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US 7,453,358 B2Granted
Shopping cart conveyor with gated access
AssigneePflow Industries, Inc.
InventorMark R. Webster
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneePflow Industries, Inc.
InventorMark R. Webster
Estimating the term…
A shopping cart conveyor that inhibits the loading of a non-compliant shopping cart onto the conveyor. In one aspect, the invention provides a conveyor comprising a track operable to guide the shopping cart between a first location and a second location, a gate assembly including a door movable between a closed position inhibiting entry to the track and an open position allowing entry to the track, a lock for securing the door in the closed position, and a sensor (e.g., an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, a radar sensor, an infrared sensor, an RFID reader, a magnetic sensor, and a mechanical sensor) positioned to detect the presence of a shopping cart. In another aspect, the conveyor is configured to move the gate from the closed position to the open position when the sensor detects the presence of a shopping cart. Preferably this is done using a drive mechanism coupled to the gate.
A conveyor for moving a shopping cart having an identifier between a first location and a second location, the conveyor comprising:
A conveyor for towing a shopping cart between a first location and a second location, the conveyor comprising:
A method of selectively allowing entry to a conveyor for shopping carts comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.