JP7621614B2 - Information output device, information output method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information output device that outputs information about an object to which a code has been assigned.

Conventionally, a camera installed on a forklift captures an image of an object's code, and the object's identifier associated with the code is acquired and output (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this way, for example, it is possible to automatically acquire the identifier of an object being moved by a forklift, and there is an advantage in that the identifier can be used to manage the object being moved.

JP 2016-222371 A

However, in a warehouse or the like where objects are stored from the back to the front, it may be possible to photograph the code of the object at the front, but it may not be possible to easily photograph the code of the object behind. In such a situation, to photograph the code of the object at the back, for example, the photographer must move to the position of the object at the back to photograph it, or, if there is no space for such movement, the photographer must move the object at the front and then photograph it, which poses a significant burden.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and aims to provide an information output device etc. that can obtain information about an object even if the object is located behind an object whose code can be photographed.

To achieve the above object, an information output device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores positional relationship information that indicates the positional relationship of an object to which a code has been assigned, a reception unit that receives a photographed image of the object, an acquisition unit that acquires information about an object present behind the object to which the code has been assigned using the code and the positional relationship information contained in the photographed image accepted by the reception unit, and an output unit that outputs the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

With this configuration, it is possible to obtain information about an object that exists behind an object whose code can be photographed by using the positional relationship information. Therefore, the person photographing the code does not need to, for example, move to the position of the rear object to photograph the code of the rear object, or move the object in front and then photograph the code of the rear object, thereby reducing the burden on the person photographing the code about the rear object.

In addition, in an information output device according to one aspect of the present invention, the positional relationship information may be information indicating the relative positional relationship of objects.

With this configuration, it is possible to identify an object present behind the vehicle by using positional relationship information that indicates the relative positional relationship of the objects, and to obtain information about the identified object.

In addition, in an information output device according to one aspect of the present invention, the reception unit may further include a modification unit that, when a new object is placed, receives a photographed image of the code of the object to be placed and a photographed image of the code of an object present behind the object to be placed, and adds the positional relationship of the object to be placed to the positional relationship information using the code of the object to be placed and the code of the object present behind the object to be placed, both of which are included in the photographed image received by the reception unit.

With this configuration, the positional relationship of the objects according to their new placement can be added to the positional relationship information.

In addition, in an information output device according to one aspect of the present invention, the positional relationship information is information indicating the position of the object to which the code is assigned, and the device further includes a current position acquisition unit that acquires the current position, and the acquisition unit may acquire information regarding an object present behind the object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit, the positional relationship information, and the current position.

With this configuration, by using positional relationship information indicating the position of the photographed object and the positions of other objects, and the current position of the information output device, it becomes possible to identify objects that exist behind the photographed object, and obtain information about the identified object.

In addition, in the information output device according to one aspect of the present invention, the reception unit may further include a relative positional relationship acquisition unit that receives a captured image of the code of the placed object when a new object is placed, and acquires a relative positional relationship between the code and the information output device using the code of the placed object contained in the captured image received by the reception unit, and a modification unit that acquires the position of the placed object using the relative positional relationship with the current position, and adds the position of the placed object to the positional relationship information.

With this configuration, the position of the object can be added to the positional relationship information by capturing an image of the object's code, making it possible to change the positional relationship information through simple processing.

An information output method according to one aspect of the present invention is an information output method that is processed using a storage unit that stores positional relationship information, which is information indicating the positional relationship of an object to which a code has been assigned, a reception unit, an acquisition unit, and an output unit, and includes a reception step in which the reception unit receives a photographed image of the object, an acquisition step in which the acquisition unit acquires information about an object present on the rear side of the object to which the code has been assigned using the code contained in the photographed image accepted in the reception step and the positional relationship information, and an output step in which the output unit outputs the information acquired in the acquisition step.

According to an information output device according to one aspect of the present invention, it becomes possible to obtain information about an object that exists behind an object whose code can be photographed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information output device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; A flowchart showing the operation of the information output device according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of correspondence between a code identifier and object information in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of positional relationship information in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of positional relationship information in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of positional relationship information in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of positional relationship information in the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of objects in the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of objects in the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of objects in the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of objects in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting situation of an object in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting situation of an object in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting situation of an object in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a shooting situation of an object in the embodiment; FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of output of information about a target object in the embodiment; FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information output device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; A flowchart showing the operation of the information output device according to the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining acquisition of the position of an object in the embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of positional relationship information in the embodiment; FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a computer system according to the above embodiments.

The information output device and information output method according to the present invention will be described below using embodiments. Note that in the following embodiments, components and steps with the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repeated description may be omitted.

(Embodiment 1)
An information output device and an information output method according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The information output device according to the present embodiment acquires information about an object present behind an object whose code can be photographed, using positional relationship information indicating the relative positional relationship of the objects.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information output device 1 according to this embodiment. The information output device 1 according to this embodiment includes an image capture unit 11, a reception unit 12, a storage unit 13, an acquisition unit 14, an output unit 15, and a change unit 16. The information output device 1 may be, for example, a portable information processing terminal with an image capture function, such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or an information processing device such as a server that receives images captured by an external device. In this embodiment, the case where the information output device 1 is a portable information processing terminal with an image capture function will be mainly described.

The photographing unit 11 photographs an object to which a code has been assigned, and obtains a photographed image of the object. The photographed image preferably includes an image of the code assigned to the object. The photographed image of the object may be, for example, a photographed image of the entire object, or may be a photographed image of a part of the object. Even in the latter case, it is preferable that the entire code is included in the photographed image. The photographed image is usually a still image, but a frame included in a moving image may be considered to be the photographed image. In addition, in order to obtain a code identifier (to be described later) from the code included in the photographed image, it is preferable that the photographed image has a resolution sufficient to obtain the code identifier. In addition, as will be described later, if the code of the photographed object is a color code, it is preferable that the photographed image is a color image. In addition, it is preferable that the photographed image is photographed so that the up-down direction of the real space is the up-down direction of the photographed image, and the horizontal direction of the real space is the left-right direction of the photographed image.

The photographing unit 11 may acquire a photographed image by, for example, an optical device such as a camera. The photographing unit 11 may capture images in response to, for example, a user's instructions. Furthermore, of the photographed images acquired by the photographing unit 11 (for example, a plurality of photographed images included in a moving image, etc.), a specific photographed image (for example, a photographed image specified by a user, etc.) may be passed to the reception unit 12. Furthermore, the photographed image acquired by the photographing unit 11 may be displayed, for example, so that the photographer can check it.

The reception unit 12 receives a photographed image of an object. This photographed image is acquired by the photographing unit 11. The object included in the photographed image received by the reception unit 12 may be, for example, an object to be outputted as information, or an object to be changed as positional relationship information. In the latter case, the reception unit 12 may receive, for example, a photographed image of the code of the object to be placed and a photographed image of the code of the object present on the back (rear) of the object to be placed when a new object is placed. The back of the object is usually the back when the object is viewed based on the photographing position. In this embodiment, a situation in which multiple objects are placed in a warehouse or the like is mainly assumed. Therefore, for example, the side closer to the entrance or passage of the warehouse may be the front, and the side farther from the entrance of the warehouse or the wall side may be the back or rear. Note that the object present on the back of object A may be, for example, an object present immediately behind object A. In other words, when object A is placed immediately before object B, object B may be the object present on the back of object A. In addition, when multiple objects are stacked vertically or arranged side by side in the left-right direction, the reception unit 12 may receive captured images of the multiple objects.

The reception unit 12 may receive other than captured images. The reception unit 12 may receive, for example, instructions from a user. Reception of instructions from a user may be, for example, reception of instructions input from an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.) or reception of instructions transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. Note that, in the case where the information output device 1 includes the image capture unit 11, the reception unit 12 may be considered to be an interface between the image capture unit 11 and each subsequent component.

The storage unit 13 stores positional relationship information, which is information indicating the positional relationship of objects to which codes have been assigned. The positional relationship information may be any information that can reveal the positional relationship of objects as a result. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the positional relationship information is information indicating the relative positional relationship of objects. Note that a case in which the positional relationship information is information indicating the position of an object will be described in embodiment 2.

The code may be, for example, a color code such as a Chameleon Code (registered trademark), a QR Code (registered trademark), a barcode, or other code. In this embodiment, the case where the code is a color code will be mainly described.

An object is an object that is the subject of placement, and may be, for example, a box-shaped object such as a cardboard box or container, an object to be transported that is placed on a logistics pallet, clothes hung on a clothes hanger, or any other object. Typically, an object is an object that is the subject of movement.

The method by which the code is applied to the object is not important. For example, the code may be affixed to the object, the code may be printed on the surface of the object, a tag displaying the code may be attached to the object, or the code may be applied to the object by some other method. It is preferable that the code is applied to the object in such a way that it is easy to read. For example, it is preferable that when the part of the object to which the code is applied is photographed, the code can be read in the photographed image.

The positional relationship information may be information indicating the relative positional relationship of objects identified by their identifiers. As the object identifier, for example, a code identifier of a code assigned to the object may be used, or an object identifier corresponding to the code identifier may be used. In this embodiment, the former case will be mainly described.

The code identifier may be any identifier that can identify the code. For example, the code identifier may be the information indicated by the code (i.e., information obtained by reading the code), or may be information that is managed in association with the information obtained by reading the code. In this embodiment, the former case will be mainly described. Therefore, it is assumed that the code identifier of a code can be obtained from a photographed image of the code.

The positional relationship information may include information indicating the positional relationship between an object in front and an object in the back, that is, information indicating the positional relationship between objects in the front-back direction. For example, the information may be information indicating the relationship between an object and an object arranged behind the object. The positional relationship information may also include information indicating the positional relationship between an object above and an object below, that is, information indicating the positional relationship between objects in the up-down direction. For example, the information may be information indicating the relationship between an object and an object arranged above the object. The positional relationship information may also include other information indicating the positional relationship between objects (for example, information indicating the positional relationship between objects in the left-right direction, etc.). In this embodiment, the line of sight when looking directly at the code attached to the object is mainly described as the front-back direction. In other words, the direction of the double arrow in FIG. 5A etc. is the front-back direction.

The storage unit 13 may store information other than the positional relationship information. For example, the storage unit 13 may store information that associates an identifier of an object with information about the object. The information about the object is not particularly limited, but may include, for example, the name, type, amount, attributes, best-before date, expiration date, serial number, and owner of the object. In this embodiment, a case in which the best-before date of the object is associated with the identifier of the object will be mainly described. The identifier of the object may be a code identifier, as described above. The information that associates the identifier of the object with information about the object may be stored in the storage unit 13, for example, when a code is assigned to the object. Alternatively, for example, when information indicating a positional relationship regarding a certain object is added to the positional relationship information, the information that associates the identifier of the object with information about the object may be stored in the storage unit 13.

The process by which information is stored in the storage unit 13 is not important. For example, information may be stored in the storage unit 13 via a recording medium, information transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 13, or information input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 13. In addition, as described below, the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13 may be changed by the change unit 16. The storage unit 13 is preferably realized by a non-volatile recording medium, but may also be realized by a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk.

The acquisition unit 14 acquires information about an object present on the rear side of an object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12 and the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13. Specifically, the acquisition unit 14 acquires a code identifier from the code included in the captured image. Then, the acquisition unit 14 acquires the identifier of the object to which the code is assigned. Note that, if the code identifier also serves as the identifier of the object, the process of acquiring the identifier of the object is not necessary. If the code identifier and the identifier of the object are different, the acquisition unit 14 may acquire the identifier of the object corresponding to the acquired code identifier, for example, using information that associates the code identifier with the identifier of the object. The information that associates the code identifier with the identifier of the object may be stored in the storage unit 13, for example. After that, the acquisition unit 14 uses the positional relationship information to identify the identifier of an object present on the rear side of the object identified by the identifier of the acquired object, and acquires information about the object identified by the identifier of the identified object. An object present on the rear side of a certain object may be an object that is indicated to be present on the back side of a certain object by the positional relationship information. The information about the object may be obtained, for example, by using information that associates an identifier of the object with information about the object. Furthermore, the information about the object may be, for example, the identifier of the object itself.

The acquisition unit 14 may also acquire information about an object to which a code is attached that is included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12. For example, the acquisition unit 14 may acquire an identifier of an object to which a code is attached that is included in the captured image, and acquire information about the object identified by the acquired identifier of the object. As described above, the identifier of the object may be a code identifier. It is not necessary to acquire information about an object to which a code is attached that is included in the captured image. Normally, an object to which a code is attached that is included in the captured image is an object that can be seen by the user who is the photographer. For example, when information about the object is displayed on the surface of the object, the user can know the information without using the information output device 1. In this embodiment, the case where the acquisition unit 14 also acquires information about an object to which a code is attached that is included in the captured image will be mainly described.

The acquisition unit 14 may also generate information indicating the acquired information about the objects according to the positional relationship of the objects. By outputting such information, the user can easily grasp the relationship between each object placed in the real space and the information about each object.

The output unit 15 outputs the information acquired by the acquisition unit 14. The information to be output may be, for example, information about an object, or information showing information about the object according to the positional relationship of the object (such as the information shown in FIG. 7). Here, this output may be, for example, a display on a display device (such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display), a transmission to a specific device via a communication line, a printing by a printer, storage on a recording medium, or a transfer to another component. In this embodiment, the case where the output is a display will be mainly described. Note that the output unit 15 may or may not include a device that performs the output (such as a display device or a printer). Also, the output unit 15 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives those devices.

The change unit 16 adds the positional relationship of the object to the positional relationship information. Specifically, the change unit 16 may add the positional relationship of the object to be placed to the positional relationship information by using the code of the object to be placed and the code of the object present behind the object to be placed, which are included in the photographed image accepted by the acceptance unit 12. For example, when placing object A in front of object B, a photographed image of object A and a photographed image of object B are acquired, and if it is indicated that object B exists behind object A, the change unit 16 may add a positional relationship indicating that object B exists behind object A to the positional relationship information. In this way, the positional relationship in the front-rear direction is added to the positional relationship information. The presence of object B behind object A may be indicated, for example, by the order of acceptance of the photographed images, or may be input by the user. In the former case, for example, when a photographed image of object A is accepted after a photographed image of object B is accepted, it may be determined that object B exists behind object A.

Furthermore, when a captured image in which multiple objects are stacked vertically is received by the receiving unit 12, the modification unit 16 may add the vertical positional relationship of the objects to the positional relationship information. For example, by acquiring the vertical positional relationship of multiple codes included in the received captured image, it is possible to acquire the vertical positional relationship of the objects to which each code is assigned. Therefore, the modification unit 16 may add the thus acquired vertical positional relationship of the objects to the positional relationship information.

Next, the operation of the information output device 1 will be explained using the flowchart in Figure 2.

(Step S101) The acquisition unit 14 determines whether or not to output information. If the information is to be output, the process proceeds to step S102. If the information is not to be output, the process proceeds to step S107. The acquisition unit 14 may determine to output information, for example, when an instruction to output information is received from a user.

(Step S102) The image capturing unit 11 captures an image of the object and obtains a captured image. Note that the timing and direction of capturing the image may be determined by the user.

(Step S103) The reception unit 12 receives the captured image from the image capture unit 11. The captured image may be stored, for example, in a recording medium (not shown).

(Step S104) The acquisition unit 14 acquires a code identifier, which is an identifier of the object, from the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12. If the captured image includes two or more codes, a code identifier may be acquired for each code.

(Step S105) The acquisition unit 14 uses the positional relationship information stored in the memory unit 13 to identify code identifiers that identify each object present on the rear side of the object identified by the code identifier acquired in step S104. The acquisition unit 14 then uses information stored in the memory unit 13 that associates the code identifier with information about the object identified by the code identifier to acquire information about the object corresponding to the identified code identifier and the code identifier acquired in step S104.

(Step S106) The output unit 15 outputs the information about the object acquired in step S105. Then, the process returns to step S101.

(Step S107) The change unit 16 determines whether or not to change the positional relationship information. If the positional relationship information is to be changed, the process proceeds to step S108; if not, the process returns to step S101. The change unit 16 may determine to change the positional relationship information when, for example, an instruction to change the positional relationship information is received from the user.

(Step S108) The image capturing unit 11 captures an image of the object and obtains a captured image. Note that the timing and direction of capturing the image may be determined by the user.

(Step S109) The reception unit 12 receives the captured image from the imaging unit 11. The captured image may be stored, for example, in a recording medium (not shown).

(Step S110) The change unit 16 acquires a code identifier, which is an identifier of the object, from the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12. If the captured image includes two or more codes, a code identifier may be acquired for each code.

The processes of steps S108 to S110 may be repeated. For example, if the captured image contains only one code, the processes of steps S108 to S110 may be repeated twice. In this way, the code identifier of the object to be placed and the code identifier of the object present behind the object may be obtained. On the other hand, for example, if the captured image contains multiple codes, the processes of steps S108 to S110 do not need to be repeated.

(Step S111) The modification unit 16 adds the positional relationship of the objects to the positional relationship information using the code identifier acquired in step S110. For example, when a code identifier of a rear object and a code identifier of a foreground object are acquired, the modification unit 16 may add information indicating the front-to-back relationship of those objects to the positional relationship information. Also, for example, when multiple code identifiers corresponding to multiple codes aligned vertically are acquired, the modification unit 16 may add information indicating the vertical relationship of those objects to the positional relationship information. Then, the process returns to step S101.

2, the user instructs whether to output information or change the positional relationship information, but this is not necessary. For example, if the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12 contains only a code corresponding to a known code identifier, it may be determined that information is to be output, and if not, it may be determined that the positional relationship information is to be changed. The known code identifier is the code identifier of the object whose positional relationship is indicated by the positional relationship information. In this case, for example, when adding the positional relationship in the front-back direction of the object to the positional relationship information, the object to be placed may be photographed first. This is because the code identifier of the object to be placed is an unknown code identifier. Also, the order of the processing in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is an example, and the order of each step may be changed as long as the same result can be obtained. Also, in the flowchart of FIG. 2, the processing ends when the power is turned off or an interrupt is issued to end the processing.

Next, the operation of the information output device 1 according to this embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, as described above, it is assumed that the code identifier of a code assigned to an object is the identifier of that object. It is also assumed that the information output device 1 is a smartphone.

In addition, in this specific example, the code identifier shown in FIG. 3 is stored in association with object information, which is information about an object to which a code identified by the code identifier is assigned. The object information is the expiration date of the object. In FIG. 3, for example, the expiration date of an object to which a code identified by the code identifier "ID0001" is assigned is shown to be "December 2020."

In this specific example, the positional relationship information is information that indicates the positional relationship of objects in a tree structure. In the positional relationship information, for each object, the code identifier of the object located on the top surface (top code identifier) is associated with the code identifier of the object located on the back surface (back code identifier). Note that there is no top code identifier that corresponds to the object in the top row. Also, back code identifiers are associated only with the object in the bottom row. Also, there is no back code identifier that corresponds to the object in the bottom row that is located at the very back.

First, assume that objects B0001 to B0004 are placed as shown in FIG. 5A. Codes C0001 to C0004 are assigned to objects B0001 to B0004, respectively. The code identifiers corresponding to codes C0001 to C0004, respectively, are ID0001 to ID0004. Note that in this specific example, the code CN identified by the code identifier IDN is assigned to object BN. Here, N is a four-digit number.

Assume that the user operates the information output device 1 to input a request to change the positional relationship information. In response to the input, the change unit 16 determines that the positional relationship information is to be changed, and switches the information output device 1 to the shooting mode (step S107). Then, as shown in FIG. 6A, assume that the objects B0001 to B0004 are photographed. Then, the photographed image is acquired by the photographing unit 11 and accepted by the accepting unit 12 (steps S108 and S109). In addition, the photographed image accepted by the accepting unit 12 is passed to the change unit 16. When the photographed image is received, the change unit 16 recognizes the multiple codes C0001 to C0004 contained in the photographed image. In this case, since multiple codes are included in the photographed image, the change unit 16 identifies the code identifiers of each code in order from the bottom of the photographed image. Specifically, the code identifiers are identified in the order of code identifiers ID0001, ID0002, ID0003, and ID0004 (step S110).

Then, the change unit 16 registers each identified code identifier in the positional relationship information, and for a certain code identifier, sets the code identifier identified next to that code identifier as the upper code identifier. For example, since code identifier ID0002 is identified next to code identifier ID0001, code identifier ID0002 is set as the upper code identifier. As a result, the positional relationship information is changed as shown in FIG. 4A (step S111).

After that, before placing the new object B0101 to be placed, the user operates the information output device 1 to input a change to the positional relationship information. In response to the input, the change unit 16 determines that the positional relationship information is to be changed, and switches the information output device 1 to the shooting mode (step S107). Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, the code C0001 assigned to the bottom object B0001 is photographed. Then, the photographed image is acquired by the photographing unit 11 and accepted by the accepting unit 12, and the code identifier ID0001 of the code C0001 is acquired by the changing unit 16 (steps S108 to S110). Next, it is assumed that the user places the new object B0101 to be placed as shown in FIG. 5B. Then, as shown in FIG. 6C, the code C0101 assigned to the newly placed object B0101 is photographed. The captured image is then acquired by the image capturing unit 11 and accepted by the acceptance unit 12, and the change unit 16 acquires the code identifier ID0101 of the code C0101 (steps S108 to S110). Upon acquiring the code identifiers ID0001 and ID0101, the change unit 16 registers the new code identifier ID0101 in the positional relationship information and sets the acquired code identifier ID0001 as the inner code identifier corresponding to the code identifier ID0101. As a result, the positional relationship information is changed as shown in FIG. 4B (step S111).

In this specific example, it is assumed that when placing a new object, the code of the object at the bottom of the back is photographed, and then the code of the object to be placed in front of that object is photographed. Therefore, in the above manner, the front-to-back relationship of the objects can be registered in the positional relationship information.

After that, as shown in FIG. 5C, objects B0102 to B0104 are placed on object B0101. Then, in the same manner as described above, objects B0101 to B0104 are photographed and photographed images are acquired, and code identifiers ID0101 to ID0104 are identified in order (steps S107 to S110). Then, the change unit 16 registers each code identifier and sets the upper code identifier corresponding to each code identifier. Note that in this case, since code identifier ID0101 has already been registered, only the upper code identifier ID0102 is set for code identifier ID0101. In this way, the positional relationship information is changed as shown in FIG. 4C.

Thereafter, when placing objects B0201 to B0204 as shown in FIG. 5D, the code identifier ID0201 is registered and the back code identifier ID0101 is set by photographing objects B0201 and B0101, and the code identifiers ID0202 to ID0204 are registered and the top code identifier is set by photographing objects B0201 to B0204 (steps S107 to S111). As a result, the positional relationship information stored in memory unit 13 becomes as shown in FIG. 4D.

In this way, the positional relationship information is changed. The positional relationship information has a tree structure, as shown in FIG. 4D. In this tree structure, the code identifier of the object at the bottom of the foreground is the root node, and the code identifier of the object at the top is the leaf node.

Then, a process of outputting object information (best-before date) related to the object on the rear side using the positional relationship information will be described. With the objects arranged as shown in FIG. 5D, the user operates the information output device 1 to input information output. In response to the input, the acquisition unit 14 determines that information is to be output, and switches the information output device 1 to the shooting mode (step S101). Then, as shown in FIG. 6D, the objects B0201 to B0204 on the front side are photographed. Then, the photographed image is acquired by the photographing unit 11 and accepted by the accepting unit 12 (steps S102, S103). The photographed image accepted by the accepting unit 12 is passed to the acquiring unit 14. When the photographed image is received, the acquiring unit 14 recognizes the multiple codes C0201 to C0204 included in the photographed image, and acquires the code identifiers ID0201 to ID0204 corresponding to each code included in the photographed image (step S104).

The acquisition unit 14 also acquires each code ID starting from each acquired code ID up to the code ID of the leaf node using the positional relationship information of FIG. 4D stored in the storage unit 13. In this case, code IDs 0001 to 0004 and ID 0101 to 0104 are acquired. The acquisition unit 14 also refers to the information of FIG. 3 stored in the storage unit 13, and acquires the expiration date corresponding to each code ID acquired from the captured image and each code ID acquired using the positional relationship information. Then, information indicating the expiration date is generated in the positional relationship of the positional relationship information shown in FIG. 4D (step S105). The generated information is information indicating the expiration date of each object, and is also information that indicates the up-down and down-front relationships of the objects. The information generated in this way is displayed by the output unit 15 on the touch panel of the information output device 1, which is a smartphone, as shown in FIG. 7 (step S106). By displaying as shown in FIG. 7, it becomes possible to know information (expiration date) regarding objects other than the object at the forefront. For example, it will be possible to know that there is an item at the back with a best-before date of "December 2020," and this will allow the item at the back to be shipped before the item at the front.

In this specific example, a case where a deep code identifier is set for the bottom object in the positional relationship information has been described, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, an identifier that identifies an object present behind the top object or other object may be set in the positional relationship information. In addition, in this specific example, a case where a deep code identifier or a top code identifier is set in the positional relationship information has been described, but this is not necessarily the case. For example, a front code identifier may be set to identify an object in the foreground, and a bottom code identifier may be set to identify an object below.

In addition, in this specific example, a case has been described in which information about the object is output according to the relative positions of the object, but this is not necessary. Only information about the object may be output. Even in this case, it is possible to know information about objects present behind the object whose code was photographed, for example, to know that an object with a shorter expiration date is present behind the object.

As described above, according to the information output device 1 and the information output method of the present embodiment, by using the positional relationship information indicating the relative positional relationship of the objects, it becomes possible to know information about objects whose codes have not been photographed by photographing the code of the object in front. Therefore, the person photographing the code does not need to move to the object in the back to photograph the code of the object in the back, and there is also no need to move the object in the front to photograph the code of the object in the back, which reduces the burden when obtaining information about the object in the back. In this way, since information about an object placed in the back can be known without moving to the object in the back, it becomes possible to arrange objects in a warehouse or storage facility without gaps, for example, and it becomes possible to realize efficient object arrangement. It is also possible to add information to the positional relationship information using the photographed image, and it becomes possible to construct the positional relationship information by simple processing.

Here, we will explain a modified example of the information output device 1 according to this embodiment.

[Two or more camera units]
In the above embodiment, the case where the reception unit 12 receives the photographed image from one photographing unit 11 has been described, but this is not necessary. For example, when placing a new object, the information output device 1 may include a first photographing unit that photographs the object to be placed and a second photographing unit that photographs the object that has been placed up to that point. In this case, it is possible to acquire a photographed image of the code of the object to be placed and a photographed image of the code of the object present on the back of the object to be placed at the same time without repeating photographing with one photographing unit 11. For example, when the object is placed using a forklift or the like, it is possible to perform both photographing at the same time by disposing the first photographing unit that photographs the object being transported, i.e., the code of the object to be placed, and the second photographing unit that photographs the code of the object already placed at the destination on the forklift.

(Embodiment 2)
An information output device and an information output method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The information output device according to the present embodiment uses positional relationship information indicating the position of the object to obtain information about an object present behind an object whose code can be photographed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the information output device 2 according to this embodiment. The information output device 2 according to this embodiment includes a photographing unit 11, a receiving unit 12, a storage unit 13, an output unit 15, a current position acquisition unit 21, an acquisition unit 22, a relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23, and a change unit 24. The photographing unit 11, the receiving unit 12, the storage unit 13, and the output unit 15 are the same as those in the first embodiment except that the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13 is different, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted. When a new object is placed, the receiving unit 12 may receive a photographed image of the code of the placed object. The acquisition unit 22 and the change unit 24 may perform the same processes as the acquisition unit 14 and the change unit 16 of the first embodiment except for the processes particularly described below.

In this embodiment, it is preferable that the code has a predetermined shape (e.g., a rectangle, a square, a triangle, a polygon, etc.). This is because the shape of the code is used to obtain the relative positional relationship between the code and the information output device 2.

In addition, in this embodiment, as described above, the positional relationship information is information indicating the position of the object to which the code is assigned. The position of the object may be, for example, a position in a global coordinate system of the space in which the object is placed. In this way, in this embodiment, the absolute position of the object is indicated by the positional relationship information. Even when the absolute position of each object is indicated, the positional relationship of each object can be known as a result by using the position, so the positional relationship information in this embodiment can also be said to be information indicating the positional relationship of the object. The positional relationship information in this embodiment may be, for example, information that associates the identifier of the object with the position of the object. The position may be a position in a two-dimensional plane (i.e., a horizontal position), or may be a position that also includes the height direction. In order to be able to know the up-down relationship of the object, in this embodiment, the case where the position also includes the height direction will be mainly described. For example, the position of the code assigned to the object may be used as the position of the object. In this embodiment, the case where the position of the object is the position of the code will be mainly described. Also, as in the first embodiment, in this embodiment, the case where the identifier of the object is a code identifier will also be mainly described.

The current position acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position. The current position may be acquired, for example, by wireless communication or by other means capable of acquiring the current position. Known methods for acquiring the current position by wireless communication include, for example, a method using a global positioning system (GPS), a method using an indoor GPS, and a method using the nearest wireless base station. The current position may be a position in a global coordinate system of a space in which an object is placed. The current position may be, for example, a two-dimensional position in the horizontal direction, or a three-dimensional position including the height direction. In the latter case, for example, a predetermined value (for example, "0") may be acquired for the height direction position. This is because it is generally considered that the height direction position of the information output device 2 does not change significantly. Note that, when the height direction position of the information output device 2 can also change significantly, it is preferable that an accurate value is acquired for the height direction position included in the current position. It is preferable that the current position acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position including the orientation (direction) of the information output device 2. The direction may be indicated, for example, by the angle (e.g., Euler angles) of the local coordinate system of the information output device 2 relative to the global coordinate system, or by other information indicating a direction. The orientation may be acquired by an electronic compass, a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, a tilt sensor, or the like.

The acquisition unit 22 acquires information about an object present behind the object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12, the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13, and the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 21. More specifically, the acquisition unit 22 can specify the position of each object to which the code included in the captured image is assigned by acquiring a position corresponding to the code identifier of the code included in the captured image. The acquisition unit 22 can also specify the position of the information output device 2 based on the current position. The acquisition unit 22 can also specify the position of each object based on the positional relationship information. Therefore, the acquisition unit 22 can specify an object present behind (behind) each object to which the code included in the captured image is assigned. The acquisition unit 22 may then acquire information about the objects specified in this manner.

Note that the identification of objects present behind (behind) each object to which a code is assigned in the captured image may be performed, for example, as follows. First, in a horizontal circular coordinate system, the current position is set as the origin, and the angle of a half line extending from the origin to the position of each object to which a code is assigned in the captured image, i.e., the position associated with the code identifier of that code by the positional relationship information (hereinafter referred to as the "azimuth angle") is set to 0 degrees. Then, objects whose positions are included in the area between a half line with an azimuth angle of -δ degrees and a half line with an azimuth angle of +δ degrees may be identified. The objects identified in this way are the objects present behind each object to which a code is assigned in the captured image. In addition, in the region between the half line with an azimuth angle of -δ degrees and the half line with an azimuth angle of +δ degrees, it is generally considered that there is no object closer to the current position than the position of the object to which the code in the captured image is assigned in the region between the half line with an azimuth angle of -δ degrees and the half line with an azimuth angle of +δ degrees. If there is an object, only the object that exists on the farther side than the position of the object to which the code in the captured image is assigned in the region between the half line with an azimuth angle of -δ degrees and the half line with an azimuth angle of +δ degrees may be identified. In addition, δ is a predetermined positive angle, and is usually not very large. For example, δ may be 3 degrees or more, or 5 degrees or more. In addition, δ may be 30 degrees or less, 20 degrees or less, or 10 degrees or less. In addition, when a single captured image includes multiple codes, the above process may be performed for each code, and the objects identified in each process may be merged to obtain a final result of identifying the object. Alternatively, the object may be identified as described above using a representative value (for example, an average value) of multiple positions corresponding to multiple codes.

A method of acquiring the vertical and front-rear positional relationships of each object using the position of each object will be briefly described. The acquisition unit 22 uses the horizontal position of each object to cluster each object so that code identifiers with close horizontal positions belong to the same cluster. The acquisition unit 22 then uses the height position in each cluster to determine the vertical relationship. In addition, the clusters can be arranged in order from the front side to the back side (the side with the farthest distance) using the representative value of the horizontal position of each cluster (for example, the average value or the position of a randomly selected object) and the distance between the current position and the information output device 2 as a reference. In this way, when the position of each object and the current position of the information output device 2 are known, the acquisition unit 22 can acquire the relative positional relationship of the object with respect to the information output device 2. The acquisition unit 22 may generate information indicating information about the object according to the positional relationship of the object, similar to the acquisition unit 14 of the first embodiment, using the relative positional relationship of the object acquired in this way. Furthermore, if such information is not generated, the acquisition unit 22 does not need to acquire the relative positional relationship of the objects.

The relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23 acquires the relative positional relationship between the code and the information output device 2, using the code of the placed object included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit 12. The relative positional relationship may include, for example, information regarding the translation between the code and the information output device 2 at the time of shooting, or may include information regarding the rotational movement between the code and the information output device 2. In this embodiment, the case where both are included in the relative positional relationship will be mainly described.

Here, a method for acquiring the relative positional relationship from a captured image of a code will be briefly described. The local coordinate system of the camera capturing the code is called the camera coordinate system, and the local coordinate system of the code to be captured is called the code coordinate system. It is known that coordinates in the camera coordinate system and coordinates in the code coordinate system can be transformed using a homogeneous transformation matrix corresponding to translation and rotation. Translation in a three-dimensional space has three unknowns, and rotation in a three-dimensional space also has three unknowns, so that the homogeneous transformation matrix has six unknowns. On the other hand, when the distances between three points in the real space related to the code included in the captured image are known, it is known that the six unknowns of the homogeneous transformation matrix can be obtained by using the three distances, and the homogeneous transformation matrix can be uniquely specified. It is assumed that the three points do not lie on a straight line. For example, when the length A1 of the short side and the length A2 of the long side of a rectangular code are known, the distances between the four vertices of the code are all known (for example, the length of the diagonal is (A1 ² +A2 ² ) ^1/2 ), and the distances between three points on the code are known, so that a homogeneous transformation matrix for performing transformation between the camera coordinate system and the code coordinate system can be specified. Therefore, a homogeneous transformation matrix can be calculated by using the code included in the captured image and the distances between three points on the code, and the relative positional relationship between the camera coordinate system and the code coordinate system can be obtained using the homogeneous transformation matrix. In addition, usually, the relationship between the camera coordinate system and the local coordinate system of the information output device 2 is known. Therefore, the relative positional relationship between the local coordinate system of the information output device 2 and the code coordinate system, that is, the relative positional relationship between the information output device 2 and the code, can be obtained. Note that, for example, the camera coordinate system may be the local coordinate system of the information output device 2.

In this embodiment, a case will be mainly described in which the values (x, y, z) of each coordinate axis direction and each rotation angle (θ, φ, ψ) relating to the translation of the code coordinate system with respect to the local coordinate system of the information output device 2 are acquired by the relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23. Note that the length and width of each rectangular code are assumed to be stored in the information output device 2. This is because they are necessary for acquiring the relative positional relationship. Furthermore, when the captured image includes multiple codes, it is preferable to acquire the relative positional relationship with the information output device 2 for each code.

The change unit 24 acquires the position of the code of the placed object using the current position acquired by the current position acquisition unit 21 and the relative positional relationship acquired by the relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23, and adds it to the positional relationship information. As shown in FIG. 10, when the current position (X1, Y1, Z1, α1, β1, γ1) of the information output device 2 in the global coordinate system and the relative positional relationship (x1, y1, z1, θ1, φ1, ψ1) between the code C0001 and the information output device 2 are known, the position (X001, Y001, Z001) of the code C0001 in the global coordinate system can be acquired. Therefore, the change unit 24 can acquire the position in the global coordinate system of each code included in the captured image in this way. The change unit 24 may add the position of each code acquired in this way, that is, the position of the object to which the code is assigned, and the identifier of the object to which the code is assigned, to the positional relationship information in association with each other. In the above current position, (X1, Y1, Z1) is a position in a three-dimensional global coordinate system, and α1, β1, and γ1 are angles of the information output device 2 relative to the global coordinate system. Also, for example, the relative angles (θ1, φ1, ψ1) between the code and the information output device 2 are not necessarily required to obtain the position of the code (X001, Y001, Z001), so they do not have to be obtained.

Next, the operation of the information output device 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 9. Note that the processes other than steps S201 to S205 are the same as those in the flowchart in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment, and therefore their description will be omitted.

(Step S201) The current position acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position of the information output device 2. Note that when acquiring the current position, information regarding the angle does not necessarily need to be acquired.

(Step S202) The acquisition unit 22 uses the current position acquired in step S201, the positional relationship information stored in the memory unit 13, and the code identifier acquired in step S104 to identify objects present behind the object to which the code identified by the code identifier has been assigned, and acquires information about each of the objects.

(Step S203) The current location acquisition unit 21 acquires the current location of the information output device 2.

(Step S204) The relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23 acquires the relative positional relationship between the code and the information output device 2 using the image of the code included in the captured image accepted in step S109. Note that if two or more codes are included in the captured image, it is preferable to acquire the relative positional relationship for each code.

(Step S205) The change unit 24 obtains the position of each code included in the captured image accepted in step S109 using the current position and the relative positional relationship between the code and the information output device 2, and adds the obtained position of each code to the positional relationship information. Then, the process returns to step S101.

Note that steps S108 to S110 in the flowchart of FIG. 9 involve photographing the placed object, accepting the photographed image, and obtaining a code identifier that identifies the code of the placed object and is included in the photographed image. The order of processing in the flowchart of FIG. 9 is an example, and the order of each step may be changed as long as similar results are obtained. In the flowchart of FIG. 9, processing ends when the power is turned off or an interrupt is issued to end processing.

Next, the operation of the information output device 2 according to this embodiment will be described using a specific example. Note that the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13 is information indicating the position of the target object, and other than the processing related to the current position acquisition unit 21, acquisition unit 22, relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23, and change unit 24, the operation is the same as in the specific example of embodiment 1, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

First, as shown in Figure 10, when objects B0001 to B0004 are positioned and an image is captured to change the positional relationship information, the code identifier of each code is read accordingly (steps S107 to S110). The current position acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position of the information output device 2, and the relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23 acquires the relative positional relationship with the information output device 2 for each code included in the captured image (steps S203 and S204). More specifically, the position (X001, Y001, Z001) of object B0001, which is the position of code C0001, is acquired using the relative positional relationship with code C0001 and the current position. Similarly, the positions (X002, Y002, Z002) to (X004, Y004, Z004) of objects B0002 to B0004 are obtained using the relative positional relationship with codes C0002 to C0004 and the current position. These positions are associated with the code identifiers ID0001 to ID0004 of each code and added to the positional relationship information (step S205).

Similarly, when objects B0101-B0104 are placed as shown in FIG. 5C, the positions of those objects are added to the positional relationship information, and when objects B0201-B0204 are placed as shown in FIG. 5D, the positions of those objects are added to the positional relationship information (steps S107-S110, S203-S205). As a result, the positional relationship information stored in memory unit 13 becomes as shown in FIG. 11.

Then, the user operates the information output device 2 to capture images of objects B0201-B0204 in order to output information, as shown in Figure 6D. Then, the code identifier of each code is read from the captured image (steps S101-S104). The current position acquisition unit 21 acquires the current position of the information output device 2 (step S201). Then, the acquisition unit 22 uses the current position, the position corresponding to the code identifier read from the captured image, and the position of each object indicated by the positional relationship information to identify the code identifier of the object present behind the position corresponding to the code identifier read from the captured image. In this case, it is assumed that code identifiers ID0001-ID0004 and ID0101-ID0104 have been identified. Then, the acquisition unit 22 clusters each code identifier using the horizontal position (e.g., (X001, Y001)) corresponding to the code identifier read from the captured image and the code identifier identified using the positional relationship information so that code identifiers located close to each other in the horizontal direction belong to the same cluster. The acquisition unit 22 then uses the height position in each cluster to determine the hierarchical relationship. In addition, the acquisition unit 22 arranges each cluster in order from the front side to the back side (the side farther away) using the representative value of the horizontal position of each cluster (e.g., the average value or the position of a randomly selected object) and the distance from the current position, with the information output device 2 as the reference. In this way, the positional relationship of each object in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction can be acquired, and information indicating the expiration date of each object according to the positional relationship of the object can be generated, as in the specific example of the first embodiment. The information generated in this way is displayed by the output unit 15 as shown in FIG. 7, so that the user can know the expiration date of each object.

As described above, according to the information output device 2 and information output method of this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to know information about objects whose codes have not been photographed by photographing the code of the object in front. In addition, since it is only necessary to photograph the code of the object after placement when acquiring positional relationship information, it is also possible to reduce the number of photographs compared to the first embodiment.

Here, we will explain modified examples of the information output devices 1 and 2 according to the first and second embodiments.

[Information output device without a photographing unit]
In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the case where the information output device 1, 2 has the photographing unit 11 has been described, but this is not necessarily the case. The photographing unit 11 may be present outside the information output device 1, 2. In that case, the reception unit 12 may receive the photographed image photographed by the external photographing unit. The reception of the photographed image may be, for example, reception of the photographed image transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. In this case, the reception unit 12 may or may not include a device for performing reception (for example, a modem, a network card, etc.). In addition, the reception unit 12 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a specific device.

[Information output device without a change unit]
In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the information output devices 1 and 2 are described as having the change units 16 and 24, but this is not necessarily the case. When the positional relationship information stored in the storage unit 13 is not changed, the information output devices 1 and 2 may not have the change units 16 and 24. When the change unit 24 is not provided, the information output device 2 may not have the relative positional relationship acquisition unit 23. In addition, when the information output devices 1 and 2 are not provided with the change units 16 and 24, for example, the positional relationship information may be manually created by an operator, or may be generated by a device other than the information output devices 1 and 2 through a process similar to that of the change units 16 and 24. Then, the created positional relationship information or the generated positional relationship information may be stored in the storage unit 13.

[Server configuration]
In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, the case where the information output devices 1 and 2 are stand-alone devices has been mainly described, but the information output devices 1 and 2 may be stand-alone devices or may be server devices in a server-client system. In the latter case, the output unit and the reception unit may receive inputs and photographed images and output information via a communication line.

[Processing in response to movement of object]
In the above-mentioned first and second embodiments, when an object is moved from the location where it is placed, for example, when it is shipped from a warehouse, information about the object may be deleted from the positional relationship information. For example, when an object is removed from the location where it is placed, the code of the object may be photographed, and accordingly, the change unit 16, 24 may delete information about the code identifier of the code from the positional relationship information.

Although the above embodiments have been described mainly with respect to cases where objects such as cardboard boxes are placed in a warehouse or the like, the object may have other shapes. For example, as described above, the object may be clothing hung on a hanger. Even in such a case, information about the clothing present in the rear can be easily obtained, and, for example, the desired clothing can be easily found. In this case, the information about the object may be information about the type of clothing (for example, a gray checked jacket, etc.).

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, each process or function may be realized by centralized processing in a single device or a single system, or may be realized by distributed processing in multiple devices or multiple systems.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, the transfer of information between components may be performed, for example, by one component outputting information and the other component receiving information if the two components transferring the information are physically different, or, if the two components transferring the information are physically the same, by shifting from a processing phase corresponding to one component to a processing phase corresponding to the other component.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, information related to the processing performed by each component, such as information accepted, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component, and information such as thresholds, formulas, and addresses used by each component in processing, may be temporarily or long-term stored in a recording medium (not shown) even if not specified in the above description. Furthermore, each component or a storage unit (not shown) may store information in the recording medium (not shown). Furthermore, each component or a reading unit (not shown) may read information from the recording medium (not shown).

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, if the information used by each component, for example, information such as thresholds, addresses, and various setting values used by each component in processing, may be changed by the user, the user may or may not be able to change that information as appropriate, even if not specified in the above description. If the information is changeable by the user, the change may be realized, for example, by a reception unit (not shown) that receives a change instruction from the user, and a change unit (not shown) that changes the information in response to the change instruction. The reception unit (not shown) may accept the change instruction from an input device, may receive information transmitted via a communication line, or may receive information read from a specified recording medium.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, when two or more components included in the information output device 1, 2 have a communication device, an input device, etc., the two or more components may have a single physical device, or may have separate devices.

In addition, in each of the above embodiments, each component may be configured with dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory. During execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing a storage unit or a recording medium. The software that realizes the information output device 1, 2 in each of the above embodiments is a program as follows. In other words, this program is a program that causes a computer that can access a storage unit in which positional relationship information, which is information indicating the positional relationship of an object to which a code is assigned, to function as a reception unit that receives a photographed image of the object, an acquisition unit that uses the code included in the photographed image accepted by the reception unit and the positional relationship information to acquire information about an object present on the rear side of the object to which the code is assigned, and an output unit that outputs the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

In addition, in the above program, the functions realized by the above program do not include functions that can only be realized by hardware. For example, functions that can only be realized by hardware such as a modem or interface card in the reception unit that receives information and the output unit that outputs information are at least not included in the functions realized by the above program.

This program may also be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or by being read from a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, or a semiconductor memory). This program may also be used as a program constituting a program product.

The program may be executed by a single computer or multiple computers. In other words, it may perform centralized processing or distributed processing.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing an example of a computer system 900 that executes the above program to realize the information output device 1, 2 according to each of the above embodiments. Each of the above embodiments can be realized by computer hardware and a computer program executed thereon.

In FIG. 12, the computer system 900 includes an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 911, a ROM 912 such as a flash memory in which programs such as a boot-up program, application programs, system programs, and data are stored, a RAM 913 connected to the MPU 911 and temporarily stores instructions for application programs and provides temporary storage space, a touch panel 914, a wireless communication module 915, and a bus 916 interconnecting the MPU 911, the ROM 912, and the like. Note that a wired communication module may be provided instead of the wireless communication module 915. Also, instead of the touch panel 914, a display and an input device such as a mouse or keyboard may be provided.

A program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the information output devices 1 and 2 according to the above-described embodiments may be stored in the ROM 912 via the wireless communication module 915. The program is loaded into the RAM 913 when executed. The program may also be loaded directly from the network.

The program does not necessarily have to include an operating system (OS) or a third-party program that causes the computer system 900 to execute the functions of the information output devices 1 and 2 according to the above-described embodiments. The program may include only an instruction portion that calls appropriate functions or modules in a controlled manner to obtain the desired results. How the computer system 900 operates is well known, and a detailed description will be omitted.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the information output device according to one aspect of the present invention has the effect of being able to obtain information about an object that exists behind an object whose code can be photographed, making it useful as a device for outputting information about an object.

Reference Signs List 1, 2 Information output device 12 Reception unit 13 Storage unit 14, 22 Acquisition unit 15 Output unit 16, 24 Change unit 21 Current position acquisition unit 23 Relative position relationship acquisition unit

Claims (7)

A storage unit that stores positional relationship information that is information indicating a positional relationship of objects to which codes are assigned;
A reception unit that receives a captured image of the object;
an acquisition unit that acquires information about an object present behind the object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit and the positional relationship information;
an output unit that outputs the information acquired by the acquisition unit. The information output device according to claim 1, wherein the positional relationship information is information indicating the relative positional relationship of objects. the receiving unit receives, when a new object is to be placed, a photographed image of a code of the object to be placed and a photographed image of a code of an object present on a rear side of the object to be placed;
3. The information output device as described in claim 2, further comprising a modification unit that adds a positional relationship of the object to be placed to the positional relationship information using a code of the object to be placed contained in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit and a code of an object present behind the object to be placed. the positional relationship information is information indicating a position of an object to which a code is assigned,
A current location acquisition unit for acquiring a current location is further provided,
The information output device of claim 1 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires information about an object located behind the object to which the code is assigned using a code contained in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit, the positional relationship information, and the current location. the receiving unit receives, when a new object is placed, a captured image of a code of the placed object;
a relative positional relationship acquisition unit that acquires a relative positional relationship between the code of the arranged object included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit and the information output device using the code;
5. The information output device according to claim 4, further comprising a change unit that acquires the position of the placed object using the current position and the relative positional relationship, and adds the acquired position to the positional relationship information. An information output method that is processed using a storage unit that stores positional relationship information that is information indicating a positional relationship of an object to which a code is assigned, a reception unit, an acquisition unit, and an output unit,
a receiving step in which the receiving unit receives a captured image of the object;
an acquisition step in which the acquisition unit acquires information about an object present on a rear side of the object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the photographed image accepted in the acceptance step and the positional relationship information;
an output step in which the output unit outputs the information acquired in the acquisition step. A computer that can access a storage unit that stores positional relationship information that is information indicating the positional relationship of objects to which codes are assigned,
A reception unit that receives a captured image of the object;
an acquisition unit that acquires information about an object present behind the object to which the code is assigned, using the code included in the captured image accepted by the acceptance unit and the positional relationship information;
A program for causing the program to function as an output unit that outputs the information acquired by the acquisition unit.

Images