Patent ID: 7934647

Claim:
An in-cart grocery tabulation system for automatically identifying and calculating the total cost of groceries present in a shopping cart, said in-cart grocery tabulation system comprising: a shopping cart adapted to receive grocery items therein; a first scanner attached to a top region of said shopping cart; a second scanner attached to a bottom region of said shopping cart, each of said first and second scanners generating and transmitting a price signal to said tabulation mechanism; a tabulation mechanism communicatively coupled to said first and second scanners, said tabulation mechanism adapted to keep track of a price list associated with the scanned grocery items in said shopping cart; a display screen communicatively coupled to said tabulation mechanism, wherein said tabulation mechanism verifies said price signal and thereafter transmits a display signal to said display screen such that a user learns of a total cost of the grocery items placed within said shopping cart; and a user interface communicatively coupled to said display screen for reviewing the price list; wherein said shopping cart comprises a frame having isolated upper and lower sections adapted to receive the grocery items therein; a handlebar attached to said frame and said upper section respectively, said user interface and said display screen being coupled to said handlebar; and a plurality of wheels connected to said lower section; wherein said tabulation mechanism is situated at said lower section of said frame and comprises a processor communicatively coupled to said first and second scanners; a memory communicatively coupled to said processor; a database communicatively coupled to said memory, said database containing a list of barcodes and a list of prices associated therewith; a plurality of sensors located along a bottom surface of said upper and lower sections respectively, said sensors generating and transmitting a detection signal to said processor upon detecting a weight change at said upper and lower sections respectively; and a power source communicatively coupled to said processor; wherein said memory includes a computer readable software program that causes said tabulation mechanism to verify said price signal as the grocery item is positioned within one of said upper and lower sections respectively.