Article management method, article management device, and program

Abstract

To provide an article management device which can reduce a workload related to management of an article stored as a cargo into a warehouse or the like.SOLUTION: Article information about articles in cargoes 7 and cargo identification information for uniquely identifying individual cargoes 7 are registered in a management DB 3 in association with each other. The cargo identification information is information indicated on an identification label 72 attached to each cargo 7 and can be read without visual inspection. For example, when the cargo identification information is represented by an optical code such as a bar code, the cargo identification information can be easily read by a device such as a bar code reader. Therefore, the burden of visual collation work can be considerably reduced when articles stored as cargoes 7 in a warehouse or the like are managed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an article management device, an article management system, an article management method, and an article management program for performing processes related to the management of the inventory of articles. [Background technology]

[0002] When goods are received as cargo in a warehouse or the like, an inspection is carried out to confirm the contents of the received cargo. In this inspection, the delivery note attached to the cargo is compared with the cargo label (product label, etc.) affixed to the cargo to confirm that the information on the goods (product number, quantity, etc.) written on the delivery note matches the information on the goods on the cargo label. In addition, if the information on the delivery note is provided in advance as warehousing data by email, etc., the information on the delivery note is also compared with the warehousing data.

[0003] After the warehousing and inspection process, the cargo is stored in a designated location such as a warehouse, and the delivery note information (or warehousing data information) and storage location information are registered in the warehouse management system. In addition, an item tag containing this registered information is printed and attached to the cargo in place of the delivery note. At this time, the cargo label and the item tag are compared.

[0004] When an order to ship an item is issued by a shipping instruction, the item is picked from a storage location such as a warehouse. During this picking operation, the information written on the shipping instruction is compared with the information written on the cargo label of the picked item. In addition, during the final shipping inspection operation to ship the item, the information written on the shipping instruction is compared with the information written on the cargo label.

[0005] In the above-mentioned conventional method of managing goods, from the time goods are received as cargo in a warehouse or the like until they are shipped, the task of checking the information written on paper documents (delivery notes, shipping instructions) against the information on the cargo label affixed to the cargo is repeated many times. Generally, this checking task is sometimes done visually, which places a heavy burden on the worker and is prone to errors.

[0006] To solve such problems, in the item management method described in the following patent document, item information about items in cargo and cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each cargo are associated and registered in a management database. The cargo identification information is information (such as a barcode) shown on an identification label affixed to the cargo, and can be read without visual inspection. This makes it possible to reduce the burden of visual matching work when managing items stored as cargo in a warehouse or the like. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-010618 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In the item management method described in this patent document, the consistency between delivery note information acquired based on an image of a captured delivery note and cargo label information acquired based on an image of a captured cargo (cargo label image) is determined. That is, it is determined whether the item information (item number, quantity, etc.) included in the delivery note information acquired from the image of the delivery note is consistent with the item information (item number, quantity, etc.) included in the cargo label information acquired from the image of the cargo (cargo label image). If it is determined that the two are consistent, the cargo identification information acquired from the image of the cargo (image of the identification label) and the item information included in the cargo label information acquired from the image of the cargo (cargo label image) are registered in a management database in association with each other.

[0009] However, an item related to one delivery note may not be included in only one cargo, but may be included in multiple cargoes. In this case, the item management method described in the above patent document performs a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information based on an image of the cargo for each of multiple cargoes stored in the warehouse, and a process of determining the consistency between the delivery note information and the cargo label information. In this case, every time an image of one cargo is captured, a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information and a process of determining the consistency are performed, and if the determination result is inconsistent, a process of correcting the item information included in the cargo label information or re-acquiring the image of the cargo is further performed. However, the process of acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information from the cargo image includes a process of transferring image data by wireless or the like and a process of reading information included in the image (characters, optical codes, etc.), and these processes tend to take time. Therefore, a worker performing the warehousing operation must wait for such processing time every time an image of one cargo is captured, and the more the number of cargoes, the more difficult it may be to perform the warehousing operation smoothly.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide an item management method, item management device, and program that enable smooth warehousing operations even when items related to a single delivery note are stored together with multiple cargoes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] A first aspect of the present invention is an item management method performed by an item management device, the item management device being capable of accessing a management database that stores information regarding received items, a delivery note being attached to a cargo containing the item, the delivery note indicating delivery note information including item information regarding the item in the attached cargo, a cargo label and an identification label being affixed to each of the cargo, the cargo label indicating cargo label information including at least a portion of the item information regarding the item in the cargo to which it is affixed, and the identification label indicating cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each of the cargo, the method including the steps of: a first image acquisition step of acquiring a delivery note image in which the delivery note is photographed; a first information acquisition step of acquiring the delivery note information indicated on the delivery note based on the acquired delivery note image; a second image acquisition step of acquiring, for each of the cargo images in which the cargo is photographed, one or more cargo images including an image of the cargo label affixed to the cargo and an image of the identification label affixed to the cargo; the cargo identification information indicated on the identification label of the cargo-related item included in the one or more cargo label information acquired for the one or more cargoes including the item related to the one item information; and, when it is determined in the first consistency determination step that the one item information included in the delivery note information matches the item information included in the one or more cargo label information, a registration step of registering in the management database the item information included in the acquired cargo label information and the acquired cargo identification information associated with each of the one or more cargoes including the item related to the one item information in association with each other, the item information included in the acquired cargo label information and the acquired cargo identification information, and when the item related to the one item information in the delivery note information is included in a plurality of cargoes, a process of acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of each of the cargoes in the second information acquisition step is executed in parallel with a process of sequentially acquiring cargo images of the plurality of cargoes in the second image acquisition step.

[0012] A second aspect of the present invention is an item management device having a first processing unit capable of accessing a management database that stores information regarding stored items, and a first memory unit that stores a program including instructions that can be executed by the first processing unit, the program including instructions that cause the first processing unit to perform each step of the method related to the first aspect above, and the first processing unit executes the instructions of the program.

[0013] A third aspect of the present invention is an article management device comprising means for performing each step of the method according to the first aspect.

[0014] A fourth aspect of the present invention is a program including instructions executable by an item management device, the program including the instructions causing the item management device to perform each step of the method according to the first aspect. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an item management method, an item management device, and a program that enable smooth warehousing operations even when items related to one delivery note are stored in a warehouse together with multiple cargoes. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an item management system according to this embodiment. [Diagram 2] Fig. 2A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an article management device, and Fig. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a terminal device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an item management method. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for acquiring invoice information from an image of an invoice. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a modified example of the process for acquiring invoice information from an image of the invoice. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information from an image of cargo. [Figure 7] 7A to 7C are diagrams showing examples of screens of a terminal device. [Figure 8] 8A to 8C are diagrams showing examples of screens of a terminal device. [Figure 9] 9A to 9C are diagrams showing examples of screens of a terminal device. [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams showing examples of screens of a terminal device. [Figure 11] 11A to 11C are diagrams showing examples of screens of a terminal device. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a modified example of the process for acquiring invoice information from an image of the invoice. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an item management system according to this embodiment. The item management system shown in Fig. 1 is a system for managing items that have been put into cargo 7 and stored in a warehouse or the like, and includes an item management device 1 and a terminal device 2. The item management device 1 and the terminal device 2 are capable of communicating with each other via a communication network 9 such as the Internet.

[0018] In this embodiment, a shipment 7 containing an article is accompanied by a delivery note 6. One delivery note 6 is accompanied by one or more shipments 7.

[0019] The information indicated by the delivery note 6 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "delivery note information") includes item information regarding items included in one or more shipments 7 attached to the delivery note 6. The item information includes, for example, item number, model number, item name, model name, lot number, and item quantity.

[0020] The invoice information also includes order identification information for identifying each order, such as an order number.

[0021] In this embodiment, one piece of product information includes one piece of product type identification information. The product type identification information is information for identifying the type of product, and includes, for example, a product number, a model number, a product name, and a model name.

[0022] In this embodiment, one item information is associated with one order identification information. The combination of item type identification information included in the item information and order identification information associated with the item information is different for each item information. When the delivery note information indicated by one delivery note 6 includes multiple items of item information, the multiple items of item information have different combinations of item type identification information (e.g., product number) and order identification information (e.g., order number). For example, suppose that delivery note information includes two pieces of product information X1 and X2, and that product information X1 and product information X2 include the same product number Y. Furthermore, suppose that order number Z1 is associated with product information X1, and order number Z2 is associated with product information X2. In this case, the combination of product type identification information and order identification information in product information X1 is <product number Y, order number Z1>, and the combination of product type identification information and order identification information in product information X2 is <product number Y, order number Z2>. Therefore, the combination of product type identification information and order identification information is different in the two pieces of product information X1 and X2.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1, a cargo label 71 and an identification label 72 are affixed to the cargo 7 containing the goods.

[0024] The information indicated by the cargo label 71 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "cargo label information") includes at least a portion of the product information regarding the product contained in the cargo 7 to which the cargo label 71 is affixed. The product information in the cargo label information includes, for example, product type identification information (product number, model number, product name, etc.) and quantity of the product contained in the cargo 7 to which the cargo label 71 is affixed.

[0025] The identification label 72 indicates cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each cargo 7. While the cargo label 71 is a label affixed by the sender of the cargo 7, the identification label 72 is a label affixed by a worker or machine performing the warehousing operation. When performing the warehousing operation, the worker affixes the identification label 72, which has been prepared in advance, to each cargo 7. This makes it possible to identify each cargo 7 by the cargo identification information on the identification label 72.

[0026] The item management device 1 is a device that performs processes related to the management of items that have been put into cargo 7 and stored in a warehouse or the like, and can access a database (hereinafter sometimes abbreviated to "DB") that stores predetermined information. In the example of FIG. 1, the item management device 1 can access a management database 3, a delivery note format database 4, and a cargo label format database 5. The item management device 1 may access these databases via one or more arbitrary communication means. The communication means may include a communication network such as a LAN or the Internet. The communication means may be wired or wireless, or may include both. The item management device 1 may also access these databases via an arbitrary information processing device (such as a cloud server) not shown.

[0027] The management DB 3 stores information about the received goods. For example, the management DB 3 stores goods information (product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) about the goods in the goods 7, and information about the storage location of the goods 7 in a warehouse or the like, in association with goods identification information for identifying each goods 7.

[0028] The delivery note format DB4 stores information regarding the format (delivery note format) of the delivery note 6. The delivery note format is a format related to the position and range of one or more items (delivery note items) included on the delivery note. For example, the delivery note format DB4 stores information regarding the delivery note items (order number, product number, quantity, lot number, business name, logo representing the business, etc.) listed on the delivery note 6, information regarding the position and range of each item on the delivery note 6, information regarding the ruled lines included in the delivery note 6, information regarding the size of the delivery note 6, etc., in association with delivery note format identification information that identifies the delivery note format of the delivery note 6. The delivery note format is used when acquiring delivery note information based on an image of the delivery note 6.

[0029] In addition, when a one-dimensional optical code (such as a barcode) or a two-dimensional optical code (such as QR Code (registered trademark), Data Matrix (registered trademark), PDF417, etc.) is included in the delivery note 6, the delivery note format DB4 may store information regarding these optical codes (such as the type of optical code, identifier information for identifying each piece of information included in the optical code, editing information for the optical code, etc.).

[0030] The cargo label format DB5 stores information regarding the format (cargo label format) of a cargo label 71, such as a product label affixed to each piece of cargo 7. The cargo label format is a format related to the position and range of one or more items (cargo label items) included in the cargo label 71. For example, the cargo label format DB5 stores information regarding the cargo label items (product number, quantity, lot number, business name, logo representing the business, etc.) written on the cargo label 71, information regarding the position and range of each item on the cargo label 71, information regarding the lines included in the cargo label 71, information regarding the size of the cargo label 71, etc., in association with cargo label format identification information that identifies the cargo label format of the cargo label 71.

[0031] In this embodiment, the cargo label format DB5 stores item type identification information (such as product number) and cargo label format identification information in association with each other. That is, in the cargo label format DB5, the cargo label format and the item type identification information (such as product number) are associated with each other. When the item type identification information included in the delivery note information is identified, it is possible to identify the cargo label format associated with the item type identification information by referring to the cargo label format DB5. The identified cargo label format is used when acquiring cargo label information based on an image of the cargo label 71.

[0032] In addition, when a one-dimensional optical code (such as a barcode) or a two-dimensional optical code (such as a QR code (registered trademark), Data Matrix (registered trademark), PDF417, etc.) is included in the cargo label 71, the cargo label format DB5 may store information regarding these optical codes (such as the type of optical code, identifier information for identifying individual pieces of information included in the optical code, editing information for the optical code, etc.).

[0033] 2A is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the article management device 1. The article management device 1 shown in FIG.

[0034] The communication unit 11 communicates with other devices (such as the terminal device 2) via the communication network 9. For example, the communication unit 11 may include a communication device such as a network interface card.

[0035] The first storage unit 17 stores a program PG1 including instructions executable by the first processing unit 18, data used in the processing of the first processing unit 18, data generated in the processing of the first processing unit 18, etc. For example, the first storage unit 17 may include one or more arbitrary storage devices such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, SSD, hard disk, etc. The storage device of the first storage unit 17 may be connected to the first processing unit 18 via one or more arbitrary data transmission means.

[0036] The first processing unit 18 executes processing according to instructions of a program PG1 stored in the first storage unit 17. For example, the first processing unit 18 may include one or more processors (CPU, microprocessor, DSP, etc.). The one or more processors of the first processing unit 18 execute processing according to instructions of the programs, respectively, so that the first processing unit 18 operates as one or more computers. Note that the first processing unit 18 may execute at least a part of the processing by dedicated hardware (FPGA, ASIC, etc.) instead of a processor.

[0037] The first processing unit 18 acquires an image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2 (hereinafter, may be referred to as a "delivery note image"), and acquires delivery note information (order number, product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) based on the acquired delivery note image. The delivery note information includes one or more pieces of product information and one or more pieces of order identification information shown on the delivery note 6. For example, the delivery note information includes characters (printed characters, handwritten characters, etc.) and optical codes (barcodes, QR codes (registered trademark), etc.) that represent this information.

[0038] The first processing unit 18 also acquires in advance inventory data including order identification information (e.g., order number) for identifying individual orders and item information. The first processing unit 18 identifies inventory data corresponding to the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image based on the order identification information (e.g., order number) included in the delivery note information. That is, the first processing unit 18 identifies inventory data including the same order identification information as that included in the delivery note information as the inventory data corresponding to this delivery note information. The first processing unit 18 determines whether the item information included in this identified inventory data is consistent with the item information included in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image.

[0039] If the first processing unit 18 cannot identify the inventory data corresponding to the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image by the order identification information (for example, when the same order identification information is included in multiple pieces of inventory data), the first processing unit 18 may identify the inventory data in accordance with an instruction from an operator input from the terminal device 2. For example, the first processing unit 18 may display on the terminal device 2 a list of candidates for inventory data corresponding to the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image, input an instruction from the terminal device 2 of an operator to select one piece of inventory data from the list, and identify the inventory data in accordance with the input instruction.

[0040] Furthermore, the first processing unit 18 acquires an image of the cargo 7 (hereinafter referred to as "cargo image") captured by the terminal device 2, and acquires cargo label information (product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) indicated on the cargo label 71 and cargo identification information indicated on the identification label 72 based on the acquired cargo image. As shown in Fig. 1, the cargo image captured by the terminal device 2 includes a cargo label 71 and an identification label 72 affixed to the cargo 7. The cargo label information includes item information (information about the items in the cargo 7) shown on the cargo label 71. For example, the cargo label information includes characters (printed characters, handwritten characters, etc.) and optical codes (barcodes, QR codes (registered trademark), etc.). The cargo identification information is information for uniquely identifying each piece of cargo 7, and includes, for example, optical codes (barcodes, QR codes (registered trademark), etc.). Then, the first processing unit 18 determines whether the item information in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image matches the item information in the cargo label information acquired from the cargo image.

[0041] When the first processing unit 18 determines that the item information in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image matches the item information in the cargo label information acquired from the cargo image, and determines that the item information in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image matches the item information included in the warehousing data identified based on the order number or the like, the first processing unit 18 associates the cargo identification information acquired from the cargo image with the item information (product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) determined to match in the above determination, and registers them in the management DB 3. The item information registered in the management DB 3 may be, for example, the item information included in the cargo label information acquired from the cargo image.

[0042] In addition, if warehousing data is not provided, the first processing unit 18 may associate the cargo identification information obtained from the cargo image with the item information in the cargo label information and register them in the management DB3, provided that it determines that the item information in the delivery note information obtained from the delivery note image is consistent with the item information in the cargo label information obtained from the cargo image. Furthermore, when inventory data is not provided, the first processing unit 18 may determine whether or not information on a predetermined delivery note item (e.g., product number, etc.) included in the item information of the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image is appropriate, and register only the delivery note information determined to be appropriate in this determination in the management DB 3. For example, a list of known information appropriate as a predetermined delivery note item is stored in the first storage unit 17 or a database (not shown), and the first processing unit 18 determines that the information is appropriate when information on a predetermined delivery note item included in the item information of the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image is included in this list.

[0043] The terminal device 2 is a device such as a smartphone or tablet operated by a worker performing a warehousing operation, and has an imaging function and a communication function. Fig. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal device 2. The terminal device 2 shown in Fig. 2B has a communication unit 21, an input unit 22, an imaging unit 23, a display unit 24, a sound input / output unit 25, a second storage unit 27, and a second processing unit 28.

[0044] The communication unit 21 communicates with other devices (such as the article management device 1) via the communication network 9. For example, the communication unit 21 may include a communication device such as a network interface card.

[0045] The input unit 22 is a device for inputting information according to instructions from an operator, and includes, for example, a touch panel, buttons, switches, and the like. The imaging unit 23 is an imaging device that captures an image, and includes, for example, a camera. The display unit 24 is a display device that displays images, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal panel or an organic EL panel. The sound input / output unit 25 is a device for inputting and outputting sound, and includes, for example, a speaker and a microphone.

[0046] The second storage unit 27 stores a program PG2 including instructions executable by the second processing unit 28, data used in the processing of the second processing unit 28, data generated in the processing of the second processing unit 28, etc. For example, the second storage unit 27 may include one or more arbitrary storage devices such as DRAM, SRAM, flash memory, SSD, hard disk, etc. The storage device of the second storage unit 27 may be connected to the second processing unit 28 via one or more arbitrary data transmission means.

[0047] The second processing unit 28 executes processing according to instructions of a program PG2 stored in the second storage unit 27. For example, the second processing unit 28 may include one or more processors (CPU, microprocessor, DSP, etc.). The one or more processors of the second processing unit 28 execute processing according to instructions of the programs, respectively, so that the second processing unit 28 operates as one or more computers. Note that the second processing unit 28 may execute at least a part of the processing by dedicated hardware (FPGA, ASIC, etc.) instead of a processor.

[0048] When the second processing unit 28 executes processing related to the management of stored goods based on the program PG2, it outputs an instruction to prompt the user to capture an image of the delivery note 6 by displaying on the screen of the display unit 24, by generating a sound from the sound input / output unit 25, etc., and transmits the captured delivery note image in response to this instruction to the goods management device 1. The second processing unit 28 also outputs an instruction to prompt the user to capture an image of each cargo 7 (one or more cargo images including an image of the cargo label 71 and an image of the identification label 72) by displaying on the screen of the display unit 24, by generating a sound from the sound input / output unit 25, etc., and transmits the captured cargo image of each cargo 7 to the goods management device 1 in response to this instruction.

[0049] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an item management method in the system shown in FIG.

[0050] The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires inventory data including order identification information for identifying individual orders and invoice information (ST100). For example, the first processing unit 18 imports the inventory data from a file in CSV format or the like, and temporarily stores the data in the first storage unit 17.

[0051] The first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 determines whether the item type identification information (such as product number) included in the item information of the warehousing data acquired in step ST100 is associated with the cargo label format in advance (ST102). For example, the first processing unit 18 determines whether the item type identification information included in the item information of the warehousing data is associated with the cargo label format in the cargo label format DB5. If the warehousing data includes unregistered item type identification information that is not associated with the cargo label format in the cargo label format DB5 (Yes in ST102), the first processing unit 18 displays information on the determination result on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (ST103). For example, the first processing unit 18 displays the unregistered item type identification information (such as product number) that is not associated with the cargo label format and the information on the warehousing data including this item type identification information on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2. A worker who sees the display on the display unit 24 can exclude in advance from the warehousing work any warehousing data that includes unregistered item type identification information that is not associated with a cargo label format, or can register in advance the association between the cargo label format and the item type identification information in the cargo label format DB 5. This makes it possible to avoid wasting warehousing work that is performed later (such as capturing delivery note images and cargo images using the camera on the display unit 24).

[0052] When the item type identification information included in the item information of the warehousing data is associated with the cargo label format (No in ST102), the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 outputs an instruction to the screen of the display unit 24, the speaker of the sound input / output unit 25, or the like, to prompt the worker to photograph the delivery note 6. When the worker is prompted by this instruction to perform a predetermined imaging operation on the camera of the imaging unit 23, the second processing unit 28 captures an image of the delivery note 6 and transmits the captured delivery note image to the item management device 1 (ST105).

[0053] The first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires an invoice image captured by the camera of the imaging unit 23 from the terminal device 2. The first processing unit 18 acquires the invoice information (order number, product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) shown on the invoice 6 based on the invoice image acquired from the terminal device 2 (ST110).

[0054] For example, in step ST110, the first processing unit 18 acquires character information of the delivery note information shown on the delivery note 6 by performing optical character recognition processing on the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2. In this case, the first processing unit 18 may cause another server device connected to the communication network 9 to perform optical character recognition processing on the image of the delivery note 6, and acquire character information obtained as a result of the optical character recognition processing from the server device. This server device may be a device operated in-house (on-premise), or may be a cloud-type device operated by an external business operator. When there are multiple optical character recognition processing units (server devices, application programs, etc.), the first processing unit 18 may select one of them in response to an instruction from an operator, and acquire character information of the delivery note image by the selected optical character recognition processing unit.

[0055] The first processing unit 18 also performs a process of identifying the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 using the trained model stored in the first storage unit 17. This trained model is a model that has been machine-learned to identify the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 from a given image of the delivery note 6 (for example, to output delivery note format identification information). The trained model may be, for example, a model constituting a multi-layer neural network generated by deep learning. The first processing unit 18 identifies the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 by applying the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2 to this trained model. The first processing unit 18 acquires information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 identified by the trained model (such as information regarding the position and range of each delivery note item) from the delivery note format DB4.

[0056] Then, the first processing unit 18 acquires the delivery note information shown on the delivery note 6 based on the character information acquired by the optical character recognition process and information on the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 acquired from the delivery note format DB 4.

[0057] If the delivery note 6 includes a one-dimensional or two-dimensional optical code, the first processing unit 18 obtains information by decoding the optical code. In the optical code decoding process, the first processing unit 18 may refer to information about the optical code in the delivery note 6 registered in the delivery note format DB4 (such as the type of optical code, identifier information for identifying each piece of information included in the optical code, and editing information for the optical code). The information about the optical code may be stored in a database different from the delivery note format DB4.

[0058] The trained model stored in the first storage unit 17 may be generated to directly estimate and output information about the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 from an image of a given delivery note 6. In this case, the first processing unit 18 may acquire information about the format of the delivery note 6 from the trained model instead of the delivery note format DB4 by applying the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2 to the trained model.

[0059] On the other hand, if the item management device 1 does not have a learned model such as the one described above, the first processing unit 18 may acquire information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 from the delivery note format DB4 in accordance with instructions from an operator input into the terminal device 2, and acquire the delivery note information shown on the delivery note 6 based on the acquired information regarding the delivery note format and the character information acquired by optical character recognition processing. For example, when transmitting an invoice image to the goods management device 1, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transmits information specifying the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 (e.g., delivery note format identification information) to the goods management device 1 in response to instructions from an operator inputted via the input unit 22. The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 specified by the operator operating the terminal device 2 from the delivery note format DB 4. For example, the first processing unit 18 identifies the range of each delivery note item of the delivery note 6 from the relationship between the ruled line information in the acquired information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 and the ruled lines appearing in the image of the delivery note 6, and acquires information about each delivery note item of the delivery note 6 from character information included in the identified range. Alternatively, the first processing unit 18 may acquire the position coordinates of each character appearing in the image of the delivery note 6 (coordinates when a predetermined position on the delivery note 6 is set as the origin), determine which delivery note item on the delivery note 6 each character belongs to based on the acquired position coordinates of each character, and acquire information on each delivery note item on the delivery note 6 based on the determination result.

[0060] In addition, in step ST110, the first processing unit 18 may cause the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to display information on each delivery note item (order number, product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) in the information on the delivery note format of the delivery note 6. For example, the first processing unit 18 transmits information regarding the name and range of each delivery note item in the delivery note information in the information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 to the terminal device 2. The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 that receives this information displays the name and range of each delivery note item in the delivery note information superimposed on the image of the delivery note 6 displayed on the display unit 24. Alternatively, the second processing unit 28 may display the name and range of each delivery note item in the delivery note information in a window separate from the image of the delivery note 6 displayed on the display unit 24.

[0061] In this case, the second processing unit 28 may modify the names of each delivery note item and the range of each delivery note item displayed superimposed on the image of the delivery note 6 in response to instructions from the worker inputted in the input unit 22. The second processing unit 28 may also add new information on the delivery note item (name of the delivery note item, range of the delivery note item) on the image of the delivery note 6 in response to instructions from the worker inputted. The second processing unit 28 transmits information on the delivery note items of the delivery note 6 modified or added in response to instructions from the worker (name of the delivery note item, range of the delivery note item) to the goods management device 1. The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 updates information on the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 in response to this information received from the terminal device 2, and acquires the delivery note information shown on the delivery note 6 based on the updated information on the delivery note format and the text information.

[0062] It should be noted that a combination of information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 (if any corrections or additions have been made in response to instructions from the worker operating the terminal device 2, the updated information in response to the corrections or additions) and the image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2 can be used as training data for generating the trained model described above. Therefore, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 may store this training data obtained in step ST110 (a combination of information regarding the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 and the delivery note image) in the first storage unit 17 or another storage device (such as a database).

[0063] When the invoice information is acquired as described above, the first processing unit 18 then identifies the inventory data corresponding to the invoice information acquired from the invoice image based on the order identification information (such as the order number) included in the invoice information (ST115).

[0064] When the warehousing data corresponding to the delivery note 6 is identified, the first processing unit 18 then determines whether the item information included in the identified warehousing data matches the item information included in the delivery note information acquired from the image of the delivery note 6 (ST125). For example, when the item information included in the identified warehousing data matches the item information included in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image, the first processing unit 18 determines that these item information are consistent.

[0065] When it is determined in step ST125 that the item information is inconsistent (No in ST125), the first processing unit 18 executes a predetermined error process (ST135). For example, the first processing unit 18 transmits an error notification to the terminal device 2 notifying that the item information in the warehousing data and the item information in the delivery note information are inconsistent. The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 that receives this error notification displays the error notification on the display unit 24 and / or outputs a sound notifying the error from the sound input / output unit 25.

[0066] Note that the first processing unit 18 may determine that the item information is consistent even if the quantity of items specified in the item information of the identified warehousing data is smaller than the quantity of items specified in the item information of the delivery note information acquired from the image of the delivery note 6, as long as other items (such as product numbers) of the item information are consistent. This makes it possible to prevent the item information of the warehousing data and the item information of the delivery note information from being determined to be inconsistent, for example, when the quantity of items specified in the item information of the warehousing data is received in multiple installments.

[0067] When it is determined in step ST125 that the item information is consistent (Yes in ST125), the first processing unit 18 temporarily stores the delivery note information in the first storage unit 17 (ST130).

[0068] In this case, the first processing unit 18 displays the item information of the delivery note information determined to be consistent in step ST125 and the order identification information associated with the item information on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (for example, in an area E4 on a screen E in FIG. 8B described later). This allows the worker to confirm on the screen of the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 that the delivery note information has been correctly acquired from the delivery note image and that the delivery note 6 and the warehousing data are consistent, making it easier to perform appropriate warehousing work.

[0069] If the first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 determines in step ST125 that the article information is consistent, it transmits a notification to that effect to the terminal device 2. The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 that receives this notification outputs an instruction to prompt the worker to photograph the cargo 7 (the area including the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72) on the screen of the display unit 24, the speaker of the sound input / output unit 25, or the like. When the worker is prompted by this instruction to perform a predetermined imaging operation on the camera of the imaging unit 23, the second processing unit 28 captures an image of the cargo 7 and transmits the captured cargo image to the article management device 1 (ST140).

[0070] After the cargo 7 to which the cargo label 71 is affixed is received, the identification label 72 is affixed to the cargo 7 in a position close to the cargo label 71. The work of affixing the identification label 72 to the cargo 7 may be performed at the latest immediately before an image of the cargo 7 is taken by the terminal device 2. For example, if the work of affixing the identification label 72 is performed after the terminal device 2 receives a notification in step ST125 that the delivery note information is consistent, it is possible to avoid affixing the identification label 72 to cargo 7 for which it has been determined that the delivery note information is inconsistent.

[0071] The first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires cargo images (one or more cargo images including an image of a cargo label 71 and an image of an identification label 72) captured by the terminal device 2 for each cargo 7. The first processing unit 18 acquires cargo label information (product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) based on the image of the cargo label 71 included in the acquired cargo images, and acquires cargo identification information based on the image of the identification label 72 included in the acquired cargo images (ST145).

[0072] For example, in step ST145, the first processing unit 18 acquires cargo identification information indicated on the identification label 72 based on the image of the identification label 72 included in the cargo image acquired from the terminal device 2. When the cargo identification information indicated on the identification label 72 is a predetermined optical code such as a barcode, the first processing unit 18 decodes information represented by the optical code (letters, numbers, symbols, etc.) by a predetermined decoding process corresponding to the predetermined optical code.

[0073] Furthermore, in step ST145, the first processing unit 18 acquires character information of the cargo label information indicated on the cargo label 71 by performing optical character recognition processing on the image of the cargo label 71 included in the cargo image acquired from the terminal device 2. In this case, the first processing unit 18 may cause another server device connected to the communication network 9 to perform optical character recognition processing on the cargo image, and acquire character information obtained as a result of the optical character recognition processing from the server device. When there are multiple optical character recognition processing units (server devices, application programs, etc.), the first processing unit 18 may select one of them in response to an instruction from an operator, and acquire character information of the cargo image by the selected optical character recognition processing unit.

[0074] The first processing unit 18 also performs a process of identifying the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 using the trained model stored in the first storage unit 17. This trained model is a model that has been machine-learned to identify the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 from a given image of the cargo 7 (e.g., outputting cargo label format identification information). The trained model may be, for example, a model constituting a multi-layer neural network generated by deep learning. The first processing unit 18 identifies the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 by applying the cargo image acquired from the terminal device 2 to this trained model. The first processing unit 18 acquires information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 identified by the trained model (e.g., information regarding the position and range of each cargo label item) from the cargo label format DB5.

[0075] Then, the first processing unit 18 acquires the cargo label information shown on the cargo 7 based on the character information acquired by the optical character recognition process and information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 acquired from the cargo label format DB5.

[0076] If the cargo label 71 includes a one-dimensional or two-dimensional optical code, the first processing unit 18 obtains information by decoding the optical code. In the optical code decoding process, the first processing unit 18 may refer to information about the optical code in the cargo label 71 registered in the cargo label format DB5 (such as the type of optical code, identifier information for identifying each piece of information included in the optical code, and editing information for the optical code). The information about the optical code may be stored in a database different from the cargo label format DB5.

[0077] Furthermore, the trained model stored in the first storage unit 17 may be generated to directly estimate and output information about the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 from a given image of the cargo 7. In this case, the first processing unit 18 may acquire information about the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 from the trained model instead of the cargo label format DB5 by applying the cargo image acquired from the terminal device 2 to this trained model.

[0078] On the other hand, if the item management device 1 does not have a learned model such as the one described above, the first processing unit 18 may acquire information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 from the cargo label format DB5 in accordance with instructions from an operator input into the terminal device 2, and acquire the cargo label information indicated on the cargo label 71 based on the acquired information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 and the character information acquired by optical character recognition processing. For example, when transmitting an image of cargo 7 to the item management device 1, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transmits information specifying the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 (e.g., cargo label format identification information) to the item management device 1 in response to an instruction from an operator inputted via the input unit 22. The first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires information on the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 specified by the operator operating the terminal device 2 from the cargo label format DB 5. The first processing unit 18 identifies the range of each cargo label item of the cargo label 71 from the relationship between the ruled line information in the information on the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 acquired from the terminal device 2 and the ruled lines appearing in the image of the cargo label 71, and acquires the information on each cargo label item of the cargo label 71 from the character information included in the identified range. Alternatively, the first processing unit 18 may acquire the position coordinates of each character appearing in the image of the cargo label 71 (coordinates when a predetermined position on the cargo label 71 is set as the origin), determine which cargo label item of the cargo label 71 each character belongs to based on the acquired position coordinates of each character, and acquire information on each cargo label item of the cargo label 71 based on this determination result.

[0079] In addition, in step ST145, the first processing unit 18 may cause the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to display information regarding each cargo label item (product number, quantity, lot number, etc.) of the cargo label information in the information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71. For example, the first processing unit 18 transmits information regarding the name and range of each cargo label item of the cargo label information in the information regarding the cargo label format to the terminal device 2. The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 that receives this information displays the name and range of each cargo label item of the cargo label information superimposed on the image of the cargo label 71 displayed on the display unit 24. Alternatively, the second processing unit 28 may display the name and range of each cargo label item of the cargo label information in a window separate from the image of the cargo label 71 displayed on the display unit 24.

[0080] In this case, the second processing unit 28 may modify the name of each cargo label item and the range of each cargo label item displayed superimposed on the image of the cargo label 71 in response to an instruction from the worker inputted via the input unit 22. The second processing unit 28 may also add new cargo label item information (name of cargo label item, range of cargo label item) on the image of the cargo label 71 in response to an instruction from the worker inputted. The second processing unit 28 transmits information on the cargo label items of the cargo label 71 (name of cargo label item, range of cargo label item) modified or added in response to the instruction from the worker to the item management device 1. The first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 updates information on the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 in response to this information received from the terminal device 2, and acquires the cargo label information shown on the cargo label 71 based on the updated information on the cargo label format and the text information.

[0081] It should be noted that a combination of information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 (if any corrections or additions have been made in response to instructions from the worker operating the terminal device 2, the updated information in response to the corrections or additions) and the image of the cargo 7 captured by the terminal device 2 can be used as training data for generating the trained model described above. Therefore, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 may store this training data obtained in step ST145 (a combination of information regarding the cargo label format of the cargo label 71 and the image of the cargo 7) in the first memory unit 17 or another memory device (such as a database).

[0082] In the process of step ST145 described above, if an item related to one item information of the delivery note information is included in multiple cargoes 7, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires cargo images of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. In this case, the first processing unit 18 executes a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 in parallel with the process of sequentially acquiring cargo images of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. That is, the first processing unit 18 executes the above-mentioned process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information from the cargo images in parallel with sequentially acquiring cargo images of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. This allows the worker to continuously perform the imaging operation of the multiple cargoes 7 when capturing cargo images of the multiple cargoes 7 with the imaging unit 23, without waiting for the cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 to be acquired by the item management device 1.

[0083] In addition, when an item related to one item information of the delivery note information is included in a plurality of cargoes 7, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 may display at least a part of the item information included in one cargo label information acquired for one cargo 7 on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 each time an imaging operation is performed on the imaging unit 23 of the terminal device 2 for one cargo 7. For example, when an imaging operation is performed on the imaging unit 23 of the terminal device 2 for one cargo 7, and a cargo image of the one cargo 7 is acquired from the terminal device 2, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 may display the quantity and product number of the items included in the cargo label information acquired based on the cargo image on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (for example, an area J7 on a screen J in FIG. 9C described later). This allows the worker to check on the screen of the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 whether the item information (quantity, product number, etc.) shown on the captured cargo label 71 has been correctly acquired each time the cargo image of the cargo 7 is captured on the imaging unit 23 of the terminal device 2, thereby improving workability. For example, if the cargo label 71 contains handwritten characters, the accuracy of character recognition will be low, making it easier for erroneous cargo label information to be acquired from the image of the cargo label 71. In such a case, the worker can quickly discover an error in the acquired cargo label information by checking the acquired cargo label information on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 and comparing it with the characters on the actual cargo label 71. This makes it easier to avoid having to rework the work due to error processing (ST180) described below. It also makes it easier to avoid the risk of passing a warehousing inspection based on erroneous cargo label information.

[0084] Furthermore, when the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 receives a correction instruction from the terminal device 2 requesting that the worker correct the goods information (quantity, product number, etc.) of one piece of goods label information displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (for example, when a button J8 on a screen J in FIG. 9C described later is pressed), the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 may correct the one piece of goods label information in response to the correction instruction. This enables the worker to immediately correct the goods information (quantity, product number, etc.) shown on the goods label 71 of the captured goods image to the correct goods information when the worker confirms on the screen of the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 that the goods information has been incorrectly acquired. This makes it easier to avoid inconsistencies in the judgment in step ST170 described later, and suppresses a decrease in work efficiency.

[0085] After acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information from the cargo images of one or more cargoes 7, the first processing unit 18 then determines whether the item information included in the acquired cargo label information is consistent with the item information included in the delivery note information stored in step ST130 (ST170). For example, if the item information (item number, quantity, lot number, etc.) in the acquired cargo label information of one or more cargoes 7 matches the item information (item number, quantity, lot number, etc.) in the delivery note information stored in step ST130, the first processing unit 18 determines that the item information is consistent.

[0086] When an item related to one item information of the delivery note information is included in multiple cargoes 7, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 may execute the consistency determination process (ST170) after acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information for all cargoes 7, or may execute the consistency determination process (ST170) in parallel with the process of acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information for each cargo 7. In the latter case, the process of acquiring a cargo image from the terminal device 2 (ST145), the process of acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information from the cargo image (ST145), and the process of determining the consistency of the cargo label information with the delivery note information (ST170) are each executed in parallel, making it easier to quickly obtain the consistency determination result of step ST170.

[0087] When it is determined in step ST175 that the item information in the cargo label information and the item information in the delivery note information are consistent (Yes in ST175), the first processing unit 18 associates this consistent item information with the cargo identification information acquired in step ST145 and registers them in the management DB 3 (ST185). The item information to be registered in the management DB 3 may be, for example, the item information included in the cargo label information acquired in step ST145. In this case, the first processing unit 18 notifies the terminal device 2 that the item information in the cargo label information associated with the cargo identification information has been registered in the management DB 3 in step ST185, and the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 causes the display unit 24 to display this notification (ST190).

[0088] When it is determined in step ST175 that the item information in the delivery note information and the item information in the cargo label information are inconsistent (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 executes a predetermined error process (ST180). For example, the first processing unit 18 transmits an error notification to the terminal device 2 notifying that the item information in the delivery note information and the item information in the cargo label information are inconsistent, and the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 displays this error notification on the display unit 24 or outputs a sound informing of the error from the sound input / output unit 25.

[0089] As described above, according to this embodiment, item information on items in cargo 7 and cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each cargo 7 are associated with each other and registered in the management DB 3. The cargo identification information is information indicated on an identification label 72 affixed to the cargo 7, and can be read without visual inspection. For example, if the cargo identification information is represented by an optical code such as a barcode, the cargo identification information can be easily read by a device such as a barcode reader. Therefore, when managing items stored as cargo 7 in a warehouse or the like, the burden of visual matching can be significantly reduced.

[0090] For example, by printing a shipping instruction number associated with the item information in the cargo label 71 as a barcode or the like on a shipping instruction sheet containing the item information, the shipping instruction number printed on the shipping instruction sheet indirectly represents the item information contained in the shipping instruction sheet. Therefore, by reading the shipping instruction number on the shipping instruction sheet and the cargo identification information on the cargo label 71 with a barcode reader or the like, and comparing the item information associated with the shipping instruction number read from the shipping instruction sheet with the item information associated with the cargo identification information read from the cargo label 71 by a computer, it is possible to omit the troublesome task of visually comparing the item information contained in the shipping instruction sheet with the cargo label information shown on the cargo label 71.

[0091] In this way, since visual checking work can be omitted, it is possible to effectively reduce the workload involved in managing goods received as cargo in warehouses, etc. In addition, since errors that may occur due to visual checking work are eliminated, it is possible to manage goods accurately and with high quality.

[0092] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, cargo label information and cargo identification information are acquired from an image of the cargo 7 including the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72, and item information based on the cargo label information is associated with the cargo identification information and registered in the management DB 3. This eliminates the need for visual matching to associate the item information with the cargo identification information, and effectively reduces errors in associating the item information with the cargo identification information.

[0093] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when an item related to one item information of the delivery note information is included in multiple cargoes 7, a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 is executed in parallel with a process of acquiring cargo images of the multiple cargoes 7 sequentially from the terminal device 2. This makes it possible to perform imaging operations of the multiple cargoes 7 continuously without waiting for the cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 to be acquired by the item management device 1, so that the warehousing operation can be performed smoothly even when an item related to one delivery note 6 is included in multiple cargoes 7 and is stored.

[0094] The cargo label information and cargo identification information obtained in step ST145 (FIG. 3) may be obtained based on a common image of the cargo 7, or may be obtained based on images of the cargo 7 captured separately. That is, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 may obtain the cargo label information and cargo identification information from a common image of the cargo 7 that includes both an image of the cargo label 71 and an image of the identification label 72, or may obtain the cargo label information and cargo identification information from images of the cargo 7 captured separately (an image of the cargo 7 that includes an image of the cargo label 71, and an image of the cargo 7 that includes an image of the identification label 72).

[0095] Here, a more specific example of the process of the item management method shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

[0096] First, an example of the process (ST110, FIG. 3) for acquiring invoice information from the image of the invoice 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0097] The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 selects the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 for which delivery note information is to be obtained in response to an instruction from the worker inputted at the input unit 22 (ST200). For example, the second processing unit 28 inputs at the input unit 22 information for specifying a specific delivery note format from among a plurality of delivery note formats registered in the delivery note format DB4 (delivery note format designation information), and transmits it to the item management device 1. The delivery note format designation information may include, for example, information for identifying the type of item (such as a product number) and information regarding the supplier of the item.

[0098] Fig. 7A shows an example of a screen of the terminal device 2 when inputting delivery note format designation information in step ST200. The screen A shown in Fig. 7A has an area A1 in which a list of supplier company names is displayed. When an operator operates to select one supplier from the list displayed in area A1, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transmits information on the supplier selected by the operator to the goods management device 1 as delivery note format designation information.

[0099] When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 inputs the delivery note format designation information from the terminal device 2 (ST205), it transmits a sample image of the delivery note 6 having the delivery note format designated by the delivery note format designation information to the terminal device 2 and displays it on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (ST210, ST215). For example, the delivery note format DB4 has registered therein a sample image (thumbnail image) of the delivery note 6 for each delivery note format. The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires the sample image registered in the delivery note format DB4 for the delivery note format designated by the delivery note format designation information and transmits it to the terminal device 2.

[0100] The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 inputs, at the input unit 22, an operator's instruction indicating whether or not the delivery note format related to the sample image displayed on the display unit 24 is appropriate as the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 from which delivery note information is to be obtained. If, as a result of comparing the actual delivery note 6 with the sample image displayed on the display unit 24, it is determined that the delivery note formats of the two match, an operator's instruction indicating that the delivery note format related to the sample image is appropriate is input.

[0101] FIG. 7B shows an example of the screen of the terminal device 2 when a sample image of the delivery note 6 is displayed in step ST215. The sample image of the delivery note 6 is displayed near the center of screen B shown in FIG. 7B. If button B1 is pressed on screen B, the delivery note format for the sample image is not appropriate (No in ST220). In this case, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 returns to step ST200 and reselects the delivery note format on the screen of FIG. 7A. On the other hand, if button B2 is pressed on screen B, the delivery note format for the sample image is appropriate (Yes in ST220). In this case, the second processing unit 28 proceeds to step ST225 and photographs the delivery note 6.

[0102] Fig. 7C shows an example of a screen of the terminal device 2 when capturing an image of the delivery note 6 in step ST225. The screen C shown in Fig. 7C has a display area C1 of an application program (camera application) that is started when capturing an image in the imaging unit 23 of the terminal device 2. The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 displays an image of a subject in this display area C1, and captures an image of the subject being displayed when a predetermined imaging operation (for example, an operation of pressing a button indicating a camera shutter) is performed. When the button C2 is pressed on the screen C, the second processing unit 28 returns to step ST200 and reselects the delivery note format on the screen of Fig. 7A.

[0103] Fig. 8A shows an example of a screen of the terminal device 2 displayed when an image of the delivery note 6 is captured in the display area C1 of the camera app on screen C (ST225, Fig. 4) shown in Fig. 7C. An image (preview) of the delivery note 6 captured in step ST225 is displayed near the center of screen D shown in Fig. 8A. Above this preview, an area D4 is provided for inputting the number of lines of character strings included in the delivery note information (order number, product number, quantity, etc.) indicated by the subject delivery note 6. In this area D4, the worker inputs the number of lines of character strings on the delivery note 6 (the number of pieces of product information if each line of character string corresponds to one piece of product information).

[0104] When the button D2 is pressed in FIG. 8A, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 returns to step ST225 (screen C in FIG. 7C) and redoes the image of the delivery note 6. When the button D3 is pressed in FIG. 8A, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 returns to step ST225 (screen C in FIG. 7C) and captures an image of another delivery note 6 from which delivery note information is to be acquired. This allows the second processing unit 28 to capture two or more delivery note images. When the button D1 is pressed in FIG. 8A, the second processing unit 28 transmits the captured image of the subject (delivery note image) to the goods management device 1 and transmits the number of lines of the character string entered in the area C4 for each delivery note image to the goods management device 1. When capturing two or more delivery note images, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 may transmit the captured delivery note image and the number of lines of the character string to the goods management device 1 every time the button D3 is pressed.

[0105] In step ST230, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires the delivery note image captured by the terminal device 2 and the number of lines of text on the delivery note 6. The delivery note image is an image that has been confirmed by the worker operating the terminal device 2 as having the same delivery note format as the delivery note 6 shown in the sample image (FIG. 7B) displayed on the terminal device 2.

[0106] The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires at least a portion of the delivery note information based on the delivery note format (the format relating to the position and range of each delivery note item on the delivery note 6) specified by the delivery note format designation information input from the terminal device 2 in step ST205 and the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2 in step ST230 (ST235).

[0107] For example, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 specifies the image range of one or more delivery note items in the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2 by applying the delivery note image acquired from the terminal device 2 to a trained model (first trained model) given in advance for one delivery note format specified by the delivery note format designation information. The first trained model is a model generated using a predetermined machine learning algorithm so as to specify one or more image ranges corresponding to one or more delivery note items in the delivery note 6 from an image of the delivery note 6 having one delivery note format. The machine learning algorithm used to generate the first trained model may be any algorithm, such as an algorithm for training a multilayer neural network by deep learning. For example, the delivery note format DB4 has a first trained model registered for each delivery note format. The first processing unit 18 specifies the image range of one or more delivery note items in the delivery note image captured by the terminal device 2 using the first trained model registered in the delivery note format DB4 for the delivery note format specified by the delivery note format designation information. Then, the first processing unit 18 acquires information on the invoice items corresponding to each of the one or more identified image ranges. For example, the first processing unit 18 acquires character information on the invoice items included in each of the identified image ranges by performing an optical character recognition process on the image range.

[0108] When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires the delivery note information based on the delivery note image in step ST235, the first processing unit 18 acquires the delivery note information using the number of lines of character strings on the delivery note 6 specified by the worker (area D4 of screen D in FIG. 8A) so as to identify the image range of the character strings included in the delivery note information and increase the accuracy of character recognition. For example, when the first processing unit 18 identifies the image range of one or more delivery note items in the delivery note image using the first trained model, the first processing unit 18 identifies the image range of each line of character strings (one or more delivery note items) based on the number of lines of character strings in the delivery note information specified by the worker.

[0109] As described above, in the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, when acquiring delivery note information from an image of a delivery note 6, the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 from which delivery note information is to be acquired is specified by delivery note format designation information (such as the supplier's company name) input by the worker operating the terminal device 2, and a first trained model is determined from this designated delivery note format. Then, the delivery note image captured by the terminal device 2 is applied to this first trained model, thereby identifying the image range of one or more delivery note items in the delivery note image. In this process, delivery note information is acquired using the first trained model generated for each delivery note format, so that delivery note information with higher accuracy can be acquired from the delivery note image compared to the case of using a trained model generated without limiting the delivery note format.

[0110] 4, the delivery note information is acquired based on an image of the delivery note 6 that has been confirmed by the worker operating the terminal device 2 as having the same delivery note format as the delivery note 6 shown in the sample image (FIG. 7B) displayed on the terminal device 2. Therefore, the accuracy of the delivery note information acquired by the first trained model can be improved compared to a case where there is no confirmation by the worker operating the terminal device 2.

[0111] Furthermore, in the process shown in the flowchart of Fig. 4, when acquiring the delivery note information based on the delivery note image, the number of lines of text in the delivery note information specified by the worker is used. Specifically, in the process of identifying the image range of one or more delivery note items in the delivery note image, the image range is identified based on the number of lines of text in the delivery note information specified by the worker. This makes it possible to acquire the necessary delivery note information with high accuracy even if the characters printed on the delivery note 6 are small.

[0112] Next, a modified example of the process (ST110, FIG. 3) for acquiring delivery note information from an image of the delivery note 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 5. In the process shown in the flowchart of Fig. 4, the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 is specified by delivery note format specification information input by the worker operating the terminal device 2, but in the process shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5, the delivery note format is determined based on the image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2.

[0113] The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 captures an image of the delivery note on screen C shown in FIG. 7C, for example, and transmits it to the goods management device 1 (ST300).

[0114] In step ST305, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 acquires an image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2. Based on the acquired image of the delivery note 6, the first processing unit 18 determines the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 in the image (ST310). For example, the first processing unit 18 determines the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 in the image captured by the terminal device 2 by applying the image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2 to a third trained model generated to determine the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 in the image from the image of the delivery note 6. Any machine learning algorithm may be used to generate the third trained model, and may be, for example, an algorithm for training a multilayer neural network by deep learning.

[0115] When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 determines the delivery note format in step ST310, it transmits a sample image of the delivery note 6 having this delivery note format to the terminal device 2, and causes it to be displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 (ST315, ST320). For example, the first processing unit 18 obtains a sample image registered in the delivery note format DB4 for the delivery note format determined in step ST310, and transmits it to the terminal device 2.

[0116] When the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 displays a sample image of the delivery note 6 in step ST320, it displays, for example, screen B of Fig. 7B. If button B1 is pressed on screen B, the delivery note format for the sample image is not appropriate (No in ST325), so the second processing unit 28 returns to step ST300 and redoes the image of the delivery note 6 on the screen of Fig. 7C. On the other hand, if button B2 is pressed on screen B, the delivery note format for the sample image is appropriate (Yes in ST325), so a response notifying that fact is transmitted to the goods management device 1.

[0117] When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 receives a response from the terminal device 2 displaying the sample image of the invoice 6 indicating that the invoice format of the invoice 6 shown in the sample image is appropriate (ST330), the first processing unit 18 acquires at least a part of the invoice information based on the image of the invoice 6 input in step ST305 (the invoice image captured by the terminal device 2) and the invoice format determined in step ST310 (the format related to the position and range of each invoice item in the invoice 6) (ST335). For example, the first processing unit 18 applies the image of the invoice 6 input from the terminal device 2 to a first trained model given in advance for the determined invoice format, thereby specifying the image range of one or more invoice items in the invoice image acquired from the terminal device 2, and acquires information on the invoice item corresponding to the image range from each of the specified one or more image ranges. In this process of specifying the image range, the first processing unit 18 specifies the image range based on the number of lines of the character string of the invoice information specified by the operator.

[0118] 5, the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 in the image is determined based on the image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2. This eliminates the need for the worker to input delivery note format designation information, thereby reducing the workload of the worker.

[0119] Furthermore, in the processing shown in the flowchart of Figure 5, delivery note information is obtained using the first trained model generated for each delivery note format, so that delivery note information with higher accuracy can be obtained from the image of the delivery note 6 compared to the case where a trained model generated without limiting the delivery note format is used.

[0120] Furthermore, in the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, when the worker operating the terminal device 2 confirms that the delivery note format of the delivery note 6 indicated by the sample image (FIG. 7B) displayed on the terminal device 2 is appropriate, the delivery note information is acquired using the first trained model generated for this delivery note format. Therefore, the accuracy of the delivery note information acquired by the first trained model can be improved compared to the case where there is no confirmation by the worker operating the terminal device 2. Note that, if the accuracy of determining the delivery note format by the third trained model is sufficiently high, the confirmation of the sample image in steps ST320 and ST325 may be omitted, thereby reducing the worker's effort of checking the sample image.

[0121] Next, when a consistency determination result between the inventory data and the delivery note information is obtained (ST125, FIG. 3), an example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 2 depending on the determination result and an example of processing by the item management device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 8B to FIG. 9A.

[0122] Fig. 8B shows an example of a screen that the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 displays on the terminal device 2 when it is determined that the goods information in the delivery note information acquired in step ST110 (Figs. 3 to 5) matches the goods information in the warehousing data identified in step ST115 (Yes in ST125, Fig. 3). Screen E shown in Fig. 8B includes an area E1 that displays precautions for warehousing, and a button E2 for transitioning to the process of step ST145 (Figs. 3, 6, and 7) for acquiring cargo label information.

[0123] 8B also includes an area E4 that displays the item information (item number, quantity) of the delivery note information determined to be consistent in step ST125 and the order identification information (order number) associated with the item information. By comparing the item information (item number, quantity) and order identification information (order number) displayed in area E4 with the actual delivery note 6, the worker can confirm that the delivery note information has been correctly acquired from the delivery note image and that the delivery note information is consistent with the inventory data.

[0124] Fig. 8C shows an example of a screen that the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 displays on the terminal device 2 when it is determined that the goods information in the delivery note information and the goods information in the warehousing data do not match (No in ST125, Fig. 3). When the first processing unit 18 displays the screen F shown in Fig. 8C on the terminal device 2, the first processing unit 18 proceeds to error processing in step ST135 (Fig. 3).

[0125] Screen F in Fig. 8C displays the reason why it was determined that the item information in the delivery note information and the item information in the inventory data are inconsistent. In the example of Fig. 8C, the reason for the inconsistency with the inventory data is displayed on screen F for each of the two delivery note information acquired for the two delivery notes. When either of the two buttons F1 or F2 corresponding to the two delivery note information determined to be inconsistent with the inventory data is pressed, second processing unit 28 of terminal device 2 displays screen G (Fig. 9A) for correcting the delivery note information corresponding to the pressed button on display unit 24. When the button F3 is pressed on the screen F of FIG. 8C, the second processing unit 28 proceeds to step ST200 (FIG. 4) and displays the screen A shown in FIG. 7A on the display unit 24. When the button F4 is pressed on the screen F of FIG. 8C, the second processing unit 28 proceeds to step ST225 (FIG. 4) and displays the screen C shown in FIG. 7C on the display unit 24.

[0126] FIG. 9A is a diagram showing an example of a screen of the terminal device 2 when correcting the acquired delivery note information in the error processing (ST135, FIG. 3) when it is determined that there is an inconsistency between the delivery note information and the warehousing data. The screen G shown in FIG. 9A has an area G1 that displays the reason why the inconsistency was determined for each of the item information included in the delivery note information, and input fields G2 to G4 for inputting characters or the like when correcting each piece of information (order number, product number, quantity, etc.) included in each item information. When the button G5 on the screen G is pressed, information including the correction content of each item information input in the input fields G2 to G4 is transmitted to the item management device 1 as an instruction to correct the delivery note information. When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 inputs an instruction to correct each item information from the terminal device 2 in the error processing of step ST135 (FIG. 3), the process returns to step ST120 (FIG. 3). In step ST120, the first processing unit 18 again determines whether the item information in the delivery note information corrected in response to the correction instruction from the terminal device 2 matches the item information in the warehousing data.

[0127] In the above-described error processing (ST135, FIG. 3) of this embodiment, if a mismatch between the item information in the delivery note information and the item information in the warehousing data is determined in the determination processing of step ST120, the item information in the delivery note information is corrected in response to a correction instruction from the terminal device 2, and the determination processing of step ST120 is performed again on the corrected delivery note information. As a result, if the delivery note information cannot be obtained successfully due to dirt on the delivery note 6, the delivery note information can be manually changed before processing can be continued.

[0128] In the above-described error processing (ST135, FIG. 3) of this embodiment, if it is determined in step ST120 that the item information in the delivery note information matches the item information in the warehousing data, the processing of step ST145 (FIGS. 3 and 6) for acquiring cargo label information is executed. Therefore, depending on the result of the determination processing in step ST120 (match / mismatch), it is possible to prevent the work of the worker in the determination processing in step ST145 (such as taking an image of the cargo label 71) from being wasted.

[0129] Next, an example of the process (ST145, Fig. 3) for acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information from an image of the cargo 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 6. The flowchart in Fig. 6 shows the process for inspecting one or more delivery notes 6 that have been determined to match the warehousing data in step ST125 (Fig. 3).

[0130] The first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 provides the terminal device 2 with information about the one or more delivery notes 6 that have been determined to match the warehousing data in step ST125 (FIG. 3) and saved in step ST130 (FIG. 3) (ST137). The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 displays the information about the one or more delivery notes 6 provided from the article management device 1 on the display unit 24, and prompts the worker on the screen of the display unit 24 to select the delivery note 6 and article information to be inspected. When the worker selects the delivery note 6 and article information to be inspected on this screen, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 notifies the article management device 1 of the selected delivery note 6 and article information (ST138).

[0131] FIG. 9B shows an example of a screen displayed on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 in step ST138 (FIG. 6). Screen H shown in FIG. 9B displays information representing one or more pieces of product information included in one or more pieces of delivery note information determined to be consistent with the warehousing data in step ST125 (FIG. 3). In the example of FIG. 9B, screen H displays two items ("Delivery Note 1" and "Delivery Note 2") corresponding to two delivery notes 6. One item ("Delivery Note 1") of the delivery note 6 includes three buttons (H1 to H3) indicating three pieces of part information. The two pieces of product information indicated by buttons H1 and H2 include the same product number (product type identification information) and have different associated order numbers (order identification information). The product information indicated by button H3 includes a product number (product type identification information) different from the product information of buttons H1 and H2. In this way, screen H displays a combination of product number (item type identification information) and order number (order identification information) for each of one or more item information included in one or more delivery note information determined to be consistent with the inventory data in step ST125 (Figure 3).

[0132] To the right of these buttons (H1 to H3) on screen H in FIG. 9B, the relationship between the quantity included in the item information in the cargo label information and the quantity included in the item information in the delivery note information is displayed. The former quantity is displayed to the left of " / ", and the latter quantity is displayed to the right of " / ". In the example of FIG. 9B, since the cargo label information has not yet been acquired, all the quantities included in the item information in the cargo label information are zero. However, when the cargo label information is acquired in step ST435 described later, the quantities included in the item information of the acquired cargo label information are displayed to the left of " / ". When the item related to the item information in the delivery note information is included in multiple cargoes 7, the sum of the quantities included in the item information of the multiple cargo label information acquired for the multiple cargoes 7 is calculated and displayed to the left of " / ". When the quantity included in the item information in the cargo label information matches the quantity included in the item information in the delivery note information, the quantity on the left side of " / " and the quantity on the right side are the same.

[0133] When any of buttons H1 to H3 is pressed on screen H in Fig. 9B, second processing unit 28 of terminal device 2 notifies item management device 1 that the delivery note 6 and item information corresponding to the pressed button have been selected by the worker (ST138). First processing unit 18 of item management device 1 identifies one cargo label format associated with one item type identification information included in the item information of the delivery note 6 notified from terminal device 2 in step ST138 (ST400). For example, first processing unit 18 acquires information on the cargo label format associated with the one item type identification information from cargo label format DB 5.

[0134] When the delivery note 6 and the item information are selected in step ST138, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transitions to screen J in Fig. 9C. On this screen J, the second processing unit 28 captures a still image of the cargo 7 by the imaging unit 23 in order to read characters appearing on at least one of the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72 included in the image of the cargo 7 by optical character recognition processing (ST430).

[0135] 9C has a display area J1 of a camera app that is activated when capturing an image in the imaging unit 23. When a button J4 below the display area J1 is pressed while an image of a subject is displayed in the display area J1, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 captures an image of the subject being displayed in the display area J1. The second processing unit 28 transmits the captured still image of the cargo 7 to the article management device 1.

[0136] When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires a still image of the cargo 7 captured by the terminal device 2, it performs a process of reading characters appearing on at least one of the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72 contained in the acquired still image by optical character recognition processing (ST435).

[0137] That is, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 acquires at least a portion of the cargo label information based on the cargo label format (format related to the position and range of each cargo label item on the cargo label 71) identified in step ST400 and the image of the cargo 7 (a still image including an image of the cargo label 71) acquired from the terminal device 2 in step ST435. For example, the first processing unit 18 applies an image of the cargo 7 (a still image including an image of the cargo label 71) captured by the terminal device 2 to a learned model (second learned model) given in advance for the cargo label format identified in step ST400, thereby identifying image ranges of one or more cargo label items in the image of the cargo 7 acquired from the terminal device 2. The second learned model is a model generated using a predetermined machine learning algorithm so as to identify one or more image ranges corresponding to one or more cargo label items in the cargo label 71 from an image of the cargo label 71 having one cargo label format. Any machine learning algorithm may be used to generate the second learned model, and may be, for example, an algorithm for training a multilayer neural network by deep learning. For example, the cargo label format DB5 has a second learned model registered for each cargo label format. The first processing unit 18 acquires cargo label information corresponding to the cargo label 71 included in the image of the cargo 7 captured by the terminal device 2, using the second learned model registered in the cargo label format DB5 for the cargo label format identified in step ST400. Then, the first processing unit 18 acquires information on the cargo label items corresponding to each of the one or more identified image areas. For example, the first processing unit 18 performs an optical character recognition process on each of the identified image areas to acquire character information on the cargo label items included in the image area.

[0138] When reading characters appearing on the identification label 72 by optical character recognition processing, the first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 may use a trained model (trained model for identification label) generated to identify an image range of characters in the identification label 72 from an image of the identification label 72. For example, the first processing unit 18 may apply the image of the identification label 72 input from the terminal device 2 to the trained model for identification label to identify an image range of characters in the identification label 72, and may acquire character information in the identification label 72 included in this image range by performing optical character recognition processing on this identified image range.

[0139] Following capturing the still image in step ST430, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 captures a video of the cargo 7 for decoding the optical code appearing on at least one of the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72 included in the image of the cargo 7 (ST440). For example, when the button J4 is pressed while the cargo 7 is displayed in the display area J1 of the screen J in FIG. 9C to capture a still image of the cargo 7, the second processing unit 28 subsequently transitions to a screen L shown in FIG. 10B and captures a video of the cargo 7. The screen L in FIG. 10B has a display area L1 of a camera app that captures a video for reading the optical code. The second processing unit 28 streams the video of the cargo 7 displayed in the display area L1 to the goods management device 1.

[0140] When the first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 acquires the video of the cargo 7 transmitted by streaming from the terminal device 2, it performs a process of decoding an optical code (such as a barcode) appearing on at least one of the cargo label 71 and the identification label 72 included in the acquired video (ST445). The first processing unit 18 acquires at least a part of the cargo identification information and the cargo label information by the decoding process of the optical code. For example, the first processing unit 18 may acquire the cargo label information by the optical character recognition process of step ST435, and acquire the cargo identification information by the decoding process of step ST445.

[0141] When the button L2 is pressed on the screen L of FIG. 10B, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 ends the streaming transmission of the video of the cargo 7 displayed in the display area L1, and transitions again to the screen J of FIG. 9C. This makes the terminal device 2 ready to capture the next cargo 7. If the goods related to the goods information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 (FIG. 6) are also included in the other cargo 7 (Yes in ST450), the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 captures the images (still images, video) of the other cargo 7 by the same processing as in steps ST430 and ST440 described above, and transmits them to the goods management device 1. If the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 has not yet finished capturing the images of the cargo 7 in the terminal device 2 (No in ST460), it acquires the cargo label information and the cargo identification information based on the images (still images, video) of the cargo 7 acquired from the terminal device 2 by the same processing as in steps ST435 and ST445 described above.

[0142] If multiple cargoes 7 include an item related to one item information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 (FIG. 6), the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 repeatedly performs a process (ST435, ST445) of acquiring images (still images, video) of the cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2 and acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information. In this case, the first processing unit 18 executes a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information for each cargo 7 in parallel with a process of sequentially acquiring images of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. That is, the first processing unit 18 executes the above-mentioned process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information from the acquired images of the cargoes 7 while sequentially acquiring images (still images, video) of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. Even if the communication speed between the terminal device 2 and the item management device 1 is slow, or if the processing (such as optical character recognition processing) in the item management device 1 is slow, the worker can continuously perform image capture operations (ST430, ST440) of multiple cargoes 7 without waiting for the cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 to be acquired by the item management device 1.

[0143] Screen J shown in Fig. 9C has an area J5 that displays the number of pieces of cargo 7 that have been imaged for one piece of item information selected in step ST138 (Fig. 6). The second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 increases the number of pieces of cargo 7 displayed in area J5 by one each time an image (still image, video) of one piece of cargo 7 is captured in steps ST430 and ST440. This allows the worker to proceed with the work while correctly understanding how many pieces of cargo 7 have been imaged for the piece of item information selected in step ST138 (Fig. 6).

[0144] Moreover, the screen J shown in FIG. 9C has an area J6 that displays the order identification information (order number in the example of FIG. 9C) associated with one item information selected in step ST138 when the image capturing work of the cargo 7 is being performed for that item information. That is, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 generates the screen J so that the order identification information (order number, etc.) associated with the item information selected in step ST138 is included in the area J6, and displays it on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2. This allows the worker to correctly grasp which order identification information (order number) of the item information associated with the cargo 7 being inspected when inspecting multiple item information with different order identification information (order number, etc.). This effectively avoids the mistake of capturing an image of an unrelated cargo 7.

[0145] Furthermore, the screen J shown in FIG. 9C has an area J7 that displays the item information of the cargo label information acquired for the imaged cargo 7 (in the example of FIG. 9C, the quantity of items included in the cargo 7 imaged immediately before) when an image capturing operation is being performed on a plurality of cargoes 7 for one item information selected in step ST138. That is, when an item related to one item information selected in step ST138 is included in a plurality of cargoes 7, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 generates the screen J so that at least a part of the item information (such as the quantity of items) included in one cargo label information acquired for the one cargo 7 is included in the area J7 each time an image capturing operation is performed on the image capturing unit 23 of the terminal device 2, and displays the screen J on the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2. This allows the worker to check on the screen of the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 whether the item information (such as the quantity of items) of the cargo label information shown in the captured cargo label 71 has been correctly acquired when images of a plurality of cargoes 7 are captured sequentially for one item information.

[0146] Moreover, the screen J shown in FIG. 9C includes a button J8 for correcting the item information of one piece of cargo label information displayed in the area J7 (in the example of FIG. 9C, the quantity of items included in the cargo 7 captured immediately before). When the button J8 is pressed, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 displays a screen (not shown) on the display unit 24 for correcting the item information (quantity of items) of one piece of cargo label information displayed in the area J7, and transmits the worker's correction instruction input on this screen to the item management device 1. When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 receives the worker's correction instruction from the terminal device 2, it corrects the item information of the piece of cargo label information in accordance with the correction instruction. This allows the worker to immediately correct the item information to the correct item information when he or she confirms on the screen J that the item information (such as the quantity of items) of the cargo label information shown on the captured cargo label 71 has been incorrectly acquired.

[0147] 9C, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 notifies the item management device 1 that the imaging work of all cargo 7 including the item related to the one item information selected in step ST138 has been completed (ST455). When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 receives this notification of the imaging completion from the terminal device 2 (Yes in ST460), it determines whether the item information in the cargo label information acquired for all cargo 7 including the item related to the one item information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 is consistent with the one item information on the selected delivery note 6 (one item information included in the delivery note information) (ST170).

[0148] For example, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 checks whether the item type identification information (such as item number) included in the item information of the cargo label information for each cargo 7 acquired in step ST435 matches the item type identification information (such as item number) included in the item information of one of the delivery notes 6 selected in step ST138, and if a mismatch in item type identification information is confirmed for any of the cargo 7, it determines that the delivery note 6 and the cargo label 71 are inconsistent (No in ST175). In addition, the first processing unit 18 compares the quantity of items contained in the item information of the cargo label information of each cargo 7 obtained in step ST435 with the quantity of items contained in the item information of one of the delivery notes 6 selected in step ST138, and if the quantity of items in the cargo label information of any of the cargo 7 is greater than the quantity of items on the delivery note 6, it determines that the delivery note 6 and the cargo label 71 are inconsistent (No in ST175). Furthermore, the first processing unit 18 checks whether the order identification information (such as an order number) included in the cargo label information of each cargo 7 acquired in step ST435 matches the order identification information (such as an order number) associated with one of the item information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138, and if a mismatch in the order identification information is confirmed for any of the cargo 7, it determines that the delivery note 6 and the cargo label 71 are inconsistent (No in ST175).

[0149] When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 determines that the delivery note 6 and the cargo label 71 are inconsistent (No in ST175), it executes a predetermined error process (ST180). When the first processing unit 18 proceeds to the error process in step ST180, it inputs, from the terminal device 2, a correction instruction given by the worker to correct the cargo label information acquired in step ST145, and performs the consistency determination in step ST170 again for the cargo label information corrected in accordance with this correction instruction.

[0150] Fig. 10A is a diagram illustrating a screen of the terminal device 2 when the process proceeds to the error process of step ST180. When the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 proceeds to the error process of step ST180, it causes the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to display, for example, a screen K shown in Fig. 10A. That is, when the first processing unit 18 acquires cargo images of all cargoes 7 including goods related to one item of goods information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 and acquires cargo label information and cargo identification information of all the cargoes 7 (ST145), if it determines that there is an inconsistency between the goods information of the cargo label information acquired for at least some of the cargoes 7 among all the cargoes 7 and the one item information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 (No in ST175), it causes the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to display a screen K (Fig. 10A) indicating that there is an inconsistency.

[0151] 10A, the cargo label information of one cargo 7 determined to be inconsistent in step ST170 is displayed in a correctable manner. In the example of FIG. 10A, the screen K is provided with an input field K1 for correcting the data of the optical code (barcode) read in step ST445, and input fields K2 to K4 for correcting the item information acquired in step ST435. When the button K7 on the screen K of FIG. 10A is pressed, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transmits to the item management device 1 an instruction to correct the cargo label information input by the operator into each input field (K1 to K4) of the screen K.

[0152] When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 receives the correction instruction inputted on the screen K from the terminal device 2, the first processing unit 18 performs the judgment process of step ST170 again based on the cargo label information corrected in response to the correction instruction. That is, when the first processing unit 18 receives a correction instruction (the correction instruction inputted in the input fields K1 to K4) from the terminal device 2 from the worker requesting that the one cargo label information acquired in step ST145 be corrected in order to correct an inconsistency in the one cargo label information shown on the screen K, the first processing unit 18 corrects the item information included in the one cargo label information in response to the correction instruction. Then, the first processing unit 18 judges again whether the item information in the cargo label information acquired for all cargoes 7 including the item related to the one item information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 is consistent with the item information included in the cargo label information acquired for all the cargoes 7 (the corrected item information for the one cargo label information) (ST170). If the item information included in the corrected cargo label information still does not match the item information on the delivery note 6 (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to again display screen K in Fig. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct this cargo label information. Also, if the item information included in the corrected cargo label information matches the item information on the delivery note 6 but the item information of other cargo label information does not match the item information on the delivery note 6 (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to further display screen K in Fig. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct the other cargo label information.

[0153] When the button K6 is pressed on the screen K of FIG. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct one piece of cargo label information, the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 transitions to the screen J of FIG. 9C, captures an image of the cargo 7 corresponding to the one piece of cargo label information again, and transmits the captured cargo image to the goods management device 1 (ST430, ST440). The first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 reacquires from the terminal device 2 the image of the cargo 7 captured again to correct the inconsistency of the one piece of cargo label information, and reacquires the cargo label information and the cargo identification information based on the reacquired image of the cargo 7 (ST435, ST445). The first processing unit 18 then judges again whether the goods information of the cargo label information acquired for all the cargoes 7 including the goods related to the one piece of goods information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 is consistent with the goods information included in the cargo label information acquired for all the cargoes 7 (the goods information after reacquisition for the one piece of cargo label information) (ST170). If the item information included in the reacquired cargo label information still does not match the item information on the delivery note 6 (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to again display screen K in Fig. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct this cargo label information. Furthermore, if the item information included in the corrected cargo label information matches the item information on the delivery note 6 but the item information in other cargo label information does not match the item information on the delivery note 6 (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to further display screen K in Fig. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct the other cargo label information.

[0154] When button K5 is pressed on screen K of Fig. 10A for inputting an instruction to correct one piece of cargo label information, first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 causes screen L of Fig. 10B to be displayed on the terminal device 2, and returns to step ST445 to reacquire a video of one piece of cargo 7 corresponding to that piece of cargo label information. When button L2 on screen L is pressed, first processing unit 18 decodes the optical code based on the reacquired video for that piece of cargo 7, and reacquires information on the optical code obtained by decoding (ST445).

[0155] If the item information of the one of the delivery notes 6 selected in step ST138 matches the item information of the cargo label information of each cargo 7 acquired in step ST145, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 compares the total quantity of items of all cargoes (the sum of the quantities of items included in each cargo 7) calculated based on the item information of the cargo label information acquired for all cargoes 7 with the quantity of items included in the one of the item information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138. If the result of this comparison shows that the two match, the first processing unit 18 determines that the item information of the one of the delivery notes 6 selected in step ST138 and the item information of the cargo label information acquired for all cargoes 7 including the items related to the one of the item information are finally consistent (Yes in ST175).

[0156] When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 determines that the item information of one of the delivery notes 6 selected in step ST138 matches the item information of all of the cargo label information acquired in step ST145 (Yes in ST175), it associates the item information of the cargo label information acquired based on an image of the cargo 7 with the cargo identification information acquired based on an image of the cargo 7 for all of the cargoes 7 including the item related to that one of the item information on the selected delivery note 6, and registers them in the management DB 3 (ST185).The first processing unit 18 may also create performance data for each order number, and register the created performance data in the management DB 3. In this case, the first processing unit 18 notifies the terminal device 2 that the item information of the cargo label information associated with the cargo identification information has been registered in the management DB3, and the second processing unit 28 of the terminal device 2 causes this notification to be displayed on the display unit 24 (ST190). FIG. 11A shows an example of a screen displayed on the terminal device 2 in step ST190. Screen N shown in FIG. 11A displays item type identification information (product number), total quantity of items, and serial number in the item information of the cargo label information registered in the management DB3. When button N1 is pressed on screen N (FIG. 11A), the first processing unit 18 returns the screen of the terminal device 2 to screen H of FIG. 9B.

[0157] On the other hand, when the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 determines that one item information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 is not consistent with the item information on the cargo label information acquired for all cargoes 7 including the item related to the one item information (No in ST175), the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to display a screen M shown in FIG. 10C in the error processing of step ST180. The screen M displays the reason why the item information on the delivery note information and the cargo label information are inconsistent, and also displays the item type identification information (product number) and the total number of items in the item information on the cargo label information. When the button M1 is pressed on the screen M, the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to display a screen J (FIG. 9C) that activates a camera app, and causes the terminal device 2 to re-image all cargoes 7 (ST430, ST440), and re-acquires cargo label information and cargo identification information based on the image of the captured cargo 7 (ST435, ST445). When the button M2 is pressed on the screen M, the first processing unit 18 transitions the screen of the terminal device 2 to a screen O shown in FIG. 11B, which will be described later.

[0158] When the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 registers item information of one or more cargo label information that matches item information of one of the delivery notes 6 selected on screen H (Figure 9B) in the management DB 3 (ST185), if there is item information among the selected delivery note information that has not yet been judged to match with the cargo label information (Yes in ST195), the first processing unit 18 repeats the processing from step ST137 onwards for this unjudged item information.

[0159] The first processing unit 18 of the article management device 1 causes the display unit 24 of the terminal device 2 to display information (in the example of FIG. 9B, buttons H1 to H3) representing each of the pieces of article information on the screen H of FIG. 9B in a manner that makes it possible to determine whether or not a determination result that the article information in the delivery note information and the article information in the cargo label information match has been obtained in the determination process of step ST170 (ST138). For example, the first processing unit 18 displays the color of the button of the article information displayed on the screen H in a different color depending on whether or not it has been determined in step ST170 that they match. Furthermore, the first processing unit 18 prevents the worker from selecting the button of the article information determined to match in step ST170 in step ST138. As a result, the selection instruction of the worker input from the terminal device 2 to the article management device 1 in step ST138 is a selection instruction for the article information that has not been determined to match in the determination process of step ST170, among the one or more pieces of article information included in the one or more pieces of delivery note information acquired in step ST110 (FIGS. 3 to 5). The first processing unit 18 of the article management apparatus 1 repeats the process of step ST145 described above every time an instruction to select article information (ST138) is input from the terminal device 2.

[0160] When the button H5 is pressed on the screen H of FIG. 9B, if there is any of the multiple item information included in the one or more delivery note information acquired in step ST110 (FIG. 3) that has not yet been subjected to the judgment of step ST170, the first processing unit 18 of the item management device 1 causes the terminal device 2 to display the screen O of FIG. 11B. When the button O1 is pressed on the screen O of FIG. 11B, the first processing unit 18 returns the screen of the terminal device 2 to the screen H of FIG. 9B. When the button O2 is pressed on the screen O of FIG. 11B, the first processing unit 18 returns the screen of the terminal device 2 to the screen A of FIG. 7A. In this case, the item information that has been subjected to the judgment of step ST170 has already been registered in the management DB 3 by the processing of step ST185. The remaining item information that has not been subjected to the judgment of step ST170 will be registered in the management DB 3 by another method (for example, the worker directly inputs the item information into the management DB 3). On the other hand, when button H5 is pressed on screen H of Fig. 9B, if the determination results in ST170 for all of the item information included in the one or more pieces of delivery note information acquired in step ST110 (Fig. 3) indicate consistency, the first processing unit 18 causes the terminal device 2 to display screen P of Fig. 11C. When button P1 is pressed on screen P, the first processing unit 18 returns the screen of the terminal device 2 to screen A shown in Fig. 7A.

[0161] As described above, in the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, when a plurality of cargoes 7 include an item related to one item information of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138, a process (ST435, ST445) is performed to acquire cargo label information and cargo identification information for each of the plurality of cargoes 7 based on an image of the cargo 7. When the cargo label information and cargo identification information for each cargo 7 are acquired, a process (ST170) is performed to determine whether the item information of the one item of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 matches the item information of the plurality of cargo label information acquired for the plurality of cargoes 7 including the item related to the one item information. Then, when it is determined that the item information of the one item of the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 matches the item information of the plurality of cargo label information, a process (ST185) is performed to associate the item information of the cargo label information acquired based on the image of the cargo 7 with the cargo identification information acquired based on the image of the cargo 7 for each of the plurality of cargoes 7 including the item related to the one item information, and to register them in the management DB 3. As a result, even if an item related to one item information in the delivery note information is included in multiple cargoes 7, the consistency between the cargo label information and the delivery note information for the multiple cargoes 7 can be determined, and the item information and cargo identification information of the cargo label information for each cargo 7 that passes this determination can be associated and registered in the management DB3.

[0162] In addition, in the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, a cargo label format associated with the item type identification information is identified according to the item type identification information included in the item information, and a second trained model is determined from this identified cargo label format. Then, by applying an image of the cargo 7 (an image including the cargo label 71) captured by the terminal device 2 to this second trained model, an image range of one or more cargo label items in the image of the cargo 7 is identified, and from each of the identified one or more image ranges, information on the cargo label item corresponding to the image range is acquired by optical character recognition processing or the like. In this process, since the cargo label information is acquired using the second trained model generated for each cargo label format, it is possible to acquire cargo label information with higher accuracy from the cargo label 71 included in the image of the cargo 7 compared to the case of using a trained model generated without limiting the cargo label format.

[0163] 6, a still image of the cargo 7 is captured by the terminal device 2 in order to read characters appearing on the cargo label 71 or the identification label 72 by optical character recognition processing, and following the capture of this still image, a video of the cargo 7 is captured by the terminal device 2 in order to decode the optical code appearing on the cargo label 71 or the identification label 72. Then, in the goods management device 1, based on the captured still image of the cargo 7, at least a portion of the cargo label information and the cargo identification information are obtained by optical character recognition processing, and based on the captured video of the cargo 7, at least a portion of the cargo label information and the cargo identification information are obtained by optical code decoding processing. Therefore, by successively capturing a still image and a video of the cargo 7, it is possible to ensure that the cargo label information and the cargo identification information obtained based on the still image and the video are associated with each other. In the process shown in the flowchart of Figure 6, a still image of the cargo 7 to be used for optical character recognition processing is captured followed by capture of a video of the cargo 7 to be used for decoding the optical code, but the reverse of this example may also be performed, where a still image of the cargo 7 is captured followed by capture of a video of the cargo 7.

[0164] In the process shown in the flowchart of Fig. 6, when one or more pieces of delivery note information determined to match the warehousing data in step ST120 includes multiple pieces of product information, a process (ST435, ST445) is performed to acquire one or more pieces of cargo label information and one or more pieces of cargo identification information based on an image of the cargo 7 for each of the multiple pieces of product information, and a process (ST170) is performed to determine whether one piece of product information in the delivery note information matches with product information in one or more pieces of cargo label information acquired for one or more pieces of cargo 7 including a product related to the one piece of product information. Then, when it is determined that at least one piece of product information in the multiple pieces of product information matches with product information in one or more pieces of cargo label information, a process (ST185) is performed to associate the product information in the cargo label information acquired based on an image of the cargo 7 with the cargo identification information acquired based on an image of the cargo 7 for each of one or more pieces of cargo 7 including a product related to the at least one piece of product information and register them in the management DB 3. As a result, even if one or more pieces of delivery note information that are determined to match the warehousing data in step ST120 contain multiple pieces of item information, the consistency between the cargo label information and the delivery note information can be determined for each of the multiple pieces of item information, and the item information of the cargo label information that passes this determination can be associated with cargo identification information and registered in the management DB3.

[0165] 6, if multiple cargoes 7 contain items related to one item of item information on the delivery note 6 selected in step ST138 (FIG. 6), a process of acquiring cargo label information and cargo identification information for each cargo 7 is executed in parallel with a process of sequentially acquiring images of the multiple cargoes 7 from the terminal device 2. This makes it possible to continuously perform imaging operations for the multiple cargoes 7 without waiting for the cargo label information and cargo identification information for each cargo 7 to be acquired by the item management device 1, so that the warehousing operation can be performed smoothly even when multiple cargoes 7 contain items related to one delivery note 6.

[0166] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes various variations.

[0167] The cargo may be, for example, cardboard boxes or plastic containers containing items.

[0168] The terminal device is not limited to a device such as a smartphone that can be carried by an operator, but may be a fixedly installed camera device. For example, the cargo transported on the transport rollers may be automatically captured by a fixed camera device (terminal device), and the captured image of the cargo (image including the cargo label and the identification label) may be automatically transmitted from the camera device (terminal device) to the goods management device.

[0169] The terminal device that captures the image of the delivery note and the imaging device that captures the image of the cargo may be the same device or different devices.

[0170] When optical character recognition processing is performed in the processing of step ST110 or step ST145 in FIG. 3, the character information obtained as a result of the optical character recognition processing may be displayed on terminal device 2, and the character information as a result of the optical character recognition processing may be modified in accordance with instructions from an operator inputted to terminal device 2.

[0171] When optical character recognition processing is performed in the processing of step ST110 or step ST145 in FIG. 3, the range of the image on which optical character recognition processing is performed may be reconfigured in response to an instruction input by an operator to the terminal device 2.

[0172] When optical character recognition processing is performed in the processing of step ST110 or step ST145 in FIG. 3, the character string to be processed may be displayed on the terminal device 2 in an image to be subjected to optical character recognition processing surrounded by an arbitrary shape (e.g., a rectangular shape).

[0173] When a delivery note contains a mixture of multiple order numbers and cargo 7 is received for each order number, the processing of steps ST140 to ST190 in FIG. 3 may be performed for the cargo 7 corresponding to each order number.

[0174] When multiple product numbers correspond to one order number on the delivery note and the cargo 7 is received for each product number, the processing of steps ST140 to ST190 in FIG. 3 may be performed for the cargo 7 corresponding to each product number.

[0175] When one order number and one item number are written on the delivery note, and multiple cargoes 7 are received for this one item number, the processing of steps ST140 to ST190 in FIG. 3 may be performed for each of the multiple cargoes 7 being received.

[0176] In steps ST105 and ST140 of FIG. 3, when the terminal device 2 captures an image of an object (delivery note 6, cargo 7), it may be possible to repeatedly redo the image capture (cancel the captured image and capture a new image) in accordance with instructions input by the worker.

[0177] When the quantity of goods to be stocked in the warehousing data is greater than the quantity of goods written on the delivery note, each time step ST185 in FIG. 3 (the process of registering goods information in the management DB 3) is performed for cargo 7 corresponding to the same order identification information (e.g., order number), the quantity of goods (the quantity of goods whose stock has been confirmed) in the goods information registered in the management DB 3 may be subtracted from the quantity of goods to be stocked in the warehousing data, and the remaining number after the subtraction (the remaining number of goods to be stocked) may be displayed on the terminal device 2. Furthermore, each time this subtraction is performed, the quantity of goods to be stocked in the warehousing data may be updated to the remaining number after the subtraction (the remaining number of goods to be stocked). In this way, each time cargo 7 with the same order identification information is stocked, the quantity of goods to be stocked in the warehousing data is reduced by the number of goods included in the stocked cargo 7.

[0178] If there is no delivery note 6 and only the warehousing data is acquired, the processes of steps ST105 to ST130 in the flowchart shown in Fig. 3 may be omitted. In this case, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 may determine in step ST170 whether the goods information included in the cargo label information acquired from the image of the cargo 7 matches the goods information included in the warehousing data acquired in step ST100, and may execute the process of step ST185 if it is determined that the goods information matches.

[0179] On the other hand, there may be cases where the delivery note 6 exists but the order identification information (such as the order number) is not recorded on the delivery note 6, and inventory data linked to the order identification information is not provided. In such cases, the first processing unit 18 of the goods management device 1 may omit the process of matching the inventory data with the delivery note (ST100 to ST103, ST115 to ST125: FIG. 3), and instead perform a process of determining whether or not information on a predetermined delivery note item (such as a product number) in the delivery note information acquired from the captured image of the delivery note in step ST110 is appropriate. For example, a list of known information appropriate as information on a predetermined delivery note item in the delivery note information (such as a list of product numbers) may be stored in the first storage unit 17 or a database (not shown). In this case, the first processing unit 18 may check whether the information on the predetermined delivery note item included in the delivery note information acquired from the delivery note image is registered in this list. If the information included in the delivery note information is registered in the list, the first processing unit 18 may determine that the information is appropriate, and execute the processes from step ST130 (FIG. 3) onward.

[0180] In the flowchart shown in Fig. 4, the position and range of the image range of each delivery note item in the image of the delivery note 6 is specified based on the delivery note format specified by the delivery note format specification information input from the terminal device 2, and information on each delivery note item is obtained from the specified image range, but the present invention is not limited to this example. That is, if the delivery note 6 includes an optical code (such as a barcode), a process of obtaining delivery note information from a still image of the delivery note 6 by optical character recognition processing and a process of obtaining delivery note information by decoding the optical code from a moving image of the delivery note 6 may be executed separately, similar to the processing in steps ST435 and ST445 in Fig. 6.

[0181] Fig. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a modified example of the process (ST110, Fig. 3) for acquiring invoice information from an image of the invoice 6. The flowchart shown in Fig. 12 is obtained by replacing step ST225 in the flowchart of Fig. 4 with steps ST225A and ST225B, deleting steps ST230 and ST235 in the flowchart of Fig. 4, and adding steps ST240 and ST245, and the other steps are the same as those in the flowchart shown in Fig. 4. Steps ST225A, ST225B, ST240, and ST245 in the flowchart of Fig. 12 correspond to steps ST430, ST440, ST435, and ST445 in the flowchart of Fig. 6, respectively. That is, each step in the former (Fig. 12) corresponds to each step in the latter (Fig. 6) where the image (still image, video) of the cargo 7 is replaced with the image (still image, video) of the delivery note 6, and the cargo label information is replaced with the delivery note information.

[0182] 12, the first processing unit 18 acquires a still image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2, and reads characters appearing on the delivery note 6 contained in the still image of the delivery note 6 by optical character recognition processing based on the acquired still image of the delivery note 6 (ST240). The first processing unit 18 also acquires a moving image of the delivery note 6 captured by the terminal device 2, and decodes the optical code appearing on the delivery note 6 contained in the moving image of the delivery note 6 based on the acquired moving image of the delivery note 6 (ST245). The terminal device 2 successively performs step ST225A of capturing a still image of the delivery note 6 and step ST225B of capturing a moving image of the delivery note 6.

[0183] In the example of the flowchart in Fig. 6, the consistency determination process in step ST170 is performed after the cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 are acquired in step ST145, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In another embodiment of the present invention, the consistency determination process in step ST170 may be performed in parallel with the process of acquiring the cargo label information and cargo identification information of each cargo 7 in step ST145. This makes it easier to quickly obtain the consistency determination result in step ST170.

[0184] In the above-described embodiment, the image of the delivery note 6 and the image of the cargo 7 are captured by the terminal device 2, but the present invention is not limited to this example. In other embodiments of the present invention, the image of the delivery note 6 and the image of the cargo 7 may be captured by a camera of an imaging device provided in the item management device 1. Furthermore, at least a part of the processing executed by the item management device 1 in the above-described embodiment may be executed by the terminal device 2.

[0185] Below, additional notes related to this embodiment will be given. [1] An article management method performed by an article management device, the item management device is capable of accessing a management database that stores information about received items; The shipment containing said goods is accompanied by a delivery note; the delivery note indicates delivery note information including item information regarding the item in the accompanying shipment, The item information includes one item type identification information, The item type identification information is information for identifying the type of the item, A cargo label and an identification label are affixed to each of the cargo items; the cargo label indicates cargo label information including at least a portion of the item information regarding the item in the cargo to which the cargo label is affixed; The identification label indicates cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each of the cargo items; a first image acquisition step of acquiring an invoice image obtained by capturing an image of the invoice; a first information acquisition step of acquiring the delivery note information indicated on the delivery note based on the acquired delivery note image; a second image acquisition step of acquiring, for each of the cargo, one or more cargo images in which the cargo is imaged, the cargo images including an image of the cargo label affixed to the cargo and an image of the identification label affixed to the cargo; a second information acquisition step of acquiring the cargo label information indicated on the cargo label and the cargo identification information indicated on the identification label based on the acquired cargo image; a first consistency determination step of determining whether one of the items included in the acquired delivery note information is consistent with the item information included in one or more of the cargo label information acquired for one or more of the cargoes including the item related to the one item of the item information; a registration step of registering, in the management database, the item information included in the acquired cargo label information and the acquired cargo identification information for each of the one or more cargoes including the item related to the one item information, in association with each other, when the first matching determination step determines that the one item information included in the delivery note information matches the item information included in one or more cargo label information. How to manage goods. [2] When the item related to one of the item information of the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes, a process of acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of each of the cargoes is executed in the second information acquisition process in parallel with a process of sequentially acquiring the cargo images of the plurality of cargoes in the second image acquisition process. The item management method described in [1]. [3] When the item related to one of the item information in the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes, in parallel with the process of acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of each of the cargoes in the second information acquisition process, a process of determining whether the item information in the cargo label information is consistent with the one of the item information in the delivery note information is executed for each of the cargoes in the first consistency determination process. [2] An item management method as described above. [4] The second image acquisition step includes acquiring the cargo image captured by the camera each time an image capturing operation of the camera is performed by a worker performing a warehousing operation, a first information display step of displaying, on a display device that displays information to the worker, at least a part of the item information included in one of the cargo label information acquired by the second information acquisition step for one of the cargoes, each time the imaging operation is performed for one of the cargoes, when the item related to one of the item information in the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes; An item management method according to any one of [1] to [3]. [5] the second information acquisition step includes, when a correction instruction from the worker is input requesting correction of the item information of one of the cargo label information items displayed on the display device in the first information display step, correcting the one of the cargo label information items in accordance with the correction instruction; [4] An item management method as described in the above. [6] a second information display step of displaying information indicating the presence of the inconsistency on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation when the cargo images of all the cargoes including the item related to one of the item information of the delivery note information are acquired in the second image acquisition step, and the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of all the cargoes are acquired in the second information acquisition step, and when it is determined in the first consistency determination step that there is an inconsistency between the item information of the cargo label information acquired for at least a part of all the cargoes and the item information of the delivery note information, the first consistency determination step includes, when a correction instruction from the worker is input requesting that the item information included in at least one of the cargo label information pieces acquired in the second information acquisition step be corrected in order to correct the inconsistency displayed in the second information display step, correcting the item information included in the at least one of the cargo label information pieces in accordance with the correction instruction, and then determining again whether the item information included in the one or more of the cargo label information pieces acquired for all of the cargoes is consistent with the item information in the delivery note information; An item management method according to any one of [1] to [5]. [7] a second information display step of displaying information indicating the presence of the inconsistency on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation, when the cargo images of all the cargoes including the item related to one of the item information of the delivery note information are acquired in the second image acquisition step, and the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of all the cargoes are acquired in the second information acquisition step, and it is determined in the first consistency determination step that there is an inconsistency between the item information of the cargo label information acquired for at least a part of all the cargoes and the item information of the delivery note information, The second image acquisition step includes reacquiring a cargo image of one of the cargoes in order to correct the inconsistency displayed in the second information display step; the second information acquisition step includes reacquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of the one cargo based on the cargo image of the one cargo reacquired in the second image acquisition step; the first consistency determination step includes determining again whether the item information included in the cargo label information of all the cargoes including the cargo label information reacquired in the second information acquisition step is consistent with the item information of the delivery note information; An item management method according to any one of [1] to [6]. [8] the first information acquisition step includes, when an instruction from the worker indicating the number of lines of character strings of the item information included in the delivery note information indicated by one of the delivery note images acquired in the first image acquisition step is input, acquiring the one of the delivery note information based on the input instruction and the one of the delivery note images; An item management method according to any one of [1] to [7]. [9] The invoice information includes order identification information for identifying each order, Each of the item information items is associated with one of the order identification information items, A combination of the item type identification information included in the item information and the order identification information associated with the item information is different for each item information, a warehousing data acquisition step of acquiring warehousing data including the order identification information and the item information; a warehousing data identifying step of identifying the warehousing data corresponding to the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquiring step based on the order identification information included in the delivery note information; a second consistency determination step of determining whether the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step is consistent with the item information included in the warehousing data identified in the warehousing data identification step; the registration step includes: determining in the second consistency determination step that the item information included in the warehousing data identified in the warehousing data identification step is consistent with the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step; and when determining in the first consistency determination step that the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step is consistent with the item information included in the cargo label information acquired in the second information acquisition step, associating the item information in the cargo label information with the cargo identification information and registering them in the management database. An item management method according to any one of [1] to [8].

[10] the cargo label includes one or more cargo label items; the cargo label information includes information regarding at least some of the cargo label items in the cargo label; a cargo label format associated with the cargo label, the cargo label format relating to a position and extent of one or more of the cargo label features included on the cargo label, the cargo label format being associated with the item type identification information; The second information acquisition step includes: A step of identifying the cargo label format associated with the item type identification information included in the item information of the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step; and acquiring at least a part of the cargo label information for each of the one or more cargoes including the item related to the item information of the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step, based on the specified cargo label format and the cargo image acquired in the second image acquisition step; a warehousing data determination step of determining whether the item type identification information included in the item information of the warehousing data acquired in the warehousing data acquisition step is previously associated with the cargo label format; and a fourth information display step of displaying information on the determination result on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation when it is determined that the item type identification information that is not previously associated with the cargo label format is included in the warehousing data. [9] An item management method as described in the above.

[11] a fifth display step of displaying the item information determined to match and the order identification information associated with the item information on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation when the second matching determination step determines that the item information included in the delivery note information and the item information included in the warehousing data match; An item management method according to [9] or

[10] .

[12] The invoice information includes order identification information for identifying each order, Each of the item information items is associated with one of the order identification information items, A combination of the item type identification information included in the item information and the order identification information associated with the item information is different for each item information, The first information acquisition step includes acquiring the delivery note information based on one or more of the delivery note images acquired in the first image acquisition step, the second image acquisition step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, acquiring the cargo images of one or more of the cargoes for each of the plurality of pieces of item information; The second information acquisition step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of one or more of the cargoes for each of the plurality of pieces of item information. the first consistency determination step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, determining whether or not, for each of the plurality of pieces of item information, the item information in the delivery note information is consistent with the item information in one or more pieces of cargo label information acquired for one or more pieces of cargo including the item related to the one piece of item information; the registration step includes, when it is determined that at least one of the pieces of product information among the plurality of pieces of product information included in the delivery note information is consistent with the piece of product information of one or more pieces of cargo label information, registering in the management database, for each of the one or more pieces of cargo including the item related to the at least one piece of product information, the piece of product information of the cargo label information acquired based on the cargo image and the cargo identification information acquired based on the cargo image in association with each other; An item management method according to any one of [1] to

[11] .

[13] The second image acquisition step includes acquiring the cargo image captured by the camera each time an image capturing operation of the camera is performed by a worker performing a warehousing operation, a third information display step of displaying one of the order identification information associated with one of the item information on a display device that displays information to the worker when the second image acquisition step of acquiring the cargo image is performed for one of the item information in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step;

[12] An item management method as described in the above.

[14] An article management device, a first processing unit capable of accessing a management database that stores information about received items; a first storage unit that stores a program including instructions that the first processing unit can execute; The program includes the instructions for causing the first processing unit to perform each step of the method according to any one of [1] to

[13] , the first processing unit executes the instructions of the program; Goods management device.

[15] [1] -

[13] Goods management device.

[16] A program including instructions executable by an item management device, The instruction includes causing the article management device to perform each step of the method described in any one of [1] to

[13] . program. [Explanation of symbols]

[0186] 1...Item management device, 11...Communication unit, 17...First memory unit, 18...First processing unit, 2...Terminal device, 21...Communication unit, 22...Input unit, 23...Imaging unit, 24...Display unit, 25...Sound input / output unit, 27...Second memory unit, 28...Second processing unit, 3...Management database, 4...Delivery note format database, 5...Cargo label format database, 6...Delivery note, 7...Cargo, 71...Cargo label, 72...Identification label, 9...Communication network

Claims

1. An article management method performed by an article management device, the item management device is capable of accessing a management database that stores information about received items; The shipment containing said goods is accompanied by a delivery note; the delivery note indicates delivery note information including item information regarding the item in the accompanying shipment, The item information includes one item type identification information, The item type identification information is information for identifying the type of the item, A cargo label and an identification label are affixed to each of the cargo items; the cargo label indicates cargo label information including at least a portion of the item information regarding the item in the cargo to which the cargo label is affixed; The identification label indicates cargo identification information for uniquely identifying each of the cargo items; a first image acquisition step of acquiring an invoice image obtained by capturing an image of the invoice; a first information acquisition step of acquiring the delivery note information indicated on the delivery note based on the acquired delivery note image; a second image acquisition step of acquiring, for each of the cargo, one or more cargo images obtained by capturing images of the cargo, the cargo images including an image of the cargo label affixed to the cargo and an image of the identification label affixed to the cargo; a second information acquisition step of acquiring the cargo label information indicated on the cargo label and the cargo identification information indicated on the identification label based on the acquired cargo image; a first consistency determination step of determining whether one of the items included in the acquired delivery note information is consistent with the item information included in one or more of the cargo label information acquired for one or more of the cargoes including the item related to the one of the items; a registration step of registering, in the management database, the item information included in the acquired cargo label information and the acquired cargo identification information for each of the one or more cargoes including the item related to the one item information, in association with each other, when the first matching determination step determines that the one item information included in the delivery note information matches the item information included in one or more cargo label information; When the item related to one of the item information pieces of the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes, a process of acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of each of the cargoes is executed in the second information acquisition process in parallel with a process of sequentially acquiring the cargo images of the plurality of cargoes in the second image acquisition process. How to manage goods.

2. When the item related to one of the item information pieces in the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes, in parallel with the process of acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information for each of the cargoes in the second information acquisition process, a process of determining whether the item information in the cargo label information is consistent with the one of the item information pieces in the delivery note information is executed for each of the cargoes in the first consistency determination process. The article management method according to claim 1 .

3. The second image acquisition step includes acquiring the cargo image captured by the camera every time an image capturing operation of the camera is performed by a worker performing a warehousing operation, a first information display step of displaying, on a display device that displays information to the worker, at least a part of the item information included in one of the cargo label information acquired by the second information acquisition step for one of the cargoes, each time the imaging operation is performed for one of the cargoes, when the item related to one of the item information in the delivery note information is included in a plurality of the cargoes; The article management method according to claim 1 .

4. the second information acquisition step includes, when a correction instruction from the worker is input requesting correction of the item information of one of the cargo label information items displayed on the display device in the first information display step, correcting the one of the cargo label information items in accordance with the correction instruction. The article management method according to claim 3.

5. a second information display step of displaying information indicating the presence of the inconsistency on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation when the cargo images of all the cargoes including the item related to one of the item information of the delivery note information are acquired in the second image acquisition step, and the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of all the cargoes are acquired in the second information acquisition step, and when it is determined in the first consistency determination step that there is an inconsistency between the item information of the cargo label information acquired for at least a part of all the cargoes and the item information of the delivery note information, the first consistency determination step includes, when a correction instruction from the worker is input requesting that the item information included in at least one piece of cargo label information acquired in the second information acquisition step be corrected in order to correct the inconsistency displayed in the second information display step, correcting the item information included in the at least one piece of cargo label information in accordance with the correction instruction, and then determining again whether the item information included in the one or more pieces of cargo label information acquired for all the cargoes is consistent with the item information in the delivery note information; The article management method according to claim 1 .

6. a second information display step of displaying information indicating the presence of the inconsistency on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation, when the cargo images of all the cargoes including the item related to one of the item information of the delivery note information are acquired in the second image acquisition step, and the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of all the cargoes are acquired in the second information acquisition step, and it is determined in the first consistency determination step that there is an inconsistency between the item information of the cargo label information acquired for at least a part of all the cargoes and the item information of the delivery note information, The second image acquisition step includes reacquiring the cargo image captured again for one of the cargoes in order to correct the inconsistency displayed in the second information display step; the second information acquisition step includes reacquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of the one cargo based on the cargo image of the one cargo reacquired in the second image acquisition step; the first consistency determination step includes determining again whether the item information included in the cargo label information of all the cargoes including the cargo label information reacquired in the second information acquisition step is consistent with the one item information of the delivery note information; The article management method according to claim 1 .

7. the first information acquisition step includes, when an instruction from the worker indicating the number of lines of character strings of the item information included in the delivery note information indicated by one of the delivery note images acquired in the first image acquisition step is input, acquiring the one of the delivery note information based on the input instruction and the one of the delivery note images; The article management method according to claim 1 .

8. The invoice information includes order identification information for identifying each order, Each of the item information items is associated with one of the order identification information items, A combination of the item type identification information included in the item information and the order identification information associated with the item information is different for each item information, a warehousing data acquisition step of acquiring warehousing data including the order identification information and the item information; a warehousing data identifying step of identifying the warehousing data corresponding to the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquiring step based on the order identification information included in the delivery note information; a second consistency determination step of determining whether the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step is consistent with the item information included in the warehousing data identified in the warehousing data identification step; the registration step includes: determining in the second consistency determination step that the item information included in the warehousing data identified in the warehousing data identification step is consistent with the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step; and when determining in the first consistency determination step that the item information included in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step is consistent with the item information included in the cargo label information acquired in the second information acquisition step, registering the item information in the cargo label information and the cargo identification information in the management database in association with each other. The article management method according to claim 1 .

9. the cargo label includes one or more cargo label items; the cargo label information includes information regarding at least some of the cargo label items in the cargo label; a cargo label format associated with the cargo label, the cargo label format relating to a position and extent of one or more of the cargo label features included on the cargo label, the cargo label format being associated with the item type identification information; The second information acquisition step includes: A step of identifying the cargo label format associated with the item type identification information included in the item information of the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step; and acquiring at least a portion of the cargo label information for each of the one or more cargoes including the item related to the item information of the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step, based on the specified cargo label format and the cargo image acquired in the second image acquisition step; a warehousing data determination step of determining whether the item type identification information included in the item information of the warehousing data acquired in the warehousing data acquisition step is previously associated with the cargo label format; and a fourth information display step of displaying information on the determination result on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation when it is determined that the item type identification information that is not previously associated with the cargo label format is included in the warehousing data. The article management method according to claim 8.

10. a fifth display step of displaying, when it is determined in the second consistency determination step that the item information included in the delivery note information and the item information included in the warehousing data are consistent, the item information determined to be consistent and the order identification information associated with the item information on a display device that displays information to a worker performing a warehousing operation; The article management method according to claim 8.

11. The invoice information includes order identification information for identifying each order, Each of the item information items is associated with one of the order identification information items, A combination of the item type identification information included in the item information and the order identification information associated with the item information is different for each item information, The first information acquisition step includes acquiring the delivery note information based on one or more delivery note images acquired in the first image acquisition step, the second image acquisition step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, acquiring the cargo images of one or more of the cargoes for each of the plurality of pieces of item information; The second information acquisition step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, acquiring the cargo label information and the cargo identification information of one or more of the cargoes for each of the plurality of pieces of item information. the first consistency determination step includes, when the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step includes a plurality of pieces of item information, determining, for each of the plurality of pieces of item information, whether or not one of the pieces of item information in the delivery note information is consistent with the piece of item information in one or more pieces of cargo label information acquired for one or more pieces of cargo including the item related to the one piece of item information; the registration step includes, when it is determined that at least one of the pieces of product information among the plurality of pieces of product information included in the delivery note information is consistent with the piece of product information of one or more pieces of cargo label information, registering in the management database, for each of the one or more pieces of cargo including the item related to the at least one piece of product information, the piece of product information of the cargo label information acquired based on the cargo image and the cargo identification information acquired based on the cargo image in association with each other; The article management method according to claim 1 .

12. The second image acquisition step includes acquiring the cargo image captured by the camera every time an image capturing operation of the camera is performed by a worker performing a warehousing operation, a third information display step of displaying one of the order identification information associated with one of the item information on a display device that displays information to the worker when the second image acquisition step of acquiring the cargo image is performed for one of the item information in the delivery note information acquired in the first information acquisition step; The article management method according to claim 11.

13. An article management device, a first processing unit capable of accessing a management database that stores information about received items; a first storage unit that stores a program including instructions that can be executed by the first processing unit; The program includes the instructions for causing the first processing unit to perform each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, the first processing unit executes the instructions of the program; Goods management device.

14. The present invention is provided with a means for carrying out each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12. Goods management device.

15. A program including instructions executable by an item management device, The instructions include instructions for causing the article management device to perform each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12. program.

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