Sensor-Equipped Display Shelf Tracking Product Removal and Theft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Retail stores face challenges in inventory management, including high costs due to manual labor for inventory counting, product theft, inefficiencies in tracking product levels, and maintaining excess inventory due to lack of real-time data on shelf availability.
Innovation Solution
A display management system equipped with a mechanism that moves in response to product removal, sensors that output motion data, and a control circuit that communicates this data to a remote processor to calculate product removal patterns, enabling real-time inventory tracking and theft detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual inventory counting is performed, then inventory levels can be determined, but significant manual labor is required
Solution Approach 1:
The pusher assembly automatically monitors product inventory levels by moving in response to product removal and generation, eliminating the need for manual counting. The system self-updates inventory data through the sensor and controller, allowing the inventory management to serve itself without human intervention.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical counting with an automated sensor-based system. A sensor detects the position of the pusher assembly, and a controller processes this data to determine inventory levels, substituting human labor with electronic detection and processing mechanisms.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If in-store cameras are used to monitor theft, then some theft detection capability is provided, but cameras often do not observe theft clearly enough to catch or prosecute the thief
Solution Approach 1:
The pusher assembly acts as an intermediary detection mechanism between the product and the monitoring system. Instead of relying on cameras to directly observe theft, the system uses the pusher's movement (caused by product removal) as an indirect but reliable indicator of potential theft, providing clearer detection data.
3Reliability
If more inventory is maintained on shelves to ensure stocking, then shelf availability is improved, but valuable shelf space is consumed and excess inventory costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback on actual product inventory levels through the sensor-detected pusher position. This feedback enables precise inventory management, allowing the store to maintain optimal stock levels rather than excessive inventory, as the system continuously monitors and reports actual availability.
4Productivity
If scanner systems are used to track product sales, then legitimate purchases are counted, but the system cannot detect product removal when product is stolen or misplaced without visual inspection
Solution Approach 1:
The pusher assembly continuously monitors product inventory levels by maintaining constant contact with products and moving as they are removed. This continuous mechanical monitoring complements the intermittent scanner-based sales tracking, providing ongoing detection of all product removal events regardless of whether they are legitimate purchases or theft.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods related to sensor-equipped display management systems. In one aspect, the systems and methods may be utilized to calculate a number of products removed from a display management system based upon motion of one or more mechanisms within the display management system. In another aspect, the systems and methods may be utilized to detect patterns from the sensor data, which may be indicative of attempted theft of products stored within the display management system.