Image-based inventory control system
First Claim
1. An inventory control system for monitoring the removal and replacement of objects, the system comprising:
- at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer including at least one storage location for storing objects, wherein each storage drawer is configured to move in a first direction allowing increasing access to storage locations of the drawer, and a second direction allowing decreasing access to storage locations of the drawer;
at least one image sensing device configured to form at least one first image of the storage locations while a respective storage drawer moves in the second direction;
a data processor configured to receive information representing the at least one first image of the storage locations, and determine an inventory condition of the objects stored in the respective storage drawer according to the at least one first image.
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Abstract
Inventory control systems for monitoring the removal and replacement of objects are described. An exemplary system includes at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer includes at least one storage location for storing objects, and configured to move in a first direction allowing increasing access to storage locations of the drawer, and a second direction allowing decreasing access to storage locations of the drawer. An image sensing device is provided to form at least one first image of the storage locations when a respective storage drawer moves in the second direction. The system includes a data processor configured to receive information representing images of the storage locations generated by the image sensing device, and determine an inventory condition of the objects stored in the respective storage drawer according to the at least one first image.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. An inventory control system for monitoring the removal and replacement of objects, the system comprising:
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at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer including at least one storage location for storing objects, wherein each storage drawer is configured to move in a first direction allowing increasing access to storage locations of the drawer, and a second direction allowing decreasing access to storage locations of the drawer; at least one image sensing device configured to form at least one first image of the storage locations while a respective storage drawer moves in the second direction; a data processor configured to receive information representing the at least one first image of the storage locations, and determine an inventory condition of the objects stored in the respective storage drawer according to the at least one first image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An inventory control system for monitoring the removal and replacement of objects, the system comprising:
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at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer includes at least one storage location for storing objects, and each storage drawer is configured to move between a first position, which allows no access to any storage locations in the storage drawer, and a second position, which allows access to at least one storage location in the storage drawer; and at least one image sensing device configured to form images of the storage drawers, wherein while a respective storage drawer moves from the second position to the first position, the at least one image sensing device is configured to form at least one image of the storage locations of the respective storage drawer; and a data processor configured to determine an inventory condition of the respective storage drawer according to the at least one image of the storage locations formed after the respective storage drawer moves from the second position to the first position. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A networked inventory control system comprising:
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multiple storage systems, each respective storage system including at least one image sensing device configured to form at least one image of objects stored in the storage system, and a data storage device configured to store the image and user information with respect to a user accessing the storage system; a data processing system coupled to the multiple storage systems via a data transmission network; wherein the respective storage system is configured to transmit at least one of inventory condition, stored image and user information to the data processing system for each access to the respective storage system; wherein each respective storage system includes at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer including storage locations for storing the objects, and configured to move in a first direction allowing increasing access to the storage locations of the drawer, and a second direction allowing decreasing access to the storage locations of the drawer; and wherein the at least one image sensing device is configured to form at least one first image of the storage locations while a respective storage drawer moves in the second direction. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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34. A network-enabled inventory control system comprising:
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a storage unit for storing objects; a data input device configured to receive user information from a respective user requesting access to the inventory control system; at least one image sensing device configured to capture at least one image of the storage locations corresponding to each access to the inventory control system by the respective user; a data storage device configured to store the user information and the image captured by the at least one image sensing device; a communication device configured for data communication with a remote data processing system; and a data processor configured to control transmission of data representing the image or inventory condition information, the user information and the corresponding access to the remote data processing system; wherein the storage unit includes at least one storage drawer, each storage drawer including at least one storage location for storing objects, and configured to move in a first direction allowing increasing access to the storage locations of the drawer, and a second direction allowing decreasing access to the storage locations of the drawer; wherein the at least one image sensing device is configured to form at least one first image of the storage locations while a respective storage drawer moves in the second direction; and wherein the data processor is configured to receive information representing images of the storage locations generated by the at least one image sensing device, and determine an inventory condition of the objects stored in the respective storage drawer according to the at least one first image. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36)
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Specification