JPH10243847A - Counting device of displayed commodity - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To confirm and indicate displayed stock at any time by providing a bar guide on which commodities are displayed with an optical detector and a luminous source to form a photoelectric switch and make countable the number of commodities set on the bar guide or removed from it. SOLUTION: A bar guide 5 is projected out at right angles from a support wall 10 to form a display base and inserted in holes 7 formed in a plurality of commodity packs 9 from the free end side of the bar guide 5 to hand and display the commodities. Optical detectors 1, 2 are arranged back and forth with a mutual distance of 0.5-1cm at the front of the free end of the bar guide 5 to form a photoelectric switch. When the commodity pack 9 is inserted in the bar guide 5, a switch signal is transmitted from the photoelectric switch and amplified and converted to a pulse signal. And the number of commodities set on the bar guide 5 or removed from it is obtained by counting the pulse signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a system in which a plurality of identical products, which are relatively small and are handled in a supermarket or a convenience store (hereinafter referred to as a convenience store), are collectively displayed in one place. The present invention relates to a device for counting and displaying a number of displayed products in a store in which a required number of products are taken out and the money is paid at a cash register of the store.

2. Description of the Related Art In stock management of merchandise at supermarkets and convenience stores, it is mainly carried out by managing histories by merchandise counting when customers pay for merchandise at cashiers, and by regularly displaying merchandise display shelves by clerks. A visual confirmation operation is performed by checking on a patrol by day or a certain time unit, or by taking an inventory on a monthly unit.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described in the prior art, the present state of the art is to manage the inventory of commodities mainly by human tactics. Is required, or the store is closed, and a stocktaking date is set. Also, since the number of products displayed at the same location is about ten, if the product sells well, even if the display is broken, people often do not notice until the patrol of people, and the replenishment of products is delayed by counting the cash register at the store The fact is that they are losing money.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention involves touching the displayed products at the stage where the products are set at the display location for each displayed product at the same location. As a means to automatically count the number, a photodetector and a light source are provided on a bar-shaped guide that displays products, and a photoelectric switch is configured, and a light source and a photodetector by setting and extracting products on the bar-shaped guide The number of commodities can be counted by the signal generated when the light is reflected or cut off when passing through, so that the display stock can be confirmed and displayed at any time. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a product inventory management device characterized by being able to promptly promote product replenishment by performing centralized management together with other displayed products.

[Operation] In the embodiment of the present invention, goods stored in a warehouse can be counted by the same means. Mainly, for each same displayed goods using a display guide in a store, the goods are placed at the display place. It is possible to count and display the number of displayed products left after being set or taken out in real time. Therefore, by centrally managing the number of displayed counts on a regular basis, it is possible for the customer to accurately know the display guide where the product has been continuously taken out and the displayed product has become zero without resorting to patrols by people. In addition, by centrally managing the products together with other products, it is possible to promote quick replenishment of the products, and it is not necessary to record the counted values in a product inventory record book by separately managing the computer.

[Embodiment] The present invention relates to a small display product in which a bar-shaped guide is fixed to a wall on one side, and a plurality of product packs are individually pierced from the opposite side of the bar-shaped guide, and a question mark-shaped hook or the like is provided. Add or subtract the number when inserting or withdrawing the product pack into the bar-shaped guide in the method of inserting the product pack into the bar-shaped guide (hereinafter referred to as a hole) and hanging the product from the hole, for example. This is a method of detecting and counting the number of product packs to be recorded and further inserted without moving the product, and FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a detection unit of the display product counting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The basics of counting will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, one photodetector 1 and two photodetectors 2 are mounted on the opposite end of the five bar-shaped guides fixedly supported on one side of the ten bar-shaped guide support walls at 0.5 to 1c.
Two photoelectric switches arranged in the same direction at a distance of about m are formed, and the bar-shaped guide 5 is used as a product display guide. Then, for the photodetector built in at the tip of the rod-shaped guide of No. 5, the hole of the product pack 9 to be inserted is provided with a hole 7 (the actual meridian pack has a hole diameter of about 8 mm or more). If the product pack is inserted through the hole of the product pack into the bar-shaped guide of 5, the product pack will pass through the photodetector, and the light of the light source 3 will be reflected or blocked, and the switch signal will be proportional to the transit time of the product pack. Is generated, the respective signals are amplified and converted into pulse signals, and the pulse signals are counted. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a reflection type photodetector according to an embodiment of the present invention, which will be specifically described. The first light detector 1 and the second light detector 2 are, for example, d shown in the figure.
When the object c is placed at the intersection of the light-emitting light beam a and the reflected light beam b, the reflected light reaches the photodiode e and the photoelectric switch is turned on.
In the embodiment, the reflection type photo interrupter model name GP2S22 of Sharp Corporation or equivalent can be used.
This has the highest reflection intersection about 1 mm from the light receiving surface. Then, this photodetector was incorporated into the tip of a rod-shaped guide 5 composed of a transparent tube, and a photointerrupter originally intended for ON-OFF operation was passed through 9 product packs made of cardboard with a thickness of about 0.5 mm. In order to detect this, the detection sensitivity is increased by a signal amplification circuit described later and used. FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of the entire system according to the embodiment, which will be described. First, one of the light emitting diodes of the light detectors 1 and 2
The power sources 1 and 2 for the light sources 3 and 14 are connected to drive light emission. Next, the output signal of one photodetector 1 is constituted by an OP amplifier made of a semiconductor integrated circuit through 24 matching circuits 1 for performing impedance conversion and the like also serving as signal amplification.
6 is connected to one input of the differential amplifier circuit, and the output signal of the second photodetector 2 is also passed through the same 25 matching circuits 2 and 24 as the differential amplifier circuit of the previous OP amplifier. With the above configuration, which is connected to the other input, the influence of extraneous light and the like simultaneously applied to the photodetectors 1 and 2 is removed as much as possible. The output from the first photodetector 1 through the matching circuit 24 is positively connected to the differential amplifier circuit of the OP amplifier 26, and the output from the second photodetector 2 is the OP amplifier 26.
In the following, an example in which the differential amplifier circuit is connected to the negative side will be described.
In the insertion of a product pack in which the product pack passes in the order of one photodetector 1 to two photodetectors 2, the output of the 26 differential amplifier circuit is the first positive pulse signal which is proportional to the transit time of the product pack. The signal is then the negative signal. The positive and negative signals are input to a waveform shaping circuit 1 of a comparator configuration 27 and a negative signal is input to a waveform shaping circuit 2 of 28. If there is an input exceeding a predetermined voltage value, for example, a positive signal of the same polarity is input. A signal from the photodetector is converted into an output for addition counting and a subtraction counting of a full-scale pulse voltage through a waveform shaping circuit using a voltage comparator that outputs a pulse signal, that is, a pulse signal that can be counted. 0.5mm in place
Pack of 9 papers of medium thickness with 5 with light detector
When the light passes through the rod-shaped guide, irregular reflection of light occurs due to the shape of the paper and the like, and the rate of generation of a plurality of optical pulse signals is high and malfunctions. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent such chattering. Therefore, when the nine product packs T pass from one photodetector 1 to two photodetectors 2, they are input to 30 count display circuits through 29 chattering prevention circuits configured to output only one pulse signal. The details of the 29 chattering prevention circuit will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numerals 32 and 33 denote waveform shaping of the preceding stages 27 and 28 using a flip-flop circuit (hereinafter referred to as FF circuit) set (P) and a clear (C) terminal of a digital semiconductor integrated circuit. The output of the circuit is U and D as shown
To the P terminal of 32 FF circuits and 33 FF circuits
The C terminal of the circuit is connected via the illustrated anti-backflow diode, the C terminal of 32 FF circuits and the P terminal of the 33 FF circuit are connected via the illustrated antireflux diode, and 32 and 33 The outputs of the FF circuits are input to the UP terminal for addition and the DN terminal for subtraction of the 30 count display circuits as shown in FIG. Each of the FF circuits is provided with self-reset circuits 1 and 2 which receive the output of each FF circuit which generates a delay voltage composed of the resistors and capacitors of 34 and 35 and which inputs the signals to the C terminal of each FF circuit. The output of the FF circuit is configured to be cleared when standing for a certain time or more. The delayed self-reset may be configured to be slightly longer than the time required for the nine product packs to pass through the photodetectors 1 and 2. According to the above configuration, three pulse signals detected and converted by the first photodetector are first obtained by inserting the nine product packs.
The second FF circuit is set and continuously generates an output, and the pulse signal detected by the second photodetector causes the C of the 32 FF circuits to change.
The operation of outputting the signal to the terminal and continuing the output until the output is cleared can be obtained, and the target chattering can be prevented. When the product pack 9 is extracted, the 33 FF circuits continuously generate an output with the detected and converted pulse signal of the 2 photodetectors 2 and are cleared with the detected and converted pulse signal of the 1 photodetector 1. The operation can prevent chattering. The output for addition or subtraction counting configured as described above is input to each of addition and subtraction of the 30 count display circuits. The 30 count display circuits will be described with reference to a block diagram of the count display circuit shown in FIG. First, the addition signal from the 29 anti-chattering circuit is input to the 42 gate circuit 1, and this gate circuit 1 opens and closes the gate with the output of the 45 multivibrator circuit 2.
The subtraction signal from the anti-chattering circuit is inputted to the gate circuit 2 of 44, and the gate circuit 2 opens and closes the gate with the output of the multivibrator circuit 1 of 43. The output of the gate circuit 1 at 42 is connected to the trigger input of the multivibrator circuit 1 at 43 and the addition counting input of the up / down counter at 46. The output of the gate circuit 2 at 44 is connected to the trigger input of the 45 multivibrator circuit 2 at 46. These circuits are connected to the down-counting inputs of the up / down counters. These circuits are commercially available digital semiconductor integrated circuits, for example, 42 and 44 are model names 4011, 43 and 4.
5 can use the model name 4047, 46 can use the model name 40192, and the like. With this configuration, the output continuation time of the trigger input of the 43 and 45 multivibrator circuits is used as a trigger when the 9 product packs are inserted or withdrawn from the 5 bar guides, respectively, so that each other masks (gates) each other. If the time is set, the signal of the two photodetectors 2 is masked when 9 product packs are inserted, and the signal of 1 photodetector 1 is masked when 9 product packs are removed.
Addition and subtraction can be performed with the up-down counter of the, and the number of displays at that time can be output. Then, the necessary number of digits of the counter may be prepared. And 4
The count number of the up / down counter of 6 is displayed on a 7-segment display or the like by a display circuit of 47, or when the number of displays is zero or less than a predetermined inventory number, an alarm or a lamp is illuminated to notify the user. The configuration is as follows. Alternatively, the CPU is connected to the CPU 40 through 31 CPU interface circuits for connection to the CPU (computer) to acquire the count value, and although not shown, the program is configured by the CPU so as to display, record, or warn of stock out. I do. Next, as another embodiment 2, FIG. 3 shows a side view of the detection unit of the display product counting device of the present invention, and the description will be made. This realizes a method of counting the number of insertions when a plurality of 9 product packs are inserted into the 5 bar guides without moving the 9 product pack groups. The dimensions and materials to be described below are not limited to these, but the rod-shaped guide of 5 to correspond to the actual product pack is preferably a tube of transparent acrylic resin with a diameter of 8 mm or less and about 6 mm in inner diameter. 5 in diameter
It is configured so that 19 guide inner cylinders of about mm can be inserted. And one built-in photodetector 1 and two photodetectors 2
Is built in the distal end of the 19 guide inner cylinder in the same manner as in FIG. The material of the 19 guide inner cylinder is preferably made of metal or plastic, and the length is longer than that of the 5 rod-shaped guide, and one end is fixed to 15 inner cylinder support driving screws constituting a nut portion of the screw in FIG. Then, the rotation of the inner cylinder drive motor 22 is reduced by the gearbox 21 which reduces the rotation, and the rotation is reduced by 16
By transmitting the rotation to the guide drive screw, the 15 inner cylinder support drive screws can be moved in the left-right direction in the drawing, and the 19 guide inner cylinders fixed thereto are slid inside the 5 rod-shaped guides. It can be configured as follows.
The description of the overall system using the detection unit of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. As the electric circuit for light detection, the entire block diagram of FIG. 6 which is the signal amplifying circuit described above can be used as it is, and 9 product packs inserted into 5 rod-shaped guides are combined with 1 photodetector 1 and If the detecting portions of the 19 guide inner tubes constituted by the 2 photodetectors 2 are moved from the insertion side to the 10 rod-shaped guide support wall side, 9
Since the number of pulse signals for addition and counting is obtained by the number of product packs, the remaining number of displayed products can be determined by counting them.
The pulses at this time are counted by the counting display circuit of 30. When the inventory of 9 product packs inserted and displayed in the 5 bar guide is counted and the 9 product packs stored in the same bar guide in a warehouse or the like are counted. In order to cope with the subtraction at the time of extracting a plurality of products at a time, the nine product packs inserted into the five bar guides are moved from the ten rod guide support wall side to the product insertion side with the nineteen guide inner cylinder detecting portions. By moving and passing, the number of pulse signals for subtraction counting is obtained by the number of 9 product packs. By counting them, the remaining number of displayed products can be determined. The configuration of the 30 counting display is not shown, but the required number of digits is prepared, and the output count can be displayed by driving a 7-segment display or the like by a display circuit. Alternatively, the configuration is such that the computer is connected to the CPU of 40 via the 31 I / O interface to use the computer, and is programmed to record the count value. Next, the actual counting method of the goods displayed on the bar-shaped guide 5 is shown in FIGS.
Will be described. For example, suppose that several of the 9 product packs are displayed on the 5 bar-shaped guide. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the state where the detection unit of the photodetector is shifted toward the 10 bar-shaped guide support wall side is started. The position of this state is 15
The on / off status of the position of the inner cylinder supporting drive screw detected by the 18 extraction side limit switch is incorporated in the motor control circuit 38 in FIG. 6 and connected to the CPU 40 via the I / O interface 39. I do. Then, the 22 inner cylinder drive motors are driven by the program configuration of the CPU to rotate the 16 guide drive screws. Thus, the inner cylinder supporting drive screw 15 is moved to the right side in FIG.
For example, the inner pipe of the rod-shaped guide of 5 is set to 1
9 is slid to the right in FIG. As a result, the nineteen guide inner cylinders of the detection part sequentially pass through the nine commodity pack groups displayed on the five bar-shaped guides, and go through the five.
The position of the rod-shaped guide, which is located on the opposite side of the 10 rod-shaped guide support walls, is detected by the insertion-side limit switch 17.
Is incorporated in a motor control circuit of 38 so as to stop the rotation of the inner cylinder drive motor, and the position detection and the drive of the motor are controlled by a program of 40 CPU via an I / O interface of 39. . By performing the series of operations described in the above configuration, switch signals are generated in one photodetector 1 by the number of 9 product packs, 24 matching circuits, 26 differential amplifier circuits, and 27 waveform shaping circuits. This is converted into a pulse signal that can be counted through 1 and can be counted and recorded by 30 counting display circuits. In addition, this series of operations is a series of operations in which after completion of counting, the guide inner cylinder of 19 is returned to the point detected by the 18 extraction side limit switch after completion of counting, and counting is started by 40 CPUs. A function of automatically counting by giving a clock function to the CPU and a function of starting manually at any time may be programmed in the CPU of 40. Further, the CPU 40 has a configuration in which an alarm or a lamp when the number of displays is zero is lit, a display is turned on, a comparison with the stock in the warehouse is checked, and a display, a record, a warning of stock out, and the like are provided. It is easy and effective to do so. Although not shown, a single bar guide for displaying products has been described so far. However, for display of a plurality of products, for example, dozens of bar guides are prepared on a single bar guide support wall. Each of the counting devices described in the embodiments is provided, and the counting results of the respective counting devices are combined into one CPU.
This is possible if the O interface is enhanced. Further, a plurality of rod-shaped guide support walls having this configuration are prepared, and a CPU for each rod-shaped guide support wall is connected to another CPU by forming a communication network using communication means such as RS232C through an I / O interface circuit. Although it is not described in detail, it is easy to configure so as to perform centralized record management including an instruction. The CPU is an abbreviation of a computer, but it goes without saying that the CPU may be managed by a commercially available personal computer or the like. In addition, the guide inner cylinder for the light detector shown in FIG. 3 using the reflection type detector and FIG. 5 (described later) using the transmission type detector is inserted into the rod-shaped guide and moved to count the 9 product packs. In FIG. 3, although not shown, only the 19 guide inner cylinders are made of a flexible material, another embodiment of a display product counting device can be constructed. The components used in this configuration are the same as those shown in FIG. 3 except for the rod-shaped guide, and the operation is the same. If it is pulled out using a shielded cable of the same shape as the above, it can be used as a flexible 19 guide inner cylinder. By using such 19 flexible guide inner cylinders, the degree of freedom in the installation location of the portion for driving the 19 flexible guide inner cylinder of FIG. 3 is increased, and the space behind the rod-shaped guide support wall of 10 is reduced. This would require a minimum of 5 bar guides, but this space could be reduced to a fraction. Also, needless to say, the guide inner cylinder 20 on the light source side in the case of FIG. 5 (described later) using a transmission type detector has the same flexibility as the guide inner cylinder 19.

Next, an embodiment in which the photodetector portion is of a transmission type will be described with reference to FIG. 4 which shows a configuration diagram of a detection section of a third embodiment of the display product counting apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, two 4 photodiodes separated from each other by about 0.5 to 1 cm are arranged at the tip of a 5 bar-shaped guide for product display having one side fixed, and one side is fixed for a light source as shown in FIG. Rod guide 2
Is installed in parallel with the bar guide 5 and at an interval through which the product pack passes, and two 3 light emitting diodes are installed at the tip thereof in opposition to the above 4 photodiodes. Then, the light receiving surface of the photodiode 4 and the light emitting surface of the light emitting diode 3 are narrowed down to about 1 square mm. By inserting or removing the 9 product packs into or out of the 5 bar-shaped guides by using the 1 photodetectors 1 and 2 of the above configuration, the photodetectors are temporarily cut off and passed. By contrast, the configuration of the reflection type photodetector of FIG. 1 and the output signal is the same as that of the electric circuit of FIG.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a side view of a detecting section of a fourth embodiment of the display product counting apparatus of the present invention using a transmission type light detector. An apparatus similar to the one that realizes the method of counting the number of insertions when a plurality of nine product packs are inserted without moving the nine product pack groups can be provided. The difference is that 20 light guide inner tubes 2 for the light source similar to the 19 light guide inner tubes are prepared, and the light detectors 1 and 2 are configured to be able to move at the same time. By connecting and using the circuit, 9 product packs can be counted.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, not only the insertion and removal of the displayed product pack can be electrically counted without contact, but also the product pack is displayed in the rod-shaped guide described in the second embodiment. It is possible to count and record the number of product groups at any time without moving the product group. In addition, by displaying the stock quantity of the product for each displayed product or by centrally managing a plurality of products together with other products, the trouble of registering in a product inventory record book etc. becomes unnecessary and bookkeeping errors are eliminated, Further, it is not necessary to perform a patrol check by a person, and it is possible to greatly reduce the stocktaking time of goods. Particularly, it is possible to provide a system which is most suitable for supermarkets and convenience stores where the number of store clerks is small and is useful for such industries.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a detection unit according to a first embodiment of a displayed product counting device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first embodiment of a display product counting device according to the present invention;
2 shows a cross-sectional view of Photodetector No. 2.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a detection unit according to a second embodiment of the display product counting device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a detection unit according to a third embodiment of the displayed product counting device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a configuration of a detection unit according to a fourth embodiment of the display product counting device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an overall system of an embodiment of a display product counting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a connection diagram for preventing chattering in the embodiment of the display product counting device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a counting display circuit of the embodiment of the display product counting device according to the present invention.

[Description of sign]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photodetector 1 26 differential amplifier circuit 2 photodetector 2 27 waveform shaping circuit 1 3 light-emitting diode 28 waveform shaping circuit 2 4 photodiode 29 anti-chattering circuit 5 rod guide 30 counting display circuit 6 rod guide 2 31 I / O Interface circuit 7 Commodity pack hole 32 Flip-flop circuit 1 8 Connection line 33 Flip-flop circuit 2 9 Commodity pack 34 Self-reset circuit 1 10 Bar-shaped guide support wall 35 Self-reset circuit 2 13 Light source power supply 1 38 Motor control circuit 14 For light source Power supply 2 39 I / O interface circuit 15 Inner cylinder support driving screw 40 CPU 16 Guide driving screw 17 Insertion limit switch 42 Gate circuit 1 18 Extraction side limit switch 43 Multivibrator circuit 1 19 Guide inner cylinder 44 Gate circuit 2 20 Guy Inner cylinder 2 45 multivibrator circuit 2 21 gear box 46 up / down counter 22 inner cylinder drive motor 47 display circuit 23 control unit 24 matching circuit 1 25 matching circuit 2

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A bar-shaped guide for a product to be displayed, wherein one side of the bar-shaped guide is fixed to a wall and one or more product packs are individually provided with a support such as a hole from the opposite side of the bar-shaped guide. When detecting and counting the number of product packs to be inserted or removed from the bar-shaped guide in the system of inserting and hanging the product, a bar-shaped guide with one side fixed and supported is provided and the tip of the bar-shaped guide is reflected. Means for arranging a light-type or transmission-type light detector 1 and a light detector 2 as a rod-shaped guide for inserting a product, and a product pack being inserted into the rod-shaped guide from the light detectors 1 to 2
Means for converting the signals from the light detectors 1 and 2 generated by giving or reflecting light to the light detectors 1 and 2 by extracting and moving in the order of or in the reverse order, into pulse signals which can be counted respectively. Means for adding and counting by inserting a product pack into the rod-shaped guide using the countable pulse signals obtained by the photodetectors 1 and 2, or subtracting and counting by using the countable pulse signals obtained by extracting in the reverse order. And a display device for counting the number of displayed products. 2. A rod-shaped guide according to claim 1, wherein a rod-shaped guide fixedly supported on one side is provided, and a reflection-type or transmission-type light detector 1 and a light detector 2 are disposed at the tip of the rod-shaped guide, and a product is inserted. It is generated by giving light reflection or blocking to the photodetectors 1 and 2 by extracting and moving the product pack from the photodetectors 1 to 2 in the order of the photodetectors 1 and vice versa in the reverse order. Means for converting the signals of the photodetectors 1 and 2 into pulse signals which can be counted, respectively, and converting the converted pulse signals of the photodetectors 1 and 2 from the photodetectors 1 and 2 or from the photodetector 2 Means for arranging the pulse signals into individual pulse signals at the time of passing through to each other, and inputting the pulse signals from the photodetector 1 arranged into each individual when inserting the product pack into the rod-shaped guide for addition to a counter And light detector Means for masking the signal by providing a gate to the pulse signal from 2 and when extracting the product pack from the bar guide, input the pulse signal from the photodetector 2 arranged individually into the subtraction input of the counter. And a means for masking the signal by providing a gate for the pulse signal from the photodetector 1. The counting device for displayed products configured to count and display the number of products. 3. A means according to claim 2, wherein a bar-shaped guide fixedly supported on one side is provided to constitute a bar-shaped guide for inserting a product, and said rod-shaped guide is a tube and can be inserted and moved from an inner tube on the fixed side of said bar-shaped guide. Means for providing a guide inner cylinder, arranging the photodetector 1 and the photodetector 2 at the tip of the guide inner cylinder on the insertion side, and inserting and moving the guide inner cylinder at least as long as the rod-shaped guide for inserting the product pack. Or a means for driving so as to be stopped after being moved, or withdrawing the detectors 1 and 2 of the guide inner cylinder inserted into the rod-shaped guide, or the light detector of the extracted guide inner cylinder. The light detectors 1 and 2 detect the reflection or blocking of the light source caused by the light detectors 1 and 2 moving and passing through the product packs displayed by inserting 1 and 2 and adding or subtracting this signal. Means for converting into countable pulse signals and said pulses And a means for counting and displaying signals. A counting device for displayed products, wherein the counting of the number of products is started. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of bar-shaped guides and counting devices provided for counting the number of displayed products are provided.
Means for counting the number of products displayed in the bar guides for each product display by the counting device of the bar guides for each product display; and means for centrally recording the count values obtained by the respective counting devices. An inventory control device for commodities, wherein the inventory of commodities displayed on a plurality of bar-shaped guides is centrally managed.