Shopping cart
The present invention teaches and discloses method and apparatus for alerting a grocery store check out cashier of merchandise placed on the bottom tray of a typical grocery shopping cart. A passive RFID transponder is incorporated into the structure of the cart which when interrogated by an associated reader, located at the cashier's check out station, responds with a signal verifying the presence, or absence, of an unseen item upon the carts bottom tray.
1. A grocery store shopping cart comprising:
a) a cart structure having a top basket for receiving selected merchandise for purchase,
b) a bottom tray for receiving additional selected merchandise for purchase, said cart including:
c) a weight sensing system for sensing the presence of merchandise placed upon said bottom tray,
d) a transponder system associated with said weight sensing system whereby said transponder system is activated when said weight sensing system senses the presence of merchandise upon said bottom tray, whereby said transponder system transmits a return signal to an interrogating system, when interrogated, indicating that merchandise is present on said bottom tray,
e) said bottom tray comprising a lattice structure having longeron members and orthogonal members wherein, a transmitting/receiving antenna, for said transponder system, is embedded into selected longeron and orthogonal members of said lattice structure.
2. The shopping cart as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bottom tray includes said weight sensing system incorporated therein.
3. The shopping cart as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shopping cart further includes:
a) a laterally extending support rod, affixed to the frame of said shopping cart, for supporting the front of said bottom tray, and a laterally extending support bar, affixed to the frame of said shopping cart, for supporting the rear of said bottom tray, wherein said bottom tray further includes:
1) a front and rear, laterally extending, support member, said support members each comprising an inverted U shaped channel for receiving therein said front support rod and said rear support bar therein,
2) spring means positioned between said front support member and said front support rod, and between said rear support member and said rear support bar whereby said bottom tray is caused to float above said front support rod and said rear support bar by action of said spring means,
3) a first electrical on-off, switch associated with said transponder system, and positioned between said front support member and said front support rod such that said on-off switch is activated when said switch contacts said front support rod, thereby activating said transponder system,
4) a second electrical on-off switch, associated with said transponder system, and positioned between said rear support member and said rear support bar such that said on-off switch is activated when said switch contacts said rear support bar, thereby activating said transponder system.