JP2013191048A - Merchandise sales system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a novel merchandise sales system configured to be able to recognize the gesture of a user and dispense the merchandise that is selected on the basis of this gesture.SOLUTION: A system 1 recognizes a gesture of merchandise selection by a user and dispenses the merchandise so as to assist the sales thereof, and includes: display means 2 for displaying a plurality of kinds of merchandise samples on a screen recognizable by the user; gesture recognition/synthesized display means 3 which recognizes the gesture of the user and displays in such a manner that the user can recognize his or her own gesture and forms synthesized images superimposed on the plurality of kinds of merchandise samples displayed on the screen; merchandise decision means 4 for deciding the merchandise which the user selects by the gesture on the screen; and merchandise dispensing means 5 for dispensing the merchandise selected on the basis of the result of the merchandise decision means.

Description

  The present invention is a merchandise sales system that enables a merchandise purchaser (user) to select a merchandise to be purchased based on the user's gestures and gestures, in particular, vending machines or stations. The present invention relates to a merchandise sales system suitable for a store that sells various products such as a kiosk or a convenience store (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a merchandise sales store).

In a conventional vending machine, a user selects and purchases a product by pressing a product selection switch provided on the front surface of the vending machine. That is, if the user approaches the vending machine and does not press the switch directly, the product cannot be selected and purchased.
Among the vending machines proposed in the past, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. This vending machine adopts a proximity switch, and discloses a configuration in which a product can be selected and purchased without directly contacting the switch (that is, without contact with an actual switch). However, this Patent Document 1 is intended to improve waterproofness and dustproofness as a problem of vending machines installed outdoors, and when the predetermined position of the protective cover panel arranged on the front is touched, Detect with proximity switch. Therefore, it is a vending machine that allows the user to select a product without directly touching the proximity switch itself, but because the user selects a product by touching the cover panel, the purchase operation by the user is substantially the same as a conventional vending machine. There is no difference.

  In recent years, a large number of various products are handled at merchandise sales stores, and the product cycle is fast, so the burden on the sales staff at each store is extremely large. For example, when the product is a cigarette, there are very many types provided. The kiosk salesperson is required to take out the cigarette of the brand specified by the user accurately and quickly from the storage case and to memorize the price of the cigarette. As for this, in the case of a convenience store, there is a store where the process is simplified. In other words, each cigarette is numbered so that it is not necessary to memorize a large number of cigarettes, and it is improved so that it can be purchased by specifying the number by the user, and since this is processed with a barcode, there is no need to remember the price It has been improved.

JP 2008-41031 A

First, in the case of a vending machine, the user always touches the switch of the vending machine, so there are indications that the surrounding area is easily soiled and the lower switch is difficult to press. Further, the cost ratio of the switch in the vending machine is relatively high, and there is a disadvantage that the product cannot be sold if the switch breaks down.
Further, when the merchandise sales store is a station kiosk or the like, as described above, the load on the sales staff is high. And even in the case of convenience stores where the sales work has become relatively efficient, there are many types of cigarettes. The operation to get the cigarette is necessary, and there is still room for improvement in terms of work efficiency.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to propose a new product sales system constructed so as to recognize a user's gesture and pay out a product selected based on the gesture.

The above purpose is a system for assisting sales by recognizing a user's product selection gesture, paying out the product,
Display means for displaying a plurality of types of product samples on a screen that can be visually recognized by the user, the user's gesture being recognized, the user himself / herself being able to visually recognize the gesture, and display on the screen A gesture recognition / composition display unit that forms a composite image superimposed on the plurality of types of product samples, a product determination unit that determines a product selected by the user by the gesture on the screen, and the product determination unit This can be achieved by a commodity sales system including commodity unloading means for paying out the selected commodity based on the result of the above (claim 1).

  The gesture recognition / synthesis display unit recognizes a user's hand movement included in the gesture, and combines the position change of the hand on the plurality of types of product samples displayed on the screen. An image can be formed (claim 2).

  The gesture recognition / combination display means includes a camera that captures the user, a depth sensor that can detect movement of the user's hand, and the user on the screen based on outputs of the camera and the sensor. And an image control controller for synthesizing the silhouette of the hand.

  Further, the product confirmation means can execute a process of confirming a predetermined selection operation based on the movement of the user's hand and confirming the selected product (claim 4).

  Furthermore, it is preferable that voice output / input means is further included to guide the user or to perform a gesture operation (claim 5).

  The product sales system includes a product display panel that displays an image of a product sample provided on a front door as the display means, a camera that captures the user as the gesture recognition / synthesis display means and the product confirmation means, the user An image processing apparatus including a depth sensor for detecting the movement of the image and a processor for operating software relating to image composition, and a delivery mechanism for sequentially delivering the stocked products as the product delivery means. It may include a case of a vending machine (claim 6).

  The product sales system includes a product display panel that displays an image of a product sample provided in a store as the display unit, a camera that captures the user as the gesture recognition / synthesis display unit and the product determination unit, An image processing apparatus including a depth sensor for detecting motion and a processor for operating software relating to image composition, and a carry-out mechanism for sequentially discharging the stocked products as the product carry-out means, The case where it is set as the sales auxiliary equipment installed in a sales store is good also as this (claim 7).

According to the product sales system of the present invention, a user who purchases a product performs a gesture of selecting an arbitrary product and pays out the product based on recognizing this gesture. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to pay out a product by a remote operation (gesture) by a user. Therefore, when this technology is applied to a vending machine, it is possible to select and purchase a favorite product in a non-contact manner without touching the vending machine. Therefore, since it is not necessary to touch the vending machine, touch-type switches can be reduced.
Further, when this product sales system technology is applied to a product sales store, the user can surely purchase the product to be purchased while reducing the labor of the sales clerk.

It is the block block diagram which showed the outline of the goods sales system which concerns on this invention. It is the figure shown about the tobacco vending machine which becomes 1st Embodiment to which a merchandise sales system is applied. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a preferred example of a drive control flow at the time of sale in the cigarette vending machine shown in FIG. 2. It is the figure which showed the example at the time of setting it as the sales assistance equipment of the goods store used as 2nd Embodiment to which a goods sales system is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the outline of the merchandise sales system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG.
The merchandise sales system 1 according to the present invention includes display means 2 for displaying a plurality of merchandise samples to the user by using images on the screen.
The plurality of types of products displayed on the screen of the display means 2 while recognizing the user's gesture and displaying the user's own gesture (such as gestures and gestures). And gesture recognition / composition display means 3 for forming a composite image superimposed on each other. This gesture recognition / combination display means 3 can recognize the movement of the user's hand included in the gesture, for example, and can form a composite image in which the position change of the hand is overlapped with a plurality of types of products on the screen. It is configured. Thereby, the user can visually recognize the positional relationship between his / her hand drawn as an image and the product.
It should be noted that the user's body part to be recognized for composite display on the display means 2 corresponding to the user's gesture is preferably a hand or a finger as described above. Good.
In addition, when the gesture recognition target is a user's hand, it is preferable to form a composite image in which a hand silhouette (outline) or the like is overlapped with a product. However, it is not always necessary to use a hand silhouette as long as the user can recognize it. Depending on the gesture of the user's hand, for example, the product may be selected by moving a mark figure such as ◯ or □ on the screen of the display means 2.

  The product sales system 1 further includes a product confirmation unit 4 for confirming the product selected by the user on the screen, and a product delivery unit for paying out the selected product based on the result of the product confirmation unit 4 5 includes the basic system.

  The display means 2 may be any display device including a screen that can display a plurality of product samples, and is not particularly limited. For example, various display devices such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, and electronic paper can be used, but a liquid crystal display is preferable from the viewpoint of cost and versatility.

The gesture recognition / synthesis display means 3 is a device having a function capable of recognizing a gesture that is a user's gesture or hand gesture, more specifically, at least a change in the position of the user's hand. It is an image processing apparatus that can recognize (detect) and visually recognize an image of the hand and can form a composite image superimposed on a plurality of products displayed on a screen such as the liquid crystal display described above. About this, it can comprise by selecting a well-known image processing apparatus suitably.
In other words, the merchandise sales system 1 can suitably utilize image processing technology in video game devices that have made remarkable progress in recent years. Currently provided video game apparatuses include an RGB camera that captures a player of the game, a depth (distance) sensor used to detect the position of the player and the movement of its limbs, and an image of the player superimposed on the game image. An image technique has been established in which a combined image is formed and a game is advanced in accordance with a player's movement.

  For example, Kinect, which is a sensation-type game system provided by Microsoft, is widely used. This kinect includes an RGB camera, a depth sensor, a microphone (multi-array microphone), and an image processing apparatus (usually referred to as a Kinect sensor, which includes a processor for operating software related to image synthesis. Then, it is simply called an image processing apparatus. This image processing apparatus can recognize the position, movement, voice, and face of the player and control the entire game. Thereby, the player can play a video game intuitively using his own body. The player's position and height are measured, and the angle is automatically adjusted so that an optimal play can be performed. The distance from the player to the image processing device is measured by the depth sensor, and various movements of the player's skeleton can be detected and combined with the movements of the characters in the game (KINECT) Is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

The gesture recognition / combination display means 3 in the present invention can be configured by employing the above-described known image processing technology. In the sales system according to the present invention, software capable of detecting a gesture of a user, for example, a motion of the hand is installed. As a result, a product sample image can be displayed on a screen such as the above-described liquid crystal display, and a synthesized image can be formed by synthesizing the movement of the user in place of the player.
RGB camera that captures the user, depth sensor as a sensor for reliably detecting the user's position and gesture including the user's hand, and a processor (image control controller) that synthesizes the user's hand on the display screen This configuration can be formed by using the above-described kinetic technology.

  Further, the product confirmation means 4 for confirming the product selected by the user can also be realized by the image processing apparatus that implements the gesture recognition / composition display means 3. That is, for example, when the user detects a gesture (predetermined selection operation) by moving the silhouette of a hand over a predetermined product sample and hitting or pressing the product sample with the image processing apparatus, The product can be confirmed as selected.

And if the said product carrying-out means 5 is a structure which can pay out the selected goods decided by the goods decision means 4 as mentioned above, there will be no limitation and it changes suitably according to the formed goods sales system May be.
The product sales system according to the present invention can be embodied as, for example, a sales assistant installed in a vending machine or a product sales store. When the merchandise sales system is a vending machine, an unloading mechanism or the like that is disposed under a stocker that stores merchandise and that dispenses the products one by one corresponds to the merchandise dispensing means 5. When the merchandise sales system is a facility installed in a store, the above-mentioned merchandise payout is a device that unloads products placed under a stocker that stores merchandise, a chute structure that conveys the products to a cashier counter, etc. This corresponds to means 5.

In the following, on the premise of the above description, a case where the present product sales system is embodied as a cigarette vending machine will be described as a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 shows a cigarette vending machine 10 to which the invention related to the above-described merchandise sales system is applied. On the front door 10a, a product display panel 11 formed of a liquid crystal panel as display means is arranged on the front surface. On the product display panel 11, a variety of cigarette product samples SA are displayed as images.
The vending machine 10 also has a basic structure similar to that of a general vending machine. The front door 10a has a product display panel 11 serving as a product display section, a product payout port 12 and a money process. A portion 13 is provided. The money processing unit 13 includes a coin insertion slot, a bill insertion slot, a change return lever, and the like. In the figure, 14 is a change return port, and 15 is an adult identification device comprising an electronic information input / output device (reader / writer), a monetary value display, and the like.

The vending machine 10 is configured to sell cigarettes by a user's gesture in addition to the basic configuration as a cigarette vending machine as described above.
In other words, the vending machine 10 is provided with an image processing device 20 including a RGB camera that captures an image of the user US, a depth sensor that detects a user's motion (gesture), and a processor that operates software relating to image composition. It is. This image processing apparatus 20 corresponds to the above-described Kinect image processing apparatus. As a more preferable form, the image processing apparatus 20 includes a sound input / output device (sound output / input means) including a microphone that collects sounds and sounds emitted from the user and a speaker that calls the user. Yes.
In FIG. 2, the case where the image processing apparatus 20 is installed on the upper part of the vending machine 10 is shown as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the image processing apparatus 20 may be stored in the main body of the vending machine 10. Further, the respective parts constituting the image processing apparatus 20 described above may be arranged separately. That is, it is good also as a structure which arrange | positions in the location which exposes a camera and a microphone, and accommodates the other structure in the vending machine main body.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart that is preferably driven when cigarettes are sold by the user's gesture (hand movement) in the vending machine 10. The control here is executed by a processor in the image processing apparatus 20. A system may be constructed so that this processor also serves as a microcomputer mainly composed of a CPU that controls the entire vending machine.

  When the processor detects the approach of the user US with the RGB camera, the processor activates the tobacco sales flow shown in FIG. For example, when an object having a height (height) of 100 cm or more in an RGB camera is stopped in front of the vending machine 10 for a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) or more, the activation condition can be triggered. In addition, a human sensor or the like may be newly provided and its output may be used as a trigger.

  The above processor preferably controls the audio input / output device, “Please come. Please select your favorite product.”, “When the customer moves the hand, the movement of the hand is displayed on the screen. Please select your favorite product with your hand. "When you select a product, please press the product's action (gesture)." Preferably it is performed.

Thereafter, based on the gesture of the user US recognized by the RGB camera, the processor displays a composite image on the product display panel 11 so that the user can visually recognize at least the hand movement (S2). Further, the processor guides the user to select a product by voice guidance (S3).
When the user makes a predetermined gesture for selecting a specific cigarette (for example, when the user US recognizes the silhouette SH of his / her hand and pushes in the product sample SA at that position in FIG. 2) The selected product is confirmed (S4), the carry-out mechanism that stocks the cigarette is driven (S5), and the cigarette is discharged to the product discharge outlet 12 to complete the selling operation.

  According to the vending machine to which the product sales system of the present invention described above is applied, the user can purchase a cigarette (product) according to the user's gesture without touching the selection switch of the vending machine. Since the switch for electrical connection can be deleted, problems inherent to the switch such as poor contact can be eliminated.

Furthermore, below, the case where this merchandise sales system is embodied as a cigarette sales assistance facility will be described as a second embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the sales assistant facility 30 serving as a tobacco sales assistant is applied around the cashier counter CD of the product sales store SP to which the invention related to the above-described product sales system is applied. It is.
The upper part of the wall surface WA on the back of the cashier counter CD of the store SP is a storage shelf (stocker) that stores multiple types of cigarettes. A carry-out mechanism for paying out is disposed. Such a carry-out mechanism can use the carry-out mechanism of the above-described tobacco vending machine. Therefore, description of the mechanical structure here is omitted.
A chute structure 31 is provided in which the cigarettes delivered by the carry-out mechanism are sent out behind the register counter CD. A cigarette receiving portion 32 is provided at the final drop position of the chute structure 31, and the salesperson can pick up the cigarette from the cigarette receiving portion 32 only by looking back when working with the cashier counter CD.

In this example, a product display panel 33 formed of a liquid crystal panel is arranged as a display means on the front surface of a storage shelf for storing a plurality of types of cigarettes. The product display panel 33 displays various types of cigarette product samples SA as images.
The sales support facility 30 is also provided with an RGB camera that captures an image of the user US, a depth sensor that detects a user's operation (gesture), and an image processing device 40 that includes a processor that operates software related to image composition. It is. The image processing device 40 also has a sound input / output device (sound output / input means) including a microphone for collecting sounds and sounds emitted from the user and a speaker for calling the user, as in the above-described example. In this example, the user may make a gesture based on the guidance of a salesperson in the store. Also in this case, in the second embodiment, as described above, the user US can surely purchase the purchased cigarette.

  In the store shown in FIG. 4, even if the salesperson does not have knowledge about tobacco, it is possible to reliably purchase the tobacco that the user wants, so the burden on the salesperson can be greatly reduced, and the product (cigarette) that the user wants can be ensured. Can be sold.

  The merchandise sales system according to the present invention has been described in detail above, but the present invention is not limited to the description of the above-described embodiments. That is, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Merchandise sales system 2 Display means 3 Gesture recognition / composition display means 4 Commodity determination means 5 Commodity carry-out means 10 Vending machine SA Merchandise sample US user SP Merchandise sales store

Claims (7)

A system that assists sales by recognizing a user's product selection gesture, paying out a product,
Display means for displaying a plurality of types of product samples on a screen visible to the user;
Gesture recognition / composition that recognizes the user's gesture, displays the gesture for the user himself / herself, and forms a composite image superimposed on the plurality of types of product samples displayed on the screen Display means;
Product confirmation means for confirming the product selected by the user by the gesture on the screen;
A product sales system comprising: a product carry-out means for paying out the selected product based on the result of the product confirmation means.   The gesture recognition / combination display means recognizes a user's hand movement included in the gesture, and combines a composite image in which the position change of the hand is superimposed on the plurality of types of product samples displayed on the screen. The product sales system according to claim 1, wherein the product sales system is formed.   The gesture recognition / synthesis display means includes a camera that captures the user, a depth sensor that can detect the movement of the user's hand, and the user's hand on the screen based on outputs of the camera and the sensor. The merchandise sales system according to claim 1, further comprising an image control controller that synthesizes the silhouette of the image.   The product sales system according to claim 1, wherein the product confirmation unit performs a process of confirming a predetermined selection operation based on a movement of the user's hand and confirming the selected product.   The product sales system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising voice output / input means for guiding a guidance or gesture operation to the user.   A product display panel that displays an image of a product sample provided on the front door as the display unit, a gesture recognition / combination display unit, a camera that captures the user as the product determination unit, and a depth for detecting the movement of the user Including a case of a vending machine including an image processing apparatus including a sensor and a processor that operates software relating to image composition, and a discharge mechanism for sequentially discharging the stocked products as the commodity discharge means The product sales system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein:   A product display panel that displays an image of a product sample provided in the store as the display unit, a gesture recognition / combination display unit, a camera that images the user as the product determination unit, and a depth sensor for detecting the user's movement And an image processing apparatus including a processor for operating software relating to image composition, and a carry-out mechanism for sequentially discharging products stocked as the product carry-out means, and a sales assistant installed in a product sales store The product sales system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, including a case of equipment.

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