A motorized cart retriever, which may be a cart pusher or a cart puller, can apply a force to a nest of human-propelled, wheeled carts to facilitate retrieval of the carts. The cart retriever can include a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive cart status information from cart transmitters of the wheeled carts and wirelessly report event data to a control unit. The cart status information may include an identification of the cart transmitter, a location of the cart, a lock or unlock status of a cart wheel, a misuse condition, etc. The event data can include the cart status information, a number of wheeled carts being retrieved, etc. The cart wheel may include a brake. The transceiver may communicate a message to the cart wheel to keep the brake unactuated during retrieval. The control unit may analyze the event data to detect traffic patterns of the carts.

A navigation system uses a dead reckoning method to estimate an object's present position relative to one or more prior positions. In some embodiments, the dead reckoning method determines a change in position from the object's heading and speed during an elapsed time interval. In embodiments suitable for use with wheeled objects, the dead reckoning method determines the change in position by measuring the heading and the amount of wheel rotation. Some or all of the components of the navigation system may be disposed within a wheel, such as a wheel of a shopping cart.

A wheel structure that makes braking easy and prevents sudden stops, and a pushcart having the wheel structure are provided. The wheel structure includes a rotor that is rotatable about an axle and is stopped from rotating by a brake member, a wheel that is coaxial with the rotor and is rotatable about the rotor, and a relative-rotation resisting member that is disposed between the rotor and wheel and produces resistance force resisting the relative rotation of the rotor and wheel.

An improved auto-chocking enabled cargo dolly that is towable by ground support equipment. The dolly has a frame, wheels attached to the frame that support the frame and rotate to allow movement of the frame, a tow bar, a linkage in communication with the tow bar and that actuates when the tow bar is raised, and a wheel engagement chocking system fixed to the dolly frame and disposed to selectively engage at least one of the wheels attached to the dolly frame. The wheel engagement system is responsive to a position of the linkage, where the wheel engagement chocking system applies pressure directly to at least one of the wheels to hold the wheel(s) in place when the linkage is actuated by the tow bar.

An improved auto-chocking enabled cargo dolly that is towable by ground support equipment. The dolly has a frame, wheels attached to the frame that support the frame and rotate to allow movement of the frame, a tow bar, a linkage in communication with the tow bar and that actuates when the tow bar is raised, and a wheel engagement chocking system fixed to the dolly frame and disposed to selectively engage at least one of the wheels attached to the dolly frame. The wheel engagement system is responsive to a position of the linkage, where the wheel engagement chocking system applies pressure directly to at least one of the wheels to hold the wheel(s) in place when the linkage is actuated by the tow bar.

In a method for monitoring an electromagnetically actuable brake, which has an energizable coil that interacts with a tractive electromagnet situated so as to be linearly movable, and a vehicle having an electromagnetically actuable brake, the current flowing through the coil is acquired, the acquired current value in particular being conveyed to an evaluation unit, the voltage applied at the coil is intermittently increased, and a relative position of the tractive electromagnet with respect to the coil is determined from the thereby induced current characteristic, in particular the characteristic of the current rise, it is particularly determined from the ascertained position whether the brake is in the applied state or in the released state, the tractive electromagnet in particular is arranged as a permanent magnet or has a permanent magnet.

A system for monitoring and controlling shopping cart usage comprises a wheel assembly that attaches to a shopping cart. In some embodiments the wheel assembly includes a wheel, a brake that can be activated to inhibit rotation of the wheel, a controller that controls the brake, a VLF receiver, and an RF transceiver. The RF transceiver may, for example, operate in a 2.4 GHz frequency band. In some implementations, the RF transceiver may be used to detect entry of the shopping cart into a checkout area of the store, and the VLF receiver may be used to detect that the shopping cart is exiting the store. The controller may activate the brake if the shopping cart attempts to exit the store without first passing through a checkout area.

A motorized cart retriever, which may be a cart pusher or a cart puller, can apply a force to a nest of human-propelled, wheeled carts to facilitate retrieval of the carts. The cart retriever can include a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive cart status information from cart transmitters of the wheeled carts and wirelessly report event data to a control unit. The cart status information may include an identification of the cart transmitter, a location of the cart, a lock or unlock status of a cart wheel, a misuse condition, etc. The event data can include the cart status information, a number of wheeled carts being retrieved, etc. The cart wheel may include a brake. The transceiver may communicate a message to the cart wheel to keep the brake unactuated during retrieval. The control unit may analyze the event data to detect traffic patterns of the carts.

A walk-behind vehicle includes a vehicle body assembly, a driving wheel, a power assembly, a braking assembly, a control assembly and a power supply device. The driving wheel is connected on the vehicle body assembly. The power assembly is mounted in the driving wheel. The braking assembly is arranged on the driving wheel. The control assembly is arranged on the vehicle body assembly and is electrically coupled to the power assembly and the braking assembly. The power supply device is arranged on the vehicle body assembly and is electrically coupled to the power assembly, the braking assembly and the control assembly. The control assembly includes a steering control device, which is electrically connected with the power assembly in the driving wheel on both sides of the vehicle body assembly and configured for controlling a steering of the driving wheel on both sides of the vehicle body assembly.

Disclosed is a stroller with detachable auxiliary power structure, which includes a stroller body, a power control module, and a battery unit. The stroller body includes a front wheel member, a rear wheel member, a left folding member, and a right folding member. Front ends and rear ends of the right and left folding frames are pivotally connected to the front wheel member and the rear wheel member, respectively. The power control module is mounted to a bottom of the rear wheel member and includes a drive motor that outputs a rotational speed and a torque, a gear box, and a power output shaft that has one end connected to the gear box and an opposite end connected to the rear right wheel or the rear left wheel. The battery unit is connected to the drive motor to serve as a power source.