16934results about "Hand carts with multiple axes" patented technology

A vehicle tracking system includes a wheel containing sensor circuitry capable of sensing various types of conditions, such as wheel rotation, wheel vibration caused by skidding, and specific electromagnetic and / or magnetic signals indicative of particular wheel locations. The sensor circuitry is coupled to an RF transceiver, which may but need not be included within the wheel. The wheel may also include a brake mechanism. In one embodiment, the wheels are placed on shopping carts and are used to collect and monitor shopping cart status and location data via a wireless network. The collected data may be used for various purposes, such as locking the wheel of an exiting cart if the customer has not paid, estimating numbers of queued carts, stopping wheel skid events that occur during mechanized cart retrieval, store planning, and providing location-based messaging to customers.

A console for the input and display of consumer product information such as pricing, etc. The console may be built into the handle of the shopping cart or as a retrofit application on existing handles. The console has a product information input device for numerical values such as product pricing, cost per unit, etc. The apparatus has a calculator and output display for such data. Some space on the console will likely be dedicated to a display panel for advertising. The console may be equipped with a bar code scanner as an alternate means of inputting such consumer data. The console should have an output display, such as a monitor, and / or a readout in order to display the product information such as: cost per unit. A video monitor may be used in connection with the console in order to provide advertising information related to products.

A navigation system uses a dead reckoning method to estimate an object's present position relative to one or more prior positions. In some embodiments, the dead reckoning method determines a change in position from the object's heading and speed during an elapsed time interval. In embodiments suitable for use with wheeled objects, the dead reckoning method determines the change in position by measuring the heading and the amount of wheel rotation. Some or all of the components of the navigation system may be disposed within a wheel, such as a wheel of a shopping cart.

Electrical steering assist systems reduce the operator applied steering effort necessary to operate material handling vehicles. A steer drive unit including a motor is coupled to a steerable wheel for providing steering assist. The amount of steering assist provided by the steer drive unit is determined by a controller that receives input from one or more input sensing devices. The input sensing device(s) may include force sensors that detect an operator applied turning force. The input sensing device(s) may also detect the movement of one steering component relative to another. Further, the input sensing device(s) may include operator activated controls such as a joystick, potentiometer, switches and voice initiated commands. Input sensing device(s) may additionally be provided to detect operational parameters such as the load on the material handling vehicle, vehicle speed, or environmental conditions such as travel path obstruction detection, homing and proximity sensing.

A system including a computerized shopping cart that includes a closed mechanical cart (1) which interconnects / disconnects to units for the insertion / storage of products upon manual command managed by a shopping computer aimed at managing shopping problems and controlling all electronic functions, i.e. automatic system for optically scanning (7) bar codes (UPC / EAN standard), one for checking (8) the correctness of the customer's operations, one emitting the intelligent multimedia commercial message, one for the wireless exchange of data with the outside, for use in supermarkets. The system provides shopping info (8) (list of products on sale, location, price, other), or of the product being purchased (price, whether it is on sale, partial groceries bill), or already purchased (list of purchased items) or to be purchased (remaining shopping list), guided by appropriate interactive messages (acoustic, visual.

A media enhanced shopping cart system comprises a shopping cart comprising a frame, a basket, a handle, a base tray, and a plurality of wheels, a modular computing device comprising a central processing unit, a memory and a network transceiver configured for wireless communication, the modular computing device being attached to the shopping cart, an inventory component for determining an inventory contained by the shopping cart, a shopping list component for listing one or more products of a consumer shopping list for purchase by a consumer, and a correlation component for correlating data from the inventory component with the shopping list component.

In one embodiment of the invention, a steering system for mobile medical equipment is disclosed including left and right steerable wheel assemblies including left and right steerable wheels, left and right parallelogram linkages coupled to the left and right steerable wheel assemblies, a steering function generator coupled to the left and right parallelogram linkages, and a steering tiller coupled to the steering function generator. The left and right parallelogram linkages transfer differing left and right wheel angles to the left and right steerable wheel assemblies respectively. The steering function generator generates the left wheel angle (LWA) of the left steerable wheel and the right wheel angle (RWA) of the right steerable wheel. The steering tiller receives an input steering angle to generate the left wheel angle and the right wheel angle to control the direction of the mobile medical equipment around flooring.

A method for real-time remote shopping using a real-time remote shopping system includes the steps of (a) obtaining the commodity information from a hand-held terminal and registering the information on a customer, (b) sending the shopping request information including the commodity information to a host server or a mobile terminal through the wired / wireless communication device, (c) receiving, at the mobile terminal, the shopping request information from the hand-held terminal or the host server, and sending the shopping data processed in real-time to the host server or the hand-held terminal, (d) receiving, at the hand-held terminal, the shopping data from the server or the hand-held terminal, and (e) sending, at the hand-held terminal, a shopping-ended signal to the host server or the hand-held terminal, and paying the price. The hand-held terminal includes a hand-held electronic device of the customer. The system and method can be applied to an internet shopping.

A wire flow rack system including a longitudinal wire, a roller wire, a roller and an optional cap. The roller wire is joined with and transverse to the longitudinal wire and includes an unsupported free end that projects beyond the longitudinal wire. The roller defines an axial bore, and is positioned on the free end so that the it is free to rotate about the roller wire. A end element, for example, a cap, can be joined with the free end to prevent the roller from disengaging the free end. The cap can be friction fit with the free end and easily, manually replaceable relative to the free end, without the use of tools.

A machine tool stand and / or workbench, electrical outlet panel, light supply, and modular task box system, combined into an integrated system that includes a support structure having a support base on wheels and side rails disposed on the surface of the support base. The side rails include structure for attaching tool holders, work pieces holders, work surfaces, and the like.

A system for transporting inventory includes an inventory holder and a mobile drive unit. The inventory holder includes a frame capable of storing inventory items and a docking plate capable of receiving a docking head from underneath. The mobile drive unit, includes a docking head capable of coupling to the docking plate and a drive module capable of propelling the mobile drive unit. The mobile drive unit is further capable to move the inventory holder when the docking head is coupled to the inventory holder.

A media enhanced shopping cart system comprises a shopping cart comprising a frame, a basket, a handle, a base tray, a plurality of wheels, a read component for performing a proximity scan of the shopping cart, a locationing component for determining a location of the shopping cart within a store based on the scan, and a display component for displaying at least one advertisement for a product based on the location of the shopping cart within the store, wherein the locationing component is further operable to determine a location of the product within the store relative to the shopping cart based on the scan, and wherein the display component is further operable to display an indication of the location of the advertised product relative to the location of the shopping cart.

A power generation system for wheeled objects comprises a generator mechanically coupled to one or more of the object's wheels to convert wheel rotational energy into electrical energy. The power generation system may comprise an electrical storage device configured to store the electrical power produced by the generator. Power from the generator and / or the electrical storage device can be used to provide power to other electrical systems in or on the object. In certain embodiments, the electrical storage device comprises a bank of high-capacity capacitors connected in series. Some embodiments use a control circuit, for example, to regulate the charging and discharging of the capacitor bank and to provide suitable voltages for other systems. The power generation system may be disposed within an object's wheel, such as a wheel of a shopping cart.

An improved meal delivery system and a method for delivery of pre-cooked, chilled meals from a central distribution station to a plurality of remote locations in cooperation with an Automatic Guided Vehicle system, and in particular a one-piece, molded, insulated meal-delivery cart for transportation of chilled meals.

A media enhanced shopping cart system comprises a shopping cart comprising a frame, a basket, a handle, a base tray, and a plurality of wheels, an inventory component for determining an inventory contained by the shopping cart, an identification component for associating a unique identity of the shopping cart, a correlation component of a modular computing device for correlating the inventory contained by the shopping cart with the unique identity of the shopping cart, and a communication component for conveying to a retailer system the correlation between the inventory and the unique identity of the shopping cart.

A stroller mainly includes an upper rack, a front wheel rack, a rear wheel rack, an arched rib, a connection bar, a bracing bar, a guarding handle, a plurality of rotary joints and a plurality of corresponding bars. It also has a folding means consisting of the rear wheel rack, arched rib, second, third and fourth rotary joints, a direction switch and wheel retraction means consisting of the front wheel rack, arched rib, second, third and fourth rotary joints, a brake means consisting of brake pulling bar assembly, a plurality of brake means and a cable, and a seat assembly consisting of a cross coupling hub, a guarding handle, a seat rack and a first rotary joint. The second rotary joint is slidable on the rear wheel rack. The fourth rotary joint is slidable on the arched rib.

By providing a plurality of cooperating, foldable panel members in combination with a plurality of foldable wheel assemblies, a unique wagon or cart construction is attained which is capable of being folded into a small, compact area, whenever desired, and then quickly and easily deployed into a fully erected and operational position, which enables virtually any desired object to be easily transported. In addition, in the preferred construction of this invention, an automatically deployed structural supporting member is incorporated into the wagon / cart for providing inherent strength and rigidity to the wagon / cart when fully erected. In this way, heavy objects previously incapable of being transported are capable of being accommodated with ease.

Data describing advertisements displayed within a shopping cart is used within a store computer, system along with data from a process, such as barcode scanning, identifying items selected for purchase during the use of the shipping cart. The data identifying the selected items is compared with data identifying the items that have been advertised within the cart of identifying a manufacturer, supplier, or brand name that has been advertised to determine the effectiveness of the advertising and to establish an amount of money owed for displaying the advertising.

A collapsible stroller frame capable of being either collapsed or expanded with a rod set, wherein a slide sleeve is located at a front supporter of the stroller frame and a foldable supporter is pivotally connected between the front supporter and a rear supporter. A link rod connects the slide sleeve and the foldable supporter, and is pivotally connected between the front and rear supporter. The foldable supporter includes a front folding tube and a rear folding tube, pivotally connected to each other. A user can operate the foldable supporter to shorten the distance between the front and rear folding tubes, by disengaging the slide sleeve from the frame, thereby facilitating assembly and folding of the stroller.

A stroller includes two coupling units, each including a coupling member which has opposite first and second coupling portions and which is mounted on a seat supporting bar of a frame so as to be shiftable between a normal position where the first coupling portion faces upwardly, and an alternate position where the second coupling portion faces upwardly. The first and second coupling portions mate with an insertable portion of a seat member. The insertable portion is brought to engage the first coupling portion in the upright direction when the coupling member is in the normal position. The insertable portion is brought to engage the second coupling portion in the upright direction when the coupling member is in the alternate position. A locking member is disposed to releasably retain the coupling member in the normal or alternate position.

A portable cooler stacking system is provided, where portable coolers of different shapes and sizes can be optimally and stably stacked. The cooler system can include a first cooler having a first size and a second cooler having a second size, where the first and second sizes are different. A pair of second coolers can be stacked on the first cooler, where the second coolers are positioned widthwise along the length of the lid of the first cooler. In this manner, an inner length of the top surface of the lid of the first cooler is slightly greater then the width of a lower portion the second coolers and the inner width of the top surface of the lid of the first cooler is greater then two times the width of the lower portion of the second coolers. As such, two second cooler can be positioned widthwise along the length of the lid of the first cooler. The adjacent position of the second coolers and the interlocking surfaces substantially limit the horizontal movement of the pair of second coolers on the lid of the first cooler.

An easily assembled and disassembled combination apparatus is disclosed for the segregated storage and transport of articles. The apparatus comprises at least one vertically stackable and interlockable storage container removably mounted atop a wheeled base and fitted with an adjustable pulling handle. Constructed of reinforced plastic, the durable, fully-enclosed storage container forms the backbone of the invention's novel integrated frame. The container lid can be secured with an elastic band or locked with an inelastic, tamper-evident band. Connectable handle members and a shoulder strap enable the container to be individually moved or carried. Support members can be used to elevate one container above another when ready access to the contents of both containers is desired, or to elevate one container above the ground surface when a cabinet-style configuration is preferred. Other accessories include an insulated container liner, a container partition assembly, a parts caddy, and a wheeled support.

An adjustable seat for a baby stroller with one-handed inclination control has a seat, a pair of rotating joints, and a one-handed adjusting mechanism. The pair of rotating joints are rotatively mounted on both sides of the seat and have a pair of connectors for detachably insertion into a pair of hold sockets firmly mounted on two sides of a baby stroller frame. A clutch member is movably received and engaged inside the rotating joint, and operatively associated with the one-handed adjusting mechanism via a flexible element. When a user actuates the clutch member by manipulating the one-handed adjusting mechanism, the rotating joint can rotatively modify its inclination relative to the baby stroller frame, so as to modify the inclination of the seat.

This invention relates to a hand truck with an electrically operated lifting platform. The hand truck includes a frame on both sides of which two guide rails are formed. The frame is provided with a screw shaft vertically supported on the frame to be vertically moved, one or more stabilizing bars forwardly extended from the frame, and two wheels rotatably attached to the rear portion of the frame. A lifting platform is guided by the guide rails and engaged with the screw shaft. A platform moving unit is comprised of a first drive motor for providing rotating force. The platform is situated in the lifting platform to allow the lifting platform to be moved selectively upward and downward along the screw shaft by the operation of the first drive motor. A control unit is electrically and controllably connected to the first drive motor and a power source.

A system for shopping in a store is provided that includes a multi-network for communications in a store, a shopping cart that weighs items placed therein and then transmits that weight information through the multi-network, and a wireless end device that may be handheld and / or releasably attached to the shopping cart whereby a shopper uses the wireless end device to send and receive information to the store though the multi-network.