JP2005099888A - Electronic shelf tag system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic shelf tag system having a thin display device having a horizontal length nearly equal to a commodity display shelf installed in each stage of the commodity display shelf, and displaying information about a commodity such as a commodity name or a commodity price in an arbitrary position. <P>SOLUTION: The thin display device of a shelf width size is installed in the front face of each the stage of the commodity display shelf inside a store. After a salesclerk performs commodity alteration/abolition work, the salesclerk inputs the commodity name of the displayed commodity, a display direction, a display face number, a number of a display shelf wherein the commodity is displayed, a stage number, a line number, and a type of a shelf tag intended to be displayed, into a portable terminal 7. When information about them is transmitted to a management computer 3 via a wireless LAN, the management computer 3 produces display information management data by use of previously produced shelf tag type management data, commodity information management data and display instruction data, and automatically displays the shelf tag corresponding to the displayed commodity to an arbitrary place on the thin display device 11. Arbitrary display such as sales promotion information or an advertisement can be displayed in an area wherein the shelf tag is not displayed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic shelf label system and the like, and in particular, in each store of a product display shelf, a thin display device having a horizontal length substantially equal to the product display shelf is provided at an arbitrary position. The present invention relates to an electronic shelf label system and the like for displaying information on products such as product names and product prices.

  A shelf label for displaying the price of a product displayed on the shelf is attached to each stage of the product display shelf of a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store. In order to save labor and time for replacing shelf labels, prevent replacement mistakes, and to quickly transmit store service information or price information to customers, an electronic shelf label system is used to connect the head office host computer and each store. There is a method of connecting a store server, transmitting product information transmitted from a host computer to a display shelf in the store, and displaying the price of the product electronically. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

JP 2002-304673 A

  However, since the liquid crystal display type electronic shelf label is used in the above method, the number of characters cannot be displayed, and thus information that can be displayed is limited. In addition, since one electronic shelf label is required for one product, it is necessary to prepare a new electronic shelf label when dealing with a new product in the product reform and abolition, and much labor is required. Furthermore, when the shelf allocation of the product display shelf is changed, the position of the electronic shelf label must be moved in accordance with the shift of the product position.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a first invention is an electronic shelf label system including a display device installed on a display shelf of a store and a management computer, wherein the management computer has a shelf label format. Shelf label type information to be shown, holding means for holding product information about the product, means for receiving information about the display position of the product, the shelf label type information, the product information, and information about the display position of the received product And display means for generating display instruction information related to the displayed product, and transmitting the display instruction information to the display device. The display device receives the display instruction information sent from the management computer. An electronic shelf label system comprising: means and display means for displaying the display instruction information.

The display instruction information related to the displayed product created by the management computer includes product information such as product name, price, standard, product identifier, etc., barcode, advertisement information, history retroactive information, etc. This information is displayed at the position.
The barcode includes a product code for identifying a product such as JAN (Japan Article Number) and NW7 (Narrow Wide 7), a two-dimensional barcode, and the like.
For example, electronic shelf labels including product names, prices, standards, barcodes, etc. are displayed according to the position of the displayed products, and history information on food ingredients, various promotional information, advertising information, cooking Display life information such as recipes and home medicine.

  The product information held by the management computer is linked to other systems such as a store POS system, and the display of the electronic shelf label is changed as soon as the price is changed.

The display device is composed of polymer network type liquid crystal, microcapsule electrophoresis, flexible organic EL, etc., is thin and easy to handle like paper, has high display contrast even without an auxiliary light source such as a backlight, color It has a display function and can display bar codes, images, and the like.
The display device has a length in the horizontal direction substantially equal to the display shelf to be installed, and is composed of a single or a plurality of display devices.

  Electronic information that is automatically displayed on the display device using information on the display position of the product input from the mobile terminal, shelf label type information and product information held by the management computer when the display of the product is changed due to product reform Update the shelf label. For new products, electronic shelf labels are automatically created and displayed. In addition, when the position of the displayed product is shifted due to the replacement of the product, the display position of the electronic shelf label is automatically changed.

  2nd invention is the shelf label type information which shows the format of a shelf label, the holding means to hold | maintain the merchandise information regarding goods, the means to receive the information regarding the display position of goods, the said shelf label type information, and the said goods A management computer comprising: a transmission unit that creates display instruction information about a displayed product using the information and information about a display position of the received product, and transmits the display instruction information to the display device .

  3rd invention has a receiving means which receives the display instruction information sent from the management computer, and a display means which performs a display based on the display instruction information. Polymer network type liquid crystal, microcapsule electrophoresis, flexible It is a display device characterized by comprising an organic EL or the like.

  According to the present invention, a thin display device having a horizontal length substantially equal to the product display shelf is installed in each stage of the product display shelf, and information on the product such as the product name and the product price is displayed at an arbitrary position. An electronic shelf label system can be provided.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of implementing the system of the present invention. An electronic shelf label system 1 according to the present invention includes a management computer 3 installed in a store such as a supermarket and a convenience store, a portable terminal 7- 1 to 7-m, having thin display devices 11-1 to 11-n installed on merchandise display shelves in the store.

  The management computer 3 has an antenna 5, the mobile terminals 7-1 to 7-m have antennas 9-1 to 9-m, and the thin display devices 11-1 to 11-n have antennas 13-1 to 13-n. Have. The management computer 3, the portable terminals 7-1 to 7-m, and the thin display devices 11-1 to 11-n are respectively connected to the wireless LAN via the antennas 5, 9-1 to 9-m, and 13-1 to 13-n. It is connected to (Local Area Network) and communicates with information related to products, information related to display, and the like.

  The mobile terminal 7 is carried by the store clerk, and after the product is abolished and removed, such as removal of the old product and display of the new product, the removed and displayed product and position are input. The portable terminal 7 transmits information regarding the product and position removed or displayed via the antenna 9 to the management computer 3.

  The management computer 3 includes data related to products such as product names, prices, standards, barcodes, and product IDs of products, data related to the display format of electronic shelf labels displayed on the thin display device 11, data related to product display, and the like. The management computer 3 receives the product and position removed or displayed from the portable terminal 7 via the antenna 5, creates display instruction data for the electronic shelf label for the thin display device 11, and transmits it to the thin display device 11.

  The thin display device 11 is an electronic paper using a polymer network type liquid crystal, microcapsule electrophoresis, flexible organic EL, etc. having a horizontal length substantially equal to the product display shelf, and the price, product name, and standard of the displayed product. In addition, electronic shelf labels including barcodes, product IDs, etc., and arbitrary information such as product history retroactive information, sales promotion information, advertisements, and life information are displayed at arbitrary positions.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the management computer 3. The management computer 3 includes a control unit 21, a storage device 23, a media input / output unit 25, an input unit 27, interconnected by a bus 35. A printing unit 29, a display unit 31, and a communication unit 33 are included.

  The control unit 21 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes a program, and a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory) for storing program instructions or data. The control unit 21 controls the overall operation of the management computer 3.

The media input / output unit 25 is a CD-ROM (compact disc read only memory) or CD-RW (CD-ReWritable), flexible disk, MO, or other media drive that reads data from the media and Write.

  The input unit 27 is an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse. The printing unit 29 is a printer, and prints necessary information and the like according to a request from the user. The display unit 31 is a display device such as a CRT (cathode-ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display).

  The communication unit 33 communicates with the portable terminal 7 and the thin display device 11 through the antenna 5 by wireless LAN.

  The storage device 23 stores programs and data necessary for the operation of the management computer 3. 3 is a diagram showing details of the storage device 23 of the management computer 3. The storage device 23 includes an OS (Operating Systems) 41, shelf label type management data 47, display information management data 49, merchandise information management data 51, Shelf label display instruction data 53 and display instruction data 55 are included. The shelf label type management data creation function 43 is a program for creating the shelf label type management data 47.

  The shelf label display instruction function 45 uses the display instruction data 55, the shelf label type management data 47, and the product information management data 51 that are created and updated by a business management system (not shown) when receiving information related to product revision / decommissioning from the mobile terminal 7. The display information management data 49 is a program for instructing the thin display device 11 to display a shelf label.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 7. The mobile terminal 7 includes a control unit 61, a storage device 63, an input unit 65, a display unit 67, a communication unit, and a communication unit that are interconnected by a bus 71. Part 69.

  The control unit 61 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes a program, and a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory) for storing program instructions or data. The control unit 61 controls the overall operation of the mobile terminal 7.

  The storage device 63 is a storage medium for storing fixed data such as a control program of the mobile terminal 7, image data, and the like.

  The input unit 65 is an input device such as a keyboard on which keys such as numeric keys and function keys for inputting a product code, a product name, a quantity, and the like are arranged, and a touch panel for instructing replacement of products. The display unit 31 is a display device such as an LCD (liquid crystal display).

  The communication unit 69 communicates with the management computer 3 and the thin display device 11 through the antenna 9 by wireless LAN.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the thin display device 11. The thin display device 11 includes a control unit 81, a storage device 83, a display unit 85, and a communication unit 87 that are interconnected by a bus 89. Have

  The control unit 81 includes a CPU (central processing unit) that executes a program, and a memory such as a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory) for storing program instructions or data. The control unit 81 controls the overall operation of the thin display device 11.

  The storage device 83 stores an electronic shelf label displayed on the thin display device 11, contents of arbitrary information, a display position, and the like.

  The display unit 85 displays electronic shelf labels including product names, prices, standards, barcodes, product IDs, etc., and arbitrary information such as product history retroactive information, sales promotion information, advertisements, and life information.

  The communication unit 87 communicates with the management computer 3 and the portable terminal 7 via the antenna 13 by wireless LAN.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an external configuration of the thin display device 11, and the thin display device 11 is disposed on the front side of the product display shelf 15 displaying the products 91. The thin display device 11 has a horizontal length substantially equal to that of the merchandise display shelf 15 and displays information on the displayed merchandise 91 and arbitrary information at an arbitrary position.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the thin display device 11, and the thin display device 11 includes shelf labels 93-1 and 93-2 of the displayed product 91 and arbitrary displays 95-1 to 95-4. indicate.

  The shelf label 93-1 indicates a product name “Assortment of cookies”, a manufacturer name “XXXXX”, a barcode, a price, and the like. The optional display 95-1 is an image indicating that the product displayed on the shelf label 93-1 is on sale, and the optional display 95-2 is an advertisement of the product displayed on the shelf label 93-1. .

The shelf label 93-2 indicates a product name “chocolate anything box”, a manufacturer name “XXX”, a price, and the like. The arbitrary display 95-3 is an image indicating that the product displayed on the shelf label 93-2 is an advertisement product. The arbitrary display 95-4 shows a two-dimensional barcode and information related thereto.
As an arbitrary display, for example, information that is not related to a product such as “I got ISO9001” or “A month and day is ΔΔ elementary school sports day” can be displayed.

  The thin display device 11 may have a horizontal length that is substantially equal to the product display shelf 15, or a horizontal length that is approximately equal to the product display shelf 15 by combining a plurality of thin display devices 11. The information about the displayed product 91 and arbitrary information may be displayed at an arbitrary position.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the three thin display devices 11-1a to 11-3a are arranged side by side so as to have a length in the horizontal direction substantially equal to the commodity display shelf 15, and the three thin display devices 11- 1a to 11-3a are regarded as one thin display device 11a, and shelf labels 93-1, 93-2 and arbitrary displays 95-1 to 95-4 can be displayed as in FIG.

  9 is a diagram showing an example of the shelf label type management data 47 of the storage device 23 of the management computer 3, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the data of the shelf label type management data 47, and FIG. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of a shelf label of type A1, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of a shelf label of shelf label type A2, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of product information management data 51, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the shelf label display instruction data 53, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the display instruction data 55, FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the display information management data 49, and FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of this data.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the shelf label type management data 47 defines the format, format, etc. of the shelf label in order to automatically display the shelf label 93 on the thin display device 11, and attaches a shelf label type identifier ID to a plurality of shelves. Data for managing the tag type, shelf label type ID 101, shelf label name 103, display type attribute 105, start point X coordinate 107, start point Y coordinate 109, end point X coordinate 111, end point Y coordinate 113, display item a 115- 1 and display item b 115-2.

  The shelf label type ID 101 is an identifier uniquely assigned to each shelf label type of the shelf label, for example, A1, A2, A3, etc. for the product display which is an electronic shelf label, B1, B2, B3, etc. for the arbitrary display. Set.

The shelf label name 103 is a shelf label type name, and is set to, for example, “shelf label large”, “medium shelf label”, “small shelf label”, “advertisement 1”, and “advertisement 2”.
The display type attribute indicates whether the shelf label type is a product display or an arbitrary display.
The start point X coordinate 107, the start point Y coordinate 109, the end point X coordinate 111, and the end point Y coordinate 113 indicate the coordinates of the display start point and end point of the shelf label type.

Display item a 115-1 and display item b 115-2 indicate the name, display coordinates, format, etc. of each display item displayed on the shelf label type, and data is displayed for every display item displayed on the shelf label. Set.
For example, the display item a 115-1 is the “cookie assortment” portion of the shelf label 93-1 in FIG. 7, and the display item b 115-2 is “XXXXX” of the shelf label 93-1 in FIG. It corresponds to the part.

  Display item data such as display item a 115-1, display item b 115-2 includes item designation 119, start point X coordinate 121, start point Y coordinate 123, end point X coordinate 125, end point Y coordinate 127, section 129, font type 131. , Font size 133, font color 135, font bold 137, font italic 139, font UL (Under Line) 141, font display angle 143, barcode type 145, barcode display content 147, image color 149, image attribute 151 doing.

The item name 119 is a name of a display item, and is set to, for example, “maker name”, “product name”, “price”, “barcode”, “product image”.
The start point X coordinate 121, the start point Y coordinate 123, the end point X coordinate 125, and the end point Y coordinate 127 indicate the display start point and end point coordinates of the display item on the shelf label type.
The section 129 indicates whether the display item is text or an image.

  The font type 131, font size 133, font color 135, font bold 137, font italic 139, font UL 141, and font display angle 143 indicate the font attributes of the text on the display item. When the section 129 is an image, there is no data regarding the font attribute.

The bar code type 145 and the bar code display content 147 indicate bar code attributes on the display items. For the barcode type 145, for example, a barcode type such as JAN or NW7 is set. The bar code display content 147 indicates the content of characters displayed by the bar code.
An image color 149 and an image attribute 151 indicate image attributes on the display item. When the section 129 is text, there is no data regarding the image attribute.

  FIG. 10 shows the start point X coordinate 121, the start point Y coordinate 123, the font type 131, the font size 133, the display item a 115-1, the display item b 115-2, and the display item c 115-3 of the shelf label type management data 47. An example of data such as font bold 137 and font italic 139 is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 11, for the shelf label whose shelf label type ID 101 of the shelf label type management data 47 is “A1”, the start point X coordinate “1” and the start point Y coordinate “1” specified by the display item a 115-1. ", Font size" 11 ", font" Gothic bold ", and manufacturer name" Ox Dairy "is displayed. In addition, the start point X coordinate “1”, the start point Y coordinate “5”, the font size “11”, and the font “Gothic Bold” specified by the display item b 115-2, the product name “XXXXXX × 500 ml”. Is the start point X coordinate “1”, the start point Y coordinate “10”, the font size “8”, and the font “Gothic” specified in the display item c 115-3, and the standard “¥ 59.6 per 100 ml” is displayed. The

  As shown in FIG. 12, for the shelf label whose shelf label type ID 101 of the shelf label type management data 47 is “A2”, the start point X coordinate “1” and the start point Y coordinate “1” specified by the display item a 115-1. ", Font size" 11 ", font" Gothic ", and product name" JQK 500ml "is displayed. In addition, the start point X coordinate “1”, the start point Y coordinate “5”, the font size “11”, and the font “Gothic” designated by the display item b 115-2 are displayed with the manufacturer name “XXX” as the display item. c The price “¥ 125” is displayed with the start point X coordinate “1”, the start point Y coordinate “15”, the font size “36”, and the font “English angle italic” specified in 115-3.

As shown in FIG. 13, the merchandise information management data 51 is data for each merchandise created by a system other than the electronic shelf label system used in a store such as a POS system, and is generally called a merchandise master.
The product information management data 51 includes a product code 179, a JAN code 181, a manufacturer name 183, a product name 185, a standard selling price 187, a product width 189, a product height 191, a product depth 193, and a product product 195.

The product code 179 and the JAN code 181 are identifiers for specifying the product 91 displayed on the product display shelf 15.
The manufacturer name 183 is the manufacturer name of the product, the product name 185 is the product name of the product, the standard selling price 187 is the price at which the product is normally sold, the product width 189, the product height 191, and the product depth 193 are The width, height, and depth of the product. The product product 195 indicates the length of a portion where two products overlap when the products are stacked.

As shown in FIG. 14, the shelf label display instruction data 53 is displayed via the wireless LAN based on the display information of the product 91 input to the mobile terminal 7 by the store clerk after displaying the product 91 on the product display shelf 15. This is the shelf label display instruction data sent from the portable terminal 7 to the management computer 3.
The shelf label display instruction data 53 includes a product code 179, a JAN code 181, a display direction 201, a face number 203, a display shelf number 205, a display column number 207, a display column number 209, and a shelf label type ID 101.

The product code 179 and the JAN code 181 of the shelf display instruction data 53 and the product information management data 51 are equivalent to each other.
The display direction 201 indicates the display direction of the product, and the number of faces 203 indicates how many the products are arranged horizontally.
The display shelf number 205, the display column number 207, and the display column number 209 indicate shelf allocation IDs. The display shelf number 205 is a number for identifying the product display shelf 15 in the store, and the display column number 207 is a product. The number for identifying the stage of the merchandise display shelf 15 displaying 91, the display column number 209, is a number for identifying the line displaying the merchandise 91 in the stages of the display merchandise shelf 15. .
The shelf label type ID 101 is equivalent to the shelf label type ID 101 defined in the display type management data 47, and is the shelf label type ID of the shelf label to be displayed for the product.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the display instruction data 55 includes shelf label display instruction data 53, shelf label type management data 47, commodity sent from the portable terminal 7 to the management computer 3 after the commodity 91 is displayed on the commodity display shelf 15. The information management data 51 and the like are created and maintained by a business management system or the like. The display shelf number 205, the display column number 207, the display column number 209, the shelf label type ID 101, the shelf label display start coordinate 221, the shelf Display end coordinates 223, display area width 225, display item content a 227-1, display item content b 227-2, and the like.

The display shelf number 205 is the number of the display shelf displaying the product, and the display column number 207 is
The number of the column displaying the product and the display column number 209 are the number of the column displaying the product and are equivalent to the display shelf number 205, the display column number 207, and the display column number 209 of the shelf label display instruction data 53, respectively. It is.
The shelf label type ID 101 is equivalent to the shelf label type ID 101 defined in the display type management data 47, and is the shelf label type ID of the shelf label to be displayed for the product.
The shelf display start coordinate 221 is the display start X coordinate on the thin display device 11 of the shelf label displayed for the product, and the shelf label display end coordinate 223 is the display end X coordinate. The display area width 225 is the width of the display area of the shelf label displayed for the product.

The display item content a 227-1 and the display item content b 227-2 are characters, images, and images to be displayed as the display item a 115-1 and the display item b 115-2 of the shelf label management data 47 corresponding to the shelf label type ID 101. Bar code etc.
For example, the display item content a 227-1 is the letter “Assortment of cookies” on the shelf label 93-1 in FIG. 7, and the display item content b 227-2 is “XXXXX” on the shelf label 93-1 in FIG. ".

  As shown in FIG. 16, the display information management data 49 is information relating to the display position of the product 91 on the product display shelf 15 and is generally called a display master or a shelf allocation master.

  Display information management data 49 includes display start date 153, display shelf number 205, display column number 207, display column number 209, shelf display start coordinate 221, shelf display end coordinate 223, product code 179, JAN code 181 and display direction 201. , Product width 171, number of faces 203, display width 175, PLD (Paper Like Display) address 177, and shelf label type ID 101.

The display start date 153 is the date when the product 91 starts to be displayed on the product display shelf 15.
The display shelf number 205 is the number of the display shelf displaying the product, the display column number 207 is the number of the column displaying the product, and the display column number 209 is the number of the column displaying the product.

  The shelf display start coordinate 221 and the shelf display end coordinate 223 are coordinates for displaying a shelf label on the thin display device 11 installed in front of the stage of the product display shelf 15 on which the product 91 is displayed. Expressed.

  The product code 179 and the JAN code 181 of the display information management data 49 and the product information management data 51 are the same.

The display direction 201, the product width 171, the number of faces 203, and the display width 175 are display execution information of the product 91.
The display direction 201 indicates the direction in which the product 91 is displayed, and is set to, for example, “front” or “right side”.

The product width 171 is the product width when the product 91 is displayed in the display direction 201. When the display direction 201 is “front”, the product width 171 is the width of the product 91. When the display direction 201 is “right side”, the product width 171 is the depth of the product 91.
The face number 203 indicates how many products 91 are arranged horizontally.
The display width 175 indicates the overall width when the product 91 is displayed in the display direction 201 with the number of faces 203.
The shelf label type ID 101 is equivalent to the shelf label type ID 101 defined in the display type management data 47, and is the shelf label type ID of the shelf label to be displayed for the product.

  17 shows display shelf number 205, display column number 207, display column number 209, shelf label type ID 101, shelf label display start coordinate 221, shelf label display end coordinate 223, display area width 225, display item of display instruction data 55. An example of data of content a 227-1 and display item content b 227-2 is shown.

  The display area at the position where the shelf label type ID is A1, the shelf display start coordinate is 10, and the shelf display end coordinate is 60, the shelf label of the product displayed in the column 1 and the column 1 of the display shelf with the display shelf number A1. In accordance with the shelf label type management data 47 having a width of 50 and a shelf label type ID of A1, "XX Milk", "XXXXXX 500ml" and "¥ 74.5 per 100ml" are displayed as display items. The

  Similarly, the shelf label type ID of the shelf label of the product displayed in the first and second columns of the display shelf number A1 is A1, the shelf display start coordinate is 70, and the shelf display end coordinate is 130. In addition, according to the shelf label type management data 47 having a display area width of 60 and a shelf label type ID of A1, “XXXXX”, “XYZ”, and “¥ 70.5 per 100 ml” are displayed as display items.

  Display area with shelf label type ID A2, shelf display start coordinate 140, shelf display end coordinate 200 at the shelf number 1 and column 3 of the display shelf with display shelf number A1 In accordance with the shelf label type management data 47 having a width of 60 and a shelf label type ID of A2, “JQK500ml”, “XXX”, and “¥ 125” are displayed as display items.

  Next, the operation of the electronic shelf label system 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of the shelf label type management data creation function 43, FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the shelf label display instruction function 45, and FIG. 20 is an example of the display position of the shelf label 93. FIGS. 21 and 22 are diagrams illustrating an example of display processing of the shelf label 93 of the subsequent display product, and FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display position of arbitrary display.

First, the operation of the shelf label type management data creation function 43 will be described.
The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 performs shelf label type management data 47 for automatically displaying the shelf label 93 of the commodity 91 displayed on the commodity display shelf 15 on the thin display device 11 according to the shelf label type management data creation function 43. Are newly created, changed, or deleted, and the shelf label type is defined from the screen displayed on the display unit 31 of the management computer 3.

  The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 defines display contents of the shelf label 93 and the optional display 95 displayed on the thin display device 11 according to the shelf label type management data creation function 43, and also displays the display contents of the shelf label 93 and the optional display 95. Define any text, barcode, or image content to display.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the screen 300 of the shelf label type management data creation function 43 displayed on the display unit 31 of the management computer 3 is a shelf label type ID 301 for inputting the shelf label type ID 101 of the shelf label type management data 47. A shelf label name 303 for inputting the shelf label name 103, an end point X coordinate 305 for inputting the end point X coordinate 111 of the shelf label, a Y coordinate 307 for inputting the end point Y coordinate 113, and a display type attribute 309 for inputting the display type attribute 105. Have.

The shelf label type ID 301 may be directly input using the input unit 27 such as a keyboard, or may be selected using a select box.
The display type attribute 309 specifies whether to display a shelf label or to display it arbitrarily. When the check box is turned on using the input unit 27 such as a mouse, the shelf label is displayed. When the checkbox is turned off, the display is optional. It becomes.

A display example 311 shows a display example of a shelf label or an arbitrary display according to the data entered in the shelf label type management data creation function screen 300.
The display example 311 includes an item 313 representing a manufacturer name, an item 315 representing a product name, an item 317 representing an advertisement, an item 317 representing an item price, an item 321 representing other information, an item 321 representing a standard, an item 323 representing a standard, and a 325 representing a barcode. have.
Data such as the item name, display coordinates, classification, font attribute, barcode attribute, and image attribute of the display item a 313 is input in the item a 327, and data of the display item b 315 is input in the item b 329.

  The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 stores the newly created and changed shelf label type management data 47 in the storage device 23 on the shelf label type management creation function screen 300.

Next, the operation of the shelf label display instruction function 45 will be described.
The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 inputs the position of the product displayed on the product display shelf 15 in the store according to the shelf label display instruction function 45, thereby displaying the thin display installed on the product display shelf 15 displaying the product. A shelf label 93 is automatically displayed on the device 11, and an arbitrary display 95 is displayed at a designated position on the thin display device 11.

  When the store clerk inputs information on the product displayed on the mobile terminal 7 in the store, the control unit 21 of the management computer 3 displays the display instruction data 55 and shelf label type management data created and maintained by another business management system or the like. 47. Display information management data 49 is created and updated using the product information management data 51, and a shelf label 93 and an optional display 95 are displayed on the thin display device 11.

  As shown in FIG. 19, when the store clerk performs product renovation work, information on the display product 91 input via the input unit 65 such as a touch panel or a keyboard of the portable terminal 7 is converted into shelf label display instruction data 53, and wireless When sent to the management computer 3 via the LAN, the control unit 21 of the management computer 3 creates display instruction data 55 using the sent shelf label display instruction data 53 (step 401).

  The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 determines whether the shelf label type ID 101 of the display instruction data 55 is shelf label display (step 402). For shelf label display, the product information management data 51 corresponding to the product code 179 is read from the storage device 23, the display direction 201 of the display instruction data 55, the number of faces 203, the product width 189 or the product depth of the product information management data 51. The display width is calculated using 193 and set to the display width 175 of the display information management data 49 (step 403).

  The display area width 225 of the display instruction data 55 is read (step 404), and it is determined whether the display area width 225 is smaller than the display width 175 (step 405). If the display area width 225 is larger than the display width 175, an input error is displayed on the display unit 67 of the portable terminal 7 and error processing is performed (step 406).

When the display area width 225 is smaller than the display width 175, it is determined whether or not the position of the product displayed subsequently is changed from the position of the display product 91 instructed to display the shelf label by the product renovation work (step 407). ).
For example, in the state where the products 91-1 to 91-5 are displayed on the product display shelf 15 as shown in FIG. 21, the product C91-3 with a product width of 7 cm is replaced with a product C91-3 with a product width of 6 cm as shown in FIG. When the product X91-3 is displayed in place of the product X91-3, the positions of the products 91-4 and 91-5 displayed subsequent to the display product 91-3 for which the shelf label display instruction is given are changed to the left by 1 cm.
Accordingly, it is necessary to change the positions of the shelf labels 93-4 and 93-5 of the products 91-4 and 91-5 to the left by 1 cm.

  When the position of the subsequent display product is changed, the control unit 81 of the thin display device 11 clears all display information after the display position instructed to display the shelf label of the thin display device 11 (step 408), and displays the shelf label. The shelf label 93 of the product is displayed, and the shelf display start coordinate 221 and the shelf display end coordinate 223 of the display information management data 49 are updated (step 409).

The shelf label 93 is displayed at the center of the display position of the corresponding product 91. As shown in FIG. 20, when displaying the products 91-1 to 91-4 on the display shelf 15, the shelf label 93-3 of the product X91-3 with the number of faces 3 has a width in which three products X91-3 are arranged. Is displayed so that the center of the shelf label 93-3 comes to the center of the label.
For example, when the width of the product X91-3 is 8 cm, the display width of the product X91-3 with 3 faces is 240 mm. When the display area width of the shelf label 93-3 is 70 mm, the shelf label display start coordinate of the shelf label 93-3 is 120 mm from the display start position of the product X91-3.

  The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 creates display instruction data 55 in which the display positions of all subsequent display products 91 are shifted by a business management system outside the scope of the present invention (step 410).

  The control unit 81 of the thin display device 11 changes and displays the position of the shelf label 93 of the subsequent display product 91 according to the display instruction data 55, and the control unit 21 of the management computer 3 displays the shelf display start coordinates of the display information management data 49. 221, the shelf display end coordinate 223 is updated (step 411). It is determined whether or not the display of the shelf labels 93 of all the subsequent display commodities 91 has been changed (step 412), and if not, the process returns to step 411. When the change of the shelf label display position of all the subsequent display products 91 is completed, the process is terminated.

  If the position of the subsequent display product is not changed in step 407, the control unit 81 of the thin display device 11 clears the display information of the display position portion of the product 91 instructed to display the shelf label on the display unit 85 (step 413). A shelf label 93 of the product 91 displayed as a shelf label is displayed on the display unit 81. The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 updates the display information management data 49 (step 414) and ends the process.

  In step 402, when the shelf label type ID 101 of the shelf label display instruction data 53 is arbitrarily displayed, the control unit 21 of the management computer 3 stores all the display information management data 49 corresponding to the display shelf number 205 in the management computer 3. Read from the device 23 (step 415).

The control unit 21 of the management computer 3 determines whether the contents of the arbitrary display instructed to display the shelf label are in the displayable area of the thin display device 11 (step 416).
Judge whether the display area is secured by the display area width of the arbitrary display from the display-indicated coordinates, and if there is no overlap between the shelf label display area and the arbitrary display area, display the arbitrary display according to the display instruction Can do.

As shown in FIG. 23, on the thin display device 11, the shelf label 93-1 is located at a position of 200 to 350 mm, the shelf label 93-2 at a position of 600 to 775 mm, and the shelf label 93-3 at a position of 950 to 1100 mm. Is displayed.
In this case, the displayable area of the arbitrary display content is a position of 0 to 200 mm, 350 to 600 mm, 775 to 950 mm, and 1100 mm.

  When the display area width for which an arbitrary display is instructed is 100 mm and the display instruction position is 400 mm, the display instruction position 400 mm exists in the displayable area between the shelf label 93-1 and the shelf label 93-2. Even if an arbitrary display is displayed with a display area width of 100 mm from the position 400 mm, it does not overlap with the shelf label 93-2, so the arbitrary display is displayed according to the display instruction.

  If the display area width for which arbitrary display is instructed is 100 mm and the display instruction position is 300 mm, the display instruction position is 300 mm within the display area width of the shelf label 93-1, so the display instruction position is shifted to the right to 350 mm. To do. Further, even if an arbitrary display is displayed with a display area width of 100 mm from the corrected display instruction position 350 mm, it does not overlap with the shelf label 93-2, so the arbitrary display is displayed at the corrected display position.

  When the display area width for which arbitrary display is instructed is 100 mm and the display instruction position is 550 mm, there is a display instruction position 550 mm in the displayable area between the shelf label 93-1 and the shelf label 93-2. If an arbitrary display is displayed from 550 mm with a display area width of 100 mm, it overlaps with the shelf label 93-2. Therefore, the display instruction position is shifted leftward to 500 mm so that it does not overlap with the shelf label 93-2. Display the display.

  When the display area width for which arbitrary display is instructed is 300 mm and the display instruction position is 400 mm, the display instruction position is 4000 mm in the displayable area between the shelf label 93-1 and the shelf label 93-2. When an arbitrary display is displayed with a display area width of 300 mm from 400 mm, it overlaps with the shelf label 93-2. Further, even if the display instruction position is shifted leftward and the corrected display instruction position is set to 350 mm which is the display end position of the shelf label 93-1, if an arbitrary display is displayed with a display area width of 300 mm, it overlaps with the shelf label 93-2. This display instruction for arbitrary display results in an error.

  When the arbitrary display content instructed to display the shelf label is in the displayable area including the correction process, the arbitrary display content is displayed at the display instruction position (step 418), and the process ends. If the arbitrary display contents cannot be displayed, an input error is displayed on the display unit 67 of the portable terminal 7 and error processing is performed (step 417).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, a thin display device having a horizontal length substantially equal to the product display shelf is installed at each stage of the product display shelf, and the product name, product price, etc. It is possible to provide an electronic shelf label system that displays information related to the product.

  The preferred embodiments of the electronic shelf label system according to the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but are not limited to the above-described embodiments. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood that it belongs.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the display instruction data is generated by another business management system, but the management computer may generate the display instruction data.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the implementation method of the electronic shelf label system. (Example 1) 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a management computer 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of a storage device 23 of the management computer 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the portable terminal. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the thin display apparatus. 2 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a thin display device 11. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the thin display apparatus 11. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display using the some thin display apparatus 11. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the shelf label type management data 47 of the memory | storage device 23 of the management computer 3. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data of the shelf label type management data. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the shelf label of shelf label type A1. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the shelf label of shelf label type A2. It is a figure which shows one example of the merchandise information management data. It is a figure which shows an example of the shelf label display instruction data. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of display instruction data 55. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the display information management data 49. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the data of the display instruction data. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen of the shelf label type management data creation function. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the shelf label display instruction | indication function 45. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the display position of the shelf label. It is a figure which shows an example of the display process of the shelf label 93 of a subsequent display goods. It is a figure which shows an example of the display process of the shelf label 93 of a subsequent display goods. It is a figure which shows an example of the display position of arbitrary display.

Explanation of symbols

1 ……… Electronic shelf label system 3 ……… Management computer 5 ……… Antenna 7 ……… Mobile terminal 9 ……… Antenna 11 ……… Thin display device 13 ……… Antenna 15 ……… Product display shelf

Claims (16)

An electronic shelf label system comprising a display device installed on a display shelf of a store and a management computer,
The management computer is
Shelf label type information indicating the format of the shelf label, holding means for retaining product information about the product,
Means for receiving information about the display position of the product;
Using the shelf label type information, the product information, and information about the display position of the received product, creating display instruction information about the displayed product, and transmitting means for transmitting the display instruction information to the display device,
Have
The display device
Means for receiving the display instruction information sent from the management computer;
Display means for displaying the display instruction information at an arbitrary position;
An electronic shelf label system comprising:   The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the display instruction information related to the displayed product includes at least one of product information, barcode, advertisement information, history retroactive information, and arbitrary information.   2. The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the product information held in the holding means is linked to a post system.   2. The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the display device comprises polymer network type liquid crystal, microcapsule electrophoresis, flexible organic EL (electroluminescence) and the like.   The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the display device has a horizontal length substantially equal to a display shelf to be installed.   The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the display device includes a single display device or a plurality of display devices.   The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein the display device has a color display function. Shelf label type information indicating the format of the shelf label, holding means for retaining product information about the product,
Means for receiving information about the display position of the product;
Using the shelf label type information, the product information, and information about the display position of the received product, creating display instruction information about the displayed product, and transmitting means for transmitting the display instruction information to the display device,
A management computer characterized by comprising:   9. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the display instruction information related to the displayed product includes at least one of product information, barcode, advertisement information, history retroactive information, and arbitrary information.   9. The management computer according to claim 8, wherein the product information held in the holding unit is linked to a post system. Receiving means for receiving display instruction information sent from the management computer; display means for displaying the display instruction information at an arbitrary position;
Have
A display device comprising a polymer network type liquid crystal, microcapsule electrophoresis, flexible organic EL, and the like.   12. The display device according to claim 11, wherein the display device has a horizontal length substantially equal to a display shelf to be installed.   12. The display device according to claim 11, comprising a single or a plurality of display devices.   The display device according to claim 11, having a color display function.   A program causing a computer to function as the management computer according to claim 8. A recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to function as the management computer according to claim 8 is recorded.

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