JP2012174154A - Stock state management method and stock state management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a customer to be notified of a stock state of a commodity when no commodity is left on a shelf.SOLUTION: An image analysis/display processing section 14: monitors an image, taken by a real-time camera 8, of a shelf of a commodity; identifies a commodity associated with an out-of-commodity marker provided on the shelf when detecting the same; and processes to superimpose a message indicating that the stock of the commodity is being checked at a position in the image of the shelf where the out-of-commodity marker is detected. A stock state control section 13 displays: the image of the real-time camera 8 on a first display device 6 in normal time; and the image with a message indicating that the stock of the commodity is being checked, superimposed thereon on the first display device 6 when no commodity is left on the shelf and the out-of-commodity marker is detected. A display of the image with the superimposed message is continued until a POS system confirms a sale of the product. Thereafter, a message in accordance with a stock state is displayed on the first display device 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to a stock status management method and a stock status management device, and in particular, a stock status management method that notifies in real time stock information of a product displayed on a display shelf or a product to be displayed so as not to lose a sales opportunity. And an inventory status management device.

  There is a sales form in which products are sold by arranging products on a display shelf. For example, when products are displayed in a display case, the products are sold in response to an order from a customer who stops by the store. If there is a store staff specializing in reception at the sales floor of the showcase, the store clerk often knows the inventory information of the product, but in the case where the store clerk also serves multiple offices There are many cases where the number of products arranged on the display shelf is not grasped. As a result, if there are no products on the display shelf, the customer who sees the display shelf with the product out of stock despite having the stock in the backyard determines that the product has been sold out and confirms the sales clerk with the stock. You may give up without purchasing.

  In order to improve such a situation, there is a known system that installs a remaining product quantity detection device on a display shelf, detects when there is a change in the remaining product quantity, and notifies the store clerk about the replenishment of the product. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). This eliminates the need for the store clerk to constantly monitor the display shelf, and prevents the product from disappearing from the display shelf by receiving the notification and replenishing the product in advance.

JP 2009-205482 A

  However, if there are no items on the display shelf, the customer who sees the situation has no way of knowing whether the item is in stock at that time, so even if the store clerk is preparing for replenishment, it is judged out of stock. As a result, there was a problem that sales opportunities were lost. In addition, even in a sales form where customers take goods from the display shelves and bring them to the checkout location, the products once taken from the display shelves may be returned to the original place, and in this case, the goods are lost. Similarly, a customer who sees a display shelf will be judged out of stock.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an inventory status management method and an inventory status management device capable of accurately notifying the customer of the inventory status of the corresponding product when the product is no longer in the display shelf. The purpose is to provide.

  In one proposal, an image of a display shelf photographed by a real-time camera is analyzed, and a product-free marker provided in advance on the display shelf is detected so that it appears when all the products displayed on the display shelf are removed. Then, the corresponding product placed on the detected product no marker is discriminated, and a message indicating that the inventory is being checked is received from the detection of the product no marker until the corresponding product is settled. Display on the display device for the target product, and after settlement of the corresponding product, the presence or absence of the stock is determined based on the cumulative stock of the corresponding product and the confirmed number that is the number of the sales of the corresponding product confirmed, A stock status management method is provided, wherein a message indicating that there is a stock or a message indicating that there is no stock is displayed on the display device according to whether or not there is stock.

  Further, in one proposal, a real-time camera that sends an image of a display shelf of a product in real time, a display device for a customer that displays the image of the display shelf, and an image of the display shelf are analyzed, Detecting a product-free marker provided in advance on the display shelf so as to appear when all of the products displayed on the display shelf are removed, and determining the product from the detected product-free marker, An image analysis / display processing unit that performs processing for superimposing a message image on a position where the product is detected, and until the sale is confirmed after the image analysis / display processing unit detects the product-free marker. An inventory status control unit that performs control so that a message indicating that inventory is being confirmed is displayed on the display device in a superimposed manner on the position of the corresponding product in the image on the display shelf. Inventory situation management apparatus is provided.

  According to such inventory status management method and inventory status management device, when there is no product in the display shelf, a message indicating that inventory is being confirmed is displayed on the customer display device at that time. I made it. This makes it possible to notify the customer that there may be inventory even if there are no items on the display shelf.

  The inventory status management method and the inventory status management device configured as described above indicate to the customer that the store side is taking some measures in response to the absence of the product from the display shelf when the product is exhausted from the display shelf. Since it is displayed on the device, it is possible to discourage immediate abandonment of purchase and to minimize the loss of sales opportunities.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration example for implement | achieving the processing function of the inventory condition management apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows the processing function of the inventory condition management apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of an arrival information table. It is a figure which shows the example of a data structure of a sales information table. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of an inventory information table. It is a figure which shows the example of the table of an image analysis / display process part, Comprising: (A) shows the data structural example of the information table for marker detection, (B) has shown the data structural example of the analysis result information table. It is a figure which shows the example of installation of a marker. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the goods to a display shelf. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process of an inventory condition management apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the initialization process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an arrival number reflection process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an image analysis process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of an inventory information control process. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display of the 1st display apparatus for customers.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the case where an inventory status management apparatus is applied to a POS terminal of a point-of-sale information management (POS) system.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration example for realizing the processing function of the inventory status management apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The POS terminal includes a central processing unit 1, a main storage device 2, and an input / output circuit 3 to which a plurality of peripheral devices are connected, and they are connected to each other by a bus 4. The entire system of the POS terminal is controlled by the central processing unit 1. The main storage device 2 temporarily stores at least a part of an OS (Operating System) program to be executed by the central processing unit 1 and an application program of an inventory status management device. The main storage device 2 stores various data necessary for processing by the central processing unit 1.

  Peripheral devices connected to the input / output circuit 3 include an auxiliary storage device 5, a first display device 6, a second display device 7, a real-time camera 8, a communication device 9, a keyboard 10, and the like. In addition, as peripheral devices, there are an optical drive device, a semiconductor memory reading device, a pointing device, and the like necessary for installation of an application program or the like as necessary. The auxiliary storage device 5 can be a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk drive, and stores an OS program, an application program, and various data necessary for executing the application program.

  The 1st display apparatus 6 is installed in the vicinity of a display shelf, and displays the various information for customers. The second display device 7 displays various information for store clerk. The second display device 7 can also be used as a POS register display device. A plurality of first display devices 6 and second display devices 7 are installed as necessary. The real-time camera 8 is installed in the vicinity of the display shelf, captures the display shelf, and transmits the live image in real time. The communication device 9 is connected to a network (not shown) and transmits / receives data to / from another computer system via the network. The keyboard 10 is used for inputting characters or numbers. With the hardware configuration as described above, the processing function of the inventory status management apparatus of the present embodiment can be realized.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing processing functions of the inventory status management apparatus of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, solid arrows connecting the elements indicate the flow of data, and broken arrows indicate the flow of processing.

  Although not shown, the auxiliary storage device 5 stores an OS, an ordering system, a POS system, and an arrival system program that are expanded in the main storage device 2 at the start of business, a control program for the inventory status management device, and an image processing program. ing. The auxiliary storage device 5 also has an inventory information storage data file 11 for storing inventory information at the end of business, and a marker detection information definition data file 12 for holding marker definition information installed on the display shelf. Have.

  The main storage device 2 has functions of an inventory status control unit 13 and an image analysis / display processing unit 14, and these programs are transferred from the auxiliary storage device 5. The main storage device 2 further includes functions of an OS, an ordering system, a POS system, and an arrival system. Here, the inventory status control unit 13 includes an inventory information table 15, and the image analysis / display processing unit 14 includes a marker detection information table 16 and an analysis result information table 17. The POS system has a sales information table 18, and the arrival system has an arrival information table 19.

  The inventory information table 15 of the inventory status control unit 13 is correlated with the inventory information storage data file 11 of the auxiliary storage device 5. The inventory information table 15 is also related to the analysis result information table 17 of the image analysis / display processing unit 14, the sales information table 18 of the POS system, and the arrival information table 19 of the arrival system. The marker detection information table 16 of the image analysis / display processing unit 14 is associated with the marker detection information definition data file 12 of the auxiliary storage device 5.

  The real-time camera 8 is connected to pass image data to the image analysis / display processing unit 14. The inventory status control unit 13 requests the image analysis / display processing unit 14 to superimpose the message relating to the inventory information obtained here on the image obtained from the real-time camera 8. The inventory status control unit 13 can make an order request to the ordering system according to the inventory information obtained here. Then, the inventory status control unit 13 displays the processing result relating to the inventory information on the first display device 6 on the second display device 7.

  3 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the arrival information table, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the sales information table, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the inventory information table, and FIG. 6 is an image analysis / display process. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of a table of a section, where FIG. 5A illustrates an example of a data configuration of a marker detection information table, and FIG. 5B illustrates an example of a data configuration of an analysis result information table.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the arrival information table 19 is a correspondence table between product names and the number of arrivals, and the product name and the number of arrivals are managed by a program of an arrival system that manages arrival.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the sales information table 18 is a correspondence table between product names and sales quantities, and the sales quantities are updated by a POS system program for managing sales. The sales volume indicates the cumulative sales volume since the start of business.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the inventory information table 15 has fields of product name, cumulative inventory, number of confirmed items, status, and confirmation time, and is managed by the inventory status control unit 13. In the stock information table 15, the cumulative stock indicates the cumulative stock number from the start of business. The confirmed number indicates the number when it is confirmed that the product is actually sold. The status indicates the status of inventory, and can take four values: “in stock”, “out of stock”, “in stock check” and “waiting for replenishment”. The confirmation time indicates the time when it was confirmed that the product was actually sold. The inventory information table 15 is restored from the inventory information storage data file 11 of the previous business day stored in the auxiliary storage device 5 at the start of business.

  The image analysis / display processing unit 14 determines whether or not there is a product on the display shelf based on whether or not the marker provided at the position where the product is placed is detected from the image of the real-time camera 8. The relationship between products and products is managed in a table. The marker detection information table 16 shown in FIG. 6A includes a relationship between a predetermined marker type and a product name regardless of the display position of the product, and a marker generated at the display position where the product is fixed. It is a correspondence table showing the relationship with the product name. Therefore, the image analysis / display processing unit 14 can determine the corresponding product name by detecting the marker type or detecting the marker generation position. The marker detection information table 16 is restored from the marker detection information definition data file 12 for the previous business day stored in the auxiliary storage device 5 at the start of business. In the present embodiment, as a marker type, a no-product marker that appears when there is no product on the display shelf and a near-end marker that appears when one product remains on the display shelf are used.

  The analysis result information table 17 records the result of image analysis performed by the image analysis / display processing unit 14 in association with the product name. In the example shown in FIG. 6B, the analysis result information table 17 indicates the product name, the marker state indicating the presence / absence of the product no marker corresponding to the product name, and the presence / absence of the near end marker corresponding to the product name. It has a near-end marker field that represents it.

FIG. 7 shows an example of marker installation.
A plurality of trays 21 for displaying products are arranged on the product display shelf 20, and a product-free marker 22 and a near-end marker 23 are provided at predetermined positions on each tray 21. The merchandise-free marker 22 is provided at a position where the merchandise remains to the end when the merchandise is sequentially taken from the tray 21 on which the merchandise is arranged. The near-end marker 23 is provided at a position separated by, for example, one or several items from the position where the no-product marker 22 is provided. The no-product marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 are stickers on which a specific identification symbol is printed, and are pasted at predetermined positions on the tray 21. Of course, the no-product marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 may be printed directly on the tray 21 or printed on the paper laid on the tray 21.

  Note that the product-free marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 shown in the figure have the same pattern regardless of the type of product. This is used when the display position of the product is fixed, such as “product 1” in the leftmost tray 21 and “product 2” in the second tray 21 from the left end. In this case, an area including the no-product marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 is defined at the marker generation position in the marker detection information table 16, and the product name is specified when the marker is generated in the defined area. . In addition, by analyzing the image of the shape of the marker, it is determined whether the marker is the product-free marker 22 or the near-end marker 23.

  Further, the merchandise-free marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 can be markers with different patterns and colors for each merchandise. In this case, by analyzing the image of the marker, the product name is determined from the marker detection information table 16, and it is determined whether the marker is the product-free marker 22 or the near-end marker 23. If this method is used, for example, when a product is out of stock, it becomes possible to display other products in the vacant space, so that the product can be displayed and sold effectively. Increase sales opportunities.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying products on the display shelf.
In this display example, there is no product in the tray 21 of “product 4” and the product no marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 are visible, and the product 24 remains in the tray 21 of “product 2”. In this state, the near-end marker 23 is visible. In other products, two or more products 24 are displayed, and the product-free marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 are both invisible.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the overall processing flow of the inventory status management apparatus, FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the initialization processing flow, FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the arrival quantity reflection processing flow, and FIG. 12 is a flow of image analysis processing. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of inventory information control processing.

  The inventory status management apparatus performs initialization processing at the start of business (step S1), performs inventory quantity reflection processing by the inventory status control unit 13 (step S2), and performs image analysis processing by the image analysis / display processing unit 14 ( Step S3), inventory information control processing by the inventory status control unit 13 is performed (step S4). Hereinafter, detailed processing of each processing will be described.

  In the initialization process, as shown in FIG. 10, first, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether or not the inventory information storage data file 11 exists in the auxiliary storage device 5 (step S11). 15 is generated (step S12). At this time, the inventory status control unit 13 initializes the inventory information table 15 and the analysis result information table 17, and sets all the “status” values in the inventory information table 15 to “out of stock”. In addition, the inventory status control unit 13 takes in the marker detection information definition data file 12 of the auxiliary storage device 5 as the marker detection information table 16.

  If the inventory information storage data file 11 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 5, it is restored as the inventory information table 15, and the analysis result information table 17 is initialized (step S13). At this time, the inventory status control unit 13 takes in the marker detection information definition data file 12 of the auxiliary storage device 5 as the marker detection information table 16.

  Next, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether or not the business is finished (step S14). If the business is finished, the stock information table 15 is stored in the auxiliary storage device 5 as the stock information storage data file 11 (step S15). .

  As shown in FIG. 11, the inventory status control unit 13 acquires the information on the product recorded at the top of the arrival information table 19 and the information on the product recorded at the top of the inventory information table 15 as shown in FIG. Is acquired (step S21). Next, the inventory status control unit 13 checks the number of received products (Step S22). Here, if the received number is a value larger than 0, the inventory status control unit 13 adds the received number to the value of “cumulative stock” in the inventory information table 15 (step S23), and the received information in the received information table 19 is received. The value of the number is cleared (step S24). Next, the inventory status control unit 13 determines what the “status” of the inventory information in the inventory information table 15 is set (step S25). If the “status” is “out of stock”, the “status” is set. The value is set to “in stock” (step S26).

  In step S22, if the number of received items is 0, in step S25, if the “status” of the inventory information is “in stock checking”, “in stock” or “waiting for replenishment”, or if in stock in step S26 After the “situation” value in the information table 15 is set to “in stock”, the process proceeds to step S27. In step S <b> 27, the inventory status control unit 13 acquires information on the next product in the arrival information table 19 and acquires information on the next product in the inventory information table 15. Next, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether or not the information on the next product has been acquired (step S28). If the information has been acquired, the process returns to step S22. In this way, in this received quantity reflection process, the received quantity in the arrival information table 19 is reflected in the “cumulative stock” in the inventory information table 15 for all products.

  In the image analysis process, as shown in FIG. 12, the image analysis / display processing unit 14 analyzes the image of the real-time camera 8 (step S31), and determines whether a product-free marker or a near-end marker is detected from the image. (Step S32). If the marker is not detected, the image analysis process is skipped as it is. If the marker is detected, the image analysis / display processing unit 14 calculates the corresponding product (step S33). That is, the image analysis / display processing unit 14 identifies the marker detected by the image analysis, and calculates the corresponding product name using the marker detection information table 16. Then, the image analysis / display processing unit 14 sets the marker “present” in the marker state or near-end marker corresponding to the product name in the analysis result information table 17.

  In the inventory information control process, as shown in FIG. 13, the inventory status control unit 13 acquires information on the first product from the inventory information table 15 and the analysis result information table 17 (step S41). Next, the inventory status control unit 13 determines the presence / absence of the no-product marker 22 from the “marker state” information in the analysis result information table 17 corresponding to the product for which the information has been acquired (step S42).

  When the product no-marker 22 is “none”, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether the near-end marker 23 of the product has been detected from the analysis result information table 17 (step S43). If the near-end marker 23 has been detected, the inventory status control unit 13 instructs the store clerk to handle near-end through, for example, the second display device 7 (step S44). As another countermeasure for this near-end operation, the presence / absence of inventory is confirmed from the “sales number” in the sales information table 18 and the “cumulative stock” and “confirmed number” in the inventory information table 15. In some cases, a message indicating that the inventory is limited may be displayed on the first display device 6 for customers.

  When the no-product marker 22 and the near-end marker 23 of the corresponding product are not detected, the inventory status control unit 13 clears the value of “confirmation time” corresponding to the corresponding product in the inventory information table 15 (step S45), and “status” Is determined (step S46). If the status of the inventory information is “in stock”, the process proceeds to inventory determination for the next product. If the status of the inventory information is “Checking inventory” or “Waiting for replenishment”, the inventory status control unit 13 clears the display information that has been displayed on the first display device 6 for the customer (step S47). ) The value of “status” in the inventory information table 15 is set to “in stock” (step S48).

  If the commodity non-marker 22 is “present” in step S42, the inventory status control unit 13 determines the value of “status” in the inventory information table 15 (step S49). If the “Status” of the inventory information is “In stock” or “Checking inventory”, proceed to the process of determining whether the status of the inventory information is “Waiting for replenishment”, “Not in stock” or “Checking inventory” In the case of “Waiting for replenishment” or “Out of stock”, the process proceeds to inventory judgment of the next product. When the “status” of the inventory information is “in stock” or “inventory confirmation”, the inventory status control unit 13 compares the “sales number” in the sales information table 18 with the “confirmed number” in the inventory information table 15. (Step S50). Here, if the “sales quantity” is larger than the “confirmed quantity”, the inventory status control unit 13 clears the value of the “confirmation time” in the inventory information table 15 (step S51), and the “sales quantity” is “confirmed”. It is reflected in the “completed number” (step S52).

  Next, the inventory status control unit 13 compares the “cumulative inventory” and the “confirmed number” in the inventory information table 15 (step S53). Here, when the “cumulative stock” is larger than the “confirmed number”, the stock status control unit 13 displays a message indicating that there is stock on the first display device 6 for the customer (step S54), Instructs replenishment work through the second display device 7 (step S55). Then, the inventory status control unit 13 sets the “status” value of the inventory information table 15 to “waiting for replenishment” (step S56). The message displayed on the first display device 6 for the customer is displayed superimposed on the live image of the real-time camera 8, and the image processing is requested to the image analysis / display processing unit 14 by the inventory status control unit 13. Implemented.

  If “cumulative stock” is equal to “confirmed number” in step S53, the stock status control unit 13 displays a message indicating that there is no stock on the first display device 6 for the customer (step S57), Instructs the ordering work through the second display device 7 (step S58). Then, the inventory status control unit 13 sets the value of “status” in the inventory information table 15 to “no inventory” (step S59).

  In step S50, when the “sales number” is equal to the “confirmed number”, that is, when the corresponding product is not yet settled, the “confirmation time” corresponding to the corresponding product in the inventory information table 15 is set. Is determined (step S60). Here, when there is no setting for the “confirmation time”, the inventory status control unit 13 sets the confirmation time (step S61), and displays a message indicating that the inventory is being confirmed on the first display device 6 for customers. (Step S62). The inventory status control unit 13 also sets the “status” value of the inventory information table 15 to “in stock confirmation” (step S63).

  If the “confirmation time” in the inventory information table 15 is set in step S60, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether or not a fixed time has elapsed from the confirmation time (step S64). Here, if a predetermined time has not elapsed since the confirmation time, the process proceeds to inventory determination of the next product. If a certain amount of time has elapsed since the confirmation time, the product 24 may be placed at a position that is not the product no marker 22, or the product 24 may have fallen from the tray 21. Then, a confirmation operation is instructed to the store clerk through the second display device 7 (step S65).

  When the status of the stock information of the corresponding product is determined, the stock status control unit 13 acquires information on the next product from the stock information table 15 and the analysis result information table 17 (step S66). Next, the inventory status control unit 13 determines whether or not the information about the next product has been acquired (step S67). If the information has been acquired, the process returns to step S42. By repeating the processes from step S42 to step S67, the stock status is determined for all products.

FIG. 14 shows a screen display example of the first display device for customers.
On the first display device 6 for customers, live images taken by the real-time camera 8 are displayed in real time, and when there are no products in the tray 21, the stock status messages 25 and 26 are superimposed on the images. Is displayed. In the example shown in the figure, there is no product in the “product 1” and “product 4” trays 21 and one product 24 remains in the “product 2” tray 21. In such a case, there is no product in both the “product 1” and “product 4” trays 21, but the contents of the messages 25 and 26 displayed there are different.

  That is, for “product 1”, when the product has not been settled yet (just after the sales number in the sales information table 18 has been updated), just after the last product has been removed from the tray 21, A message 25 indicating that the inventory is being confirmed is displayed. As a result, the customer who sees that the product has run out of the tray 21 confirms the message 25 indicating that the stock is being checked, and at least recognizes that the stock has not run out without checking the store staff bothersomely. can do. This message does not indicate that the product has been sold out, so it encourages you to stop by or check the inventory status directly with the store clerk. Minimize the loss. Of course, this message 25 is switched to a message indicating that there is no stock when the stock is confirmed, and is switched to a message 26 indicating that there is stock when the stock is in a waiting state for replenishment.

  For “product 4”, if there is no product from the tray 21 and is currently in a waiting state for replenishment, a message 26 indicating that there is a stock is displayed. Thereby, it is possible to recognize that there is a stock without carrying out a troublesome stock check for the store clerk. This message 26 is cleared when the product is replenished to the tray 21.

  If there is no product in the tray 21 and there is no stock in the backyard, a message indicating that the product is out of stock is displayed on the live image on the display shelf 20 on the first display device 6 for customers. Therefore, it is possible to recognize that there is no inventory without making a troublesome inventory check for the store clerk.

  According to the above processing, when the product 24 is exhausted from the tray 21, one of the messages indicating “in stock”, “out of stock”, and “in stock check” is displayed. The convenience is improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Central processing unit 2 Main storage device 3 Input / output circuit 4 Bus 5 Auxiliary storage device 6 1st display device 7 2nd display device 8 Real time camera 9 Communication device 10 Keyboard 11 Inventory information storage data file 12 Marker detection information definition data File 13 Inventory status control unit 14 Image analysis / display processing unit 15 Inventory information table 16 Marker detection information table 17 Analysis result information table 18 Sales information table 19 Arrival information table 20 Display shelf 21 Tray 22 No marker 23 Near-end marker 24 Product 25, 26 messages

Claims (8)

Analyzing the image of the display shelf photographed by the real-time camera, detecting the product no marker provided in advance on the display shelf so that it appears when all the products displayed on the display shelf are removed,
Identify the corresponding product placed on the detected product no marker,
From the detection of the product no marker until the corresponding product is settled, a message indicating that inventory is being confirmed is displayed on the display device for customers,
After settlement of the corresponding product, determine the presence or absence of inventory based on the cumulative stock of the corresponding product and the confirmed number that is the number of confirmed sales of the corresponding product,
A message indicating that there is stock or a message indicating that there is no stock is displayed on the display device according to whether or not stock is available.
An inventory status management method characterized by that.   In cooperation with the point-of-sale information management system, the number of sales, which is the cumulative number of sales since the start of business, is obtained from the sales information of the product managed by the point-of-sale information management system, and when the no-product marker is detected, the sales 2. The inventory status management method according to claim 1, wherein the number of confirmed items is compared with the number of sold items, and when the number of sold items increases, it is determined that the corresponding product has been settled.   The display device displays an image of the display shelf, and after detecting the no-product marker, a message indicating that inventory is being confirmed and a message indicating that there is inventory at the position where the corresponding product is displayed. 2. The inventory status management method according to claim 1, wherein an image of a message indicating that there is no inventory is displayed in a superimposed manner.   When the product no marker is detected, a confirmation time is set, the confirmation time is cleared when the relevant product is settled, and when a certain time has passed from the confirmation time without the relevant product being settled, the relevant product The inventory status management method according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation instruction is displayed on a display device for a store clerk.   An image of the display shelf photographed by the real-time camera was analyzed to detect a near-end marker provided in advance on the display shelf adjacent to the product-free marker, and was placed on the detected near-end marker 2. The inventory status management method according to claim 1, further comprising: displaying a near-end compatible operation instruction on a display device for a store clerk until the corresponding product is determined and the product no marker is detected.   2. The inventory status management method according to claim 1, wherein when a message indicating that there is a stock is displayed on the display device, a message for instructing replenishment of the corresponding product is displayed on a display device for a store clerk.   2. The inventory status management method according to claim 1, wherein when a message indicating that there is no stock is displayed on the display device, a message for instructing the order of the corresponding product is displayed on a display device for a store clerk. A real-time camera that sends out images of product display shelves in real time;
A display device for a customer displaying an image of the display shelf;
The image of the display shelf is analyzed to detect a product no marker provided in advance on the display shelf so that it appears when all of the products displayed on the display shelf are removed. An image analysis / display processing unit that performs processing for determining a product from a marker and superimposing a message image on a position where the product-free marker is detected;
From the time when the image analysis / display processing unit detects the commodity no marker until the sale is confirmed, a message indicating that the inventory is being confirmed is displayed at the position of the corresponding commodity in the image on the display shelf. An inventory status control unit that performs control such that the images are displayed repeatedly;
An inventory status management device characterized by comprising:

Images