Search article estimation apparatus and method and server for search article estimation apparatus

• US 20070208736A1
• Filed: 04/27/2007
• Published: 09/06/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Piece Future Pte., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanigawa, Toru, Yamada, Osamu, Okamoto, Shusaku, Naruoka, Tomonobu
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,427 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A search article estimation apparatus is provided that is capable of estimating an article that a user is trying to search for, even when the user cannot accurately provide information on the article that the user wants to search for. The state of access to a storage equipment by the user and a change in articles in the storage equipment during the access are checked by a sensing apparatus. If there is no change in articles, then a search state detection means determines that the user has performed an article search but has been unable to find the article. Furthermore, a search article estimation means refers to a storage location database and estimates an article that should originally be stored in the storage equipment, to be the article that the user is searching for.

Claims

1. A search article estimation apparatus comprising:

an article information database for storing therein article information necessary to estimate an article;

a storage location database for storing therein a storage location of the article stored in the article information database;

a sensing apparatus that is disposed in a living environment, for detecting at least article location information capable of estimating a location of the article, and access state estimation information capable of estimating a state of access, by a user, to a storage equipment at the storage location of the article,

a timer for obtaining a time;

an environment database for storing therein a map of the environment and installation locations of the storage equipment and the sensing apparatus which are disposed in the environment;

an information processing means for determining, based on the installation location of the sensing apparatus stored in the environment database, the article location information and the access state estimation information which are detected by the sensing apparatus, and the time obtained by the timer, information on a location of the article at a time at which the sensing apparatus detects the article location information and the access state estimation information, and access state information that indicates a state of access to the storage equipment by the user;

an article location history database for storing therein the information on the location of the article determined by the information processing means, together with the time at which the sensing apparatus detects the article location information;

an equipment operation history database for storing therein the access state information that indicates the state of access to the storage equipment by the user and that is obtained by the information processing means, together with the time at which the sensing apparatus detects the access state estimation information;

a search state detection means for detecting, when the user searches for the article by the access to the storage equipment, whether there is a change in article presence/absence in the storage equipment between when the access to the storage equipment is started and when the access to the storage equipment ends; and

a search article estimation means for estimating, when the search state detection means detects that there is no change in the article presence/absence in the storage equipment, the article that the user is searching for, by referring to the storage location database, the article location history database, and the equipment operation history database.

2. The search article estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the sensing apparatus further detects an open/close state of an open/close function provided to the storage equipment,

the search article estimation apparatus further comprises a hard-to-see area estimation means for estimating an area of the storage equipment that is hard for the user to see, according to a degree of opening and closing of the open/close function during a period of time from when the user starts the access to the storage equipment until the user ends the access, the degree of opening and closing being detected by the sensing apparatus, and

the search article estimation means estimates the article that the user is searching for, by further referring to a result of the estimation made by the hard-to-see area estimation means.

3. The search article estimation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a user information database for storing therein a user ID of the user and user information necessary to estimate the user ID; and

an owner database for storing therein information on an owner of the article stored in the article information database, wherein

the sensing apparatus further detects the user information by which the user can be estimated,

the information processing means further estimates the user ID by referring to the user information database based on the user information detected by the sensing apparatus, and

the search article estimation means estimates the article that the user is searching for, by further referring to the user ID and the information on the owner of the article stored in the owner database.

4. The search article estimation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article information database further stores therein information on an article combination of a plurality of articles.

5. The search article estimation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a same article search estimation means for estimating whether a search is made for a same single article, based on a period of time from when the access to the storage equipment by the user ends until when access to another storage equipment by the user is started, wherein

the search article estimation means estimates the article that the user is searching for, based further on a result of the estimation made by the same article search estimation means.

6. A server for a search article estimation apparatus, the server comprising:

an article information database for storing therein article information necessary to estimate an article;

a storage location database for storing therein a storage location of the article stored in the article information database;

an environment database for storing therein a map of a living environment and installation locations of an equipment, a storage equipment at the storage location of the article, and the sensing apparatus which are disposed in the environment;

an information processing means for determining, based on the environment database and article location information and access state estimation information which are detected by the sensing apparatus that is disposed in the environment and detects at least the article location information by which a location of the article can be estimated, and the access state estimation information by which a state of access to the storage equipment by a user can be estimated, information on a current location of the article and access state information that indicates information on the state of access to the storage equipment by the user;

an article location history database for storing therein the information on the location of the article determined by the information processing means, together with a time at which the sensing apparatus detects the information;

an equipment operation history database for storing therein the access state information that indicates the state of access to the storage equipment by the user and that is obtained by the information processing means, together with a time at which the sensing apparatus detects the information;

a search state detection means for detecting, when the user searches for the article by the access to the storage equipment, whether there is a change in article presence/absence in the storage equipment between when the access to the storage equipment is started and when the access to the storage equipment ends; and

a search article estimation means for estimating, when the search state detection means detects that there is no change in the article presence/absence, the article that the user is searching for, by referring to the storage location database, the article location history database, and the equipment operation history database.

7. A search article estimation method comprising:

detecting at least, by a sensing apparatus disposed in a living environment, article location information by which a location of an article can be estimated, and access state estimation information by which a state of access to a storage equipment by a user can be estimated;

obtaining, from an environment database that stores therein the detected article location information and access state estimation information and a map of the environment and installation locations of the storage equipment and the sensing apparatus which are disposed in the environment, a current location of the article and the access state information that indicates the state of access to the storage equipment by the user;

detecting, when the user searches for the article by the access to the storage equipment, whether there is a change in article presence/absence in the storage equipment between when the access to the storage equipment is started and when the access to the storage equipment ends; and

estimating the article that the user is searching for.