Shopping cart

Abstract

To provide a shopping cart capable of accurately detecting products placed at placement parts.SOLUTION: A shopping cart 1 includes: a cart main body 2 which can have an electronic device 6 used for registration processing or settlement processing for products at the upper part and which has casters 3 at the lower part; and placement parts 5a, 5b supported by the cart main body 2 through a detection device 10 so as to be able to have the products. The electronic device 6 is mounted at the rear part of the cart main body 2. A power storage part 45 for supplying power to the detection device 10 and the electronic device 6 is mounted at the front part of the cart main body 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shopping cart that is used mainly in stores such as supermarkets and shopping malls. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, in stores such as supermarkets and shopping malls, payment processing is carried out by store clerks or customers at cash registers installed within the store. This means that during busy times, for example, customers waiting to pay tend to crowd around the cash registers, not only making customers wait for long periods of time, but also creating a heavy workload for store clerks who perform the product registration process to register products or the payment process to pay for registered products.

[0003] Therefore, a system has been proposed in which a shopping cart is equipped with electronic devices such as a reading device that can read product information and a display device that can display payment information, etc., as well as a battery that supplies power to these electronic devices, so that when a customer selects a product, the product information is read on the spot, allowing payment processing to be completed without the customer having to go to the cash register.

[0004] A shopping cart used in this type of system is equipped with a reading device that reads product information and a detection device installed on the product placement area. When the reading device reads a barcode or the like attached to a product, the shopping cart obtains information such as the price of the product from a database. When the detection device detects that an item has been placed on the placement area, it adds the item to the total quantity of the products placed on the placement area, preventing reading errors or users forgetting to read the item, and enabling accurate payment processing for the products (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-70441 A (Page 7, Figure 2) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The shopping cart described in Patent Document 1 is equipped with an information processing device and a reading device, which are electronic devices used for payment processing, at the rear of the shopping cart, and also has a power storage unit that supplies power to the information processing device, the reading device, and a weight sensor installed at the bottom of the basket-shaped loading section, at the rear of the shopping cart.As a result, the weight distribution in the front-to-rear direction of the shopping cart is unbalanced, detection accuracy on the flat surface of the loading section becomes uneven, and there is a risk that accurate weighing will not be possible depending on the placement of products on the loading section.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to provide a shopping cart that can accurately detect products placed on the placing section. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the shopping cart of the present invention comprises: A shopping cart comprising: a cart body on the upper part of which an electronic device used for product registration processing or payment processing can be mounted and which has casters on the lower part; and a loading section which is supported by the cart body via a detection device and on which products can be placed; The electronic device is mounted on the rear of the cart body, and a power storage unit that supplies power to the detection device and the electronic device is mounted on the front of the cart body. According to this feature, by mounting the electronic device used for product registration or payment processing at the rear of the cart body and the power storage unit at the front of the cart body, the weight distribution in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body is well balanced, and detection accuracy is uniform on the plane of the loading section, allowing for accurate detection of products placed on the loading section.In addition, the cart body has excellent operability when moving.

[0009] The cart body is characterized by having a lower part having the casters and a standing part that stands up from the lower part of the body, and a storage part that stores the storage unit is attached to the standing part. According to this feature, the center of gravity of the power storage unit is located above the bottom of the cart body, so the vertical distance from the point of force when moving the shopping cart is small, making it easy to operate.

[0010] The storage section is characterized by having a vertically elongated shape that follows the upright section. According to this feature, the storage section and the standing section are highly integrated, vibration of the power storage section during driving is suppressed, and the vibration can be prevented from affecting the detection accuracy of the detection device.

[0011] The storage section has an opening that opens upward and a cover section that can open and close the opening, and the storage section is stored so that it can be freely inserted and removed in the vertical direction through the opening. According to this feature, the storage battery unit can be inserted into and removed from the housing unit in the vertical direction by opening the opening, making it easy to replace the storage battery unit.

[0012] The mounting portion has a front end portion extending above the storage portion, and is characterized in that the mounting portion has an opening in the center of the front end portion. According to this feature, the placement section can be extended above the storage section to increase its size, while the power storage section can be removed upward from the opening at the front end of the placement section without interfering with the placement section. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a shopping cart according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen from the front side; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the shopping cart as seen from the rear side. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a shopping cart. [Figure 4]10A is a view showing a state in which a cover part constituting the housing part has been removed, and FIG. 10B is a view showing a state in which the battery is being pulled up from the housing part main body. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the space above the battery housed in the housing portion. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the upper stage placement portion and the detection device. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the lower placement portion and the detection device. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a side view showing shopping carts nested one behind the other. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A shopping cart according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the following examples. [Example]

[0015] A shopping cart according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 8. In the following description, the diagonally lower left side of Figure 1 is the front of the shopping cart, and the up, down, left, and right directions when viewing the shopping cart from the front side are used as references.

[0016] 1 to 3, a shopping cart 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a cart) is a cart used by customers in, for example, supermarkets, shopping malls, etc. The cart 1 mainly comprises a cart body 2, a plurality of (for example, four) casters 3 provided on the bottom of the cart body 2, a handle 4 operated by a user, two upper and lower mounting sections 5a and 5b on which baskets (not shown) capable of containing products can be placed, an electronic device 6 used in a registration process for registering a product as a target product for purchase by a user or in a payment process for a product registered by this registration process, a battery (power storage section) 45 capable of supplying power to the electronic device 6, a power receiving section 40 for receiving power, and a power transmitting section 41 for transmitting power, and as will be described later, the cart 1 is capable of being nested in the front-to-back direction.

[0017] The cart body 2 is mainly composed of a lower body 2a, which is roughly bifurcated in plan view and is placed along the floor surface, and an upper body 2b, which stands upright at the front end of the lower body 2a. Casters 3 are attached to the lower front and rear ends of the lower body 2a, allowing it to be moved on the floor surface.

[0018] A power receiving unit 40 is provided on the front of the base part 23 of the lower part 2a of the main body, and a power transmitting unit 41 is provided on the rear of the base part 23 of the lower part 2a of the main body.The power supplied to the power receiving unit 40 can be supplied to the battery 45 and power transmitting unit 41 described later, and power can be supplied to the power receiving unit 40 of the other cart 1 that is nested and connected to its own power transmitting unit 41.

[0019] The upper body portion 2b has a first frame portion 33a extending substantially vertically upward and forward from the top surface of the base portion 23, a second frame portion 33b extending obliquely upward and rearward from the upper end of the first frame portion 33a, and a third frame portion 33c extending substantially vertically upward and rearward from the upper end of the second frame portion 33b, forming a substantially S-shape. The first frame portion 33a, the second frame portion 33b, and the third frame portion 33c are each formed by two frames 7 erected on the base portion 23 on the base side of the upper body portion 2b, spaced apart from each other on the left and right. An electronic device 6 is mounted on the upper portion of the third frame portion 33c, and handle portions 4 to be gripped during riding are provided extending laterally from the pair of left and right frames 7, respectively.

[0020] The upper body portion 2b is provided with a cover member 20 that is provided to cover the first frame portion 33a and the second frame portion 33b. The cover member 20 is provided with a cover portion 21 that covers the front surface of the first frame portion 33a and a cover portion 22 that covers the upper surface of the second frame portion 33b.

[0021] 4(a) is a diagram showing a state in which the cover portion 21 has been removed. A storage portion 46 that stores a battery (power storage portion) 45 is attached between the frames 7 that make up the first frame portion 33a. The storage portion 46 is composed of a vertically long box-shaped storage portion main portion 47 having an opening 47a that continues from the top to a portion of the front, and the cover portion 21 that allows this opening 47a to be opened and closed.

[0022] Battery 45 is a vertically elongated, approximately rectangular parallelepiped, and has an input port 45b and multiple output ports 45c, 45c, 45c at its top (see FIG. 5). Battery 45 is formed so that its front-to-back dimension is shorter than its left-to-right dimension. Main storage section 47 has a bottomed, rectangular tubular bottom (not shown) that is slightly larger than the outer shape of the underside of battery 45.

[0023] The cover portion 21 is provided to cover the first frame portion 33a, which stands substantially vertically, and the curved portion 33e, where the upper end of the first frame portion 33a intersects with the lower end of the second frame portion 33b. Therefore, the cover portion 21 has a flat portion 21a at its lower part facing the first frame portion 33a, and a curved portion 21e at its upper part facing the curved portion 33e.

[0024] When battery 45 is installed in housing 46, it is sized so that its upper surface 45a is located below the upper end of flat surface 21a of cover 21. Furthermore, the terminals of input cord 56b and output cord 56c are inserted inside curved surface 21e of cover 21, i.e., into the space above housing 46, as shown in FIG.

[0025] The input cord 56b is connected to the power receiving unit 40 and is used to supply electricity from an external power source to the battery 45, that is, to charge the battery 45. The output cord 56c is a cord for supplying the electricity stored in the battery 45 to the electronic device 6 and the power transmitting unit 41.

[0026] A plurality of cord holders 57 are provided on the upper portion of the main storage portion 47, protruding inward, and can hold the input cord 56b and the output cord 56c so that they do not move around. As shown in Fig. 5, the input cord 56b and the output cord 56c are connected to the input port 45b and the output port 45c in a space secured above the upper surface 45a of the battery 45 inside the storage portion 46. Therefore, by removing the cover portion 21, the space secured above the upper surface 45a can be accessed from above and in front of the main storage portion 47 through the opening 47a, facilitating the attachment and detachment of the input cord 56b and the output cord 56c to the input port 45b and the output port 45c.

[0027] The lower mounting portion 5a, which is located behind the first frame portion 33a and below the second frame portion 33b, and the upper mounting portion 5b, which is located in front of the third frame portion 33c and above the second frame portion 33b, are formed in a box shape that opens at the top by bending a linear member.

[0028] The lower loading section 5a is arranged to slope downward toward the rear, and the second frame section 33b is arranged to slope upward toward the rear, so that the vertical distance between the second frame section 33b and the lower main body section 2a becomes wider toward the rear, making it easier for customers to place items into a basket (not shown) placed on the loading section 5a from the rear of the cart 1.

[0029] In this embodiment, the electronic device 6 includes, although not described in detail here, a reading device such as a reader for reading information on products selected by customers using the cart 1, and an information terminal capable of displaying the product information read by the reading device and performing various operations. Note that other devices than those described above may also be provided for the registration process, payment process, or both the registration process and the payment process of products selected by customers.

[0030] 6, the upper mounting portion 5b has a main body 50 formed in a box shape with an open top by bending a linear member, and a metal plate-like fixing portion 51 provided at the lower end of the main body 50. A plurality of holes 51a penetrating vertically are formed in the fixing portion 51, and these holes 51a are used to fix the fixing portion 51 to the strain element 15 of the detection device 10, which will be described in detail later.

[0031] The main body 50 of the upper mounting portion 5b has a front end that extends above the first frame portion 33a and the storage portion 46, and has an opening 50a in the center of the front end. More specifically, the main body 50 of the mounting portion 5b has a forked front end, and the split portion of the forked shape forms the opening 50a. The opening 50a is generally U-shaped and is slightly larger than the left-right width of the battery 45, i.e., its outer shape.

[0032] 7, the lower placement section 5a has a main body 52 formed in a box shape with an open top by bending a linear member, and suspending sections 53 fixed to the left and right ends of the main body 52. The suspending section 53 has a fixing section 54 formed in the center in the left-right direction, and tubular frames 55, 55 extending left and right from the fixing section 54 and also extending downward.

[0033] The frames 55, 55 are generally L-shaped in side view, and their lower ends are bent along the front-to-rear direction of the main body 52 and are welded and fixed at multiple points in the front-to-rear direction to the linear members at the left and right ends of the main body 52. The fixing portion 54 has a flat portion 54b at its upper end, and the fixing portion 54 is fixed to the strain element 15 of the detection device 10, which will be described in detail later, using multiple holes 54a formed in this flat portion 54b.

[0034] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the detection device 10 is a load sensor (load cell) composed of a strain element 15 arranged with its longitudinal axis in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body 2 and a strain gauge (not shown) attached to the strain element 15.

[0035] A plurality of holes 15e that penetrate vertically are formed in the rear end 15a of the flexure body 15, and the flexure body 15 is fixed to the second frame portion 33b using these holes 15e. More specifically, the flexure body 15 is fixed in a cantilevered state to a base portion 8 that is mounted on two frames 7, 7 that make up the second frame portion 33b by fastening bolts and nuts 11 that are inserted through holes 8a formed in the base portion 8 and through holes 15e in the flexure body 15, respectively.

[0036] The flexure body 15 is a thick metal member that can be elastically deformed, and is arranged with its longitudinal axis at the front and rear of the cart body 2 (see FIG. 6). A strain gauge (not shown) is attached to approximately the center of the flexure body 15, so that when the flexure body 15 elastically deforms, the resistance value of the strain gauge attached to the flexure body 15 changes. The strain gauge is connected to an information terminal of the electronic device 6 by wiring (not shown), and transmits this resistance value to the information terminal as detection information.

[0037] A plurality of holes 15e penetrating vertically are formed in the front end 15b of the strain body 15, and with the fixing portion 51 of the upper stage mounting portion 5b abutting against the top surface 150 of the front end 15b, the upper stage mounting portion 5b is connected to and supported by fastening bolts and nuts 11 inserted into the holes 15e formed in the front end 15b and the holes 51a formed in the fixing portion 51 of the upper stage mounting portion 5b, respectively. In other words, the upper stage mounting portion 5b is attached to the second frame portion 33b of the cart main body 2 via the detection device 10, and its load is supported by the second frame portion 33b of the cart main body 2 via the detection device 10.

[0038] The flat portion 54b of the fixed portion 54 of the suspending support portion 53 of the lower mounting portion 5a abuts against the underside 151 of the front end portion 15b of the strain body 15, and similarly to the fixed portion 51 of the upper mounting portion 5b, the fixed portion 54 of the suspending support portion 53 of the lower mounting portion 5a is connected by fastening bolts and nuts 11, thereby connecting the lower mounting portion 5a to the front end portion 15b of the strain body 15. In this way, the lower mounting portion 5a is attached to the second frame portion 33b of the cart main body 2 via the detection device 10, and its load is supported by the second frame portion 33b of the cart main body 2 via the detection device 10.

[0039] As described above, both the upper placement portion 5b and the lower placement portion 5a are configured such that a load is applied to the front end portion 15b of the flexure body 15, and when a product is placed directly on placement portion 5b or placement portion 5a, or when a product is placed in a basket (not shown) placed on placement portion 5b or placement portion 5a, the weight of the product causes the flexure body 15 to elastically deform, more specifically, the cantilever-shaped flexure body 15 with the rear end portion 15a as its base point elastically deforms. Conversely, when a product is removed from placement portion 5b or placement portion 5a, the flexure body 15 elastically returns to its original position due to a reduction in weight by the product, and the resistance value changes.

[0040] When a product load is applied to or removed from either the upper placement section 5b or the lower placement section 5a, the resistance value of the strain gauge in the detection device 10 changes, and the resistance value is transmitted from the strain gauge to the information terminal of the electronic device 6. The information terminal of the electronic device 6 uses the change in the resistance value received from the strain gauge to detect a change in the presence of the product on either the upper placement section 5b or the lower placement section 5a.

[0041] When a customer reads product information using the reading device of electronic device 6, the information terminal begins the product registration process and monitors changes in the resistance value received from the strain gauge. If a change in the resistance value received from the strain gauge, in this case an increase in load, is detected, the product registration process is completed. Conversely, if an increase in load is not detected, the product registration process is interrupted and an error message is displayed. In this way, the information terminal performs various calculations using the resistance value received from the strain gauge, and therefore can be said to constitute a part of detection device 10.

[0042] As described above, in the cart 1, the electronic device 6 is mounted at the rear of the cart body 2, and the battery 45 that supplies power to the detection device 10 and the electronic device 6 is mounted at the front of the cart body 2. This provides a good balance of weight distribution in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body 2, uniform detection accuracy on the plane of the placement sections 5a, 5b, and enables accurate detection of products placed on the placement sections 5a, 5b. Furthermore, the cart body 2 is easy to operate while traveling.

[0043] Specifically, the well-balanced weight distribution in the front-to-rear direction of the cart body 2 effectively prevents subtle distortion of the cart body 2, which is likely to occur when weights differ due to individual differences between similar battery specifications, and the resulting tilting of the mounting sections 5a, 5b. This prevents uneven detection accuracy on the plane of the mounting sections 5a, 5b, ensuring detection accuracy regardless of the product's position on the plane of the mounting sections 5a, 5b.

[0044] The cart body 2 also includes a lower body portion 2a having casters 3 and an upper body portion 2b that stands up from the lower body portion 2a, with a storage portion 46 for storing a battery 45 attached to the upper body portion 2b. As a result, the center of gravity of the battery 45 is located above the lowest part of the cart body 2, which reduces the vertical distance from the point of force applied when moving the cart 1, i.e., the handle portion 4, resulting in excellent operability. In addition, the battery 45 is located above the base portion 23 of the lower body portion 2a, i.e., directly above the casters 3 disposed below the base portion 23, so its weight is stably supported.

[0045] Furthermore, because the storage section 46 has a vertically elongated shape that follows the upper main body section 2b, the storage section 46 and the upper main body section 2b are highly integrated, suppressing vibration of the battery 45 during travel and preventing the vibration from affecting the detection accuracy of the detection device 10. Furthermore, because the battery 45 is stored in the storage section 46 with its shortest front-to-rear side facing forward, the front-to-rear width of the storage section 46, i.e., the front-to-rear width of the base of the upper main body section 2b of the cart body 2, does not become unnaturally large, resulting in a design that does not draw attention to the placement of the battery 45 and is aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, the storage section 46 and the battery 45 are disposed between a pair of frames 7, and the frames 7 absorb the impact when the cart collides with a person, display fixtures, or another cart 1, thereby protecting the shock-sensitive battery 45.

[0046] In addition, the storage section 46 has an opening 47a that opens upward and a cover section 21 that can open and close the opening 47a, and the battery 45 can be freely inserted and removed from the storage section 46 in the vertical direction through the opening 47a, making it easy to replace the battery 45 that has little remaining charge, for example.

[0047] Furthermore, the front end of the upper mounting portion 5b extends above the storage portion 46, and an opening 50a is formed at the front end. Therefore, even though the mounting portion 5b is extended above the storage portion 46 to increase its size, the battery 45 can be removed upward from the opening 50a at the front end of the mounting portion 5b without interfering with the main body 50 of the mounting portion 5b.

[0048] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and additions and modifications within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention.

[0049] For example, in the above embodiment, the cart 1 is described as being capable of being nested in the front-to-rear direction and equipped with electronic devices 6 used for product registration processing, payment processing, or both product registration processing and payment processing. However, the electronic devices 6 do not necessarily need to be fixed to the cart 1 in advance; for example, the cart 1 may be one to which the electronic devices 6 can be detachably attached. In this case, the cart 1 preferably has an attachment member that allows the electronic devices 6, or mobile terminals such as smartphones or tablet terminals, to be detachably attached to the cart body 2, and connection terminals for electrically connecting these terminals to a battery.

[0050] Furthermore, the detection means capable of detecting the presence of products placed on the upper and lower placement sections 5a and 5b in the detection device 10 is not limited to a load sensor using a strain gauge as in the above embodiment, but may also be, for example, a photo sensor or an infrared sensor.

[0051] Furthermore, the battery 45 is not limited to being housed in the housing 46 so as not to be exposed to the outside, but may be directly fixed to the cart body 2.

[0052] Furthermore, the housing portion 46 is not limited to being disposed between the pair of frames 7, but may be disposed along the front or rear ends of the pair of frames 7, for example.

[0053] Furthermore, the housing section 46 is not limited to a configuration of the opening 47a that allows the battery 45 to be removed vertically and the orientation of the housing section main section 47, but may be configured to allow the battery to be removed from the front, back, left, or right, for example.

[0054] Furthermore, the battery serving as the power storage unit is not limited to one, and may be made up of a plurality of batteries.

[0055] Furthermore, the number of detectors 10 is not limited to one, and two detectors 10 may be arranged on the left and right sides of the cart body 2, for example.

[0056] Furthermore, the most preferable installation position for the detector 10 is the center of the cart body 2 in the front-to-rear direction as in the above embodiment, since this facilitates the design of the weight balance, but it may be located to one side in the front-to-rear direction.

[0057] In addition, in the above embodiment, the cart 1 is exemplified as having a configuration in which the cart body 2 is approximately S-shaped in side view, composed of a lower main body portion 2a which is approximately bifurcated in plan view and an upper main body portion 2b which stands upright from the front of the lower main body portion 2a, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the shape of the cart body 2 is not limited to the above and may be various shapes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1. Shopping Cart 2 Cart body 2a Bottom of the main body 2b Top of the main body 5a Lower loading section 5b Upper loading section 6 Electronic equipment 6a Reading device 6b Information terminal 7 frames 8 Base 10. Detection Device 11 Bolts and nuts 15 Strain body 15a Rear end 15b Front end 15e Hole 20 Cover member 21 Cover part (storage part) 33a First frame section 33b Second frame section 33c Third frame section 40 Power receiving unit 41 Power Transmission Unit 45 Battery (storage unit) 46 Storage section 47 Main containment section 47a Opening 50 body part 50a Opening 51 fixed part 52 body part 53 hanging branch 54 fixed part 54b flat surface 55,55 フレーム 150 From the top of the body 151 The lower part of the body

Claims

1. A shopping cart comprising: a cart body on the upper part of which an electronic device used for product registration processing or payment processing can be mounted and which has casters on the lower part; and a loading section which is supported by the cart body via a detection device and on which products can be placed; A shopping cart characterized in that the electronic device is mounted at the rear of the cart body, and a power storage unit that supplies power to the detection device and the electronic device is mounted at the front of the cart body.

2. The shopping cart according to claim 1, characterized in that the cart body comprises a lower part having the casters and a standing part that stands up from the lower part of the body, and a storage part that stores the storage unit is attached to the standing part.

3. 3. The shopping cart according to claim 2, wherein the storage section has a vertically elongated shape that conforms to the upright section.

4. The shopping cart according to claim 2, characterized in that the storage section has an opening that opens upward and a cover section that can open and close the opening, and the storage section is stored so that it can be freely inserted and removed in the vertical direction through the opening.

5. 5. The shopping cart according to claim 4, wherein the front end of the loading section extends above the storage section, and the loading section has an opening in the center of the front end.

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