CA3130356A1 - Unmanned goods shop - Google Patents
Unmanned goods shop Download PDFInfo
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- CA3130356A1 CA3130356A1 CA3130356A CA3130356A CA3130356A1 CA 3130356 A1 CA3130356 A1 CA 3130356A1 CA 3130356 A CA3130356 A CA 3130356A CA 3130356 A CA3130356 A CA 3130356A CA 3130356 A1 CA3130356 A1 CA 3130356A1
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- Prior art keywords
- container body
- function portion
- electrical function
- unmanned store
- opening
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- 238000005303 weighing Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 24
- 239000004973 liquid crystal related substance Substances 0.000 claims description 7
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 description 7
- 230000001815 facial effect Effects 0.000 description 6
- 239000004570 mortar (masonry) Substances 0.000 description 5
- 239000005341 toughened glass Substances 0.000 description 4
- 239000011521 glass Substances 0.000 description 2
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000005192 partition Methods 0.000 description 2
- 208000003443 Unconsciousness Diseases 0.000 description 1
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000011449 brick Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000011161 development Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000005516 engineering process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000009434 installation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012423 maintenance Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000013022 venting Methods 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F11/00—Coin-freed apparatus for dispensing, or the like, discrete articles
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
- G07F9/10—Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
- G07F9/00—Details other than those peculiar to special kinds or types of apparatus
- G07F9/10—Casings or parts thereof, e.g. with means for heating or cooling
- G07F9/105—Heating or cooling means, for temperature and humidity control, for the conditioning of articles and their storage
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
- G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
- G07G1/00—Cash registers
- G07G1/12—Cash registers electronically operated
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Acyclic And Carbocyclic Compounds In Medicinal Compositions (AREA)
- Control Of Vending Devices And Auxiliary Devices For Vending Devices (AREA)
Abstract
The present application discloses an unmanned store including an electrical function portion and a container body for accommodating the electrical function portion. The container body has a hollow, cuboid body whose facade is provided with a first opening for customers to enter and a second opening for customers to leave. The electrical function portion includes a depth camera, a weighing shelf, a first face scanning screen and a second face scanning screen. The depth camera is attached to the ceiling and the weighing shelf is installed on the floor of the container body. The first face scanning screen and the second face scanning screen are installed inside the first opening and the second opening respectively. The disclosed unmanned store is highly adaptable to various geographical locations and applications as it can be set-up rapidly and moved easily thereby solving the problems of the conventional store with long-construction-cycles and geographical rigidity.
Description
UNMANNED GOODS SHOP
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field [00011The present invention relates to unmanned vending applications, and more particularly to an unmanned store.
Description of Related Art
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Technical Field [00011The present invention relates to unmanned vending applications, and more particularly to an unmanned store.
Description of Related Art
[0002]Since retail is traditionally a labor-intensive industry, manpower and facility rent have been recognized as two major challenges. Particularly, a conventional convenient store is typically a brick and concrete structure, so its construction is resource- and time-consuming and involves much wet construction works. Once built, such a store is geographically immovable and non-adjustable, and unable to be reused. With the development to technology, unmanned stores have become a new trend as such a business type significantly reduces operational costs for running retail stores and this trend is extending to more modern industries, such as catering, life service industry, book selling, and so on.
However, the existing unmanned stores are usually realized in brick-and-mortar buildings, and thus have many disadvantages such as long construction cycles, immovability, and complicated works for deploying unmanned venting systems, making their applications limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
However, the existing unmanned stores are usually realized in brick-and-mortar buildings, and thus have many disadvantages such as long construction cycles, immovability, and complicated works for deploying unmanned venting systems, making their applications limited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003]The objective of the present invention is to provides unmanned store that solves the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings in terms of long construction cycles and geographical irremovability.
1_0004JF or achieving the foregoing objective, the present invention provides the following technical schemes:
Date Re9ue/Date Received 202 1-1 1-10 [0005]An unmanned store, comprising an electrical function portion and a container body for accommodating the electrical function portion, wherein [00061the container body has a hollow, cuboid body whose facade is provided with a first opening and a second opening for customers to enter and leave the unmanned store, respectively; and [0007]the electrical function portion includes a depth camera, a weighing shelf, a first face scanning screen, and a second face scanning screen, in which the depth camera is attached to a ceiling of the container body, and the weighing shelf is installed on a floor of the container body, while the first face scanning screen and the second face scanning screen are installed inside the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[0008]Preferably, the container body has a suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling and the depth camera is provided in plurality and each installed on the suspended ceiling frame for collecting depth image information of an entire shopping area of the unmanned store.
[0009]More preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a plurality of surveillance cameras and a plurality of light strips, in which the surveillance cameras and the light strips are installed on the suspended ceiling frame, respectively, and the surveillance cameras and the light strips have bottoms thereof altitudinally higher than bottoms of the depth cameras.
[0010]Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a first automatic door and a second automatic door that are installed at the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[00111Further, the electrical function portion further includes a first one-way gate machine and a second one-way gate machine that are installed on the container body floor, in which the first one-way gate machine is positioned inside the first automatic door while the second one-way gate machine is positioned inside the second automatic door;
[00121the first face scanning screen is installed on the first one-way gate machine, so that when a said customer gets authenticated at the first face scanning screen, the first one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof; and [00131the second face scanning screen is installed on the second one-way gate machine, so that when a said customer gets authenticated at the second face scanning screen, the second one-Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof.
[0014]Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a liquid-crystal display that is installed on one side wall of the container body and serves to display merchandise information and/or to present merchandise recommendations according to a shopping habit of a said customer.
[00151Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a freezer and an air-conditioner that are installed on the floor of the container body, respectively.
[00161Specifically, the air-conditioner has a back positioned closed to any side wall of the container body, and the side wall of the container body is provided with a third opening positionally corresponding to the back of the air-conditioner, in which the third opening is covered by a heat-dissipating back cover.
[00171More preferably, the electrical function portion further includes an electrical cabinet that is installed on the floor of the container body and serves to provide all components of the electrical function portion with power and/or network access.
[00181Preferably, a plurality of fasteners are affixed to the floor of the container body to fix the weighing shelf and the freezer in position.
[00191As compared to the prior art, the unmanned store of the present invention provides the following beneficial effects:
[0020]The disclosed unmanned store uses a container body to put depth cameras, weighing shelves, and face scanning screens required by unmanned vending together, and solves the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical irremovability by allowing the whole store to be moved easily.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00211The accompanying drawings are provided herein for better understanding of the present invention and form a part of this disclosure. The illustrative embodiments and their descriptions are for explaining the present invention and by no means form any improper limitation to the present invention, wherein:
[00221FIG. 1 is a top view of an unmanned store according to one embodiment of the present Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 invention with the top of the container body removed;
[00231FIG. 2 is a facade view of the unmanned store of FIG. 1;
[00241FIG. 3 is a left side view of the unmanned store of FIG. 1; and [00251FIG. 4 is a rear view he unmanned store of FIG. 1.
[00261Reference Numbers:
1-container body, 2-electrical cabinet;
3-decorative siding, 4-glass partition;
5-decorative tempered glass panel, 6-first automatic door;
7-freezer, 8-first one-way gate machine;
9-second automatic door, 10-second one-way gate machine;
11-first face scanning screen, 12-second face scanning screen;
13-heat-dissipating back cover, 14-liquid-crystal display;
15-decorative tempered glass panel, 16-weighting shelf;
17-air-conditioner, 18-weighting shelf.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027]To make the foregoing objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the following description will be directed to some embodiments as depicted in the accompanying drawings to detail the technical schemes disclosed in these embodiments. It is, however, to be understood that the embodiments referred herein are only a part of all possible embodiments and thus not exhaustive. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all the other embodiments can be conceived without creative labor by people of ordinary skill in the art, and all these and other embodiments shall be embraced in the scope of the present invention.
[00281Referring to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the present invention embodiment provides an unmanned store, including an electrical function portion and a container body 1 for accommodating the electrical function portion. The container body 1 has a hollow, cuboid body.
The facade of the container body 1 is provided with a first opening and a second opening for customers to
1_0004JF or achieving the foregoing objective, the present invention provides the following technical schemes:
Date Re9ue/Date Received 202 1-1 1-10 [0005]An unmanned store, comprising an electrical function portion and a container body for accommodating the electrical function portion, wherein [00061the container body has a hollow, cuboid body whose facade is provided with a first opening and a second opening for customers to enter and leave the unmanned store, respectively; and [0007]the electrical function portion includes a depth camera, a weighing shelf, a first face scanning screen, and a second face scanning screen, in which the depth camera is attached to a ceiling of the container body, and the weighing shelf is installed on a floor of the container body, while the first face scanning screen and the second face scanning screen are installed inside the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[0008]Preferably, the container body has a suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling and the depth camera is provided in plurality and each installed on the suspended ceiling frame for collecting depth image information of an entire shopping area of the unmanned store.
[0009]More preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a plurality of surveillance cameras and a plurality of light strips, in which the surveillance cameras and the light strips are installed on the suspended ceiling frame, respectively, and the surveillance cameras and the light strips have bottoms thereof altitudinally higher than bottoms of the depth cameras.
[0010]Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a first automatic door and a second automatic door that are installed at the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[00111Further, the electrical function portion further includes a first one-way gate machine and a second one-way gate machine that are installed on the container body floor, in which the first one-way gate machine is positioned inside the first automatic door while the second one-way gate machine is positioned inside the second automatic door;
[00121the first face scanning screen is installed on the first one-way gate machine, so that when a said customer gets authenticated at the first face scanning screen, the first one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof; and [00131the second face scanning screen is installed on the second one-way gate machine, so that when a said customer gets authenticated at the second face scanning screen, the second one-Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof.
[0014]Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a liquid-crystal display that is installed on one side wall of the container body and serves to display merchandise information and/or to present merchandise recommendations according to a shopping habit of a said customer.
[00151Preferably, the electrical function portion further includes a freezer and an air-conditioner that are installed on the floor of the container body, respectively.
[00161Specifically, the air-conditioner has a back positioned closed to any side wall of the container body, and the side wall of the container body is provided with a third opening positionally corresponding to the back of the air-conditioner, in which the third opening is covered by a heat-dissipating back cover.
[00171More preferably, the electrical function portion further includes an electrical cabinet that is installed on the floor of the container body and serves to provide all components of the electrical function portion with power and/or network access.
[00181Preferably, a plurality of fasteners are affixed to the floor of the container body to fix the weighing shelf and the freezer in position.
[00191As compared to the prior art, the unmanned store of the present invention provides the following beneficial effects:
[0020]The disclosed unmanned store uses a container body to put depth cameras, weighing shelves, and face scanning screens required by unmanned vending together, and solves the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical irremovability by allowing the whole store to be moved easily.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00211The accompanying drawings are provided herein for better understanding of the present invention and form a part of this disclosure. The illustrative embodiments and their descriptions are for explaining the present invention and by no means form any improper limitation to the present invention, wherein:
[00221FIG. 1 is a top view of an unmanned store according to one embodiment of the present Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 invention with the top of the container body removed;
[00231FIG. 2 is a facade view of the unmanned store of FIG. 1;
[00241FIG. 3 is a left side view of the unmanned store of FIG. 1; and [00251FIG. 4 is a rear view he unmanned store of FIG. 1.
[00261Reference Numbers:
1-container body, 2-electrical cabinet;
3-decorative siding, 4-glass partition;
5-decorative tempered glass panel, 6-first automatic door;
7-freezer, 8-first one-way gate machine;
9-second automatic door, 10-second one-way gate machine;
11-first face scanning screen, 12-second face scanning screen;
13-heat-dissipating back cover, 14-liquid-crystal display;
15-decorative tempered glass panel, 16-weighting shelf;
17-air-conditioner, 18-weighting shelf.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0027]To make the foregoing objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the following description will be directed to some embodiments as depicted in the accompanying drawings to detail the technical schemes disclosed in these embodiments. It is, however, to be understood that the embodiments referred herein are only a part of all possible embodiments and thus not exhaustive. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all the other embodiments can be conceived without creative labor by people of ordinary skill in the art, and all these and other embodiments shall be embraced in the scope of the present invention.
[00281Referring to FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the present invention embodiment provides an unmanned store, including an electrical function portion and a container body 1 for accommodating the electrical function portion. The container body 1 has a hollow, cuboid body.
The facade of the container body 1 is provided with a first opening and a second opening for customers to
4 Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 enter and leave the unmanned store, respectively. The electrical function portion includes depth cameras, weighing shelf 16, a first face scanning screen 11, and a second face scanning screen 12. The depth cameras installed are attached to the ceiling of the container body 1.
The weighing shelves 16 are installed on the floor of the container body 1.
The first face scanning screen 11 and the second face scanning screen 12 are installed inside the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[0029]The unmanned store of the present embodiment of the present invention uses the container body 1 to accommodate the equipment required by unmanned vending, such as the depth cameras, weighing shelves 16, the first face scanning screen 11, and the second face scanning screen 12, so as to make the whole unmanned store easy to move, thereby solving the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical irremovability.
[00301In a particular implementation, the container body 1 has a suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling and the depth camera is provided in plurality. The depth cameras are installed on the suspended ceiling frame for collecting depth image information of all entire shopping areas of the unmanned store. In addition, the electrical function portion further includes a plurality of surveillance cameras and a plurality of light strips, in which the surveillance cameras and the light strips are installed on the suspended ceiling frame, respectively, and the surveillance cameras and the light strips have bottoms thereof altitudinally higher than bottoms of the depth cameras. This arrangement is to prevent the depth cameras from being obstructed and thereby ensure the depth cameras can collect complete depth image information of the entire shopping area. Meanwhile, the surveillance cameras are such installed that they can cover the entire shopping area without any blind spot, so as to help maintain a secure shopping environment in the unmanned store.
[0031]As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the depth cameras are configured to accurately recognize merchandise information based on pictures of merchandise taken from any arbitrary angle, thereby identifying the merchandise item that is taken from the shelf or placed back to the shelf by a customer. In the present embodiment of the present invention, the depth cameras may be realized using the existing TOF depth cameras, RGB
stereo depth Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 cameras, and/or structured-light depth cameras. The suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling of the container body 1 not only acts as a framework for adjustably holding the depth cameras, the surveillance cameras, and the light strips, but also provides cable ducts for overhead wiring.
[00321In order to achieve unmanned vending, the electrical function portion further includes an electrical cabinet 2. The electrical cabinet 2 is installed on the floor of the container body 1 for providing all the equipment of the electrical function portion with power and/or network access. All the data lines and power cords of the depth cameras and the surveillance cameras as well as the power cords of the light strips are routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct on the suspended ceiling frame.
[0033]The electrical function portion further includes a first automatic door 6 and a second automatic door 9. The first automatic door 6 and the second automatic door 9 are installed at the first and second openings of the container body 1 with their power cords and the signal lines and power cords of infrared sensors built therein all routed to the electrical cabinet 2.
When a customer enters the sensing area outside the first automatic door 6, the infrared sensor built in the first automatic door 6 senses the customer and informs a controller in the first automatic door 6 to drive the first automatic door 6 open automatically to allow the customer to enter the store. For a customer to leave the store, the infrared sensor built in the second automatic door 9 senses the customer who enters the sensing area inside the second automatic door 9, and informs the controller of the second automatic door 9 to open the second automatic door 9 automatically to allow the customer to leave the store. With the automatic doors that open and close automatically, customers can enter and leave the unmanned store conveniently. Besides, the situation is also avoided that the store doors be left open so long that the in-store temperature becomes excessively high or low.
[00341Referring to FIG. 1, in the unmanned store of the present embodiment, the electrical function portion further includes a first one-way gate machine and a second one-way gate machine 10 that are installed on the container body 1. The first one-way gate machine 8 is positioned inside the first automatic door 6, while the second one-way gate machine 10 is positioned inside the second automatic door 6. The first face scanning screen 11 is installed Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 on the first one-way gate machine 8, so that when a customer gets authenticated at the first face scanning screen 11, the first one-way gate machine 8 enters its accessible state to allow the customer to enter the store. The second face scanning screen 12 is installed on the second one-way gate machine 10, so that when a customer gets authenticated at the second face scanning screen 12, the second one-way gate machine 10 enters its accessible state to allow the customer to leave the store.
[003511n a particular implementation, the first face scanning screen 11 and the second face scanning screen 12 may be installed on the first one-way gate machine 8 and the second one-way gate machine 10, respectively, and well powered and wired. Then the first one-way gate machine 8 and the second one-way gate machine 10 may be installed on the floor of the container body 1, and have their power cords and network lines routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct. A customer who wants to enter the store may scan the QR
code displayed in the first face scanning screen 11 for face binding or require for facial recognition access directly. Herein, "face binding" refers to a process through which the first face scanning screen 11 screens the facial features of the customer and uploads the data to a server where the facial features of the customer and other customer information are recorded as a credential to authenticate access and/or permit a payment to be made electronically through a payment tool specified by the customer. On the other hand, "facial recognition access"
works in the condition that face binding for the particular customer has been performed and involves that the first face scanning screen 11 scans the facial features of the customer and uploads the data to the server where the recorded facial features and other customer information are used to authenticate the identity of the customer. If the server determines that the identity of the customer is authentic, it notifies the controller of the first one-way gate machine 8 to enter the first one-way gate machine 8 into the accessible state, so as to allow the customer to enter the store. Similarly, after the customer gets the merchandise he/she needs, he/she can come to the second one-way gate machine 10 for the second face scanning screen 12 to recognize his/her identity, collect the payment, display a list of purchased merchandise items, and enter the second one-way gate machine 10 into the accessible state to allow the customer to leave the store, thereby accomplishing the whole shopping process and effectively improving Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 security of merchandise of the store.
10036]In addition, the back-end server creates a virtual shopping cart for every customer entering the store, so that every merchandise item picked up by a customer will be real-time recorded in his/her virtual shopping cart. The depth cameras will keep tracking the customer. When a customer randomly takes a merchandise item anywhere from the weighing shelf 16, the weighing shelf 18, or the freezer 7, the server recognizes the merchandise item chosen according to the depth image information collected by the depth cameras and the weight variation information collected by the weighing shelf or the freezer, and links the merchandise item to the virtual shopping cart of that very customer. If the customer then decides to put the merchandise item back, the back end recognizes the dropped merchandise item according to the place the item is put and the resulting weight variation information and depth image information, and removes the item from the virtual shopping cart.
When the customer is about to leave the store, the items now in the virtual shopping cart are what the customer will pay for. At this time, the server uses the payment information set by the customer previously to collect the payment, thereby realizing unconscious pay.
Alternatively, the customer checks the merchandise information, makes payment and confirms reconciliation between the amount he/she just paid and the data associated with his/her virtual shopping cart, including, for example, the quantity, categories, unit prices and the sum. If reconciliation is confirmed, it is determined that the payment is successful.
In a conventional unmanned store, when multiple customers enter the cashier channel at the same time, the RFID reader may have problems in differentiating which items are with which customers and wrongly mix items chosen by different customer together. On the contrary, the disclosed unmanned store can accurately differentiate merchandise items related to different customers and prevent error accounting. This helps significantly improve shopping experience and ensures in- store merchandise security.
[00371Referring to FIG. 1, in the disclosed unmanned store, the electrical function portion further includes a liquid-crystal display 14. The liquid-crystal display 14 is installed on the side wall of the container body 1 and serves to display merchandise information and/or to present merchandise recommendations according to a shopping habit of a said customer.
The in-store Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 liquid-crystal display 14 can keep updating the latest information about promotions and bestselling items. It can even give recommend items according to the purchase records of a specific customer, thereby further improving shopping experience.
[00381In addition, the electrical function portion further includes a freezer 7 and an air-conditioner 17. The freezer 7 and the air-conditioner 17 are installed on the floor of the container body 1, respectively. Therein, the freezer 7 also has a weighing function and thus can give feedback about increase or decrease in merchandise weights in a real-time manner.
Thereby, the server can use this information combined with the depth image information to further enhance accuracy when recognizing what the merchandise item taken or placed by a customer is. Additionally, some fasteners are installed on the floor of the container body 1 to securely fix the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 in position, thereby preventing the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 from moving or collapsing during collapse of the unmanned store. In a particular implementation, as shown in FIG. 1, the weighing shelf 16 may be installed near the back of the container body 1, and the liquid-crystal display 14 may be installed above the weighing shelf 16 to show merchandise information and/or customer-specific recommendations. The weighing shelf 18 may be installed in the center of the container body 1 so as to make full use of the space in the container body 1.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the air-conditioner 17 is such positioned that its back is near nay side wall of the container body 1, and that side wall of the container body 1 is provided with a third opening positionally corresponding to the back of the air-conditioner 17. The third opening is covered by a heat-dissipating back cover 13. With the heat-dissipating back cover 13 removed, the air-conditioner 17 can be placed into or removed from the container body 1 through the third opening. This arrangement provides an easy access to the air-conditioner for convenient maintenance.
[00391Referring to FIG. 1-FIG. 4, the air-conditioner 17, the electrical cabinet 2, and the freezer 7 may be separated from each other by some decorative sidings 3. To set up the store, the decorative sidings 3 may be first installed in the container body 1, and then the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 can be positioned, respectively. Afterward, the electrical cabinet 2 is placed in position. During installation of the weighing shelves and the freezer, Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 the wires of their weight sensors are routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct.
Additionally, after the weighing shelves and the freezer are fixed, glass partitions 4 may be arranged in the container body 1 according to practical needs. Furthermore, any side wall of the container body may have openings for receiving the decorative tempered glass panels.
For example, the facade and the left side wall of the container body 1 are formed with openings inlaid with decorative tempered glass panels 5, 15, so as to improve esthetics of the shopping environment and make the interior of the store visible to people outside the store.
[0040]The disclosed unmanned store integrates all electrical components require by unmanned vending in a container body 1, making it highly adaptable to various geographical locations and applications as it can be set up rapidly and moved as a whole easily, thereby solving the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical rigidity.
[00411It is to be noted that any particular features, structures, materials and/or characteristics as recited in the foregoing description with respect to the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
[0042]The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims. Hence, the scope of the present invention shall only be defined by the appended claims.
Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10
The weighing shelves 16 are installed on the floor of the container body 1.
The first face scanning screen 11 and the second face scanning screen 12 are installed inside the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
[0029]The unmanned store of the present embodiment of the present invention uses the container body 1 to accommodate the equipment required by unmanned vending, such as the depth cameras, weighing shelves 16, the first face scanning screen 11, and the second face scanning screen 12, so as to make the whole unmanned store easy to move, thereby solving the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical irremovability.
[00301In a particular implementation, the container body 1 has a suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling and the depth camera is provided in plurality. The depth cameras are installed on the suspended ceiling frame for collecting depth image information of all entire shopping areas of the unmanned store. In addition, the electrical function portion further includes a plurality of surveillance cameras and a plurality of light strips, in which the surveillance cameras and the light strips are installed on the suspended ceiling frame, respectively, and the surveillance cameras and the light strips have bottoms thereof altitudinally higher than bottoms of the depth cameras. This arrangement is to prevent the depth cameras from being obstructed and thereby ensure the depth cameras can collect complete depth image information of the entire shopping area. Meanwhile, the surveillance cameras are such installed that they can cover the entire shopping area without any blind spot, so as to help maintain a secure shopping environment in the unmanned store.
[0031]As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the depth cameras are configured to accurately recognize merchandise information based on pictures of merchandise taken from any arbitrary angle, thereby identifying the merchandise item that is taken from the shelf or placed back to the shelf by a customer. In the present embodiment of the present invention, the depth cameras may be realized using the existing TOF depth cameras, RGB
stereo depth Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 cameras, and/or structured-light depth cameras. The suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling of the container body 1 not only acts as a framework for adjustably holding the depth cameras, the surveillance cameras, and the light strips, but also provides cable ducts for overhead wiring.
[00321In order to achieve unmanned vending, the electrical function portion further includes an electrical cabinet 2. The electrical cabinet 2 is installed on the floor of the container body 1 for providing all the equipment of the electrical function portion with power and/or network access. All the data lines and power cords of the depth cameras and the surveillance cameras as well as the power cords of the light strips are routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct on the suspended ceiling frame.
[0033]The electrical function portion further includes a first automatic door 6 and a second automatic door 9. The first automatic door 6 and the second automatic door 9 are installed at the first and second openings of the container body 1 with their power cords and the signal lines and power cords of infrared sensors built therein all routed to the electrical cabinet 2.
When a customer enters the sensing area outside the first automatic door 6, the infrared sensor built in the first automatic door 6 senses the customer and informs a controller in the first automatic door 6 to drive the first automatic door 6 open automatically to allow the customer to enter the store. For a customer to leave the store, the infrared sensor built in the second automatic door 9 senses the customer who enters the sensing area inside the second automatic door 9, and informs the controller of the second automatic door 9 to open the second automatic door 9 automatically to allow the customer to leave the store. With the automatic doors that open and close automatically, customers can enter and leave the unmanned store conveniently. Besides, the situation is also avoided that the store doors be left open so long that the in-store temperature becomes excessively high or low.
[00341Referring to FIG. 1, in the unmanned store of the present embodiment, the electrical function portion further includes a first one-way gate machine and a second one-way gate machine 10 that are installed on the container body 1. The first one-way gate machine 8 is positioned inside the first automatic door 6, while the second one-way gate machine 10 is positioned inside the second automatic door 6. The first face scanning screen 11 is installed Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 on the first one-way gate machine 8, so that when a customer gets authenticated at the first face scanning screen 11, the first one-way gate machine 8 enters its accessible state to allow the customer to enter the store. The second face scanning screen 12 is installed on the second one-way gate machine 10, so that when a customer gets authenticated at the second face scanning screen 12, the second one-way gate machine 10 enters its accessible state to allow the customer to leave the store.
[003511n a particular implementation, the first face scanning screen 11 and the second face scanning screen 12 may be installed on the first one-way gate machine 8 and the second one-way gate machine 10, respectively, and well powered and wired. Then the first one-way gate machine 8 and the second one-way gate machine 10 may be installed on the floor of the container body 1, and have their power cords and network lines routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct. A customer who wants to enter the store may scan the QR
code displayed in the first face scanning screen 11 for face binding or require for facial recognition access directly. Herein, "face binding" refers to a process through which the first face scanning screen 11 screens the facial features of the customer and uploads the data to a server where the facial features of the customer and other customer information are recorded as a credential to authenticate access and/or permit a payment to be made electronically through a payment tool specified by the customer. On the other hand, "facial recognition access"
works in the condition that face binding for the particular customer has been performed and involves that the first face scanning screen 11 scans the facial features of the customer and uploads the data to the server where the recorded facial features and other customer information are used to authenticate the identity of the customer. If the server determines that the identity of the customer is authentic, it notifies the controller of the first one-way gate machine 8 to enter the first one-way gate machine 8 into the accessible state, so as to allow the customer to enter the store. Similarly, after the customer gets the merchandise he/she needs, he/she can come to the second one-way gate machine 10 for the second face scanning screen 12 to recognize his/her identity, collect the payment, display a list of purchased merchandise items, and enter the second one-way gate machine 10 into the accessible state to allow the customer to leave the store, thereby accomplishing the whole shopping process and effectively improving Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 security of merchandise of the store.
10036]In addition, the back-end server creates a virtual shopping cart for every customer entering the store, so that every merchandise item picked up by a customer will be real-time recorded in his/her virtual shopping cart. The depth cameras will keep tracking the customer. When a customer randomly takes a merchandise item anywhere from the weighing shelf 16, the weighing shelf 18, or the freezer 7, the server recognizes the merchandise item chosen according to the depth image information collected by the depth cameras and the weight variation information collected by the weighing shelf or the freezer, and links the merchandise item to the virtual shopping cart of that very customer. If the customer then decides to put the merchandise item back, the back end recognizes the dropped merchandise item according to the place the item is put and the resulting weight variation information and depth image information, and removes the item from the virtual shopping cart.
When the customer is about to leave the store, the items now in the virtual shopping cart are what the customer will pay for. At this time, the server uses the payment information set by the customer previously to collect the payment, thereby realizing unconscious pay.
Alternatively, the customer checks the merchandise information, makes payment and confirms reconciliation between the amount he/she just paid and the data associated with his/her virtual shopping cart, including, for example, the quantity, categories, unit prices and the sum. If reconciliation is confirmed, it is determined that the payment is successful.
In a conventional unmanned store, when multiple customers enter the cashier channel at the same time, the RFID reader may have problems in differentiating which items are with which customers and wrongly mix items chosen by different customer together. On the contrary, the disclosed unmanned store can accurately differentiate merchandise items related to different customers and prevent error accounting. This helps significantly improve shopping experience and ensures in- store merchandise security.
[00371Referring to FIG. 1, in the disclosed unmanned store, the electrical function portion further includes a liquid-crystal display 14. The liquid-crystal display 14 is installed on the side wall of the container body 1 and serves to display merchandise information and/or to present merchandise recommendations according to a shopping habit of a said customer.
The in-store Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 liquid-crystal display 14 can keep updating the latest information about promotions and bestselling items. It can even give recommend items according to the purchase records of a specific customer, thereby further improving shopping experience.
[00381In addition, the electrical function portion further includes a freezer 7 and an air-conditioner 17. The freezer 7 and the air-conditioner 17 are installed on the floor of the container body 1, respectively. Therein, the freezer 7 also has a weighing function and thus can give feedback about increase or decrease in merchandise weights in a real-time manner.
Thereby, the server can use this information combined with the depth image information to further enhance accuracy when recognizing what the merchandise item taken or placed by a customer is. Additionally, some fasteners are installed on the floor of the container body 1 to securely fix the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 in position, thereby preventing the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 from moving or collapsing during collapse of the unmanned store. In a particular implementation, as shown in FIG. 1, the weighing shelf 16 may be installed near the back of the container body 1, and the liquid-crystal display 14 may be installed above the weighing shelf 16 to show merchandise information and/or customer-specific recommendations. The weighing shelf 18 may be installed in the center of the container body 1 so as to make full use of the space in the container body 1.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the air-conditioner 17 is such positioned that its back is near nay side wall of the container body 1, and that side wall of the container body 1 is provided with a third opening positionally corresponding to the back of the air-conditioner 17. The third opening is covered by a heat-dissipating back cover 13. With the heat-dissipating back cover 13 removed, the air-conditioner 17 can be placed into or removed from the container body 1 through the third opening. This arrangement provides an easy access to the air-conditioner for convenient maintenance.
[00391Referring to FIG. 1-FIG. 4, the air-conditioner 17, the electrical cabinet 2, and the freezer 7 may be separated from each other by some decorative sidings 3. To set up the store, the decorative sidings 3 may be first installed in the container body 1, and then the weighing shelves 16, 18 and the freezer 7 can be positioned, respectively. Afterward, the electrical cabinet 2 is placed in position. During installation of the weighing shelves and the freezer, Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 the wires of their weight sensors are routed to the electrical cabinet 2 through the duct.
Additionally, after the weighing shelves and the freezer are fixed, glass partitions 4 may be arranged in the container body 1 according to practical needs. Furthermore, any side wall of the container body may have openings for receiving the decorative tempered glass panels.
For example, the facade and the left side wall of the container body 1 are formed with openings inlaid with decorative tempered glass panels 5, 15, so as to improve esthetics of the shopping environment and make the interior of the store visible to people outside the store.
[0040]The disclosed unmanned store integrates all electrical components require by unmanned vending in a container body 1, making it highly adaptable to various geographical locations and applications as it can be set up rapidly and moved as a whole easily, thereby solving the problems of the conventional brick-and-mortar store buildings about long construction cycles and geographical rigidity.
[00411It is to be noted that any particular features, structures, materials and/or characteristics as recited in the foregoing description with respect to the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.
[0042]The present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments and it is understood that the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Moreover, as the contents disclosed herein should be readily understood and can be implemented by a person skilled in the art, all equivalent changes or modifications which do not depart from the concept of the present invention should be encompassed by the appended claims. Hence, the scope of the present invention shall only be defined by the appended claims.
Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10
Claims (10)
1. An unmanned store, characterized in comprising an electrical function portion and a container body for accommodating the electrical function portion, wherein the container body has a hollow, cuboid body whose facade is provided with a first opening and a second opening for customers to enter and leave the unmanned store, respectively; and the electrical function portion includes a depth camera, a weighing shelf, a first face scanning screen, and a second face scanning screen, in which the depth camera is attached to a ceiling of the container body, and the weighing shelf is installed on a floor of the container body, while the first face scanning screen and the second face scanning screen are installed inside the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
2. The unmanned store of claim 1, wherein the container body has a suspended ceiling frame suspended below the ceiling and the depth camera is provided in plurality and each installed on the suspended ceiling frame for collecting depth image information of an entire shopping area of the unmanned store.
3. The unmanned store of claim 2, wherein the electrical function portion further includes a plurality of surveillance cameras and a plurality of light strips, in which the surveillance cameras and the light strips are installed on the suspended ceiling frame, respectively, and the surveillance cameras and the light strips have bottoms thereof altitudinally higher than bottoms of the depth cameras.
4. The unmanned store of claim 1, wherein the electrical function portion further includes a first automatic door and a second automatic door that are installed at the first opening and the second opening, respectively.
5. The unmanned store of claim 4, wherein the electrical function portion further includes a first one-way gate machine and a second one-way gate machine that are installed on the container body floor, respectively, in which the first one-way gate machine is positioned inside the first automatic door while the second one-way gate machine is positioned inside the second automatic door;
wherein the first face scanning screen being installed on the first one-way gate machine, so that when customers get authenticated at the first face scanning screen, the first one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof; and the second face scanning screen being installed on the second one-way gate machine, so that when customers get authenticated at the second face scanning screen, the second one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof.
wherein the first face scanning screen being installed on the first one-way gate machine, so that when customers get authenticated at the first face scanning screen, the first one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof; and the second face scanning screen being installed on the second one-way gate machine, so that when customers get authenticated at the second face scanning screen, the second one-way gate machine enters an accessible state thereof.
6. The unmanned store of claim 1, wherein the electrical function portion further includes a liquid-crystal display that is installed on one side wall of the container body and serves to display merchandise information and/or to present merchandise recommendations according to a shopping habit of customers.
7. The unmanned store of claim 1, wherein the electrical function portion further includes a freezer and an air-conditioner that are installed on the floor of the container body, respectively.
8. The unmanned store of claim 7, wherein the air-conditioner has a back positioned closed to any side wall of the container body, and the container body is provided with a third opening positionally corresponding to the back of the air-conditioner, in which the third opening is covered by a heat-dissipating back cover.
9. The unmanned store of any of claims 1-8, wherein the electrical function portion further includes an electrical cabinet that is installed on the floor of the container body and serves to Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10 provide all components of the electrical function portion with power and/or network access.
10. The unmanned store of claim 7, wherein the floor of the container body is provided with a plurality of fasteners to fix the weighing shelf and the freezer in position.
Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10
Date Re9ue/Date Received 2021-11-10
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN202010949371.XA CN112200971A (en) | 2020-09-10 | 2020-09-10 | Unmanned goods shop |
| CN202010949371.X | 2020-09-10 |
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| CA3130356A1 true CA3130356A1 (en) | 2022-03-10 |
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| CA3130356A Pending CA3130356A1 (en) | 2020-09-10 | 2021-09-10 | Unmanned goods shop |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
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| CN103738640B (en) * | 2014-01-22 | 2016-08-17 | 潘玉坤 | Automation Counter System |
| KR20170026805A (en) * | 2015-08-28 | 2017-03-09 | 성균관대학교산학협력단 | Smart loading assistance system and method thereof |
| CN107622436A (en) * | 2017-09-06 | 2018-01-23 | 上海金荣翔企业发展有限公司 | A kind of vending system and good selling method in unmanned shop |
| CN108564444B (en) * | 2018-04-16 | 2019-10-18 | 广州葵翼信息科技有限公司 | A kind of automatic vending management system and management method |
| CN109326063A (en) * | 2018-10-11 | 2019-02-12 | 广东思理智能科技股份有限公司 | Integral self-service shopping system |
| CN109166018A (en) * | 2018-11-02 | 2019-01-08 | 林创辉 | A kind of large size left unguarded automatic shopping system |
| CN209149445U (en) * | 2018-11-07 | 2019-07-23 | 浙江撒母耳网络科技有限公司 | A kind of self-service convenience store of container-type |
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