CN110852678A

CN110852678A - Item counting apparatus, system, method, electronic device, and readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN110852678A
Application number: CN201911083299.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李卫雨
Original assignee: Lazas Network Technology Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Lazas Network Technology Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-07
Filing date: 2019-11-07
Publication date: 2020-02-28

Abstract

The embodiment of the disclosure discloses an article counting device, a system, a method, an electronic device and a readable storage medium. The article counting device includes: a storage device for storing items; a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device; and the label moving device is used for bearing the first label and enabling the first label to move, and in response to the change of the quantity of the items stored in the storage device, the label moving device moves the first label representing the changed quantity of the items to the target position. The embodiment of the disclosure can simplify the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device by using the label, reduce the consumption of manpower and material resources and improve the counting efficiency.

Description

Item counting apparatus, system, method, electronic device, and readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of mechanical technology, and in particular, to an article counting apparatus, system, method, electronic device, and readable storage medium.

Background

With the demands in the fields of retail, logistics and manufacturing, more and more sites are required to store and count the number of articles. It is important to know exactly how many items remain on a storage device, such as an automated retail machine or a shelf in a retail store, in a timely manner. However, in the related art, the task of counting the articles is usually to check the counting (checking) manually, which consumes a lot of manpower and material resources, and the efficiency of counting the articles cannot be guaranteed.

Disclosure of Invention

To solve the problems in the related art, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an article counting apparatus, a system, a method, an electronic device, and a readable storage medium.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an article counting apparatus, including:

a storage device for storing items;

a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device;

and the label moving device is used for bearing the first label and enabling the first label to move, and in response to the change of the quantity of the items stored in the storage device, the label moving device moves the first label representing the changed quantity of the items to the target position.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first implementation manner of the first aspect, the first tag is arranged corresponding to an article stored in the storage device, and the first tag arranged corresponding to the article indicates the number of articles stored in the storage device after the article is removed from the storage device.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the first aspect, in a second implementation manner of the first aspect, the label moving device is a belt transmission device, and includes at least one roller and a belt sleeved on the at least one roller, wherein the first label is disposed on the belt, and the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of the items to a target position in response to a change in the number of the items stored in the storage device.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a third implementation manner of the first aspect, when the article counting device includes a plurality of first tags disposed corresponding to the stored articles, a distance between two adjacent first tags on the belt is equal to a width of the articles in a moving direction of the belt.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the first aspect, the target position is a position of the belt transmission device near a front end of the article counting device.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the first aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the first aspect, the belt transmission device further includes a driving plate having one end connected to a belt, the other end of the driving plate is disposed at the rear of the storage device, and after the article stored in the storage device and located at the rear end, as the article located at the front end of the storage device moves out of the storage device, the driving plate moves towards the front end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first tag representing the changed number of articles moves to the target position.

In a sixth implementation form of the first aspect of the present disclosure, as the article is loaded into the storage device, the driving plate moves toward a rear end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first tag indicating the changed number of articles moves to the target position.

With reference to the first aspect, the present disclosure provides in a seventh implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the bottom of the storage device is disposed obliquely downward from the rear end to the front end, and as the article located at the front end of the storage device moves out of the storage device, the article stored in the storage device moves along the bottom of the storage device to the front end under the action of gravity.

With reference to the first aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the first aspect, the information recorded on the first label includes at least one of a barcode, a character, and a graphic.

With reference to the first aspect, the present disclosure provides in a ninth implementation manner of the first aspect, wherein the first tag is a machine-readable tag.

With reference to the first aspect and any one of the first to ninth implementation manners of the first aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the first aspect, the apparatus further includes:

the front end plate is arranged at the front end of the label moving device, and a window is arranged at the position of the front end plate corresponding to the target position so as to display a first label representing the changed number of the articles.

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the first aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the first aspect, the apparatus further includes:

a second label disposed on the front panel and adjacent to the window for storing identification information of the item stored in the storage device.

With reference to the first aspect and any one of the first to ninth implementation manners of the first aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the first aspect, the apparatus further includes:

a cabinet in which the storage device, the first tag, and the tag moving device are disposed.

In a second aspect, an article counting system is provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, which includes:

an article counting device comprising:

a storage device for storing items;

a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device;

a tag moving means for carrying the first tag and causing the first tag to move, which moves the first tag representing the changed number of items to a target location in response to a change in the number of items stored in the storage means;

a reader for reading the first tag moved to the target location to confirm the number of items currently stored in the storage device.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first implementation manner of the second aspect, the first tag is arranged corresponding to an article stored in the storage device, and the first tag arranged corresponding to the article indicates the number of articles stored in the storage device after the article is removed from the storage device.

With reference to the first implementation manner of the second aspect, in a second implementation manner of the second aspect, the label moving device is a belt transmission device, and includes at least one roller and a belt sleeved on the at least one roller, wherein the first label is disposed on the belt, and the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of the items to a target position in response to a change in the number of the items stored in the storage device.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a third implementation manner of the second aspect, when the article counting device includes a plurality of first tags disposed corresponding to the stored articles, two adjacent first tags are spaced apart on the belt by a distance equal to a width of the articles in a moving direction of the belt.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fourth implementation manner of the second aspect, the target position is a position of the belt transmission device near a front end of the article counting device.

With reference to the second implementation manner of the second aspect, in a fifth implementation manner of the second aspect, the present disclosure further includes a driving plate having one end connected to a belt, where the other end of the driving plate is disposed at the rear of the storage device, and is located behind an article stored in the storage device and located at the rear end, and as the article located at the front end of the storage device moves out of the storage device, the driving plate moves towards the front end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first tag representing the changed number of articles moves to a target position.

With reference to the fifth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a sixth implementation manner of the second aspect, as the articles are loaded into the storage device, the driving plate moves toward the rear end of the storage device along with the articles remaining in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first tag representing the changed number of articles moves to the target position.

With reference to the second aspect, the present disclosure provides in a seventh implementation manner of the second aspect, wherein the bottom of the storage device is disposed obliquely downward from the rear end to the front end, and as the article located at the front end of the storage device moves out of the storage device, the article stored in the storage device moves along the bottom of the storage device to the front end under the action of gravity.

With reference to the second aspect, in an eighth implementation manner of the second aspect, the information recorded on the first label includes at least one of a barcode, a character, and a graphic.

With reference to the second aspect, the present disclosure provides in a ninth implementation form of the second aspect, wherein the first label is a machine-readable label.

With reference to the second aspect or any one of the first to ninth implementation manners of the second aspect, in a tenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the article counting apparatus further includes:

With reference to the tenth implementation manner of the second aspect, in an eleventh implementation manner of the second aspect, the article counting apparatus further includes:

With reference to the eleventh implementation manner of the second aspect, in a twelfth implementation manner of the second aspect, the reader reads the second tag to identify identification information of an item stored in the storage device.

With reference to the second aspect, or any one of the first implementation manner to the ninth implementation manner of the second aspect, in a thirteenth implementation manner of the second aspect, the system further includes:

a cabinet in which the storage device, the first tag, and the tag moving device are disposed, or in which the storage device, the first tag, the tag moving device, and the reader are disposed.

In a third aspect, an article counting method is provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and is applied to the article counting system according to the twelfth implementation manner of the second aspect, the method includes:

receiving the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current number of the articles corresponding to the identification information;

and storing the identification information of the items stored in the storage device in a correlated manner with the current quantity of the items corresponding to the identification information.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an electronic device, including a memory and a processor; wherein the memory is configured to store one or more computer instructions, wherein the one or more computer instructions are executed by the processor to implement the method of the third aspect.

In a fifth aspect, the disclosed embodiments provide a readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method according to the third aspect.

The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure can have the following beneficial effects:

according to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the storage device is used for storing articles; a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device; and the label moving device is used for bearing the first label and moving the first label, responding to the change of the quantity of the articles stored in the storage device, and moving the first label representing the changed quantity of the articles to a target position, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the first tag is arranged corresponding to the article stored in the storage device, and the first tag arranged corresponding to the article represents the number of the articles stored in the storage device after the article is moved out of the storage device, so that the tag can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the label moving device is a belt transmission device and comprises at least one roller and a belt sleeved on the at least one roller, wherein the first label is arranged on the belt, the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of the articles to a target position in response to the change of the number of the articles stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, when the article counting device comprises a plurality of first labels which are arranged corresponding to the stored articles, the distance between every two adjacent first labels on the belt is equal to the width of the articles in the action direction of the belt, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the target position is the position, close to the front end of the article counting device, of the belt transmission device, so that the counting mode of articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using a label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the belt transmission device further comprises a driving plate with one end connected with the belt, the other end of the driving plate is arranged at the rear part of the storage device, and is positioned behind the article which is stored in the storage device and is positioned at the rear end, the driving plate moves towards the front end of the storage device along with the article which is stored in the storage device along with the article which is positioned at the front end of the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first label which represents the changed article number moves to the target position, the counting mode of the article stored in the storage device can be simplified by utilizing the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, as the articles are loaded into the storage device, the driving plate moves to the rear end of the storage device along with the articles left in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first label representing the changed number of the articles moves to the target position, the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the bottom of the storage device is obliquely and downwards arranged from the rear end to the front end, and the articles stored in the storage device move along the bottom of the storage device to the front end under the action of gravity along with the articles at the front end of the storage device moved out of the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the information recorded on the first label comprises at least one of a bar code, a character and a figure, so that the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the first label is a machine-readable label, so that the counting mode of articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the front end plate is arranged at the front end of the label moving device, the position of the front end plate corresponding to the target position is provided with the window for displaying the first label representing the number of the changed articles, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the second label is arranged on the front end plate and adjacent to the window and used for storing the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the cabinet body, in which the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device are arranged, can integrally construct an article counting device, so that the article counting device is convenient to use in various scenes. In addition, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the article counting device comprises: a storage device for storing items; a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device; a tag moving means for carrying the first tag and causing the first tag to move, which moves the first tag representing the changed number of items to a target location in response to a change in the number of items stored in the storage means; the reader is used for reading the first tags moved to the target position so as to confirm the number of the articles currently stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the reader reads the second tag to identify the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device are arranged in the cabinet, or the storage device, the first tag, the tag moving device and the reader are arranged in the cabinet, so that the article counting system can be integrally constructed and is convenient to use in various scenes. In addition, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the method is applied to the article counting system of the disclosure and comprises the following steps: receiving the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current number of the articles corresponding to the identification information; the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device and the current number of the articles corresponding to the identification information are stored in a correlated manner, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the disclosure.

Drawings

Other features, objects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a structure of an article counting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 shows a block diagram of a structure of an article counting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of an item counting system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of an item reduction scenario in a storage device in an item counting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 6 shows a schematic view of a scenario in which a first label in a window in a label area on a front end plate in an article counting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is changed;

fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an application scenario of an article counting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example of an application scenario of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of another example of an application scenario of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of an item counting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a computer system suitable for use in implementing an item counting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can easily implement them. Also, for the sake of clarity, parts not relevant to the description of the exemplary embodiments are omitted in the drawings.

In the present disclosure, it is to be understood that terms such as "including" or "having," etc., are intended to indicate the presence of labels, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof disclosed in the present specification, and are not intended to preclude the possibility that one or more other labels, numbers, steps, actions, components, parts, or combinations thereof are present or added.

It should be further noted that the embodiments and labels in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict. The present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the storage device is used for storing articles; a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device; the tag moving device is used for bearing the first tag and enabling the first tag to move, and the tag moving device is used for moving the first tag representing the changed number of the articles to a target position in response to the change of the number of the articles stored in the storage device, so that the tag can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of an article counting apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 1, the item counting apparatus 100 includes a storage device 110, a first tag 120, and a tag moving device 130.

The storage device 110 is used to store items 111. The first tag 120 is used to indicate the number of items 111 stored by the storage device 110. The tag moving means 130 is configured to carry the first tag 120 and move the first tag 120, and the tag moving means 130 moves the first tag 120 indicating the changed number of the items 111 to the target location 121 in response to the change in the number of the items 111 stored in the storage means 110. In the present disclosure, the tag moving means may be located at any one position of the storage means, such as an upper portion, a lower portion, a left side, or a right side, and the present disclosure does not limit the relative positional relationship of the tag moving means and the storage means. The description of the relative positional relationship of the two in the embodiments is merely for the purpose of describing examples, and is not intended to limit the relative positional relationship of the two.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage device 110 may refer to a device that stores items, such as a shelf. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the storage device 110 may adopt various structures known in the related art, and the present disclosure does not limit thereto.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the bottom of the storage device is disposed obliquely downward from the rear end to the front end, and as the articles at the front end of the storage device are moved out of the storage device, the articles stored by the storage device move along the bottom of the storage device to the front end under the influence of gravity.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the bottom of the storage device is obliquely and downwards arranged from the rear end to the front end, and the articles stored by the storage device move along the bottom of the storage device to the front end under the action of gravity along with the articles at the front end of the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

An article decrease scenario in a storage device in an article counting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 5.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of an item reduction scenario in a storage device 500 in an item counting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The storage device 500 shown in fig. 5 includes a front end panel 520, a bottom panel 540, and a rear end panel 530, and a plurality of articles 510 are stored in the storage device 500. As can be seen from fig. 5, the bottom plate 540 of the storage device 500 in this example is disposed obliquely downward from the rear end to the front end, i.e., the end of the bottom plate 540 near the rear end plate 530 is higher than the end near the front end plate 520. Such a storage device configuration is adapted to automatically move the remaining items 510 along the floor 540 toward the front of the storage device 500 under the force of gravity as the items 510 are removed from the front of the storage device 500.

As shown in fig. 5, the storage device 500 in state (a) stores 4 articles 510, and when an article 510 is removed from the front end of the storage device 500, the remaining 3 articles 510 in the storage device 500 in state (B) automatically move toward the front end of the storage device 500 along the bottom plate 540 by gravity, and the rear end plate 530 also moves toward the front end of the storage device 500 by gravity. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that upon removal of any item 510 from storage device 500 in state (a), the remaining items 510 will automatically move toward the front of storage device 500. Even if the item 510 at the rearmost end of the storage device 500 is removed and the remaining items 510 remain stationary, the rear end plate 530 moves toward the front end of the storage device 500 by gravity.

It should be noted that the storage device whose bottom is obliquely arranged is merely one example of the storage device in the article counting device in the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The bottom of the article counting device may be flat or any shape. The movement of the items in the storage device may be driven by a machine rather than gravity. That is, the present disclosure does not limit the structure of the storage device and the manner in which the articles are driven to move.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first tag 120 is disposed in correspondence with the item 111 stored in the storage device 110, and the first tag 120 disposed in correspondence with the item 111 indicates the number of items stored in the storage device 110 after the item 111 is removed from the storage device 110.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the first label is arranged corresponding to the article stored in the storage device, and the first label arranged corresponding to the article represents the number of the articles stored in the storage device after the article is moved out of the storage device, so that the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the item counting device 100 may include a plurality of first tags 120. In the case where the storage device 110 stores full items 111, the first tags 120 correspond one-to-one to the items 111. In some cases, the storage device 110 may not store full items 111, for example, a vending machine employing the item counting device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure sells items 111 or removes items 111 from a shelf of the item counting device 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure in a warehouse. When the item 111 is moved out of the storage device 110, the tag moving device 130 correspondingly drives the first tag 120, which indicates the number of items 111 currently stored in the storage device 110, to move to the target location 121, so as to read the first tag 120 of the target location 121 from the outside.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the item 111 is added to the storage device 110, the tag moving device 130 correspondingly drives the first tag 120 representing the number of items 111 currently stored by the storage device 110 to move to the target location 121, so as to read the first tag 120 of the target location 121 from the outside.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the information recorded on the first label includes at least one of a barcode, a character, and a graphic.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first label is a machine-readable label.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, an example of the first label may be as shown in

first labels

611 and 612 in fig. 6. The

first tags

611 and 612 shown in fig. 6 include information in both the form of a barcode and characters. The first tag 611 indicates that the current number of items stored by the storage device is 2, and the first tag 612 indicates that the current number of items stored by the storage device is 1.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the barcode information and character information on the

first tags

611 and 612 shown in fig. 6 may be machine-read to identify the current number of items stored by the storage device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the

first labels

611 and 612 shown in fig. 6 may be labels such as paper labels or plastic labels directly printed with information on the quantity of the article. It should be noted that the first tag may also be various machine-readable tags such as RFID (radio frequency identification) tags, magnetic tags, and the like, which the present disclosure does not limit.

Fig. 6 is referred to herein merely for purposes of illustration of the first label, and details of the scenario shown in fig. 6 will be described below.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tag moving apparatus 130 shown in fig. 1 may take various structures. For example, the label moving device 130 may be a carousel-type device with the labels 120 disposed on the edge of the carousel-type device. For example, the label moving device 130 may be a roller type device, and the labels 120 are disposed on an outer circumference of the roller type device. For example, the label moving device 130 may be a belt-type device or a crawler-type device, with the labels 120 disposed on the surface of the belt or crawler.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the label moving device is a belt driving device including at least one roller and a belt sleeved on the at least one roller, wherein the first label is disposed on the belt, and the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of the items to the target position in response to a change in the number of the items stored in the storage device.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the label moving device is a belt transmission device and comprises at least one roller and a belt sleeved on the at least one roller, wherein the first label is arranged on the belt, the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of the articles to a target position in response to the change of the number of the articles stored in the storage device, the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the belt drive may be as shown in belt drive 710 in fig. 7. The belt drive 710 includes two rollers 711 and a belt 712 trained over the two rollers 711. A plurality of first tabs 713 are provided on the belt 712, and the belt 712 moves the first tab 713, which represents the changed number of items 510, to a target position, i.e., a position corresponding to the window 610, in response to a change in the number of items 510 stored in the storage device 500'. The window 610 may be a transparent window to facilitate reading of the first label through the window 610.

Reference to fig. 7 is made herein for illustrative purposes only to the belt drive, and details in the scenario illustrated in fig. 7 will be described below.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the article counting device includes a plurality of first tags disposed corresponding to the stored articles, adjacent two of the first tags are spaced apart on the belt by a distance equal to the width of the articles in the direction of travel of the belt.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance that two adjacent first labels are spaced on the belt refers to the distance between the center points of the two adjacent first labels. Since the first tags are disposed corresponding to the articles and the belt moves the first tags representing the changed number of articles to the target position in response to the change in the number of articles stored in the storage device, the distance between two adjacent first tags on the belt is equal to the width of the articles in the traveling direction of the belt so that the change in the number of articles in the storage device matches the moving distance of the first tags on the belt. Whether the number of items in the storage device is increased or decreased, the first tag may be moved according to a change in the number of items in the storage device, and the first tag indicating the changed number of items may be moved to the target location.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance between two adjacent first labels on the belt is equal to the width of the article in the moving direction of the belt, which also means that the articles in the operating device are arranged in sequence along the moving direction of the belt instead of staggered, so that the distance of the first labels on the belt can be consistent with the change of the number of the articles in the storage device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the target position is a position of the belt drive near a front end of the article counting device.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the target position is the position, close to the front end of the article counting device, of the belt transmission device, the counting mode of articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, since the belt may be reciprocally rolled around the roller, the target position may be disposed near the front end of the article counting device, which facilitates the reading of the first tag indicating the current number of articles stored by the storage device from the outside. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the target position 715 is a position of the belt drive 710 near the front of the article counting device 700. In the scenario shown in FIG. 7, the first tag at the target location 715 is easily readable from the outside, thus simplifying the way items are counted.

An example of an application scenario of the article counting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 6 shows a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a first label in a window 610 in a label area 600 on a front panel 520 in an article counting device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is changed.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an application scenario of an article counting apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 7, article counting apparatus 700 includes a storage device 500', a first tag 713, and a tag moving device 710.

The storage device 500' is used to store items 510. The structure of the storage device 500 'is substantially the same as the example structure of the storage device 500 shown in fig. 5, except that the driving plate 530' is different from the rear end plate 530. In the example shown in fig. 5, the rear end plate 530 is used to enclose the storage device 500. In the example shown in fig. 7, the actuation plate 530 ', in addition to being used to enclose the device 500', may also be used to actuate the tag moving device 710 to move the first tag 713 to the target location 715. In the example shown in fig. 7, the label moving device 710 is implemented as a belt drive 710.

In the example shown in fig. 7, the belt drive 710 includes two rollers 711 and a belt 712 that is looped over the two rollers 711. The first tag 713 is disposed on the belt 712, and the belt 712 moves the first tag 713, which represents the changed number of items 510, to the target location 715 in response to a change in the number of items 510 stored in the storage device 500'. When the article counting apparatus 700 includes a plurality of first tags 713 disposed corresponding to the stored articles 510, adjacent first tags 713 are spaced apart on the belt by a distance equal to the width of the articles 510 in the direction of travel of the belt 712.

In the example shown in fig. 7, the target position 715 is a position of the belt drive 710 near the front end of the article counting device 700.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the belt driving unit 710 further includes a driving plate 530 ' having one end connected to the belt 712, the other end of the driving plate 530 ' being disposed at the rear of the storage unit 500 ' and located behind the article 510 stored in the storage unit 500 ' at the rear end, as the article 510 located at the front end of the storage unit 500 ' moves out of the storage unit 500 ', the driving plate 530 ' moves toward the front end of the storage unit 500 ' with the remaining articles 510 in the storage unit 500 ', and the belt 712 is driven to move, so that the first tag 713 representing the number of the changed article 510 moves to the target position 715.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the belt transmission device further comprises a driving plate with one end connected with the belt, the other end of the driving plate is arranged at the rear part of the storage device, and is positioned behind the article which is stored in the storage device and is positioned at the rear end, along with the fact that the article which is positioned at the front end of the storage device is moved out of the storage device, the driving plate moves towards the front end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device, and drives the belt to move, so that the first label which represents the changed number of the articles moves to the target position, the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, as the items 510 are loaded into the storage device 500 ', the drive plate 530' moves toward the rear end of the storage device 500 'with the remaining items 510 in the storage device 500', and the drive belt 712 moves to cause the first tag 713, which represents the changed number of items 510, to move to the target location.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, as the articles are loaded into the storage device, the driving plate moves to the rear end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device, and the driving belt moves to enable the first label representing the changed number of the articles to move to the target position, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In fig. 7, an enlarged partial top view of the belt 712 shows the arrangement of the first label 713 on the belt 712. Although the first tags from the number 0 to the number 20 are shown in the partially enlarged top view of the belt 712, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and the number of first tags 713 on the belt 712 or the number of first tags in an article counting device having other tag moving devices may be more or less. In one embodiment, the number of first tags is the maximum number of items that the storage device can store.

Also, the arrangement direction and the arrangement order of the first labels 713 on the belt 712 in fig. 7 may be different. In addition, although the information indicating the number of the items recorded on the first label 713 includes a barcode and a number, such a recording manner is merely an example, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and other characters or shapes may be recorded on the first label 713. Additionally, the first tag 713 may also be a machine readable tag in various forms, such as an electronic tag.

In fig. 7, a label area 600 is provided at a location of the front plate 520 of the storage device 500' corresponding to the target location 715. A window may be provided in the tab area 600 to externally present the tab 713 moved to the target location 715 and to facilitate reading the tab 713 located at the target location 715 from outside the storage device 500'. In fig. 7, a second label 620 may also be included in the label area 600, adjacent to the window 610, for storing identification information of the item 510 stored in the storage device 500'. The identification information of the item 510 may also include at least one of a barcode, a character, and a graphic.

A scene of the first label change shown in the window 610 is described in detail below with reference to fig. 6. In an example of the present disclosure, the

first tabs

611 and 612 exhibited in the window 610 are the first tabs exhibited in the window 610 after the tab 713 on the belt 712 shown in fig. 7 has moved to the target location 715.

As shown in fig. 6, the first label 611 shown in the window 610 in the label area 600 in state (a) indicates that the number of items 510 remaining in the storage device 500' in fig. 7 is 2. In this case, an item 510 is removed from the storage device 500' and the label area 600 enters state (B). In this case, the driving plate 530 ' moves toward the front end of the storage device 500 ' with the remaining articles 510 in the storage device 500 ', and the driving belt 712 moves, so that the first label 612 representing the changed number of articles 510 moves to the target position 715. The first label 612 shown in the window 610 in the label area 600 in state (B) represents that the number of items 510 remaining in the storage device 500' in fig. 7 is 1.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the tab area 600 may be implemented as a separate tab area, and a window is provided in the tab area. However, it should also be understood that the label area is drawn on the front end plate to show the first label and the second label, and when the article counting device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is practically applied, the window and the second label may be directly provided on the front end plate without the label area.

An article counting apparatus according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an article counting apparatus 200 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The article counting device 200 shown in fig. 2 differs from the article counting device 100 shown in fig. 1 in that it further comprises a front end plate 210 and a window 211.

The front panel 210 is disposed at the front end of the label moving device 130, and a window 211 is disposed at a position of the front panel 210 corresponding to the target position 121 to display the first label 120 indicating the changed number of the items 111.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the front end plate is arranged at the front end of the label moving device, the position of the front end plate corresponding to the target position is provided with the window for displaying the first label representing the number of the changed articles, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by utilizing the label, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the item counting device 200 may further comprise a second label (not shown in fig. 2). A second label is disposed on the front panel 210 and adjacent to the window 211 for storing identification information of the item 111 stored in the storage device 110.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the second label is arranged on the front end plate and is adjacent to the window and used for storing the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device, so that the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the article counting apparatus further comprises a cabinet (not shown in the drawings) in which the storage device, the first tag, and the tag moving device are disposed.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the cabinet body is provided with the storage device, the first label and the label moving device, so that the article counting device can be integrally constructed and is convenient to use in various scenes. In addition, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the disclosure, the cabinet may be a fully enclosed structure or a partially enclosed structure, and functions to enable the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device to form a whole, so as to be convenient for moving, installing and using. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the cabinet may be implemented so as not to interfere with reading the first tag moved to the target position from outside the cabinet. In case the item counting device comprises a second tag, the cabinet is further realized so as not to hinder the reading of the second tag from the outside. For example, the article counting apparatus including the cabinet may be implemented as a vending machine provided in various places, a shelf provided in a warehouse, a medicine cabinet provided in a pharmacy, and the like. Those skilled in the art can implement the article counting device as various specific products according to the teaching of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure does not limit the specific implementation manner of the article counting device.

An example of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 3.

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of an item counting system 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The item counting system 300, in addition to comprising the item counting device 100 shown in fig. 1, also comprises a reader 310.

The reader 310 is used to read the first tag 120 moved to the target location 121 to confirm the number of items 111 currently stored in the storage device 100.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the article counting device comprises: a storage device for storing items; a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device; a tag moving means for carrying and moving the first tag, which moves the first tag indicating the changed number of the items to the target location in response to a change in the number of the items stored in the storage means; the reader is used for reading the first tags moved to the target position so as to confirm the number of the articles currently stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first tag is disposed in correspondence with an item stored in the storage device, and the first tag disposed in correspondence with the item represents a quantity of the item stored in the storage device after the item is removed from the storage device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the belt drive further includes a driving plate having one end connected to the belt, the other end of the driving plate being disposed at a rear of the storage device and behind the article stored in the storage device at the rear end, the driving plate moving toward a front end of the storage device along with the remaining articles in the storage device as the article at the front end of the storage device moves out of the storage device, and the driving belt moving so that the first tag indicating the changed number of articles moves to the target position.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, as the items are loaded into the storage device, the drive plate moves toward the rear end of the storage device with the items remaining in the storage device, and the drive belt moves to cause the first tag representing the changed number of items to move to the target position.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the article counting device further includes a front panel disposed at a front end of the label moving device, and a window is disposed at a position of the front panel corresponding to the target position to display the first label indicating the changed number of the articles.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the article counting device further comprises: the front end plate is arranged at the front end of the label moving device, a window is arranged at the position, corresponding to the target position, of the front end plate to display the first labels representing the number of the changed articles, the labels can be utilized to simplify the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the article counting device further includes a second label disposed on the front end plate and adjacent to the window for storing identification information of the articles stored in the storage device.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the article counting device further comprises: the second label is arranged on the front end plate and adjacent to the window and used for storing the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device, the label can be used for simplifying the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

An example of an item counting system according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 4.

Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of an item counting system 400 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The item counting system 400 shown in fig. 4 differs from the item counting system 300 shown in fig. 3 in that the further inclusion of the item counting system 400 includes the item counting apparatus 200 shown in fig. 2.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the reader 310 reads the second tag to identify the identification information of the item 111 stored in the storage device 110.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the reader reads the second tag to identify the identification information of the article stored in the storage device, so that the counting mode of the article stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

An application scenario example of the article counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 8.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an example application scenario of an item counting system 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The item counting system 800 shown in fig. 8 includes a reader 810 in addition to the item counting apparatus 700 shown in fig. 7. The reader 810 may read the first tag 713 moved to the destination location 815 to confirm the number of items 510 currently stored in the storage device 500'. The reader 810 reads the second tag 620 to identify the identification information of the item 510 stored in the storage device 500'.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the reader may be a device having a corresponding reading function according to the type of the first tag and the second tag. For example, when the first tag and the second tag record information by a barcode, the reader may be a barcode. For example, when the first and second tags are RFID tags, the reader may be an RFID reader. The present disclosure does not limit the types of the first tag, the second tag, and the reader.

Another example of an application scenario of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 9.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of another example of an application scenario of an item counting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first tags of the plurality of storage devices indicating the changed number of items may be read using the reader mentioned in the foregoing embodiment. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the reader mentioned in the foregoing embodiment may also be utilized to read the second tags of the plurality of storage devices, which represent the identification information of the items stored in the storage devices. In fig. 9, 6 sets of the first tag and the second tag are shown, that is, the reader reads the item information of the items stored in the 6 storage devices, respectively.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of storage devices may be combined. When article counting is required, a reader (e.g., a camera, a bar code scanner, etc.) with bar code identification can perform automatic article counting. The number of each different item can be found according to the position relationship of the second label and the first label in the window. For example, the scheme can be used for unmanned (robot) automatic article counting, and the scheme can also be used for manually counting the articles.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the identification information of the items stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current number of the items corresponding to the identification information may be received; and storing the identification information of the items stored in the storage device in association with the current number of items to which the identification information corresponds. That is, the table shown in fig. 9 may be generated by using the identification information of the item read by the reader and the current number of items corresponding to the identification information. The item column in the table displays identification information of items stored in the storage device, and the quantity column displays the current quantity of the items corresponding to the identification information in the storage device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the item counting system further comprises a cabinet (not shown in the figures) in which the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device are disposed. Or, the cabinet is provided with a storage device, a first tag, a tag moving device and a reader.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the cabinet body is provided with the storage device, the first label and the label moving device, or the cabinet body is provided with the storage device, the first label, the label moving device and the reader, so that the product counting system can be integrally constructed and is convenient to use in various scenes. In addition, the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified by using the labels, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the cabinet may be a fully enclosed structure or a partially enclosed structure. In one embodiment of the disclosure, when the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device are arranged in the cabinet, the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device can be integrated into a whole, so that the storage device, the first tag and the tag moving device are convenient to move, install and use. In embodiments of the present disclosure, the cabinet may be implemented so as not to interfere with reading the first tag moved to the target position from outside the cabinet. In case the item counting device comprises a second tag, the cabinet is further realized so as not to hinder the reading of the second tag from the outside.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the storage device, the first tag, the tag moving device and the reader are disposed in the cabinet, the storage device, the first tag, the tag moving device and the reader may be integrated into a whole, so as to be convenient for moving, installing and using. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the determination of whether to locate the reader within the cabinet may be made as required by the actual application of the item counting system.

For example, the article counting system including the cabinet may be implemented as a vending machine provided in various places, a shelf provided in a warehouse, a medicine cabinet provided in a pharmacy, and the like. Those skilled in the art can implement the item counting system as various specific products in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is not limited to the specific implementation of the item counting system.

It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solutions described with reference to fig. 3, 4, 8 and 9 can be combined with the embodiments described with reference to fig. 1, 2 and 5 to 7, so as to have the technical effects achieved by the embodiments described with reference to fig. 1, 2 and 5 to 7. For specific content, reference may be made to the description made above according to fig. 1, fig. 2, and fig. 5 to fig. 7, and specific content thereof is not described herein again.

An example of an article counting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to fig. 10.

Fig. 10 shows a flow chart of an item counting method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The article counting method shown in fig. 10 is applied to the article counting system described with reference to fig. 3, 4, 7 to 9. The method shown in fig. 10 includes steps S1010 and S1020.

In step S1010, the identification information of the item stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current number of the item corresponding to the identification information are received.

In step S1020, the identification information of the item stored in the storage device and the current number of items corresponding to the identification information are stored in association with each other.

According to the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the disclosure, the method is applied to the article counting system of the disclosure and comprises the following steps: receiving the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current quantity of the articles corresponding to the identification information; the identification information of the articles stored in the storage device and the current number of the articles corresponding to the identification information are stored in a correlated manner, so that the counting mode of the articles stored in the storage device can be simplified, the consumption of manpower and material resources is reduced, and the counting efficiency is improved.

It can be understood by those skilled in the art that the technical solution described with reference to fig. 10 can be combined with the embodiments described with reference to fig. 1 to 9, so as to have the technical effects achieved by the embodiments described with reference to fig. 1 to 9. For details, reference may be made to the description made above with reference to fig. 1 to 9, and details thereof are not repeated herein.

The foregoing embodiments describe the internal functions and structures of the article counting apparatus and the article counting system, and in one possible design, the foregoing article counting method is implemented by an electronic device, as shown in fig. 11, where the electronic device 1100 may include a processor 1101 and a memory 1102.

The memory 1102 is used for storing programs that support the data processing apparatus to execute the item counting method according to any of the above embodiments, and the processor 1101 is configured to execute the programs stored in the memory 1102.

The memory 1102 is configured to store one or more computer instructions, wherein the one or more computer instructions are executed by the processor 1101 to perform the steps of:

and receiving the identification information of the items stored in the storage device read by the reader and the current quantity of the items corresponding to the identification information.

The identification information of the items stored in the storage device is stored in association with the current number of the items corresponding to the identification information.

The processor 1101 is configured to perform all or some of the method steps described above.

The electronic device may further include a communication interface in the structure, and the communication interface is used for the electronic device to communicate with other devices or a communication network.

It is noted that the processor 1101 in the present embodiment may be implemented as two or more processors.

The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer storage medium for storing computer software instructions for the data processing apparatus, which includes a program for executing the method in any of the above embodiments, thereby providing technical effects of the method.

As shown in fig. 12, the computer system 1200 includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)1201, which can perform part or all of the processing in the embodiment shown in the above-described drawings according to a program stored in a Read Only Memory (ROM)1202 or a program loaded from a storage section 1208 into a Random Access Memory (RAM) 1203. In the RAM1203, various programs and data necessary for the operation of the system 1200 are also stored. The CPU1201, ROM1202, and RAM1203 are connected to each other by a bus 1204. An input/output (I/O) interface 1205 is also connected to bus 1204.

The following components are connected to the I/O interface 1205: an input section 1206 including a keyboard, a mouse, and the like; an output portion 1207 including a display device such as a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT), a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), and the like, and a speaker; a storage section 1208 including a hard disk and the like; and a communication section 1209 including a network interface card such as a LAN card, a modem, or the like. The communication section 1209 performs communication processing via a network such as the internet. A driver 1210 is also connected to the I/O interface 1205 as needed. A removable medium 1211, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like, is mounted on the drive 1210 as necessary, so that a computer program read out therefrom is mounted into the storage section 1208 as necessary.

In particular, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described above with reference to the figures may be implemented as computer software programs. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure include a computer program product comprising a computer program tangibly embodied on a medium readable thereby, the computer program comprising program code for performing the methods of the figures. In such an embodiment, the computer program may be downloaded and installed from a network through the communication section 1209, and/or installed from the removable medium 1211.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, a program segment, or a portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The units or modules described in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by software or hardware. The units or modules described may also be provided in a processor, and the names of the units or modules do not in some cases constitute a limitation of the units or modules themselves.

As another aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be the computer-readable storage medium included in the apparatus in the above-described embodiment; or it may be a separate computer readable storage medium not incorporated into the device. The computer-readable storage medium stores one or more programs which are used by one or more processors to perform the methods described in the present disclosure, thereby providing technical effects brought by the methods.

The foregoing description is only exemplary of the preferred embodiments of the disclosure and is illustrative of the principles of the technology employed. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the invention in the present disclosure is not limited to the specific combination of the above-mentioned features, but also encompasses other embodiments in which any combination of the above-mentioned features or their equivalents is possible without departing from the inventive concept. For example, the above features and (but not limited to) the features disclosed in this disclosure having similar functions are replaced with each other to form the technical solution.

Claims

1. An article counting device, comprising:

a storage device for storing items;

a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device;

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first tag is positioned in correspondence with an item stored in the storage device, and wherein the first tag positioned in correspondence with the item indicates a quantity of the item stored in the storage device after the item is removed from the storage device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the label moving means is a belt drive comprising at least one roller and a belt looped over the at least one roller, wherein the first label is disposed on the belt, and wherein the belt moves the first label representing the changed number of items to the target location in response to a change in the number of items stored in the storage means.

4. An item counting system, comprising:

an article counting device comprising:

a storage device for storing items;

a first tag for indicating the number of items stored by the storage device;

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the item counting device further comprises:

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the item counting device further comprises:

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the reader reads the second tag to identify identification information of the item stored in the storage device.

8. An article counting method applied to the article counting system according to claim 7, the method comprising:

9. An electronic device comprising a memory and a processor; wherein the memory is to store one or more computer instructions, wherein the one or more computer instructions are to be executed by the processor to implement the method of claim 8.

10. A readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of claim 8.