Apparatus and method for monitoring stock information in a shopping space

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017193436-A1
Application number	US-201615395478-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 30, 2016
Priority date	Dec 30, 2015
Publication date	Jul 6, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

Systems, apparatuses and methods are provided herein for monitoring stock information in a shopping space. A system for monitoring stock information in a shopping space comprises: a support structure configured to hold a plurality of items in the shopping space, a sound emitter device configured to produce a sound in response to a movement of at least one of the support structure and an item placed on the support structure, and a sound sensor configured to capture a sound produced by the sound emitter device and transmit the sound produced by the sound emitter device to a stock tracking system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for monitoring stock information in a shopping space comprising:
a support structure configured to hold a plurality of items in the shopping space; a sound emitter device configured to produce a sound in response to a movement of at least one of the support structure and an item placed on the support structure; and a sound sensor configured to capture the sound produced by the sound emitter device and transmit the sound produced by the sound emitter device to a stock tracking system.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device is configured to produce a first sound when a movement in a first direction is detected and produce a second sound when a motion in a second direction opposite the first direction is detected.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device is configured to emit a sound having a frequency inaudible to humans.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device is configured to emit a sound having a specific frequency, and the stock tracking system is configured to identify the support structure from a plurality of support structures based on the specific frequency of the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device comprises a first compressible diaphragm configured to produce a first sound having a first frequency when compressed and released by the movement of at least one of the support structure and the item placed on the support structure in a first direction.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the sound emitter device further comprises a second compressible diaphragm configured to make a second sound having a second frequency when compressed and released by the movement of at least one of the support structure and the item placed on the support structure in a second direction.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device comprises a pair of contacts configured to supply power to a speaker device when actuated by the movement of at least one of the support structure and the item placed on the support structure.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound emitter device comprises an airbladder configured to produce a sound through an air valve when actuated by the movement of at least one of the support structure and the item placed on the support structure.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the sound sensor comprise a plurality of sound sensors placed around the shopping space.

10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising the stock tracking system is configured to estimate a number of items on the support structure based on monitoring sounds captured by the sound sensor.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the stock tracking system is configured to determine a baseline noise profile of the shopping space and remove a baseline noise from the sound captured by the sound sensor to detect the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the stock tracking system is configured to determine whether a sound is produced by the sound emitter device based on a frequency and a duration of the sound detected by the sound sensor.

13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the stock tracking system is configured to determine a location of the sound emitter device based on one or more of triangulation and trilateration.

14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the stock tracking system is configured to detect a sound of a damage event to an item based on the sound detected by the sound sensor.

15 . A method for monitoring stock information in a shopping space comprising:
receiving sound captured by a sound sensor in the shopping space; detecting, within a sound captured by the sound sensor, a sound produced by a sound emitter device in response to a movement of at least one of a support structure configured to hold a plurality of items in the shopping space and an item placed on the support structure; determining the support structure associated with the sound emitter device; and estimating a stock information for the support structure based on tracking the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the support structure comprises determining a frequency of the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein determining the support structure comprises determine a location of the sound emitter device based on one or more of triangulation and trilateration.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein detecting the sound produced by the sound emitter device comprises determining a baseline noise profile of the shopping space and removing a baseline noise from the sound captured by the sound sensor to detect the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein detecting the sound produced by the sound emitter device is based on determining a frequency and a duration of the sound captured by the sound sensor.

20 . A system for monitoring merchandise in a shopping space comprising:
a plurality of support structures configured to hold a plurality of items in the shopping space; a plurality of sound emitter devices on the plurality of support structures configured to produce a sound at an identifiable frequency in response to a movement of at least one of a support structure and an item placed on the support structure; a sound sensor array; and a stock tracking system coupled to the sound sensor array and configured to:
receive a sound captured by the sound sensor array in the shopping space;
detect, within the sound captured by the sound sensor array, the sound produced by a sound emitter device of the plurality of sound emitter devices;
determine a support structure of the plurality of support structures associated with the sound produced by the sound emitter device; and
estimate a stock information for the support structure based on tracking the sound produced by the sound emitter device.

21 . A system for collecting activity data in a shopping space comprising:
a sound sensor system comprising a plurality of sound sensors in the shopping space; and a control circuit communicatively coupled to the sound sensor system, the control circuit being configured to:
receive sounds captured by the sound sensor system;
detect a plurality of sound instances associated with sounds from customers in the sounds captured by the sound sensor system;
determine a location for each of the plurality of sound instances;
identify one or more alert conditions in the shopping space based on the plurality of sound instances and locations for the plurality of sound instances; and
generate an alert based on the one or more alert conditions.

22 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the plurality of sound instances associated with sounds from customers comprises sounds associated with footsteps.

23 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the control circuit is configured to determine customer dwell locations and dwell durations based on the plurality of sound instances and identify the one or more alert conditions based on the customer dwell locations and the dwell durations.

24 . The system of claim 23 , wherein the control circuit is further configured to perform a comparison of the customer dwell locations and the dwell durations with customer purchase data of the shopping space and generate the aler

Assignees

• Wal Mart Stores Inc

Inventors

• Taylor Robert J
• Vasgaard Aaron J
• Jones Nicholaus A
• Jones Matthew A

Classifications

• G01S5/20

  Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders · CPC title

• G01S5/18 Primary

  using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves · CPC title

• G01S5/30

  Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location · CPC title

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G01S3/80

  using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves · CPC title