JPH07230496A - Commodity exhibition position retrieval system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To display the exhibition position or a desired commodity in response to the request from a shopping customer to inform him of it in a department store or a supermarket. CONSTITUTION:This system consists of an input and display part 1 and a central control part 4. The part 1 is provided with an input part 1a for designation of a commodity of which purchase is desired, a transmission part 1b which transmits a signal related to this commodity, a reception part 1c which receives a response signal, a display part 1d on which the present position of the customer, the exhibition position of the designated commodity, and the route to this position are displayed in accordance with the response signal, and a control part 1e which controls the transmission part 1b or the like. The central control part 4 is provided with plural transmission/reception parts 5 which receive the signal from the transmission part 1b and transmit the response signal of the present position or the like of the customer to the reception part 1c, a memory part 8 where exhibition positions of commodities are stored, a position detecting part 9 which detects the present position of the customer, a discriminating part 10 which discriminates the designated commodity, a calculating part 11 which calculates the route from the position of the customer to the exhibition positron of the designated commodity, and a control part 12 which controls transmission/ reception parts 5 or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a product display position search system, and more particularly, to display and notify the display position of a product desired to be purchased in response to a request from a shopper in a department store or a supermarket. The present invention relates to a product display position search system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a shopper finds a desired display position of a product in a department store or a supermarket where various products are displayed, he or she looks at a guidance bulletin board in the store or asks a clerk or the like. It was

[0003]

Therefore, the interior of the store is wide,
When dealing with many products, it may not be easy to find the desired product. Moreover, it became even more difficult when there were no store associates nearby. The present invention has been made for the purpose of improving such an inefficient product search, and makes it possible for a shopper to request an instruction of a display position of a desired product, and when there is the same request, An object of the present invention is to provide a product display position search system in which the display position can be easily found.

[0004]

According to the present invention, a shopper inputs an input section for designating a desired product for purchase, a transmitting section for transmitting data concerning the desired product for purchase by a predetermined signal, and a response to the transmitted signal. A receiving unit that receives a signal, a display unit that displays the current position of the shopper based on the received response signal, a display position of the designated product, and a route to the display position, and based on the data from the input unit An input / display unit provided with a control unit for controlling the transmitting unit, the receiving unit and the display unit in the shopping cart, the reception of the signal from the transmitting unit of the shopping cart, and the receiving unit of the shopping cart. Sending and receiving signals indicating the current position of the shopper, the display position of the specified product, and the route to the display position, and transmitting and receiving a plurality of signals arranged at predetermined positions so that reception at multiple points is possible Department, A memory unit that stores the display position of the item; a position detection unit that detects the current position of the shopper from at least two received signals with high intensity among the received signals received by the transceiver units at a plurality of locations; A discriminating unit that discriminates the specified product from the reception signal received by the transmitting and receiving unit,
An arithmetic unit that calculates a route from the current position of the shopper detected by the position detection unit to a display position of a specified product, each of the transmission / reception units, a memory unit, a position detection unit, a determination unit,
And a central control unit provided with a control unit for controlling the arithmetic unit, and when the shopping cart requests a search for the display position of the desired product, the central control unit sends a response signal relating to the display position. The present invention provides a product display position search system that is transmitted and displayed on the display unit of the shopping cart.

[0005]

When the shopper does not know the display position of the desired product, the shopper designates the product through the input unit provided in the shopping cart. When this input is made, a signal corresponding to the product is issued from the transmission unit of the cart. The transmission signal from the cart is received at a plurality of locations of a large number of transmission / reception units provided at predetermined positions such as display shelves or ceilings.
The received signal is sent to the control unit of the central control unit. The control unit detects the position of the cart that has issued the signal from the positions of at least two transmitting / receiving units having strong reception strength in the received signal. Further, the product requested by the customer is determined from the data related to the received signal, and the data related to the display position of the product is read from the memory unit. The read same data is transmitted from any one of the transmitting / receiving units that have received the data. This signal is received by the receiving unit of the cart, and the display position of the desired product and the route to the same position are displayed on the display unit.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A commodity display position searching system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a main part showing an embodiment of a product display position search system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a conceptual explanatory view of this system, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a shopping cart. In FIG. 1, 1 to 3 are input / display units A, B, and N provided on each shopping cart, and each input / display unit is an input unit 1a for key-inputting the name or classification name of a desired product for purchase. A transmitting unit 1b that transmits data relating to the desired product to be purchased with a predetermined signal, a receiving unit 1c that receives a response signal to the transmitted signal, and a display unit that displays a display position and the like based on the received response signal. 1d and the input section
The control unit 1e controls the transmission unit 1b, the reception unit 1c, and the display unit 1d based on the data from 1a.

A central control unit 4 receives the signals transmitted from the input / display units (1 to 3) and transmits a predetermined signal to the input / display units. The central control unit 4 performs the shopping. A transmission / reception unit A, which receives a signal from the transmission unit 1b of the cart and transmits a signal indicating the display position to the reception unit 1c, and is provided at each predetermined position so that reception at a plurality of locations is possible
5, the same B6, the same N7, a memory unit 8 that stores the display position of the product, and shopping related to transmission from at least two strong received signals among the received signals received by the transmitting / receiving units at a plurality of locations. Position detection unit 9 for detecting the position of the cart
And a discriminating unit 10 for discriminating a designated product from the received signal received by the transmitting / receiving unit, and a computing unit 11 for deriving a route from the current position of the shopping cart detected by the position detecting unit 9 to the display position of the designated product. And a control unit 12 that controls the transmission / reception units 5 to 7, the memory unit 8, the position detection unit 9, the determination unit 10, and the calculation unit 11. In addition, in FIG.
Up to 25 are product display shelves and 26 is a shopping cart.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. When the shopper wants to know the display position of the item he or she wants to buy, the input section 1a of the input / display section 1 provided in the shopping cart
To specify the product. The input unit 1a is provided with a push key corresponding to the display shelf, and the main product name and classification name are recorded for each key. The control unit 1e causes the transmission unit 1b to transmit data related to the product designated by the input unit 1a. This transmission signal is different for each cart so that the shopping cart that transmitted the signal can be specified. For example, the carrier frequency is changed. On the other hand, the transmission / reception unit 5 and the like for receiving the signal emitted from the cart are arranged on the display shelf, the ceiling or the like (FIG. 2A, B, the same symbol). In addition, the layout should be at least 2 so that the position of the cart can be specified.
Make it possible to receive at the location. Further, in order to easily identify this position, the signal strength emitted from the transmitter 1b of the cart 1 is weakened so that the signal strength can be received only in the vicinity thereof (FIG. 2A).

Assuming that the signal transmitted from the transmitter 1b is received by the transceivers "a" and "b" as shown in FIG. 2, the received signal is sent to the controller 12 of the central controller 4. The signal sent from each transmitting / receiving unit to the control unit 12 is a distinct signal so that the arrangement position of the transmitting / receiving unit can be specified. Control unit
Reference numeral 12 detects the position of the cart from the signal sent from the transmission / reception unit (position detection unit 9), determines the designated product from the received signal (the determination unit 10), and the display position of the determined designated product. (Display shelf number, etc.) is read from the memory unit 8. When the signal transmitted from the transmitter 1b is received by the transmitters / receivers at three or more places, the position detector 9 detects the position of the cart from the two transmitters / receivers having strong reception strength.

Next, the control unit 12 determines a route from the detected cart position to the display position of the designated product (calculation unit
11). The control unit 12 causes the data relating to the cart position, the commodity display position, and the route to the same position to be transmitted from any of the transmission / reception units that have received the signal from the cart (for example, FIG. 2B). This signal is received by the receiving unit 1c of the corresponding cart 1 that has obtained the display position of the product. Here, the signal transmitted from the transmission / reception unit is a signal that can be received by the cart that has obtained the display position of the product. That is, each cart is divided in signal format (frequency etc.) so that not only the above-mentioned transmission but also individual reception can be performed. Signals relating to the position of the cart, the display position of the specified product, and the route to the position received by the receiving unit 1c of the cart 1 are sent to the control unit 1e, and the control unit 1e causes the display unit 1d to display these. . An example of the display is shown in FIG. In the figure, 1f is a display screen on the display unit 1d (Fig. 1), and the current position (c) of the cart in the store, the position (a) of the product to be purchased, and the position up to that position are indicated by arrows (b). Displayed routes and The other reference numerals in the figure indicate that they are the same as those in FIG. 1 or 2.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a department store, a supermarket, or the like that sells a large number of products, if the shopper does not know the display position of the product he / she wants to buy, the current position of the product can be set. On the other hand, it can be displayed on the display provided in the shopping cart. Therefore,
For shoppers, the inefficiency of searching around the store by relying on bulletin boards etc. or asking shop assistants has been improved, and it is unnecessary for shoppers to arrange staff as guide staff. Play.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of essential parts showing an embodiment of a product display position search system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual explanatory diagram of this system.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a display display on a shopping cart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 input / display unit A 2 input / display unit B 3 input / display unit N 4 central control unit 5 transmission / reception unit A 6 transmission / reception unit B 7 transmission / reception unit N 8 memory unit 9 position detection unit 10 determination unit 11 calculation unit 12 control unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An input unit for allowing a shopper to specify a desired product for purchase, a transmitting unit for transmitting data related to the desired product for purchase by a predetermined signal, and a receiving unit for receiving a response signal to the transmitted signal. A display unit that displays the current position of the shopper based on the received response signal, a display position of the specified product, and a route to the display position; and the transmission unit, the reception unit, and the display unit based on the data from the input unit. An input / display unit provided with a control unit for controlling the display unit in the shopping cart, and reception of a signal from the transmission unit of the shopping cart,
A signal indicating the current position of the shopper, the display position of the specified merchandise, and the route to the display position is transmitted to the receiving section of the shopping cart, and the signal is sent to a predetermined position so that reception at multiple locations is possible. A plurality of transmitting / receiving sections arranged, a memory section storing display positions of the products, and at least 2 with high strength in the received signals received by the transmitting / receiving sections at a plurality of locations.
A position detection unit that detects the current position of the shopper from one received signal, a determination unit that determines the specified product from the received signal received by the transmission / reception unit, and a current position of the shopper detected by the position detection unit A central control unit that includes a calculation unit that determines a route to the display position of the product, each of the transmission / reception units, and a control unit that controls the memory unit, the position detection unit, the determination unit, and the calculation unit. When the shopping cart requests to display the display position of the desired product, the central control unit transmits a response signal relating to the display position and displays the response signal on the display unit of the shopping cart. Product display position search system.