Product tracking system

Abstract

Systems, methods and tools for tracking the amounts of merchandise being displayed or available for sale in a retail environment using measurements of air displacement caused by the movement of customers, employees and shopping carts throughout a retail environment. The disclosed embodiments may position air displacement sensors throughout a store and near the products being offered for sale. As the merchandise is removed by customers, a greater amount of air may be measured. Embodiments of each sensor device may be calibrated with a maximum threshold measurement of air displacement corresponding to the amount of merchandise surrounding the sensor. After enough of the products have been removed from the surrounding proximity of the sensor, the maximum threshold of air displacement may be reached, wherein upon exceeding the maximum threshold of air displacement a signal may be sent alerting employees to restock the specified merchandise proximate to the sensor's location.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . An inventory management system comprising:
 a sensor module that receives and processes sensor data regarding a change in the displacement of air that is greater than a threshold, wherein the change in the displacement of air occurs as a function of a removal of merchandise from a location;   a data model that stores a record including air displacement data corresponding to the merchandise at the location; and   an inference engine that analyzes the sensor data as compared to the threshold to estimate a value of the displacement of air and to confirm the removal of the merchandise from the location or the presence of the merchandise at the location.   
     
     
         2 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor module interprets physical signals received from each of a plurality of sensor devices measuring the displacement of air from a location proximal the location from where the merchandise is to be removed. 
     
     
         3 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , further comprising a calibration module that calibrates one or more sensor devices to a baseline measurement of air displacement detected by the sensor devices and setting the threshold for the air displacement to be measured. 
     
     
         4 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , further comprising a video verification module that, in response to a determination by the inference engine of a maximum threshold for remaining merchandise being displayed at the location as a function of air displacement, generates a verification request to a verification system that confirms an accurate inventory of merchandise at the location. 
     
     
         5 . The inventory management system of  claim 4 , wherein the video verification module receives video data from the verification system, and executes an object recognition program to determine an amount of remaining merchandise at the location. 
     
     
         6 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , further comprising a reporting module that generates a report that includes statistics and inferences determined by the inference engine. 
     
     
         7 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , wherein the inference engine analyzes data points of the data model with the sensor data of the air displacement, and in response to the analysis generates a conclusion regarding an amount of the merchandise estimated to be presently available for sale and displayed within proximity of a sensor device generating the sensor data. 
     
     
         8 . The inventory management system of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor module assigns to each of a plurality of sensor devices connected to the inventory management system a unique identifier corresponding to a location of the sensor device within a store, which is linked to the merchandise at the location. 
     
     
         9 . A product tracking system, comprising:
 an inventory tracking module that at least one of calibrates one or more sensor devices, assigns identification numbers to the sensor devices, receives, processes, and interprets sensor data from the sensor devices, draws inferences about the sensor data regarding levels of merchandise being displayed at a location, transmits restocking requests or messages, and verifies an amount of merchandise displayed at the location; and   the one or more sensor devices in proximity of the merchandise displayed at the location.   
     
     
         10 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the inventory tracking module calibrates the one or more sensor devices to a baseline measurement of a displacement of air in the presence of the merchandise, and wherein the sensor device establishes a threshold for a permissible change in the baseline measurement of the displacement of air. 
     
     
         11 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more sensor devices detects the change in the displacement of air that is greater than the threshold, wherein the change in the displacement of air occurs as a function of a removal of the merchandise from the proximity of the sensor devices. 
     
     
         12 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the inventory tracking system generates an alert in response to a sensor device of the one or more sensor devices indicating a removal of the merchandise from the proximity of the sensor device. 
     
     
         13 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the inventory tracking system assigns to of the one or more sensor devices a unique identifier corresponding to a location of the sensor device within a store, and links the merchandise to the unique identifier of the sensor device. 
     
     
         14 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the inventory tracking system transmits a restocking request to refill the merchandise at a location in proximity to the one or more sensor devices in response to an alert indicating the removal of the merchandise. 
     
     
         15 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the inventory tracking system receives a signal from the one or more sensor devices tracking a total amount of merchandise removed from the location in proximity of the sensor devices; and reporting a total amount of merchandise purchased as a function of the total amount of merchandise purchased and the record of merchandise purchases. 
     
     
         16 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , the displacement of air measured by the sensor devices is a function of a movement of customers or employees in the aisle of the store. 
     
     
         17 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein each of the sensor devices is positioned on each shelf of the display and each of the sensor devices independently monitor a separate group of merchandise. 
     
     
         18 . The product tracking system of  claim 9 , wherein the threshold established by the sensor device is calibrated to transmit the alert upon a reduction of merchandise less than or equal to half a total amount of merchandise monitored by the sensor device.