Security wheel apparatus for deterring theft of manually operated wheeled vehicles
US5806862A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 12, 1996 |
| Grant date | Sep 15, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 12, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB60B2200/432
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus for deterring unauthorized use and removal of steel or steel-and-plastic constructed swivel-wheel shopping carts by preventing the free movement of one or more of the installed wheels after the cart is moved a predetermined distance. A braking device, fully contained within a wheel, measures the distance traveled beyond an activating point by counting the number of rotations made by the cart wheel and compares the count to a preprogrammed stored attribute that defines the allowable distance the cart is allowed to travel once outside the shopping facility. Depending on the direction the cart is travelling, the counter is "armed" or "disarmed" when the cart passes over low-frequency magnetic arrays placed at the entry and/or exit of the shopping facility.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.