System and method of monitoring retail units
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An imaging system for retail brand management, the system comprising:
- a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of retail items;
an access opening associated with the housing;
a door configured to pivot toward and away from the access opening about a pivot axis, the door including a peripheral frame;
at least one image sensor configured to acquire images of the plurality of retail items;
at least one sensor housing mountable on an inside panel of the door on a side of the peripheral frame of the door opposite the pivot axis, wherein the at least one sensor housing is configured to enable adjustment of a field of view of the at least one image sensor in two perpendicular planes and positioning the at least one image sensor such that when the door is opened to a predetermined angle, a field of view of the at least one image sensor substantially covers the access opening; and
at least one processor configured to;
detect a change between two successive images captured by the at least one image sensor to thereby determine opening of the door;
increase an image acquisition frequency of the at least one image sensor upon detection of the opening of the door, wherein the image acquisition frequency is increased from a continuous image acquisition frequency to an increased image acquisition frequency;
analyze images acquired by the at least one image sensor to determine that the door has been opened for a period of time greater than a predetermined opening duration threshold; and
transmit data associated with images acquired during the period of time to a remote control center for determining how the retail items are assorted in the housing and for assessing whether the displayed retail items comply with predefined assortment rules.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a retail unit comprising: a display module capable of accommodating one or more retail items; a door module configured to pivot away from the display module; and an imaging module coupled to the door module and configured to allow imaging of the display module.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. An imaging system for retail brand management, the system comprising:
-
a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of retail items; an access opening associated with the housing; a door configured to pivot toward and away from the access opening about a pivot axis, the door including a peripheral frame; at least one image sensor configured to acquire images of the plurality of retail items; at least one sensor housing mountable on an inside panel of the door on a side of the peripheral frame of the door opposite the pivot axis, wherein the at least one sensor housing is configured to enable adjustment of a field of view of the at least one image sensor in two perpendicular planes and positioning the at least one image sensor such that when the door is opened to a predetermined angle, a field of view of the at least one image sensor substantially covers the access opening; and at least one processor configured to; detect a change between two successive images captured by the at least one image sensor to thereby determine opening of the door; increase an image acquisition frequency of the at least one image sensor upon detection of the opening of the door, wherein the image acquisition frequency is increased from a continuous image acquisition frequency to an increased image acquisition frequency; analyze images acquired by the at least one image sensor to determine that the door has been opened for a period of time greater than a predetermined opening duration threshold; and transmit data associated with images acquired during the period of time to a remote control center for determining how the retail items are assorted in the housing and for assessing whether the displayed retail items comply with predefined assortment rules. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A method for retail brand management using an imaging system including a housing configured to accommodate a plurality of retail items, an access opening associated with the housing, and a door having a peripheral frame and configured to pivot toward and away from the access opening about a pivot axis, the method comprising:
-
positioning at least one image sensor using at least one sensor housing such that when the door is opened to a predetermined angle, a field of view of the at least one image sensor substantially covers the access opening, wherein the at least one sensor housing is mountable on an inside panel of the door on a side of the peripheral frame of the door opposite the pivot axis, the at least one sensor housing is configured to enable adjustment of a field of view of the at least one image sensor in two perpendicular planes; detecting a change between two successive images captured by the at least one image sensor to thereby determine opening of the door; increasing an image acquisition frequency of the at least one image sensor upon detection of the opening of the door, wherein the image acquisition frequency is increased from a continuous image acquisition frequency to an increased image acquisition frequency; analyzing images acquired by the at least one image sensor to determine that the door has been opened for a period of time greater than a predetermined opening duration threshold; and transmitting data associated with images acquired to a remote control center for determining how the retail items are assorted in the housing and for assessing whether the displayed retail items comply with predefined assortment rules. - View Dependent Claims (13)
-
Specification