SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SHOPPING CART TRACKING

1 . A system for tracking shopping cart activity comprising:

a shopping cart system comprising:

a power generator configured to generate power with a rotation of a wheel system of the shopping cart;

a power storage device configured to be charged by the power generator; and

a system connector configured to couple with a computer system to provide energy information associated with the charging of the power storage device, the computer system comprising:

a shopping cart connector configured to couple with the system connector to receive the energy information from the shopping cart system; and

a control circuit configured to estimate a distance traveled by the shopping cart system based on the energy information.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the shopping cart system further comprises:

a memory storage device configured to aggregate the energy information over time as the shopping cart travels.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the energy information comprises a history of energy generated by the power generator.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the energy information comprises a history of a stored energy level of the power storage device.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the shopping cart system further comprises a pressure sensor device on a handle portion;

wherein the power generator is configured slow down the rotation of the wheel system with regenerative braking when a backward pressure or no pressure is detected by the pressure sensor device.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

detect one or more shopping cart stop events based on the energy information.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

determine an amount of energy associated with each of the one or more shopping cart stop events based on the energy information;

estimate a weight of items in the shopping cart based on the amount of energy associated with each of the one or more shopping cart stop events; and

detect item added events and item removed events based on changes in the weight of items in the shopping cart between stop events.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

associate a customer purchase record with the shopping cart system.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

estimate a travel path of the shopping cart system based on the customer purchase record and the distance traveled.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to:

aggregate a total travel distance of the shopping cart based on a plurality of estimated travel distances; and

generate a shopping cart service task when the total travel distance of the shopping cart exceeds a threshold.

11 . A method for tracking shopping cart activity comprising:

coupling a system connector of a shopping cart system with a shopping cart connector of a computer system;

receiving, at a control circuit and via a shopping cart connector, energy information from the shopping cart system comprising:

a power generator configured to generate power with a rotation of a wheel system of a shopping cart; and

a power storage device configured to be charged by the power generator; and

estimating, with the control circuit, a distance traveled by the shopping cart system based on the energy information.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the shopping cart system further comprises:

a memory storage device configured to aggregate the energy information over time as the shopping cart travels.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the energy information comprises a history of energy generated by the power generator.

14 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the energy information comprises a history of a stored energy level of the power storage device.

15 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the shopping cart system further comprises a pressure sensor device on a handle portion;

wherein the power generator is configured slow down the rotation of the wheel system with regenerative braking when a backward pressure or no pressure is detected by the pressure sensor device.

16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

detecting one or more shopping cart stop events based on the energy information.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

determining an amount of energy associated with each of the one or more shopping cart stop events based on the energy information;

estimating a weight of items in the shopping cart based on the amount of energy associated with each of the one or more shopping cart stop events; and

detecting item added events and item removed events based on changes in the weight of items in the shopping cart between stop events.

18 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

associating a customer purchase record with the shopping cart system.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

estimating a travel path of the shopping cart system based on the customer purchase record and the distance traveled.

20 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

aggregating a total travel distance of the shopping cart based on a plurality of estimated travel distances; and

generating a shopping cart service task when the total travel distance of the shopping cart exceeds a threshold.

21 . A shopping cart apparatus comprising:

a power generator configured to generate power with a rotation of a wheel system of the shopping cart;

a power storage device configured to be charged by the power generator;

a memory storage device;

a control circuit configured to determine an amount of energy generated by the power generator and store the amount of energy generated by the power generator in the memory storage device over time to create a record of energy information of the shopping cart; and

a system connector configured provide the record of energy information to a computer system.