Apparatus and system and/or method for braking a shopping cart

A brake assembly for arresting the motion of a cart having one or more casters, each of the one or more casters having a wheel rotatably mounted on a shaft and the shaft supported by a fork pivotably connected to the cart, the brake assembly mountable on the fork of at least one of the one or more casters and comprising:

• a housing;
• one or more electronic components;
• a locking plate connectable to a first end of the shaft;
• a bearing housing mountable on a side of the fork opposite the housing and adapted to rotatably receive a second end of the shaft;
• a cam mounted on a portion of the housing and rotatable between a cam engagement position and a cam disengagement position;
• a motor adapted to rotate the cam between the cam engagement position and the cam disengagement position;
• a locking lever to facilitate locking and unlocking the wheel in cooperation with the cam and the locking plate, the locking lever adapted to pivot about a locking lever pin mounted to the housing between a lock position, such that a locking plate engagement end of the lever engages the locking plate to prevent rotation of the wheel, and an unlock position such that the locking plate engagement end of the lever disengages the locking plate to allow rotation of the wheel;
• wherein when the one or more electronic components identify a locking signature condition, the motor rotates the cam to the disengagement position such that the cam is disengaged from the locking lever to pivot the lever to the lock position to prevent rotation of the wheel, and when the one or more electronic components identify an unlocking signature condition, the motor rotates the cam to the engagement position such that the cam engages the locking lever to pivot the lever to the unlock position to allow rotation of the wheel.

A method of optimizing usage of a cart within a perimeter, the cart having one or more casters, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• (a) positioning one or more beacons within the perimeter, the one or more beacons operable for one-way transmission of beacon data, including beacon identification and/or beacon location;
• (b) providing a brake assembly mountable on the one or more casters of the cart, the brake assembly including:
• a motion sensor;
• a brake;
• a scanner;
• and a brake assembly processor;
• (c) detecting movement of the cart to generate cart data using the motion sensor;
• (d) activating the scanner when movement of the cart is detected;
• (e) receiving the beacon data transmitted by the one or more beacons;
• (f) decoding the beacon data using a brake assembly processor operable to apply a beacon algorithm to the beacon data and use the decoded beacon data to identify a beacon sequence and determine a locking signature condition or an unlocking signature condition;
• (g) electronically receiving and/or transmitting the cart data and the beacon data;
• and
• (h) engaging the brake if the decoded beacon data is identified as the locking signature condition or disengaging the brake if the decoded beacon data is identified as the unlocking signature condition.

A system for optimizing usage of a cart within a perimeter, the cart having one or more casters, the one or more casters including a wheel rotatably mounted on a shaft, wherein the system comprises:

• one or more beacons positionable within the perimeter and operable for one-way transmission of beacon data, including beacon identification and/or beacon location;
• and
• a brake assembly mountable on the one or more casters of the cart, the brake assembly including:
• a brake configured to arrest the motion of the cart;
• the brake having a locking lever to facilitate locking and unlocking the wheel in cooperation with a locking plate connectable to a first end of the shaft, the locking lever adapted to pivot about a locking lever pin between a lock position wherein the locking lever engages the locking plate to prevent rotation of the wheel, and an unlock position wherein the locking lever is disengaged from the locking plate to allow rotation of the wheel;
• and a brake assembly processor operable to:
• (i) receive the beacon data transmitted from the one or more beacons;
• (ii) automatically apply a beacon algorithm to decode the beacon data;
• and/or (iii) use the decoded beacon data to identify the beacon sequence as a locking signature condition or an unlocking signature condition and/or determine the location of the cart within the perimeter;
• whereby the system is operable to optimize the usage of the cart by engaging the brake if the decoded beacon data is identified as the locking signature condition or disengaging the brake if the decoded beacon data is identified as the unlocking signature condition.