WO2018231184A1 - Shopping cart equipped with contact modules - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to retail equipment, particularly to shopping carts with additional equipment that requires a self-contained power supply. Proposed is a shopping cart that is equipped with contact modules and is capable of being nested into a row of similar carts, said shopping cart comprising: an undercarriage with wheels; structural elements to which the undercarriage is fastened and on which a section for placing merchandise is mounted; an element for pushing disposed on the back part of the shopping cart; and an electronic information device. The cart is additionally equipped with: at least one first contact module and at least one second contact module which are fastened to the structural elements of the cart or to the section for placing merchandise, and which are electrically connected to the corresponding terminal of a self-contained battery for the electronic information device; a system of navigational indicating lights including a plurality of LED elements that are mounted on the front upper edge of the section for placing merchandise and that are electrically connected to the electronic information device; a load-limiting system mounted above at least one swivel wheel of the shopping cart and electrically connected to the electronic information system.

Description

 Shopping cart equipped with contact modules

The proposed invention relates to commercial equipment, in particular, to shopping carts with additional equipment that requires autonomous power.

 The shopping cart is known from the prior art (Patent UA JY “99812, IPC B62B 3/00, G09F 23/06, G06Q 30/00, published October 10, 2012, Bull. No. 19), including an advertising panel with a battery, and the handle of the shopping trolley is permanently placed an advertising panel block with an indicator panel, and on the advertising panel block there are fasteners located outside the indicator panel and configured to attach an electronic customer assistant to them, the electronic customer assistant configured to charge the advertising battery panels when installing the electronic customer assistant on the block advertising panel. The present invention does not disclose the possibility of charging the battery.

 Known console (Patent US 7036725 B2, IPC G07G1 / 00,

G06K1 / 00, G07F7 / 02, publ. 05/02/2006), built into the handle of a shopping cart, for entering and displaying information about consumer goods, for example, the price of a product, the cost per unit of goods. The console has a calculator, a display for input and output. Also, the device can be equipped with a barcode scanner and a video monitor. The shopping cart is not equipped with additional navigation elements, and the location of the display screen on the handle of the trolley provides for frequent enough distraction of the buyer’s attention on the screen of the electronic device, which creates a danger of collision of the shopping cart with other customers or their carts or equipment located in the trading floor. Also in this invention is not disclosed the possibility of charging the battery, which is necessary to maintain the health of all equipment.

 Known Shopping Cart (US Application

20130080719 Al, IPC G06F12 / 00, publ. 03/28/2013) containing a frame, a container for holding objects and a device for scanning units that will be placed inside the container. To control the tare weight, the trolley further comprises a weighing means. Although this trolley is a multifunctional device, often enough (for example, in construction stores), buyers overload the trolley with goods, which leads to a malfunction of the undercarriage of the trolley (springs, wheels, etc.), and as a result, such a trolley requires repair or replacement with another . Also in this invention is not disclosed the possibility of charging the battery, which is necessary to maintain the health of all equipment.

Also known in the prior art is the use of wheelchair-based electronic displays to attract the attention of customers. Each electronic display has a unique address, which allows you to transfer information only to individual devices or groups of devices. Display devices can store a set of pre-sent messages. The power for the displays is provided by a battery and a powerful generator connected to the wheel of the shopping cart, which eliminates the need to replace the battery (Patent US 2002158432, IPC B62B3 / 14, publ. 10/31/2002). The described technical solution leads to an increase in production costs.

 US Pat. No. 5,773,954 (MP G06K7 / 10 G06Q30 / 00, published June 30, 1998) describes a battery charging device that powers a portable data collection device in a shopping cart. The device for charging the battery includes a guide rail, which has an electrically conductive section for electrical connection with electrical contacts on the cart. The shopping cart has a standard design, a data collection device is mounted on the handle. This device includes a housing, a touch screen, a sensitive visual interactive display, a reader detachably mounted on the housing, acoustic speakers. To power the data acquisition device, a large-capacity battery is provided, which is located on the bottom rack of the basket. The disadvantage of this technical solution is that:

 - each time the batteries are charged, it is first necessary to install an additional connecting element on the side walls of the bogies — a unit that has contact surfaces intended for contact with the charger, namely the contact rail, which is mounted on a vertical surface at a certain distance, which is quite complicated when implementation;

 - to charge the batteries mounted on carts, it is necessary to have a separate room on the wall of which a rail with a channel with linear contacts will be installed, into which the contact parts of the battery are inserted;

- the number of batteries simultaneously charged is limited by the length of the rail. In the patent US 20090058357 A1 (IPC H01R25 / 14 B62B3 / 14 H01R39 / 24 H02J7 / 00, published 05.03.2009) a device for charging a battery mounted on a shopping cart containing a charging station that includes a rail horizontally attached to a vertical surface with a channel in which the linear contacts are located, the channel being open at both ends and for charging the battery, the contact parts of the trolley are inserted into the channel. Contact parts are located on the handle of the cart. The battery itself can be used to power information display devices, as well as to trigger an alarm or to call for help.

 A disadvantage of the known solution is that:

 - to charge the batteries mounted on carts, it is necessary to have a separate room on the wall of which a rail with a channel with linear contacts will be installed, into which the contact parts of the battery are inserted;

 - the number of batteries mounted on carts that charge at the same time is limited by the length of the rail;

 - the installation of contact plates on the handle of the trolley creates the possibility of their rapid wear, as buyers or staff may intentionally or unintentionally damage them.

 The objective of the invention is to ensure reliable electrical contact between the contact plates of adjacent mounted in a row of carts, autonomous batteries of electronic information devices which are charged when placing the carts in a row, regardless of the design features of the carts.

Another objective of this invention is the provision of the possibility of charging autonomous batteries of electronic information devices in general-purpose trading establishments, for example, in the accumulation zone of shopping carts, which eliminates the need to use specially equipped facilities for charging autonomous batteries of electronic information devices mounted on shopping trolleys, which are used in the state of the art.

 An additional objective of the invention is to provide an increase in the service life of the shopping trolley and automatic locking of the trolley wheels when the permissible load on the undercarriage of the trolley is exceeded, which is solved by introducing a load limit system into the trolley design.

The tasks are solved in that the proposed shopping trolley is equipped with contact modules, configured to be installed in a row with similar trolleys, which contains: a running gear with wheels; structural elements to which the running gear is attached, and on which the section for folding goods is installed; and a pushing member located at the rear of the shopping trolley; electronic information device comprising a touch screen, a CPU, a memory, at least one acoustic speaker and a network receiver adapted to wireless communication, RFID controller and standalone battery, and an electronic information device ^"attached to the element for pushing the shopping cart, which according to the invention is additionally equipped with:

at least one first contact module and at least one second contact module, which are fixed to the structural elements of the cart or to the section for folding goods, and are electrically connected to the corresponding pole of the autonomous battery of the electronic information device, each contact module includes a first and second electrically conductive contact plates that are connected to the clamping mechanism, moreover, the specified clamping mechanism is placed in the housing of the contact module and consists of at least one rod, which is connected at one end to a compression spring and the other to an electrically conductive contact plate, and said electrically conductive contact plates are movably mounted on the rod, with the possibility of changing the orientation in horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis of the rod up to 20 °, and the first electrically conductive contact plate is designed for electrical connection with an electrically conductive contact plate by means of a plug of the corresponding polarity of the charging device of an autonomous battery or with a corresponding conductive contact plate of another shopping trolley, and a second electrically conductive contact plate is used to connect to the corresponding contact plate of another shopping trolley when installed in a row for charging autonomous batteries of electronic information devices, the first and second conductive contact plates of the first and second contact modules of the same polarity, setting data on one cart, are electrically connected among themselves;

 a light navigation indication system that includes a plurality of LED elements mounted on a leading upper edge of a goods folding section, and which are electrically connected to an electronic information device;

 a load limiting system mounted over at least one swivel wheel of the shopping trolley and electrically connected to an electronic information device.

 In addition, contact modules made removable.

In addition, the electrically conductive contact plates, rods and compression springs of the clamping mechanism are made of durable electrically conductive material. In addition, the load limiting system includes two metal plates: an upper and a lower one, the upper plate being attached to the vertical support of the carriage structural member, and the lower plate being attached to the rack of the swivel wheel, a compression spring was attached to the inner surfaces of these metal plates, in the inner space of which a locking rod attached to the inner surface of the upper metal plate, configured to reciprocate, which lokiruet rotation of the wheel bogie when the load on the truck's maximum mark.

 In addition, the load limiting system includes a telescopic contact device attached to the inner surface of the upper metal plate, which when closed provides an electrical signal to the electronic information device about the approach of the load on the trolley of the maximum allowable mark.

 Between the totality of the essential features of the invention and the technical result that is achieved, there is the following causal relationship.

An advantage of the claimed invention is a new embodiment of the electrically conductive contact plates on the proposed trolley and the mechanism of their pressing against the electrically conductive contact plates of another trolley when the trolleys are arranged in a row for charging autonomous batteries of electronic information devices that are an element of the trolley. Reliable contact (clamping) of the conductive contact plates with each other is ensured by the elastic movement of the rods with the conductive contact plates in the horizontal plane using a compression spring and the possibility of changing the orientation of the conductive contact plates in the horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis rod up to 20 ° due to the peculiarity of fastening them to the rods. And the elimination of possible discrepancies in the width and height of the carts installed in a row is solved due to the geometric dimensions of the electrically conductive contact plates. Due to this, the charging of autonomous batteries of electronic information devices can be carried out for carts installed in a row, regardless of the presence of some discrepancies in the overall dimensions of the designs of carts installed in a row.

 Another advantage of the proposed technical solution is that the charging of autonomous batteries of electronic information devices can be carried out in any room.

 Another advantage of the proposed technical solution is that the transitional element between the terminals of the stand-alone battery and the terminals of the charger is a contact module — a trolley design element that is removable, that is, if necessary, this module can be located in the required place on the trolley structure or mounted on other carts.

 Also, the proposed design of the shopping trolley has the best operational characteristics, namely a longer service life due to the used load limiting system, which does not allow exceeding the permissible load on the undercarriage of the trolley.

Unlike existing shopping carts equipped only with advertising panels or touch screens or other information output devices, the design of the proposed shopping cart provides means of light indication, namely LED elements mounted on the front (edge) of the section for folding goods (baskets).

 Below the invention is explained in more detail on the example of possible implementations.

In FIG. 1 schematically shows the proposed shopping trolley (side view), FIG. 2 schematically shows the proposed shopping trolley (rear view), FIG. 3 schematically shows several trolleys installed in a row when charging autonomous batteries of electronic information devices using a stationary charger; FIG. 4 schematically shows the electrically conductive contact plate of the contact module of the first truck and the electrically conductive contact plate of the contact module of the second truck in the pressed state, FIG. 5 schematically shows a stationary charger (side view), FIG. 6 schematically shows a stationary charger (front view), FIG. 7A schematically shows several trolleys installed in a row when charging stand-alone batteries of electronic information devices using a portable charger connected to an electrical network, FIG. 7B schematically shows the electrically conductive contact plate of the contact module of the first truck during charging from a portable charger; FIG. 8 schematically shows a first embodiment of a contact module structure; FIG. 9 schematically shows a second embodiment of the construction of the contact module; FIG. 10 schematically shows the proposed shopping trolley with a second embodiment of the contact module structure (side view), FIG. 11 schematically shows the connection of the electrically conductive contact plates according to the second embodiment of the design of the contact module, FIG. 12A shows a conductive contact plate (side view), FIG. 12B View A of the conductive contact plate of FIG. 12 A, in FIG. 13 schematically shows a spring device of a load limiting system (at normal load), FIG. 14 schematically shows the spring device of the load limiting system (when the load is exceeded and the trolley wheel locks), and FIG. 15 schematically shows a spring arrangement of a load limiting system (at 85% load).

 The list of digital designations of the elements of the proposed technical solution:

 1 - trolley;

 2 - wheels;

 3 - section for folding goods;

 pushing element;

 5 - electronic information device;

 6 - power wire;

 7 - contact module;

 8 - the first electrically conductive contact plate;

 9 - second electrically conductive contact plate;

 10 - contact module housing;

 11 - stock;

 - compression spring;

 - LED elements;

 14 - stationary charger;

 15 - contact plate of a stationary charger;

 16 - portable charger;

 17 - persistent flange;

 18 - structural element of the trolley;

 19 - spring device;

20 - telescopic contact device; 21 - a metal plate;

 22 - a metal plate;

 23 - compression spring;

 24 - a blocking rod;

 25 - polymer sleeve;

 26 - the end of the rod, equipped with a rubber or polymer pad.

 This illustrative material is provided for a better understanding of the essence of the invention, and in no way imposes restrictions on the scope of rights claimed in the claims.

 The proposed shopping trolley 1 (as shown in Fig. 1-2) contains a running gear with wheels 2 on which a section for storing goods 3 is installed (hereinafter referred to as basket 3); pushing element 4 (hereinafter referred to as pen 4); electronic information device 5 (hereinafter - EIU 5), which is attached using a universal mount (not shown) to the handle 4. As an EIU 5, a tablet computer can be used, on which specially developed software is installed that provides control of all systems ( devices) mounted on a shopping trolley. The EMI 5 comprises a touch screen, a central processor, a storage device, at least one acoustic speaker and a wireless network receiver, an RFID controller and a stand-alone battery (not shown).

 The touch screen is intended for:

 - duplication of navigation indication;

 - informing the achievement of the maximum weight of purchases;

 - entering the route of movement along the trading floor to the selected product;

- informing the buyer about the product to which navigation is carried out; - demonstration of promotional materials;

 - conducting surveys;

 and another.

 The acoustic speaker is designed for sound duplication of the navigation indication, as well as for the supply of sound signals warning of an overload of the trolley.

 Card reader RFID ID controller (for example, EM4100 EM4001) is used to identify the buyer using personal magnetic cards.

 A stand-alone battery is designed to provide power to all systems (devices) with which the trolley is equipped with an electric wire 6, for example, a trolley 1 hidden in the structure (in Fig. 1, the electric wire is schematically indicated by a dashed line).

In the proposed invention, a self-contained battery EIU 5 made with the possibility of charging (without removing it from the trolley 1) from a stationary charger located in the accumulation zone of trolleys or from another shopping trolley that is connected to a portable charger connected to the electric network. This is due to the fact that the shopping cart 1 is additionally equipped (as shown in Figs. 1-11) with at least one first contact module and at least one second contact module, which are fixed to the structural members of the cart or to the basket 3, and they are electrically connected to the corresponding pole of the autonomous battery of EIU 5. For example, one or two first contact modules are installed on the left side of the cart, and one or two second contact modules are installed on the right. And in accordance with this, the conductive contact plates of the first contact modules are designed to connect to only one polarity, for example, “+” of the conductive contact plates of the charger, or contact plates mounted on other carts, and the conductive contact plates of the second contact modules are respectively designed to connect a different polarity— “-” the conductive contact plates of the charger, or the conductive contact plates mounted on other carts. Since the shopping cart on the left side is depicted in the illustrative material, then in the future the description will use one digital designation for the first and second contact modules, namely designation - 7.

 Each contact module, depending on the embodiment, may include one electrically conductive contact plate (first 8 or second 9), as shown in FIG. 8, or two electrically conductive contact plates (first 8 and second 9), as shown in FIG. 9.

 Electrically conductive contact plates are connected to the clamping mechanism. The clamping mechanism is placed in the housing 10 of the contact module and consists of at least one rod 11, which is connected at one end to a compression spring 12 and the other to an electrically conductive contact plate 8 or 9. These electrically conductive contact plates 8 and 9 are movably mounted on the rod, with the ability to change the orientation in the horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis of the rod up to 20 °. The first 8 and second 9 conductive contact plates of each contact module (modules mounted on one cart) 7 of the same polarity are electrically connected.

The contact modules 7 are configured to disconnect / attach to the structural elements of the truck 1. The housing 10 of the contact module in certain cases can also be fastening element (or part thereof) of the contact module 7 to the structural elements of the truck using, for example, a bolted connection.

 The invention prefers the option when the first and second contact modules 7 are attached under the basket 3 for goods.

 According to the invention, the electrically conductive contact plates, rods and compression springs of the clamping mechanism are made of durable electrically conductive material.

 The proposed trolley 1 (Fig. 1, 2) is additionally equipped with a light navigation indication system, which includes many LED elements 13 mounted on the front upper edge of the basket 3, and are electrically connected to the EMI 5.

 In FIG. Figure 3 shows an example of charging an EIU battery of 5 trolleys in the accumulation zone of trolleys without dismantling it using

 - a stationary charger 14 located in the accumulation zone of the trolleys, for example, in the zone of entry into the trading floor of the store;

 - contact modules 7 mounted on carts, which become in a row for charging the battery;

 - power wires 6, which can be hidden in the design of the trolley 1, connecting the battery EIU 5 with contact modules 7.

 The following is an example of charging autonomous EIU 5 batteries with the help of contact modules 7 (first and second), which are installed on the trolley 1 (Fig. 3.4). Since this example is explained using three trolleys, the first (base) trolley is indicated by 1, and the following trolleys by 1 ”.

The stationary charger 14 (Fig. 5, 6) is located in the accumulation zone of the trolleys and according to its design features corresponds to the trolley (s) 1, G and 1 ", which are installed in a row for charging the battery. On the stationary charging device 14, two electrically conductive contact plates are installed (for example, they are connected to the terminals) 15, each of which corresponds to the polarity "+" or "-".

 The electrically conductive contact plates of the contact devices 15 of the stationary charger 14 are connected to the conductive contact plates 8 of the first and second contact module 7, mounted on the first carriage 1 of the carts installed in a row in the accumulation zone of the carts for charging the battery. To the second electrically conductive contact plates 9 of the first and second contact module 7 mounted on the first trolley 1, the contact plates 8 of the first and second contact module 7 mounted on the second trolley from the series of trolleys are connected. To the conductive contact plates 9 of the first and second contact module 7 mounted on the second trolley 1 ', the conductive contact plates 8 of the first and second contact module 7 mounted on the third trolley 1 "and so on are connected. As a result, all the batteries of the trolleys are simultaneously connected to stationary charger 14 for charging.

 The power of the stationary charger 14 is calculated on the basis of the total load, the need for which may arise when placing in a row the maximum possible number of shopping carts.

Also, if it is not possible to equip the trolley accumulation zone with a stationary charger, one of the trolleys used directly in a particular supermarket, which in FIG. 7 A is designated as trolley 1. For this, power is supplied from the portable charging device 16 to the electrically conductive contact plates of the contact modules placed on the trolley 1, connected to the electrical network. In FIG. 7B shows the electrically conductive contact plate 8 of the contact module 7 of the first truck 1 during charging from a portable charger 16.

 The power of the portable charger 16 is calculated based on the total load, the need for which may arise when placing in a row the maximum possible number of bogies.

 Contact modules 7 mounted on shopping trolleys can have various design decisions, depending on the design features of the trolleys on which they are installed.

 In FIG. 8 shows a first embodiment of the contact modules

7 mounted on the proposed trolley, and each of which consists of:

 a) Electrically conductive contact plates 8 or 9, which are attached to the rod 11, which is housed in the housing 10. For a tight fit of the conductive contact plates of one cart to the conductive contact plates of another cart, the design provides for the possibility of changing the orientation of the conductive contact plates in the horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis stem up to 20 ° due to the peculiarity of their attachment to the rods (for example, articulated mounting). Electrically conductive contact plates are made of any strong electrically conductive material.

b) The rods 1 1, which are located in the housing 10 of the contact module 7 and to which the conductive contact plates 8 or 9 are attached. The rod has the possibility of elastic movement in the horizontal plane of the housing 10 of the contact module 7, limited by a stop shoulder 17 located at the end of the rod 11 The rods are made of any strong electrically conductive material. c) Compression springs 12, which are located in the housing 10 and provide elastic movement of the rod 1 1 with conductive contact plates 8 or 9 to ensure a snug fit to the conductive contact plates of another truck. Compression springs are made of electrically conductive spring material.

 The design of the contact modules 7 provides for the possibility of some discrepancies in the overall dimensions of the designs of the carts installed in a row. The possibility of elastic movement of the rods 1 1 with the electrically conductive contact plates 8, 9 in the horizontal plane by means of compression springs 12, which ensure reliable contact of the electrically conductive contact plates, is responsible for eliminating length mismatches. The elimination of discrepancies in width and height is solved due to the geometric dimensions of the electrically conductive contact plates.

 Two pairs of contact modules are installed on each trolley.

7 of this construction (on the left side and the right side), the drawings show that the first electrically conductive contact plates 8 are front and the second electrically conductive contact plates 9 are rear.

 Each pair of contact modules is responsible for connecting to one polarity (“+” or “-”). Such a pair of contact devices is interconnected by electrical wiring 6, hidden in the structure of the trolley, and from which branches are connected for connection to the EIU 5.

Each pair (left and right) of the contact modules 7 provides connection to the electrically conductive contact plates 15 of the charger, or the electrically conductive contact plates of other contact modules mounted on another trolley, with a polarity of "+" and "-", respectively. An example of contact between the conductive contact plates of the contact modules of the same polarity, mounted on various trolleys shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 7A.

 The electrically conductive contact plate 8 of the contact module 7 mounted on the trolley 1 is designed to press the stationary charger 14 (Fig. 3) or to attach the terminals of the portable charger 16 to the electrically conductive contact plate 15 (Fig. 7A and Fig. 7B).

 In FIG. 9, 10 shows another embodiment of the design of the contact module mounted on carts, and which consists of:

 a) Two electrically conductive contact plates 8 and 9, which are attached to the rods 11, which are located in the housing 10 of the contact module

7. For the tightness of contact of the electrically conductive contact plates of one truck to the electrically conductive contact plates of another truck, the design provides for the possibility of changing the orientation of the electrically conductive contact plates in the horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis of the rod up to 20 ° due to the peculiarity of their fastening to the rods (for example, hinged mounting).

Electrically conductive contact plates are made of any strong electrically conductive material.

 b) Two rods 11, which are located in the housing 10, and to which the conductive contact plates 8 and 9 are attached.

 The rods have the possibility of elastic movement in the horizontal plane of the housing 10, limited by persistent collars

17 located at the end of the rods.

 Rods are made of any strong electrically conductive material.

c) Compression springs 12, which are located in the housing 10 between two rods 11 and providing elastic movement of the rods 11 with electrically conductive contact plates 8 and 9 to ensure tight fit to each other of the corresponding conductive contact plates of other carts, which become in a row.

 The compression spring is made of electrically conductive spring material.

 The rods and compression spring are also electrically conductive elements between the electrically conductive contact plates of one contact module.

 The design of the contact modules 7 provides for the possibility of some inconsistencies in the overall dimensions of the designs of the carts installed in a row. The possibility of elastic movement of the rods 11 with the electrically conductive contact plates 8, 9 in the horizontal plane with the help of a compression spring 12, which ensures reliable contact of the electrically conductive contact plates, is responsible for eliminating length mismatches. The elimination of discrepancies in width and height is solved due to the geometric dimensions of the electrically conductive contact plates.

 d) Housing 10, which is also an element for attaching the contact module to the structural element 18 or to the basket 3 of the trolley 1.

 The body is made of durable electrical insulating material.

 Each pair of carts has one pair of contact modules of this design (on the left side of the cart and on the right). Each contact module is responsible for connecting to one polarity (“+” or “-”). A branch is allocated from each contact module of different polarity for connection to an EIU 5.

An example of the contact of the electrically conductive contact plates of a contact module of the same polarity mounted on different bogies 1 and D can be seen in FIG. eleven. The electrically conductive contact plate 9 of the contact module 7 mounted on the trolley 1 is designed to press against the corresponding electrically conductive contact plate 8 of the contact module 7 mounted on the trolley 1

 The electrically conductive contact plate 8 of the contact module 7 mounted on the trolley 1 is designed to press the stationary charger 14 against the electrically conductive contact plate 15, by analogy as shown for the contact module of the first embodiment in FIG. 3 or to attach the terminals of the portable charger 16, by analogy as shown for the contact module of the first embodiment in FIG. 7A.

 The electrically conductive contact plates with which the contact modules of the above options and the stationary charger 14 are equipped are shown in FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B.

 The geometric dimensions of the electrically conductive contact plates can be different, in accordance with the design features of shopping trolleys, which are used directly in a particular supermarket to ensure reliable contact.

 Contact modules are mounted on carts in places that provide reliable contacting of the electrically conductive contact plates of various carts when placing them in a row. The geometric shapes, sizes of nodes and parts, as well as places and methods of fastening contact modules, can be modified in accordance with the design features of the carts, which are used directly in a particular supermarket.

The absence of the need to dismantle the EIU 5 from the trolleys for charging an autonomous battery allows you to attach the EIU 5 to the trolleys by means of a fastener that has a solid structure and is rigidly attached to the handle for pushing the trolley, so for dismantling EIU 5 needs to spend a lot of time, which helps to reduce the risks of hijacking EIU 5 practically to "zero".

 The mount has a universal design, which allows you to install the EIU 5 on most of the known designs of trolleys.

 To fix the trolleys to each other when placing them in a row, if necessary, together with the installation of contact modules, it is provided to install fixing devices on the trolleys, the design and operation of which are developed in accordance with the design features of shopping trolleys used directly in a particular trading establishment .

 The proposed trolley 1 is additionally equipped with a load limiting system installed over at least one swivel wheel 2 of the shopping trolley and electrically connected to the EAU 5, which allows to prevent exceeding the maximum allowable load on the undercarriage of the trolley and, thereby, extend the life of the proposed trolley .

 The load limiting system (as shown in FIG. 13-15) consists of:

 - one or two spring devices 19, designed to block the rotation of the two rear wheels 2 of the trolley 1 when the trolley is overloaded;

 - telescopic contact device 20, mounted in each of the spring devices 19, with the help of which there is a warning about the approach of the load of the trolley to the limit mark.

 The ultimate loads for each trolley design are selected individually.

The spring device (Fig. 13) consists of: From two metal plates 21 and 22, to the outer part of one of which (plate 21), the support of the basket 3 of the trolley 1 is mounted in an appropriate manner, and to the outer part of the second (plate 22) - the swivel wheel 2 of the trolley.

 A compression spring 23 is appropriately attached to the internal parts of the plates, the elasticity of which is calculated in accordance with the maximum load of the trolley of a certain capacity.

 Also, to the inner surface of the plate 21, a locking rod 24 is fixed in a certain way, which is located along the axis of the spring and moves inside the hole in the plate 22. Between the rod 24 and the plate 22 is a polymer sleeve 25.

 The length of the rod 24 is designed in such a way that, with the maximum compression of the spring 23, the end 26 of the rod 24 abuts against the wheel 2 and brakes it, as shown in FIG. 14. To avoid damage to the surface of the wheel, the end 26 of the rod 24 is equipped with a rubber or polymer pad.

 Also, a telescopic contact device 20 is attached to the inner surface of the plate 21, in the inner region of the compression spring 23, which, when the compression of the spring 23 reaches 85%, touches the plate 22, as shown in FIG. 15, an electrical contact is closed and an electrical signal is supplied to the EIU 5, which, using the navigation display and built-in speaker, gives a light and sound warning that the load on the trolley is approaching the maximum permissible value. Also, a warning screen saver periodically appears on the EIU 5 screen. The EIU 5 program repeats warnings every 5 minutes.

The spring-loaded device of the load limiting system further reduces the dynamic loads on the trolley design when moving under load. The design of the load limiting system is universal and can be used for almost all structures and sizes of well-known shopping carts.

 For each size of the trolley for goods, a spring with elasticity is applied, which corresponds to a certain ultimate load of the trolley, based on design features.

 The following is an example of the action of a load limiting system using the example of a trolley, the design features of which allow a maximum (ultimate) load of 300 kg.

 - With a load of 0 kg to 255 kg (85% of the permissible load level), the trolley is in normal working condition.

 - When the load mark of 255 kg is exceeded, the telescopic contact device comes into contact with the inner surface of the lower metal plate and, when closed, gives an electric signal to the EIU 5 when the load on the trolley approaches the maximum permissible mark and the load limiting system warns the buyer about this with an audio signal, light indication and visual image on the touch screen of EIU 5.

 - When the load reaches 300 kg, the blocking rod touches the surface of the wheel of the trolley and blocks its rotation, which makes it impossible to further use the trolley.

 The new design solution described above can improve the operational characteristics of the cart, the proposed design, namely a longer life and avoid frequent repairs.

The well-known navigation through the trading floor using electronic devices provides for a rather frequent distraction of the buyer’s attention on the screen of the electronic device, usually attached to the handle for pushing the trolley, which creates the risk of collision of the customer’s trolley with other customers or equipment located in the trading floor. In the invention, the proposed trolley equipped with a light navigation indication made of LED motion indicators (for example, LEDs 13) located in the upper edge of the front wall of the trolley 1 allows the buyer to obtain information about the direction of movement without losing control of the surrounding situation.

 The proposed invention can be used in any field where shopping carts are provided to users.

Claims

Formula 1. Shopping cart, equipped with contact modules, made with the possibility of installation in a row with similar carts, which contains: a running gear with wheels; structural elements to which the running gear is attached, and on which the section for folding goods is installed; and a pushing member located at the rear of the shopping trolley; an electronic information device comprising a touch screen, a central processor, a storage device, at least one acoustic speaker and a network receiver configured for wireless communication, an RFID controller and a stand-alone battery, the electronic information device being attached to a push element of a shopping trolley, which characterized in that it is additionally equipped with: at least one first contact module and at least one second contact module, which are fixed to the structural elements of the cart or to the section for folding goods, and are electrically connected to the corresponding pole of the autonomous battery of the electronic information device, each contact module includes a first and second electrically conductive contact plates that are associated with the clamping mechanism, and the specified clamping mechanism located in the housing of the contact module and consists of at least one rod, which is connected at one end to a compression spring and the other to an electrically conductive contact plate, and said electrically conductive contact plates are movably mounted on the rod, with the possibility of changing the orientation in the horizontal and vertical plane relative to the axis of the rod to 20 °, the first electrically conductive the contact plate is designed for electrical connection with a conductive a contact plate of the corresponding polarity of the charging device of the stand-alone battery or with the corresponding conductive contact plate of another shopping cart, and the second conductive contact plate is used to connect to the corresponding conductive contact plate of another shopping cart when they are installed in a row to charge stand-alone batteries of electronic information devices, first and second electrically conductive contact plates of the first and second contact m single polarity modules mounted on one cart are electrically interconnected;  a light navigation indication system that includes a plurality of LED elements mounted on a leading upper edge of a goods folding section and electrically connected to an electronic information device;  a load limiting system mounted on at least one swivel wheel of the shopping trolley and electrically connected to an electronic information device.  2. The trolley according to claim 1, characterized in that the contact modules are removable.  3. The trolley according to claim 2, characterized in that the electrically conductive contact plates, rods and compression springs of the clamping mechanism are made of durable electrically conductive material. 4. The trolley according to claim 3, characterized in that the load limiting system includes two metal plates: an upper and a lower one, the upper plate being attached to the vertical support of the carriage structural member, and the lower plate being attached to the rack of the swivel wheel, to the inner surfaces of said metal plates attached compression spring, in the inner the space of which is installed a locking rod attached to the inner surface of the upper metal plate, made with the possibility of reciprocating motion, which blocks the rotation of the wheel of the trolley when the load on the trolley reaches its maximum value.  5. The trolley according to claim 4, characterized in that the load limiting system includes a telescopic contact device attached to the inner surface of the upper metal plate, which when closed provides an electrical signal to the electronic information device about the approach of the load on the trolley to the maximum allowable value.