A retail merchandise pusher with a remote alarm feature is provided. The pusher includes a housing and an adaptor. The adaptor is removably coupled to the housing and slidably coupled to a track. The pusher including a shaft rotatable about its axis in a first and second direction and a gear wheel coupled to the shaft. The rotation of the gear wheel causing a first electrical contact to engage with a second electrical contact, such that the distance that the pusher moves along the track can be measured by totaling the number of times the first electrical contact engages with the second electrical contact.

A product management system includes a product management apparatus, a product wireless tag provided on the product and into which a product identifier indicating the product is written, a tool wireless tag provided on a holding tool for holding the product and into which a tool identifier indicating the holding tool is written, a display zone communication apparatus provided in a display zone in which at least one set of the product and the holding tool is disposed and having a wireless tag reader for reading the product identifier from the product wireless tag and reading the tool identifier from the tool wireless tag. The display zone communication apparatus transmits both the product identifier and the tool identifier read by the wireless tag reader to the product management apparatus. The product management apparatus links the holding tool and the product held by the holding tool with each other.

A rail track assembly comprises a rail defining a longitudinal channel configured to slidably receive at least a portion of a monitoring drone. An end cap is configured to be coupled to a first longitudinal end of the rail. A charge cap is configured to be coupled to second longitudinal end of the rail opposite the first longitudinal end, the charge cap configured to house a power module for charging the monitoring drone when the monitoring drone is located at the second longitudinal end.

An indicator device comprises an indicator member (102, 222, 330) moveable between first and second positions, a switch means (152, 252, 352) engageable by the indicator member when the indicator member is in the second position, a signal generating means (160, 260, 360) for generating a data signal, connected to the switch means, a signal transmitting means (158, 258, 358) connected to the signal generating means for wirelessly transmitting the data signal and an electrical power source (162, 262, 362) for supplying electrical power to the signal generating means and the signal transmitting means, wherein the device is configured to generate and transmit a data signal on actuation of the switch means. The invention also includes a dispensing device comprising such an indicator device.

A retail merchandise pusher with a remote alarm feature is provided. The pusher includes a housing and an adaptor. The adaptor is removably coupled to the housing and slidably coupled to a track. The pusher including a shaft rotatable about its axis in a first and second direction and a gear wheel coupled to the shaft. The rotation of the gear wheel causing a first electrical contact to engage with a second electrical contact, such that the distance that the pusher moves along the track can be measured by totaling the number of times the first electrical contact engages with the second electrical contact.

Methods and systems for managing inventory at a retail facility include an image capture device having a field of view that includes a product display shelf of the retail facility, an electronic database that stores a planogram of product display shelves at the retail facility and a computing device. The computing device obtains an image of a product display shelf, detects the individual packages of each of the different products captured in the image, defines different product display areas for the different products on the product display shelf captured in the image, and generates virtual boundary lines that surround each of the defined product display areas. The computing device also determines an identity of a product contained located in each defined product display area, and associates the virtual boundary lines surrounding each defined product display area with an identifier unique to the product contained in the defined product display area.

Anti-sweeping hook with a display hook, a helical coil, and rotating handle. The display hook may be straight with a first end and second end opposite the first end. The helical coil is disposed about the display hook and extends lengthwise along the display hook. The helical coil has a first coil end proximate the first end of the display hook. Rotation of the helical coil in a first direction loads the retail merchandise onto the display hook. Rotation of the coil in a second direction opposite the first direction removes the retail merchandise. The rotating handle is configured to determine a number of retail items stored on the display hook, based on the number and direction of rotation of the rotating handle. The rotating handle includes an MCU and wireless communications module to process and wirelessly transmit inventory data indicating the number of retail items on the display hook.

A retail shelf floor divider or shelf floor limiter, which comprises mechanical coupling means which are arranged for coupling the retail shelf floor divider or shelf floor limiter to a further structure, in particular a shelf floor in order to divide the shelf floor in shelf floor sections or to limit it, and electronic detection means for the detection of movement in the neighborhood of the retail shelf floor divider or the shelf floor limiter, which are arranged to utilize an electromagnetic wave, preferred a radio wave, more preferred a light wave, or a sound wave for said detection.

Methods and apparatuses are provided for use in monitoring product placement within a shopping facility. Some embodiments provide an apparatus configured to determine product placement conditions within a shopping facility, comprising: a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive communications; a product monitoring control circuit coupled with the transceiver; a memory coupled with the control circuit and storing computer instructions that when executed by the control circuit cause the control circuit to: obtain a composite three-dimensional (3D) scan mapping corresponding to at least a select area of the shopping facility and based on a series of 3D scan data; evaluate the 3D scan mapping to identify multiple product depth distances; and identify, from the evaluation of the 3D scan mapping, when one or more of the multiple product depth distances is greater than a predefined depth distance threshold from the reference offset distance of the product support structure.

A method and a device for detecting an object stacking state, and an intelligent shelf are disclosed. The method comprises capturing a color image and a depth image that are aligned with each other above a reference plane in which the object is located, identifying the object and an area occupied by the object in the color image, converting the depth image into a height map relative to the reference plane, determining a reference height of the object based on the height map and the area occupied by the object, acquiring an actual height of the object based on the identified object, and comparing the reference height of the object with the actual height of the object and judging a stacking state of the object based on a result of the comparing.