Vermaport

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Vermaport SC in a Target in Nashua, New Hampshire

The Vermaport Cart Conveying System is the trademarked name of conveyor systems built by Darrott (Germany) that are designed to transport shopping carts between floors of a retail establishment or to transport or store luggage carts at airports or other transportation hubs. Vermaport Cart Conveying Systems are alternatives to inclined moving walkways, a Vermaport will take up much less space than the walkway.

1 Vermaport SC
2 Vermaport LC
3 Vermaport RS
4 External link

[edit] Vermaport SC

The Vermaport SC (Shopping Cart) is typically used in discount retailers such as Target and K-Mart, as well as furniture store IKEA. Essentially an escalator, the device uses specially designed shopping carts and transports them between levels in shopping complexes. Along the path of the Vermaport there are three valleys. The special carts have their front wheels set closer together and out of parallel to the back, outset, wheels. On the way up the inset wheels glide along the center valley, which is lower than the two outer valleys that the outset wheels ride along. This allows the shopping cart to stay level while moving along an inclined path. On the way down, the center valley is higher and the side valleys are lower to allow the cart to transport level while facing down the Vermaport. Due to these valleys, shopping carts on the Vermaport SC do not have the typical plastic or metal grate shelf bellow the basket of the shopping cart that is used to carry large or bulk items.

An installed Vermaport system is typically located next to an escalator, moving at the same speed, so as to allow a shopping cart to be transported alongside a shopper as he or she moves between floors. The conveyance is accomplished by a belt of hard rubber teeth that grab near the wheels of the cart as a shopper guides it into the entrance of the Vermaport.

The world's largest Vermaport is located in Big K-Mart in Middle Village, Queens, New York City, New York. It has a length of 120 ft (37 m) and a vertical rise of 50 ft (15 m). Other Vermaports can be found at Targets on Nicolet Mall in Minneapolis, Minnesota; in the Atlantic Terminal Mall in Brooklyn, New York; in Atlanta; at Clearview Mall in Metairie (New Orleans), Louisiana; and in West Hollywood, Lakewood, and Los Angeles, California.

[edit] Vermaport LC

The Vermaport LC (Luggage Cart) is based on the same engineering principles and the SC model. It allows travellers and their luggage to travel between floors in transportation terminals such as an airport. The LC system allows for items wider than what would fit into a shopping cart on the Vermaport SC.

[edit] Vermaport RS

The Vermaport RS (Return System) is used to store luggage carts which are typically rental fee based. Personnel at an arrival or departure area will gather abandonded luggage carts and return them to the Vermaportt RS. The carts will be automatically feed into the Vermaport and will wait for a traveller to retrieve one by inserting the required fee.