Methods and systems for monitoring or tracking products in a retail shopping facility

• US 10,198,711 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2018
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Jones, Nicholaus A., Jones, Matthew A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Iwarere, Oluseye
• Application Number:
  US15/883,275
• Publication Number:
  US 20180247255A1
• Time in Patent Office: 371 Days
• Field of Search: 705 28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1404 Methods for optical code recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06311 Scheduling, planning or task assignment for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 10/50 Systems or methods supporting the power network operation or management, involving a certain degree of interaction with the load-side end user applications

Abstract

In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful for a retail shopping facility to track products being shelved therein. In one example, this tracking is accomplished without the use of RFID tags and RFID readers, but instead, employs overhead electronic image capturing devices. By one approach, the images obtained are compared to a store planogram and alerts are sent to the associate or worker stocking the shelves to correct the stocking process. As the images may be captured and analyzed in real-time, the system may redirect the worker during the shelving process to prevent items from being stocked or shelved in an incorrect location for long. In one embodiment, the system includes a product database, overhead electronic image capturing devices, portable electronic devices, and a control circuit in communication with the product database, overhead electronic image capturing devices, and the portable electronic devices.

Claims

1. A retail product tracking system for automatically tracking products unloaded from a delivery vehicle and shelved in a retail store, the retail product tracking system comprising:

a product database of retail items, aisle locations associated with at least some of the retail items, and a store planogram of intended aisle locations for at least some of the retail items;

overhead electronic image capturing devices disposed in a retail store, the overhead electronic image capturing devices configured to capture images of store associates stocking shelves in the retail store and data gloves worn by the store associates, the data gloves having markings associated with a particular worker wearing the data gloves;

a portable electronic device configured to be carried by a worker of the retail store;

a barcode reader at an exit location of a delivery vehicle, the barcode reader configured to recognize a product being unloaded from the delivery vehicle via a product barcode; and

a control circuit in communication with the product database and the overhead electronic image capturing devices, the control circuit configured to;

correlate a particular product in the product database with a particular store worker at a dock area of the retail store by receiving the product barcode from the barcode reader;

receive at least some of the captured images of the store aisles and associating the captured images received with an aisle of the retail store;

determine an updated location of the particular product and the particular store worker by analyzing one of the received captured images and a location of the particular store worker along the aisle of the retail store;

compare the updated location of the particular product with the store planogram; and

upon determining that the updated location of the particular product does not correspond to location information in the store planogram, send an alert to the particular store worker, via the portable electronic device, that the particular product is not being shelved in its intended aisle location according to the store planogram.

2. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit is further configured to analyze the markings and a size of the markings on the data gloves to determine whether the particular store worker is stocking the particular product at a height corresponding to an intended shelf location for the particular retail product in the store planogram.

3. The retail product tracking system of claim 2 wherein the control circuit is further configured to send the worker electronic device a notice of improper shelving upon a determination that the height at which the particular product was being shelved does not correlate to the intended shelf location for the particular product in the store planogram.

4. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the overhead electronic image capturing devices capture images of multiple store aisles.

5. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit correlates the particular product in the product database with the particular store worker by analyzing a vehicle planogram received with an incoming shipment and a dock electronic image of the data gloves worn by the particular store worker, the dock electronic image captured by one of the overhead electronic image capturing devices located in the dock area.

6. The retail product tracking system of claim 5 wherein the control circuit associates the particular store worker and the particular product with one another in the product database.

7. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the barcode reader is a tunnel scanner.

8. The retail product tracking system of claim 7 wherein the control circuit correlates the particular product in the product database with the particular store worker by analyzing the dock electronic image captured by one of the overhead electronic image capturing devices located in the dock area and the product bar code transmitted from the barcode reader.

9. The retail product tracking system of claim 8 wherein the control circuit associates the particular store worker moving the particular product with the particular product in the product database.

10. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the database of retail items and the aisle locations indicate product placement information within a four-foot area.

11. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the overhead electronic image capturing device includes a memory configured to store at least some of the electronic images taken by a camera of the overhead electronic image capturing device and a power storage device.

12. The retail product tracking system of claim 11 wherein the electronic image capturing device further includes a transmitter configured to transmit at least some of the captured images to at least one of the control circuits, the product database, or a central computer.

13. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the overhead electronic image capturing devices are distributed throughout the retail store such that substantially all of the store aisles are within a camera view of at least one of the overhead electronic image capturing devices.

14. The retail product tracking system of claim 1 wherein the store workers are further indicated by a particular color garment to distinguish the store workers from customers and the control circuit is further configured to distinguish the store workers from the customers accordingly.

15. A method for tracking retail products as they are stocked in a retail store, the method comprising:

maintaining a product database of retail items, aisle locations associated with at least some of the retail items, and a store planogram of intended aisle locations for the retail items;

capturing, through overhead electronic image capturing devices disposed in a retail store, images of store workers stocking shelves in the retail store and data gloves worn by the store workers, the data gloves having markings associated with a particular worker wearing the data gloves;

correlating a particular product in the product database with a particular store worker at a dock area of the retail store;

associating at least some of the captured images with an aisle of the retail store;

analyzing one of the captured images of the store workers stocking shelves and the data gloves worn by the store worker;

determining an updated location of the particular product and the particular store worker along the aisle of the retail store;

comparing the updated location of the particular product with the store planogram; and

upon determining that the updated location of the particular product does not correspond to the intended aisle location of the particular product in the store planogram, sending an alert to the particular store worker, via a worker electronic device, that the particular product is not being shelved in its intended aisle location according to the store planogram.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising analyzing a size of the markings on the data gloves to determine whether the particular store worker is stocking the particular product at a height corresponding to an intended shelf location for the particular retail product in the store planogram.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising analyzing a vehicle planogram received with an incoming shipment to correlate the particular product with the particular store worker at the dock area of the retail store.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising scanning a product barcode at the dock area, via a barcode reader, to correlate the particular product with the particular store worker at the dock area of the retail store.