EMERGENCY REPORTING APPARATUS, EMERGENCY REPORTING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20160171843A1
• Filed: 11/09/2015
• Published: 06/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: SATO, Yoshihiro, SUZUKI, Hideo, AKAO, Hiroshi, OGISHIMA, Kiyoshi
• Granted Patent: US 10,210,718 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0027 Details of drawer or money-box
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 3/003 Anti-theft control theft alarms G08B13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/196 using television cameras

Abstract

An emergency reporting apparatus of the present invention includes: a determining unit that determines an emergency state based on an image photographed by a photographing unit while a cash drawer keeping cash therein is left open; and a reporting unit that transmits an emergency report to a predetermined report addressee based on a result of the determination made by the determining unit.

Claims

1. An emergency reporting apparatus comprising:

a determining unit configured to determine an emergency state based on an image photographed by a photographing unit while a cash drawer keeping cash therein is left open; and

a reporting unit configured to transmit an emergency report to a predetermined report addressee based on a result of the determination made by the determining unit.

2. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit determines the emergency state based on a degree of similarity between a feature amount of an emergency-indicating event and a feature amount of a photographed object, the feature amount of the photographed object being calculated from the photographed image.

3. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the emergency-indicating event is one of a key to the cash drawer, cash kept in the cash drawer, and a predetermined shape or gesture made with a hand.

4. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the emergency-indicating event is the largest denomination bill.

5. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the photographing unit photographs an area in which an object to be subjected to merchandise item identification is placed, and

the determining unit determines the emergency state based on a photographed image of the area photographed by the photographing unit.

6. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the photographing unit photographs a predetermined area, the predetermined area being different from an area in which the cash drawer is provided, and

the determining unit determines the emergency state based on a photographed image of the predetermined area photographed by the photographing unit.

7. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the determining unit determines the emergency state when a predetermined amount of bills are photographed by the photographing unit.

8. The emergency reporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determining unit does not determine the emergency state while the cash drawer is closed.

9. An emergency reporting method comprising the steps of:

determining an emergency state based on an image photographed by a photographing unit while a cash drawer keeping cash therein is left open; and

transmitting an emergency report to a predetermined report addressee based on a result of the determination made in the determining step.

10. The emergency reporting method according to claim 9, wherein the determining step includes determining the emergency state based on a degree of similarity between a feature amount of an emergency-indicating event and a feature amount of a photographed object, the feature amount of the photographed object being calculated from the photographed image.

11. The emergency reporting method according to claim 10, wherein the emergency-indicating event is one of a key to the cash drawer, cash kept in the cash drawer, and a predetermined shape or gesture made with a hand.

12. The emergency reporting method according to claim 10, wherein the emergency-indicating event is the largest denomination bill.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer of an emergency reporting apparatus to carry out the steps of:

determining an emergency state based on an image photographed by a photographing unit while a cash drawer keeping cash therein is left open; and

transmitting an emergency report to a predetermined report addressee based on a result of the determination.

14. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 13, wherein the determining step includes determining the emergency state based on a degree of similarity between a feature amount of an emergency-indicating event and a feature amount of a photographed object, the feature amount of the photographed object being calculated from the photographed image.

15. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 14, wherein the emergency-indicating event is one of a key to the cash drawer, cash kept in the cash drawer, and a predetermined shape or gesture made with a hand.

16. The computer-readable recording medium according to claim 14, wherein the emergency-indicating event is the largest denomination bill.