US20080027838A1 - Tele-inventory system, and in-shop terminal and remote management apparatus for the system - Google Patents
Tele-inventory system, and in-shop terminal and remote management apparatus for the system Download PDFInfo
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- US20080027838A1 US20080027838A1 US11/862,770 US86277007A US2008027838A1 US 20080027838 A1 US20080027838 A1 US 20080027838A1 US 86277007 A US86277007 A US 86277007A US 2008027838 A1 US2008027838 A1 US 2008027838A1
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Abstract
A tele-inventory system for inventorying various kinds of commodities in a shop by an operator from a remote management apparatus installed remotely from the shop.
Description
- This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/982,925, filed Oct. 22, 2001 and claims foreign priority to Japanese Application No. 2001-095466, filed on Mar. 29, 2001, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to a tele-inventorying system for inventorying various kinds of commodities in a shop, such as a department store and a convenience store, from a place remote from the shop, and also relates to an in-shop terminal and a remote management apparatus for the tele-inventory system.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Generally, department stores or convenience stores periodically make an inventory of various kinds of commodities on sale throughout the shop premises in stock on shelves. During the inventorying, commodities of each kind are counted and the respective consume-by dates of commodities, such as food (especially perishable food), are checked.
- A big retailing company, such as a franchising company, who controls a large number of chain retail stores, such as franchisee stores, in a centralized fashion regards the inventorying of various kinds of commodities on sale and/or in stock as important because the company has to estimate the potential sales figure for every kind of commodity as accurately as possible from the results of inventorying. Thanks to this inventorying, each large-scale retail store, with numerous selling areas, can grasp the details of sales for every selling area, streamlining the management of sales of many kinds of commodities throughout the whole store.
- Many retail stores sell food, particularly fresh food, which has to be consumed within a limited date/time; food whose consume-by date/time has terminated or will terminate shortly must be removed from shelves without fail to eliminated the possibility of customers buying such out-of-date food. It is therefore important to check the consume-by date of each and every food commodity by making an inventory of all food commodities.
- As the usual practice in, for example, a department store, inventorying is carried out by many sales clerks at the respective sales areas while the store is closed. In the meantime, sales clerks of a typical convenience store, which opens around-the-clock, make an inventory of commodities between serving customers.
- However, in a department store, partly because inventorying is laborious and time-consuming due to the disarrayed commodities on shelves and partly because inventorying must be carried out at night when the store is closed or a relatively small number of customers visit the store, it is difficult to reserve sufficient manpower for the inventorying, causing a management problem. Another problem is that shorter-cycle inventorying, which franchisees or companies, for example, have started to require for their franchisee stores in recent years, is beginning to impose considerable burdens on store managers. Many employees and clerks of such chain stores consider the inventorying to be an unattractive job and hence tend to concentrate on serving customers while skipping inventorying, if possible.
- With the foregoing problems in view, it is an object of the present invention to make an inventory of commodity, which are sold and stocked in a selling area of a shop, from a remote management apparatus that is installed remotely from the shop, lightening the burden imposed on operating retail business with the reduced number of clerks at the shop as making an inventory.
- As the first generic feature, there is provided a tele-inventory system for inventorying various kinds of commodities in a shop by an operator from a remote management apparatus that is installed remotely from the shop, comprising: at the shop camera means for taking images of object commodities to be inventoried; image-transmitter means for transmitting the taken images of the object commodities to the remote management apparatus; at the remote management apparatus image-receiver means for receiving the taken images of the object commodities from the image-transmitter means; and display means for displaying the taken images of the object commodities which images have been received by the image-receiver means, whereby the operator is able to make an inventory of the object commodities at the remote management apparatus with consulting the taken images of the object commodities which images have been displayed on the display means.
- As a preferable feature, the tele-inventory system may further comprise: at the remote management apparatus instruction-transmitter means for transmitting instructions of the operator to the shop; and at the shop instruction-receiver means for receiving the instructions of the operator from the remote management apparatus. As another preferable feature, the tele-inventory system may further comprise: at the shop camera control means for controlling the camera means based on the instructions of the operator, which have been received by the instruction-receiver means.
- As a second generic feature, there is provided an in-shop terminal for use in a tele-inventory system in which various kinds of commodities in a shop are inventoried by an operator from a remote management apparatus that is installed remotely from the shop, there being installed at the shop camera means for taking images of object commodities in the shop, comprising: image-transmitter means for transmitting the images of object commodities, which images have been taken by the camera means at the shop, to the remote management apparatus; instruction-receiver means for receiving instructions of the operator from the remote management apparatus; and camera control means for controlling the camera means based on the instructions of the operator from the remote management apparatus which instructions have been received by the receiving means.
- As a third generic feature, there is provided a remote management apparatus for use in a tele-inventory system in which various kinds of commodities in a shop are inventoried by an operator from the remote management apparatus, there being at the shop camera means for taking images of object commodities and image-transmitter means for transmitting the taken images of the object commodities to the remote management apparatus, comprising: image-receiver means for receiving the images of the object commodities, which images have been taken by the camera means of the shop, from the image-transmitter means of the shop; display means for displaying the taken images of the object commodities which images have been received by the image-receiver means; and instruction-transmitter means for transmitting instructions of the operator, which are for making an inventory of the object commodities in the shop, to the shop.
- As mentioned above, it is possible for a tele-inventory system, and an in-shop terminal and a remote management apparatus for the system to guarantee the following advantageous results:
- (1) Since an image of an object commodity which image has been taken in the shop is transferred to the remote management apparatus to be displayed the display means of the remote management apparatus, the operator that operates the remote management apparatus is able to make an inventory of the object commodities with reference to the images displayed on the display means, enabling the tele-inventory performed at a remote place from the shop. For example, images of respective selling areas of a department store or images of respective shops located in remote places are transmitted to the head office or the like so that object commodities sold or stocked in the selling areas or in the shops are centralized inventoried from a remote place from the department store or the shops. As a result, the operator can inventory (specifically, count object commodities or check the expiration dates of object commodities) on demand (anytime as demand arises) reducing the cost of an inventory because of a reduced manpower for the inventory.
- (2) The operator of the remote management, apparatus can issue instructions to clerks disposed at the shop by transmitting the instructions to the shop from the remote management apparatus as required. Therefore it is possible to request the clerks in the shop to perform minimum operations that the operator is unable to perform from a remote place from the shop thereby surely making an inventory from the remote place.
- (3) The operator of the remote management apparatus can issue instructions to the camera control means disposed at the shop by transmitting the instructions to the shop from the remote management apparatus as required in such a manner that the camera means takes an image of a desired object commodity. This allows the operator to remotely obtain various images from the shop, reducing mistakes in counting commodities. It is possible to guarantee a reliable inventory based on the images taken by the camera means.
- (4) The operator of the remote management apparatus can control the manipulator control means by transmitting the instructions to the shop from the remote management apparatus as required in such a manner that the manipulator means manipulates a position and a posture of an object commodity. If the operator does not see an object commodity because of the object commodity being behind other commodities or other reasons, the operator can manipulate the other commodities by remotely controlling the manipulator means so as to see the object commodity on the display means. Further, if the operator do not see the expiration date of an object commodity which date is attached the package thereof on the display means, the operator can display the expiration date on the display means by remotely controlling the manipulator means so as to change the position of the object commodity. The remote control of the manipulator means allows to surely make an inventory based on the taken images without taking a time of clerks disposed at the shop.
- (5) Since the shop previously stores a commodity information about a correlation between the individual object commodity and position information about a position of the individual object commodity in the database, it is possible for the operator, even if having no information about the layout of the shop, to obtain an image of the desired object commodity only by transmitting instructions designating the desired object commodity name to the camera control means of the shop, enabling an effective inventory with low costs.
- (6) Since object commodities, such as expired commodities, labeled with the predetermined marks, it is possible for the operator to surely count the object commodities, with reference to images of the object commodities labeled with the predetermined marks. At that time, the operator counts the number of object commodities labeled with the predetermined marks (the number of times that the operator points the object commodities using the pointing means) thereby the number of object commodities are automatically counted with further accuracy.
- (7) Since a particular commodity, such as an expired commodity, is labeled with the predetermined special mark, it is possible for an inventory employee to discriminate the particular commodity from commodities other than the particular commodity, with reference to images of the particular commodity and the other commodities, which images are displayed on the display means. The operator issues minimum and proper instructions (e.g., removing an expired commodity) to the clerk at the shop by transmitting the marked image (an image with attached additional information), in which an image of a particular commodity is labeled with the predetermined special mark, to the clerk from the remote management apparatus, realizing a further effective inventory system with reduced costs.
- (8) The use of the security camera that is usually previously installed in the shop as a camera means realizes the tele-inventory system at a low cost.
- (9) When the remote management terminal is a mobile information processing terminal, such as a mobile telephone, a company request a part-time-job employee to inventory the object commodities. Since the use of the mobile information processing terminal allows the company to reserve part-time-job employees that makes an inventory of the object commodities, it is possible to eliminate the need for employees of the company and clerks at the shops working as inventory employee, greatly reducing the cost for inventorying the object commodities.
- (10) If the remote management terminal is located at a remote place in a different time zone of a shop place where the shop is located, it is possible to hire the employees or part-time-job employee, who live in the remote place, as inventory employees. This enables the employees or the part-time-job employee at the remote place to make inventory of the object commodities while the time zone in which the stores are located are in the nighttime hours, and it is possible to hire inventory employees in areas or countries require lower labor cost thereby realizing the tele-inventory system with a reduced cost.
- (11) With the customer information terminal that is communicably connected to the in-shop terminal, it is possible for a customer to obtain and see an image of a target commodity only by transmitting a direction containing the name of the target commodity from the customer information terminal. As a result customers can confirm whether or not a target commodity is available at the shop in real time before going to the shop, thereby receiving supplementary services.
- Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a tele-inventory system according to a first embodiment; -
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a practical mode of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of various elements of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views respectively showing the camera section of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing an overview of a manipulator section of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 ; -
FIG. 5B is an enlarged perspective view showing the main part of the manipulator section ofFIG. 5A ; -
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a commodity position database disposed in an in-shop terminal of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 ; and -
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a function for assisting in operation performed in the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 . - A preferred embodiment of a present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
- (A-1) Fundamental Points of a Tele-Inventory System:
- The fundamental points of a tele-inventory system according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
FIG. 1 , which schematically shows the fundamental points of the tele-inventory system. As shown inFIG. 1 , the tele-inventory system 100 comprises an in-shop terminal 10, acamera section 20, amanipulator section 30, and aremote management apparatus 50. The in-shop terminal 10, thecamera section 20, and themanipulator section 30 are installed at a shop having one or more selling areas in which various kinds of commodities to be inventoried are sold and stocked. Theremote management apparatus 50 is communicably connected to the in-shop terminal 10 and is installed remotely from the shop (at a remote area), and makes an inventory of the commodities in the shop. - The
camera section 20 takes images of object commodities that are to be inventoried and that are in the shop, and themanipulator section 30 manipulates posture and position of individual object commodities. - The
shop terminal 10 is a personal computer or the like, as described later, which serves to function as animage transmitter 11, aninstruction receiver 12, acamera control section 13, adatabase 14, amanipulator controlling section 15 and an in-shop display 16. - The
image transmitter 11 transmits images of the object commodities, which images have been taken by thecamera section 20, to theremote management apparatus 50 and theinstruction receiver 12 receives instructions from theremote management apparatus 50. These instructions are issued by an operator (hereinafter also called an inventory employee or an inventory operator) that operates theremote management apparatus 50, as described later. - The
camera control section 13 controls thecamera section 20 based on instructions received by theinstruction receiver 12, and similarly, themanipulator controlling section 15 controls themanipulator section 30 based on instructions received by theinstruction receiver 12. - The
database 14 stores commodity information about a correlation between a name of an individual object commodity and position information about a position of the individual object commodity, previously. In the illustrated embodiment, if instructions to thecamera control section 13, which instructions are received by theinstruction receiver 12, designate a name of an object commodity, thecamera control section 13 reads position information corresponding to the designated object commodity from thedatabase 14, whereupon it controls thecamera section 20 in such a manner that thecamera section 20 takes an image of the designated object commodity based on the read position information. - The in-
shop display 16 displays a later-described marked image, which thecamera section 20 receives from theremote management apparatus 50. - The
remote management apparatus 50 is also a personal computer as described later, and serves to function as animage receiver 51, aninstruction transmitter 52, amanagement display 53, apointing device 54, amarker 55, and acounter 56. - The
image receiver 51 receives images taken of object commodities which images are taken by thecamera section 20 at the shop, and themanagement display 53 displays the taken images, which have been received by theimage receiver 51. The operator (the inventory employee, the inventory operator) that operates theremote management apparatus 50 makes arrangements for an inventory of the object commodities, while viewing the taken images of the object commodities, which images are displayed on themanagement display 53. Theinstruction transmitter 52 transmits the operator's instructions to the in-shop terminal 10 if the operator intends to instruct a clerk at the shop after seeing the taken images of the object commodities. - The
pointing device 54, themarker 55, and thecounter 56 serve to assist the operator at theremote management apparatus 50 in making arrangements for an inventory of the object commodities. - The
pointing device 54 points to an individual object commodity in the taken images displayed on themanagement display 53. - The
marker 55 labels an image taken of an individual object commodity, which image has been pointed to by thepointing device 54, with either one of a predetermined mark and a predetermined special mark other than the predetermined mark, which are selectively switched by a manner of operated thepointing device 54 are as the labeling. The predetermined special marks are allocated to particular object commodities, as described later. The predetermined marks are allocated to object commodities other than particular object commodities previously referred to. - The counter 56 counts the number of times that the
pointing device 54 has been operated to automatically count the number of commodities to which the predetermined marks or the predetermined special marks have been allocated. - A marked image, in which one or more particular object commodities have been labeled with predetermined special marks by the
marker 55, is returned to the shop by theinstruction transmitter 52 together with instructions from the operator, in the illustrated embodiment. The marked image is received by theinstruction receiver 12 in the shop, and displayed on the in-shop display 16 so that a shop clerk sees the marked image to make arrangements for various processes as instructed by the operator. - The
camera section 20 may also serve as a security camera, which has usually been installed in the shop previously. Theremote management apparatus 50 may be a mobile information terminal operated by the operator, and may be installed at a remote place in a different time zone from the time zone where the shop is located. - In the tele-inventory system 100 of the illustrated example, a plurality of
customer information terminals 70, each operated by an individual customer of the shop, are communicably connected to the in-shop terminal 10 (theimage transmitter 11 and the instruction receiver 12). When theinstruction receiver 12 of the in-shop terminal 10 receives a direction containing the name of a target commodity from thecustomer information terminal 70, thecamera control section 13 reads, from thedatabase 14, commodity information with respect to the target commodity based on the direction, and controls thecamera section 20 in such a manner that thecamera section 20 takes an image of the target commodity. Then theimage transmitter 11 transmits the image of the target commodity, which image has been taken by thecamera section 20, to thecustomer information terminal 70. - (A-2) Practical Mode of the Tele-Inventory System:
- A practical mode of the tele-inventory system 100 of
FIG. 1 will now be described with reference to block diagramFIG. 2 . - In the tele-inventory system 100 of
FIG. 2 , the shop is equipped with acontrol computer 10A, aclerk computer 10B, aTV camera 20A, acamera positioning device 21A, and amanipulator 30A. Thecontrol computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B are connected toinventory computers telephone line 60. - The
control computer 10A, theTV camera 20A, thecamera positioning device 21A, and themanipulator 30A are disposed at an individual selling area of a shop. Theclerk computer 10B is disposed in the individual selling area, at a back office or at a common room of clerks, and is communicably connected to thecontrol computer 10A via theLAN 40. - A combination of the
control computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B serves to function as the above-mentioned in-shop terminal 10 (FIG. 1 ). In the illustrated embodiment, thecontrol computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B are separate; however a computer, such as a personal computer, may serve to function as anoverall control computer 10A andclerk computer 10B. - The
TV camera 20A serves to function as thecamera section 20 ofFIG. 1 , and is able to zoom in and out on an object of which an image is to be taken. TheTV camera 20A is mounted to thecamera positioning device 21A that controls the position and the posture of theTV camera 20A (the direction of image capture). A further description of thecamera positioning device 21A will be made with reference toFIGS. 4A and 4B . - The manipulator 30 a serves to function as the above-mentioned
manipulator section 30 ofFIG. 1 and its function will be described in more detail later with reference toFIGS. 5A and 5B . - The
control computer 10A comprises a communication controller 11A, acamera controller 13A,motor drivers commodity position database 14A, amanipulator controller 15A, an A/D (analog-to-digital)converter 17A, animage memory 18A and animage compression device 19A. Thecontrol computer 10A is a personal computer including an image-capture board, a motor-controlling board, and a LAN board. Execution of predetermined software by the personal computer realizes respective functions of the elements of thecontrol computer 10A. - The communication controller 11A serves to function as at least the
image transmitter 11 and theinstruction receiver 12. The communication controller 11A transmits images of a selling area, which image is taken by theTV camera 20A, to theinventory computers inventory computers - The communication controller 11A is communicably connected to the
inventory computer 50A and the respectivecustomer information terminals 70 via amodem 11 a and thetelephone line 60, and is also communicably connected to theclerk computer 10B and theinventory computer 50B via theLAN 40. Themodem 11 a is interposed between thecontrol computer 10A and thetelephone line 60 in the illustrated example; however thecontrol computer 10A may also serve to function as themodem 11 a assuming an internal element. - The
camera controller 13A and themotor driver 15 a jointly serve to function as the above-mentionedcamera control section 13. Thecamera controller 13A controls zoom-in/out operations of theTV camera 20A by issuing zoom-in/out instructions to theTV camera 20A based on instructions external from thecontrol computer 10A. Thecamera controller 13A issues a driving instruction to a non-illustrated driving motor of thecamera positioning device 21A via themotor driver 15 a and obtains information about a current position of theTV camera 20A to feedback-control the position and the posture (the direction of image capture) of theTV camera 20A. - The
commodity position database 14A corresponds to the above-mentioneddatabase 14. The database previously stores commodity information about a correlation between an individual object commodity (e.g., the commodity name) and the position information about the position of the individual object commodity. Thecommodity position database 14A will be described in detail later with reference toFIG. 6 . - The
manipulator controller 15A and themotor driver 15 a jointly serve to function as themanipulator controlling section 15 ofFIG. 1 . Themanipulator controller 15A issues a driving instruction to a non-illustrated driving motor of themanipulator 30A via themotor driver 15 a, and obtains information about a current position of themanipulator 30A to feedback-control operations of themanipulator 30A. This feedback control allows themanipulator 30A to manipulate (alter) the position and the posture of the object commodities. - The A/
D converter 17A converts analog signals (image data) from theTV camera 20A to digital signals. Theimage memory 18A temporarily stores the digitalized image data, and theimage compression device 19A that compresses the digitalized image data, which is stored in theimage memory 18A, as the taken images of the object commodities (a selling area) are transmitted to theclerk computer 10B, theinventory computers - The control of the position and the posture (the direction of image capture) of the
TV camera 20A in order to take an image of an individual object commodity, which control has been described with reference toFIG. 1 , is realized by execution of predetermined software (program) by thecontrol computer 10A, and is performed by thecamera controller 13A. At that time, thecamera controller 13A reads, from thecommodity position database 14A, the positional information corresponding to an individual commodity contained in instructions issued from outside thecontrol computer 10A, and controls theTV camera 20A based on the read position information, as described later with reference toFIG. 6 . - The
clerk computer 10B serves to function as acommunication controller 12B, adisplay 16B, and animage expansion device 19B, and is a personal computer equipped with a LAN board or the like. Each element of theclerk computer 10B is realized by execution of predetermined software (programs) on the personal computer. Thecommunication controller 12B and theimage expansion device 19B, depicted as being external to theclerk computer 10B inFIG. 2 , but are actually built in theclerk computer 10B. As an alternative, theclerk computer 10B may be a mobile information processing terminal, such as a mobile information terminal or a mobile telephone. - The
communication controller 12B serves to function as at least the above-mentionedinstruction receiver 12, and is communicably connected to thecontrol computer 10A and theinventory computers LAN 40 or thetelephone line 60. Thecommunication controller 12B receives an image of a selling area from thecontrol computer 10A, and also receives instructions (e.g., a request for support by a clerk at a selling area), a marked image and a result of counting of object commodities from theinventory computers - The
image expansion device 19B expands compressed images that have been received from thecontrol computer 10A and theinventory computers - The
display 16B serves to function as at least the above-mentioned in-shop display 16, and displays an image of a selling area which image has been received from thecontrol computer 10A and instructions, a marked image and a result of counting of object commodities from theinventory computers - The
inventory computers remote management apparatus 50 ofFIG. 1 . Theinventory computer 50A includes a communication controller 51A, amanagement display 53A, amouse 54A, animage expansion device 57A, and animage compression device 58A. Similarly, theinventory computer 50B includes a communication controller 51B, amanagement display 53B, amouse 54B, animage expansion device 57B, and animage compression device 58B. In practice, theinventory computers image expansion devices image compression devices inventory computers FIG. 2 , but are actually built in theinventory computers - The communication controllers 51A and 51B respectively serve to function as at least the
image receiver 51 and theinstruction transmitter 52 ofFIG. 1 . The communication controllers 51A and 51B receive instructions from thecommunication controller 12B, and transmit instructions from an inventory employee, a marked image, and a result of counting of object commodities to thecontrol computer 10A or theclerk computer 10B. - The communication controller 51A is communicably connected to the
control computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B via themodem 51 a and thetelephone line 60. The communication controller 51B is communicably connected to thecontrol computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B via theLAN 40. Themodem 51 a may be built in theinventory computer 50A. - The
image extension devices control computer 10A, where an image data of the selling area has been compressed. - The management displays 53A and 53B respectively function as at least the
management display 53 ofFIG. 1 , and display an image of a selling area, which image is received from thecontrol computer 10A, so that an inventory employee (an operator, or an inventory operator) sees information thereon. - An inventory employee sees an image of a selling area displayed on the
management display mouse inventory computers control computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B, as required. - The
mice pointing device 54 ofFIG. 1 . An inventory employee clicks themouse management display - The
inventory computers marker 55 and thecounter 56 by executing predetermined software (program). - At that time, the
marker 55 labels the taken image of the individual object commodity, which image has been pointed to by themouse FIG. 1 . For example, with a cursor pointing to an image of an individual object commodity, a single click on the image labels the image of the individual object commodity with the predetermined mark, and a double click labels with the predetermined special mark. The predetermined marks, with which object commodities are labeled, help an inventory employee to accurately grasp the numbers of counted commodities the images of which are displayed when the inventory employee counts the commodity displayed on themanagement display management display FIG. 7 . - The
counter 56 automatically counts the labeled object commodities by counting clicks (operations) of themouse - A marked image, which is an image of an individual commodity which image is labeled with a predetermined special mark by the
marker 55, is returned to theclerk computer 10B together with instructions (e.g., a request for support by a clerk at a selling area) of an inventory employee via the communication controller 51A or 51B. Theimage compression devices inventory computer clerk computer 10B. - The
inventory computers TV camera 20A, and instructions to move an individual object commodity by themanipulator 30A. - When an inventory employee wishes to display a desired object commodity on the
management display control computer 10A. Upon receipt of the name of the desired object commodity by thecontrol computer 10A, thecamera controller 13A causes theTV camera 20A to take an image of a selling area in which the desired object commodity is disposed, and the taken image of the selling area is transmitted to theinventory computer management display - If the inventory employee wishes to change a state (such as zooming in/out or changing direction) of the
TV camera 20A to take the image of a desired object commodity, which image is to be taken by theTV camera 20A and which image is displayed on themanagement display management display control computer 10A. On the basis of the instructions, thecamera controller 13A controls a zooming operation of theTV camera 20A and controls the position and the posture of theTV camera 20A via thecamera positioning device 21A. Theinventory computers TV camera 20A when taking an image. - Further if the inventory employee wishes to change the position of a desired object commodity, which image is taken by the
TV camera 20A and displayed on themanagement display management display control computer 10A. On the basis of the instructions, themanipulator controller 15A controls themanipulator 30A in such a manner that themanipulator 30A changes the position or the posture of the desired object commodity. Namely, theinventory computers manipulator 30A. - On the other hand, the
inventory computers clerk computer 10B. A request for support by a clerk at a selling area is issued by an inventory employee, who is at a remote place from the selling area, requests to a clerk at the selling area to carry out an operation that by an inventory employee (who is in a remote place) is unable to perform. - For example, if remote control of the
manipulator 30A to change the position of the desired object commodity fails or themanipulator 30A is not installed in the shop, a request to change the position of the desired object commodity is issued. When the expiration date of the desired object commodity in the image displayed on themanagement display display - At that time, the inventory employee transmits a marked image, in which one or more expired object commodities that are to be removed are labeled with the predetermined special marks by the
marker 55, to theclerk computer 10B together with a request for support by a clerk at the selling area. Upon confirming the marked image and the request for support by a clerk at the selling area on thedisplay 16B, the clerk at the selling area performs proper operation (changing the position of the object commodity, checking the expiration date of the object commodity, removing the expired object commodities) in accordance with the request for support by a clerk at the selling area from the inventory employee. - The
remote management apparatus 50 may be a mobile information terminal 50C, such as a mobile telephone, as an alternative to theinventory computers - (A-3) Arrangement of Various Elements of the Tele-Inventory System:
- An arrangement of various elements of the tele-inventory system 100 of
FIG. 2 will now be described with reference toFIG. 3 .FIG. 3 shows an arrangement of various elements of the tele-inventory system 100. TheTV camera 20A and theinventory computers FIG. 3 . The same reference numbers inFIG. 3 as those described above with reference toFIGS. 1 and 2 designate identical elements or parts, so any repetitious description is omitted here. - A company owning a multiple of chain shops, such as convenience stores, installs the
TV camera 20A,camera positioning device 21A, thecontrol computer 10A (not shown inFIG. 3 ) andclerk computer 10B (not shown inFIG. 3 ) in the individual stores. Similarly, a department store having multiple selling floors installs theTV camera 20A, thecamera positioning device 21A, thecontrol computer 10A (not shown inFIG. 3 ) and theclerk computer 10B (not shown inFIG. 3 ) on every selling floor. - An image of an
individual object commodity 81 disposed on acommodity shelf 80, which image is taken by theTV camera 20A, is transmitted to theinventory computer control computer 10A, thetelephone line 60 and theLAN 40. The object commodities which images are taken by theTV camera 20A are concentratedly inventoried by theinventory computer - The
inventory computer 50B is installed in the head office of the company, and is communicably connected to thecontrol computers 10A, each disposed at each selling area of the head office, via theLAN 40. Further, theinventory computer 50B is communicably connected to each of thecontrol computers 10A, each of which is disposed at each selling area of an individual branch office, via thetelephone line 60. - The
inventory computer 50B is communicably connected to a mobile information terminal 50C (a mobile information processing terminal, a remote management apparatus), such as a mobile telephone, operated by a part-time employee viamodem 51 b. Theinventory computer 50B transmits images taken by theTV camera 20A to the mobile information terminal 50C, and receives various instructions and images from the mobile information terminal 50C. The mobile information terminal 50C is equipped with a management display 53C, and has identical functions as those of theinventory computers - The mobile information terminal 50C, of course, comprises the
image receiver 51 and theinstruction transmitter 52, likewise theinventory computers pointing device 54, themarker 55, and thecounter 56. - In this example, the
inventory computer 50A is installed at a remote place, such as at an overseas branch office in a foreign country, in a different time zone from the time zone where the shop is located. Thereby, employees and part-time employees of the overseas branch office, as the inventory-taking employees, operate theinventory computer 50A to make a remote inventory of the object commodities. - An inventory employee obtains an image of a selling area where a desired object commodity is stocked using the
inventory computer management display - In the tele-inventory system 100, it is possible to make an inventory of object commodities at a place remote from a shop where the object commodities are sold and stocked. Images of the individual floor of a department store and images of the individual selling area of the individual shop located at a remote place from the head office are transmitted to the
inventory computer 50B of the head office, in which the object commodities sold and stocked in multiple floors or shops at remote places are concentratedly inventoried. With such a centralized inventory system, it is possible to make arrangements to inventory the object commodities, such as counting or checking the expiration dates, on demand. This allows clerks at an individual selling area to be reduced, enabling inventorying costs to be cut. - An inventory employee transmits instructions for the shop to the shop (the
clerk computer 10B) from theinventory computer inventory computer - The use of the
telephone line 60 as a communication means allows a part-time employee to inventory the object commodities. For example, a company which intends to inventory object commodities requests the part-time employee to inventory (count) the object commodities over the telephone. After that, the part-time employee connects theinventory computer 50A, or a terminal (such as a mobile information telephone) which serves to function as the mobile information terminal 50C, to thecontrol computer 10A installed at the shop via thetelephone line 60 to obtain images of a selling area where the object commodities to be inventoried are placed. The part-time employee makes an inventory of the object commodities with reference to the obtained images of the selling area. Since part-time employees that can perform inventory taking are easily found and hired, it is possible to eliminate the need for employees of the company and clerks at the shops to work as inventory employees, thereby greatly reducing the cost of inventorying the object commodities. - If the company owns a multiple of chain shops located worldwide, the company installs the
inventory computer 50A at a remote place in a different time zone where some of the shops are located and hires employees or part-time employee, who live in the remote place, as inventory employees. This enables the employees or the part-time employees at the remote place to inventory the object commodities while it is night in the time zone in which the stores are located, and it is day in the remote place where theinventory computer 50A is located. One advantage is that inventory taking performed during the daytime is less costly than inventorying performed during night time. A further advantage is that it is possible to hire inventory employees in areas or countries where labor costs are. - (A-4) Configuration of the Camera Section:
- The
TV camera 20A and thecamera positioning device 21A, which are installed in a shop in the tele-inventory system 100, will now be described with reference toFIGS. 4A and 4B .FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views respectively showing a camera section of the tele-inventory system 100. - In
FIG. 4A , theTV camera 20A capable of zooming in/out on an object of which an image is to be taken is mounted on a pan/tilt mount 21 a of thecamera positioning device 21A. The pan/tilt mount 21 a is controlled by thecamera controller 13A and themotor driver 15 a in such a manner that the position and the posture of theTV camera 20A that takes an image of a selling area is remotely controlled. - The zoom-in/out operations of the
TV camera 20A are directly controlled by thecamera controller 13A, as mentioned above. A security camera previously installed in the shop may also serve as theTV camera 20A, which is used as shown inFIG. 4A . Conversely, theTV camera 20A that is installed for the tele-inventory system 100 may be also used as a security camera. - In the example of
FIG. 4B , thecamera positioning device 21A is composed of linear-motion rails (axial of screws) 22 a, 22 b, 22 c and sliding (nut)members commodity shelf 80. - The linear-
motion rails commodity shelf 80, and are fixed parallel to each other. The slidingmembers motion rails motion rail 22 c is attached to the slidingmembers motion rails member 23 c is screwed to the linear-motion rail 23 c. TheTV camera 20A is mounted on the slidingmember 23 c, and is angularly moved in the direction of the double arrow “θ” inFIG. 4B by a non-illustrated driving motor. - The linear-
motion rails motion rails members motion rail TV camera 20A all together move in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the double arrow “X”). Rotation of thelinear motion rail 22 c simultaneously moves the slidingmember 23 c and theTV camera 20A in the vertical direction (in the direction of the double arrow “Y”) along the linear-motion rail 22 c. - The
camera controller 13A and themotor driver 15 a control the non-illustrated motors that control rotation of the linear-motion rails the 22 a, 22 b, 22 c and theTV camera 20A thereby remote control the position and the direction of theTV camera 20A in a state of taking as images of the object commodity. - As mentioned above, an inventory employee transmits necessary instructions to the shop (control
computer 10A) from theinventory computer TV camera 20A as taking an image of an object commodity and to remote operate theTV camera 20A to take an image of an object commodity, via thecamera controller 13A, themotor driver 15 a, and thecamera positioning device 21A. - With this controlling of the
TV camera 20A, it is possible for an inventory employee to obtain various images of the selling area using theinventory computers - If a security camera previously installed at the shop is used as the
TV camera 20A, the tele-inventory system 100 can be constructed at a reasonable cost. - (A-5) Detailed Description of Manipulator Section:
- The
manipulator 30A that is installed in the shop in the tele-inventory system 100 will now be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 5A and 5B .FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing an overview of a manipulator section of the tele-inventory system ofFIG. 1 , andFIG. 5B is an enlarged perspective view showing the main part of the manipulator section ofFIG. 5A . The same reference numbers inFIGS. 5A and 5B as those described above designate identical elements or parts, so any repetitious description is omitted here. - As shown in
FIG. 5A , themanipulator 30A includes thecamera positioning device 21A composed of the liner-motion rails members FIG. 4B . The operating end of themanipulator 30A is further fixed to the slidingmember 23 c, to which theTV camera 20A is fixed. - The operating end of the
manipulator 30A consists ofjoints arms mechanism 36. The joint 31 is fixed to the slidingmember 23 c, and angularly moves thearm 35 a in the direction of the double arrow “θ1” by using a non-illustrated motor therein. The joint 32 is fixed to the end portion of thearm 35 a and angularly moves thearm 35 b in the direction of the double arrow “θ2” by using a non-illustrated motor therein. Similarly, the joint 33 is fixed to the end portion of thearm 35 b and angularly moves thearm 35 c in the direction of the double arrow “θ3” by using a non-illustrated motor therein; and the joint 34 is fixed to the end portion of thearm 35 c and angularly moves the entire graspingmechanism 36 in the direction of the double arrow “θ4” by using a non-illustrated motor therein. - The grasping
mechanism 36 comprises a pair offinger members commodities 81 arranged on thecommodity shelf 80. Thefinger members finger members - Since the
manipulator controller 15A and the drivingmotor 15 a controls the non-illustrated motors equipped with the linear-motion rails manipulator 30A grasp and movement operations with respect tocommodities 81, which operations are performed by themanipulator 30A (the grasping member 36), are remotely controlled. - Close positioning of the
TV camera 20A and themanipulator 30A allows an inventory employee at a remote place from the shop to precisely operate theremote manipulator 30A because the inventory employee recognizes relative positioning between the object commodity and the operating end of themanipulator 30A (especially the grasping mechanism 36) with reference to images taken by theTV camera 20A. - In the illustrated embodiment, it is possible for an inventory employee to remotely manipulate the posture and the position of the
commodity 81 using themanipulator controller 15A, themotor driver 15 a and themanipulator 30A as required by transmitting instructions to the shop (thecontrol computer 10A) from theinventory computer - When an inventory employee cannot see an object commodity on the
management display inventory computer manipulator 30A to move the other commodities in such a manner that the object commodity appears on themanagement display - When an inventory employee cannot see the expiration date of an object commodity, which is marked on the package of the object commodity displayed on the
management display manipulator 30A to change the posture of the object commodity in such a manner that the expiration date of the object commodity appears on themanagement display - With the
manipulator 30A, themanipulator controller 15A and the drivingmotor 15 a, it is possible to surely make an inventory of the object commodities (especially, to manage the expiration dates of perishable foods) stocked at a shop based on the obtained images, thereby saving labor of the staff members (clerks) at the shop. - In general, the
manipulator 30A needs four to five degrees of freedom; however some shapes and materials of commodities may be handled by a simpler manipulator with fewer degrees of freedom. - (A-6) Description of Commodity Position Database:
- The
commodity position database 14A in the tele-inventory system 100 (thecontrol computer 10A) will be now described with reference toFIG. 6 . - As shown in
FIG. 6 , thecommodity position database 14A stores commodity information about a correlation between the individual object commodity (a commodity name) that is disposed at a selling area and a position of theTV camera 20A, which position is set for taking an image of the individual object commodity, previously. - Namely, the
commodity position database 14A stores the position and the posture (the orientation) of theTV camera 20A as commodity position information. With thecommodity position database 14A, when theTV camera 20A is arranged at the registered position in the registered posture and is prompted to take an image,TV camera 20A automatically takes an image of an individual object commodity being correlated with the position information in thecommodity position database 14A. If a plurality ofTV cameras 20A are installed in an individual selling area, thecommodity position database 14A also stores information about which TV camera would be used to take an image of an individual object commodity, which information is registered by being correlated with a corresponding commodity name together with the position information. - In the shop of the tele-inventory system 100, since the
commodity position database 14A stores a correlation between the name of an individual object commodity and positioning information about the position and the posture of theTV camera 20A (position information about a position of the individual object commodity), it is possible for an inventory employee, even if having no information about the layout of the selling area, to obtain an image of the desired selling area by only transmitting instructions designating an object commodity name to thecontrol computer 10A (thecamera controller 13A) from theinventory computer - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , since thecustomer information terminals 70, each operated by a customer of the shop, are communicably connected to thecontrol computer 10A of the shop via thetelephone line 60 in the illustrated embodiment, an image of a selling area where a desired target commodity is sold is displayed on a non-illustrated display of thecustomer information terminal 70 by only sending thecontrol computer 10A a direction containing the name of the desired target commodity to activate thecommodity position database 14A and thecamera controller 13A. As an advantageous result, customers can obtain and see the image, and can confirm whether or not a target commodity is available at the shop in real time before going to the shop, thereby receiving supplementary services. - (A-7) Description of a Function for Assisting in Operation of the Tele-Inventory System:
- A function for assisting in operation of the tele-inventory system 100 (the
inventory computers FIG. 7 . - In the illustrated embodiment, an inventory employee, which operates the
inventory computer marker 55, thecounter 56, themouse - As shown in
FIG. 7 , when an inventory employee indicates an image of an individual object commodity with a cursor and clicks the images with themouse marker 55 labels the clicked image of the individual commodity (located at the position at which themouse management display counter 56 counts the clicks thereby automatically counting the clicked images of the object commodities. Further, labeling the clicked images of the object commodities with the predetermined marks M1 helps the inventory employee to clarify images of an object commodity that has been already counted, which images are displayed on themanagement display - If the inventory employee found an expired commodity in the images of the object commodities, which images are displayed on the
management display mouse management display - As mentioned above, because an inventory employee can precisely count the object commodity to be inventoried with reference to the predetermined marks M1 with which images of the object commodities are labeled on the
management display - Since a particular commodity, such as an expired commodity, labeled with the predetermined special mark M2, it is possible for an inventory employee to discriminate the particular commodity from commodities other than the particular commodity, by referring to images of the particular commodity and the other commodities, which images are displayed on the
management display - When the
inventory computer clerk computer 10B disposed at the shop, an inventory employee that operates theinventory computer - If the mobile information terminal 50C is equipped with the
pointing device 54, themarker 55, and thecounter 56, the mobile information terminal 50C guarantees the same advantageous results as those of theinventory computer - Further, the present invention should by no means be limited to this foregoing embodiment, and various changes or modifications may be suggested without departing from the gist of the invention.
- In the first embodiment, the in-shop terminal 10 (the
control computer 10A and theclerk computer 10B) is communicably connected to the remote management apparatus 50 (theinventory computers LAN 40 and thetelephone line 60. As an alternative, the in-shop terminal 10 and theremote management apparatus 50 may be communicably connected via a network, such as Internet, Intranet, or a dedicated communication line. - Still further, the
mice pointing device 54 in the first embodiment. However, thepointing device 54 should by no means be limited to a mouse. As an alternative, thepointing device 54 may be a track ball, a track pad, a tablet, a pen device (a stylus pen), or a joy stick.
Claims (4)
1. A remote management apparatus for use in a tele-inventory system in which various kinds of object commodities in a shop are inventoried by a human operator from the remote management apparatus, comprising:
image-receiver means for receiving images of the object commodities from a image-transmitter means for transmitting images of the object commodities taken by a camera of the shop;
display means for displaying the taken images of the object commodities which images have been received by the image-receiver means;
makers means for selectively labeling the taken image of an individual object commodity pointed by the human operator in the displayed taken images, with either one of a predetermined mark and a special mark other than the predetermined mark; and
counter means for counting the number of images of the object commodities which images each have been labeled with the predetermined mark by the marker means.
2. A remote management apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
instruction-transmitter means for transmitting instructions of the human operator to the shop.
3. A remote management apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the marked image, which is the image labeled with the predetermined special mark by the marker means, is returned to the shop together with instructions of the operator.
4. A remote inventory management method, comprising:
receiving images of object commodities from a image-transmitter means for transmitting images of the object commodities taken by a camera of the shop;
displaying the taken images of the object commodities which images have been received by the image-receiver means;
selectively labeling the taken images of an individual object commodity pointed by a human operator in the taken images displayed by the displaying, with either one of a predetermined mark and a special mark other than the predetermined mark; and
counting the number of images of the object commodities which images each have been labeled with the predetermined mark by said selectively labeling.
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US11/862,770 US20080027838A1 (en) | 2001-03-29 | 2007-09-27 | Tele-inventory system, and in-shop terminal and remote management apparatus for the system |
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Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20020143672A1 (en) | 2002-10-03 |
US7290707B2 (en) | 2007-11-06 |
JP2002293416A (en) | 2002-10-09 |
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