EP0696788A1 - Electronic display unit for price and/or product information - Google Patents

Abstract

The unit has two digital displays (4,7) of different sizes arranged in an elongated rectangular housing (3) and showing the normal and "special offer" prices. The displays are arranged with a flashing arrow (8) operated by electronic control to draw a potential purchasers attention to the lower price. The meanings of the two prices are distinguished by inserts (5) into upper and lower compartments (9). A transparent cover (11) can be slid (6) towards the other end for access to these, but protects the price displays themselves at all times.

Description

The invention relates to an electronic display unit for reproducing price and / or product information, consisting of a display and an associated control circuit in a housing which can be attached to a piece of shop furniture or a shelf or the like, on the front surface of the housing the display is arranged, at least one compartment for receiving a digit, other symbols and / or information carrier is provided.

A display unit of the generic type has become known from DE 38 21 137 A1. In order to reduce the time spent updating a price label in sales facilities, it is proposed to equip it with an electronic display device whose display is influenced by means of a keyboard, i.e. is set to the current price. An information carrier produced by hand or in writing, on which, for example, a description of the goods is reproduced, can be inserted from above into a frame arranged above the display device.

A disadvantage in addition to the unattractive optical design of the frame is that the information carrier is freely accessible so that it quickly becomes dirty, and that unauthorized persons can easily remove it or swap it with an information carrier removed from another display unit. The undesirable consequence is that the customer of the sales facility is no longer provided with correct information about the price or the type of goods offered.

The object of the present invention is to further develop the known electronic display unit in such a way that it is difficult for unauthorized persons to contaminate and remove the information carrier.

According to the invention the object is achieved in that a transparent cover is attached to the housing, which is displaceable between a position in which it covers the compartment and a second position in which it does not or only partially covers the compartment for inserting the information carrier.

The main idea is to arrange the information carrier within a compartment on the front surface of the housing and to close the latter by means of a transparent transparent cover, which enables the reproduced information to be read. The transparent cover can be moved between two positions: As a rule, the compartment is completely covered with the information carrier, so that it is protected against dirt and unauthorized access. However, if the information carrier is to be changed, the transparent cover - usually by the staff - can be moved relative to the housing until the compartment is only partially or no longer covered, so that the information carrier can be removed and another inserted without difficulty can.

The advantages of the invention consist primarily in the fact that the information carrier can be contaminated less quickly and can be removed less easily by unauthorized persons. At the same time, a change is quick and easy.

Although it would be conceivable to insert the information carrier analogously to DE 38 21 137 A1 from above or laterally through a slot into the compartment, while it is recognizable to the viewer through a front window of the compartment, it is preferred to insert the information carrier from the front into the Insert subject. The latter thus points into the front of the housing, which also contains the display Opening in which the information carrier can be inserted and removed relatively easily and quickly from the front, ie in the direction normal to the front, after the transparent cover has been moved to the side. As a rule, the shape of the compartment will correspond to a cuboid.

In order to protect the relatively sensitive and expensive display against external influences at the same time as the compartment for receiving the information carrier, it is also advisable to design the transparent cover so that it also covers the display in its position closing the compartment. It is dimensioned sufficiently long (and high) that it covers both the compartment and the display in its normal position, its dimensions generally corresponding to the front surface of the housing, which has an appealing visual appearance to the advantageous consequence.

The display can also be protected from undesired effects during the change of the information carrier, i.e. when the transparent cover is moved into its second position, by designing the housing and the transparent cover in such a way that the latter only so far into its position that the compartment does not or only partially cover it is movable that it still covers the display. For this purpose, stops can be attached to the housing, which interact with complementary stops on the transparent cover. For example, a stop can be attached in the immediate vicinity of the front side of the transparent cover adjacent to the compartment, which in the second position bears against a stop of the housing that is approximately at a distance from the front side of the housing. The stops can also be attached in particular on the inside of the transparent cover adjacent to the housing in the vicinity of its outer edge, where they are not visually noticeable.

An essentially U-shaped profile, which engages in a groove of the housing in the region of its legs, is preferably considered as the transparent cover. The inside of the Legs, ie the longitudinal inner sides of the profile, have a suitable shoulder which projects inwards in the direction of the opposite leg and which is arranged in the corresponding groove of the housing. When the transparent cover is moved axially, the shoulders slide in the groove. Obviously, the grooves are made in the upper and lower edges of the housing, so that the transparent cover is moved in a horizontal direction and covers the entire height of the housing. Of course, the transparent cover can also be provided with a groove, while the housing is equipped with the heel.

For the releasable attachment of the housing to shop furniture, shelves or the like, a holder is proposed into which the housing is inserted. The fixation is carried out so that the holder encloses the housing from above and from below. The basic structure of such holders consists of an approximately flat rear wall, which is connected by holding tongues on the surface facing away from the inserted housing with a holding rail, which in turn can be attached to the shelf or shop furniture or the like. The holding rails and tongues are described in AT 394 913 B, while a holder is known from DE 93 09 464 U. The upper and lower edges of the rear wall are provided with arcuate legs which grip around the housing from above and below or engage in a groove in the housing and fix it. The holder is thus an approximately U-shaped profile, the axis of which extends horizontally, the rear wall being attached either vertically — for example when fastened to a shelf — or according to the desired inclination of the display. It is particularly advantageous if the housing is dimensioned in such a way that it can be pushed into known holders for change plates (price cassettes) that are already available in many sales facilities, in particular in the fresh produce sector (such as fruit and vegetables). The business owner only needs the conventional, purely mechanical price cassette through the electronic display unit, which can be adapted to the price cassettes for aesthetic reasons, in order to implement the updating of the price labeling in the fresh goods area with frequently - often even daily - changing prices more reliably, quickly and easily.

To give the viewer a larger area with product information, advertising information or the like. presentation, it is recommended to use a holder that offers space for a removable sign with a larger information carrier above or below the electronic display unit. The holder therefore has two stacking locations arranged one above the other, into which a housing with an electronic display and a mechanical change plate or, of course, two housings fit one above the other.

In a preferred embodiment, the housing has a rear cover on the rear surface opposite the display, which is displaceable between a position in which it closes the housing and a second position in which it releases a battery compartment inside the housing. The battery change to be carried out approximately every five years when using lithium batteries to power the display and the associated control circuit is thus compared to conventional electronic display units, in which the battery is connected by a solder connection, and in which the rear wall is attached to the housing by a snap connection is significantly accelerated and simplified. As a rule, the back cover is moved in the same or opposite direction in which the transparent cover is moved.

The back cover naturally also provides protection for the control circuit of the display, which is usually mounted on a circuit board. In order to prevent accidental damage to the expensive and sensitive control circuit when changing the battery, the displacement of the back cover can be limited so that it also in his second position, in which the battery compartment is exposed, covers the electronics board. For this purpose, the housing and the back cover can be provided with stops which touch each other as soon as the back cover has been brought into its second position. The rear cover can be provided with a protruding stop on the outside near the edge adjacent to the battery compartment, while the housing is equipped with a complementary stop at a distance corresponding to the displacement of the rear cover from the opposite (outer) edge of the battery compartment.

Finally, it is proposed that the rear cover engages with grooves in the housing with its longitudinal outer sides. When you move the back cover, the protruding parts of its longitudinal outer sides move in the groove of the housing; they implement guidance in the directions orthogonal to the displacement path. Here, too, it is of course possible to interchange the position of the groove or the elements engaging therein, that is to say to have the housing engage in a groove in the battery cover.

Figur 1 :

die Ansicht einer Anzeigeeinheit mit einem darüber angebrachten Wechselschild;

Figur 2:

eine Anzeigeeinheit mit verschobenem Klarsichtdeckel;

Figur 3:

die Rückansicht einer Anzeigeeinheit;

Figur 4:

den Schnitt durch eine Anzeigeeinheit.

In the following, embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail with reference to the drawings. They show a schematic representation in

Figure 1:

the view of a display unit with a removable sign attached above;

Figure 2:

a display unit with a displaced transparent cover;

Figure 3:

the rear view of a display unit;

Figure 4:

the section through a display unit.

FIG. 1 shows the view of an electronic display device which is pushed into a holder (1). The display device has in a housing (3) two front displays (4,7), one (4) of which is approximately twice as high as the other (7). One of the displays (4) can, for example, show the current price of a special offer, while the smaller one (7) shows the normal price. An electronically controlled arrow (8) is positioned above the smaller display (7) in the housing (3), which can attract the attention of a viewer by intermittent activation (blinking). To the left of the displays (4, 7), the housing (3) contains two information carriers (5) arranged one above the other, both of which are provided with a horizontal label which explains the numbers shown. Above the housing (3) of the electronic display device, the holder (1) has a change plate (2) which is known per se and which is also provided with an inscription which represents product information. From the two arrows (6) it can be seen that the interchangeable plate (2) and the housing (3) can be inserted in the holder (1) and pulled out again in the horizontal direction. Of course, the side faces of the interchangeable plate (2) and the housing (3) normally end with the side edges of the holder (1), so they are not, as shown in the drawing, partially pulled out.

The structure and function of the transparent transparent cover (11) can be seen from FIG. While the latter in FIG. 1 covers the entire front of the housing (3), that is to say both the information carrier (5) and the displays (4, 7), in FIG. 2 it is along its axis in the horizontal direction according to the arrow (6) shifted to the right so that the openings of the rectangular compartments (9) for receiving the information carriers (5) are exposed; the latter are freely accessible and can be easily exchanged, turned over or cleaned. However, the displays (4,7) are still protected by the transparent cover (11). In the upper and lower edges of the housing (3) are each provided with a groove (10) into which sections correspondingly formed on the longitudinal inside of the transparent cover (11) engage.

The rear view of the housing (3) in FIG. 3 enables the battery compartment (15) to be recognized, since the rear cover (12) has been pushed aside. It is also guided in a groove (16) of the housing (3) and can only be moved so far that it still covers the control circuit of the displays (4, 7), which is arranged on a circuit board. The stops of the housing (3) and the rear cover (12) used for this purpose are not recognizable in the drawing, but can be designed appropriately by a person skilled in the art. The battery (13), a lithium cell, is inserted into the battery compartment (15) so that it is in electrical connection with the battery contacts (14), and then supplies the control circuit and the displays (4, 7) with electrical energy. Of course, the back cover (12) is normally pushed over the battery compartment (15) so that it no longer protrudes beyond the housing (3).

Finally, FIG. 4 shows a section through a holder (1) with a display unit inserted therein. The holder (1) has a second slot above the latter, which is empty in the drawing. The housing (3) of the electronic display unit is gripped and fixed from above and below by curved legs of the holder (1), while the back cover (12) lies against the flat rear wall of the holder (1). The groove (10) of the housing (3), into which corresponding shoulders of the rounded legs of the substantially U-shaped transparent cover (11) engage, can be seen. The rear cover (12) is also slidably mounted in a groove (16) in the housing (3). A glass plate (17) lies between the and a second glass plate on the approximately planar inner surface of the central section of the transparent cover (11), which is concavely curved on the outside in the manner of a cylindrical lens (17 ') the display (4.7) made of liquid crystals is attached. The control circuit of the displays (4, 7) is mounted on a circuit board (18) lying on the surface of the second, inner glass plate (17 ') opposite the display (4, 7). Since no pushbutton switches for influencing the displays (4, 7) are provided in the housing, the control circuit is connected to the ones to be reproduced via an antenna (19) positioned between the rear cover (12) and the circuit board (18) and comprising a large number of wire windings Data programmed. The display unit is therefore part of a (known per se) system for electronic price display, which further comprises a central computer and transmission devices. The data are transmitted electromagnetically to the antenna (19) from the computer, which can be a so-called point-of-sale computer, for example, via a transmitter and transmission loops. The antenna (19) also enables an acknowledgment of received data to be transmitted back to the computer. Data transmission by infrared or ultrasonic waves or by inductive means is of course also conceivable.

The result is an electronic display unit which is characterized by an attractive appearance and the possibility of protecting information carriers.

Claims (10)

Electronic display unit for displaying price and / or product information, consisting of a display (4,7) and an associated control circuit in a housing (3), which can be attached to a piece of shop furniture or shelf or the like, being on the front surface of the housing (3) on which the display (4, 7) is arranged, at least one compartment (9) for receiving a number, other symbols and / or words carrying information carrier (5) is provided, characterized in that on the housing (3) a transparent cover (11) is fastened, which can be moved between a position in which it covers the compartment (9) and a second position in which it does not cover the compartment (9) or only partially covers it to insert the information carrier (5) . Display unit according to claim 1, characterized in that the compartment (9) on the front surface of the housing (3) has an opening into which the information carrier (5) can be inserted. Display unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the transparent cover (11) in its position closing the compartment (9) also covers the display. Display unit according to claim 3, characterized in that the transparent cover (11) can only be moved so far into its second position, in which it does not or only partially cover the compartment (9) for inserting the information carrier (5), that it covers the display still covered. Display unit according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the transparent cover (11) is a substantially U-shaped profile and that the two inner sides of the legs of the transparent cover (11) protrude inwards and in grooves (10) of the housing (3) engage, which are preferably introduced at the upper and lower edges. Display unit according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the housing (3) can be inserted into a holder (1) which surrounds it from above and below. Display unit according to Claim 6, characterized in that a second housing (3) or an interchangeable plate (2) with an information carrier can be fixed to the holder (1) below or above the housing (3). Display unit according to one of Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the housing (3) has a rear cover (12) on the rear surface opposite the display (4,7), which covers a position in which it closes the housing (3) , and a second position, in which it does not cover a battery compartment (15) inside the housing (3), is displaceable. Display unit according to Claim 8, characterized in that the rear cover (12) can only be displaced into its second position, in which it does not cover the battery compartment (15), in such a way that it covers an electronics board (18) contained in the housing (3) . Display unit according to one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that the upper and lower longitudinal outer sides of the rear cover (12) engages in grooves (16) of the housing (3).

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