JP2010122990A - Terminal system and terminal device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal system allowing rapid processing in the terminal system while maintaining a mechanism for suppressing power consumption of a terminal device used in the terminal system. <P>SOLUTION: The terminal system includes: a mobile terminal device 3; a server 2 connected to the mobile terminal device 3; and terminal devices 1 connected to the server 2 via wireless communication. The terminal device 1 has an inactive state and an active state, returns to the inactive state after an end of the active state, comes into the active state from the inactive state in syncronization with the wireless communication intermittently performed from the server 2, receives information from the server 2 when an opposite party destination of the wireless communication from the server 2 is itself, does not receive the information from the server 2 when the opposite party destination of the wireless communication from the server 2 is not itself, and comes into the active state when detecting light or an electric wave emitted from the mobile terminal device 3 in the inactive state to come into a state of receiving the information from the server 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal system such as an electronic shelf label system used in a store such as a supermarket or a retail store, and a terminal device such as an electronic shelf label used in the electronic shelf label system.

  In stores such as supermarkets and retail stores, it is necessary to display product information such as the name and price of products to be sold, and the work of displaying this product information on products has been performed manually by hand, It was a problem in terms of work efficiency and work cost.

  Therefore, an electronic shelf label system that electronically displays product information for this product has been proposed. This system is a system in which a plurality of electronic shelf labels and a shelf label server provided in the vicinity of a product displayed in a store are connected by a wireless communication line. Information on the products displayed on the screen is transmitted from the shelf label server and displayed.

  Therefore, the shelf label server needs to specifically store the product information for the electronic shelf label to display, and associate the product information with the individual electronic shelf label for displaying the product information. A system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In the system described in Patent Document 1, a bar code representing a product ID is provided for a product, a bar code representing an electronic shelf label ID is also provided for an electronic shelf label, and a product including the product ID is included in the shelf label server. Information is retained. Then, a staff member who has a portable terminal equipped with a barcode reader reads both the barcode representing the product ID of the product and the barcode serving as the electronic shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label displaying the product information of the product. And transmitted to the shelf label server. Then, the shelf label server associates both, and transmits the product information regarding the product to the electronic shelf label associated with the product, so that the product information of the product is displayed on the electronic shelf label.
JP 2004-265196 A

  By the way, the above-described electronic shelf label system needs to correspond to various kinds of products displayed in a store such as a supermarket or a retail store. Therefore, a large number of electronic shelf labels are used. In addition, since it is required to keep the cost as low as possible, construction and maintenance are required easily. For this reason, battery driving using a button battery or the like is adopted for the electronic shelf label.

  Therefore, from the viewpoint of cost and maintenance, it is required to extend the life of the battery of the electronic shelf label as much as possible. For this reason, it is required to reduce the power consumption of the electronic shelf label as much as possible.

  For this reason, the display device for the electronic shelf label has a memory property, and a power-saving display device such as a cholesteric liquid crystal capable of suppressing power consumption has a display retention property. In the display device of an electronic shelf label in which this power-saving display device is used, the display displayed on the display device at the time of voltage application is continued as it is even when the voltage application is stopped. Therefore, power consumption of the electronic shelf label can be suppressed.

  In addition, a microprocessor driven by the above-described battery is used for controlling the electronic shelf label. This microprocessor has two modes, an operation mode and a sleep mode. In the operating mode, the microprocessor is active and the battery power of the electronic shelf label is consumed. On the other hand, in the sleep mode, the microprocessor enters a sleep state, and the power of the battery of the electronic shelf label is hardly consumed.

  Therefore, even in a mechanism for transmitting product information from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label, it is required to reduce the power consumption of the electronic shelf label using the sleep mode in the microprocessor. Therefore, as a mechanism for transmitting product information from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label, for example, the following method is adopted.

  That is, a beacon communication system is used as the basic wireless communication from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label. In this beacon communication system, beacons are transmitted from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf labels at regular intervals. This beacon includes electronic shelf label ID information for identifying individual electronic shelf labels. As the electronic shelf label ID information, an electronic shelf label for identifying a different electronic shelf label for each transmitted beacon. ID information is transmitted.

  For this reason, the electronic shelf label that has received the beacon including the electronic shelf label ID information from the shelf label server is only in the case where the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is its own electronic shelf label ID. Can communicate with the server.

  In this beacon communication system, the interval between beacons transmitted from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label can be changed. Therefore, when the shelf label server transmits a large amount of product information to the electronic shelf label that displays each product information, the interval between beacons is shortened and the target electronic shelf label is transmitted for each transmitted beacon. By sequentially changing the electronic shelf label ID information, the product information can be efficiently transmitted from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label.

  When the shelf label server does not need to communicate with the electronic shelf label, the interval between the beacons is increased, and a NULL beacon is transmitted from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label. And the load on the electronic shelf label can be reduced.

  In the above-described beacon communication system, the following mechanism is employed in order to suppress the power consumption of the electronic shelf label. In other words, the electronic shelf label is provided with a timer that operates intermittently in synchronization with the transmission interval of beacons transmitted from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label. While this timer does not expire, the microprocessor of the electronic shelf label is in the sleep mode, and enters the operation mode when the timer expires.

  When the microprocessor of the electronic shelf label enters the operation mode, the microprocessor receives a beacon transmitted from the shelf label server. The microprocessor that has received this beacon communicates with the shelf label server after receiving the beacon if the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is its own electronic shelf label ID. The sleep mode is entered. On the other hand, when the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is not its own electronic shelf label ID, the sleep mode is immediately entered.

  Then, the power consumption of the electronic shelf label depends on the length of the beacon interval. Therefore, as described above, when the shelf label server transmits a large amount of product information to an electronic shelf label that displays each product information, the shelf label server shortens the beacon interval, thereby reducing the electronic shelf label from the shelf label server. If the product information can be transmitted to the product in a short time and the shelf label server does not need to communicate with the electronic shelf label, the consumption of the electronic shelf label can be increased by increasing the beacon interval. Electric power can be suppressed. In this way, the power consumption of the electronic shelf label in the mechanism for transmitting the product information from the shelf label server to the electronic shelf label is suppressed.

  However, in the electronic shelf label that employs the beacon communication system as described above, the power consumption of the electronic shelf label can be suppressed as described above. However, if the shelf label server is not required to communicate with the electronic shelf label, and if the display of the electronic shelf label is rewritten using the mobile terminal as described above, Since the interval is long, it takes time for the shelf label server to communicate with the electronic shelf label, and it takes time to rewrite the display of the electronic shelf label.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and in a terminal system such as an electronic shelf label system, the power consumption of a terminal device such as an electronic shelf label used in the terminal system. The terminal system which can implement | achieve the rapid process in a system, and the terminal device used for this terminal system is maintained.

  The terminal system of the present invention includes a mobile terminal device, a server connected to the mobile terminal device via communication, and a light or radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal device while connected to the server via wireless communication. And a plurality of terminal devices capable of detecting the terminal system.

  In the above terminal system, the terminal device has a sleep state and an active state, and returns to the sleep state after the active state ends. In addition, the sleep state changes to the active state in synchronization with wireless communication performed intermittently from the server. And the terminal device which became active will receive the information from a server, if the other party of the said radio | wireless communication from a server is self. On the other hand, information from the server is not received unless the other party of the basic wireless communication from the server is itself.

  As described above, for example, as described above, a microprocessor having two modes of an operation mode and a sleep mode is used as the sleep state and the active state of the terminal device in the terminal system. This can be realized.

  In general, in a microprocessor having two modes, the above-described operation mode and sleep mode, in the operation mode, the microprocessor is in an active state and consumes electric power from the battery of the electronic shelf label. On the other hand, in the sleep mode, the microprocessor enters a sleep state, and the power of the battery of the electronic shelf label is hardly consumed.

  Therefore, in the sleep mode, the power consumption of the microprocessor can be suppressed. That is, while the terminal device in the terminal system is in a sleep state, the power consumption of the terminal device can be suppressed.

  In the terminal system in which the above operation is performed, the terminal device becomes active when receiving light or radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal device in a sleep state, and receives information from the server. It is characterized by becoming.

  Therefore, according to the terminal system described above, when the terminal device detects light or a radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal device in the sleep state, the terminal device enters an active state and receives information from the server. That is, by transmitting light or radio waves from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, the terminal device in the dormant state becomes active and receives information from the server.

  Therefore, the terminal device in the dormant state can be activated by the action from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, and the prompt processing in the terminal system can be performed, while maintaining a mechanism for suppressing power consumption. Rapid processing in the system can be realized.

  Next, the terminal device of the present invention is connected via wireless communication to a server connected via communication to the mobile terminal device, and can detect light or radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal device. It is a terminal device.

  The above terminal device has a sleep state and an active state, and returns to the sleep state after the active state ends. In addition, the sleep state changes to the active state in synchronization with wireless communication performed intermittently from the server. And the terminal device which became active will receive the information from a server, if the other party of the said radio | wireless communication from a server is self. On the other hand, information from the server is not received unless the other party of the basic wireless communication from the server is itself.

  This terminal device is characterized in that when it detects light or radio waves transmitted from the portable terminal device in the sleep state, it enters an active state and receives information from the server.

  Therefore, according to the terminal device described above, when the terminal device detects light or a radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal device in the sleep state, the terminal device becomes active and receives information from the server. That is, by transmitting light or radio waves from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, the terminal device in the dormant state becomes active and receives information from the server.

  Therefore, the terminal device in the dormant state can be activated by the action from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, and the prompt processing in the terminal system can be performed, while maintaining a mechanism for suppressing power consumption. Thus, it is possible to realize a quick process for the terminal device.

  In the above terminal system or the above terminal device, after light or radio waves are transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, information on the terminal device is transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the server via communication. It is preferable to be transmitted.

  By doing in this way, the terminal device can provide accurate information to the server, and prompt processing in the terminal system can be surely performed.

  Further, in the above terminal system or the above terminal device, as the light or the radio wave transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, the mobile terminal device transmits specific information provided in the terminal device. It is preferable to use light or radio waves used for reading.

  Specifically, for example, as the unique information, the terminal device is provided with a barcode, and as the light, a beam such as a laser beam for reading the barcode is transmitted from the portable terminal device to the terminal device. To do.

  As described above, as a device for reading a barcode using laser light, there is a barcode reader using a laser light scanner, which is widely used in portable terminal devices. Thus, by doing so, the above terminal system can be easily constructed.

  In each terminal system or each terminal device described above, specifically, for example, an electronic shelf label can be used as the terminal device, and a shelf label server can be used as the server. In this case, the terminal system is referred to as an electronic shelf label system.

  According to the present invention, when a terminal device in a terminal system detects light or radio waves transmitted from a mobile terminal device in a sleep state, the terminal device enters an active state and receives information from a server. That is, by transmitting light or radio waves from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, the terminal device in the dormant state becomes active and receives information from the server.

  Therefore, the terminal device in the dormant state can be activated by the action from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, and the prompt processing in the terminal system can be performed, while maintaining a mechanism for suppressing power consumption. Rapid processing in the system can be realized.

  Next, a terminal system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The terminal system in the present embodiment will be specifically described using an electronic shelf label system.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic shelf label system as a terminal system in the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, an electronic shelf label system according to the present embodiment is a system used in a store such as a supermarket or a retail store, and has a plurality of electronic shelf labels 1 installed in the vicinity where products are displayed (the above-described terminal device). ), A shelf label server 2 (corresponding to the aforementioned server), and a portable terminal 3 (corresponding to the aforementioned portable terminal device). This portable terminal 3 is generally called a handy terminal.

  The electronic shelf label 1 and the shelf label server 2 are connected via beacon communication (corresponding to the aforementioned basic wireless communication) described later, which is a kind of wireless communication. The portable terminal 3 and the shelf label server 2 are connected via a wireless LAN (corresponding to the above-described auxiliary wireless communication).

  In the electronic shelf label system described above, information on products displayed in the vicinity of the electronic shelf label 1 is sent from the shelf label server 2 to a plurality of electronic shelf labels 1 installed in the vicinity where the products are displayed. This is a system that is transmitted and displayed on the electronic shelf label 1. The portable terminal 3 is used for registration and confirmation of various information for the operation of this electronic shelf label system.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the shelf label server 2. In FIG. 2, the shelf label server 2 includes a CPU 21, a memory 22, an HDD 23, and a beacon antenna 24a, and a wireless communication unit 24 that performs beacon communication, a display unit 25, an operation unit 26, and a wireless LAN that includes a wireless LAN antenna 27a. The LAN communication unit 27 is configured. These units are connected to each other via a control line 28 including a data bus and an address bus connected to the CPU 21.

  The CPU 21 is composed of a microprocessor, and the memory 22 is composed of RAM, flash memory, or the like. The HDD 23 stores software necessary for controlling the shelf label server 2 such as an OS and various processing programs. The CPU 21 performs various processes in the shelf label server 2 by software installed in the HDD 23.

  Further, in the electronic shelf label system described above, information on products displayed in the vicinity of the electronic shelf label 1 is stored in the shelf label server for a plurality of electronic shelf labels 1 installed in the vicinity where the products are displayed. 2 is a system that is transmitted from 2 and displayed on the electronic shelf label 1. Therefore, the HDD 23 of the shelf label server 2 is provided with product registration information necessary for displaying product information on the electronic shelf label 1.

  The wireless communication unit 24 communicates with the electronic shelf label 1 by beacon communication described later. The display unit 25 displays various information in the shelf label server 2. The operation unit 26 includes a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, and is used for inputting information and various instructions to the shelf label server 2. The wireless LAN communication unit 27 communicates with the mobile terminal 3 via the wireless LAN.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the mobile terminal 3, and FIG. 4 is an external view of the mobile terminal 3. 3 and 4, the mobile terminal 3 includes a CPU 31, a memory 32, a wireless LAN communication unit 33 having an antenna 33a, a display unit 34, an operation unit 35, and a barcode reader unit 36. Similar to the shelf label server 2, these units are connected to each other via a control line 37 including a data bus and an address bus connected to the CPU 31.

  The CPU 31 is composed of a microprocessor, and the memory 32 is composed of RAM, flash memory, or the like. The memory 32 stores an OS necessary for controlling the mobile terminal 3 and software such as various processing programs. The CPU 31 performs various processes in the portable terminal 3 by software installed in the memory 32. The wireless LAN communication unit 33 communicates with the shelf label server 2 via the wireless LAN. The wireless LAN antenna 33 a of the wireless LAN communication unit 33 is provided at the top of the casing of the mobile terminal 3.

  The mobile terminal 3 is provided with a unique mobile terminal ID for identifying the mobile terminal 3. When the shelf label server 2 and the mobile terminal 3 communicate with each other, the mobile terminal ID is used. The shelf label server 2 identifies the mobile terminal 3 by recognizing the mobile terminal ID.

  The display unit 34 includes an LCD display unit 34a provided at the upper part of the housing of the mobile terminal 3, and a touch panel unit 34b provided below the LCD display unit 34a. The LCD display part 34a is a part where various information is displayed, and the touch panel part 34b is provided with four touch panel switches whose switch names can be changed by display on the LCD.

  The operation unit 35 includes a numeric key 35 a provided on the right side of the lower portion of the casing of the mobile terminal 3 and a cursor key 35 b provided on the left side. The numeric keypad 35a is used for inputting numbers, and the cursor key 35b is used for moving the cursor displayed on the LCD display unit 34a of the display unit 34.

  The barcode reader unit 36 reads a barcode of a later-described shelf label ID provided in the electronic shelf label 1 and a barcode of a product ID provided in the displayed product. In order to read the barcode, a scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a that receives and emits laser light is provided at the top of the casing of the portable terminal 3 as a part of the barcode reader unit 36. . The laser beam emitted from the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a is applied to the barcode of the shelf label ID or the barcode of the product ID, and the reflected laser beam is received by the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a. The barcode is read.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the electronic shelf label 1, and FIG. 6 is an external view of the electronic shelf label 1. 5 and 6, the electronic shelf label 1 includes a CPU 11, a memory 12, and an antenna 13a, and performs a beacon communication, a wireless communication unit 13, a display unit 14, a scanner light detection unit 15, a timer unit 16, and The interrupt processing unit 17 is configured. These units are connected to each other via a control line 16 including a data bus and an address bus connected to the CPU 11. As a power source for the electronic shelf label 1, a button battery (not shown) is used.

  The CPU 11 is composed of a microprocessor. As described above, the microprocessor constituting the CPU 11 is driven by the battery because the power source of the electronic shelf label 1 is a battery. Therefore, in order to suppress the power consumption of the battery, a microprocessor having two modes of an operation mode and a sleep mode is used as the microprocessor.

  This microprocessor, that is, the CPU 11 is in an active state in the operation mode, and the power of the battery of the electronic shelf label is consumed. On the other hand, in the sleep mode, the sleep state is entered, and the battery power of the electronic shelf label is hardly consumed.

  The memory 12 is configured by a RAM, a flash memory, or the like. The memory 12 stores an OS and various software. The CPU 11 performs various processes using software installed in the memory 12. In the memory 12, a shelf label ID that is a unique ID for identifying the electronic shelf label 1 is stored in a nonvolatile state. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a shelf label ID barcode 17 obtained by converting the shelf label ID into a barcode is printed on the lower part of the casing of the electronic shelf label 1.

  The wireless communication unit 13 communicates with the shelf label server 2 by beacon communication described later, which is a kind of wireless communication. The beacon antenna 13 a of the wireless communication unit 13 is provided in the upper part of the housing of the electronic shelf label 1.

  The display unit 14 is composed of cholesteric liquid crystal, and displays information such as product information. In the display unit 14 using the cholesteric liquid crystal, the display displayed on the display unit 14 at the time of voltage application is continued as it is even when the voltage application is stopped. Therefore, the power consumption of the battery which is the power source of the electronic shelf label 1 can be suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the scanner light detection unit 15 is disposed next to the printed shelf label ID barcode 17. When the portable terminal 3 reads the shelf label ID barcode 17 of the electronic shelf label 1, the scanner light detection unit 15 receives the electronic shelf label 1 from the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36 a of the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3. Has a function of detecting the laser beam irradiated toward the shelf label ID barcode 17.

  The timer unit 16 includes a timer used for receiving beacon communication described later. This timer is used for the CPU 11 to receive beacon communication by way of the following interrupt processing unit 17 every time the timer expires. In addition, this timer can have a variable time-up time.

  The interrupt processing unit 17 emits a laser beam emitted when the timer in the timer unit 16 expires and when the scanner light detection unit 15 irradiates the shelf label ID barcode 17 of the electronic shelf label 1. When detected, the CPU 11 has a function of generating an interrupt (hardware interrupt).

  Of these, the hardware interrupt when the timer in the timer unit 16 times out is the electronic shelf label timer interrupt, and the hardware interrupt when the scanner light detection unit 15 detects the laser beam is the scanner light. This is called light reception interruption.

  When this hardware interrupt occurs, the CPU 11 shifts from the sleep mode to the operation mode and performs each process according to the interrupt generation factor. While the timer in the timer unit 16 does not expire, basically, the CPU 11 of the electronic shelf label 1 is in the sleep mode.

  In the above electronic shelf label system, as described above, beacon communication which is a kind of wireless communication is used as communication between the shelf label server 2 and the electronic shelf label 1. This beacon communication is a communication method in which beacons are transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1 at regular intervals. FIG. 7 is a time chart showing the relationship between the transmission state of the shelf label server 2 and the reception state of the electronic shelf label 1 in this beacon communication.

  The beacon used for this beacon communication includes electronic shelf label ID information for identifying each electronic shelf label 1, and the electronic shelf label ID information is different for each transmitted beacon. Electronic shelf label ID information for identifying 1 is transmitted.

  Therefore, the electronic shelf label 1 that has received the beacon including the electronic shelf label ID information from the shelf label server 2 has the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon as shown in FIG. Communication with the shelf label server 2 can be performed only when the tag ID is used.

  In this beacon communication, the interval between beacons transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1 can be changed. Therefore, when the shelf label server 2 transmits a large amount of product information to the electronic shelf label 1 that displays each product information, the beacon interval is shortened, and the target electronic is sent for each transmitted beacon. By sequentially changing the electronic shelf label ID information of the shelf label 1, the product information can be efficiently transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1.

  When the shelf label server 2 does not need to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1, the beacon interval is increased and a NULL beacon is transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1. The load on the shelf label server 2 and the electronic shelf label 1 can be reduced. FIG. 8 is a time chart showing the relationship between the transmission state of the shelf label server 2 and the reception state of the electronic shelf label 1 at the time of this NULL beacon transmission.

  In the above-described beacon communication system, in order to suppress power consumption for efficiently transmitting product information from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1, a sleep mode provided in the CPU 11 of the electronic shelf label 1 is used as follows. The structure is adopted.

  That is, the electronic shelf label 1 is provided with a timer that operates intermittently in synchronization with the transmission interval of beacons transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1. This timer is a timer provided in the timer unit 16 described above.

  The shelf label server 2 also generates an interrupt to the CPU 21 of the shelf label server 2 due to a timer and the timer time-up, although not shown in FIG. 2, in order to transmit a beacon. Hardware interrupts are used.

  While the timer of the timer unit 16 in the electronic shelf label 1 does not time out, basically, the CPU 11 of the electronic shelf label 1 is in the sleep mode, and when this timer expires, a hardware interrupt occurs. An electronic shelf label timer interruption occurs, and the CPU 11 of the electronic shelf label 1 shifts from the sleep mode to the operation mode. When the CPU 11 shifts to the operation mode, the electronic shelf label 1 receives the beacon transmitted from the shelf label server 1 by the wireless communication unit 13. The electronic shelf label 1 that has received this beacon checks whether or not the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is its own electronic shelf label ID.

  When the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is its own electronic shelf label ID, the electronic shelf label 1 communicates with the shelf label server 2 after receiving the beacon, The CPU 11 of the shelf label 1 is set to the sleep mode. On the other hand, when the electronic shelf label ID information included in the received beacon is not its own electronic shelf label ID, the CPU 11 of the electronic shelf label 1 is immediately set to the sleep mode.

  By the way, in the above electronic shelf label system, as described above, the beacon communication system is adopted, and the shelf label server 2 transmits a large amount of product information to the electronic shelf label 1 displaying each product information. In this case, the product information can be efficiently transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1 by shortening the beacon interval. In this case, the time-up time of the timer of the timer unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 is set short.

  On the other hand, when the shelf label server 2 does not need to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1, the load on the shelf label server 2 and the electronic shelf label 1 can be reduced by increasing the beacon interval. it can. In this case, the timer time-up time of the timer unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 is set to be long.

  In this case, as described above, since the electronic shelf label 1 is basically in the sleep mode until the timer of the timer unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 expires, the power consumption of the electronic shelf label 1 is reduced. Can be suppressed. Therefore, when it is not necessary for the shelf label server 2 to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1, the timer time-up time of the timer unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 is increased by increasing the beacon interval. Thus, the effect of suppressing the power consumption of the electronic shelf label 1 can be enhanced.

  Then, when the shelf label server 2 does not need to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1, the effect of suppressing the power consumption of the electronic shelf label 1 can be enhanced, but the timer of the timer unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 Increases the time until the time is up. That is, the beacon interval becomes longer.

  Therefore, when the shelf label server 2 is not required to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1 and when the display of the electronic shelf label 1 is to be rewritten using the mobile terminal 3 described above, Since the beacon interval is long, it takes time for the shelf label server 2 to be able to communicate with the electronic shelf label 1, and it takes time to rewrite the display of the electronic shelf label 1. As a result, work efficiency decreases.

  Therefore, in such a case, in order to suppress the reduction in work efficiency while maintaining the effect of suppressing the power consumption of the electronic shelf label 1, the above electronic shelf label system has the following mechanism. I have. That is, when rewriting the display of the electronic shelf label 1 by the portable terminal 3, the electronic shelf label 1 detects the change operation, and thereby the electronic shelf label 1 transfers to the shelf label server 2. On the other hand, communication is requested.

  The temporary rewriting operation of the display of the electronic shelf label 1 performed by the portable terminal 3 is provided in the electronic shelf label 1 that displays the barcode of the product ID provided in the product and the product information of the product. Both the barcode of the shelf label ID being read is read by using the barcode reader unit of the portable terminal 3 and the read product ID and shelf label ID are transmitted to the shelf label server 2. .

  Therefore, when the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3 reads the barcode of the shelf label ID provided in the electronic shelf label 1, the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36 a of the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3 is used. The display rewriting process of the electronic shelf label 1 is performed with the laser light transmitted toward the shelf label ID barcode of the electronic shelf label 1 being detected by the scanner light detection unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 as a trigger. To do so.

  That is, the laser light transmitted from the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36 a of the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3 toward the barcode representing the shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 1 is converted into the scanner light detection unit of the electronic shelf label 1. 16 detects. Then, the interrupt processing unit 17 of the electronic shelf label 1 generates a scanner light reception interrupt that is a hardware interrupt to the CPU 11. This interrupt is generated when the timer of the timer unit 16 is not up. As a result of this interruption, the electronic shelf label 1 requests communication with the shelf label server 2, whereby the temporary rewriting process for displaying the electronic shelf label 1 is started.

  FIG. 9 is a time chart showing a state of communication between the shelf label server 2 and the electronic shelf label 1 in the temporary rewriting process of the display of the electronic shelf label 1 in the above electronic shelf label system. . In FIG. 9, as described above, when the timer of the timer unit 16 has not timed up, that is, when the electronic shelf label timer interrupt has not occurred, the interrupt processing unit 17 of the electronic shelf label 1 When a scanner light receiving interrupt is generated for the CPU 11, the electronic shelf label 1 requests communication (communication) to the shelf label server 2 by this interrupt.

  Then, the shelf label server 2 transmits the electronic shelf label data, which is data related to the electronic shelf label 1, to the electronic shelf label 1 to the electronic shelf label 1. When the electronic shelf label 1 receives the electronic shelf label data, a temporary rewriting process for displaying the electronic shelf label 1 is performed.

  Next, the temporary rewriting process for displaying the electronic shelf label 1 in the electronic shelf label system will be described. 10 to 15 are flowcharts showing the operation of the electronic shelf label system in the temporary rewriting process for displaying the electronic shelf label 1. In addition, in the flowchart of FIGS. 10-15, it has shown that each in C1-C10 shown with the dotted line has a mutual relationship.

  10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the mobile terminal 3, FIGS. 11 to 13 are flowcharts showing the operation of the electronic shelf label 1, and FIGS. 14 and 15 are the shelf label server. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of 2.

  In the above electronic shelf label system, when there is a request for rewriting the temporary display for a specific electronic shelf label 1 performed using the mobile terminal 3, this temporary processing cannot be handled for some reason. There may be cases. In that case, the display rewriting process by the normal beacon communication with respect to the specific electronic shelf label 1 is required.

  Therefore, the shelf label server 2 has an electronic shelf label normal rewrite flag as a software flag indicating that it is necessary to rewrite the display by normal beacon communication for the specific electronic shelf label 1. F is provided.

  When the electronic shelf label normal rewriting required flag F is F = 0, it indicates that there is no request for rewriting processing of the specific electronic shelf label 1 by normal beacon communication, and when F = 1. This indicates that there is a request for rewriting processing of display by normal beacon communication for a specific electronic shelf label 1.

  Next, the operation of the portable terminal 3 will be described first. In the mobile terminal 3, in the flowchart of FIG. 10, first, it is checked whether the barcode reading of the product ID by the barcode reader unit 36 is completed (S 101), and if the reading is completed (S 102), Next, it is checked whether or not the barcode reading of the product ID by the barcode reader unit 36 is completed (S103). If the reading is completed (S104), the process proceeds to S105.

  In S105, after sending a rewrite request for the electronic shelf label 1 to the shelf label server 2, it is checked whether or not a rewrite permission has been received from the shelf label server 2 (S106), and the rewrite permission has been received. (S107) The product ID read by the mobile terminal 3, the shelf label ID, and other information (price etc.) of the product are transmitted to the shelf label server 2 (S108).

  Next, it is checked whether or not rewriting completion has been received from the shelf label server 2 (S109). If it has been received (S110), the operation of the portable terminal 3 is terminated.

  Next, the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 will be described. In the electronic shelf label 1, in the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 to 13, first, the mode shifts to the sleep mode (S 201), and after the shift, the presence / absence of electronic shelf label hardware interruption is checked (S 202).

  When an electronic shelf label hardware interrupt occurs (S203), it is checked whether the electronic shelf label hardware interrupt is an electronic shelf label timer interrupt or a scanner light receiving interrupt (S204). If it is a timer interrupt (S205), the process proceeds to S211. If it is not a timer interrupt (S205), that is, if it is a scanner light reception interrupt, the process proceeds to S231.

  It is checked whether the electronic shelf label hardware interrupt in S204 is an electronic shelf label timer interrupt or a scanner light receiving interrupt, and if it is an electronic shelf label timer interrupt (S205), Since the beacon is received, the process proceeds to S211. In S211, the electronic shelf label 1 shifts to the operation mode.

  Next, whether or not a beacon is received is checked (S212), and if received (S213), whether or not the transmission destination ID of the received beacon matches the electronic shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 1 is checked. (S214).

  If the transmission destination ID of the received beacon does not match the electronic shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 1 (S215), since the communication destination from the shelf label server 2 is not the electronic shelf label 1, the electronic shelf label 1 The shelf label 1 cannot communicate with the shelf label server 2. Therefore, the process returns to S201, and the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 is repeated from the beginning.

  If the transmission destination ID of the received beacon matches the electronic shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 1 (S215), since the communication destination from the shelf label server 2 is the electronic shelf label 1, next, A response to beacon reception is transmitted to the shelf label server 2 (S216), and whether or not data is received from the shelf label server 2 is checked (S217).

  When data is received from the shelf label server 2 (S218), the received data is recorded in the memory 12 of the electronic shelf label 1 (S219), and the display of the electronic shelf label 1 is rewritten (S220). Upon completion of the rewriting, the display rewriting completion of the electronic shelf label 1 is transmitted to the shelf label server 2 (S221), and the normal rewriting of the display on the electronic shelf label 1 is completed. Then, the process returns to S201 to shift to the sleep mode, and the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 is repeated from the beginning.

  If it is checked whether the electronic shelf label hardware interrupt in S204 is an electronic shelf label timer interrupt or a scanner light receiving interrupt, if it is not a timer interrupt (S205), that is, a scanner light receiving interrupt. Since this is a temporary rewriting of the display on the electronic shelf label 1 by the mobile terminal 3, the process proceeds to S231. In S231, the electronic shelf label 1 shifts to the operation mode.

  In this case, as described above, a scanner light reception interrupt has occurred, and the display on the electronic shelf label 1 is temporarily rewritten by the mobile terminal 3. Therefore, the electronic shelf label 1 transmits a data transmission request to the shelf label server 2 in order to perform temporary rewriting of the display on the electronic shelf label 1 (S232). This is the same as the communication (communication) request to the shelf label server of the electronic shelf label in FIG.

  Next, the presence / absence of reception of data from the shelf label server 2 is checked (S233). When the data is received (S234), the transmission destination ID of the data received from the shelf label server 2 is the electronic shelf label. It is checked whether or not it matches the electronic shelf label ID of 1 (S235), and if it does not match (S236), since the received data is not for the electronic shelf label 1, the electronic shelf label 1 Then you can't do anything. Therefore, the process returns to S201, shifts to the sleep mode, and repeats the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 from the beginning.

  If the transmission destination ID of the data received from the shelf label server 2 in S234 matches the electronic shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 1 (S236), the received data is stored in the electronic shelf Since it is for the tag 1, next, it is checked whether or not the content of the received data is a notification that the shelf label server 2 does nothing to the electronic shelf label 1 (S237). ).

  This is because, for example, in the shelf label server 2, the shelf label ID received from the mobile terminal 3 and the shelf label ID received from the electronic shelf label 1 match in the shelf label server 2, which will be described later. (S328, S329), the request from the portable terminal 3 and the request from the electronic shelf label 1 may not match. In such a case, the shelf label server 2 may notify the shelf label 1 that the shelf label server 2 does nothing (S330).

  Therefore, in the check of whether the content of the received data in S237 is a notification that the shelf label server 2 does nothing to the electronic shelf label 1, the content of the received data is the electronic shelf label. If it is informed that the shelf label server 2 does nothing to the tag 1 (S238), the electronic shelf label 1 cannot do anything thereafter. Therefore, the process returns to S201, shifts to the sleep mode, and repeats the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 from the beginning.

  In the notification that the contents of the received data in S237 is a notification that the shelf label server 2 does not do anything to the electronic shelf label 1 in the check that the shelf label server 2 does nothing. Otherwise (S238), this is a case where the mobile terminal 3 performs a temporary rewrite of the display on the electronic shelf label 1.

  Therefore, the process proceeds to S219 to perform temporary rewriting of the display on the electronic shelf label 1. In S219, the data received by the electronic shelf label 1 from the shelf label server is recorded in the memory 12 of the electronic shelf label 1, and the display of the electronic shelf label 1 is rewritten (S220). Upon completion of the rewriting, the display rewriting completion of the electronic shelf label 1 is transmitted to the shelf label server 2 (S221), and the normal rewriting of the display on the electronic shelf label 1 is completed. Then, the process returns to S201, shifts to the sleep mode, and repeats the operation of the electronic shelf label 1 from the beginning.

  Next, the operation of the shelf label server 2 will be described. In the flowcharts of FIGS. 14 and 15, the shelf label server 2 first clears the electronic shelf label normal rewriting required flag F and sets F = 0 (S301). Next, the presence or absence of a server timer interrupt is checked (S302), and if a server timer interrupt has occurred (S303), this is sent from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1 with a beacon. This is a case where transmission is performed.

  Therefore, next, the electronic shelf label normal rewriting required flag F is checked (S304). If F = 1 is not set (S305), that is, if F = 0, this is the normal value for the specific electronic shelf label 1. This is a case where there is no request for rewriting processing of display by beacon communication. Therefore, since the shelf label server 2 does not need to preferentially transmit a beacon for a specific electronic shelf label 1, after transmitting a beacon to the electronic shelf label 1 in order to perform normal beacon communication (S306) , The process returns to S302, and the processes after S302 are repeated from the beginning.

  If no server timer interrupt has occurred in the check for the presence of a server timer interrupt in S302 (S303), then it is checked whether an electronic shelf label rewrite request has been received from the portable terminal 3 (S321). If not received (S322), the process returns to S302, and the processes after S302 are repeated from the beginning.

  If the electronic shelf label rewriting request is received from the portable terminal 3 in the check of whether or not the electronic shelf label rewriting request is received from the portable terminal 3 in S321 (S322), then the electronic information is sent to the portable terminal 3. A shelf label renewal permission is transmitted (S323).

  Next, the presence / absence of reception of data from the portable terminal 3 is checked (S324). If data is received (S325), the presence / absence of reception of a data transmission request from the electronic shelf label 1 is checked. (S326).

  If a data transmission request is received from the electronic shelf label 1 (S327), it is next determined whether or not the shelf label ID received from the portable terminal 3 matches the shelf label ID received from the electronic shelf label 1. When the check is made (S328) and the two match (S329), the request from the portable terminal 3 and the request from the electronic shelf label 1 match, The process proceeds to S311.

  In S311, the data received from the portable terminal 3 is transmitted to the electronic shelf label of the shelf label ID included in the data received from the portable terminal 3. Next, the presence / absence of reception of rewriting completion from the electronic shelf label is checked (S312). When received (S313), rewriting completion is transmitted to the portable terminal 3 (S314), and the process returns to S302. The processing after S302 is repeated from the beginning.

  If the shelf label ID received from the portable terminal 3 and the shelf label ID received from the electronic shelf label 1 in S328 do not match (S329), the request from the portable terminal 3 and the electronic shelf The request from the tag 1 does not match.

  In such a case, the laser beam emitted from the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a of the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3 toward the shelf label ID barcode of the electronic shelf label 1 is supposed to be irradiated with the electronic beam that should be irradiated. When the scanner light detection unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 that is different from the electronic shelf label 1 to be originally irradiated detects the laser beam by irradiating the electronic shelf label 1 different from the shelf label 1 or the like. Is assumed.

  Therefore, in this case, the communication data indicating that nothing is performed is transmitted to the electronic shelf label of the shelf label ID included in the data received from the portable terminal 3 (S330), and the specific electronic shelf label In order to request a display rewriting process by normal beacon communication for 1, the electronic shelf label normal rewriting required flag F is set, F = 1 is set (S 331), and the process proceeds to S 302.

  In S302, it is checked whether there is a server timer interrupt (S302). If a server timer interrupt has occurred (S303), this means that the beacon is transmitted from the shelf label server 2 to the electronic shelf label 1. This is the case.

  Then, next, the electronic shelf label normal rewriting required flag F is checked (S304). In this case, since F = 1 (S305), the display of the specific electronic shelf label 1 by normal beacon communication is performed. The rewrite process is requested.

  Therefore, next, a beacon is transmitted to the electronic shelf label 1 of the shelf label ID included in the data received from the portable terminal 3 (S307), and then a response to the reception of the beacon from the electronic shelf label 1 is received. The presence or absence is checked (S308).

  When a response to the reception of the beacon from the electronic shelf label 1 is received (S309), it is possible to reliably achieve the request for the display rewriting process by the normal beacon communication for the specific electronic shelf label 1. After resetting the normal bill rewriting flag F to F = 0 (S310), the process proceeds to S311.

  In S <b> 311, the data received from the portable terminal 3 is transmitted to the electronic shelf label 1 of the shelf label ID included in the data received from the portable terminal 3. Next, it is checked whether or not rewriting completion has been received from the electronic shelf label 1 (S312). When it is received (S313), the rewriting completion is transmitted to the portable terminal 3 (S314), and the process returns to S302. , S302 and subsequent steps are repeated from the beginning.

  According to the above electronic shelf label system, when the electronic shelf label 1 detects a laser beam transmitted from the portable terminal 3 in the sleep mode (sleep state), the electronic shelf label 1 enters the operation mode (active state) and the shelf label server. 2 is requested to beacon communication, and after receiving information from the shelf label server 2, it is possible to return to the sleep mode (sleep state).

  Therefore, by transmitting laser light from the portable terminal 3 to the electronic shelf label 1, the electronic shelf label 1 in the sleep mode (sleep state) immediately enters the operation mode (active state), and the shelf label server 2 is After requesting beacon communication and receiving information from the shelf label server 2, it is possible to return to the sleep mode (sleep state).

  Therefore, the electronic shelf label 1 in the sleep mode (sleep state) is set to the operation mode (active state) by the action from the portable terminal 3 to the electronic shelf label 1, and the rapid processing in the electronic shelf label system is performed. Thus, it is possible to realize rapid processing in the system while maintaining a mechanism for suppressing power consumption.

  In the above electronic shelf label system, the portable terminal 3 includes a barcode reader unit 36 having a scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a, and the electronic shelf label 1 is provided from the scanner light receiving / emitting unit 36a. Laser light for reading the shelf label ID barcode 17 is transmitted, and the scanner light detection unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1 detects the laser light.

  However, instead of doing this, the following may be used. That is, instead of the shelf label ID barcode 17 provided in the electronic shelf label 1, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) including the shelf label ID as electronic information is used. In place of the barcode reader unit 36 of the portable terminal 3, an RFID reader that generates radio waves for reading the electronic information of the RFID provided in the electronic shelf label 1 is used. Further, in place of the scanner light detection unit 16 of the electronic shelf label 1, the electronic shelf label 1 is provided with a radio wave detector for detecting the radio wave generated by the RFID reader.

  In the above description, an electronic shelf label system is used as the terminal system in the present embodiment. However, the terminal system in the present embodiment is not limited to the electronic shelf label system described above, and the portable terminal device, A server connected to the portable terminal device via auxiliary wireless communication, a plurality of terminal devices connected to the server via basic wireless communication, and capable of detecting light or radio waves transmitted from the portable terminal device; Any system can be used as the target of the terminal system in this embodiment.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the electronic shelf label system as a terminal system in this Embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the shelf label server of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the portable terminal of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is an external view of the portable terminal of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the electronic shelf label of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is an external view of the electronic shelf label of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the time chart (the 1) which showed the relationship between the communication state of the shelf label server in the beacon communication of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment, and the communication state of an electronic shelf label. It is the time chart (the 2) which showed the relationship between the communication state of the shelf label server in the beacon communication of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment, and the communication state of an electronic shelf label. It is the time chart (the 3) which showed the relationship between the communication state of the shelf label server in the beacon communication of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment, and the communication state of an electronic shelf label. It is the flowchart (the 1) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart (the 2) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart (the 3) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart (the 4) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart (the 5) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment. It is the flowchart (the 6) which showed operation | movement of the electronic shelf label system in this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic shelf label 2 Shelf label server 3 Mobile terminal 11 CPU
12 memory 13 wireless communication unit 13a beacon antenna 14 display unit 15 timer unit 16 scanner light detection unit 17 shelf label ID barcode 18 control line 21 CPU
22 Memory 23 HDD
24 wireless communication unit 24a beacon antenna 25 display unit 26 operation unit 27 wireless LAN communication unit 27a wireless LAN antenna 28 control line 31 CPU
32 Memory 33 Wireless LAN communication unit 33a Wireless LAN antenna 34 Display unit 34a LCD display unit 34b Touch panel unit 35 Operation unit 35a Numeric keypad 35b Cursor key 36 Bar code reader unit 36a Scanner light receiving / emitting unit 37 Control line

Claims (6)

A mobile terminal device, a server connected to the mobile terminal device via communication, and a terminal device connected to the server via wireless communication and capable of detecting light or radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal device And a terminal system comprising:
The terminal device
A dormant state and an active state, and after returning to the dormant state after the end of the active state,
In synchronization with wireless communication performed intermittently from the server, the sleep state is changed to an active state, and when the other party of the wireless communication from the server is self, information is received from the server, and the server receives the information from the server. If the other party of wireless communication is not self, it will not receive information from the server,
When the light or the radio wave transmitted from the portable terminal device is detected in the sleep state, the terminal system enters the active state and receives information from the server. A terminal device that is connected via wireless communication to a server that is connected to a mobile terminal device via communication, and capable of detecting light or radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal device,
A dormant state and an active state, and after returning to the dormant state after the end of the active state,
In synchronization with wireless communication performed intermittently from the server, the sleep state is changed to an active state, and when the other party of the wireless communication from the server is self, information is received from the server, and the server receives the information from the server. If the other party of wireless communication is not self, it will not receive information from the server,
When the light or the radio wave transmitted from the portable terminal device is detected in the sleep state, the terminal device enters the active state and receives information from the server. In the terminal system according to claim 1 or the terminal device according to claim 2,
The mobile terminal device transmits information on the terminal device from the mobile terminal device to the server after transmitting the light or the radio wave from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device, or Terminal device. In the terminal system or terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Light or radio waves transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device is a terminal system or terminal device used by the mobile terminal device to read specific information provided in the terminal device. . In the terminal system or terminal device according to claim 4,
As the unique information, a terminal system or a terminal device in which the terminal device is provided with a barcode, and the beam for reading the barcode is transmitted from the mobile terminal device to the terminal device. In the terminal system or terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The terminal device is an electronic shelf label, and the server is a terminal system or terminal device that is a shelf label server.

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