SALES APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20180300980A1
• Filed: 03/09/2018
• Published: 10/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2017
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Iwamura, Yuki, SAWAGUCHI, Toshimitsu
• Application Number:
  US15/917,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20180300980A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0235 constrained by time limit or expiration date
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0238 at point-of-sale [POS]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

A sales apparatus includes a receptacle; a column that houses a plurality of goods to be sold and transports the plurality of goods to the receptacle; a memory in which inventory information indicating an inventory status of the column of the plurality of goods is stored; and a processor coupled to the memory and configured to: update the inventory information each time the plurality of goods are transported from the column to the receptacle, and when referencing the inventory information and detecting that, out of a plurality of specific goods in inventory among the plurality of goods, a plurality of target goods to be subject to selling processing at a first selling price are out of inventory, suppress transportation processing of the plurality of specific goods from the column to the receptacle even when the plurality of specific goods in inventory remain.

Claims

1. A sales apparatus, comprising:

a receptacle;

a column that houses a plurality of goods to be sold and transports the plurality of goods to the receptacle;

a memory in which inventory information indicating an inventory status of the column of the plurality of goods is stored; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to;

update the inventory information each time the plurality of goods are transported from the column to the receptacle, and

when referencing the inventory information and detecting that, among a plurality of specific goods in inventory among the plurality of goods, a plurality of target goods to be subject to selling processing at a first selling price are out of inventory, suppress transportation processing of the plurality of specific goods from the column to the receptacle even when the plurality of specific goods in inventory remain.

2. The sales apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of target goods are goods for which a given time period has elapsed during which the goods have not been sold since restocking, among the plurality of specific goods.

3. The sales apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the plurality of target goods are goods for which a time period remaining until a sell-by date is less than or equal to a given time period, among the specific goods.

4. The sales apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the inventory status indicates:

which of goods among the plurality of specific goods in inventory have been restocked and when the goods, among the plurality of specific goods in inventory, were restocked, or

which of goods, among the plurality of specific goods in inventory will reach a sell-by date and the corresponding sell-by date.

5. The sales apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to:

execute change processing for changing a selling price of the plurality of specific goods from the first selling price to a second selling price, and

when, after the change processing, there is no detection of a person by a person sensor for a given time or longer, no detection of an operation of an operation unit for a given time or longer, or no detection of display on a goods purchase screen for a given time or longer, change the selling price of the plurality of specific goods from the second selling price to the first selling price or a third selling price.

6. The sales apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the second selling price is lower than the first selling price.

7. The sales apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to

when detecting that, out of the plurality of specific goods in inventory, a plurality of goods to be sold at the second selling price are out of inventory, change the selling price of the plurality of specific goods from the second selling price to the first selling price or the third selling price.

8. A control method executed by a processor included in a sales apparatus that sells a plurality of goods to be sold, the sales apparatus including a receptacle, a column that houses the plurality of goods and transports the plurality of goods to the receptacle, and a memory in which inventory information indicating an inventory status in the column of the plurality of goods is stored, the control method comprising:

updating the inventory information each time the plurality of goods are transported from the column to the receptacle; and

when referencing the inventory information and detecting that, among a plurality of specific goods in inventory among the plurality of goods, a plurality of target goods to be subject to selling processing at a first selling price are out of inventory, suppress transportation processing of the plurality of specific goods from the column to the receptacle even when the plurality of specific goods in inventory remain.

9. The control method according to claim 8,

wherein the plurality of target goods are goods for which a given time period has elapsed during which the goods have not been sold since restocking, among the plurality of specific goods.

10. The control method according to claim 8,

wherein the plurality of target goods are goods for which a time period remaining until a sell-by date is less than or equal to a given time period, among the specific goods.

11. The control method according to claim 9, wherein the inventory status indicates:

which of goods among the plurality of specific goods in inventory have been restocked and when the goods, among the plurality of specific goods in inventory, were restocked, or

which of goods, among the plurality of specific goods in inventory will reach a sell-by date and the corresponding sell-by date.

12. The control method according to claim 8, further comprises:

executing change processing for changing a selling price of the plurality of specific goods from the first selling price to a second selling price, and

when, after the change processing, there is no detection of a person by a person sensor for a given time or longer, no detection of an operation of an operation unit for a given time or longer, or no detection of display on a goods purchase screen for a given time or longer, changing the selling price of the plurality of specific goods from the second selling price to the first selling price or a third selling price.

13. The control method according to claim 12,

wherein the second selling price is lower than the first selling price.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes a processor included in a sales apparatus that sells a plurality of goods to be sold to execute a process, the sales apparatus including a receptacle, a column that houses the plurality of goods and transports the plurality of goods to the receptacle, and a memory in which inventory information indicating an inventory status in the column of the plurality of goods is stored, the process comprising:

updating the inventory information each time the plurality of goods are transported from the column to the receptacle; and

when referencing the inventory information and detecting that, among a plurality of specific goods in inventory among the plurality of goods, the plurality of target goods to be subject to selling processing at a first selling price are out of inventory, suppress transportation processing of the plurality of specific goods from the column to the receptacle even when the plurality of specific goods in inventory remain.