FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a shopping cart. More particularly, a smart shopping cart having wireless charging capability and selfcheckout functionality.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A shopping cart is provided to a user to store the items that he or she want to purchase and transport the items around a retail store. Conventionally, the user transports the items in the shopping cart to a payment counter after retrieving the desired items. Thereafter, the cashier at the payment counter manually extracts the items from the shopping cart, scan the barcode of the items and collect payment from the user. Nowadays, technology has changed the user’s shopping experience by improving the shopping task to be more convenient and simplify, particularly the electronic devices have been incorporated to the shopping cart to allow user completes the whole shopping process by only using the shopping cart without involvement of the operator from the retail store. Inevitably, the battery status and charging of the electronic devices on the shopping cart are important to ensure the electronic devices are always ready to be used by the user. Currently, there are various shopping carts with wireless charging capability and self-checkout functionality. Some of them are further discussed as below:

US20190207427A1 discloses a system for generating current for recharging batteries and/or powering electronic devices on-board shopping carts. The system comprises a plurality of transmitting induction coils disposed below a surface, the plurality of transmitting induction coils being connected in an electrical circuit powered by mains power, each transmitting induction coil generates an alternating electromagnetic field when powered by the mains power, the cart having a bottom area and a receiving induction coil coupled to the bottom area, the receiving induction coil generates an electrical current when approximately aligned with a given transmitting induction coil of the plurality of transmitting induction coils and is disposed within the alternating electromagnetic field generated by that given transmitting induction coil.

CN109774770A discloses an intelligent supermarket shopping cart comprises a cart body composed of a chassis, a supporting frame, a shopping basket, a beam and a handle, a self-service miniature working table is arranged on the beam, wherein the self-service miniature working table comprises a scanning degaussing integrated machine, a tablet computer swiping POS machine, an antitheft system, a wireless charging module, a cell phone charger, an intelligent vehicle lock and a cell phone placement groove. The wireless charging module comprises a receiver installed in the shopping cart to convert the wireless RF power into a DC signal and a wireless RF transmitter installed in the area where the shopping carts are centrally stored.

The aforementioned prior arts incorporated wireless charging to the shopping cart. Nevertheless, they do not provide different types and configurations of wireless charging. Further, they do not provide a shopping cart to tackle threats of bacteria for user’s well-being. Despite it is generally known that the self-checkout can be performed using the smart shopping cart, there is still a need to improvise the shopping cart to have more functions so as to enhance convenience for both user and retailer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a smart shopping cart having wireless charging capability, in which different types and configurations of wireless charging are provided. It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a smart shopping cart that can enhance convenience for both user and retailer, particularly providing a simplified shopping experience to the user and easier inventory management to the retailer.

It is further an objective of the present invention to provide a nanocoated shopping cart to promote antimicrobial and hydrophobic effects.

Accordingly, these objectives may be achieved by following the teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to a shopping cart comprising a wireless charging module and a plurality of electronic devices. The wireless charging module comprises at least a transmitter for transmitting energy to at least a receiver, wherein the transmitter and the receiver work on inductive charging for supplying energy to targeted electronic devices that mounted on the shopping cart, wherein the receiver supplies the energy to the plurality of electronic devices for user navigation and interaction when in use, wherein the distance between the transmitter and the receiver is in a range of 3.0 to 16.0cm for charging.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may have been referred by embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. However, it is to be noted that the appended drawing illustrates only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

The features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent by reference to the following figures, with like, wherein:

Figure 1A is a diagram showing a side view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figure 1 B is a diagram showing a top view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 1 C is a diagram showing a front view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2A is a diagram showing a side view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2B is a diagram showing a top view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2C is a diagram showing a front view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3A is a diagram showing a side view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3B is a diagram showing a top view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3C is a diagram showing a front view of a shopping cart with a wireless charging module for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4A is a diagram showing a side view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4B is a diagram showing a top view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 4C is a diagram showing a front view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for static charging in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5A is a diagram showing a side view of a shopping cart with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5B is a diagram showing a top view of a shopping cart with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5C is a diagram showing a front view of a shopping cart with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6A is a diagram showing a side view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6B is a diagram showing a top view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 6C is a diagram showing a front view of an array of the shopping carts with the wireless charging modules for dynamic charging in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “one or more” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps. Likewise, the term "comprising" is considered synonymous with the terms "including" or "containing" for applicable legal purposes. Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in the specification solely to provide a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention. In this disclosure, whenever a composition or an element or a group of elements is preceded with the transitional phrase “comprising”, it is understood that we also contemplate the same composition, element or group of elements with transitional phrases “consisting of”, “consisting”, “selected from the group of consisting of, “including”, or “is” preceding the recitation of the composition, element or group of elements and vice versa.

The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawing correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, several materials are identified as suitable for various facets of the implementations. These materials are to be treated as exemplary, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

With reference to Figures 1 A to 6C, the invention will now be described in more detailed.

The present invention provides a smart shopping cart (100) having wireless charging capability. Additionally, the smart shopping cart (100) also provides a user with a much more simplified shopping experience in a retail store.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping cart (100) comprises a wireless charging module having at least a transmitter (102) for transmitting energy to at least a receiver (104) and a plurality of electronic devices mounted on the shopping cart (100), wherein the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104) work on inductive charging for supplying energy to targeted electronic devices, wherein the receiver (104) supplies the energy to the plurality of electronic devices for user navigation and interaction when in use, wherein the distance between the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104) is in a range of 3.0 to 16.0 cm for charging. More preferably, the wireless charging module is incorporated with nanomaterial includes but is not limited to a nano ferrite magnet to enhance the charging sensitivity thereby improving the wireless charging performance.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless charging is targeted to charge the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104) with a similar electromagnetic wavelength. Accordingly, the wavelength in a distance of 3.0 to 16.0 cm is required to be matched between the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104). Hence, it will not cause any charging interferences when there are other nearby external electronic devices in proximity. More particularly, the energy harvested via a primary coil in the transmitter (102) is wirelessly transmitted to a secondary coil in the receiver (104) in the particular distance away at the similar electromagnetic wavelength. The receiver (104) is further connected to the electronic devices mounted on the shopping cart (100) via a cable for providing energy to charge the electronic devices.

In accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (102) is mounted at a bottom rail where the shopping cart (100) is stored and the receiver (104) is mounted at the bottom of the shopping cart (100). More particularly, the transmitter (102) is mounted at the bottom rail to act as a charging station, in which the transmitter (102) is connected to a power outlet and wirelessly transmits the energy being supplied via the power outlet to the receiver (104) that is mounted at the bottom of the shopping cart (100). Figures 1A to 2C show the side views, top views and front views of one shopping cart (100) and an array of the shopping carts (100) with the wireless charging module mounted at the bottom of each shopping cart (100) for wireless charging.

In accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (102) is mounted at a side rail or side wall where the shopping cart (100) is stored and the receiver (104) is mounted at the side of the shopping cart (100). The application of different configurations of the wireless charging module allows a retailer to suitably deploy the wireless charging module in considering the space of the retailer store. Figures 3A to 4C show the side views, top views and front views of one shopping cart (100) and an array of the shopping carts (100) with the wireless charging module mounted at the side of each shopping cart (100) for charging.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the distance between the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104) is in a range of 3.0 to 16.0 cm to support static charging and dynamic charging. In static charging, the receiver (104) may capture electromagnetic wavelength from only one transmitter (102) at a fixed point for charging when the shopping cart (100) is not moving along the bottom rail, the side rail or the side wall. Figures 1 A to 4C show the static charging of one shopping cart (100) and an array of the shopping carts (100). In dynamic charging, the receiver (104) able to capture electromagnetic wavelength from any transmitters (102) at any point when the shopping carts (100) are moving along the bottom rail, side rail or the side wall. Figures 5A to 6C show the side views, top views and front views of the dynamic charging for one shopping cart (100) and an array of the shopping carts (100).

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, if there is more than one receiver (104) mounted on the shopping cart (100), the positions of the receivers (104) could be side by side or in a distance based on the space of the shopping cart (100). More preferably, the transmitter (102) and receiver (104) are mounted in plurality on the shopping cart (100) to maximize the energy transfer so as to increase energy supply and provide higher charging rate to the installed electronic devices.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping cart (100) is configured with the plurality of the electronic devices comprise a camera, a display unit, a rechargeable battery, a load sensor, a barcode sensor, a light indicator or any combinations thereof. More particularly, the camera is for viewing the items that are placed in the shopping cart (100), the display unit such as a tablet is for user navigation, the rechargeable battery is a power bank for charging the external electronic device such as a mobile phone, the load sensor is for determining the weights of the items that placed in the shopping cart (100) ranging from 0.02 to 250 kg, the barcode sensor is for reading the barcode of the items and the light indicator is for indicating the shopping stages. For example, the light indicator emits white light when the user logins, orange light when the user calls for assistance, green light when the user completes payment and red light together with audible sound when the user leaves the retail store without completing the payment.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the display unit is connected to a plurality of beacon devices installed in the shopping area for store navigation. More particularly, the shopping cart (100) constantly communicates with the beacon devices at dedicated retail stores via Bluetooth from the display unit. The communication between the shopping cart (100) and the beacon devices enables store navigation and thus the user can easily identify the location of the desired items or related promotional items.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping cart (100) is linkable to a shopping application in the user’s electronic device. More particularly, the user can create a shopping account using the shopping application to build a shopping list prior to shopping in the retail store. By building the shopping list, the user will know which retail stores have the desired items and the respective prices. When the user is in the retail store, the user can login to the shopping cart (100) using the QR code of the shopping list in the shopping application to view the shopping list in the display unit of the shopping cart (100). Thereafter, the user can utilize the store navigation to identify the location of the desired items. Besides, the user can also add on the items which are not in the shopping list to the shopping cart (100). Upon completing shopping, the user can perform self-checkout and pay cashless via the shopping cart (100) without queuing at the payment counter in the retail store. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping cart (100) and the shopping application are linkable to the retailer’s electronic device for the retailer to view real-time shopping data. More particularly, when the user adds the items that they plan to purchase into the shopping list, the retailer side able to capture and view the data. With this data, the retailer can easily manage inventory and ensure popular items are stocked to fulfill user’s demands. Further, the retailer can advertise and promote the items in the shopping application based on user’s shopping list.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the shopping cart (100) is coated with nanomaterials for providing antimicrobial and hydrophobic effects. The materials of the nanocoating include but are not limited to silver oxide, titanium oxide, silicon oxide and graphene. The nanocoating on the surface of the shopping cart (100) promotes antimicrobial effects which help to keep the bacteria and disease-causing microorganisms free from the shopping cart (100) for user’s well-being. Additionally, the nanocoating achieves certain degree of water repellency and thus helps to prevent shopping cart (100) from corrosion.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (102) and the receiver (104) comprise a microstrip patch antenna for wireless energy transmission and receiving purpose. The microstrip patch antenna is produced using screen printing technique and it consists generally of three sections which are ground, middle and top layers, wherein the middle layer is a dielectric substrate layer and the top layer is the microstrip patch. The resonance frequency of the microstrip patch antenna preferably but is not limited to 5.85 GHz. More preferably, the microstrip patch antenna comprises an electrical circuit made up of a highly conductive material. More preferably, the load sensor is also coated with the highly conductive material, wherein the paste of the conductive material comprises graphene, carbon nano-tubes or combination thereof. The incorporation of the conductive paste material improves energy transmission efficiency and sensitivity of weight detection. At the same time, it also reduces the thickness of the microstrip patch antenna and the load sensor. The present invention improves the wireless charging of the shopping cart (100) by providing static and dynamic charging, as well as the wireless charging module with different configurations. Moreover, the present invention also diversifies the functionality of the shopping cart (100) by providing store navigation to guide the user to the location of the desired items thereby achieving time-saving. On top of that, the present invention addresses the hygiene issue by applying nanocoating to the surface of the shopping cart (100) to prevent the growth of the disease-causing microorganisms from infecting the user.

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but provides the broadest scope consistent with the principles and the novel and inventive features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claim.