Search article estimation apparatus and method and server for search article estimation apparatus

• US 8,099,427 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2007
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Piece Future Pte., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Tanigawa, Toru, Okamoto, Shusaku, Yamada, Osamu, Naruoka, Tomonobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Mofiz, Apu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rahman, Mohammad
• Application Number:
  US11/796,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20070208736A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,726 Days
• Field of Search: 707/999.2, 707/724, 707/725, 707/769
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management

Abstract

A search article estimation apparatus is provided that is capable of estimating an article that a user is trying to search for, even when the user cannot accurately provide information on the article that the user wants to search for. The state of access to a storage equipment by the user and a change in articles in the storage equipment during the access are checked by a sensing apparatus. If there is no change in articles, then a search state detection means determines that the user has performed an article search but has been unable to find the article. Furthermore, a search article estimation means refers to a storage location database and estimates an article that should originally be stored in the storage equipment, to be the article that the user is searching for.

Claims

1. A search article estimation method comprising:

detecting at least, by a sensing apparatus disposed in a living environment, article location information by which a location of an article can be estimated, and access state estimation information by which a state of access to a storage equipment by a user can be estimated;

obtaining, from an environment database that stores therein the detected article location information and access state estimation information and a map of the environment and installation locations of the storage equipment and the sensing apparatus which are disposed in the environment, a current location of the article and the access state information that indicates the state of access to the storage equipment by the user;

detecting by a search state detection means, when the user searches for the article by the access to the storage equipment, whether there is a change in presence/absence of article ID information in the storage equipment between when the access to the storage equipment is started and when the access to the storage equipment ends; and

estimating the article the user is searching for a search article estimation means when the search state detection means detects that there is no change in the presence/absence of the article ID information, by obtaining ID information of an article which original storage location is the storage equipment, by referring to the storage location database in which a name or an installation coordinate of the storage equipment which is the storage location of the article, is associated with locations on the ID information of the article ID therein, then, narrowing down, by referring to the article location history database, from the obtained ID information of the article, to an article with article ID information that is not currently present at its original storage location, and then estimating the narrowed-down article to be the article that the user is searching for.