Patent Application
20160376053
The present invention relates to basket apparatus for shopping, or a shopping basket, having integral theft inhibiting means.
In existing shopping baskets, once a shopper goes to the check out, the purchases are removed from the basket and placed in bags, and shopper carries the bags out of the store, usually to an automobile or abode. The basket is returned to a stack of baskets near the store entrance, for pickup and use by another shopper. Baskets are not secured, so a shopper leaving the store can readily pick up a basked and utilize it to carry packages. Once outside of the store a shopping basket is rarely returned.
Shopping carts with baskets thereon have been removed from stores for such uses as a portable suitcase for transients, a go-cart for children, a laundry hamper for apartment dwellers and a barbecue pit for beachgoers. The Supermarket Institute in Washington estimates that a shopping cart is stolen every 90 seconds in the United States. Shopping baskets not mounted on carts are also stolen, usually by shoppers. It has been reported that some stores have lost more than 100 baskets per year.
With the invented apparatus, the basket is provided with a hidden security device attached to the basket, making it less probable that the store will incur the loss of a basket.
The invention provides a shopping basket concept that incorporates a security device within a basket for use in supermarkets or other stores, which is inconspicuous, and effective in preventing the basket from being removed from the store.
The security device sets off an audible alarm or other signal informing store management or store security personnel that the basket is being removed from the store without authorization, i.e., being stolen.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a basket for shopping which informs store management when a basket is being removed from the store.
It is another object of this invention to provide a basket security device which will allow the basket to nest easily with like baskets for storage or stand-by.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a shopping basket into which a security device is easily installed, yet is not readily detectable by a shopper using the basket.
The foregoing and other objects will become more readily apparent by referring to the following detailed description and the appended drawings in which:
Referring now to the drawings, the invented shopping basket 10 is a modular plastic receptacle for receiving and holding items, such as food and other items that are intended to be purchased by a shopper as the shopper shops within a supermarket or other store. The shopping basket has an inclined front wall 12, opposed inclined side or end walls 14, 16, an inclined rear wall 18, and a bottom or base 20. The walls are inclined outwardly from the base, to which they are connected, to allow the basket to nest with a like basket. An upper edge 22 extends along the tops of the side walls 14,16, rear wall 18, and the front wall 12; the upper edge tapers downwardly from the center 24 of the side wall to the front wall, terminating in a flat portion 26 of the upper edge, the flat portion being situated along the top of the front wall, to allow a handle 28 (see
The base 20 of basket 10 is provided with a downwardly open integrally formed recess or small cavity 30 which has a flat upper surface 32, the recess being adapted to receive and engage a cover 36. The cover 36, which is shown in
The hollow compartment 42 in the bottom or base portion of the basket is adapted to receive a security device 44 therein, as best shown in
To activate the theft inhibiting aspect of the shopping basket, a loose security label is dropped into the open compartment on the underside of the basket while it is upside down, or a label can be adhesively attached to the inside of the cover 36 or to the surface forming part of the recess 30 itself. The cover is then snapped into place over the recess, closing the compartment 42 and securing the label therein, with the compartment appearing closed as in
It is preferable to use labels which utilize acousto-magnetic technology to provide anti-theft protection. Such labels feature a small footprint, are easy and quick to install, and are available in a variety of formats.
Acousto-magnetic systems have the ability to protect wide store exits and they allow high-speed label application. Such system uses a transmitter to create a surveillance area where labels or tags are detected. The transmitter sends a radio frequency signal in pulses, which energizes a label in the surveillance zone. When the pulse ends, the label responds, emitting a single frequency signal like a tuning fork. While the transmitter is between pulses, the label signal is detected by a receiver. When a shopper moves through a monitored gate with a label in place in recess 30 of a shopping basket 10, the transmitter in the gate energizes the material in the label and causes it to resonate at a frequency F. The transmitter then stops. The label will continue to resonate or “ring” at frequency F for a short period of time, and the receiver listens for that frequency. If the receiver “hears’ that frequency, it has detected a label and sounds an alarm which alerts store security or management.
As shown in
From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that we have invented an improved basket for shopping which is secure and which contains a device which informs store management when a basket is being removed from the store, a basket security device which will allow the basket to nest easily with like baskets for storage or stand-by, and a shopping basket into which a security device is easily installed, yet is not readily detectable by a shopper using the basket.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description and specific embodiments are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof, and that various modifications and additions may be made to the apparatus by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention, which is therefore understood to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
