JP7505197B2 - DETECTION APPARATUS, DETECTION SYSTEM, DETECTION METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to detecting anomalies in physical stores.

When shopping at a brick-and-mortar store, a customer selects an item, a store clerk registers the item on a registration device such as a cash register, and the customer pays for the registered item. In recent years, self-checkout systems have become common, where customers, rather than store clerks, register and pay for the items themselves.

In a typical registration device, a product code assigned to a product is obtained from a barcode or the like, but some registration devices use image recognition technology to register products from product images. With image recognition technology, multiple product candidates recognized from a captured image may be displayed. Patent Document 1 discloses the use of a method of measuring the weight of a product in a self-checkout system to reduce the burden on customers who narrow down the product information of products to be registered for sale from a large amount of product information. Patent Document 1 discloses that the product is recognized from the captured image by referring to the product information and product image contained in a product master file, and product information containing approximately the same weight as the weight received from the scale device is selected.

In a self-checkout system, there is a possibility that a customer may take out an item without registering it, and Patent Document 2 discloses a system that prevents unpaid items from being taken out. Patent Document 2 discloses a system that uses a terminal that the customer can carry as a registration device to obtain an item code that is assigned to the item. The system of Patent Document 2 calculates the total weight of items for which the customer has paid for the purchase price. Furthermore, the system of Patent Document 2 embeds a weight measuring device in the floor near the entrance gate and exit gate, and predicts the weight of the items the customer is carrying using the measured weight of the customer. If the calculated total weight differs from the predicted weight of the items the customer is carrying as they pass through the exit gate, the system can determine that the customer has passed through the exit gate carrying unpaid items.

JP 2014-112451 A JP 2015-099441 A

In Patent Document 1, the combined weight of the customer, which is the customer's body weight and the customer's belongings, and the weight of items that the customer has not registered and has not placed on the scale device are not taken into consideration, so it is not possible to detect anomalies related to a discrepancy between the customer's belongings at the time of leaving the store and the registered items. In Patent Document 2, simply burying a weight measuring device in the floor near the entrance gate and exit gate does not prevent weight measurement errors when a customer passes through the gate in a hurry or passes through an area where a weight measuring device is not buried. To prevent errors in measuring the customer's weight, it is necessary to have the customer stop near the entrance gate and exit gate to have their weight measured. However, stopping just to have their weight measured is troublesome for customers.

The present disclosure provides a detection device and the like that reduces inconvenience to customers when measuring their weight.

The detection device according to the present disclosure includes an acquisition means for acquiring the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving a store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store, and an anomaly detection means for detecting anomalies using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered product when entering and leaving the store.

The detection method disclosed herein obtains the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving a store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when the customer leaves the store, and detects anomalies using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered product when the customer enters and leaves the store.

The program disclosed herein obtains the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving a store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when the customer leaves the store, and causes a computer to execute a process to detect anomalies using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered product when entering and leaving the store.

This disclosure makes it possible to reduce the inconvenience to customers when measuring their weight.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a detection device 100 according to a first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the detection device 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a store system 1 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the store system 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a detection device 200 according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a store system 2 according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the store system 2 according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a detection device 300 according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of product weight information according to the fifth embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the detection devices 100, 200, and 300. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the exterior appearance of a store. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the exterior appearance of a store.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
[Processing configuration]
1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a detection device 100 according to the first embodiment. The detection device 100 has an acquisition unit 11 and an anomaly detection unit 12. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving a store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store. The anomaly detection unit 12 detects an anomaly using the weight of the customer when entering and leaving the store and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer.

In this disclosure, the weight of a customer refers to the combined weight of the customer's body weight and the weight of the customer's belongings. The customer's belongings when leaving the store may include items taken from the store. For example, if a customer purchases an item in a store and leaves with the item, the customer's weight when leaving the store will be heavier by the amount of the purchased item compared to the customer's weight when entering the store. The weight of a customer performing authentication includes the customer's weight while being authenticated and the customer's weight while in the authentication area.

Next, specific examples of the acquisition unit 11 and the anomaly detection unit 12 will be described. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of a customer when a requesting device that requests information about the customer when entering and leaving a store is authenticating the customer. The requesting device acquires, for example, an ID (identifier) of the customer to authenticate the customer. The ID of the customer is also called a customer ID. The customer ID is information for identifying a customer, and is, for example, biometric information, unique information recorded on a medium held by the customer, or information associated with the biometric information or unique information recorded on a medium.
The period during which a customer is being authenticated includes the period during which the customer is being authenticated or the period during which the customer is in the authentication area. The period during which a customer is being authenticated includes at least a portion of the period from when the customer enters an authentication area, which is an area near a requesting device installed in a store, until the requesting device notifies the customer that authentication has been completed. In other words, the period during which a customer is being authenticated may be, for example, the period during which the customer is in the authentication area. The weight of the customer may be measured either while the customer is being authenticated or while the customer is in the authentication area, or may be measured continuously while the customer is in the authentication area. The processing of the requesting device will be described in the description of the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

The detection device 100 according to the first embodiment can be applied, for example, to a store system that requires the registration of a customer ID when entering and leaving a store. In such a store system, a request device that requests the customer ID is installed near the entrance and exit. Once the request device has acquired the customer ID, the store system opens the closed entrance or exit.

A registered product associated with a customer (hereinafter also referred to as a registered product) is a product that is registered by a registration device when the customer purchases a product in a store. The registration device acquires a customer ID and transmits the customer ID and the product ID of the registered product to the store server. If the registration device is a general cash register, the registered product is, for example, a product whose barcode has been scanned. The store server stores registered product information that associates the customer ID with the product ID of the registered product. The store server also pre-stores product weight information that associates the product ID with the weight of the product.

The acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of registered products associated with a customer stored in the store server. The abnormality detection unit 12 detects abnormalities using the acquired weight of the customer at the time of leaving and entering the store and the weight of the registered products. An abnormality detected by the abnormality detection unit 12 is, for example, a discrepancy between the difference in the weight of the customer at the time of leaving and entering the store and the weight of the registered products. If the increase in the customer's weight from the time of entering the store to the time of leaving is greater than the weight of the registered products, the customer may be carrying items other than the registered products. On the other hand, if the increase in the customer's weight from the time of entering the store to the time of leaving the store is less than the weight of the registered products, the customer may have left a paid-for product behind in the store.

When there are multiple registered products, the anomaly detection unit 12 detects an anomaly, for example, by using the total weight of each registered product. The anomaly detection unit 12 can also detect an anomaly when a customer does not purchase a product in the store, i.e., when the weight of a registered product is zero.

[Example of operation]
A control method of the detection device 100 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the detection device 100 in the first embodiment. The acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight and customer ID of the customer during authentication when entering and leaving the store, and the weight of registered products associated with the customer when leaving the store (step S11). The anomaly detection unit 12 detects an anomaly using the weight of the customer (a customer corresponding to the same customer ID) when entering and leaving the store, and the weight of registered products associated with the customer when leaving the store (step S12).

[Explanation of effects]
According to the detection device 100 of the first embodiment, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of the customer to be authenticated, so that it is possible to reduce the inconvenience to the customer when the customer's weight is measured.

In other words, because the customer considers authentication to be a reception operation for entering or leaving the store, the customer considers standing at the weight measurement position to be part of the act of entering the store. In this way, the weight is measured while the customer is performing the reception operation for entering or leaving the store, so the customer becomes less aware that the weight is being measured, reducing the inconvenience it causes to the customer. Furthermore, since errors in measuring the customer's weight are prevented, the customer's weight can be measured with high accuracy.

[Second embodiment]
[Processing configuration]
A store system 1 to which the detection device 100 according to the first embodiment is applied will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a store system 1 according to a second embodiment. The store system 1 according to the second embodiment includes the detection device 100, a request device 101, a measurement device 102, a registration device 103, and a store server 110.

Figures 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams showing examples of the exterior of a store. As shown in Figure 11, the same requesting device 101 may be shared at the entrance and exit of the store, or as shown in Figure 12, separate devices may be installed at the entrance and exit. In the case of Figure 11, the inside of the circle gate that serves as the entrance and exit may be set as the "authentication area." In the case of Figure 12, for example, an area near the requesting device 101, as a specific example, an area of one square meter in front of the requesting device 101, may be set as the "authentication area."

A method in which the requesting device 101 requests customer information will be described with a concrete example. For example, the requesting device 101 uses biometric authentication to request a customer ID. Biometric authentication is an authentication method that uses the customer's biometric information, such as face authentication, iris authentication, or fingerprint authentication. Any common method may be used for biometric authentication. The requesting device 101 may use feature data extracted from an image of the customer's body, such as the face, eyes, or fingers, as biometric information.

First, the requesting device 101 acquires biometric information of a customer at the entrance or exit. The requesting device 101 transmits the acquired biometric information to a storage device (not shown) that stores the biometric information of the customer in association with a customer ID. The customer ID associated with the biometric information is, for example, a number or a character string. The requesting device 101 acquires the customer ID from the storage device. The requesting device 101 acquires one customer ID for one customer.

Instead of acquiring biometric information, the requesting device 101 may read a medium on which unique information associated with a customer ID is recorded. Unique information associated with a customer ID is information that can uniquely identify a customer, such as a number, a character string, an image, a design, a barcode, or a two-dimensional code. Examples of the medium on which the unique information is recorded include a store membership card, a customer's smartphone, an identification card, and a passport. The medium on which the unique information is recorded may also be a parking ticket on which information that can identify a customer is printed. The same customer presents a parking ticket received in the store's parking lot when entering and leaving the store. For example, the requesting device 101, which functions as a parking fee payment machine installed in the parking lot, reads the unique information recorded on a parking ticket held by a customer.

The requesting device 101 transmits the read unique information to a storage device (not shown) that stores the unique information in association with the customer ID, and acquires the customer ID from the storage device. The requesting device 101 may also acquire the customer ID itself from a medium on which the customer ID is recorded. The requesting device 101 may also acquire the customer's biometric information as the customer ID. The requesting device 101 transmits the acquired customer ID to the measuring device 102.

Next, acquisition of the customer's weight will be described. The measuring device 102 measures the weight of the customer (also called customer weight) during authentication, and transmits the customer weight and customer ID to the acquisition unit 11. The acquisition unit 11 may associate the customer weight with the customer ID. If the inconvenience of measuring the customer weight is reduced for the customer, the acquisition of the customer ID by the request device 101 and the measurement of the customer weight by the measuring device 102 do not need to be started or completed at the same time. In other words, the acquisition of the customer ID may be completed before the measurement of the customer weight, and the measurement of the customer weight may be started before the acquisition of the customer ID.

A specific example of measuring the customer weight while the requesting device 101 is authenticating the customer will be described. When the customer approaches the requesting device 101 to hold his/her membership card over it, the measuring device 102 starts measuring the customer weight. When the membership card is held over a specified position, the requesting device 101 performs the above-mentioned process and acquires the customer ID. The measuring device 102 completes measuring the customer weight before the customer leaves the authentication area close to the location where the requesting device 101 is installed. The measuring device 102 may take the weight measured at any time between when the customer approaches the requesting device 101 and when he/she leaves as the customer weight. The measuring device 102 may also take the average value of the weights measured from when measurement begins to when it is completed as the customer weight.

The measuring device 102 is provided at the entrance and the exit. The measuring device 102 provided at the entrance and the exit may be the same, or may be provided separately at the entrance and the exit. The measuring device 102 may be buried under the floor, or may be provided on the floor. To increase the measurement accuracy of the customer weight, it is preferable to measure the customer while the customer is stopped. However, even if the customer is not stopped, the measuring device 102 can measure the customer weight as long as the fluctuation in the customer weight caused by the customer's movement is within a predetermined tolerance range.

Based on the above process, the acquisition unit 11 of the detection device 100 acquires the customer weight from the measurement device 102, which is measured when biometric authentication is performed or when the customer presents a medium on which unique information associated with the customer is registered.

Next, the acquisition of the weight of a registered product will be described. Regarding the registration device 103, the description of the parts that are the same as those of the registration device in the first embodiment will be omitted. The registration device 103 acquires a customer ID using a method similar to that described for the request device 101. The registration device 103 acquires the customer ID and the product ID of the registered product that the customer purchases, and transmits them to the store server 110. For example, the store server 110 transmits the customer ID, the product ID of the registered product, and the weight of the registered product to the acquisition unit 11. In this way, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of the registered product from the store server 110.

The registered product may be food that can be eaten in the store. The acquisition unit 11 may acquire the weight of the food from the store server 110, assuming that the customer eats the food without leaving any leftovers. When it is considered that the customer may leave food, the acquisition unit 11 may acquire the weight of the food that the customer actually eats, measured using a sensor.

Next, the detection of anomalies will be described. The anomaly detection unit 12 provided in the detection device 100 detects anomalies using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered products when entering and leaving the store. When the store system 1 has acquired the customer ID and measured the weight, the store system 1 opens the closed entrance or exit. However, if the anomaly detection unit 12 detects an anomaly, the store system 1 may leave the entrance or exit closed.

The anomaly detection unit 12 may determine registered products whose weight matches the calculated weight based on a weight calculated from the difference between the customer's weight when entering and leaving the store and the weight of the registered product. This allows the anomaly detection unit 12 to detect which registered products the customer has left behind in the store. Furthermore, the anomaly detection unit 12 may refer to the weights of the products stored in the store server 110 based on the calculated weight to determine products other than the registered products that the customer possesses. This allows the anomaly detection unit 12 to guess which products the customer possesses that have not been registered.

[Example of operation]
The operation of the store system 1 in the second embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the store system 1 in the second embodiment.

The requesting device 101 acquires the customer's ID at the entrance (S110) and transmits it to the measuring device 102. The measuring device 102 measures the customer's weight when the requesting device 101 authenticates the customer (S111). The measuring device 102 associates the customer weight with the customer ID and transmits it to the detection device 100.

The registration device 103 acquires the customer ID and the product ID of the product (registered product) purchased by the customer (S112). The registration device 103 transmits the acquired customer ID and the product ID of the registered product to the store server 110. The store server 110 searches for the weight of the registered product (S113) and transmits the customer ID, the product ID of the searched registered product, and the weight of the registered product to the detection device 100.

The requesting device 101 acquires the customer's ID at the store exit (S117) and transmits it to the measuring device 102. The measuring device 102 measures the customer's weight when authenticating the customer (S118). The measuring device 102 transmits the measured customer weight and customer ID to the detection device 100. The detection device 100 detects anomalies using the weight of the customer corresponding to the same customer ID when entering and leaving the store and the weight of registered products (S120).

[Explanation of effects]
According to the store system 1 of the second embodiment, the acquisition unit 11 acquires the weight of the customer who is being authenticated, so there is no need to have the customer stop just to have the weight measured, thereby reducing inconvenience to the customer.

[Modification of the second embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the case has been described where the acquisition unit 11 acquires a product ID associated with a customer ID from the store server 110, but the acquisition unit 11 may acquire a product ID associated with a customer ID from the registration device 103. In this case, the acquisition unit 11 acquires a product weight from the store server 110 based on the product ID.

If information about the customer ID is not pre-stored in the storage device, the request device 101 at the store entrance may newly store information about the customer in the storage device. The request device 101 at the entrance acquires the customer ID based on the newly stored information. The request device 101 at the entrance may assign a new customer ID and send it to the storage device each time a customer visits the store. The registration device 103 and the request device 101 at the store exit acquire the newly stored customer ID in the storage device.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the requesting device 101 transmits a customer ID to the measuring device 102, but the requesting device 101 may transmit the customer ID to the acquiring unit 11. In this case, the acquiring unit 11 may store the customer weight transmitted from the measuring device 102 in association with the customer ID transmitted from the requesting device 101. Furthermore, the measuring device 102 may transmit the customer weight to the requesting device 101. In this case, the requesting device 101 may transmit the customer ID and the customer weight to the acquiring unit 11.

If the acquisition unit 11 is unable to acquire the customer's weight, it may transmit a weight acquisition failure to the requesting device 101. When the requesting device 101 receives the weight acquisition failure, it authenticates the customer again, and the measuring device 102 acquires the weight of the customer being reauthenticated by the requesting device 101. This allows the customer to consider that acquisition of the customer ID has failed, rather than that of the weight, making it possible to reduce the inconvenience to the customer regarding weight measurement.

[Third embodiment]
[Processing configuration]
5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a detection device 200 according to the third embodiment. The detection device 200 has an acquisition unit 21 and an anomaly detection unit 22. The acquisition unit 21 and the anomaly detection unit 22 have a function of using the weight of a customer looking around the store and the weight of a commodity before payment, in addition to the functions of the acquisition unit 11 and the anomaly detection unit 12 included in the detection device 100 according to the first embodiment.

The detection device 200 according to the third embodiment is applied to a store system 2 that registers products while a customer is browsing the store. The store system 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the store system 2 according to the third embodiment. The store system 2 according to the third embodiment includes the request device 101 according to the second embodiment, a measurement device 102, a store server 110, a detection device 200, a request device 201, a measurement device 202, and a registration device 203.

The request device 201 is installed in a store, executes the same process as the request device 101, and requests a customer ID. In the following explanation, "intermediate" means before entering and leaving the store. The intermediate weight of a customer is the weight of the customer in the store before entering and leaving the store. The intermediate weight of registered products is the total weight of registered products at the time before the customer makes payment. For example, when the request device 201 obtains a customer ID, it gives a reward to the customer. The reward given to the customer is, for example, a coupon, points, cash, or information that is useful to the customer.

The acquisition unit 21 acquires the intermediate weight of the customer from the measuring device 202. Furthermore, the acquisition unit 21 acquires the intermediate weight of the registered product from the store server 110. The anomaly detection unit 22 detects whether an anomaly occurred before or after the measuring device 202 measured the customer's weight, based on the intermediate weight of the customer and the intermediate weight of the registered product.

As shown in FIG. 6, the requesting devices 101 and 201 may be connected to input devices 111 and 211 that accept input of information about the customer. When the requesting device 201 acquires a customer ID through facial recognition, the input device 211 is, for example, a camera that captures an image of the customer's face.

The measuring device 202 is installed near the requesting device 201 installed in the store. The measuring device 202 obtains the intermediate weight of the customer who performs authentication using the requesting device 201 and the intermediate weight of the registered product. A combination of one requesting device 201 and one measuring device 202 may be installed in multiple locations in the store. This makes it possible to measure the weight of customers at multiple locations in the store.

The registration device 203 acquires a customer ID, is carried by the customer while shopping, and is used by the customer to register products themselves. The registration device 203 is, for example, a terminal loaned to the customer or a device mounted on a shopping basket or shopping cart. The registration device 203 may execute the same process as the requesting device 101 and request the customer ID. However, if the registration device 203 is, for example, a customer's smartphone, the customer ID may be stored in the registration device 203 in advance.

As shown in FIG. 6, the registration device 203 is connected to an input device 213. The input device 213 is, for example, a scanner. A customer uses the input device 213 connected to the registration device 203 to read a product ID, for example, by scanning a barcode attached to a product. If the input device 213 is a camera, the registration device 203 may acquire the product ID by image recognition processing, referring to a storage unit (not shown). Similar to the registration device 103, the registration device 203 associates the product ID with a customer ID and transmits them to the store server 110.

The store system 2 may further include an output unit (not shown). When the output unit detects an abnormality, the detection device 100 outputs that there is a surplus or shortage of registered goods or the customer's belongings. The customer's belongings may include fixtures placed in the store and the customer's baggage such as an umbrella or mobile phone. The output unit is, for example, a display, speaker, lamp, etc. For example, when the detection device 200 detects an abnormality in which the weight of the customer when leaving the store is less than the sum of the weight of the customer when entering the store and the weight of the registered goods, the output unit outputs a voice message saying, "Did you leave any paid-for goods in the store?" to notify the customer of the abnormality.

[Example of operation]
The operation of the store system 2 in the third embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the store system 2 in the third embodiment.

The requesting device 101 acquires a customer ID at the store entrance (S210) and transmits it to the measuring device 102. The measuring device 102 measures the customer's weight while the requesting device 101 is authenticating the customer (S211). The measuring device 102 transmits the measured customer weight and the customer ID to the detection device 200.

The registration device 203 acquires the customer ID and registers the product purchased by the customer (S212). The registration device 203 transmits the customer ID and the product ID of the registered product to the store server 110. The store server 110 searches for the weight of the registered product corresponding to the ID received from the registration device 203 (S213), and transmits the received customer ID and product ID of the registered product, as well as the weight of the searched registered product, to the detection device 200.

The requesting device 201 acquires a customer ID in the store (S214) and transmits the customer ID to the measuring device 202. The measuring device 202 measures the customer's weight (S215) and transmits the customer weight and customer ID to the detection device 200. Note that S212 and S214 may be performed multiple times. The detection device 200 detects an abnormality based on the customer's average weight and the average weight of the registered product (S216). Note that S216 does not need to be performed, or may be performed after S220.

The requesting device 101 acquires the customer's ID at the exit (S217) and transmits it to the measuring device 102. The measuring device 102 measures the customer's weight during authentication (S218). The measuring device 102 transmits the customer weight and customer ID to the detection device 200.

The detection device 200 detects anomalies using the weight of a customer with the same customer ID when entering and leaving the store, and the total weight of registered products (S220).

[Explanation of effects]
According to the detection device 200 according to the third embodiment, the acquisition unit 21 acquires the intermediate weight of the customer, so that it is possible to narrow down the time when the abnormality occurred.

Because customers consider obtaining a customer ID to be an operation for obtaining a reward, they will be less aware that the weight is being measured, reducing the inconvenience to the customer.

[Customer's stopping position]
In the third embodiment, the request device 201 gives a reward to a customer when a customer ID is acquired, but the configuration of the request device 201 is not limited to this. A gate for entering one area from another different area may be provided in the store. The measuring device 202 measures the weight of a customer passing through the gate. The request device 201 may also be provided in a position during or before boarding a means of transportation such as an elevator, escalator, or moving walkway in the store. The measuring device 202 measures the weight of a customer during or before boarding such a means of transportation.

By installing the requesting device 201 and measuring device 202 at the boundary of the area in this way, it becomes possible to narrow down the area in which the abnormality occurred. Furthermore, since the customer's attention is directed to passing through the gate and moving around the store, they become less aware of measuring the weight.

Furthermore, the requesting device 201 may obtain the ID of the customer who is making the payment. The measuring device 202 may measure the weight of the product held by the customer who is making the payment or who has made the payment after making the payment. This makes it possible to detect whether an abnormality has occurred before or after the payment.

A customer's weight increases or decreases when the customer uses a restroom or dining area in the store. If the customer enters these areas without unpaid items, the increase or decrease in weight upon exit is not due to an abnormality. Therefore, in the store system 2, the requesting device 201 may acquire a customer ID and the measuring device 202 may measure the weight upon entering and exiting a designated area in the store, such as a restroom. The acquisition unit 21 may update the customer's weight upon exiting the designated area as the weight upon entry into the store.

[Product registration]
Although the above describes a case where a customer registers a product by himself/herself using the registration device 203, the configuration of the registration device 203 is not limited to this. The registration device 203 may be installed by being connected to a camera installed in the store, which is the input device 213, via a wired or wireless connection. The input device 213 captures images of the inside of the store, and the registration device 203 identifies the customer and the product using existing image recognition technology, and tracks the customer's movements and the movement of the products. The registration device 203 registers the product picked up by the customer as a registered product, and transmits the product ID and customer ID to the store server 110. In this case, data relating the product ID and the customer ID may be transmitted.

In this store system, customers can pick up products from the shelves, place them in their bags, and leave the store without going through a registration device that scans the barcodes on the products.

In a system that uses image recognition technology to register products that customers have acquired from shelves in association with the customers, there are cases where the movement of products cannot be accurately recognized from the images. For example, the registration device 203 may recognize that the customer has acquired a product that is different from the product that they actually acquired. Furthermore, if a customer hands over an item that they acquired from a shelf to another person, or if another person removes the item from the customer's bag, the registration device 203 may not be able to recognize the movement of the product from the images.

In such cases, abnormalities in the registered products and belongings can be detected by combining image recognition technology with measuring the customer's weight. For example, if the change in weight of the customer when they leave the store is greater than the weight of the registered product, it is likely that the customer chose a heavier product than the recognized product. If the change in weight of the customer when they leave the store is less than the weight of the registered product, it is likely that the customer chose a lighter product than the recognized product.

[Fourth embodiment]
8 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a detection device 300 according to the fourth embodiment. The detection device 300 includes an acquisition unit 31 and an anomaly detection unit 32. The detection device 300 is connected to a registration device and a product measurement device.

[Processing configuration]
The acquisition unit 31 and anomaly detection unit 32 according to the fourth embodiment have the following functions in addition to the functions of the acquisition units 11, 21 and the anomaly detection units 12, 22 according to the first and third embodiments. The acquisition unit 31 acquires the measured weight of the product instead of the weight of the registered product stored in the database. The anomaly detection unit 32 detects an anomaly based on the measured weight of the product.

A product measuring device is provided in a store to which the detection device 300 according to the fourth embodiment is applied. The product measuring device measures the weight of a customer's registered product before the customer leaves the store. The product measuring device is also called a scale device. The customer first places the product they are carrying on the product measuring device. There are no particular limitations on where the product measuring device may be installed, but the product measuring device may be installed adjacent to the registration device, in a primary storage area for registered products.

After completing product registration, the product measuring device may measure the weight of all registered products together, or may measure the weight of each product one by one and finally add up the measured weights. For example, the product measuring device may measure the weight of a registered product, and then measure the weight of the registered product again when an additional product is registered. It becomes possible to calculate the weight of the added product from the increase in product weight.

If the product measuring device obtains the weight of each product, it is possible to identify any registered products that are missing based on the customer's weight when they leave the store. Using a highly accurate measuring device makes it possible to accurately measure the weight of products, which helps improve the accuracy of identifying products that are insufficient or insufficient.

Furthermore, a case will be described in which the detection device 300 is applied to a store equipped with a registration device that registers products using RFID (radio frequency identifier) tags. Such a registration device may be a self-checkout type equipped with an RFID reader where customers place the products they wish to purchase. A product measuring device may be provided integrally with this RFID reader. This allows the customer's actions for registering products and for measuring the weight of the products to be integrated.

[Explanation of effects]
In the fourth embodiment, the detection device 300 uses the measured weight of the product, thereby reducing the amount of calculation required by the system.

[Fifth embodiment]
In the fifth embodiment, a method for managing the weight of each product will be described. This management method can be combined with the detection devices according to the first to fourth embodiments. Even if the product name is the same, the weight of each product may differ. Therefore, a unique identifier may be assigned to each product.

The weight of the product and the unique identifier are associated and stored as product weight information in the store server. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of product weight information according to the fifth embodiment. The store server stores the product weight information in association with the product ID, an identifier unique to each product, and the weight of the product. In the example of FIG. 9, the three products "XXX", "XYZ", and "XZZ" have a common product ID and a common price, but different weights.

Products with unique identifiers are displayed in stores. The unique identifiers are read in the store, and the acquisition unit provided in the detection device according to the first to fourth embodiments acquires the unique weight of the product stored in the store server as the weight of the registered product.

The unique identifier may be printed on the product, a sticker attached to the product, or the product packaging, for example. Furthermore, the unique identifier may be, for example, a fine pattern (fingerprint of thing) that appears on the surface of the product, or dots printed with ink. When a fingerprint of thing or dots are used as the unique identifier, the store uses a high-precision camera to recognize such unique identifier and obtain a highly accurate weight of the product.

[Explanation of effects]
According to the fifth embodiment, since the unique weight of the product is managed, it is possible to accurately calculate the weight of the product, and it is expected that the difference between the measured weight of the customer when leaving the store and when entering the store will be close to the registered weight of the product, thereby making it possible to accurately detect abnormalities.

[Modifications]
In the fifth embodiment, the case where the product ID and the identifier unique to an individual are separate has been described. However, the identifier unique to an individual may be used as the product ID.

In addition, the identifier unique to an individual may be determined by grouping products and assigning a common unique identifier to each group. For example, products may be divided into a group of regular products and a group of products that are 10% heavier than the regular products. In this way, if a product that is 10% heavier than the regular product is on sale for a limited time, applying the management method of the fifth embodiment makes it possible to distinguish between regular products and increased-weight products. This makes it possible to avoid detecting an abnormality by using the weight of a regular product as the weight of a registered product even when an increased-weight product is in possession.

When the weight of each product needs to be managed with precision, in the fourth embodiment, the precision of the measuring device installed at the cash register can be increased. Furthermore, if a measuring device with a measurement range of 0 to 200 kg and a resolution of 0.1 g or less can be used as the measuring device for measuring the weight of the customer, the weight of a customer carrying a product can be measured with precision. However, the measurement range and resolution of the measuring device are not limited to these, and a general measuring device can be used in the system according to the fifth embodiment.

[Hardware configuration]
The above procedure can be realized by a program that causes a computer (9000 in FIG. 10) functioning as the detection devices 100, 200, and 300 to realize the functions of the detection devices 100, 200, and 300. Such a computer is exemplified by a configuration including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 9010, a communication interface 9020, a memory 9030, and an auxiliary storage device 9040 in FIG. 10. That is, the detection program may be executed by the CPU 9010 in FIG. 10, and an update process of each calculation parameter held in the auxiliary storage device 9040 or the like may be performed.

Each part (processing means, function) of the detection device shown in each of the above-mentioned embodiments can be realized by a computer program that causes a processor installed in the detection device 100, 200, 300 to execute each of the above-mentioned processes using its hardware.

The present disclosure has been described above using the above-mentioned embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. In other words, the present disclosure can be applied in various aspects that can be understood by a person skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure.

A part or all of the above-described embodiments can be described as, but is not limited to, the following supplementary notes.
(Appendix 1)
An acquisition means for acquiring the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving the store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store;
an anomaly detection means for detecting an anomaly using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered commodity when entering and leaving the store;
A detection device comprising:
(Appendix 2)
the acquiring means acquires a weight of the customer measured when biometric authentication is performed, when a medium on which unique information associated with the customer is registered is presented, or when the customer is located in an area for performing authentication;
2. The detection device of claim 1.
(Appendix 3)
3. The detection device according to claim 1, wherein the anomaly detection means uses a weight stored in a database or a measured weight as the weight of the registered product.
(Appendix 4)
The abnormality is a difference in the weight of the customer when he or she leaves the store and when he or she enters the store, and the weight of the registered goods does not match.
4. A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
(Appendix 5)
The acquisition means further acquires an intermediate weight, which is the weight of the customer before entering and leaving the store.
5. The detection device according to claim 1 .
(Appendix 6)
The anomaly detection means detects an anomaly using the intermediate weight of the customer and the weight of the registered product.
6. The detection device of claim 5.
(Appendix 7)
When the weight of the customer cannot be acquired, the acquisition means authenticates the customer again and acquires the weight of the customer who is being authenticated again.
7. A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
(Appendix 8)
a request device that requests information about the customer when the customer enters or leaves the store;
A weighing device for measuring the weight of the customer;
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
A detection system comprising:
(Appendix 9)
Obtaining the weight of the customer during authentication at the time of entering and leaving the store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer at the time of leaving the store;
The method detects an abnormality by using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered merchandise when entering and leaving the store.
(Appendix 10)
Obtaining the weight of the customer during authentication at the time of entering and leaving the store, and the weight of a registered product associated with the customer at the time of leaving the store;
A program that causes a computer to execute a process for detecting an abnormality using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered product when entering and leaving the store.
(Appendix 11)
An acquisition means for acquiring the weight of a customer during authentication at the time of entering and leaving the store, and the weight of a registered commodity associated with the customer at the time of leaving the store;
an anomaly detection means for detecting an anomaly using the weight of the customer and the weight of the registered commodity when entering and leaving the store;
A detection device comprising:
(Appendix 12)
the acquiring means acquires a weight of the customer measured during biometric authentication, while the customer is being asked to present a medium on which unique information associated with the customer is registered, or while the customer is located in an area for performing authentication;
12. The detection device of claim 11.
(Appendix 13)
The period during which authentication is being performed includes at least a portion of the period during which biometric authentication is being performed, the period during which a medium on which unique information associated with the customer is registered is presented, or the period during which the customer is located in an area for performing authentication.
12. The detection device of claim 11.

100, 200, 300 Detection device 11, 21, 31 Acquisition unit 12, 22, 32 Anomaly detection unit 101 Request device 102 Measurement device 103 Registration device 110 Store server 201 Request device 202 Measurement device

Claims (11)

an acquisition means for acquiring the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving the store, the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store, an intermediate weight of the customer which is the weight of the customer before entering and leaving the store, and an intermediate weight of a registered product associated with the customer at a time before the customer makes a payment before entering and leaving the store ;
an anomaly detection means for detecting, as an anomaly with respect to the customer's belongings, a case in which a difference in the weight of the customer when leaving and when entering the store does not match the weight of the registered goods when leaving the store, and a case in which a difference in the average weight of the customer when entering the store does not match the average weight of the registered goods ;
A detection device comprising: the acquiring means acquires a weight of the customer measured when biometric authentication is performed, when a medium on which unique information associated with the customer is registered is presented, or when the customer is located in an area for performing authentication;
The detection device of claim 1 . The detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the anomaly detection means uses, as the weight of the registered product, a weight stored in a database or a measured weight. The abnormality detection means detects, as the abnormality, a case in which the weight of the customer when leaving the store is smaller than the sum of the weight of the customer when entering the store and the weight of the registered merchandise when leaving the store.
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The intermediate weight is the weight of the customer passing through a gate entering from one area to a different area in the store.
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The intermediate weight is the weight of the customer before or during boarding any elevator, escalator, or moving walkway in the store.
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. When the weight of the customer cannot be acquired, the acquisition means authenticates the customer again and acquires the weight of the customer who is being authenticated again.
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. a request device that requests information about the customer when the customer enters a store , when the customer leaves the store, or before the customer enters or leaves the store ;
A weighing device for measuring the weight of the customer;
A detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;
A detection system comprising: The requesting device requests information about the customer before entering or leaving the store, and when the requesting device obtains information about the customer, the requesting device rewards the customer.
The detection system of claim 8. The computer
Obtain the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving the store, the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store, an intermediate weight of the customer which is the weight of the customer before entering and leaving the store, and an intermediate weight of a registered product associated with the customer at a time before the customer makes a payment before entering and leaving the store ;
A detection method that detects as an abnormality regarding the customer's belongings when the difference in the customer's weight between when he/she leaves and when he/she enters the store does not match the weight of the registered items at the time of the store leaving, and when the difference in the customer's average weight between when he/she enters the store does not match the average weight of the registered items . Obtain the weight of a customer who is authenticated when entering and leaving the store, the weight of a registered product associated with the customer when leaving the store, an intermediate weight of the customer which is the weight of the customer before entering and leaving the store, and an intermediate weight of a registered product associated with the customer at a time before the customer makes a payment before entering and leaving the store ;
A program that causes a computer to execute a process to detect, as an abnormality regarding the customer's belongings, the cases in which the difference in the customer's weight between when he/she leaves and when he/she enters the store does not match the weight of the registered goods at the time of the store leaving, and the case in which the difference in the customer's average weight between when he/she enters the store does not match the average weight of the registered goods .

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