JP2019164538A - Information acquisition system, management system, shopping support system, information acquisition method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To allow an administrator who manages a plurality of facilities to grasp information on transport equipment.SOLUTION: An information acquisition system 100 comprises transport equipment (shopping basket) 1, a communication unit 21, an acquisition unit (control unit) 22 and an output unit 25. Products (commodities) are placed on the transport equipment 1 for transporting the products at one facility 4 of a plurality of facilities (shop) 4. The communication unit 21 communicates with the transport equipment 1. The acquisition unit 22 acquires state information from the transport equipment 1 through communication between the communication unit 21 and the transport equipment 1. The state information is information about the state of the transport equipment 1 that the transport equipment 1 has. The output unit 25 outputs the state information acquired by the acquisition unit 22 to a management system 6 which manages the plurality of facilities 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present disclosure generally relates to an information acquisition system, a management system, a shopping support system, an information acquisition method, and a program. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an information acquisition system, a management system, a shopping support system, an information acquisition method, and a program used in a facility in which a transport device on which an article is placed is introduced.

  Patent Document 1 describes that a shopping basket used at the time of shopping in a supermarket or the like is provided with a barcode reader. This shopping basket functions as a transporting device that accommodates and transports goods as transport objects.

  The shopping basket described in Patent Document 1 reads the barcode attached to the product with a barcode reader, and sums the amount of the product and displays it on the display unit. The customer can finish the payment by paying the total amount displayed on the display unit at the cash register or the like.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-58113

  Even if an administrator of a system that manages a plurality of stores (facility) that introduces shopping baskets (transportation devices) described in Patent Document 1 can grasp information (amount) of goods (articles) to be settled There was a problem that information about the shopping basket could not be grasped.

  The present disclosure relates to an information acquisition system, a management system, a shopping support system, an information acquisition method, and a program that enable an administrator of a management system that manages a plurality of facilities to grasp information about a transport device.

  An information acquisition system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a transport device, a communication unit, an acquisition unit, and an output unit. The article is placed on the transport device in order to transport the article at one of a plurality of facilities. The communication unit communicates with the transport device. The acquisition unit acquires state information from the transport device by communication between the communication unit and the transport device. The state information is information related to the state of the transport device that the transport device has. The output unit outputs the state information acquired by the acquisition unit to a management system that manages the plurality of facilities.

  In the management system according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the information acquisition system described above is introduced into each of a plurality of facilities, and the state information is collected from the information acquisition system of each of the plurality of facilities. A system that manages multiple facilities.

  A shopping support system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the above-described information acquisition system and a sales system. The sales system is a system for performing sales processing of the article as a product.

  An information acquisition method according to an aspect of the present disclosure acquires state information from the transport device by communication with a transport device, and outputs the acquired state information to a management system that manages the plurality of facilities It is a method to do. The article is placed on the transport device in order to transport the article at one of a plurality of facilities. The state information is information related to the state of the transport device that the transport device has.

  A program according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a program for causing a computer system to execute an acquisition process and an output process. The acquisition process is a process of acquiring state information from the transport device by communication with the transport device. The article is placed on the transport device in order to transport the article at one of a plurality of facilities. The state information is information related to the state of the transport device that the transport device has. The output process is a process of outputting the acquired state information to a management system that manages the plurality of facilities.

  The present disclosure has an advantage that an administrator of a management system that manages a plurality of facilities can grasp information related to the transport device.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating configurations of an information acquisition system, a management system, and a shopping support system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of the shopping basket used in the information acquisition system same as above. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the above shopping basket. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the shopping support system in the above state in which a shopping basket is stacked on a power feeding device. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the information acquisition system described above. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the shopping basket in the second acquisition example in the information acquisition system same as above. FIG. 7 is a sketch of a store showing an example of a customer flow line in the second acquisition example in the information acquisition system same as above. FIG. 8 is a graph showing an example of shopping basket information managed by the above management system.

(1) Overview First, an overview of the information acquisition system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The information acquisition system 100 of this embodiment is a system that acquires state information of the transporting device 1. The “transport device” as used in the present disclosure is a device for transporting an article at the facility 4 (see FIG. 7), that is, “carrying depression”, and moving the article together with the transport device 1 while holding the article. It is a device that can. Specifically, the transport device 1 is, for example, a container such as a basket and tableware that holds an article by containing the article, or a cart, a tray, a dish, and a carriage that holds the article by placing the article. Further, the “state information” in the present disclosure is information related to the state of the transport device 1. That is, the “state information” is not information regarding the state of the article placed on the transporting device 1 but information regarding the state of the transporting device 1 itself.

  In the present embodiment, a case where the transporting device 1 is a shopping basket will be described as an example. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the transport device 1 is also referred to as a “shopping basket 1”. The shopping basket 1 is used, for example, in a store 4 of a retail store such as a convenience store, a supermarket, a department store, a drug store, a home appliance mass retailer, and a home center. Such a shopping basket 1 is used for transporting goods as goods sold at the store 4. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the article is also referred to as “product”. Further, hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, product information of a product is referred to as “product information” and a facility is referred to as a “store”.

  The information acquisition system 100 assumed here, together with the sales system 3, constitutes a shopping support system 200 that is introduced into the store 4 and supports the shopping of the customer 5 (see FIG. 7). The sales system 3 is a system for performing sales processing of an article as a product. In the present embodiment, the sales system 3 includes a store apparatus 31. The store apparatus 31 is an apparatus that is installed in, for example, a cashier counter of the store 4 and has functions such as a checkout process. The shopping basket 1 includes at least a main body 10 (see FIG. 3) that stores products, a reading unit 141 that reads product information about the products, a storage unit 144 that stores the read product information, and a wireless unit 147. Yes. When the shopping basket 1 is placed at the checkout counter, the wireless unit 147 transmits the product information to the store apparatus 31. As a result, the store apparatus 31 can perform a checkout process for the product based on the product information received from the shopping basket 1.

  At the store where the shopping basket 1 is introduced, the customer (user) 5 purchases the product through a series of processes in which the product is picked up in the store, accommodated in the shopping basket 1, and settled in the store device 31. Can be completed. That is, since the product information can be read in the shopping basket 1, the product information regarding the product can be acquired in the shopping basket 1 when the product is accommodated in the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1. And about the goods information of the goods accommodated in the shopping basket 1, it can transmit to the shop apparatus 31 from the shopping basket 1, and can use it for a check-out process etc. Therefore, in the store 4 where the shopping basket 1 is introduced, the time required for the product to reach the customer 5 from the start of the checkout process, for example, while reducing the labor of the employee (store clerk) and the customer 5 of the store 4 is taken. It is possible to shorten the time required for shopping by the customer 5.

  Here, the information acquisition system 100 of the present embodiment acquires the state information from the shopping basket (transport device) 1 and outputs it to the management system 6 by adopting the following configuration. That is, the information acquisition system 100 includes a shopping basket 1, a communication unit 21, a control unit (acquisition unit) 22, and an output unit 25. The “management system 6” in the present disclosure is a system that manages a plurality of stores (facility) 4 in which the information acquisition system 100 is introduced. In addition, the “plurality of facilities” referred to in the present disclosure may be a plurality of facilities 4 under the jurisdiction of one company, such as a chain store, or a plurality of facilities with different managers, such as an individual store. 4 may be sufficient. Of course, the “plurality of facilities” may be a set of the former facility 4 and the latter facility 4. That is, the “plurality of facilities” may be a set of facilities 4 in which the information acquisition system 100 is introduced.

  A product is placed on the shopping basket 1 in order to transport the product (article) at one of the stores 4. The communication unit 21 communicates with the shopping basket 1. The control unit 22 acquires status information of the shopping basket 1 from the shopping basket 1 by communication between the communication unit 21 and the shopping basket 1. The output unit 25 outputs the state information acquired by the control unit 22 to the management system 6. That is, the information acquisition system 100 acquires the state information of the shopping basket 1 used in the store 4 in the store 4 in which the system 100 is introduced, and transmits the acquired state information to the outside of the store 4 (management system 6). Output.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, information related to the state of the shopping basket (transport equipment) 1 acquired at the store (facility) 4 is output to the management system 6. For this reason, the management system 6 can collect information on the state of the shopping basket 1 from each of the plurality of stores 4 in which the information acquisition system 100 is introduced. Therefore, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system 6 (for example, a service provider of the information acquisition system 100) can grasp information on each shopping basket 1 of the plurality of stores 4.

(2) Details Hereinafter, the configuration of the information acquisition system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the description will be given focusing on one of the stores 4 in which the information acquisition system 100 is introduced. Therefore, the following description applies not only to one store 4 but also to other stores 4. The same applies to “(3) Operation” described later. As shown in FIG. 1, the information acquisition system 100 of the present embodiment includes one or more (here, a plurality) shopping baskets 1, a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and an output unit 25. . In this embodiment, a shopping basket 1 used in a convenience store will be described as an example of the transporting device 1. Further, in the present embodiment, a product handled at a convenience store will be described as an example as an article. The communication unit 21, the control unit 22, and the output unit 25 will be described in detail in “(2.3) Power supply device and information acquisition system” described later.

(2.1) Shopping support system First, the whole structure of the shopping support system 200 using the shopping basket 1 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated with reference to FIG.1 and FIG.2. The shopping support system 200 includes an information acquisition system 100 and a sales system 3 including a store apparatus 31. The sales system 3 further includes a bagging device 32.

  In the present embodiment, the store apparatus 31 is installed in the cashier counter 45 of the store (convenience store) 4 (see FIG. 7). The store apparatus 31 has a communication function with the shopping basket 1 and communicates with the shopping basket 1 when the shopping basket 1 is placed in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45, so that the product information from the shopping basket 1 is displayed. To get.

  Here, when the customer 5 picks up the product in the store and stores it in the shopping basket 1, the customer 5 causes the reading unit 141 of the shopping basket 1 to read the product information regarding the product. And the shopping basket 1 has memorize | stored the merchandise information read from the goods in the reading part 141 in the memory | storage part 144. FIG. Therefore, when one product is stored in the shopping basket 1, the product information of this product is stored in the storage unit 144 of the shopping basket 1. Similarly, when a plurality of products are stored in the shopping basket 1, the product information of the plurality of products is stored in the storage unit 144 of the shopping basket 1. Then, when the shopping basket 1 is placed in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45, the wireless unit 147 transmits the product information (one or more) stored in the storage unit 144 to the store device 31. To do.

  The store apparatus 31 can acquire the product information regarding the products stored in the shopping basket 1 by acquiring the product information transmitted from the shopping basket 1 in this way. Therefore, the register counter 45 does not need to read the product information of the products stored in the shopping basket 1 again. The store apparatus 31 executes a checkout process for the product based on the product information acquired from the shopping basket 1. As a result, in the store 4 in which the shopping basket 1 is introduced, the time taken from the start of the checkout process until the merchandise reaches the customer 5 while reducing the labor of the employee (store clerk) and the customer 5 of the store 4. Can be shortened, and the time required for the shopping of the customer 5 can be shortened.

  The bagging device 32 is a device that performs “bagging” for transferring a product from the shopping basket 1 to a take-out container. The take-out container is, for example, a bag, a basket, a box, a cart, or a bag. In the present embodiment, as an example, a case is assumed where the take-out container is a shopping bag (so-called shopping bag) made of polyethylene or polypropylene. That is, the product for which the checkout process has been completed is brought back to the customer 5 in a state where it has been transferred from the shopping basket 1 to a take-out container (here, a shopping bag). Therefore, it is necessary to carry out “packing” work for transferring the product from the shopping basket 1 to the shopping bag. In this embodiment, since the “packing” operation is automatically performed by the bagging device 32, it is not necessary for the store clerk or the customer 5 to perform it.

  The bagging device 32 is built in the register counter 45 as an example. The bagging device 32 has a mechanism for opening and closing the bottom plate of the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1, for example. When the shopping basket 1 is placed in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45, the bagging device 32 opens the bottom plate of the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1 and discharges the merchandise from the bottom of the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1. When the product is discharged from the bottom of the shopping basket 1, the bagging device 32 stores the product in the shopping bag in the cashier counter 45. As a result, in the state where the shopping basket 1 is placed in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45, the bagging of goods is completed in the checkout counter 45. Thereafter, with the shopping basket 1 removed from the checkout space, the bagging device 32 discharges the bagged product, that is, the product stored in the shopping bag, onto the checkout space of the checkout counter 45. As a result, the customer 5 can take back the packaged product placed on the cashier counter 45.

  By the way, the bagging device 32 is interlocked with the store apparatus 31 by communicating with the store apparatus 31. That is, the bagging device 32 has a communication function with the store device 31. In the present embodiment, when the shopping basket 1 is placed in the checkout space, the shopping support system 200 first communicates with the shopping basket 1 at the store apparatus 31 and acquires product information from the shopping basket 1 at the store apparatus 31. . The store device 31 transmits a bagging start signal to the bagging device 32 when the acquisition of the product information is completed. When the bagging device 32 receives a bagging start signal from the store device 31, the bagging device 32 starts “bagging” the product. Thereafter, when the checkout process in the store apparatus 31 is completed and the shopping basket 1 is removed from the checkout space, the store apparatus 31 transmits a discharge start signal to the bagging apparatus 32. When receiving the discharge start signal from the store apparatus 31, the bagging device 32 discharges the packaged product onto the checkout space.

  According to this shopping support system 200, the shopping cart 1 is placed in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45, and the bagging of the product is started, and the customer 5 completes the bagging of the product while performing the checkout process. The product can be delivered to the customer 5 after the settlement process is completed. Therefore, after the customer 5 places the shopping basket 1 in the checkout space of the checkout counter 45 and before receiving the packaged product, it is not necessary for the customer 5 and the store clerk to intervene except for the checkout process. As a result, compared with the conventional shopping in which the customer 5 or the store clerk performs operations such as reading of merchandise information and bagging, labor of the customer 5 and the store clerk for shopping is reduced.

  In the shopping support system 200 according to the present embodiment, the customer 5 itself basically collects (removes) the shopping basket 1 from the checkout space. Specifically, the bagging device 32 closes the bottom plate of the shopping basket 1 when the discharge of the product from the shopping basket 1 is completed. Thereafter, for example, the store apparatus 31 gives a notification for prompting the collection of the shopping basket 1 by means of display or voice. Upon receipt of this notification, the customer 5 moves the empty shopping basket 1 placed in the checkout space to the car storage area 46 (see FIG. 7). The power feeding device 2 is installed in the car yard 46, and the shopping basket 1 is returned to the car yard 46 while being stacked on the power feeding device 2.

  Here, the shopping basket 1 includes a secondary battery 12 as a power source for operation of the electric circuit 14 including the reading unit 141 and the like. That is, power for operation of the shopping basket 1 (electric circuit 14) during use of the shopping basket 1 is covered by the secondary battery 12. Therefore, after the shopping basket 1 is used, the secondary basket 12 of the shopping basket 1 is used. A) Charging is required. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the shopping basket 1 placed in the car storage 46 is charged by the power feeding device 2. In other words, the shopping basket (transportation device) 1 includes the secondary battery 12 that is charged with the charge amount power supplied from the power supply device 2.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are charged in a state where the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are stacked in a row (stacked state). In other words, in the present embodiment, charging is performed by one power supply device 2 placed in the car storage area 46 for a plurality of shopping baskets 1 stacked in the vertical direction (vertical direction).

  Thus, in this embodiment, the electric power feeder 2 is also the stack apparatus 2 on which the shopping basket (transport equipment) 1 which is not in use is stacked. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the stack device is referred to as a “power supply device”.

  Here, the power supply device 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are connected in a daisy chain with at least the power supply device 2 as the highest node in the charging power supply path. In other words, when paying attention to the charging power supply path, the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are connected to the power supply apparatus 2 in a daisy chain, and the power supply apparatus 2 side is viewed from each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. “Upper side”, and the side opposite to the power feeding device 2 is “lower side”. In the present disclosure, when viewed from each of the power feeding device 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1, an upper node (power feeding device 2 or shopping basket 1) directly connected to itself is referred to as “adjacent upper node”. Similarly, when viewed from each of the power feeding device 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1, a lower node (shopping basket 1) directly connected to itself is referred to as an “adjacent lower node”.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, each of the electric power feeder 2 and the some shopping basket 1 has the output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15 for connecting an adjacent lower node (refer FIG. 2). Each of the power supply device 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1 is configured to be able to switch between an energized state in which charging power is output from its own output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15 and an interrupted state in which it is not output. In the present embodiment, each of the power feeding device 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1 is configured to switch from the shut-off state to the energized state when the adjacent lower node is successfully authenticated. Therefore, in each of the power feeding apparatus 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1, the own output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15 is not connected until the shopping basket 1 serving as its adjacent lower node is correctly connected to the output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15. Will output charging power.

  In the present embodiment, the power supply apparatus 2 and the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are daisy chain connected not only for the charging power supply path but also for the communication path, with the power supply apparatus 2 as the highest node. Specifically, each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 further includes an input terminal 16 connected to the output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15 of the adjacent upper node in addition to the output terminal 15 described above.

  In this way, each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 is connected to the power feeding device 2 directly or indirectly through one or more other shopping baskets 1. As a result, the power feeding device 2 can supply power to the plurality of shopping baskets 1. Each shopping basket 1 receives the power supply from the power feeding device 2 and charges the secondary battery 12 by the charging circuit 146.

(2.2) Shopping basket Next, the structure of the shopping basket 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIGS. The shopping basket 1 includes a main body 10, a detection unit 11, a secondary battery (battery) 12, a control unit 13, an electric circuit 14, an output terminal 15, and an input terminal 16. In FIG. 2, the circuit configuration of the shopping basket 1 is illustrated, and the main body 10 is not illustrated.

  The main body 10 includes a box-shaped storage portion 111 having an open upper surface, a flange portion 112 provided around the opening of the storage portion 111, and a pair of handles 113. The main body 10 can accommodate a plurality of products in the accommodating portion 111. The collar portion 112 is continuous with the upper end portion of the accommodating portion 111 and is formed in a frame shape surrounding the opening portion of the accommodating portion 111. Thereby, the storage unit 111 is surrounded by the flange 112 of the other shopping basket 1 in a state where the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1 is placed on the other shopping basket 1 or the power feeding device 2 as the adjacent upper node. Or a space surrounded by the frame body 201 (see FIG. 4) of the power feeding device 2. In this state, the lower surface 112b of the basket 112 of the shopping basket 1 is in contact with the upper surface 112a of the basket 112 of another shopping basket 1 serving as an adjacent upper node or the upper surface 201a of the frame main body 201 of the power feeding device 2. The pair of handles 113 are retractable, and each root portion is supported by the collar portion 112.

  The electric circuit 14 includes various circuit modules that operate by receiving power supplied from the secondary battery 12. In the present embodiment, the electric circuit 14 includes a reading unit 141, a display unit 142, an operation unit 143, a storage unit 144, a communication unit 145, a charging circuit 146, and a wireless unit 147.

  The reading unit 141 reads product information related to a product from the product. “Product information” in the present disclosure is information (product identification code) for identifying a product, for example, a JAN (Japanese Article Number) code used in Japan. The product information is not limited to information for identifying the product type (type), but may include information such as serial information for individually identifying products of the same product type. Thereby, even when there are a plurality of products of the same product type, each of the plurality of products of the same product type can be specified by the product information. The reading unit 141 is, for example, a bar code reader, a reader that reads a two-dimensional code, a tag reader, or an image sensor. The tag reader here has a function of reading product information in a non-contact manner from an RF (Radio Frequency) tag attached to the product, and constitutes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system. The reading unit 141 is disposed on the lower surface 112 b of the collar unit 112.

  The display unit 142 is a 7-segment LED or a liquid crystal display. The display unit 142 performs display based on, for example, product information read by the reading unit 141. Specifically, the display unit 142 displays the number of products for which product information is stored in the storage unit 144. The display unit 142 is disposed on the upper surface 112 a of the collar unit 112.

  The operation unit 143 includes, for example, a push button switch and accepts an operation of the customer 5. Specifically, the operation unit 143 is an operation for shifting the operation mode of the reading unit 141 to a return mode that enables return (cancellation of purchase) of a product whose product information has been read by the reading unit 141. Accept. That is, the customer 5 has the reading unit 141 read the product information of the product that is scheduled to be purchased once. However, in the case of quitting the purchase of the product, the product can be returned by operating the operation unit 143. become. The operation unit 143 is disposed on the upper surface 112 a of the collar unit 112.

  The storage unit 144 is, for example, a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) or a volatile memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage unit 144 may be realized by a combination of a nonvolatile memory and a volatile memory. The storage unit 144 stores at least the state information of the shopping basket 1 and the product information read by the reading unit 141. The storage unit 144 can store a plurality of product information. Therefore, when the reading unit 141 reads product information from a plurality of products, product information about the plurality of products is stored in the storage unit 144.

  The state information includes, for example, battery information, identification information, and version information indicating a version of software and / or hardware installed in the shopping basket 1. “Battery information” in the present disclosure is information indicating the state of the battery (secondary battery 12) that supplies the operating power of the shopping basket 1, and specifically, the charging voltage of the secondary battery 12 and the secondary battery. 12 charging times. Further, the “identification information” in the present disclosure is unique information assigned to the shopping basket 1 in order to distinguish each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1, and specifically, assigned to each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. Address for communication. The identification information may be, for example, the manufacturing number of the shopping basket 1 or the like.

  In addition, the state information may include, for example, usage information indicating whether the shopping basket (transport device) 1 is in a usage state. In the present embodiment, the usage information is represented by whether or not a stack state has occurred in the detection unit 11 described later. That is, when the detection result of the detection unit 11 is “with stack”, the shopping basket 1 is stacked on the power feeding device 2 or another shopping basket 1, that is, the shopping basket 1 is placed in the basket storage area 46. The shopping basket 1 is in an unused state that is not used by the customer 5. On the other hand, when the detection result of the detection unit 11 is “no stack”, the shopping basket 1 is not stacked on either the power feeding device 2 or the other shopping basket 1, that is, the shopping basket 1 is separated from the basket yard 46. Therefore, the shopping basket 1 is in a use state used by the customer 5. As described above, the usage information indicates whether or not the shopping basket 1 is in use depending on whether or not the shopping basket (transport device) 1 is stacked on the power feeding device (stack device) 2.

  Furthermore, the state information may include location information (for example, latitude and longitude) of the store 4, or region information regarding a region (for example, a prefecture) where the store 4 is located.

  The communication unit 145 performs communication with the power supply apparatus 2. In the present embodiment, as an example, the communication method of the communication unit 145 is serial communication using a UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter). In this case, the communication unit 145 performs two-way communication with the power supply apparatus 2 using two wires for transmission (TxD) and reception (RxD). Since the plurality of shopping baskets 1 are daisy chain connected to the power supply apparatus 2, the power supply apparatus 2 communicates with the individual shopping baskets 1 using addresses assigned to the plurality of shopping baskets 1.

  The charging circuit 146 receives the power supply from the power feeding device 2 and charges the secondary battery 12. Here, the charging circuit 146 includes a DC / DC converter that steps down a DC voltage applied from the power feeding device 2.

  The wireless unit 147 communicates with the store apparatus 31 by optical wireless communication using light such as infrared rays or visible light as a medium, or wireless communication using radio waves as a medium. The wireless unit 147 has a function of transmitting at least the product information stored in the storage unit 144 to the store apparatus 31.

  The secondary battery 12 is a lithium ion battery as an example. The secondary battery 12 operates the electric circuit 14 by supplying electric power to the electric circuit 14. In the present embodiment, operation power is also supplied from the secondary battery 12 to electrical elements (or circuit modules) other than the electrical circuit 14 such as the detection unit 11 and the control unit 13.

  For example, the output terminal 15 includes a pair of contacts (Vcc and GND) for outputting charging power, a pair of contacts (TxD and RxD) for communication, and one contact output terminal for detection. , A connector having a total of five contacts. The output terminal 15 is electrically connected to at least another shopping basket 1 and has a function of outputting charging power. The contact output terminal for detection functions as a connection terminal for detecting whether or not a stack state with an adjacent lower node has occurred. The output terminal 15 is disposed on the upper surface 112 a of the flange portion 112. Here, the output terminal 15 is, for example, a pad connector, and is configured to expose one surface of each contact fixed to the main body 10 from the upper surface 112 a of the flange portion 112. In the present embodiment, a plurality (two in this case) of output terminals 15 are provided for one main body 10. In the case where another shopping basket 1 is placed in the direction shown in FIG. 4 with respect to the main body 10, and in the case where another shopping basket 1 is placed in the opposite direction, another shopping basket is placed. This is because one input terminal 16 can be connected to the output terminal 15.

  The input terminal 16 is a connector having a total of five contacts corresponding to the output terminal 15. That is, the input terminal 16 includes a total of 5 contacts including a pair of contacts (Vcc and GND) for inputting charging power, a contact pair (TxD and RxD) for communication, and one contact for detection. Has one contact. The input terminal 16 is electrically connected to at least the power feeding device 2 or another shopping basket 1 and receives charging power. The detection contact functions as a connection terminal for detecting whether or not a stack state has occurred with an adjacent upper node. The input terminal 16 is disposed on the lower surface 112 b of the flange portion 112. Specifically, the input terminal 16 is the output terminal 15 or the output of the adjacent upper node in a state where the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1 is placed on the other shopping basket 1 or the power feeding device 2 as the adjacent upper node. It is arranged at a position facing the terminal 24.

  The detection unit 11 detects the occurrence of a “stacked state” in which the main body 10 is stacked relative to the detection target (the power feeding device 2 or another shopping basket 1). That is, when the main body 10 of the shopping basket 1 is stacked relative to the power supply device 2 that is the object to be detected or the main body 10 of another shopping basket 1, the detection unit 11 detects the occurrence of the stacked state, and detects it. The detection result of the section 11 changes from “without stack” to “with stack”. For example, when the shopping basket 1 is stacked on the power feeding device 2 installed in the car yard 46, the detection unit 11 of the shopping basket 1 generates a stack state with the power feeding device 2 that is a detection target. Is detected. In addition, when the second-tier shopping basket 1 is stacked on the first-tier shopping basket 1, the detection unit 11 of the second-tier shopping basket 1 and the first-tier shopping basket 1 that is the object to be detected. Detects the occurrence of stack status.

  In this embodiment, the detection part 11 detects generation | occurrence | production of a stack | stuck state, when there exists an electrical connection with the shopping basket 1 and a detection target object. Specifically, the detection unit 11 detects whether or not the output terminal 24 or the output terminal 15 of the adjacent upper node (the power feeding device 2 or other shopping basket 1) is connected to the detection contact at the input terminal 16. . As an example, the detection unit 11 determines whether another shopping basket 1 is connected to the input terminal 16 according to the signal level of an interrupt request signal (IRQ: Interrupt ReQuest) input to the detection contact at the input terminal 16. Is detected. In the present embodiment, the detection unit 11 detects the occurrence of a stack state with an adjacent upper node when the detection contact potential at the input terminal 16 has reached a predetermined value.

  The control unit 13 controls the detection unit 11 and the electric circuit 14. The control unit 13 mainly includes a computer (including a microcontroller) including a processor and a memory, for example. That is, the computer functions as the control unit 13 by executing an appropriate program recorded in the memory by the processor.

(2.3) Power Supply Device and Information Acquisition System Next, configurations of the power supply device 2 and the information acquisition system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. As an example, the power feeding device 2 is placed in a basket storage place 46 set near the entrance 41 of the store 4 or near the checkout counter 45 (see FIG. 7). In particular, the power supply apparatus 2 exemplified in the present embodiment includes the casters 203 and is configured to be movable on the floor surface, so that the installation location can be easily changed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the power feeding device 2 includes a frame main body 201, a support body 202, casters 203, a power cable 204, and an output terminal 24 (see FIG. 2).

  The frame body 201 is formed in a frame shape having an opening that penetrates in the vertical direction (vertical direction). In the present embodiment, the frame body 201 is formed in a rectangular frame shape. The support body 202 supports the frame main body 201 at a position away from the floor surface by a certain distance. The caster 203 is attached to the lower end of the support 202. The power cable 204 is drawn from the frame body 201. The power cable 204 is a cable for supplying power to the internal circuit of the power supply apparatus 2 and is connected to, for example, an outlet.

  The frame main body 201 contains an internal circuit. The internal circuit supplies power (charging power) necessary for charging the secondary battery 12 to the plurality of shopping baskets 1. In the present embodiment, the internal circuit of the power feeding device 2 includes an AC / DC converter that converts an AC voltage into a DC voltage, and supplies the DC voltage to the plurality of shopping baskets 1. However, not limited to this example, the internal circuit of the power feeding device 2 does not include an AC / DC converter, and directly supplies an AC voltage or a DC voltage applied from the outside to the plurality of shopping baskets 1. It may be.

  The frame main body 201 includes a communication unit 21, a control unit 22, a storage unit 23, and an output unit 25. The communication unit 21 functions as a communication unit in the information acquisition system 100. That is, the communication unit 21 has a function of communicating with the shopping basket (transport device) 1. The communication unit 21 includes an output terminal 24 for serial communication. The communication unit 21 communicates with individual shopping baskets 1 using the addresses assigned to the plurality of shopping baskets 1 via the output terminal 24. The communication unit 21 can communicate with one or more shopping baskets 1 stacked in the power feeding device 2 among the plurality of shopping baskets 1.

  As an example in the present embodiment, the output terminal 24 includes a pair of contacts (Vcc and GND) for outputting charging power, a pair of contacts (TxD and RxD), and one contact for detection. And a connector having a total of five contacts. The output terminal 24 is disposed on the upper surface 201 a of the frame body 201. Here, the output terminal 24 is a pad connector, for example, and is configured to expose one surface of each contact fixed to the frame body 201 from the upper surface 201a of the frame body 201. In the present embodiment, a plurality of (here, two) output terminals 24 are provided for one frame main body 201, similarly to the output terminal 15 of the shopping basket 1. The input terminal 16 of the shopping basket 1 in both the case where the shopping basket 1 is placed in the direction shown in FIG. 4 with respect to the power feeding device 2 and the case where the shopping basket 1 is placed in the opposite direction. Is connected to the output terminal 24.

  The output unit 25 includes, for example, a wireless communication module. The output unit 25 communicates with the management system 6 via a network such as the Internet, for example, by optical wireless communication using light such as infrared rays or visible light as a medium, or wireless communication using radio waves as a medium. . The output unit 25 may be connected to a network via a communication device such as a router.

  The management system 6 is, for example, a server, and mainly includes a computer including a processor and a memory. That is, the computer functions as the management system 6 by executing an appropriate program recorded in the memory by the processor. In the present embodiment, the management system 6 communicates with the output unit 25 of each power supply device 2 of each of the plurality of stores 4 to thereby store a plurality of shopping baskets stored in the storage unit 23 of each power supply device 2. Collect and manage each status information of 1. In other words, the output unit 25 outputs the status information of the shopping basket 1 acquired by the control unit (acquisition unit) 22 to the management system 6. The management system 6 may collect the state information of the shopping basket 1 periodically, for example, by requesting each of the plurality of stores 4 to output the state information. The output unit 25 may voluntarily output the updated status information to the management system 6 when the status information of the shopping basket 1 is updated, for example.

  In addition, the management system 6 manages information based on the status information of each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 collected from each of the plurality of stores 4. For example, the management system 6 generates and manages information on the usage status of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 in the store 4 for each store 4 based on the usage information of each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. Further, for example, the management system 6 generates information on the deterioration status of the secondary battery 12 included in each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 for each store 4 based on the battery information of each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. to manage. As described above, the management system 6 is based not only on the state information itself of the shopping basket 1 acquired by the control unit 22 but also on state information obtained by performing appropriate processing on the state information for each store 4. Manage information. Information managed by the management system 6 can be browsed by an administrator (here, a service provider of the information acquisition system) by accessing the management system 6 using an information terminal such as a personal computer. is there.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the management system 6 is a system that manages a plurality of stores 4 by collecting state information from each information acquisition system 100 of the plurality of stores (facility) 4. An information acquisition system 100 is introduced into each of the plurality of stores 4. In the present embodiment, the management system 6 is a system different from the information acquisition system 100 and is not a constituent requirement of the information acquisition system 100, but may be included in the information acquisition system 100.

  The control unit 22 controls the communication unit 21 and the like. The control unit 22 mainly includes a computer (including a microcontroller) including a processor and a memory, for example. That is, the computer functions as the control unit 22 by executing an appropriate program recorded in the memory by the processor. In the present embodiment, the control unit 22 functions as an acquisition unit in the information acquisition system 100. Thus, in the present embodiment, the communication unit 21, the control unit (acquisition unit) 22, and the output unit 25 are provided in the power feeding device (stack device) 2. Hereinafter, the control unit 22 is referred to as an “acquisition unit 22” when a function in the information acquisition system 100 is described unless otherwise specified. When the acquisition unit 22 receives the state information stored in the storage unit 144 of the shopping basket 1 through communication between the communication unit 21 and the communication unit 145 of the shopping basket 1, the acquisition unit 22 transmits the received state information to the transmission source. Are associated with the identifier (address) of the shopping basket 1 and stored in the storage unit 23.

  The storage unit 23 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a volatile memory such as a RAM, like the storage unit 144 of the shopping basket 1. The storage unit 23 may be realized by a combination of a nonvolatile memory and a volatile memory. The storage unit 23 stores state information acquired from the shopping basket 1 for each identifier (address) assigned to each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 23 also stores the number of shopping baskets 1 stacked on the power feeding device 2 as the state information of the shopping basket 1. That is, the storage unit 23 sets the number of shopping baskets 1 in which the detection result of the detection unit 11 is “stacked” among the plurality of shopping baskets 1 as the number of shopping baskets 1 stacked in the power feeding device 2. Remember.

(3) Operation Hereinafter, the operation of the information acquisition system 100 of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the information acquisition operation by the information acquisition system 100 differs depending on the content of information. Therefore, hereinafter, the information acquisition operation performed by the information acquisition system 100 will be described as an example of the first acquisition example and the second acquisition example. The information acquisition system 100 may execute the first acquisition example and the second acquisition example described below in parallel.

(3.1) First Acquisition Example First, a first acquisition example of the information acquisition system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. The first acquisition example is information when acquiring information that does not require real-time characteristics compared to usage information, such as battery information, identification information, version information, location information, and regional information, as state information of the shopping basket 1 3 is an example of the operation of the acquisition system 100. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, it is assumed that a maximum of n shopping baskets 1 (shopping baskets 101, 102,..., 10 n) are stacked on one power supply device 2.

  In the first acquisition example, the acquisition unit 22 transmits a request signal from the communication unit 21 to the plurality of shopping baskets 101, 102,..., 10n every predetermined period T1 (for example, one hour). The request signal includes a command for requesting transmission of state information stored in the storage unit 144 of the shopping basket 1. In each of the plurality of shopping baskets 101, 102,..., 10n that have received the request signal, the control unit 13 reads the state information stored in the storage unit 144, and the read state information is transmitted from the communication unit 145 to the power supply device 2. The data is transmitted to the communication unit 21. When the communication unit 21 receives the status information from the plurality of shopping baskets 101, 102,..., 10n, the acquisition unit 22 of the power supply device 2 uses the received status information as the identifier (address) of the shopping basket 1 as the transmission source. The data is linked and stored in the storage unit 23. Thereby, the acquisition part 22 of the electric power feeder 2 acquires state information for every predetermined period T1 from each of several shopping basket 101,102, ..., 10n (S11).

  Here, when the customer 5 uses the shopping basket 101 among the plurality of shopping baskets 101, 102,..., 10n (S12), the communication unit 145 of the shopping basket 101 receives the request signal from the power supply apparatus 2. Can not. Therefore, in this case, the acquisition unit 22 of the power supply apparatus 2 acquires state information from the plurality of shopping baskets 102, ..., 10n excluding the shopping basket 101 (S13). The status information of the shopping basket 101 can be acquired by the acquisition unit 22 of the power supply apparatus 2 by transmitting the status information from the shopping basket 101 that has received the request signal after the shopping basket 101 returns to an unused state. It is.

(3.2) Second Acquisition Example Next, a second acquisition example of the information acquisition system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. In the second acquisition example, as state information of the shopping basket 1, for example, usage information such as battery information, identification information, version information, location information, and information that requires real-time characteristics is acquired. 3 is an example of the operation of the information acquisition system 100.

  In the second acquisition example, the control unit 13 of the shopping basket 1 transfers the state information stored in the storage unit 144 from the communication unit 145 to the communication unit 21 of the power feeding device 2 when the use state shifts from the use state to the unused state. Send to. At this time, the control unit 13 of the shopping basket 1 transmits the history of product information (article information) acquired during use of the shopping basket 1 from the communication unit 145 to the communication unit 21 of the power feeding device 2 in addition to the state information. To do. That is, in the second acquisition example, the acquisition unit 22 is a product (article) placed in the shopping basket 1 during the usage period of the shopping basket 1 by communication between the communication unit 21 and the shopping basket (transportation device) 1. ) Further acquires a history of product information (article information).

  Hereinafter, a specific operation of the shopping basket 1 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the control unit 13 of the shopping basket 1 monitors the detection result of the detection unit 11. And the control part 13 does not perform operation | movement regarding acquisition of status information in particular, while the detection result of the detection part 11 is "with a stack | stuck", ie, the shopping basket 1 is an unused state (S21: No). On the other hand, when the detection result of the detection unit 11 changes from “with stack” to “without stack”, that is, when the shopping basket 1 shifts from the unused state to the used state (S21: Yes), for example, the built-in timer Is used to start measuring the period of use (S22). The control unit 13 keeps counting the usage period until the detection result of the detection unit 11 changes from “no stack” to “with stack”, that is, until the shopping basket 1 shifts from the use state to the unused state (S24: No).

  When product information is read by the reading unit 141 while the usage period is being measured, the control unit 13 associates information (time stamp) related to the time read by the reading unit 141 with the read product information. The data is stored in the storage unit 144. In this case, the control unit 13 acquires the product information of the product that the customer 5 plans to purchase (S25). The “time” in the present disclosure may include not only the hour and minute but also the date.

  Here, for example, when the shopping basket 1 has a wireless communication function via a network such as the Internet, the timer may be periodically synchronized with the time server. Further, for example, when the shopping basket 1 does not have the above-described wireless communication function, a timer built in the power feeding device 2 may be periodically synchronized with the time server. In this case, the timer can be indirectly synchronized with the time server via the power supply device 2.

  In addition, when the product information is read by the reading unit 141 operating in the return mode while the usage period is being measured, the control unit 13 adds information about the time read by the reading unit 141 to the read product information. Are stored in the storage unit 144. In this case, the control part 13 will acquire the merchandise information of the goods which the customer 5 returned (S25). In this way, when a plurality of pieces of product information are read by the reading unit 141 while the usage period is being measured, the product information of the products to be purchased is returned to the storage unit 144 as the product information history. Data in which product information of products is arranged in time series is stored. When the customer 5 does not return the product during the period of use, the storage unit 144 stores, as the product information history, only the product information of the product to be purchased arranged in time series. Is memorized.

  Further, when the checkout process is executed for the product scheduled for purchase during the period of use, the control unit 13 executes the checkout process using the product information of the product scheduled for purchase as the product information of the purchased product. Information related to time is linked and stored in the storage unit 144. In this case, the storage unit 144 stores, as the product information history, data in which the product information of the purchased product is arranged in time series in addition to the product information of the product scheduled to be purchased.

  Thereafter, when the detection result of the detection unit 11 changes from “no stack” to “with stack”, that is, when the shopping basket 1 shifts from the use state to the unused state (S24: Yes), the control unit 13 counts the use period. Is finished (S25). As described above, in the second acquisition example, the usage period starts when the shopping basket (transport device) 1 is separated from the power feeding device (stack device) 2 and ends when the shopping basket 1 returns to the power feeding device 2. The use period may end when a history of product information (article information) is acquired at the time of step S26 described later, that is, the acquisition unit 22. In addition, the use period may end when the shopping basket 1 transmits the product information to the sales system 3 at the time of payment.

  And the control part 13 transmits the status information memorize | stored in the memory | storage part 144 at the end of a use period, and the log | history of merchandise information from the communication part 145 to the communication part 21 of the electric power feeder 2 (S26). Thereby, the acquisition unit 22 of the power feeding device 2 acquires the usage information as the state information of the shopping basket 1 and the history of the product information in the usage period of the shopping basket 1. The usage information includes at least information related to the time when the shopping basket 1 shifts from the unused state to the used state, and information related to the time when the shopping basket 1 shifts from the used state to the unused state.

  Here, the history of the product information in the usage period corresponds to information on the behavior of the customer 5 in the usage period in the store 4. Then, by referring to the display shelf and the product layout in the store 4, it is possible to estimate the flow line of the customer 5 in the store 4 based on the history of the product information. For example, if the reading unit 141 reads the product information of the product “A”, the product information of the product “B”, and the product information of the product “C” in order, the customer 5 is in front of the display shelf of the product “A”, It can be estimated that the product “B” has moved in front of the display shelf and the product “C” in front of the display shelf.

  Hereinafter, an example of the flow line of the customer 5 during the usage period will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, the flow line of the customer 5 is indicated by a dotted line. First, the customer 5 who entered the store 4 from the entrance 41 picks up the shopping basket 1 at the uppermost stage from the plurality of shopping baskets 1 loaded on the power feeding device 2 of the car storage area 46 ("(1 in FIG. 7" )"reference). As a result, the shopping basket 1 starts measuring the period of use. Next, the customer 5 picks up the product “A” on the display shelf 42, reads the product information with the reading unit 141, and then puts the product “A” into the shopping basket 1 (“FIG. 7,“ (See (2)). At this time, in the shopping basket 1, the product information of the product “A” is stored in the storage unit 144. Thereafter, the customer 5 returns to the front of the display shelf 42, reads the product information by the reading unit 141 operating in the return mode, and then returns the product “A” to the display shelf 42 (“( 3) "). At this time, in the shopping basket 1, the product information of the returned product “A” is stored in the storage unit 144.

  Next, the customer 5 moves in front of the display shelves 43 and in front of the display shelves 44, and the products “B” and “C” in the display shelves 43 and 44 are replaced with the products “B” and “C”. The information is read by the reading unit 141 and then loaded into the shopping basket 1 (see “(4)” and “(5)” in FIG. 7). At this time, in the shopping basket 1, the product information of the product “B” and the product information of the product “C” are stored in the storage unit 144.

  Then, the customer 5 moves in front of the checkout counter 45 and settles the products “B” and “C” put in the shopping basket 1 (see “(6)” in FIG. 7). At this time, the shopping basket 1 stores the product information of the purchased products “B” and “C”. Finally, the customer 5 moves in front of the car storage area 46, returns the shopping basket 1 to the power feeding device 2 (see “(7)” in FIG. 7), and leaves the store 4. At this time, in the shopping basket 1, the timing of the usage period is ended, and the usage information is stored in the storage unit 144.

  In this way, the shopping basket 1 acquires the product information history during the usage period. In this case, the product information history includes the product information of the product “A” to be purchased, the product information of the returned product “A”, the product information of the product “B” to be purchased, and the product “C” to be purchased. Product information and product information of purchased products “B” and “C” are data arranged in time series. Therefore, for example, in the management system 6 that has acquired the product information history, it is possible to estimate the flow line of the customer 5 based on the product information history. Then, the administrator browses the flow of the customer 5 estimated by the management system 6 to change the layout of the display shelves, change the layout of products that sell well, etc. It is possible to provide advice useful for the management of the store 4 to the manager of the store 4.

  As described above, the information acquisition system 100 according to the present embodiment outputs information related to the state of the shopping basket (transport device) 1 acquired at the store (facility) 4 to the management system 6. For this reason, the management system 6 can collect information on the state of the shopping basket 1 from each of the plurality of stores 4 in which the information acquisition system 100 is introduced. Therefore, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system 6 (for example, a service provider of the information acquisition system 100) can grasp information on each shopping basket 1 of the plurality of stores 4. That is, for example, the administrator browses the status information acquired by the information acquisition system 100 or the information obtained by processing the status information in the management system 6, so that the plurality of stores 4 associated with the status information. Each situation can be grasped.

  Specifically, for each of the plurality of stores 4, the administrator browses the battery information as the status information of the shopping basket 1 or the information obtained by processing the battery information in the management system 6. The deterioration state of the shopping basket 1 can be grasped. In this case, the manager determines whether or not the shopping basket 1 needs to be replaced with a new one, and if the replacement is necessary, provides the manager of the store 4 with advice such as the replacement of the shopping basket 1. It becomes possible to do. In addition, the manager browses the usage information as the status information of the shopping basket 1 or the information obtained by processing the usage information in the management system 6 for each of the plurality of stores 4. The usage status of the shopping basket 1 can be grasped. In this case, for example, if the shopping basket 1 is insufficient, the manager can provide the manager of the store 4 with advice such as replenishment of the shopping basket 1. In addition, for example, when the shopping basket 1 is insufficient in any one of a plurality of stores 4 in the same series, the administrator advises to lend out a surplus shopping basket 1 from another store 4. Can be provided to managers of a plurality of stores 4.

  Hereinafter, a specific example will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, it is assumed that the three stores 4 of the store “X”, the store “Y”, and the store “Z” are a plurality of stores 4 in the same series. Further, it is assumed that 20 shopping baskets 1 are installed in each of the stores “X”, “Y”, and “Z”. In the following, it is assumed that there is no excess or deficiency of the shopping basket 1 in the store “Y” among the three stores 4. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 8, the usage situation of the shopping basket 1 in the stores “X” and “Z” where the excess or shortage of the shopping basket 1 occurs is cited.

  FIG. 8 shows the usage status of the shopping basket 1 by the number of unused shopping baskets 1 in each of the stores “X” and “Z” on a certain day. In the graph shown in FIG. 8, the vertical axis represents the number of unused shopping baskets 1 (that is, the number of shopping baskets 1 whose detection result of the detection unit 11 is “no stack”), and the horizontal axis represents time. Expressed in increments of 1 hour. In the graph shown in FIG. 8, “A1” represents the number of unused shopping baskets 1 at the store “X”, and “A2” represents the number of unused shopping baskets 1 at the store “Z”.

  In the example shown in FIG. 8, in the store “X”, the number of unused shopping baskets 1 is zero between 12:00 and 13:00 and between 13:00 and 14:00, and all shopping baskets 1 are used. Yes. That is, in the store “X”, there is a time zone when the shopping basket 1 is insufficient, and an opportunity loss occurs that the customer 5 cannot use the shopping basket 1. On the other hand, in the store “Z”, there are about 10 shopping baskets 1 even in a time zone with the least number of unused units, and an event that the shopping basket 1 is excessively supplied occurs.

  In such a case, the administrator who has browsed the graph shown in FIG. 8 or the information corresponding to the graph shown in FIG. 8 should lend the excess shopping basket 1 in the store “Z” to the store “X”, for example. It is possible to provide management with advice. In addition, the manager can also provide the manager with advice such as improvement of management so that the shopping basket 1 does not become excessive or insufficient at the store “Z”, for example.

  In addition, for each of the plurality of stores 4, the manager browses the version information as the status information of the shopping basket 1 or the information obtained by processing the version information in the management system 6, so that the software etc. Whether the version is the latest or not can be grasped. In this case, for example, if the version of the software is not the latest, the manager can provide the manager of the store 4 with advice that the software should be updated.

  Here, when the permission from the manager of the store 4 is obtained, the manager may execute the content of the advice instead of providing the above advice. For example, when the battery of the shopping basket 1 deteriorates at a certain store 4, the manager dispatches a worker with the new shopping basket 1 to the store 4, and replaces the shopping basket 1 to be exchanged with the new shopping basket. 1 may be exchanged. Further, for example, when the software version of the shopping basket 1 is still an old version at a certain store 4, the manager communicates with the shopping basket 1 from the management system 6 via the power supply device 2, thereby shopping. The software version of the car 1 may be updated.

  Here, activation information that is activated by using a specific command as a trigger may be provided in advance to the shopping basket 1 to be exchanged from the management system 6 via the power supply device 2. In this case, for example, an operator who goes to the store 4 for exchanging the shopping basket 1 transmits a specific command using a portable terminal, thereby turning on the light emitting element (LED) of the shopping basket 1 to be exchanged. It is possible to sound a speaker. In this case, the worker can easily identify the shopping basket 1 to be exchanged even when a large number of shopping baskets 1 exist in the store 4. In addition, when the power supply apparatus 2 or the sales system 3 that has received a specific command instead of the shopping basket 1 places the replacement target shopping basket 1 on the power supply apparatus 2 or the store apparatus 31, the replacement target shopping basket 1 Processing such as turning on the light emitting element may be executed.

(4) Modifications The above-described embodiment is merely one of various embodiments of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiment can be variously changed according to the design or the like as long as the object of the present disclosure can be achieved. The functions similar to those of the information acquisition system 100 may be embodied by an information acquisition method, a computer program, a recording medium that records the program, or the like.

  The information acquisition method according to one aspect acquires state information from the transport device 1 by communication with the transport device (shopping basket) 1 and manages the acquired state information in a plurality of facilities (stores) 4. This is a method of outputting to the management system 6. An article is placed on the transporting device 1 in order to transport the article at one of the plurality of facilities 4. The state information is information related to the state of the transport device 1 that the transport device 1 has.

  A program according to an aspect is a program for causing a computer system to execute an acquisition process and an output process. The acquisition process is a process of acquiring the state information from the transport device 1 by communication with the transport device (shopping basket) 1. An article is placed on the transport device 1 in order to transport the article at one of the plurality of facilities (stores) 4. The state information is information related to the state of the transport device 1 that the transport device 1 has. The output process is a process of outputting the acquired state information to a management system 6 that manages a plurality of facilities 4.

  Hereinafter, modifications of the above-described embodiment will be listed. The following various modifications can be applied in appropriate combination.

  The information acquisition system 100 in the present disclosure includes a computer system in the control unit (acquisition unit) 22 or the like, for example. The computer system mainly includes a processor and a memory as hardware. The function of the information acquisition system 100 according to the present disclosure is realized by the processor executing the program recorded in the memory of the computer system. The program may be recorded in advance in the memory of the computer system, but may be provided through an electric communication line, or may be recorded in a recording medium such as a memory card, an optical disk, or a hard disk drive that can be read by the computer system. May be provided. A processor of a computer system includes one or more electronic circuits including a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) or a large scale integrated circuit (LSI). The plurality of electronic circuits may be integrated on one chip, or may be distributed on the plurality of chips. The plurality of chips may be integrated into one device, or may be distributed and provided in a plurality of devices.

  In the above-described embodiment, the transport device 1 is not limited to the shopping basket 1, for example, a container such as a basket and tableware used for purposes other than shopping, or a cart, tray, dish, A cart or the like may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, it is not an essential configuration for the power supply device 2 that a plurality of functions provided in the power supply device 2 are integrated in one case, and the components of the power supply device 2 are a plurality of cases. It may be provided in a dispersed manner. For example, the communication unit 21, the acquisition unit 22, and the storage unit 23 may be provided separately from the internal circuit of the power supply device 2. Furthermore, at least a part of the functions of the power supply apparatus 2 may be realized by, for example, a server system or a cloud (cloud computing).

  In the above-described embodiment, the electric circuit 14 may include the control unit 13. Conversely, the reading unit 141, the display unit 142, the operation unit 143, and the like may be provided separately from the electric circuit 14.

  In the above-described embodiment, the state information may include permission information. The “permission information” referred to in the present disclosure is information indicating whether or not to permit the use of the shopping basket (transport device) 1 in one store (facility) 4. For example, when the status information of a certain shopping basket 1 includes permission information prohibiting use at the store “α”, the shopping basket 1 cannot be used at the store “α”. Specifically, in the store “α”, the customer 5 who has the shopping basket 1 cannot read the product information by the reading unit 141 or cannot perform the product checkout process. The permission information may be rewritable by the management system 6. That is, the administrator may be able to update the permission information of the shopping basket 1 by communicating with the shopping basket 1 via the power supply apparatus 2 from the management system 6, for example. In this case, for example, even when the shopping basket 1 of the other affiliated store 4 is mixed due to theft or the like, the manager can remotely control the shopping basket 1 of the other affiliated store 4 by using the management system 6. There is an advantage that it is possible to take measures such as prohibiting the use of.

  For example, identification information, position information, or area information may be used as permission information. In this case, for example, whether or not the use of the shopping basket 1 is permitted is determined based on whether or not the identification information of the shopping basket 1 is included in the list of identification information of the shopping basket 1 registered in the store 4. Is possible. The list of identification information may include identification information common to a plurality of stores 4 in the same series, for example. In this case, the shopping basket 1 having this common identification information can be used if it is a store 4 of the same series.

  The permission information may include a type of code that can be read by the reading unit 141. In this case, for example, the reading unit 141 of the shopping basket 1 of a certain store 4 is permitted only to read the JAN code, and the reading unit 141 of the shopping basket 1 of the other store 4 is also permitted to read codes other than the JAN code. There is an advantage that measures can be taken. Examples of codes other than the JAN code include a QR code (registered trademark) and a book JAN code.

  In the first acquisition example of the above-described embodiment, the power supply device 2 periodically transmits a request signal to each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 to acquire state information from each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1. It is not intended to limit this. For example, each of the plurality of shopping baskets 1 may periodically transmit the state information to the power supply device 2. That is, the trigger for the state information acquisition process may be generated by the power supply device 2 or the shopping basket 1.

  In the first acquisition example, for example, when the charging voltage of the secondary battery 12 is lower than a predetermined voltage in the shopping basket 1 or the charging frequency of the secondary battery 12 is higher than the predetermined number of times, the shopping basket 1 becomes the power feeding device 2. The status information may be transmitted to. In this case, it is preferable that the status information includes warning information indicating that the secondary battery 12 needs to be replaced. The administrator can grasp the existence of the shopping basket 1 that requires replacement of the secondary battery 12 by browsing information (for example, information obtained by processing the status information) in the management system 6. It is.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shopping basket 1 communicates with the power feeding device 2 by serial communication, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the shopping basket 1 may communicate with the power feeding device 2 by wireless communication. That is, the shopping basket (transportation device) 1 may have a function of outputting state information by wireless communication.

  Moreover, although the management system 6 is collecting the status information of the shopping basket 1 which the acquisition part 22 of the electric power feeder 2 acquired by communicating with the communication part 21 of the electric power feeder 2, it is not the meaning limited to this. . For example, if the shopping basket 1 has a function of communicating with the management system 6 by wireless communication, the management system 6 collects status information from the shopping basket 1 directly without going through the power feeding device 2. Also good. In this case, the shopping basket 1 functions as the output unit 25. Furthermore, in this case, the information acquisition system 100 can be realized by one or more shopping baskets 1 having the output unit 25.

  In the above-described embodiment, the power feeding device 2 as the car yard 46 is disposed near the entrance 41 of the store 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the store 4, a collection car storage area near the cashier counter 45 may be arranged separately from the car storage area 46 near the entrance 41. That is, the store 4 may be provided with a plurality of car parking spaces, in other words, a plurality of power feeding devices 2. In this case, the acquisition unit 22 of the main device communicates with the other power supply device 2 using any one power supply device 2 of the plurality of power supply devices 2 as the main device, whereby the acquisition unit of the other power supply device 2 is obtained. The status information of the shopping basket 1 acquired at 22 may be collected.

  In the above-described embodiment, the power feeding device 2 acquires the status information of the shopping basket 1 and the history of the product information and outputs the history information to the management system 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the status information of the shopping basket 1 and the history of product information may be acquired by the sales system 3 and output to the management system 6. That is, the communication unit 21, the acquisition unit 22, and the output unit 25 may be provided in the sales system 3. As an example, when the sales system 3 (store device 31) performs a checkout process on the product put in the shopping basket 1, the sales system 3 communicates with the shopping basket 1 to obtain state information of the shopping basket 1 and A history of product information may be acquired. The communication unit 21 may be provided in the sales system 3 (store device 31), and the acquisition unit 22 may be provided in the power supply device 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, the power feeding device 2 also serves as a stack device, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a store (facility) 4 may be provided with a stacking device on which a shopping basket (transport device) 1 that is not in use is stacked, in addition to the power supply device 2.

  In the above-described embodiment, not only the history of the product information (article information) but also the status information of the shopping basket 1 may be stored in the storage unit 144 by associating information (time stamp) regarding the acquired time. In this case, the acquisition unit 22 acquires the state information of the shopping basket 1 and information related to the time when the state information is acquired.

  In the above-described embodiment, the acquisition unit 22 acquires the history of product information (article information) in the usage period, but whether or not to acquire the history of product information is arbitrary. That is, the acquisition unit 22 may acquire only the state information of the shopping basket 1.

  In the above-described embodiment, the shopping support system 200 is not limited to a mode in which a product can be purchased without requiring the operation of a store clerk. Also good. In addition, the shopping support system 200 may be used, for example, in a store where there is no store clerk.

  In the above-described embodiment, the information acquisition system 100 is used to acquire the state information of the shopping basket (transport device) 1, but is not limited to this application. For example, the information acquisition system 100 may be used to acquire state information of a car (transportation device) 1 that accommodates an article picked in a distribution warehouse. In addition, the information acquisition system 100 may be used to acquire state information of a car that accommodates a part picked in a factory or a tray on which the part is placed.

(Summary)
As described above, the information acquisition system (100) according to the first aspect includes the transport device (shopping basket) (1), the communication unit (21), the acquisition unit (control unit) (22), and the output. Part (25). An article is placed on the transporting device (1) in order to transport the article (product) at one of the facilities (stores) (4) (4). The communication unit (21) communicates with the transport device (1). The acquisition unit (22) acquires state information from the transport device (1) by communication between the communication unit (21) and the transport device (1). The state information is information relating to the state of the transport device (1) included in the transport device (1). The output unit (25) outputs the state information acquired by the acquisition unit (22) to a management system (6) that manages a plurality of facilities (4).

  According to this aspect, the administrator of the management system (6) that manages the plurality of facilities (4) can grasp information about the transporting device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4). There is an advantage that you can.

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the second aspect, in the first aspect, the state information includes unique identification information assigned to the transporting device (1).

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that state information can be acquired separately for each of the plurality of transporting devices (1).

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the third aspect, in the first or second aspect, the state information further includes usage information indicating whether or not the transporting device (1) is in a usage state.

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the administrator of the management system (6) can grasp the usage status of the transporting device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (stores) (4). .

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the fourth aspect, in the third aspect, the usage information is expressed as follows. In other words, the usage information is based on whether the transport device (1) is stacked on the stack device (power supply device) (2) on which the transport device (1) that is not in use is stacked. Indicates whether or not is in use.

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the administrator of the management system (6) can grasp the usage status of the transporting device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (stores) (4). .

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the fifth aspect, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the transporting device (1) is charged with the charging power supplied from the power feeding device (2). A secondary battery (12) is included. The state information further includes battery information representing the state of the secondary battery (12).

  According to this aspect, the administrator of the management system (6) can grasp the deterioration degree of the secondary battery (12) of the transport device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4). There is an advantage.

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the sixth aspect, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the communication unit (21), the acquisition unit (22), and the output unit (25) are not in use. It is provided in a stacking device (2) on which the transporting device (1) is stacked.

  According to this aspect, the communication unit (21) and the acquisition unit (22) are realized by the existing stack device (2) installed in the facility (store) (4) to stack the transporting device (1). There is an advantage that it is possible to do.

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the seventh aspect, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the transport device (1) has a function of outputting state information by wireless communication.

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the acquisition unit (22) can acquire the state information directly from the transporting device (1) without using a repeater.

  In any one of the first to seventh aspects, the information acquisition system (100) according to the eighth aspect determines whether the state information permits the use of the transport device (1) in one facility (4). Permission information that represents The permission information can be rewritten by the management system (6).

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that the administrator of the management system (6) can easily manage the transporting device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the ninth aspect, in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the acquisition unit (22) communicates between the communication unit (21) and the transporting device (1). Thus, the history of the article information during the usage period of the transporting device (1) is further acquired. The article information is information relating to an article placed on the transporting device (1).

  According to this aspect, the administrator of the management system (6) can grasp not only information related to the state of the transporting device (1) but also information related to articles placed on the transporting device (1). There are advantages.

  In the information acquisition system (100) according to the tenth aspect, in the ninth aspect, the transporting device (1) is separated from the stack device (2) in which the transporting device (1) not in use is stacked. Start from that point. Further, the use period ends when the transport device (1) returns to the stack device (2) or when the acquisition unit (22) acquires the history.

  According to this aspect, the management system (6) manager can acquire the article linked to the user action by acquiring the article information history only during the period when the user is using the transporting device (1). There is an advantage that it can grasp about the information about.

  The management system (6) according to the eleventh aspect is a system that manages a plurality of facilities (4) by collecting state information from each information acquisition system (100) of the plurality of facilities (4). The information acquisition system (100) according to any one of the first to tenth aspects is introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system (6) can grasp information related to the transport device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  A shopping support system (200) according to a twelfth aspect includes the information acquisition system (100) according to any one of the first to tenth aspects and a sales system (3). The sales system (3) is a system for performing sales processing of an article as a product.

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system (6) can grasp information related to the transport device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  In the shopping support system (200) according to the thirteenth aspect, in the twelfth aspect, the communication unit (21), the acquisition unit (22), and the output unit (25) are provided in the sales system (3). .

  According to this aspect, it is possible to realize the communication unit (21) and the acquisition unit (22) by the existing sales system (3) introduced in the store (4) in order to settle the merchandise. There is an advantage that.

  The information acquisition method according to the fourteenth aspect acquires state information from the transport device (1) by communication with the transport device (1), and manages the acquired state information for a plurality of facilities (4). Output to the management system (6). An article is placed on the transporting device (1) in order to transport the article at one of the plurality of facilities (4) (4). The state information is information relating to the state of the transport device (1) included in the transport device (1).

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system (6) can grasp information related to the transport device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  A program according to the fifteenth aspect is a program for causing a computer system to execute an acquisition process and an output process. The acquisition process is a process of acquiring the state information from the transport device (1) by communication with the transport device (1). An article is placed on the transporting device (1) in order to transport the article at one of the plurality of facilities (4) (4). The state information is information relating to the state of the transport device (1) included in the transport device (1). The output process is a process of outputting the acquired state information to a management system (6) that manages a plurality of facilities (4).

  According to this aspect, there is an advantage that an administrator of the management system (6) can grasp information related to the transport device (1) introduced into each of the plurality of facilities (4).

  The various configurations (including modifications) of the information acquisition system (100) according to the embodiment described above are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be embodied by an information acquisition method, a computer program, a recording medium that stores the program, or the like. is there.

  About the structure which concerns on a 2nd-10th aspect, it is not a structure essential to an information acquisition system (100), and can be abbreviate | omitted suitably. Further, the configuration according to the thirteenth aspect is not a configuration essential to the shopping support system (200) and can be omitted as appropriate.

1 Shopping basket (transportation equipment)
12 Secondary battery 2 Power feeding device (stack device)
21 communication unit 22 control unit (acquisition unit)
24 Output unit 3 Sales system 4 Store (facility)
6 Management System 100 Information Acquisition System 200 Shopping Support System

Claims (15)

A transport device on which the article is placed for transporting the article at one of a plurality of facilities;
A communication unit that communicates with the transporting device;
An acquisition unit that acquires state information about the state of the transport device included in the transport device from the transport device by communication between the communication unit and the transport device;
An output unit that outputs the state information acquired by the acquisition unit to a management system that manages the plurality of facilities. The state information includes unique identification information assigned to the transport device,
The information acquisition system according to claim 1. The state information further includes usage information indicating whether or not the transporting device is in use.
The information acquisition system according to claim 1 or 2. The use information represents whether the transport device is in the use state according to whether the transport device is stacked in a stack device in which the transport device that is not in use is stacked.
The information acquisition system according to claim 3. The transporting device has a secondary battery that is charged with charging power supplied from a power supply device,
The state information further includes battery information representing a state of the secondary battery.
The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The communication unit, the acquisition unit, and the output unit are provided in a stack device in which the transporting devices not in use are stacked.
The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The transporting device has a function of outputting the state information by wireless communication.
The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 6. The state information includes permission information indicating whether to permit use of the transporting device in the one facility,
The permission information can be rewritten by the management system.
The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The acquisition unit further acquires a history of article information related to the article placed on the transporting device during a use period of the transporting device by communication between the communication unit and the transporting device.
The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The use period starts when the transport device leaves the stack device where the transport device that is not in use is stacked, and the transport device returns to the stack device, or the history is acquired by the acquisition unit Then it ends,
The information acquisition system according to claim 9. The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is introduced into each of a plurality of facilities,
Managing the plurality of facilities by collecting the status information from the information acquisition system of each of the plurality of facilities;
Management system. The information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
A sales system for performing a sales process of the article as a product,
Shopping support system. The communication unit, the acquisition unit, and the output unit are provided in the sales system,
The shopping support system according to claim 12. Status information regarding the status of the transporting device included in the transporting device is obtained by communication with the transporting device on which the product is placed in order to transport the product in one of a plurality of facilities. Get from
Outputting the acquired state information to a management system for managing the plurality of facilities;
Information acquisition method. Computer system,
Status information regarding the status of the transporting device included in the transporting device is obtained by communication with the transporting device on which the product is placed in order to transport the product in one of a plurality of facilities. The acquisition process acquired from
An output process for outputting the acquired state information to a management system that manages the plurality of facilities;
program.

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