Information processing device, information processing system, information processing method, and program

Abstract

This information processing device includes: an information acquisition means for acquiring signal information from an RFID tag provided on a commodity when reading product identification information in the RFID tag by means of a gate sensor provided on a gate through which customers pass; a determination means for determining the reading accuracy of the commodity identification information on the basis of the signal information; a storage state acquisition means for acquiring a storage state of the commodity when it is determined that the reading accuracy is low; and an output means for outputting guide information for reading the commodity identification information again on the basis of the storage state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing system, an information processing method, and a recording medium.

Background Art

[0002] There is a device that acquires product information purchased by a customer by reading the product information of the products placed in a shopping basket with a reading device provided at a gate. In such a device, when a product information reading failure occurs, guidance is provided to re-read the information. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses guidance to shake the shopping basket in order to correctly read product information.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, depending on the storage status of the products, the method for correct reading may differ.

[0005] An example of an object of the present disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus that can provide guidance for correctly reading product information of a purchase target regardless of the storage status of the products.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] An information processing device in one aspect of the present disclosure includes: an information acquisition means for acquiring signal information from an RFID tag when a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads product identification information contained in an RFID tag attached to a product; a determination means for determining the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on the signal information; a storage status acquisition means for acquiring the storage status of the product if it is determined that the reading accuracy is low; and an output means for outputting guidance information for reading the product identification information again based on the storage status.

[0007] An information processing method in one aspect of this disclosure involves a computer that, when reading product identification information from an RFID tag attached to a product using a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes, acquires signal information from the RFID tag, determines the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on the signal information, and if it is determined that the reading accuracy is low, acquires the storage status of the product, and outputs guidance information for reading the product identification information again based on the storage status.

[0008] In one aspect of this disclosure, the recording medium stores a program that causes a computer to execute a process in which, when a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads product identification information contained in an RFID tag attached to a product, it acquires signal information from the RFID tag, determines the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on the signal information, and if it is determined that the reading accuracy is low, it acquires the storage status of the product and outputs guidance information for reading the product identification information again based on the storage status. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide an information processing device that can provide guidance to correctly read product information for purchase, regardless of the storage condition of the product. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration including an information processing device in the first embodiment. [Figure 2]Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a gate in the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the hardware configuration in which the information processing device in the first embodiment is realized using a computer device and its peripheral devices. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows an example of guidance information for re-reading product identification information by the output unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows another example of guidance information for re-reading product identification information by the output unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a list of product information read in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of information processing in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a graph showing the time-series change in signal strength when passing through the gate in a modified example of the first embodiment. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example configuration including an information processing device in the second embodiment. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of information processing in the second embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Embodiments of the information processing apparatus, information processing system, information processing method, and non-temporary recording medium for recording programs according to this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. These embodiments are not intended to limit the disclosed technology.

[0012] [First Embodiment] First, a first embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration including an information processing device 100 in the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing system 10 is connected to a gate sensor 200 and an output device 300 via a network.

[0013] The information processing device 100 is a device that outputs guidance information to correctly read the product identification information of the products purchased by customers who shop in the store. The gate sensor 200 is a sensor for reading the product identification information of the products purchased by customers. The output device 300 is a device that outputs guidance information for the customer to correctly read the product identification information, and is, for example, a display installed near the gate sensor 200 or the gate sensor 200, or a display of the customer's terminal. When the output device 300 is the customer's terminal, for example, the guidance information is displayed on the screen of a shopping application program installed on the terminal. The store is, for example, a retail store that sells clothing, food, etc.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining an example of a gate in the present embodiment. A walk-through gate 91 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided, for example, near the exit of the store. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the walk-through gate 91 is constituted by providing the antennas 202 of the gate sensor 200 on both sides of the passage 96 through which the customer passes. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 2, two gate sensors 200 are provided on both sides of the passage 96, but the number of the gate sensors 200 and the antennas 202 is not limited to the configuration example shown in FIG. 2. Further, the gate sensor 200 may be provided only on one side of the passage 96.

[0015] In the example of the walk-through gate 91 in FIG. 2, when the reading of the product identification information is successful, a door (not shown) on the exit side of the walk-through gate 91 is opened, and the customer can go out of the store. In addition, an output device 300 (such as a speaker, a display, a lamp, etc.) (not shown) may be provided on the walk-through gate 91, and the product information of the read product identification information may be configured to be output by the output device 300. Further, when settlement information is registered in advance in the shopping application program, the settlement process of the product of the read product identification information may be executed according to the settlement information.

[0016] The gate sensor 200 includes an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) reader 201 and an antenna 202. The RFID reader 201 is a control circuit that communicates with RFID tags via the antenna 202 according to a predetermined communication protocol and reads product identification information stored in the RFID tags of products. The RFID reader 201 outputs the product identification information read from the RFID tags to the information processing device 100. The antenna 202 is installed in a position where it can transmit and receive radio waves with RFID tags passing through the walk-through gate 91, and transmits radio waves toward the RFID tags and receives radio waves transmitted by the RFID tags. Note that the antenna 202 may have separate transmitting and receiving antennas.

[0017] The reading process using the gate sensor 200 has the following characteristics: In the reading process using the gate sensor 200, multiple products may be stored together in a shopping basket or other product storage device, which can lead to the failure to read the RFID tags of products. This occurs, for example, when multiple products are stored on top of each other in a shopping basket, causing interference with the radio waves used for reading due to products containing metal or liquids. On the other hand, when the gate sensor 200 is processing the reading for one customer, it may also read the RFID tags of other customers.

[0018] Returning to FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes an information acquisition unit 101, a determination unit 102, a storage status acquisition unit 103, and an output unit 104. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration in which the information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is realized by a computer apparatus 500 including a processor. As shown in FIG. 3, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, a storage device 505 such as a hard disk that stores a program 504, a communication interface 508 for network connection, and an input / output interface 509 for inputting and outputting data. In the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus 100 is connected to each component via a bus 510. Also, the information processing apparatus 100 in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can also be configured by cloud computing or the like.

[0019] The CPU 501 operates an operating system to control the entire information processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Also, the CPU 501 reads programs and data from the memory from a recording medium 506 mounted on, for example, a drive device 507. Further, the CPU 501 functions as the information acquisition unit 101, the determination unit 102, the storage status acquisition unit 103, and the output unit 104 and a part thereof in the first embodiment, and executes the processes or instructions in the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 described later based on the program.

[0020] The recording medium 506 is, for example, an optical disk, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, an external hard disk, or a semiconductor memory or the like. A semiconductor memory or the like that is a part of the recording medium is a non-volatile storage device, and a program is recorded therein. Also, the program may be downloaded from an external computer (not shown) connected to the communication network.

[0021] As described above, the first embodiment shown in Figure 1 is realized by the computer hardware shown in Figure 3. However, the means for realizing each part of the information processing device 100 in Figure 1 are not limited to the configuration described above. Furthermore, the information processing device 100 may be realized by a single physically coupled device, or it may be realized by a system consisting of two or more physically separated devices connected by wired or wireless connections.

[0022] The information acquisition unit 101 is a means for acquiring signal information from an RFID tag when a gate sensor 200 installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads the product identification information contained in the RFID tag attached to the product. In this embodiment, the information acquisition unit 101 obtains the signal strength by measuring the RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) value from the RFID tag received by the antenna 202. The information acquisition unit 101 may also acquire the number of readings per unit of product identification information by the gate sensor 200. If there are multiple products, the information acquisition unit 101 acquires signal information from the RFID tag of each product.

[0023] The determination unit 102 is a means for determining the reading accuracy of product identification information based on signal information. In this embodiment, the determination unit 102 determines the reading accuracy by comparing the signal strength or number of readings of the read product identification information with preset thresholds. The signal strength received by the antenna 202 is higher when the distance from the antenna is short. Also, a higher signal strength from the RFID tag results in a greater number of readings of the product identification information. On the other hand, when radio interference occurs due to overlapping products or when reading RFID tags outside the gate, the signal strength is low and the number of readings is also low. Therefore, the determination unit 102 determines that the reading accuracy of the product identification information is high if the signal strength or number of readings is higher than a preset threshold. Conversely, the determination unit 102 determines that the reading accuracy of the product identification information is low if the signal strength or number of readings is below a preset threshold. When multiple signal information is input from the information acquisition unit 101, the determination unit 102 determines the reading accuracy of each piece of product identification information.

[0024] The storage status acquisition unit 103 acquires the storage status of the product if it determines that the reading accuracy of the product identification information is low. If the storage status acquisition unit 103 has read multiple product identification pieces, it acquires the storage status of the product if it determines that the reading accuracy of any of the product identification pieces is low. The storage status acquisition unit 103 is, for example, composed of a camera and contains information about the type of product storage means, such as a shopping basket, a bag carried by the customer, or a shopping bag. The storage status acquisition unit 103 may acquire information if the storage status of the product inside the product storage means can be confirmed from the outside, such as when the product storage means is a shopping basket. The storage status acquisition unit 103 acquires information about the storage status of the product, such as whether multiple products are stacked on top of each other. The storage status acquisition unit 103 may also acquire, for example, the number of each product identification piece that has been read.

[0025] The output unit 104 is a means for outputting guidance information to reread product identification information based on the storage status. For example, the output unit 104 outputs guidance information to the output device 300, etc., for rereading based on the type of product storage means used by the customer. Guidance information is, for example, advice to the customer to improve the accuracy of reading product identification information. Specifically, if the product storage means is such as a shopping basket, where the storage position of products within the product storage means may change, the output unit 104 outputs guidance information to change the storage position of products, such as prompting the customer to shake the products in the shopping basket or changing the order of products stacked in the shopping basket. In this case, the output unit 104 may output guidance information to change the storage position of products within the product storage means only if it has read a predetermined number or more of product identification information. That is, if the number of product identification information read is less than the predetermined number, it may output guidance information other than changing the storage position of products, such as changing the orientation of the shopping basket.

[0026] On the other hand, if the product storage means is like a customer's bag and the reading accuracy does not change even if the storage position of the products within the product storage means is changed, the output unit 104 outputs guidance information to move the product storage means closer to the antenna 202 and read again, change the orientation of the product storage means, have the product removed from the product storage means, or guide the customer to another location for reading the product identification information. The output unit 104 may determine the guidance information to output based on the positional relationship between the product storage means and the antenna 202 when reading the product identification information or the reading accuracy of the product identification information. Another location for reading could be, for example, a semi-self-service POS (Point of Sale system), a self-service POS, or a packing table for bagging products.

[0027] Figures 4 and 5 show examples of guidance information for re-reading product identification information from the output unit 104. In the example in Figure 4, when the product storage means is a shopping basket, information prompting the customer to shake the shopping basket is output. In the example in Figure 5, when the product storage means is something other than a shopping basket, information to guide the customer to a self-service POS is output.

[0028] The output unit 104 may display a list of product information from which product identification information has been read. Figure 6 is an example of a list of read product information. In this case, the output unit 104 may display the product information in order of lowest reading accuracy. The output unit 104 may output a screen to the customer to confirm whether or not they wish to purchase products that the determination unit 102 has determined to have low reading accuracy. In the example screen in Figure 6, the customer is asked whether or not they wish to purchase "Product A," which is marked with a "★". The output unit 104 may also display a list of product information like that in Figure 6 on a semi-self-service POS system installed in another location after guiding the customer to another location. Furthermore, if payment information has been registered in advance, the output unit 104 may display the list of product information in Figure 6 on the customer terminal to allow the customer to confirm the purchased products before the payment process is executed using the pre-registered payment information.

[0029] Figure 7 is a flowchart outlining the operation of the information processing device 100 in the first embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart may be executed based on program control by the processor described above. This flowchart acquires the type of product storage means as the product storage status, but guidance information for re-reading product identification information may be output based on the product storage status other than the type of product storage means.

[0030] As shown in Figure 7, first, the information acquisition unit 101 acquires signal information from the RFID tag when it reads the product identification information in the RFID tag attached to the product using a gate sensor installed at the gate through which the customer passes (step S101). Next, the determination unit 102 determines the reading accuracy of the product identification information based on the signal information (step S102). Then, if the storage status acquisition unit 103 determines that the reading accuracy is low (S103; YES), it acquires the storage status of the product (step S104). On the other hand, if the storage status acquisition unit 103 determines that the reading accuracy is high (S103; NO), it terminates the flow.

[0031] Next, if the product storage means is a shopping basket (S105; YES), the output unit 104 outputs guidance information prompting the user to change the storage position of the product in the shopping basket (step S106). On the other hand, if the product storage means is not a shopping basket (S105; NO), the output unit 104 outputs guidance information directing the user to another location for reading the product identification information (step S107). Finally, if the determination unit 102 determines that the reading accuracy is low even if the storage position of the product in the shopping basket is changed (S108; YES), the output unit 104 outputs guidance information directing the user to another location for reading the product identification information (step S109). With this, the information processing device 100 finishes processing the information.

[0032] In the flowchart of Figure 7, if it is determined in S103 that the reading accuracy is low, the storage status acquisition unit 103 acquires the storage status of the product (step S104), and then the process may proceed to the flow in S107 without making the decision in S105. Also, in S105, if the product storage means is a shopping basket, the output unit 104 may output guidance information that directs the user to another location for reading the product identification information, rather than guidance information that prompts the user to change the storage position of the product in the shopping basket. In this case, the flows in S108 and S109 in Figure 7 are unnecessary.

[0033] In the information processing device 100 of this embodiment, the output unit 104 outputs guidance information for re-reading the product identification information based on the storage status when it is determined that the reading accuracy is low. For example, if the reading accuracy does not improve even if the storage position of the product in the product storage means is changed, guidance information for re-reading using another method is output. Therefore, guidance can be provided to ensure that the product information of the product to be purchased is read correctly, regardless of the storage status of the product.

[0034] [Modified example of the first embodiment] Next, a modification of the first embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. This modification differs from the first embodiment in that it uses the time-series change in signal intensity as the signal information received from the RFID tag.

[0035] In this modified example, the information acquisition unit 101 acquires the time-series change in signal strength as signal information received from the RFID tag, and the determination unit 102 determines the reading accuracy based on the time-series change in signal strength. The determination unit 102 uses, for example, the time-series change in the RSSI value as the time-series change in signal strength. Figure 8 is a graph showing the time-series change in signal strength when passing through the gate in this modified example. In this modified example, as shown in the configuration example in Figure 2, if two gate sensors 200 are provided on both the entrance and exit sides of the walk-through gate 91, when a shopper moves through the walk-through gate 91 with an item equipped with an RFID tag, the RSSI value received by the antenna 202 will be maximum when approaching the antenna 202.

[0036] In Figure 8, Tag A represents the time-series change in the RSSI value of a tag inside the walk-through gate 91, and Tag B represents the time-series change in the RSSI value of a tag outside the walk-through gate 91. Also in Figure 8, t1 indicates the timing when Tag A approaches the antenna 202 on the entrance side, and t2 indicates the timing when Tag A approaches the antenna 202 on the exit side. That is, when an RFID tag passes through the walk-through gate 91, it shows a time-series change that is maximized when it approaches the antennas 202 on the entrance and exit sides, as shown for Tag A in Figure 8. The determination unit 102 determines the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on whether the time-series change in the RSSI value corresponds to the time-series change when passing through a gate (walk-through gate 91) where a gate sensor 200 is installed at a predetermined position. Specifically, the determination unit 102 determines the reading accuracy based on whether the deviation from the graph showing the time-series change in the RSSI value when it was correctly read is greater than or equal to a predetermined percentage.

[0037] [Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 9 is a block diagram showing the information processing device 110 in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the information processing system 11 has the information processing device 110 connected to the gate sensor 210 and the output device 310 via a network.

[0038] In the following description, to the extent that the description of this embodiment does not become unclear, explanations that overlap with the above description will be omitted. Each component in each embodiment of this disclosure can, like the computer device shown in Figure 3, realize its function not only in hardware, but also in a computer device or software based on program control.

[0039] Referring to Figure 9, the information processing device 110 comprises an information acquisition unit 111, a determination unit 112, a storage status acquisition unit 113, a detection unit 114, and an output unit 115. The information acquisition unit 111, the determination unit 112, and the storage status acquisition unit 113 are the same as the corresponding configurations in the first embodiment, so their description is omitted.

[0040] The detection unit 114 is a means for detecting whether or not a customer is inside the gate. The detection unit 114 is composed of, for example, motion sensors provided on each RFID reader 201 of the walk-through gate 91 in Figure 2. The motion sensors are image sensors or infrared sensors, etc., and detect when a customer carrying an RFID-tagged product is passing near the antenna. The detection unit 114 detects that the customer is inside the gate from, for example, when the customer is detected by the motion sensor on the entrance side until the customer is detected by the motion sensor on the exit side. That is, even if the customer is detected by the motion sensor on the entrance side, the detection unit 114 detects that the customer has left the gate after the customer is detected by the motion sensor on the exit side.

[0041] In addition to the functions of the output unit 104 in the first embodiment, the output unit 115 outputs guidance information for rereading product identification information based on whether or not the customer is inside the gate. That is, if the detection unit 114 detects that the customer is inside the gate, the output unit 115 outputs guidance information for the gate sensor 210 inside the same gate to reread the product identification information. In this case, in order to improve reading accuracy, guidance information such as asking the customer to shake the product storage means, bring the product storage means closer to the antenna 202 and reread it, change the orientation of the product storage means, or take the product out of the product storage means may be output.

[0042] On the other hand, if the detection unit 114 does not detect that the customer is inside the gate, the output unit 115 outputs guidance information to direct the customer to another location for reading product identification information.

[0043] Figure 10 is a flowchart outlining the operation of the information processing device 110 in the second embodiment. Note that the processing shown in this flowchart may be executed based on the program control by the processor described above. The processing from S201 to S204 in this flowchart is the same as the processing from S101 to S104 in the flowchart of the first embodiment.

[0044] As shown in Figure 10, first, the information acquisition unit 111 acquires signal information from the RFID tag when it reads the product identification information in the RFID tag attached to the product using the gate sensor 210 installed at the gate through which the customer passes (step S201). Next, the determination unit 112 determines the reading accuracy of the product identification information based on the signal information (step S202). Then, if the storage status acquisition unit 113 determines that the reading accuracy is low (S203; YES), it acquires the storage status of the product (step S204). On the other hand, if the storage status acquisition unit 113 determines that the reading accuracy is high (S203; NO), it terminates the flow.

[0045] Next, the detection unit 114 detects whether the customer is inside the gate if the product storage means is a shopping basket (S205; YES). If the customer is inside the gate (S206; YES), the output unit 115 outputs guidance information to have the product identification information read again by the gate sensor 210 inside the same gate (step S207). On the other hand, if the product storage means is not a shopping basket in S205 (S205; NO), and if the customer has left the gate in S206 (S206; NO), the output unit 115 outputs guidance information to lead the customer to another location to read the product identification information (step S208). With this, the information processing device 110 finishes processing the information.

[0046] In the information processing device 110 of this embodiment, the output unit 115 outputs guidance information to guide the customer to read the product again using the gate sensor 210 within the same gate if the customer is inside the gate. Furthermore, if the customer leaves the gate and it is not possible to read the product identification information again within that gate, the output unit 115 outputs guidance information to guide the customer to another location where the product identification information can be read. Thus, appropriate guidance can be provided to read the product identification information again depending on the customer's location.

[0047] The present disclosure has been described above with reference to the embodiments described herein, but the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. The structure and details of each present disclosure may include embodiments that apply various modifications that can be grasped by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may include embodiments that combine or substitute the matters described herein as appropriate. For example, matters described using a particular embodiment may be applied to other embodiments to the extent that they do not cause a contradiction. For example, although multiple operations are described sequentially in the form of a flowchart, the order in which they are described does not limit the order in which the multiple operations are performed. Therefore, when implementing each embodiment, the order of the multiple operations may be changed to the extent that it does not impair the content.

[0048] Some or all of the above embodiments may also be described as follows. However, some or all of the above embodiments are not limited to the following.

[0049] (Note 1) An information acquisition means that acquires signal information from an RFID tag when a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads product identification information from an RFID tag attached to a product, A determination means for determining the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on the signal information, If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status acquisition means acquires the storage status of the product. An information processing device comprising: an output means for outputting guidance information for rereading the product identification information based on the storage status.

[0050] (Note 2) The information acquisition means is an information processing device as described in Appendix 1, which acquires the signal strength from the RFID tag or the number of times the product identification information has been read as the signal information.

[0051] (Note 3) The storage status acquisition means acquires the type of product storage means as the storage status of the product, The output means outputs guidance information for rereading the product identification information based on the product storage means, as described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2.

[0052] (Note 4) The storage status acquisition means acquires the number of the product identification information read, The output means is an information processing device according to any one of the appendices 1 to 3, which outputs the guidance information based on the number.

[0053] (Note 5) The output means further outputs a screen for confirming whether or not a purchase has been made for products whose reading accuracy has been determined to be below the threshold, as described in any of Appendix 1 to 4.

[0054] (Note 6) The output means further displays a list of product information obtained by reading the product identification information, as described in any of Appendix 1 to 5.

[0055] (Note 7) The output means is an information processing device as described in Appendix 6, which displays a list of the product information in order of decreasing reading accuracy.

[0056] (Note 8) An information processing device according to any one of the appendices 1 to 7, further comprising detection means for detecting whether or not the customer is inside the gate.

[0057] (Note 9) The output means is an information processing device as described in Appendix 7, which outputs guidance information to the customer to read the product identification information again inside the gate when the customer is inside the gate.

[0058] (Note 10) The information processing device described in Appendix 7, wherein the output means outputs guidance information to guide the customer to another location for reading the product identification information when the customer leaves the gate.

[0059] (Note 11) An information processing system comprising the gate sensor installed at the gate through which the customer passes, and an information processing device described in any of the appendices 1 to 10, The gate sensor is provided at a predetermined position on the gate, The information acquisition means acquires the time-series change in signal strength from the RFID tag as signal information. The determination means is an information processing system that determines the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on whether the time-series change corresponds to the time-series change when passing through a gate where the gate sensor is installed at the position.

[0060] (Note 12) Computers When a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads the product identification information contained in the RFID tag attached to the product, the signal information from the RFID tag is acquired. Based on the signal information, the accuracy of reading the product identification information is determined. If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status of the product is obtained. An information processing method that outputs guidance information for re-reading the product identification information based on the storage status.

[0061] (Note 13) When a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads the product identification information contained in the RFID tag attached to the product, the signal information from the RFID tag is acquired. Based on the signal information, the accuracy of reading the product identification information is determined. If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status of the product is obtained. A recording medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute a process to output guidance information for rereading the product identification information based on the storage status. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 11, 12 Information Processing Systems 100, 110 Information Processing Devices 101, 111 Information acquisition section 102, 112 Judgment section 103, 113 Storage status acquisition unit 104, 115 Output section 114 Detection unit 200, 210 gate sensors 300, 310 Output devices 500 computer devices 501 CPU 502 ROM 503 RAM 504 Program 505 Storage device 506 Recording media 507 Drive unit 508 Communication Interface 509 Input / Output Interfaces 510 Bus

Claims

1. An information acquisition means that acquires signal information from an RFID tag when a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads product identification information from an RFID tag attached to a product, A determination means for determining the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on the signal information, If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status acquisition means acquires the storage status of the product. An information processing device comprising: an output means for outputting guidance information for rereading the product identification information based on the storage status.

2. The information acquisition means acquires, as signal information, the signal strength from the RFID tag or the number of times the product identification information has been read, as the information acquisition means, according to claim 1.

3. The storage status acquisition means acquires the type of product storage means as the storage status of the product, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs guidance information for rereading the product identification information based on the product storage means.

4. The storage status acquisition means acquires the number of the product identification information read, The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs the guidance information based on the number.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means further outputs a screen for confirming whether or not to purchase the product for which the reading accuracy has been determined to be low.

6. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output means further displays a list of product information obtained by reading the product identification information.

7. The system further includes detection means for detecting whether the customer is inside the gate, If the detection means detects that the customer is inside the gate, the output means outputs guidance information for re-reading the product identification information based on the storage status. If the detection means does not detect that the customer is inside the gate, the output means outputs guidance information to guide the customer to another location for reading the product identification information, as described in claim 1.

8. An information processing system comprising the gate sensor provided at the gate through which the customer passes, and an information processing device as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, The gate sensor is provided at a predetermined position on the gate, The information acquisition means acquires the time-series change in signal strength from the RFID tag as signal information. The determination means is an information processing system that determines the accuracy of reading the product identification information based on whether the time-series change corresponds to the time-series change when passing through a gate where the gate sensor is installed at the position.

9. Computers When a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads the product identification information in the RFID tag attached to the product, it acquires signal information from the RFID tag, Based on the signal information, the accuracy of reading the product identification information is determined. If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status of the product is obtained. An information processing method that outputs guidance information for re-reading the product identification information based on the storage status.

10. When a gate sensor installed at a gate through which a customer passes reads the product identification information in the RFID tag attached to the product, it acquires signal information from the RFID tag, Based on the signal information, the accuracy of reading the product identification information is determined. If the reading accuracy is determined to be low, the storage status of the product is obtained. A program that causes a computer to execute a process to output guidance information for re-reading the product identification information based on the storage status.

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