar. These trays may also be situated directly on a retail shelf. Further, these trays may include side barriers which are adjustable so as to accommodate merchandise of differing widths. Examples of these trays may be readily seen at <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>.

Further, loss prevention is a continuing problem in the retail industry. Current anti-theft systems involve locking up merchandise behind counters that are far away from other related merchandise, or locking up the merchandise in secure cabinets that are closer to where the related merchandise is generally stored.

There are disadvantages to each of these methods. When merchandise is stored in a secured location away from the point of storage of related items, sales of the secured merchandise decrease because customers are less likely to go out of their way to locate a sales associate to retrieve the merchandise. Also, sales of related items that would otherwise be situated in proximity to the secured merchandise decrease as well because the customer is not drawn to their location.

Therefore, although common anti-theft systems may be effective at preventing loss, they often times do so at the cost of reducing sales. For those customers who are not deterred by these systems, they also have the effect of occupying more of the sales associate's time than required for other merchandise not similarly protected.

In addition, anti-theft systems that are currently known for retail displays are often times plagued by false alarms. For example, many retail displays with anti-theft systems will trigger their alarms as a sales associate is simply refilling the retail display with merchandise. Other retail displays with anti-theft systems will intentionally sound an alarm every time a customer removes a piece of merchandise from the retail display even if the customer is only removing a single piece of merchandise and has the full intention to pay for the merchandise. Indeed, many anti-theft systems currently known for retail displays have so many false alarms that employees eventually begin to assume that all alarms are false alarms, thereby, rendering the anti-theft system useless.

Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for a retail merchandise pusher incorporating an anti-theft system for retail stores that will deter theft without discouraging the sale of the merchandise and related items. Additionally, the retail merchandise pusher and incorporated anti-theft system should be able to be retrofitted onto existing retail displays to keep the cost of installation and the shelving downtime required for installation as low as possible. Additionally, the retail merchandise pusher and incorporated anti-theft system should include measures to limit the number of false alarms sounded by the anti-theft system.

<CIT> discloses a modular sweep detector that includes a housing configured to engage a pusher of a pusher device and a sensor configured to engage a biasing member of the pusher device. The biasing member is configured to be biased in response to movement of the pusher. The sensor is configured to detect movement of the pusher for determining if a predetermined number of items of merchandise have been removed from the pusher device.

The invention relates to improvements in the above described pusher systems, more particularly, the above described pusher trays. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.

The invention relates to a method for operating a retail merchandise pusher as defined in claim <NUM>.

The accompanying drawings illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:.

Turning to <FIG>, the pusher and remote alarm system <NUM> includes a retail merchandise display <NUM> comprising a retail merchandise pusher <NUM> and an elongated track <NUM>. The pusher <NUM> is coupled with the first rail <NUM> and a second rail <NUM> of the track <NUM>, such that the pusher <NUM> can be slide in a first direction D1 from a front end <NUM> to a rear end <NUM> of the track and a second direction D2 from the rear end <NUM> to the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

The pusher and remote alarm system <NUM> also includes a central receiver <NUM> that can receive wireless signals <NUM> emitted from the pusher <NUM>. The wireless receiver <NUM> can then send a wireless signal <NUM> to an alarm box <NUM>.

In an alternative example, the wireless receiver <NUM> and/or the alarm box <NUM> may have terminals for connecting the wireless receiver <NUM> and/or the alarm box <NUM> to an output receiving device, such as a computer, a pager, a cellular telephone, a public address system, computer memory, a video camera, and a video monitor.

In another example, the pusher and remote alarm system <NUM>, may omit the wireless receiver <NUM> and the pusher <NUM> can be configured to send its wireless signal <NUM> directly to the alarm box <NUM> and/or an output receiving device.

In still yet another example, the central receiver <NUM> and the alarm box <NUM> may be combined in a single unit, such that the single unit can perform all of the functions of the individual central receiver <NUM> and the individual alarm box <NUM>.

The pusher <NUM>, the wireless receiver <NUM>, the arm box <NUM>, and any output receiving device of a system <NUM> can be configured to emit and receive a multitude of different wireless signals over a multitude of different frequencies.

For example, the pusher <NUM> may be configured to emit a first wireless signal <NUM> along a first frequency that only the wireless receivers <NUM> of the system <NUM> are configured to receive and to emit a second wireless signal <NUM> over a second frequency that only the alarm boxes <NUM> of the system <NUM> are configured to receive and vice versa.

The pusher <NUM> of the system <NUM> may also be configured to emit a third wireless signal <NUM> along a third frequency that only half of the wireless receivers <NUM> of the system <NUM> are configured to receive and to emit a fourth wireless signal <NUM> over a fourth frequency that the other half of the wireless receivers <NUM> are configured to receive and vice versa.

The pusher <NUM> may also be configured to emit a fifth wireless signal <NUM> that when received by an alarm box <NUM> of the system <NUM> causes the alarm box <NUM> to emit a first tone and to emit a sixth wireless signal <NUM> that when received by the alarm box <NUM> causes the alarm box <NUM> to emit a second tone that is different from the first tone.

As will also be understood, the pusher and remote alarm system <NUM> may include any number of pushers <NUM>, wireless receivers <NUM>, alarm boxes <NUM>, and/or out output receiving devices desired by the user.

The pusher and remote alarm system <NUM> can also be configured such that any pusher <NUM>, wireless receiver <NUM>, alarm box <NUM>, and/or other output receiving devices in the system <NUM> can be configured to communicate with any other pusher <NUM>, wireless receiver <NUM>, alarm box <NUM>, and/or other output receiving device connected to the system <NUM>.

As will be understood, by including the system <NUM> to be configured to include any number and combination of pushers <NUM>, the wireless receivers <NUM>, the arm boxes <NUM>, and output receiving devices, and having them capable of communicating with each other by being configured to emit and receive signals over a multitude of different frequencies provides a means to customize each specific system <NUM> according to each specific user's needs. As used herein, "wireless signal" means any type of wireless signals which broadly speaking may be AM signals, FM signals, microwave signals, combinations thereof, or any other suitable type of wireless signal, using any known communication protocol, e.g. wifi, Bluetooth, cellular, conventional radio, etc. This same definition of a wireless signal applies to any signals described explicitly, inherently, or implicitly as being sent wirelessly.

The pusher <NUM> includes a housing <NUM> and an adaptor <NUM>. The housing <NUM> has a top cover <NUM> and a bottom cover <NUM> that are held together with coupling members <NUM>. The pusher <NUM> houses a biasing member <NUM> that extends through the bottom cover <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. The biasing member <NUM> has a coupling aperture <NUM> that can be coupled to any coupling means <NUM> provided at the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

As the pusher <NUM> is shifted from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM> to the rear end <NUM> of the track <NUM> along the first direction D1 the biasing member <NUM> extends, which causes a second biasing member <NUM> coupled to the biasing member <NUM> to contract. The contraction of the second biasing member <NUM> stores the energy of the extended biasing member <NUM>, which biases the pusher <NUM> against any retail merchandise that has been loaded between the pusher <NUM> and the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

Then, as a piece of retail merchandise is removed from the track <NUM> the energy stored in the second biasing member <NUM> causes the biasing member <NUM> to contract to fill the void left by the piece of retail merchandise removed by the customer. When the biasing member <NUM> contracts it causes the pusher <NUM> to shift in the second direction D2 towards the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>, which causes any retail merchandise remaining in the track <NUM> to also shift or front-face in the second direction D2 towards the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, the bottom cover <NUM> of the housing <NUM> includes a coupling region <NUM> that extends from the bottom cover <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. The coupling region includes a first rail <NUM>, a second rail <NUM>, and a recessed portion <NUM>. The adaptor <NUM> includes a coupling portion <NUM> that corresponds to the coupling region <NUM> of the housing <NUM> and includes a first flange <NUM>, a second flange <NUM>, and a retractable clip <NUM>.

As will be understood, the adaptor <NUM> can be removably coupled to the housing <NUM> by inserting the biasing member <NUM> through the opening <NUM> provided in the adaptor <NUM> and then sliding the first and second flange <NUM>, <NUM> of the adaptor <NUM> along the first and second rail <NUM>, <NUM> of the housing <NUM> until the retractable clip <NUM> of the adaptor <NUM> engages with the recessed portion <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. This will secure the adaptor <NUM> to the housing <NUM> until enough force is applied to the adaptor <NUM> to cause the retraction of the retractable clip <NUM> as the first and second flanges <NUM>, <NUM> of the adaptor <NUM> are simultaneously slide out from the first and second rail <NUM>, <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

The adaptor <NUM> also includes a track coupling section <NUM> comprising a first flange <NUM> that slidably engages with the first rail <NUM> of the track and a second flange <NUM> that slidably engages with the second rail <NUM> of a track <NUM>. As will be understood, the slidably engagement between the first and second flange <NUM>, <NUM> of the adaptor <NUM> and the first and second rail <NUM>, <NUM> of the track <NUM> slidably engages the pusher <NUM> to the track <NUM>, such that the pusher <NUM> can shift in both the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 along the track <NUM>.

Therefore, employing an adaptor <NUM> as an intermediary between the housing <NUM> and the track <NUM> provides the advantage of being able to use a single housing <NUM> in a variety of different retail displays <NUM> that have different track <NUM> configurations.

In another embodiment, the housing <NUM> of the pusher <NUM> will include a coupling means that is integrally formed on the housing <NUM> of the pusher <NUM>. The coupling means will be slidably coupleable to the track <NUM> of a retail merchandise display <NUM>, such that the housing <NUM> of the pusher <NUM> is directly coupled to the track <NUM> of the retail merchandise display <NUM>. As will be understood, according to this embodiment, the housing <NUM> of the pusher <NUM> will be slidably coupled directly to the track <NUM>, such that the pusher <NUM> can move in the first direction D1 and the second direction D2 along the track <NUM> of the retail merchandise display <NUM> without employing an adaptor <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, illustrating an exploded view of the housing <NUM>. As illustrated, the top cover <NUM> and bottom cover <NUM> of the housing <NUM> provide an internal cavity <NUM> that houses the internal components <NUM> within the housing <NUM>. The top cover <NUM> of the housing <NUM> also provides a first arm <NUM> (see <FIG>) and a second arm <NUM> (see <FIG>) that rotatably support a shaft <NUM> within the internal cavity <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the first and second arm <NUM>, <NUM> rotatably support the shaft <NUM>, such that the shaft <NUM> can rotate in both a first direction R1 and a second direction R2 about axis A.

With reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, the shaft <NUM> extends through and supports a unilateral bearing <NUM> that has an outer surface <NUM> surrounding an inner bearing <NUM>. The outer surface <NUM> supports a gear wheel <NUM> that has a plurality of gear teeth <NUM>. The inner bearing <NUM> is coupled directly to the shaft <NUM> and is designed to rotate only in the second direction R2 about axis A.

The shaft <NUM> is also coupled to a driving wheel <NUM> having a first cover <NUM> and a second cover <NUM>. The biasing member <NUM> is wound about the driving wheel <NUM> and the second biasing member <NUM> housed within the driving wheel <NUM>.

The driving wheel <NUM> also houses the second biasing member <NUM>. As discussed above, as the track <NUM> is loaded with retail merchandise the pusher <NUM> is shifted in a first direction D1 along the track <NUM>, which causes the biasing member <NUM> to extend along the track <NUM>. As the biasing member <NUM> extends the second biasing member <NUM> contracts in order to store the energy released from the extension of the biasing member <NUM>. This energy of the second biasing member <NUM> is then used to bias the pusher <NUM> against the retail merchandise in the track and to contract the biasing member <NUM> as retail merchandise is removed from the track <NUM>.

In addition to storing the energy of the extended biasing member <NUM>, the second biasing member <NUM> is also electrically coupled to a third electrical contact <NUM> is also electrically coupled to the circuit board <NUM>. The third electrical contact <NUM> provides a means for the circuit board <NUM> to send electrical signals to the second biasing member <NUM> so that the second biasing member <NUM> can also act as an antenna to broadcast any signals that are transmitted from the pusher <NUM>, such as the wireless signals <NUM> transmitted from the pusher <NUM> to the other devices in the pusher and remote alarm system <NUM>, such as the central receiver <NUM> and/or the alarm box <NUM> (see <FIG>).

The circuit board <NUM> is coupled to and provided power by a battery <NUM> that is secured to the circuit board <NUM> by a fixed plate <NUM>. The battery <NUM> provides all of the power required by the pusher <NUM> internally, such that an outside power source is not required. However, in an alternative embodiment, it is envisioned that an outside power source could be used to provide the electrical power required to operate the pusher <NUM>.

The circuit board <NUM> is also electrically coupled to a speaker or buzzer <NUM> and a light guide <NUM>. As will be discussed later, the circuit board <NUM> can be programed to send electrical signals to the speaker or buzzer <NUM> to beep or sound an alarm if certain criteria, such as the movement of the pusher <NUM> along the track <NUM>, are detected by the circuit board <NUM>. Likewise, the circuit board <NUM> can also be programed to illuminate the light guide <NUM> if certain parameters are detected by the circuit board <NUM>, such as detecting low power from the battery <NUM>.

A first electrical contact <NUM> and a second electrical contact <NUM> are also electrically coupled to the circuit board <NUM>. When the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM> make contact with one another they form a closed circuit. As will be discussed in detail below, the number of times that the circuit formed between the first and second electrical contact <NUM>, <NUM> can be used by the circuit board <NUM> to determine the distance that the pusher <NUM> has shifted in the second direction D2 along the track <NUM> because of the removal of a piece or pieces of retail merchandise from the track <NUM>.

Similarly, if the dimensions of the pieces of retail merchandise loaded in the track are known, then distance traveled by the pusher <NUM> in the second direction D2 that is based on the number of times the circuit formed between the first and second electrical contact <NUM>, <NUM> is closed and opened can also be used to determine the number of pieces of retail merchandise that have been removed from the track <NUM>.

Next, the operation of the pusher <NUM> will be discussed. When the retail merchandise display <NUM> is being loaded with retail merchandise the pusher <NUM> is shifted in a first direction D1 away from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>. As the pusher <NUM> is shifted in the first direction D1 the biasing member <NUM> is extended or unwound from the driving wheel <NUM> of the pusher <NUM> and the second biasing member <NUM> is contracted to store the energy lost by the extension or unwinding of the biasing member <NUM>.

The extension or unwinding of the biasing member <NUM> rotates the driving wheel <NUM> in the second direction R2 about axis A. The rotation of the driving wheel <NUM> then rotates the shaft <NUM>, which is coupled to the driving wheel <NUM>, in the second direction D2 about axis A.

As the shaft <NUM> is rotated in the second direction R2 about axis A the inner bearing <NUM> of the unilateral bearing <NUM> rotates along with the shaft <NUM> in the second direction R2 about axis A. The rotation of the inner bearing <NUM> prevents the rotational forces of the shaft <NUM> from being applied to the gear wheel <NUM> coupled to the stationary exterior surface <NUM> of the unilateral bearing <NUM>.

Therefore, the gear wheel <NUM> of the pusher <NUM> remains stationary as the pusher <NUM> is shifted towards the rear end <NUM> of the track <NUM> in order to accommodate the loading of retail merchandise from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

Once the retail merchandise has been loaded between the pusher <NUM> and the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>, the pusher <NUM> biases the retail merchandise in a second direction D2 towards the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

As a piece of retail merchandise is removed from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>, a void is created at the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>. The void causes the biasing member <NUM> to contract and shift the pusher <NUM> and /or the remaining retail merchandise towards the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM>.

As the biasing member <NUM> contracted, the driving wheel <NUM> is rotated in the first direction R1 about axis A. The rotation of the driving wheel <NUM> in the first direction R1 about axis A causes the shaft <NUM>, which is coupled to the driving wheel <NUM>, to also rotate in the first direction R1 about axis A.

As the shaft <NUM> rotates in the first direction R1 about axis A, the inner bearing <NUM>, which is only designed to rotate in the second direction R2 about axis A, does not rotate along with the shaft <NUM>.

Therefore, the rotational forces of the shaft <NUM> are applied to the unilateral bearing <NUM>, which causes the exterior surface <NUM> of the unilateral bearing <NUM> to rotate in the first direction R1 about axis A.

As the exterior surface <NUM> of the unilateral bearing <NUM> rotates in the first direction R1 about axis A the gear wheel <NUM>, which is coupled to the exterior surface <NUM> of the unilateral bearing <NUM>, also rotates in the first direction R1 about axis A.

As the gear wheel <NUM> is rotated in the first direction R1 about axis A its gear teeth <NUM> contact and apply force to the first electrical contact <NUM>. The force applied to the first electrical contact <NUM> by each gear tooth <NUM> shifts the first electrical contact <NUM> to make contact with the second electrical contact <NUM>. This contact formed between the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM> closes a circuit formed between the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM> that can be detected by the circuit board <NUM>.

As the gear wheel <NUM> continues its rotation in the first direction R1 about axis A, the gear tooth <NUM> applying the force to the first electrical contact <NUM> eventually disengages with the first electrical contact <NUM>.

As the gear tooth <NUM> disengages with the first electrical contact <NUM> the force causing the first electrical contact <NUM> to make contact with the second electrical contact <NUM> is removed and the first electrical contact <NUM> returns to its original position where it is not in contact with the second electrical contact <NUM>.

Thus, the circuit formed between the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM> returns to being an open circuit until the gear wheel <NUM> has been sufficiently rotated in the first direction R1 about axis A, such that the next gear tooth <NUM> of the gear wheel <NUM> can make contact with the first electrical contact <NUM> to close the circuit between the first and second electrical contacts <NUM>, <NUM>.

Thus, the removal of retail merchandise from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM> causes the retraction of the biasing member <NUM> that causes the rotation of the gear wheel <NUM> and the gear teeth <NUM> in the first direction R1 about axis A via the rotation of the driving wheel <NUM> and shaft <NUM> in the first direction R1 about axis A. The rotation of the gear teeth <NUM> in the first direction R1 about axis A causes the first electrical contact <NUM> to engage with the second electrical contact <NUM> to close an electrical circuit formed between the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM>, which can be measured by the circuit board <NUM>.

As such, it will be understood that the pusher <NUM> can detect the amount of retail merchandise being removed from the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM> during any given time interval by counting the number of times that the circuit formed between the first electrical contact <NUM> and the second electrical contact <NUM> is closed.

Turning to <FIG>, illustrating a side perspective view of the housing <NUM> opposite the side illustrated in <FIG> showing the housing <NUM> with the bottom cover <NUM> removed to expose the internal components <NUM> of the housing <NUM>.

As illustrated, the driving wheel <NUM> also houses an interior spring <NUM> of the that is electrically coupled to the circuit board <NUM> by a third electrical contact <NUM>. The circuit board <NUM> can send electrical signals to the interior spring <NUM> via the third electrical contact <NUM> where the interior spring <NUM> also acts as an antenna for the pusher <NUM> so that the pusher <NUM> can send out wireless signals <NUM>, such as the amount of retail merchandise that has been removed from its track <NUM> in a certain time interval, to other devices that are a part of the system, such as, but not limited to, other pushers <NUM>, a central receiver <NUM> and/or an alarm box <NUM> (see <FIG>).

Turning to <FIG>, showing a schematic illustration one embodiment of a method of using a pusher <NUM> according to the present application. In the first step the pusher <NUM> is in sleep mode <NUM>. In the next step motion of the pusher <NUM> is detected <NUM>, such as the pusher <NUM> being biased towards the front end <NUM> of the track <NUM> it is installed by the removal of a piece of retail merchandise from the track <NUM> (see <FIG>). After detecting motion, the next step is that the pusher <NUM> enters wake mode <NUM>. After entering wake mode, the pusher <NUM> then the appropriate action based on the amount of motion detected by the pusher <NUM>.

For example, if the pusher <NUM> detects that there has been no motion for more than <NUM> seconds <NUM> or that the pusher <NUM> has moved less than <NUM> clicks <NUM> the pusher <NUM> will return to sleep mode <NUM>.

Next, if the pusher <NUM> detects that the amount of motion is greater than the alarm threshold <NUM> programmed into the pusher <NUM> the pusher will sound an alarm for <NUM> seconds and also send out an alarm code signal <NUM>. Once the alarm has sounded and the alarm signal has been sent out in step <NUM> the alarm sequence has been completed at step <NUM> and the pusher <NUM> returns to sleep mode <NUM>.

Finally, if the pusher <NUM> detects motion that is greater than <NUM> clicks but is less than the alarm threshold at step <NUM> then the pusher <NUM> determines if the accumulated motion is less than <NUM> clicks in the next <NUM> seconds at step <NUM>. If the accumulated motion is not less than <NUM> clicks in the next <NUM> second at step <NUM> then the pusher <NUM> sounds the alarm for <NUM> seconds and sends out an alarm code signal at step <NUM>. However, if the accumulated motion is less than <NUM> clicks in the next ten seconds at step <NUM> then the pusher <NUM> will sound a short beep and send out a beep code signal at step <NUM> before returning to wake mode at step <NUM> where the pusher <NUM> will determine the proper action depending on the amount of motion detected by the pusher <NUM>.

Turning to <FIG>, showing a schematic illustration of one method of the operation of an alarm box <NUM> in alarm mode <NUM>. The alarm box wakes up every <NUM> milliseconds to check if any valid wireless signals are being sent to the alarm box at step <NUM>. If a valid wireless beep signal is received at step <NUM> then the alarm box will beep once at step <NUM>. Then if no further wireless signal is received in <NUM> seconds at step <NUM> the alarm box returns to step <NUM> where it wakes every <NUM> milliseconds to check for any further valid wireless signals.

If a valid wireless alarm signal is received at step <NUM> then the alarm box sounds for <NUM> seconds at step <NUM>. The alarm box will stop sounding the alarm if the reset button is pressed at step <NUM> and then return to step <NUM> where it will wake up every <NUM> milliseconds and check for any further valid wireless signals.

If the reset button is not pressed at step <NUM> the alarm box will continue to will continue to check for any valid wireless signals at step <NUM> until there are no further wireless signals received for more than <NUM> seconds at which point the alarm box will then return to step <NUM> where it will wake up every <NUM> milliseconds and check for any further valid wireless signals.

Turning to <FIG>, showing a schematic illustration of one method of the operation of an alarm box <NUM> in beep mode <NUM>. The alarm box wakes up every <NUM> milliseconds to check if any valid wireless signals are being sent to the alarm box at step <NUM>. If a valid wireless beep signal is received at step <NUM> then the alarm box will beep once at step <NUM>. Then if no further wireless signal is received in <NUM> seconds at step <NUM> the alarm box returns to step <NUM> where it wakes every <NUM> milliseconds to check for any further valid wireless signals.

If a valid wireless alarm signal is received at step <NUM> then the alarm box rapid beeps for <NUM> seconds at step <NUM>. The alarm box will stop the rapid being at step <NUM> if the reset button is pressed at step <NUM> and then return to step <NUM> where the alarm box will wake up every <NUM> milliseconds and check for any further valid wireless signals.

If the reset button is not pressed at step <NUM> the alarm box will finish the <NUM> seconds of rapid beeps at step <NUM>. Then the alarm box will continue to check for any further wireless signals until no wireless signals are received in a <NUM> second interval at step <NUM> at which point the alarm box will then return to step <NUM> where it will wake up every <NUM> milliseconds and check for any further valid wireless signals.

Claim 1:
A method for operating a retail merchandise pusher (<NUM>), the retail merchandise pusher comprising:
a housing (<NUM>);
a shaft (<NUM>) rotatable in a first direction (R1) and a second direction (R2) about its axis;
a gear wheel (<NUM>) coupled to the shaft (<NUM>) such that the gear wheel (<NUM>) is rotatable about the shaft (<NUM>) in the second direction (R2);
a first electrical contact (<NUM>) and a second electrical contact (<NUM>);
wherein movement of the pusher along a track (<NUM>) rotates the gear wheel (<NUM>), such that
the gear wheel causes the first electrical contact to engage with the second electrical contact; and
a distance that the pusher has moved along the track can be measured by the total engagements between the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact;
the pusher being in sleep mode (<NUM>);
the method comprising the steps of:
determining if the motion of the pusher is detected (<NUM>), entering the pusher in wake mode (<NUM>) in case motion of the pusher is detected; and
after entering in wake, determining an action to be taken based on an amount of motion detected by the pusher.