{
  "patent_number": "US 12733753",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Smart Retail Shelf Pusher That Detects Theft by Movement",
  "original_title": "Anti-theft pusher with incremental distance detection",
  "summary": "This patent describes a retail shelf pusher that uses sensors to track how far and fast products are moved, triggering an alarm if items are pulled out too quickly, like in a shoplifting attempt.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a retail merchandise pusher designed to slide along a shelf track, keeping products at the front. It includes a housing with a spring drum and coil spring, which pushes items forward. A controller is connected to a sensor arrangement inside the housing. This arrangement includes a spring drum sensor to detect the spring drum's rotation, a direction sensor to know which way it's turning, and an incremental distance sensor to measure small movements of the pusher. The controller uses this sensor data to calculate the total distance and direction the pusher has traveled. If the pusher moves more than a set distance within a specific time, indicating a potential theft, the controller generates an alarm. For example, if a shoplifter quickly yanks several items from a shelf, causing the pusher to retract rapidly beyond a programmed limit, an alarm would sound.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover anti-theft systems that rely on RFID tags or security gates at store exits.",
    "Does not cover systems that detect theft based solely on weight changes on a retail shelf.",
    "Does not cover shelf pushers that do not use a spring drum or coil spring mechanism for product advancement.",
    "Does not cover anti-theft systems that only detect product removal without measuring the actual travel distance of the pusher itself.",
    "Does not cover security systems that use cameras or facial recognition to identify potential shoplifters."
  ],
  "filed": "2024-10-07",
  "granted": "2026-09-15",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": null,
  "holder_url": null,
  "inventors": [],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "retail",
    "security",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A retail merchandise pusher is configured for sliding along a pusher assembly track. The pusher assembly is mountable to a retail merchandise shelf. The pusher includes a housing, a spring drum rotatably mounted within the housing, and a coil spring mounted to the spring drum. The coil spring is coilable and uncoilable upon rotation of the spring drum. A controller is coupled to a sensor arrangement within the housing. The sensor arrangement has a spring drum sensor for detecting rotation of the spring drum. A direction sensor detects a direction of rotation of the spring drum. An incremental distance sensor detects incremental movement of the pusher. The controller is configured to calculate, based on data from the sensor arrangement, a total distance and direction of travel by the pusher, and to generate an alarm when the pusher travels more than a threshold distance within a predetermined period of time.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12733753/anti-theft-pusher-with-incremental-distance-detection",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12733753/anti-theft-pusher-with-incremental-distance-detection/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12733753",
  "relatedPatents": []
}