STOCK ANALYTIC MONITORING

• US 20130039543A1
• Filed: 10/22/2012
• Published: 02/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Fuhr, Jaclyn, Ascher, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,024,755 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19613 Recognition of a predetermined image pattern or behaviour pattern indicating theft or intrusion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations

Abstract

In selected embodiments video footage is automatically analyzed to determine whether product stock levels at particular product locations are low. Video analytics may be employed to track product removal from shelves and determine approximate quantities of product remaining on each shelf based on product size and dedicated shelf area. In selected implementations an alarm notification is generated to alert store personnel that restocking is appropriate. Such an alarm notification optionally includes a still image of the area corresponding to the alarm together with data related to the product and projected quantities needed to restock the shelf. In some embodiments the system automatically identifies the store personnel who are currently located in areas near where the alarm event occurred and the notification is wirelessly distributed to their mobile devices.

Claims

1-24. -24. (canceled)

25. A method for monitoring and reporting an actual in-stock value of an item at a location of a retail facility, comprising:

receiving video of a product location in a retail facility, the video being captured by a video monitoring device with a field of view that includes the product location;

detecting an item removal event by analyzing, with a computing device, the video of the product location, the item removal event being detected when an item has been removed from the product location;

in response to detection of the item removal event, adjusting, with a computing device, the actual in-stock value of the item located in the product location;

tracking the actual in-stock value, with a computing device, to determine whether the actual in-stock value meets a first user selected threshold in-stock value that is greater than zero;

in response to the actual in-stock value meeting the first user selected threshold in-stock value, generating with a computing device a real-time graphical report for the item, the report indicating the actual in-stock value over a user selected period of time for the item, the report further indicating a second user selected threshold in-stock value associated with a minimum in-stock value for the item; and

generating an alert, with a computing device, when the actual in-stock value meets the second user selected threshold in-stock value.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the actual in-stock value is tracked over a selected period of time and the computing device generates an average in-stock value.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the graphical report includes in-stock values for each of a plurality of items.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein a different second user selected threshold is selected for each of the plurality of items.

29. A video analytic process for monitoring and graphically reporting stock levels at a retail facility, comprising:

capturing by a video monitoring device a plurality of products at a product location at a retail facility;

analyzing, using a computer, product removals from the product location captured by the video monitoring device;

reporting via a user interface in a graphical form stock levels at the product location based on the analysis of product removals captured by the video monitoring device;

wherein the graphical form is a line graph having an X axis representing elapsed time and a Y axis representing stock levels; and

displaying a stock level line on the line graph.

30. The video analytic process as set forth in claim 29, further comprising the step of:

displaying a predetermined minimum stock level threshold indicator line on the line graph indicating a minimum stock level threshold greater than zero.

31. The video analytic process as set forth in claim 30, further comprising the step of:

automatically providing a restocking alarm when the stock level line intersects the minimum stock level threshold indicator line.

32. The video analytic process as set forth in claim 30, wherein the plurality of products includes products having a different product shape and the line graph includes a stock level line for each product of different product shape.

33. The video analytic process as set forth in claim 32, wherein each stock level line for each product of a different product shape is a different color.

34. The video analytic process as set forth in claim 33, wherein the line graph includes a predetermined minimum stock level threshold indicator line having a color corresponding to the color of the stock level line for each product of a different product shape.

35. A stock level status video monitoring apparatus comprising:

a video monitoring device for recording removal of stock items from a shelf in a retail facility;

a computer system connected to said video monitoring device;

said computer system having an analytic capability for automatically determining when one of said stock items is removed from said shelf by automatically analyzing video recorded by said video monitoring device;

a display device configured to graphically display stock levels based upon the determination by said computer system that stock items have been removed from said shelf; and

said display device being further configured to graphically display a predetermined minimum stock level.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

an alarm system for generating an alarm when said stock level reaches the minimum stock level.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein:

the video monitoring device has a field of view which encompasses a plurality of different stock items and said computer system can determine stock levels for each of said different stock items.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein:

said display device graphically displays a separate stock level for each of said different stock items.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein:

said display device graphically displays each of said separate stock levels as a different color for each of said different stock items.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein:

said display device graphically displays a predetermined minimum threshold stock level for each of said different stock item.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the apparatus further includes an alarm system for generating a low stock alarm notification when said stock level falls below said predetermined minimum threshold stock level.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the low stock alarm notification is sent to a plurality of computing devices.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the plurality of computing devices include a user device carried by store personnel.

44. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the alarm notification provides information describing the stock item and its location.