Stock Level Determination
First Claim
1. A stock level indication apparatus comprising:
- a merchandising unit including a back wall and a product support member mounted to the back wall, the product support member having a surface configured to receive products thereon extending between a front edge and a back edge thereof;
a mirror mounted to the merchandising unit adjacent to a rear portion of the product support member and spaced therefrom so as to not interfere with products received thereon, the mirror oriented to provide a view of the surface of the product support member and products received thereon from a position adjacent to the front edge of the product support member;
a scanning device disposed adjacent to the front edge of the product support member and configured to scan the product support member and/or the products received thereon using the mirror;
a control circuit in communication with the scanning device and configured to analyze the scan of the product support member and/or the products to determine a stock level for the product support member.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to determine a stock level for products on a product display using a mirror to provide a view of the product display and/or products stocked thereon. The mirror can have a convex or segmented convex configuration to provide a wider field-of-view than a flat mirror. Further, the system described herein can include an electronic imager or machine readable code scanner that utilizes the mirror to capture an image of the product display and products stocked thereon or to scan machine readable codes on the product display or products. The image or scan can then be sent to a control circuit for analysis and stock level determination. The control circuit can also create workflow tasks to check the product display, restock, order more inventory, and the like.
44 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A stock level indication apparatus comprising:
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a merchandising unit including a back wall and a product support member mounted to the back wall, the product support member having a surface configured to receive products thereon extending between a front edge and a back edge thereof; a mirror mounted to the merchandising unit adjacent to a rear portion of the product support member and spaced therefrom so as to not interfere with products received thereon, the mirror oriented to provide a view of the surface of the product support member and products received thereon from a position adjacent to the front edge of the product support member; a scanning device disposed adjacent to the front edge of the product support member and configured to scan the product support member and/or the products received thereon using the mirror; a control circuit in communication with the scanning device and configured to analyze the scan of the product support member and/or the products to determine a stock level for the product support member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for providing an indication of stock level, the method comprising:
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scanning a surface of a product support member mounted to a back wall of a merchandising unit and/or products received on the surface of the product support member with a scanning device using a mirror mounted to the merchandising unit adjacent to a rear portion of the product support member and spaced therefrom so as to not interfere with products received thereon to create a scan, the mirror oriented to provide a view of the surface of the product support member and products received thereon from a position adjacent to the front edge of the product support member; analyzing the scan with a control circuit to determine a stock level for the product support member. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification