JP4757822B2 - Electronic shelf label system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for associating an electronic shelf label that displays information about a product with the product.

  In general, in stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores, the selling price of products is managed centrally by a product master stored in a POS system or the like. On the other hand, the selling price is transmitted to the consumer by a paper medium shelf label placed at the position of the product. However, management of such paper-based shelf labels must be relied upon manually, and human errors such as incorrect sales prices are likely to occur, and the selling price may differ from the product master. There is.

  In order to solve such a problem, an electronic shelf label system (ESL system / Electronic Shelf Label System) has been put into practical use in recent years. In the electronic shelf label system, an electronic shelf label provided with a display is attached to the position of each product, and the selling price based on the product master is transmitted to each electronic shelf label and displayed on the display of the electronic shelf label. As a result, the correct selling price can be transmitted to the consumer (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The server device of the electronic shelf label system stores a link file that associates the device code unique to the electronic shelf label with the product code of the product. The link file associates the electronic shelf label with the product in terms of data, and the electronic shelf label displays the selling price of the product associated with the own device.

JP 2001-222632 A

  By the way, when the electronic shelf label system is introduced or when a product to be sold is changed, a process (association process) for associating the electronic shelf label with the product is required. In the association process, the worker performs an operation of acquiring a device code and a product code in order to generate link file data.

  Conventionally, since this operation requires direct operation of the server device of the electronic shelf label system, the worker has been working in the backyard of the store where the server device is arranged. For this reason, it is necessary to transport the product to be matched from the product shelf to the backyard and to rearrange it to the original position. If there are a large number of products to be matched, Was supposed to spend time. In addition, since the attachment of the electronic shelf label that has been matched to the product shelf is a manual operation, when an unfamiliar worker performs it, the position of the corresponding product cannot be grasped, and the work takes time and There was also a possibility that a mounting error such as mounting the shelf label in the wrong position occurred.

  In addition, after the introduction of the electronic shelf label system, when a product to be sold is changed, the electronic shelf label is not compatible with the product, but is already compatible with the product before the change. Therefore, it is necessary to perform an unlink process for canceling the association of the electronic shelf label with the product before the association process so that the electronic shelf label is once returned to a state incompatible with the product.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve the work efficiency of work related to the association process and the unlink process.

To solve the above problems, variable invention, a selling floor of the product, and the sales space an electronic shelf label system that apply to the store and a separate room backyard, which is arranged in the sales space A plurality of portable electronic shelf labels, a wireless communication device that is arranged in the sales space and wirelessly communicates with the plurality of electronic shelf labels, and product information related to products corresponding to the electronic shelf labels are stored in the electronic shelf labels. On the other hand, the server device arranged in the backyard that transmits using the wireless communication device based on the link information indicating the correspondence relationship between the product and the electronic shelf label, and the server device are configured separately, and a portable information acquisition device used in the sales space, wherein each of the plurality of electronic shelf labels, the storage and display of the dot matrix type, a hard identification information specific to the electronic shelf label Storage means, receiving means for receiving a predetermined wireless signal, and transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the hard identification information stored in the storage means when the receiving means receives the predetermined wireless signal, The information acquisition device includes, as processing modes, a link mode for associating a product with an electronic shelf label, and an unlink mode for releasing the association between the product and an electronic shelf label, An operation means for receiving an operation for setting the processing mode to the link mode and an operation for setting the processing mode to the unlink mode, and a product for identifying the product from the product when the processing mode is the link mode An acquisition means for acquiring identification information; a first transmission means for transmitting the predetermined radio signal to the electronic shelf label when the processing mode is the link mode; A first receiving means for receiving the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the electronic shelf label that has received the predetermined wireless signal transmitted by the first transmitting means when the mode is in the link mode; A second transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the product identification information acquired by the acquisition unit to the server device in the link mode; and the first reception unit that is received when the processing mode is the link mode. Third transmission means for wirelessly transmitting hardware identification information to the server device; fourth transmission means for transmitting the predetermined wireless signal to the electronic shelf label when the processing mode is the unlink mode; and processing mode A second receiving means for receiving the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the electronic shelf label that has received the predetermined wireless signal transmitted by the fourth transmitting means in the unlink mode; And a fifth transmission unit that wirelessly transmits the hardware identification information received by the second reception unit to the server device when the physical mode is the unlink mode, and the server device stores the product information related to the product. Storage means for storing; generating means for generating link information for associating the product identification information and the hard identification information wirelessly transmitted from the second and third transmission means of the information acquisition apparatus; and Each time information is generated, the product information stored in the storage means, including the product name of the product related to the link information and the selling price of the product, is stored in the electronic shelf related to the link information using the wireless communication device. Transmission means for transmitting to a tag; and deletion means for deleting the link information related to the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the fifth transmission means of the information acquisition device, Serial electronic shelf label has received the product information from the server device that displays the product information on the display.

According to the present invention, the work related to the association process and the unlink process can be performed in the vicinity of the position where the product is placed. Therefore, the work efficiency of the work related to the association process and the unlink process is improved. be able to.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, an electronic shelf label system applied to a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store will be described as an example.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. Overview of electronic shelf label system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which electronic shelf labels included in the electronic shelf label system according to the present embodiment are arranged on a product shelf. As shown in the figure, the product shelf 60 is divided into spaces called faces 61, and the same type of products 6 are collected and placed on each face 61. A bar code indicating a product code (product identification information) for identifying the type of product is attached to each product 6 by a label or printing.

  The electronic shelf label 5 is attached to the frame 62 of the product shelf 60 at a position corresponding to each face 61. That is, one electronic shelf label 5 corresponds to one commodity 6 (more precisely, one commodity type), and each electronic shelf label 5 is arranged at the position of the commodity 6 to which the device itself corresponds. Each electronic shelf label 5 is provided with a display, on which the selling price of the product corresponding to the device is displayed. Thereby, the selling price of the product 6 is transmitted to the consumer.

  When the rearrangement of the product 6 occurs, the position and size of the face 61 also change. In order to cope with such a change in the face 61, the position of the electronic shelf label 5 is not fixed, and the electronic shelf label 5 can be detached from the frame 62 and rearranged at another position. . In the present embodiment, a plurality of product shelves 60 as shown in FIG. 1 are arranged in a sales space in the store.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a store information system including an electronic shelf label system applied to the store of the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the store information system 100 includes a store controller 2 and a POS system 3 along with the electronic shelf label system 1. The POS server 31 included in the POS system 3 and the ESL server 10 included in the electronic shelf label system 1 are connected to the store controller 2 via the LAN 21. Thereby, data communication is possible among the store controller 2, the POS system 3, and the electronic shelf label system 1.

  The store controller 2 is composed of a general computer and functions as a device that manages the store information system 100 in an integrated manner. The store controller 2 is connected to an external network such as the Internet, and can communicate with a computer or the like disposed in a headquarter center that manages the store via the external network.

  The POS system 3 is a system that collects and analyzes information related to sales at the point of sale or for each product, and includes a plurality of registers 32 that perform product settlement together with a POS server 31 that manages the POS system 3 in an integrated manner. ing. The POS server 31 is composed of a general computer, and the hard disk stores a product master 301 indicating various information related to products such as “product code”, “product name”, and “sale price”.

  The selling price of the product in the store is centrally managed by the product master 301, and in each of the plurality of registers 32, the product is settled based on the selling price described in the product master 301. The selling price described in the product master 301 is normally changed based on an instruction from the computer at the headquarters center (information received by the store controller 2), but the selling price is changed by directly operating the POS server 31. It is also possible.

  The electronic shelf label system 1 includes a base station 41 and a plurality of transceivers 42 together with the ESL server 10 and the plurality of electronic shelf labels 5. The transceiver 42 transmits an infrared signal to the electronic shelf label 5, and is arranged at a substantially constant distance on the ceiling of the sales space so that it can communicate with all the electronic shelf labels 5 arranged in the sales space. Placed in. The base station 41 is connected to the ESL server 10 and each transceiver 42 and functions as a signal repeater between the ESL server 10 and each transceiver 42.

  The ESL server 10 is a server device that manages the electronic shelf label system 1 in an integrated manner, and is arranged in a backyard separate from the sales space in the store. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of the ESL server 10. The configuration of the ESL server 10 as hardware is the same as that of a general computer. That is, the ESL server 10 includes a CPU 11 that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM 12 that stores basic programs, a RAM 13 that serves as a work area for arithmetic processes, a hard disk 14 that stores programs and various data files, a display 15 that displays various displays, An input unit 16 composed of a keyboard and a mouse and a data communication unit 17 having a data communication function are provided. The data communication unit 17 has not only a wired data communication function via the LAN 21 but also a data communication function using a wireless LAN. As a result, the ESL server 10 can transmit and receive data to and from the store controller 2 and the POS server 31, and can also transmit and receive data by wireless communication with an external device having a data communication function using a wireless LAN. It is said that. Further, the ESL server 10 is connected to the base station 41 via the interface 18, and various signals for controlling the electronic shelf label 5 are transmitted via the interface 18.

  A dedicated program is stored in advance in the hard disk 14 of the ESL server 10, and various functions as the ESL server 10 are realized by the CPU 11 performing arithmetic processing according to the program. A product file 101 and a link file 102 are stored in the hard disk 14 of the ESL server 10.

  The product file 101 is a data file indicating various information related to the product, and this information is mainly used for display on the electronic shelf label 5. The electronic shelf label 5 of the present embodiment can display not only the selling price of the product but also various information relating to the product such as the number of sales, the number of orders, the sale time, the sale period, etc. Such information is described. Specifically, the product file 101 has a table format in which one record indicates information related to one product. For each record, “product code”, “product name”, “selling price”, “sale” “Number”, “Number of orders”, “Special sale time”, “Special sale period”, etc. are registered.

  The link file 102 is a data file that associates the electronic shelf label 5 with the product in terms of data. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the link file 102. As shown in the figure, the link file 102 has a table format, and each record 102a is link information for associating a product code with a device code. Here, the device code is a hardware ID (hardware identification information) unique to each of the plurality of electronic shelf labels 5 included in the electronic shelf label system 1. With such a link file 102, the electronic shelf label 5 and the product are associated in terms of data.

  When information related to a certain product is transmitted from the ESL server 10 to the electronic shelf label 5, the link file 102 is referred to, and the device code associated with the product code of the product is specified. Then, by transmitting an infrared signal including the device code from the transceiver 42, only the electronic shelf label 5 of the device code (that is, the electronic shelf label 5 associated with the product) is information on the product. Is sent.

  Next, the electronic shelf label 5 will be described. FIG. 5 is a view of the electronic shelf label 5 as seen from the front side (the surface that is visible when attached to the product shelf 60). As shown in the figure, the electronic shelf label 5 is provided with a display 51 for displaying information such as the selling price of a product and an infrared communication unit 52 for receiving an infrared signal on the front surface thereof.

  The display 51 is composed of a dot matrix type liquid crystal display, and can display not only numerical values indicating the selling price of goods but also various information such as characters, symbols, and figures. As shown in the figure, in the normal display state, the product name 6a, which is information (hereinafter referred to as “product specifying information”) that can identify the product, together with the selling price 6c of the product associated with the device itself. A product code 6 b (more precisely, a bar code indicating a product code) is displayed on the display 51. If only the selling price 6c is displayed on the display 51 without displaying the product specifying information, it is difficult to grasp which product the electronic shelf label 5 is associated with. The electronic shelf label 5 and the product are visually associated with each other by the display.

  In addition, the electronic shelf label 5 includes a control unit 53 configured by a microcomputer or the like and a memory 54 for storing various types of information. The memory 54 stores various information such as the selling price (character data, numeric data, and image data) to be displayed on the display 51, product identification information, and the device code of the device itself. The Information such as selling price transmitted as an infrared signal from the transceiver 42 is received by the infrared communication unit 52, temporarily stored in the memory 54, and then displayed on the display 51 under the control of the control unit 53.

  The electronic shelf label 5 can switch information to be displayed on the display 51, and as described above, it is possible to display not only the selling price of the product but also the number of sales, the number of orders, the sale time, the sale period, and the like. Information displayed on the display 51 is switched according to an infrared signal received by the infrared communication unit 52. For such information switching, a portable remote controller 43 (see FIG. 2) capable of transmitting a plurality of infrared signals corresponding to information that can be displayed on the electronic shelf label 5 is used.

  The information that can be displayed by the electronic shelf label 5 includes the device code of the device itself. When the infrared communication unit 52 receives an infrared signal corresponding to the display of the device code, the electronic shelf label 5 displays the device code of its own device on the display 51. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example in which the electronic shelf label 5 displays the device code 5b of its own device. As shown in the figure, the device code 5 b is displayed as a barcode on the display 51.

  Next, the normal operation of the electronic shelf label system 1 will be briefly described. In this description, only the case where the electronic shelf label 5 displays the selling price will be referred to for the sake of simplicity.

  When the electronic shelf label system 1 is activated, first, one record of the product file 101 is referred to by the ESL server 10, and the selling price related to one product is acquired. Next, the link file 102 is referred to, the device code associated with the product code of the one product is specified, and the selling price is transmitted to the electronic shelf label 5 of the device code. The transmitted selling price is stored in the memory 54 of the electronic shelf label 5 and displayed on the display 51 of the electronic shelf label 5. Such processing is performed for all records (all products) included in the product file 101. Thereby, all the electronic shelf labels 5 in a store display the selling price of the goods corresponding to each. Since the selling price included in the product file 101 matches the selling price of the product master 301 of the POS server 31, the electronic shelf label 5 displays the selling price that matches the product master 301.

  When the selling price of one product described in the product master 301 is changed in the POS server 31, a signal including the product code of the product and the changed selling price is sent from the POS server 31 to the ESL server 10. Sent. When the ESL server 10 receives this signal, the selling price of the product code in the product file 101 is changed based on the received selling price. At the same time, the device code associated with the product code is specified based on the link file 102, and the changed selling price is transmitted to the electronic shelf label 5 of the device code. As a result, the changed selling price is displayed on the electronic shelf label 5. By such processing, the selling price changed in the product master 301 is reflected on the display of the electronic shelf label 5 in real time. As a result, the selling price used for the settlement of the register 32 and the selling price transmitted to the consumer are always matched.

<1-2. Correspondence between electronic shelf labels and products>
When the electronic shelf label system 1 as described above is introduced into a store or when a product to be sold is changed, it is necessary to associate the electronic shelf label 5 and the product in terms of data by association processing described later. is there. In the present embodiment, the portable information acquisition terminal 7 is used for the work related to the association processing (see FIG. 2).

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information acquisition terminal 7. As shown in the figure, the information acquisition terminal 7 includes a CPU 71 that performs various arithmetic processes, a ROM 72 that stores basic programs, a RAM 73 that serves as a work area for arithmetic processes, and a nonvolatile storage unit that stores programs and various data files. 74, a display 75 for performing various displays, an input key 76 for receiving input, a bar code reader 77 for acquiring information indicated by a bar code, and a data communication unit 78 having a data communication function by wireless communication using a wireless LAN. ing. The information acquisition terminal 7 can transmit and receive data by wireless communication with the ESL server 10 by the function of the data communication unit 78. Further, the information acquisition terminal 7 includes an infrared communication unit 79 and can transmit various infrared signals to the infrared communication unit 52 of the electronic shelf label 5. Such an information acquisition terminal 7 may be configured as a dedicated portable device, or may be configured by a general-purpose portable computer such as a notebook computer or a PDA to which a barcode reader is connected.

  A dedicated program is stored in advance in the storage unit 74 of the information acquisition terminal 7, and a function for associating the electronic shelf label 5 with the product is realized by the CPU 71 performing arithmetic processing according to this program.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the electronic shelf label system 1 related to a process (association process) for associating the electronic shelf label 5 with the product 6. In the figure, a link unit 111 and a product information transmission unit 112 are functions realized by the CPU 71 of the ESL server 10.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of the association process. Hereinafter, as an example of the case where the electronic shelf label system 1 is introduced into a store, an association process for associating one electronic shelf label 5 with one product 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

  Prior to this association process, the product 6 to be associated is placed on each face 61 of the product shelf 60 as in the state of sale as shown in FIG. In addition, as the electronic shelf labels 5, the same number as the number of types of the products 6 to be associated (the number of the faces 61) that are not compatible with the products is prepared. The prepared plurality of electronic shelf labels 5 are placed on a carriage so that they can be easily transported.

  The worker who performs the work related to the associating process transports the cart on which the electronic shelf label 5 is placed and the information acquisition terminal 7, and one product to be associated (hereinafter referred to as “target product”). .) 6 is moved to the vicinity of the position (hereinafter referred to as “product position”). Then, in the vicinity of the product position, the worker performs the work described below.

  First, the worker attaches one electronic shelf label (hereinafter referred to as “target electronic shelf label”) 5 to be associated with the target product 6 to the product position (step S1). Next, the worker performs a predetermined operation on the information acquisition terminal 7 and sets the processing mode of the information acquisition terminal 7 to “link mode” for associating. Subsequently, the worker operates the information acquisition terminal 7 to send an infrared signal that prompts the display of the device code 5 b to the infrared communication unit 52 of the target electronic shelf label 5, and the infrared communication unit 79 of the information acquisition terminal 7. (Step S2). When the infrared signal is received by the infrared communication unit 52 of the target electronic shelf label 5, the device code 5b is displayed as a barcode on the display 51 of the target electronic shelf label 5 as shown in FIG. 6 (step S3).

  Subsequently, the worker causes the barcode reader 77 included in the information acquisition terminal 7 to read the barcode displayed on the target electronic shelf label 5, and acquires the device code b from the target electronic shelf label 5 (step S4). . Since the barcode is displayed on the display 51 on the front surface of the target electronic shelf label 5, the device code b is acquired with the target electronic shelf label 5 attached to the product position.

  Further, the worker causes the barcode reader 77 included in the information acquisition terminal 7 to read the barcode attached to the target product 6 placed on the product shelf 60 and acquires the product code 6b from the target product 6 ( Step S5). The order in which the device code 5b and the product code 6b are acquired is not particularly limited, and the device code 5b may be acquired after the product code 6b is acquired in advance.

  The acquired device code 5b and product code 6b are transmitted from the data communication unit 78 of the information acquisition terminal 7 to the ESL server 10 by wireless communication and received by the data communication unit 17 of the ESL server 10 (step S6). .

  In response to this reception, the link unit 111 of the ESL server 10 generates one record 102a of the link file 102 so as to associate the received device code 5b with the product code 6b. Thereby, the target electronic shelf label 5 and the target product 6 are associated in terms of data (step S7).

  When the data association is performed, the associated product code 6b is input from the link unit 111 to the product information transmission unit 112. Subsequently, the product information transmission unit 112 refers to the product file 101 in the hard disk 14 and acquires the “product name” associated with the input product code 6b. The acquired “product name” is transmitted to the target electronic shelf label 5 from the product information transmission unit 112 via the base station 41 and the transceiver 42 together with the product code 6b (step S8).

  The transmitted product name and product code 6 b are received by the target electronic shelf label 5 and stored in the memory 54 of the target electronic shelf label 5 as “product specifying information”. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the product name 6 a and the product code 6 b (that is, product specifying information) are displayed on the display 51 of the target electronic shelf label 5. By visually recognizing this display, the worker can easily specify which product the electronic shelf label 5 is associated with, and whether or not the electronic shelf label 5 and the product are associated as intended. It can be confirmed (step S9).

  The series of association processes as described above is performed for each of all the products arranged in the store. As a result, all the products in the store are finally associated with the electronic shelf label 5.

  In the series of association processes, the device code 5b and the product code 6b are acquired (steps S4 and S5) in the vicinity of the product position. That is, the worker performs the work related to the association process in the vicinity of the product position without performing a direct operation on the ESL server 10. From this, it is not necessary for the worker to carry the target product 6 to the backyard where the ESL server 10 is arranged or to rearrange the target product 6 to the original position for the association processing. For this reason, the work time of the work | work which concerns on a matching process can be shortened, and work efficiency can be improved.

  In addition, the worker attaches the target electronic shelf label 5 to the product position in advance (step S1), and acquires the device code 5b from the target electronic shelf label 5 while keeping the target electronic shelf label 5 attached to the product position. . That is, after the electronic shelf label 5 is attached in advance to the position of the target product 6, the electronic shelf label 5 and the target product 6 are associated in terms of data. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an installation error such as erroneously attaching the electronic shelf label 5 to the position of the product different from the product associated in terms of data.

  In addition, without performing step S1 (without attaching the target electronic shelf label 5 to the product position), the same processing as described above is performed after step S2, and the data association between the target electronic shelf label 5 and the target product 6 is performed. After the above, the target electronic shelf label 5 may be attached to the product position. Even in such a case, since the worker acquires the device code 5b and the product code 6b (steps S4 and S5) in the vicinity of the product position, the association is completed without moving from the place where the work was performed. The target electronic shelf label 5 can be attached to the target product 6. For this reason, even an inexperienced worker can attach the electronic shelf label 5 for which the association has been completed to the correct product position without taking time, and as a result, an attachment error can be prevented.

  In addition, since the product identification information is displayed on the target electronic shelf label 5 after the data association is made, the worker determines whether the electronic shelf label 5 and the product 6 are associated as intended. I can confirm. In addition, by displaying such product specifying information, even if step S1 is not performed, it is possible to easily specify which product the target electronic shelf label 5 is associated with, so that it is possible to effectively prevent attachment mistakes. It can be prevented.

  The product specifying information includes a product name 6a and a product code 6b. Therefore, the worker can intuitively recognize the product associated with the target electronic shelf label 5 by displaying the product name 6a, and the product associated with the target electronic shelf label 5 by displaying the product code 6b. Can be accurately recognized.

  Further, in the association processing of the present embodiment, since direct operation to the ESL server 10 is not necessary, a plurality of information acquisition terminals 7 are prepared and related to the association processing for all products in the store. It is also possible to perform the work by sharing it with a plurality of workers. According to this, the work time of work can be significantly shortened.

<2. Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the electronic shelf label system 1 has been introduced. However, after the electronic shelf label system 1 has been introduced, the series of the above items can be used even when a product to be sold is changed. Similar to the association process, the electronic shelf label 5 and the product 6 can be associated with each other. However, in this case, the target electronic shelf label 5 is not compatible with the product, but is already compatible with the product before the change. Therefore, in this case, the unlink that cancels the association of the target electronic shelf label 5 with the product before the series of association processes so that the target electronic shelf label 5 is temporarily returned to a state incompatible with the product. It is necessary to perform processing.

  In the present embodiment, the work related to the unlink process is also performed near the position (product position) where the changed product (product to be matched) is placed using the information acquisition terminal 7. I have to. Hereinafter, this unlink process will be described.

  First, the worker performs a predetermined input operation on the information acquisition terminal 7 and sets the processing mode of the information acquisition terminal 7 to “unlink mode” for releasing the association. Next, in the same manner as in steps S2 to S4, the device code 5b is displayed on the target electronic shelf label 5 to be canceled, and the device code 5b is acquired from the target electronic shelf label 5.

  The acquired device code 5b is transmitted from the data communication unit 78 of the information acquisition terminal 7 to the ESL server 10 by wireless communication, and is received by the data communication unit 17 of the ESL server 10. In response to this reception, one record 102 a corresponding to the received device code 5 b is deleted in the link file 102. As a result, the association of the target electronic shelf label 5 with the product before the change is released. Thereafter, the association process similar to the above is performed.

  More generally speaking, the unlink process includes a step of acquiring hardware identification information from the target electronic shelf label in the vicinity of the product position and a link information related to the acquired hardware identification information before the association process. And a step of deleting.

  As described above, the work related to the unlinking process is also performed in the vicinity of the product position, so that the worker can continuously perform the work related to the association process without moving from the place where the work is performed. For this reason, work efficiency about all work including work concerning unlink processing can be improved.

  When there is no change in the position or size of the face 61 when the product to be sold is changed, the electronic shelf label 5 is attached to the product position without removing the electronic shelf label 5 from the product shelf 60. Thus, unlink processing can be performed. According to this, all the operations required for the unlink process and the association process are performed without removing the electronic shelf label 5 from the commodity shelf 60. Therefore, loss of the electronic shelf label 5 can be prevented, the work of the worker can be simplified, and work efficiency can be further improved.

<3. Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the device code 5b is displayed on the target electronic shelf label 5, and this is read by the barcode reader 77 so that the information acquisition terminal 7 receives the device code b from the target electronic shelf label 5. The information acquisition terminal 7 may acquire the device code 5b by receiving the infrared signal from the electronic shelf label 5 (steps S2 to S4). In this case, both the infrared communication unit 79 of the information acquisition terminal 7 and the infrared communication unit 52 of the electronic shelf label 5 are configured to be able to transmit and receive infrared signals.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the flow of the associating process in this case, and shows only the steps related to the acquisition of the device code 5b. After the process similar to step S1 in FIG. 9, the worker first performs a predetermined operation on the information acquisition terminal 7, and “link mode” for associating the processing mode of the information acquisition terminal 7 with each other. Set to.

  Subsequently, the worker operates the information acquisition terminal 7 to send an infrared signal instructing transmission of the device code 5b to the infrared communication unit 52 of the target electronic shelf label 5, and the infrared communication unit of the information acquisition terminal 7 79 is transmitted (step S11). When the infrared signal is received by the infrared communication unit 52 of the target electronic shelf label 5, an infrared signal including the device code 5b of the target electronic shelf label 5 is returned from the infrared communication unit 52 in response to this ( Step S12).

  The infrared signal including the device code 5b is received by the infrared communication unit 79 of the information acquisition terminal 7, whereby the device code b of the target electronic shelf label 5 is acquired by the information acquisition terminal 7 (step S13). The subsequent steps are the same as those after step S5 in FIG.

  As described above, if the information acquisition terminal 7 acquires the device code 5b from the electronic shelf label 5 by transmitting and receiving infrared signals, the worker does not need to perform work related to reading the barcode. Can be simplified, and the work efficiency can be further improved. Note that, in any of the method according to the first embodiment and the method according to the third embodiment, the information acquisition terminal 7 is connected to the electronic shelf label while the electronic shelf label 5 is attached to the product position. 5 can obtain the device code 5b.

<4. Other variations>
Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

  For example, as the electronic shelf label 5, as shown in FIG. 11, an ID label 55 on which a device code 5b is printed as a barcode is pasted, and the barcode of the ID label 55 is displayed on a barcode reader. 77, the information acquisition terminal 7 may acquire the device code b. Also in this case, the information acquisition terminal 7 can acquire the device code 5b from the electronic shelf label 5 with the electronic shelf label 5 attached to the product position. In this case, since the information acquisition terminal 7 does not need to include the infrared communication unit 79, the configuration of the information acquisition terminal 7 can be simplified. However, in this case, the ID label 55 needs to be pasted on the electronic shelf label 5 in advance, and unnecessary information is given to the consumer. For this reason, as described above, the information acquisition terminal 7 is read by reading the barcode displayed on the display 51 (the method of the first embodiment) or transmitting / receiving an infrared signal (the method of the third embodiment). It is preferable to acquire the device code b.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the information acquisition terminal 7 and the ESL server 10 performed data communication by radio | wireless communication, wired communication may be sufficient.

  In the second embodiment, the target electronic shelf label 5 is temporarily returned to a state not compatible with the product by the unlink process. However, the target electronic shelf label 5 is not performed without performing the unlink process. It may be possible to associate the tag 5 with the changed product. In this case, in step S7 in FIG. 9, before generating one record 102a of the link file 102, it is searched whether the record 102a already associated with the received device code 5b exists. And when it exists, after deleting the record 102a, what is necessary is just to produce | generate the record 102a which matches the received apparatus code 5b and the product code 6b.

  Moreover, in the said 3rd Embodiment, when the information acquisition terminal 7 acquired the apparatus code 5b from the electronic shelf label 5, the infrared signal was utilized, However, You may utilize another radio signal.

It is a figure which shows a mode that an electronic shelf label is arrange | positioned at a goods shelf. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the shop information system containing an electronic shelf label system. It is a figure which shows the basic composition of an ESL server. It is a figure which shows the example of a link file. It is the figure which looked at the electronic shelf label from the front side. It is a figure which shows the example when an electronic shelf label displays an apparatus code. It is a figure which shows schematic structure of an information acquisition terminal. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the electronic shelf label system which concerns on a matching process. It is a figure which shows the flow of the matching process of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the flow of the matching process of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the electronic shelf label with which the ID label was stuck on the front.

Explanation of symbols

5 Electronic shelf label 5b Device code 6 Product 6b Product code 7 Information acquisition terminal 52 Infrared communication unit

Claims (5)

And the selling space of the product, and the sales space to an electronic shelf label system that will be applied to the store and a separate room of the back yard,
A plurality of portable electronic shelf labels placed in the sales space;
A wireless communication device disposed in the sales space and performing wireless communication with the plurality of electronic shelf labels;
The backyard that transmits product information related to a product corresponding to the electronic shelf label to the electronic shelf label using the wireless communication device based on link information indicating a correspondence relationship between the product and the electronic shelf label. A server device arranged in
A portable information acquisition device configured separately from the server device and used in the sales space;
With
Each of the plurality of electronic shelf labels is
A dot matrix display,
Storage means for storing hardware identification information unique to the electronic shelf label;
Receiving means for receiving a predetermined radio signal;
Transmitting means for wirelessly transmitting the hardware identification information stored in the storage means when the receiving means receives the predetermined wireless signal;
With
The information acquisition device includes, as processing modes, a link mode for associating a product with an electronic shelf label, and an unlink mode for releasing the association between the product and the electronic shelf label,
The information acquisition device includes:
An operation means for receiving an operation for setting the processing mode to the link mode and an operation for setting the processing mode to the unlink mode;
An acquisition means for acquiring product identification information for identifying the product from the product when the processing mode is the link mode;
First processing means for transmitting the predetermined radio signal to the electronic shelf label when the processing mode is the link mode;
First receiving means for receiving the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the electronic shelf label that has received the predetermined wireless signal transmitted by the first transmitting means when the processing mode is the link mode;
A second transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the product identification information acquired by the acquisition means to the server device when the processing mode is the link mode;
Third transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the hardware identification information received by the first reception means to the server device when the processing mode is the link mode;
A fourth transmission means for transmitting the predetermined radio signal to the electronic shelf label when the processing mode is the unlink mode;
A second receiving means for receiving the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the electronic shelf label that has received the predetermined wireless signal transmitted by the fourth transmitting means when the processing mode is the unlink mode;
Fifth transmission means for wirelessly transmitting the hardware identification information received by the second reception means to the server device when the processing mode is the unlink mode;
With
The server device
Storage means for storing product information relating to the product;
Generating means for generating link information associating the product identification information and the hard identification information wirelessly transmitted from the second and third transmission means of the information acquisition device;
Each time the generating unit generates the link information, the product information stored in the storage unit, including the product name of the product related to the link information and the selling price of the product, is stored using the wireless communication device. A transmission means for transmitting to the electronic shelf label associated with the link information;
Deleting means for deleting the link information related to the hardware identification information wirelessly transmitted from the fifth transmitting means of the information acquisition device;
With
An electronic shelf label system in which the electronic shelf label that has received the product information from the server device displays the product information on a display . Te electronic shelf label system smell of claim 1,
An electronic shelf label system comprising a plurality of the information acquisition devices . In the electronic shelf label system according to any one of claims 1 and 2,
In the server device, when the product information about a certain product stored in the storage unit is changed, the transmission unit uses the wireless communication device to store the changed product information about the certain product. The electronic shelf label system which transmits to the electronic shelf label which concerns on the said link information. The electronic shelf label system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The storage means of the server device stores a product file in which product information including a product name and a selling price is recorded for each product,
The product file reflects product information registered in a POS server outside the server device,
The transmission means of the server device uses the wireless communication device for the corresponding electronic shelf label specified with reference to the link information for all products included in the product file. Send
Each said electronic shelf label is an electronic shelf label system which displays the transmitted merchandise information. In the electronic shelf label system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The product information is an electronic shelf label system including a product code for identifying a product in addition to a product name and a selling price.

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