Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Attorney Docket No. 201204080
ACCESSIBLE CHECK-OUT COUNTER
BACKGROUND
[0001] The supermarket and merchandising industries use a variety of different
styles of check-
out counters. In most jurisdictions, counters having cash registers that
provide for the sales or
distribution of goods or services should include at least one counter that
complies with
accessibility codes for the customer. Generally, accessibility codes require
the counter to have a
minimum length and a maximum height above the floor in combination with an
accessible route
for the customer.
[0002] However, many jurisdictions are now implementing more stringent
requirements. For
example, a jurisdiction may now require that an accessible counter not only
have a minimum
length and a maximum height, but also provide adequate knee space having a
minimum counter
width and minimum counter depth.
[0003] The discussion above is merely provided for general background
information and is not
intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject
matter.
SUMMARY
[0004] A check-out counter includes an unload area that supports merchandise
to be purchased, a
bagging area that is located down stream from the unload area and used for
supporting bags that
receive the purchased merchandise and a deck area located down stream from the
unload area
and the bagging area. The deck area includes a base having a top, a stationary
countertop and a
slidable countertop. The stationary countertop has a top surface and is
fixedly mounted to the top
of the base. The slidable countertop has a top surface and is slidably mounted
to the top of the
base adjacent to the stationary countertop. The top surface of the stationary
countertop is
coplanar with the top surface of the slidable countertop.
[0005] In other embodiments, the check-out counter includes a base deck and a
top deck. The
base deck has a top surface and at least one recessed surface that is recessed
from the top surface
of the base deck. The top deck has a moveable portion coupled to the at least
one recessed
surface of the base deck with at least one slide. The at least one slide
includes a base member
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coupled to the at least one recess surface of the base deck, a top member
coupled to a bottom of
the moveable top deck and a slide member for slidably engaging the base member
to the top
member.
[0006] A method of transitioning a check-out counter is also described. A base
and a countertop
mounted to the base are provided that are in a first position. The countertop
includes a fixed
section and a slidable section. The fixed section has a down stream end and a
top surface. The
slidable section has a down stream end and a top surface that is coplanar with
the top surface of
the fixed section. In the first position, the slidable section is located
adjacent to the fixed section
such that the down stream end of the slidable section is in alignment with the
down stream end of
the fixed section. The slidable section of the countertop is then moved to a
second position that is
different from the first position. In the second position, the down stream end
of the slidable
section is cantilevered from the base and is out-of-alignment from the down
stream end of the
fixed section.
[0007] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a
simplified form that
are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not
intended to identify
key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it
intended to be used as an
aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. The claimed
subject matter is not
limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in the
background.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a check-out counter according to
one embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a back perspective view of the check-out counter illustrated
in FIG. 1.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a front view of the check-out counter illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an end view of the check-out counter illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0012] FIG. 5 is an end perspective view of the check-out counter illustrated
in FIG. 1 in an
accessible configuration according to another embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 6 is a top view of the check-out counter illustrated in FIG. 1 in
the accessible
configuration.
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[0014] FIG. 7 is a back view of the check-out counter illustrated in FIG. 1 in
the accessible
configuration.
[0015] FIG. 8 is a top view of a base deck of the check-out counter
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[0016] FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the base deck, a moveable top
deck and a
plurality of sliders coupling the base deck to the moveable top deck to allow
the check-out
counter illustrated in FIG. 1 to transition into an accessible configuration.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0017] Retailers process transactions for goods or services at counters. In
some jurisdictions, an
accessible counter is one that is barrier free and has adequate knee space for
the customer. As
defined in these jurisdictions, a barrier free counter is one that is not more
than 865 mm above
the floor and has adequate knee space that is not less than 760 mm wide, 685
mm high and 485
mm deep. As described herein, a check-out counter is provided that can be
transitioned into a
customer accessible check-out counter when the need arises. More specifically,
the check-out
counter is described as being able to transition into a barrier free counter
having adequate knee
space for the customer.
[0018] FIGS. 1-4 illustrate a check-out counter 100 according to one
embodiment. FIG. 1 is a
front perspective view, FIG. 2 is a back perspective view, FIG. 3 is a front
view and FIG. 4 is an
end view of check-out counter 100. Although check-out counter 100 is optimized
for the
supermarket or merchandising industry, it can be adapted for a variety of
other retail, wholesale
and/or warehouse applications. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, check-
out counter 100
includes an unload area 102, a point-of-sale area 104, a bagging area 106 and
a deck area 108.
[0019] Merchandise is placed in unload area 102 and advanced along a
processing path 110
(FIGS. 1 and 2). More particularly, unload area 102 supports merchandise that
is to be purchased
by forwarding the merchandise along processing path 110 to point-of-sale area
104 where it is
processed before being placed into a bag in bagging area 106. In FIGS. 1-4,
unload area 102
includes a conveyor belt 112. Conveyor belt 112 includes a terminal end 114
(FIG. 2) located
adjacent point-of-sale area 104. Merchandise placed on conveyor belt 112 by a
customer is
conveyed to terminal end 114. In an alternate embodiment, unload area 102 is a
static surface
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along which merchandise is manually advanced. In another embodiment, unload
area 102 is
relatively short such that a shopping cart containing merchandise can be
positioned relatively
near point-of-sale area 104.
[0020] Point-of-sale area 104 includes a point-of-sale terminal (not
illustrated in FIGS. 1-4)
having various peripheral devices for processing a transaction. The point-of-
sale terminal
includes a controller that is located in work area 118 and is electrically
coupled to the various
peripheral devices. For example, the point-of-sale terminal can include an
optical scanner or
reader configured to read information from the merchandise when moved
proximate the scanner.
The scanner can read merchandise identification information and/or merchandise
price
information from a bar code or other type of identification badge secured to
the merchandise. In
one embodiment, the scanner can be integrally connected into point-of-sale
area 104 in space
116. In another embodiment or in addition to including an integrally connected
scanner, the
scanner can be a handheld device that is held on a scanner holder located in
or near work area
118. In further examples, the point-of-sale terminal can include a point-of-
sale monitor coupled
to a point-of-sale monitor stand 120, data input devices, such as a keyboard,
a touchpad and a
cash drawer, a printer located in work area 118 and an electronic payment
processing module
that can be mounted to a check writer ledge 121.
[0021] Bagging area 106 is located down stream from unload area 102 and point-
of-sale area
104 and is used to support bags for receiving purchased merchandise. As
illustrated in FIGS. 1-4
and in one embodiment, bagging area 106 includes one or more upper bag racks
122 and one or
more lower bag racks 124. Each of upper bag rack 122 and lower bag rack 124 is
configured to
support a plurality of bags for subsequent loading of purchased merchandise.
It should be
realized that other configurations of bag racks can be located in bagging area
106 other than that
which is illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. Upper and lower bag racks 122 and 124 are
accessible by the
cashier for ease of loading merchandise after it has been processed in point-
of-sale area 104. In
addition, upper bag rack 122 is positioned within reach of a customer so that
a customer can
assist the cashier in loading purchased merchandise if so desired.
[0022] Each bag rack 122 and 124 has a pair of spaced apart elongated support
rods that laterally
extend from different walls in bagging area 106 and support a plurality of
shopping bags located
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between each pair of support rods. It should be realized that other types of
bag racks other than
those illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 can be used in bagging area 106. In addition,
bagging area 106
includes a lower support shelf 126 positioned below lower bag rack 124 and an
upper support
shelf 128 located below upper bag rack 122. Lower and upper support shelves
126 and 128 each
include top surfaces that support the bags hanging from bag racks 122 and 124
when loaded with
purchased merchandise. Furthermore, self-supporting bags, such as paper bags,
can be supported
on lower and upper support shelves 126 and 128 in an open configuration for
loading purchased
merchandise.
[0023] Deck area 108 is located down stream from unload area 102, point-of-
sale area 104 and
bagging area 106 and is used to support loaded bags and used to provide
further work surface
areas. In one embodiment, after the cashier finishes loading purchased
merchandise into bags
located in bagging area 106, the loaded bags are removed from upper or lower
bag racks and/or
removed from upper and lower support shelves 126 and 128 and placed in deck
area 108. The
customer and/or the cashier can then pick up the loaded bags from deck area
108 for transport
away from check-out counter 100. In another embodiment and in addition to deck
area 108
holding loaded bags, deck area 108 can be transitioned or converted to an
accessible check-out
counter space. As previously described, an accessible counter for the customer
is one that is
barrier free and has adequate knee space. As defined in some jurisdictions, a
barrier free counter
is one that is not more than 865 mm above the floor and a counter with
adequate knee space is a
counter that is not less than 760 mm wide, 685 mm high and 485 mm deep.
[0024] FIGS. 5-7 illustrate check-out counter 100 in an accessible
configuration. FIG. 5 is a back
perspective view, FIG. 6 is a top view and FIG. 7 is a back view of check-out
counter 100. As
shown in FIGS. 1-7, deck area 108 includes a base or base deck 130 and a top
deck or countertop
132. To configure check-out counter 100 from a first position (illustrated in
FIGS. 1-4 to a
second position or accessible configuration (FIGS. 5-7), top deck 132 includes
a fixed portion or
stationary countertop 134 coupled to base or base deck 130 and a moveable
portion or slidable
countertop 136 coupled to base or base deck 130. Fixed portion or stationary
countertop 134
includes a down stream end 170, a first side end 171 and an opposing second
side end 173.
Moveable portion or slidable countertop 136 includes an up stream end 174, a
down stream end
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175, a first side end 177 and an opposing second side end 178. In the first
position (FIGS. 1-4),
down stream end 170 of fixed portion or stationary countertop 134 is in
alignment with down
stream end 175 of moveable portion or slidable countertop 136. In addition,
second side end 173
of fixed portion or stationary countertop 134 is adjacent the first side end
177 of moveable
portion or slidable countertop.
[0025] Moveable portion or slidable countertop 136 is moved into the second
position or the
accessible configuration by sliding moveable portion 136 in a first direction
137. In the second
position or accessible configuration (FIGS. 5-7), moveable portion or slidable
countertop 136
provides a barrier free counter that is not more than 865 mm above the floor
and includes
adequate knee space that is not less than 760 mm wide, 685 mm high and 485 mm
deep. Further,
moveable portion or slidable countertop 136 is cantilevered relative to base
deck 130 and
downstream end 175 of moveable portion or slidable countertop 136 is out-of-
alignment with
downstream end 170 of fixed portion or stationary countertop 134. Likewise,
moveable portion
136 of top deck 132 can be moved back into the first position by sliding
moveable portion 136 in
an opposing second direction 139.
[0026] FIG. 8 is a top view of base or base deck 130 of check-out counter 100.
Base deck 130
includes a top or top surface 138 and at least one recessed surface 140. In
the embodiment
illustrated in FIGS. 5-8, recessed surface 140 is recessed from top surface
138 and includes three
pockets 142, 144 and 146. However, it should be realized that recessed surface
140 can include
any number of recesses depending on the type and amount of hardware pieces
needed to couple
moveable portion or slidable countertop 136 to base deck 130.
[0027] Fixed portion or stationary countertop 134 of top deck 132 is fixedly
mounted to top or
top surface 138 of base or base deck 130, while moveable portion or slidable
countertop 136 is
slidably mounted to recessed surface 140 of base or base deck 130. A top
surface 148 of fixed
portion or stationary countertop 134 is substantially coplanar with a top
surface 150 of moveable
portion or slidable countertop 136. In one embodiment and although not
illustrated, top surface
148 of stationary countertop 134 and top surface 150 of slidable countertop
136 are substantially
coplanar with upper support shelf 128 of bagging area 106 so that loaded bags
can be easily slid
down stream to deck area 108 from upper support shelf 128. In another
embodiment and
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although not illustrated, top surface 148 of stationary countertop 134 and top
surface 150 of
slidable countertop 136 are substantially coplanar with lower support shelf
126. Directly sliding
loaded bags from lower support shelf 126 or upper support shelf 128 to deck
area 108 reduces
the need for the cashier to lift and move heavily loaded bags. In yet another
embodiment and as
illustrated clearly in FIG. 2, top surface 148 of stationary countertop 134
and top surface 150 of
slidable countertop 136 are coplanar with neither lower or upper support
shelves 126 and 128.
Rather, lower bag rack 124 is aligned with or located below conveyor belt 112
and upper bag
rack 122 is accordingly located above lower bag rack 124 so that the cashier
can easily load bags
with merchandise from conveyor belt 112.
[0028] FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of base deck 130, moveable
portion 136 of top
deck 132 and a plurality of slides 152, 154 and 156 coupling base deck 130 to
moveable portion
132 to allow check-out counter 100 to transition into the second position or
the accessible
configuration. As illustrated, each of the three slides 152, 154 and 156 are
coupled to one of the
pockets 142, 144 and 146 of recessed surface 140 by fasteners (not
illustrated) and are coupled to
a bottom of moveable portion 136 of top deck 132 by fasteners (not
illustrated). More
specifically, each slide 152, 154 and 156 is a ball bearing slide that
provides moveable portion
136 with adequate load bearing and full extension in first direction 137.
Although three slides are
illustrated, it should be understood that any number of slides could be used
to move moveable
portion 136 of top deck 132 and to support moveable portion 136 in the second
position or the
accessible configuration (FIGS. 5-7).
[0029] As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7 and 9, each slide 152, 154 and 156 includes
three components:
a base member 158, 159 and 160, respectively, a top member 161, 162 and 163,
respectively, and
a slide member 164, 165 and 166, respectively. Although each slide 152, 154
and 156 illustrated
in FIGS. 5-7 and 9 includes three components, it should be realized that two
component slides
are also possible. As illustrated in FIGS. 5-7 and 9, base member 158 of slide
152 is coupled to
pocket 142 of recessed surface 140, base member 159 of slide 154 is coupled to
pocket 144 of
recessed surface 140 and base member 160 of slide 156 is coupled to pocket 146
of recessed
surface 140. Further, top member 161 of slide 152 is coupled to the bottom of
moveable portion
136 of top deck 132, top member 162 of slide 154 is coupled to the bottom of
moveable portion
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136 of top deck 132 and top member 163 of slide 155 is coupled to the bottom
of moveable
portion 136 of top deck 132. Still further, slide member 164 engages base
member 158 with top
member 161, slide member 165 engages base member 159 with top member 162 and
slide
member 166 engages base member 160 with top member 163.
[0030] Besides overcoming the frictional forces of slides 152, 154 and 156 to
move moveable
portion or slidable countertop 136 in first direction 137 to transition check-
out counter 100 into
the second position or the accessible configuration, the force provided by a
detent 180 also needs
to be overcome. Base deck 130 includes detent 180 that protrudes from top
surface 138 of base
deck 130 to releasably engage or lock with a recess (not illustrated) located
on a bottom surface
of moveable portion or slidable countertop 136. Detent 180 is configured to
prevent moveable
portion or slidable component 136 from sliding or moving in first direction
137 until a threshold
level or threshold amount of force is applied to moveable portion or slidable
countertop 136.
Although detent 180 can be made from various components, detent 180
illustrated in FIGS. 5, 6
and 8 is a ball detent that protrudes from top surface 138 of base deck 130
and is located between
pocket 142 and pocket 144 of base deck 130. It should be realized that detent
can be placed in a
variety of different locations on base deck 130 that are outside of recessed
surface 140. In
addition, when moving the slidable section of the countertop back to the first
position, a force
that is greater than the threshold level or threshold amount of force is
needed to lock the slidable
section back into detent 180.
[0031] As illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 and 5-7, fixed portion 134 of top deck 132
includes a lip or
buildup contour 168 located at a down stream end 170 of fixed portion 134. Lip
or build-up
contour 168 protrudes upwards from top surface 148 of fixed portion 134. Lip
or build-up
contour 168 can prevent loaded bags that are slid from bagging area 106 onto
deck area 108 from
sliding off the down stream end 170 of fixed portion 134. As illustrated in
FIGS. 1-2, 5-7 and 9,
moveable portion 136 of top deck 132 includes a two lips or build-up contours.
A first lip or
build-up contour 172 is located at up stream end 174 of moveable portion 136
and a second lip or
build-up contour 176 is located at second side end 178 of moveable portion
136. First lip or
build-up contour 172 and second lip or build-up contour 176 protrudes upwards
from top surface
150 of moveable portion 136. When converting check-out counter 100 into an
accessible check-
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out counter by moving moveable portion 136 in direction 137, moveable portion
136 becomes an
accessible counter that can be used by the customer for completing a
transaction. For example,
the electronic payment processing module can be moved from check writer ledge
121 to
moveable portion 136. When moveable portion 136 is moved in direction 137,
first lip or build-
up contour 172 and second lip or build-up contour 176 can prevent the
electronic payment
processing module or any other items, such as loaded bags, placed on moveable
portion 136
from sliding off up stream end 174 of moveable portion 136 or side end 178 of
moveable portion
136.
[0032] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to
structural features
and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter
defined in the appended
claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described
above. Rather, the
specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of
implementing the
claims.
