INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SERVER, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, INVENTORY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM, AND INVENTORY MANAGEMENT METHOD

• US 20190311317A1
• Filed: 07/18/2017
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Suncreer Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Suncreer Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: MORI, Masato
• Granted Patent: US 11,328,250 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 61/00 Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5866 using information manually generated, e.g. tags, keywords, comments, manually generated location and time information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/68 Food, e.g. fruit or vegetables

Abstract

To provide an inventory management server, an inventory management system, an inventory management program, and an inventory management method which are capable of carrying out inventory management such as warehousing processing and delivery processing easily and inexpensively by using an image for identifying merchandise together with an image of the merchandise. Provided is an inventory management server 4 for carrying out inventory management using images of merchandise, the inventory management server 4 including: a warehousing data acquisition unit 61 which acquires warehousing data from a user terminal, the warehousing data including a merchandise basic image obtained by photographing merchandise to be warehoused, an identification information image obtained by photographing identification information on the merchandise, a warehoused quantity of the merchandise, and a warehousing date of the merchandise; and an inventory data storage unit 52 which stores the identification information image and the warehoused quantity and warehousing date of the merchandise as inventory data in association with the acquired merchandise basic image.

Claims

1. An inventory management server for carrying out inventory management by using images of merchandise, comprising:

a warehousing data acquisition unit which acquires warehousing data from a user terminal, the warehousing data including a merchandise basic image obtained by photographing merchandise to be warehoused, an identification information image obtained by photographing identification information on the merchandise, a warehoused quantity of the merchandise, and a warehousing date of the merchandise; and

an inventory data storage unit which stores the identification information image and the warehoused quantity and warehousing date of the merchandise as inventory data in association with the acquired merchandise basic image.

2. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a delivery merchandise image acquisition unit which acquires, from the user terminal, a delivery merchandise image obtained by photographing merchandise to be delivered or merchandise similar to the merchandise to be delivered;

a similar image discrimination unit which compares the acquired delivery merchandise image with the merchandise basic image stored in the inventory data storage unit and discriminates an image similar to the delivery merchandise image; and

a display control unit which causes the user terminal to display, as a candidate for delivery merchandise, the inventory data corresponding to the merchandise basic image discriminated to be similar to the delivery merchandise image.

3. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising

an identification information text processing unit which converts the identification information included in the identification information image into text data by image analysis and causes the inventory data storage unit to store the identification information as the inventory data in association with the merchandise basic image.

4. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display control unit which causes the user terminal to display the inventory data in the inventory data storage unit as a candidate for delivery merchandise; and

a quantity management unit which acquires, as a delivery quantity, a number of taps or a number of clicks of the merchandise basic image or identification information image displayed on the user terminal and causes the inventory data storage unit to store the delivery quantity as the inventory data in association with the merchandise basic image.

5. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising

a display control unit which causes the user terminal to display the inventory data in the inventory data storage unit as a candidate for delivery merchandise, wherein

the display control unit has a list display mode to cause the user terminal to display a list of all of the merchandise basic image and the identification information image and a switching display mode to cause the user terminal to display either the merchandise basic image or identification information image and switch the displayed image to another image every time the displayed image is tapped or swiped.

6. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising

a time limit management unit which, when a merchandise basic image or an identification information image is transmitted to a user terminal, if a predetermined time limit set to corresponding merchandise is close, causes the user terminal to superimpose and display such notice on the merchandise basic image or identification information image.

7. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising:

a display control unit which causes the user terminal to display the inventory data in the inventory data storage unit as a candidate for delivery merchandise; and

a sales management unit which acquires a delivery quantity of the merchandise and a sales unit price of the merchandise displayed on the user terminal from the user terminal and causes the inventory data storage unit to store the delivery quantity and the sales unit price in association with the merchandise basic image.

8. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising

an ordering management unit which acquires the identification information image of merchandise to be ordered and an order quantity of the merchandise from the user terminal and causes an order data storage unit to store the order quantity as order data in association with the identification information image.

9. The inventory management server according to claim 1, further comprising

a warehousing merchandise image extraction unit which extracts the merchandise basic image or identification information image for each merchandise type from the merchandise basic image or identification information image by image analysis if the merchandise basic image or identification information image acquired by the warehousing data acquisition unit includes multiple types of merchandise or multiple pieces of identification information.

10. The inventory management server according to claim 2, further comprising

a delivery merchandise image extraction unit which extracts the delivery merchandise image for each merchandise type from the delivery merchandise image by image analysis if the delivery merchandise image acquired by the delivery merchandise image acquisition unit includes multiple types of merchandise.

11. An inventory management system, comprising the inventory management server according to claim 1 and a user terminal which performs warehousing processing for warehousing merchandise to the inventory management server and delivery processing for delivering merchandise from the inventory management server.

12. An inventory management program for carrying out inventory management by using images of merchandise, the inventory management program causing a computer to function as:

a warehousing data acquisition unit which acquires warehousing data from a user terminal, the warehousing data including a merchandise basic image obtained by photographing merchandise to be warehoused, an identification information image obtained by photographing identification information on the merchandise, a warehoused quantity of the merchandise, and a warehousing date of the merchandise; and

an inventory data storage unit which stores the identification information image and the warehoused quantity and warehousing date of the merchandise as inventory data in association with the acquired merchandise basic image.

13. An inventory management method for carrying out inventory management by using images of merchandise, comprising:

a warehousing data acquisition step of acquiring warehousing data from a user terminal, the warehousing data including a merchandise basic image obtained by photographing merchandise to be warehoused, an identification information image obtained by photographing identification information on the merchandise, a warehoused quantity of the merchandise, and a warehousing date of the merchandise; and

an inventory data storage step of storing the identification information image and the warehoused quantity and warehousing date of the merchandise as inventory data in association with the acquired merchandise basic image.