Abstract: An automated ordering system in a retail shop adapted to automatically order goods. In the system, a demand amount in the future is first supposed on the basis of an average of the past demands, the supposed future demand amount is corrected by the variable condition used to change the demand amount to predict a future demand amount, and the order amount is determined pursuant to a calculation formula on the basis of the predictive future demand amount and the stock volume of goods. Goods tend to be stocked in surplus or out of stock are diagnosed on the basis of the change of the past demands and the worker determines the amount of orders in respect to these goods.

Abstract: A job scheduling method for scheduling of job allocation to various resources, wherein each workload of a job is allocated to each time unit along a time axis in units of job and resource type. Based on the workload allocated in units of resource type, an initial workload for all resources at each time unit is calculated. A first workload balancing is performed for an initial workload at a time unit exceeding a resource capacity so as to balance the initial workload within the resource capacity. Thereafter, a second workload balancing is performed so as to balance a workload allocated in units of resource type within its resource capacity.

Abstract: A massager has a device body, a drive unit housed in the device body, a connecting arm driven by the drive unit, an actuator operating in conjunction with the connecting arm, a space guide, an energy storage part consisting of compression springs for storing energy when compressed by the connecting arm, an energy releasing mechanism for rapidly releasing the stored energy, and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the energy stored in the compression springs, the actuator being adapted to pat the skin surface plural pieces of the compression springs are connected in series so as to make the patting intensity adjustable discontinuously and to make the overall dimensions smaller. Also, a mechanism for feeding warm air onto the skin surface being patted as necessary in the aforementioned massager is disclosed.