Object management apparatus

• US 7,474,213 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2005
• Issued: 01/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Alpine Electronics Incorporated (Alps Alpine Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Tsuboi, Shoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu; Julie
• Application Number:
  US11/194,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036643A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

An object management apparatus is provided which can reliably and easily perform a confirmation operation of necessary objects depending on a destination when a vehicle travels. The object management apparatus comprises an object database for storing therein a list of necessary objects depending on the destination, a navigation device for setting a destination for travel of the vehicle, an object detector for detecting objects present in the vehicle, a missing-object determination section for comparing the actually detected objects with the list of the necessary objects corresponding to the destination to determine whether any object included in the list is missing or not, and a notification section for providing a notice when an object is missing.

Claims

1. An object management apparatus comprising:

a destination-oriented object-list storage section for storing therein a list of necessary objects depending on a destination;

a destination setting section for setting the destination for travel of a vehicle;

an object detector for detecting objects carried by the vehicle;

a missing-object determination section for determining a list of necessary objects based on a genre associated with the destination set by said destination setting section and for comparing the objects detected by said object detector with the determined list to determine whether any object included in the list is missing or not; and

a missing-object notification section for providing a notice when an object is determined to be missing by said missing-object determination section;

wherein said missing-object notification section provides the notice by displaying a list of the missing objects, and the missing-object list included in the notice provided by said missing-object notification section includes information indicative of a degree of necessity of each of the missing objects.

2. The object management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said destination-oriented object-list storage section stores facility information at which an object included in the list is available, and wherein the notice provided by said missing-object notification section includes facility information corresponding to the missing object.

3. The object management apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a navigation device including a route search system for setting a specific facility as the destination for the route search section and for performing a route search process with the facility at which a missing object is available being set as a transit point or the destination for the route search.

4. The object management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an object cancellation section for designating an unnecessary object from among the objects included in a missing object list and cancelling the designated object from a missing-objects list.

5. The object management apparatus according to claim 4, comprising a destination-orientated object-list updating section for updating contents of a list stored in said destination-orientated object-list storage section, based on contents cancelled by said object cancellation section.

6. The object management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a destination-orientated object-list registration section for registering a list in said destination-orientated object-list storage section depending on the destination.

7. The object management apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising an operation section to be manipulated by a user,

wherein said destination-orientated object-list registration section is operable to perform an edit operation including addition, modification or cancellation of an object to or from the list, based on operational contents entered by said operation section.

8. An object management apparatus comprising:

a destination-oriented object-list storage section for storing therein a list of necessary objects depending on a destination, where a wireless tag containing object information is attached to an object;

a destination setting section for selling the destination for travel of a vehicle;

an object detector for detecting objects carried by the vehicle;

a wireless tag reading section for reading the object information contained on the wireless tag in a wireless mode, said object detector being operable to detect the object based on the object information read by said wireless tag;

a missing-object determination section for determining a list of necessary objects based on the destination set by said destination setting section and for comparing the objects detected by said object detector with the determined list to determine whether any object included in the list is missing or not; and

a missing-object notification section for providing a notice when an object is determined to be missing by said missing-object determination section;

wherein said destination-oriented object-list storage section stores facility information at which an object included in the list is available, and wherein the notice provided by said missing-object notification section includes facility information corresponding to the missing object.

9. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said wireless tag reading section includes four reading units located at four corners within the interior of the vehicle having a substantially rectangular horizontal section.

10. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said wireless tag reading section is located near the center of a ceiling within the interior of the vehicle.

11. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, comprising, wherein said wireless tag reading section is located in a trunk of the vehicle.

12. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said object detector detects the object at a time when the destination is set by the destination selling section.

13. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said object detector detects the object at a time when the vehicle starts to travel.

14. The object management apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a navigation device including a facility search section for designating a search condition and searching for a facility,

wherein the facility searched for by said facility search section is used as a destination to be set by said destination setting section.

15. The object management apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the navigation device includes a route search section for setting the facility searched for by said facility search section as the destination for the route search and for performing the route search process,

wherein the destination set in the route search process is used as the destination to be set by the destination setting section.

16. A method of managing objects for travel of a vehicle comprising:

storing a list of necessary objects depending on a destination;

setting the destination for travel of the vehicle;

detecting objects carried by the vehicle;

determining a list of necessary objects based on the destination set by the destination setting section;

comparing the detected objects with the determined list of necessary objects to determine whether any object included in the list is missing or not; and

providing a notice when an object is determined to be missing;

wherein the method further comprises storing information on a facility at which an object included in the list is available, and wherein the notice includes the facility information corresponding to the missing object.

17. The object management method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing an edit operation including addition, modification or cancellation of an object to or from the list.

18. The object management method of claim 16, further comprising:

attaching a wireless tag containing object information to an object to be detected; and

reading the object information contained on the wireless tag in a wireless mode to detect the object.