Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Yuichiro Hatanaka

Hitoshi Iizaka

Yuta Sasaki

Hidehiko Miyakoshi

Toshiyuki Tamura

Hidehiro Naitou

Takayuki Hiyoshi

Hidehiro Naito

Yoshiaki Shibata

Yukihiro Takada

An article reading device according to an embodiment includes a display device and an image capturing device that generates an image of an article. A processor extracts, from the image, first feature data for recognizing the article and second feature data for determining whether to recognize the article based on the first feature data. The processor determines whether to recognize the article. If it is determined to recognize the article, the processor recognizes the article based on the extracted first feature data, and controls the display device to display a recognition result. If it is determined to not recognize the article, extract a barcode from the image, the processor identifies the article based on the extracted barcode, and control the display device to display an identification result. The processor performs a transaction settlement with respect to the recognition result, if any, and the identification result, if any.

Article reading device

An object recognition system includes a storage device, a reading unit, an output device, and a processor. The storage device stores a dictionary containing attributes of a plurality of registered objects. The attributes includes at least a category and feature values. The reading unit includes an image capturing device. The processor registers a new object by (i) extracting a feature value of the new object from an image of the new object captured by the image capturing device, (ii) comparing the extracted feature value with feature values of registered objects that are registered in the dictionary to calculate a similarity degree therebetween, (iii) registering the extracted feature value in the dictionary as a determination criteria for an object recognition, and (iv) outputting a notification through the output device prior to the registering, upon a result of the comparing meets a predetermined condition.

Object recognition system and method of registering a new object

An object recognition apparatus includes an image capturing unit, a storage unit that stores feature data of a plurality of reference objects, a display unit, and a processor. The processor calculates degrees of similarity between an object in the captured image and a plurality of reference objects, based on the feature data of the reference objects, selects some of the reference objects as candidates objects based on the calculated degrees of similarity, and controls the display unit to display the candidate objects and a message to select one of the candidate objects. If no candidate object is selected within a predetermined time after the candidate objects and the message have been displayed, and thereafter a new image is captured by the image capturing unit, the processor removes the message and calculates degrees of similarity between an object in the newly captured image and the plurality of reference objects.

Object recognition apparatus

A commodity registration apparatus configured to perform object recognition includes an interface connected to receive captured images, a storage unit storing a dictionary for the object recognition, and a processor. The processor is configured to designate a learning target article for learning processing, extract, from each captured image, feature value indicating feature of an article contained in the captured image, compare each of the extracted feature values with stored feature values of the learning target article registered in the dictionary and calculate a similarity degree therebetween, generate relationship information indicating a relationship between the captured images based on the calculated similarity degrees, exclude captured images that meet a predetermined condition based on the relationship information, and execute the learning processing by adding, to the dictionary with respect to the learning target article, the feature values indicating features of the article contained in the non-excluded captured images.

Commodity registration apparatus configured to perform object recognition

A temperature indicating material of the present invention includes at least an electron donating compound, an electron accepting compound, a reversible material causing reversible transformation between crystal and amorphous states, or reversible transformation between phase separation and non-phase-separation, with respect to a part or all of the composition system; and a temperature characteristic controller having a solid-state in room temperature and at least a part of the temperature characteristic controller dissolves in the electron accepting compound, the reversible material, or the electron accepting compound and the reversible material so as to change the speed of the reversible transformation between crystal and amorphous, or speed of the reversible transformation between phase separation and non-phase-separation, with respect to the composition system, by its reversible transformation between crystal and amorphous states, or the speed of the reversible transformation between phase separation and non-phase separation.

Temperature indicating material

A product label in which a heat sensitive recording layer and a heat sensitive color forming layer for printing goods information are laminated on a substrate, the heat sensitive recording layer and the heat sensitive color forming layer form colors different from each other and the heat sensitive color forming layer forming an emphasis area. Partial disposition of the heat sensitive color forming layer for the emphasis area can provide a product label of inexpansive material cost and capable of heat sensitive recording for two or more colors with no color mixing under simple control.

Product label

In the present invention, a temperature indicating material is prepared by incorporating, in a rewritable base system which comprises an electron donating compound, an electron accepting compound and a reversal material and undergoes color changes with temperature and time, a thermochromism controller which changes a rate of crystal to amorphous or phase-separation to non-phase-separation rate. Upon color changes with an environmental temperature, the thermochromism controller undergoes crystallization or phase separation to have a function as a place for reaction and contributes to the color changes of the temperature indicating material. The incorporation of the thermochromism controller therefore makes it possible to impart the resulting temperature indicating material with improved sensitivity to temperature at around an environmental temperature and a high S/N ratio.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima Shizuoka, Japan

Yuichiro Hatanaka