IP Library Granted Patent US 12,346,872
Granted Patent B2
US 12,346,872 · App. 17/466,585 · Granted Jul 1, 2025

Product sales system

Inventors: Kenichiro Hiroto (Tokyo, JP); Haruki Shimada (Tokyo, JP); Kojiro Kato (Tokyo, JP)
Assignee: Nomura Research Instituted, Ltd.
G06Q10/087B25J9/0093B25J9/162B25J9/1661B25J9/1697B25J11/008B25J13/08B25J15/00B25J15/0616B25J19/021B65G1/0492B65G1/1373B65G1/1376G06K7/10861G06Q10/06315G06Q20/18G06Q30/0633G06V10/10G06V20/10G05B2219/50391Y10S901/01
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,346,872
App. No.
17/466,585
Granted
Jul 1, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A store server and a picking robot are included. The store server includes an order reception unit that receives an order for a product from a customer terminal, and a picking processing unit that instructs the picking robot to pick a product related to the order from a display shelf and convey the product to a delivery locker. The picking robot includes an arm, a picking means installed at a tip end portion of the arm, and a sensor installed near the tip end portion of the arm, detects an object by image processing from an image of a display level on which the product is displayed, the image being photographed by the sensor, identifies which object the product is by image recognition processing based on a recognition model set for each product regarding each object, and moves the picking means to a position where the product can be picked.

Claims (26)

1. A product sales system that sells a product displayed on a display shelf in a store to a customer outside manned opening hours of the store, the product sales system comprising:

a store server that includes an information processing system; and

a picking robot that is movable in the store, wherein the store server includes:

an order reception unit that receives an order of a product from an information processing terminal of the customer via a network, and

a picking processing unit that instructs the picking robot to pick the product related to the order from the display shelf and convey the product to a predetermined delivery place,

the picking robot includes:

an arm that is able to move a tip end portion to a desired position,

a picking means for picking a product, the picking means being installed at the tip end portion of the arm, and

a sensor having an image-capturing function, the sensor being installed near the tip end portion of the arm, the picking robot:

moves to the display shelf on which the product related to the order is displayed based on identification information for specifying the display shelf stored in a database,

photographs, by the sensor, an image of a display level of the display shelf on which the product related to the order is displayed,

detects one or more objects by image processing from the photographed image of the display level of the display shelf on which the product related to the order is displayed,

identifies the product related to the order among the one or more objects and a position of the identified product related to the order by image recognition processing of the photographed image based on a recognition model set for each product with respect to each object,

moves the picking means to the identified position of the identified product related to the order, and

picks up the identified product related to the order by the picking means, and

the picking robot

acquires the recognition model set for a product related to the order from the store server when the picking robot moves for a predetermined distance toward the display shelf on which a product related to the order is displayed.

2. The product sales system according to claim 1 , wherein

the picking robot

sequentially applies, to each of the objects detected by image processing, the recognition model set for each product displayed on the display level, and identifies which product each of the objects is.

3. The product sales system according to claim 1 , wherein

the picking robot

sequentially applies, to each of the objects detected by image processing, the recognition model set for each product related to the order and each product similar in appearance to the product, and identifies which of the objects the product related to the order is.

4. The product sales system according to claim 1 , wherein

the sensor is a depth sensor, and

the picking robot identifies up, down, left, right, depth and attitude of the one or more objects by using depth information obtained by the depth sensor.

Priority Claims (2)
JP 2020-196288 · Nov 26, 2020 · national
JP 2020-196289 · Nov 26, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220164767A1 · May 26, 2022
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