KR101642080B1 - Electronic Information Label capable of providing additional information through proximity communication - Google Patents

Electronic Information Label capable of providing additional information through proximity communication Download PDF

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Publication number
KR101642080B1
KR101642080B1 KR1020150049237A KR20150049237A KR101642080B1 KR 101642080 B1 KR101642080 B1 KR 101642080B1 KR 1020150049237 A KR1020150049237 A KR 1020150049237A KR 20150049237 A KR20150049237 A KR 20150049237A KR 101642080 B1 KR101642080 B1 KR 101642080B1
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South Korea
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short
communication unit
information
range communication
unit
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KR1020150049237A
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Korean (ko)
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KR20160079602A (en
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김민근
류종기
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주식회사 솔루엠
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/0723—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/073—Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory
    • G06K19/07309—Means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or onto record carriers
    • G06K19/07345—Means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or onto record carriers by activating or deactivating at least a part of the circuit on the record carrier, e.g. ON/OFF switches
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06K—GRAPHICAL DATA READING; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS
    • G06K19/00—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
    • G06K19/06—Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings characterised by the kind of the digital marking, e.g. shape, nature, code
    • G06K19/067—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
    • G06K19/07—Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components with integrated circuit chips
    • G06K19/077—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
    • G06K19/07701—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction
    • G06K19/07703—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction the interface being visual
    • G06K19/07707—Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction the interface being visual the visual interface being a display, e.g. LCD or electronic ink

Abstract

An electronic information label technology for displaying information received through a communication unit on an information display is disclosed.
An electronic information label capable of providing additional information through communication with a terminal held by users is proposed. The proposed invention aims to reduce additional power consumption despite this communication.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device having a first short-range communication unit, a second short-range communication unit having a lower degree of security of the first short-range communication unit and a connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short- An information label is presented. In the default mode, the second short-range communication unit remains inactive and the connection switch is turned off.

Figure R1020150049237

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic information label capable of providing additional information through proximity communication,

An electronic information label technology for displaying information received through a communication unit on an information display is disclosed.

An electronic information label (EIL) or electronic label is a terminal device that receives product information from a gateway and displays it on an electronic paper display. Battery replacement is a sensitive issue because electronic information systems can consist of tens of thousands of electronic information labels. In order to maximize the battery replacement period, the electronic information label is normally in the sleep state and then wakes up periodically. When waking up, the electronic information label connects to the wakeup channel, checks the communication from the gateway, and if there is data to be updated as a result of checking, connects to the data channel, receives the information, and updates the display.

The electronic information label communicates in accordance with a protocol defined on the PHY / MAC layer according to short-range wireless communication, for example the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, which is very efficient in terms of power consumption. However, terminals such as smart phones, which are often owned by users, do not support this type of communication. Electronic information labels display information but do not provide additional information to users.

An electronic information label capable of providing additional information through communication with a terminal held by users is proposed. The proposed invention aims to reduce additional power consumption despite this communication.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device having a first short-range communication unit, a second short-range communication unit having a lower degree of security of the first short-range communication unit and a connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short- An information label is presented. In the default mode, the second short-range communication unit remains inactive and the connection switch is turned off.

When additional information is provided to the user's terminal through the second short-range communication unit, the second short-range communication unit is activated and the connection switch is connected.

According to another aspect, the first short-range communication unit and the second short-range communication unit may share an antenna, and the electronic information label may further include an RF switch that connects the selected one of the first and second short- .

According to another aspect, at least some of the switching of the operating mode of the electronic information label may be controlled by a timer interrupt.

According to another aspect, the electronic information label transmits the additional information received from the gateway to the second short distance communication unit, and the second short distance communication unit stores the additional information.

According to another aspect, the RF switch is connected to the second short-range communication unit, and the connection switch is disconnected for security so that the service for the customer terminal proceeds.

According to another aspect, the customer information collected through the second short-range communication unit is transmitted to the gateway through the first short-range communication unit.

According to another aspect, the second short-range communication unit stores the additional information received from the first short-range communication unit in a memory.

According to still another aspect, the second short-range communication unit transmits the additional information related to the goods matched with the electronic information label to the customer terminal.

According to another aspect, the additional information transmitting unit electronically transmits a discount coupon relating to the goods matched with the electronic information label.

According to another aspect, the additional information transmission unit transmits information other than the product information of the goods matched with the electronic information label to the customer terminal.

According to the proposed invention, additional information can be provided through communication with a terminal held by users. Furthermore, the proposed invention can reduce additional power consumption despite this communication. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the risk of hacking a terminal, which may be a problem when using a low-security local area communication method supported by a user terminal.

1 shows an overall configuration of an electronic label system according to an embodiment.
2 is a block diagram showing the structure of an electronic information label according to an embodiment.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a second short-range communication unit 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart showing a configuration of a control method of an electronic information label according to an embodiment.
5 is a flowchart of a method of controlling an electronic information label according to an embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a non-secure communication mode switching step according to an embodiment.
7 is a flowchart of a step of transmitting additional information according to an embodiment.
8 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the controller according to one embodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and further aspects will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. Hereinafter, aspects of the proposed invention will be described in detail through these embodiments.

1 shows an overall configuration of an electronic label system according to an embodiment. This embodiment relates to an electronic shelf label (ESL) system that is installed on a shelf in a store where goods are sold and displays product information. As shown in the figure, a plurality of electronic labels 171-1, 171-2, ..., and 171-N are installed in each store. Electronic label management server 110 installed in each store communicates with a plurality of electronic information labels 171-1, 171-2, ..., 171-N via gateway 130. [ The electronic information labels 171-1, 171-2, ..., 171-N are grouped into a plurality of groups for each gateway.

In the illustrated embodiment, the electronic label management server 110 and the gateway 130 are connected by a wired or wireless Internet, and the electronic labels 171-1, 171-2,. .., 171-N communicate according to the local area communication protocol defined above on the PHY / MAC layer according to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. The electronic label management server 110 manages identification information of electronic labels, product identification information of the product information displayed by the electronic label, and product information to be displayed.

The electronic label repeats a sleep state and a wakeup state to minimize power consumption to minimize power consumption. Data can be transmitted and received in the wakeup state.

According to an aspect, a user can receive additional information from one of the electronic labels 171-1, 171-2, ..., 171-N via the terminal 150 he / she has. In the illustrated embodiment, the electronic labels 171-1, 171-2, ..., and 171-N support beacon communication by a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) method. When a user passes a shelf where a specific commodity is displayed, the beacon of the electronic label attached to the shelf and the terminal carried by the users communicate with each other. For example, a promotional message is transmitted through an app installed in the terminal Or a coupon may be provided for a product that the user is interested in. In addition, the user terminal accesses the electronic label management server 110 or the separate service server or the shopping mall server through the mobile communication network to obtain additional additional information related to the product, for example, product reviews, product reviews, It can also be accessed.

2 is a block diagram showing the structure of an electronic information label according to an embodiment. As shown in the figure, the electronic information label according to one embodiment includes a control unit 210, a display driver 260, a first short distance communication unit 230, a second short distance communication unit 250, an antenna 240, , And a display unit (240). According to an aspect, the electronic information label may further include a connection switch 290 for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit. Although not shown, the electronic information label further includes a power supply including a battery and a power stabilization circuit.

The control unit 210 controls the overall operation of the apparatus, and is implemented as an MCU (Micro Controller Unit) in the illustrated embodiment. The antenna 240 senses radio signals in the 2.4 GHz band, is connected to the feed line pattern of the printed circuit board, and is provided on one side of the electronic label in the form of a metal bar. As another example, the antenna 240 may be formed as a ground radiation pattern on a printed circuit board, and various other forms may be applied.

In the illustrated embodiment, the display unit 240 is an electronic paper display. In an electronic paper display, for example, an electrophoretic display, a microcapsule is sealed between a transparent electrode and a driving electrode, a display state is changed in response to a voltage applied between the electrodes, and even when the driving voltage is removed, (Bi-stable) properties. The electronic paper display may be one of a segment type and a graphic type for displaying an image.

In one embodiment, the first local area communication unit 230 communicates with the gateway through the antenna 240 to transmit and receive data, and supports high-security communication. The first short-range communication unit has a higher degree of security than the second short-range communication unit described later. In this embodiment, the first local area communication unit 230 communicates according to a protocol defined on a Zigbee PHY / MAC layer according to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. For example, all or a part of the information in the communication with the gateway through the first short range communication unit 230 can be encrypted.

The second short-range communication unit 250 transmits and receives data through the antenna, and the degree of security of the first short-range communication unit is lower than that of the first short-range communication unit. The second short-range communication unit is connected or disconnected in a circuit with the control unit through a connection switch, which will be described later, thereby preventing hacking. In the present embodiment, the second short-range communication unit 250 communicates according to a beacon communication protocol based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology. Beacon technology is a location-based technology that consumes low power and evolves into a variety of service technologies that support smartphones like Apple's iBeacon.

The ZigBee and BLE technologies use the same ISM (Industrial Scientific and Medical) band frequency of 2.4 GHz in the physical layer, so they can share the antenna, which can be used for NFC technologies that use 13.56 MHz in ZigBee- This can be an advantage when adopting BLE technology.

According to the proposed invention, the second short-range communication unit 250 operates only when necessary as a slave module, thereby reducing battery consumption. For example, the second short-range communication unit 250 can be powered on and activated only while the promotion function is activated.

The connection switch 290 interrupts the connection between the second short-range communication unit 250 and the control unit 210. In the illustrated embodiment, the second short range communication unit 250 is connected through the serial communication interface of the control unit 210. [ The connection switch 290 physically or circuitly interrupts the connection between the second short-range communication unit 250 and the control unit 210. In the illustrated embodiment, the connection switch 290 is a mechanical switch array connected in the middle of the serial communication interface. However, it is not limited thereto, and may be a semiconductor switch or a tri-state buffer. The access to the control unit 210 from the outside through the second short range communication unit 250 can be blocked by disconnecting the connection switch 290. [

The display driving unit 260 drives the display unit 240 to display information according to the data output from the control unit 210. The display driver 260 includes a charge pump and a DC-DC converting circuit for generating a power source necessary for driving the electronic paper display, and a display controller 260 for displaying data output from the controller 210. [ And a timing circuit and a driving circuit for generating driving signals of the segment or graphic electronic paper display.

According to an aspect, the controller 210 maintains the second short-range communication unit 250 in an inactive state and the connection switch 290 in an off state in a default mode. In addition, the control unit 210 controls the second short range communication unit 250 to be in the active state and the connection switch 290 to the on state in the second communication mode in which the second short-range communication unit 250 communicates.

The operation mode of the electronic information label includes a basic mode and a second communication mode.

In the basic mode, the electronic information label repeats wake-up and sleep. Upon wake-up, the first short-range communication unit 230 accesses the gateway through a wake-up channel to check whether there is data to be received. And receives the data. In detail, a group ID (Identification) of the electronic label device is found in the received wakeup frame, but it is checked whether the message ID is the same as the previously stored message ID. If the IDs are the same, the electronic label device judges that there is no product information to be updated and enters the sleep mode. If the ID is different, it is determined that the electronic label device has product information to be updated. The electronic label determined to have new product information to be updated is tuned to the designated data channel and receives new product information.

The second communication mode activates the second short range communication unit 250 during a period in which the basic mode is not disturbed. The Bluetooth beacon, which is the second short-range communication unit 250, includes a memory therein and stores data received from the control unit 210. The second short range communication unit 250 can operate independently even when the remaining configurations of the electronic information label are in the sleep or inactive state. The Bluetooth beacon periodically wakes up to establish a fast connection without limit to the number of terminals and connections in the vicinity.

According to another aspect, the electronic information label may further include an RF switch 270 that connects the antenna 240 to a selected one of the first short range communication unit 230 and the second short range communication unit 250. The control unit 210 controls the connection of the RF switch according to the operation mode. In one embodiment, the first short distance communication unit 230 is a Zigbee communication method, the second short distance communication unit 250 is a Bluetooth 4.0 method, and the two modes use the same frequency band of 2.4 GHz. Since the first short-range communication unit 230 and the second short-range communication unit 250 are alternatively activated and the antenna is connected only to the activated communication unit using the RF switch 270, the impedance matching of each communication unit becomes correct, Can be avoided.

According to another aspect, the electronic information label may further include a timer 213 for generating an interrupt according to the operation mode according to the set period. According to another aspect of the present invention, the control unit 210 includes a display update unit 211 for waking up according to an interruption of the timer 213, receiving information through the first short range communication unit 230, and displaying the received information on the display unit 240 . The timer 213 may comprise a plurality of independently operating timer channels.

According to an aspect, the first timer channel of the timer 213 is set to a wake-up period of the electronic information label to generate a wake-up interrupt. When a wakeup interrupt occurs, the control unit 210 wakes up to activate the first short range communication unit 230, and controls the connection switch 290 and the RF switch 270 accordingly. Thereafter, the control unit 210 listens for a wakeup channel, and if there is data to be received, connects to the data channel and receives data.

The display update unit 211 of the control unit 210 drives the display drive unit 260 so that the display unit 240 displays the received data. When the display unit 240 is a segment-type display, the display update unit 211 can directly control each segment through the GPIO port. In this case, the display driver 250 generates a driving voltage for driving the electronic paper display and generates a pulse according to the driving timing. If the display unit 240 is a graphical display, the display updating unit 211 outputs the received image to the display driver 260. [ The display driver 260 scans and drives a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) constituting an active matrix of the electronic paper display so that the image file stored in the frame memory is displayed on the display unit 240.

The memory 211 stores data received by the electronic information label through the gateway and stores an application program and an operating system. In the illustrated embodiment, the memory 211 is constituted by a flash memory.

According to another aspect, the control unit 210 may further include an additional information receiving unit 213 for transmitting information received through the first short range communication unit 230 to the second short range communication unit 250 and storing the information. The control unit 210 listens to the wakeup channel to identify additional information to be provided to the customer and connects the connection switch 290 to the second short-range communication unit 250 without outputting the corresponding information to the display driver 260. [ And transmits the information to the second short range communication unit 250 according to a protocol defined in advance. In the illustrated embodiment, the second short-range communication unit 250 includes its own MCU and operates independently. The second short-range communication unit 250 stores the received additional information in the internal memory. The additional information may include, for example, a product review, a review period, discount information, and the like.

According to another aspect, the control unit 210 activates the second short-range communication unit 250 and controls the connection switch 290 so as to control the second short-range communication unit 250 to perform the service for the customer terminal (215).

In the illustrated embodiment, the second timer channel of the timer 213 generates a wake-up interrupt to the second short-range communication unit 250. The additional information service unit 215 of the control unit 210 processes the wakeup and data reception according to the wakeup interrupt of the first timer channel and then activates the second short range communication unit 250 and the second switch 270 to the second And controls the connection to the local communication unit, and then disconnects the connection switch 290 for security. The second local area communication unit 250 having a low degree of security is cut off in a circuit with the control unit 210 of the electronic information label and thus hacking through the second local area communication unit 250 becomes impossible. At this time, the additional information service unit 215 of the control unit 210 activates the second timer channel of the timer 213. The second timer channel generates a wakeup interrupt according to a very short period compared to the period of the first timer channel and is disabled when generating a wakeup interrupt in the first timer channel. When a wake-up interrupt occurs in the second timer channel, the second short-range communication unit 250 searches for a nearby BLE terminal, establishes a connection, and transmits additional information. The second timer channel of the timer 213 may be provided in the second short-range communication unit 250 as a separate timer.

According to another aspect, the control unit 210 may further include a customer information transmission unit 217 that transmits the collected customer information received from the second short range communication unit 250 to the gateway through the first short range communication unit 230 have. The control unit 210 periodically activates the second short range communication unit 250 to receive the collected customer information and stores the received customer information in the memory 211. [ In addition to the wakeup channel and the data channel, one channel is allocated to the customer information transmission. When the feedback information is collected in real time, the consumption of the battery becomes large, so that it is performed at night once a day.

For example, only the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal is collected and transmitted to the service server through the gateway. By identifying customers passing through each electronic label, the service server can identify the customer's movement within the store and the time spent in a particular product. These information can be accumulated and processed and then utilized to promote the customer. As another example, the customer information collecting unit 360 collects feedback information on how the customer responded to the commodity supplementary information received through the promotional app, together with the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal, To the server. The service server accumulates and analyzes the fact that the customer browses the additional information, thereby calculating the degree of interest of the specific customer of the corresponding customer. For example, you can calculate which products you purchase by gender and age, and apply them to marketing strategies.

2, the display update unit 211, the additional information reception unit 213, the additional information service unit 215, and the customer information transmission unit 217 are implemented as application programs of the MCU. The BLE module constituting the second short-range communication unit 250 is implemented as a slave module by the SOC (System On Chip), and the MCU, the memory, the timer, the first short-range communication unit 230 and the connection switch 290, For example, via an SPI interface. The SOC controls the power supply operation of the BLE module, which is a slave module to the host. In this case, the RF switch 270 may be composed of separate components or may be integrated together in the SOC.

As another example, not only the MCU, the memory, the timer, the first short distance communication unit 230, and the connection switch 290 but also the second short distance communication unit 250 and the RF switch 270 may be integrated into one SOC. In this case, the control of the second short-range communication unit 250 may be performed by a separate MCU, or the MCU constituting the control unit 210 may operate while operating in the low power mode.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a second short-range communication unit 250 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The second short range communication unit 250 includes a memory 310, a BLE control unit 330 including an MCU, and a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) communication unit 350.

The BLE communication unit 350 supports beacon communication by the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) method. Memory 310 is a flash memory in one embodiment. The BLE controller 330 is implemented in the microprocessor and memory 310 in one embodiment and is implemented with instructions executed by the microprocessor. In one embodiment, the additional information transferring unit 340, the information updating unit 360, and the customer information collecting unit 370 may be connected to the functional blocks of the instructions executed by the microprocessor by a series of commands, .

The information updating unit 360 receives the additional information through communication with the control unit 210 of the electronic information label, and stores the received additional information in the memory 310. The information updating unit 360 may receive and store and execute a new application program so that the second short range communication unit 250 may start a new service.

According to an aspect, the second short range communication unit 250 may include an additional information transmission unit 340 for transmitting the additional information related to the goods matched to the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal. In the activated state, the BLE control unit 330 can scan a peripheral customer's terminal to establish a connection, and transmit the additional information to the terminal.

According to another aspect, the additional information transmission unit 340 of the second short distance communication unit may include a coupon transfer unit 341 for transmitting a discount coupon related to the goods matched to the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal. Discount coupons can be electronically transmitted. For example, the discount coupon may be transmitted in the form of an image of a QR code including a product code, a product name, a discount amount, and an authentication number. As another example, in order to reduce the data to be transmitted, this information may be transmitted in text only and the QR code may be generated by the app of the customer terminal. As another example, the additional information transmitting unit 340 of the second short-range communication unit may transmit only the authentication number for coupon issuance, and the customer terminal may request the service server with the authentication number so that the coupon is issued to the service server and transmitted have. The service that the customer feels may be the same in any case.

According to another aspect, the additional information transmission unit 341 includes a goods information service unit 343. [ The goods information service unit 343 can provide additional information about the goods mapped to the electronic information label, for example, more detailed specifications, product reviews, review period, and sales volume.

According to another aspect, the control unit 330 of the second short-range communication unit repeats the process of receiving the feedback information including the identification information of the customer terminal from the connected customer terminals and transmits the collected customer information to the control unit (360). For example, the customer information collection unit 360 collects only the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal and transmits the collected identification information to the service server through the gateway. By identifying customers passing through each electronic label, the service server can identify the customer's movement within the store and the time spent in a particular product. These information can be accumulated and processed and then utilized to promote the customer. As another example, the customer information collecting unit 360 collects feedback information on how the customer responded to the commodity supplementary information received through the promotional app, together with the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal, To the server. The service server accumulates and analyzes the fact that the customer browses the additional information, thereby calculating the degree of interest of the specific customer of the corresponding customer.

4 is a flowchart showing a configuration of a control method of an electronic information label according to an embodiment.

The service server transmits the goods information to the gateway (step 411). The gateway delivers this to the electronic information label (step 431). The control unit of the electronic information label updates the content displayed on the electronic paper display with the received product information. If the display update succeeds, the control section of the electronic information label returns the update result value (step 432). The gateway transfers the product information update result information to the service server (step 412).

The service server transmits the goods and the promotional information to the gateway (step 413). The gateway forwards it to the electronic information label (step 433). The control unit of the electronic information label updates the display of the electronic paper display with the received product information (step 452). Further, the control unit transmits the received product information and promotional information to the BLE control unit (step 453). The BLE control unit receives this and starts the service under the control of the main control unit of the electronic information label (step 471). Meanwhile, the BLE control unit establishes a connection with the customer terminal and collects customer information therefrom (step 473). The BLE control unit transmits the collected customer information to the main control unit of the electronic information label (step 454). The main control unit of the electronic information label transmits the received customer information to the gateway (step 434). The gateway forwards the received information to the service server (step 414).

5 is a flowchart of a method of controlling an electronic information label according to an embodiment. 8 is a timing diagram illustrating the operation of the controller according to one embodiment.

  The order of the additional information processing method of the electronic information label is not limited to the embodiment of FIG. 5, and the order of each step may be changed. An embodiment of the control method shown is implemented as a program executed by a control unit that collectively controls electronic information labels. According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic information label comprising a control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus, an antenna, a display unit, a first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna, A connection switch for interrupting the connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit, and a display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to the data output from the control unit . The construction and operation of such an electronic information label are as described above.

According to one aspect, a control method of an electronic information label includes an update information receiving step (S10), a display updating step (S20), and a non-secured communication mode switching step.

As shown in Fig. 5, the microprocessor constituting the control unit wakes up by occurrence of a timer interrupt (S5) . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the controller may operate in a low power mode and operate in a polling mode in which a timer event is continuously checked through a specific input / output port.

In an aspect, in the update information receiving step (S10), the control unit wakes up the wakeup period to switch the connection switch to the off state, and the second short-range communication unit switches from the inactive state to the active state Receives information therefrom and stores it in a memory. In order to reduce the battery consumption of the electronic label device, the timer generates an interrupt according to the operation mode according to the set cycle, thereby waking up the electronic label device in the sleep state. Wakeing up the electronic label device in the sleep state may be the same as waking up the control part. When the timer is set to a wake-up period to generate a wake-up interrupt, the control unit wakes up to activate the first short-range communication unit. It is possible to connect the antenna and the first short range communication unit by activating the first short range communication unit and controlling the RF switch. In addition, the connection between the control unit and the second short-range communication unit can be blocked by activating the first short-range communication unit and controlling the connection switch connecting the control unit and the second short-range communication unit.

The control unit listens for a wakeup channel through the activated first local area communication unit, and if there is data to be received, connects to the data channel and receives data. The received information may include display update information and additional information to be displayed on the electronic information label. The received information is stored in the memory. The second short distance communication unit having a low degree of security is inactivated, that is, disconnected from the control unit of the electronic information label in a circuit, and thus hacking through the second short distance communication unit becomes impossible.

In an aspect, in the display update step (S20), display update information among the received information can be displayed on the display unit. When the display unit is a segment type display, each segment can be directly controlled through a general purpose input output (GPIO) port in a display update step (S20). Further, in the display updating step S20, a driving voltage for driving the electronic paper display may be generated and a pulse may be generated in accordance with the driving timing. In the display update step S20, a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) constituting an active matrix of the electronic paper display is scan-driven so that the image file stored in the frame memory is displayed on the display unit.

In an aspect, in the non-secured communication mode switching step S30, the connection switch is switched to the ON state after the completion of the display update step S20 and before the next display update step S20, The first short-range communication unit may be in an inactive state and the second short-range communication unit may be in an active state. After the electronic label device wakes up, the first short-range communication unit listens for the wake-up channel, and if there is data to be received, connects to the data channel, receives data, and switches to the sleep mode. The above-described process can be regarded as a basic mode of the electronic label device. In the non-secured communication mode switching step S30, the second short-range communication unit can be activated within a range not obstructing the basic mode.

8A is a timing diagram in which a first timer channel of a timer is set to a wake-up period of an electronic information label to generate a wake-up interrupt. Before 0 seconds, the electronic information label is in the sleep state and wakes up at the point of 1 second due to the wakeup interrupt.

8 (b) is a timing chart for listening to a wakeup channel through the first communication unit after wakeup. Listen for a wake-up channel for 1 to 4 seconds to see if there is data to receive.

8 (c) is a timing chart for connecting to the data channel and receiving data. If it is confirmed that there is data to be received by listening to the wakeup channel, data is received by connecting to the data channel for 4 to 6 seconds.

8 (d) is a timing chart in which the second timer channel of the timer generates a wakeup interrupt to the second short-range communication unit. The electronic information label receiving the data is switched to the sleep mode after 6 seconds. The default mode is 0 to 6 seconds. 6 seconds, the second timer channel wakes up the second short-range communication unit through an interrupt.

8 (e) shows a timing chart of the second communication mode. The second communication mode is activated for 7 seconds to 10 seconds to connect with the terminal to transmit additional information or receive feedback information.

The non-secured communication mode switching step S30 activates the second timer channel of the timer. The first timer channel of the timer is set to the wake-up period of the electronic information label to generate a wake-up interrupt. The second timer channel generates a wakeup interrupt according to a very short period compared to the period of the first timer channel and is disabled when generating a wakeup interrupt in the first timer channel. When a wake-up interrupt occurs in the second timer channel, the second short-range communication unit is activated. The second timer channel of the timer may be provided as a separate timer in the second short-range communication unit. While the connection is maintained, the controller 210 outputs the additional information stored in the memory to be stored in the second short-range communication unit.

In the non-secured communication mode switching step S30, the second short-range communication unit is activated and the RF switch is connected to the second short-range communication unit, and then the connection switch is disconnected for security. The second short distance communication unit having a low degree of security is disconnected in a circuit with the control unit of the electronic information label, so that hacking through the second short distance communication unit becomes impossible.

The non-secured communication mode switching step S30 may activate the second short-range communication unit while the electronic label device is in the sleep mode. That is, the second short-range communication unit can operate independently even when the remaining configurations of the electronic information label are in the sleep or inactive state. The second short-range communication unit is, for example, a Bluetooth beacon, and the Bluetooth beacon periodically wakes up to establish a quick connection without limitation to the number of terminals connected to the Bluetooth beacon.

A further description of the non-secured communication mode switching step S30 will be described later.

In an aspect, the customer information transmission step (S50) may transmit the collected customer information received from the second short distance communication unit to the gateway through the first short distance communication unit. In the customer information transmission step S50, the control unit periodically activates the second short distance communication unit, receives the collected customer information, and stores the received customer information in the memory. In addition to the wakeup channel and the data channel, one channel is allocated to the customer information transmission. When the feedback information is collected in real time, the consumption of the battery becomes large, so that it is performed at night once a day.

For example, only the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal is collected and transmitted to the service server through the gateway. By identifying customers passing through each electronic label, the service server can identify the customer's movement within the store and the time spent in a particular product. These information can be accumulated and processed and then utilized to promote the customer. As another example, the customer information collecting unit collects feedback information on how the customer responded to the commodity supplementary information received through the promotional app, together with the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal, and transmits the collected feedback information to the service server through the gateway . The service server accumulates and analyzes the fact that the customer browses the additional information, thereby calculating the degree of interest of the specific customer of the corresponding customer. For example, you can calculate which products you purchase by gender and age, and apply them to marketing strategies.

6 is a flowchart of a non-secured communication mode switching step S30 according to an exemplary embodiment. The order of the non-secured communication mode switching step S30 is not limited to the embodiment of FIG. 6, and the order of each step may be changed.

In an aspect, the non-secured communication mode switching step S30 may include an information updating step S41 of receiving the additional information through communication with the control unit of the electronic information label and storing the received additional information in the memory of the second short distance communication unit. In the information updating step S41, the second short-range communication unit may start a new service by controlling to receive, store and execute a new application program.

In an aspect, the non-secured communication mode switching step S30 may include an additional information service step S42 for controlling the service for the customer terminal of the second short-range communication unit to proceed.

In an aspect, the supplementary information service step S42 may include an additional information transmission step of transmitting at least a part of the received information including the supplementary information related to the goods matched with the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal. In the additional information transmission step, a neighboring customer's terminal is scanned to establish a connection, and additional information can be transmitted to the terminal. Details of the additional information transmission step will be described later.

In an aspect, the non-secured communication mode switching step S30 may include collecting feedback information including the identification information of the customer terminal from the connected customer terminals and transmitting the collected feedback information to the controller. For example, the customer information collection step S43 may collect only the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal. By identifying the customers passing through each electronic label through the above-described identification information, the service server can determine the customers' movement in the store and the time spent in the specific product. These information can be accumulated and processed and then utilized to promote the customer. As another example, in the customer information collection step S43, in addition to the identification information such as the PIN of the customer terminal, the feedback information may be collected as to how the customer responded to the commodity supplementary information received through the promotional application. The service server feedback information is utilized to accumulate and analyze the fact that the customer has browsed the additional information, so that the degree of interest of the specific customer can be calculated.

7 is a flowchart of a step of transmitting additional information according to an embodiment. The order of the additional information transmission step is not limited to the embodiment of FIG. 7, and the order of each step may be changed.

In an aspect, the additional information transmission step may include a coupon transmission step (S44) of transmitting a discount coupon related to the goods matched with the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal. Discount coupons can be electronically transmitted. For example, the discount coupon may be transmitted in the form of an image of a QR code including a product code, a product name, a discount amount, and an authentication number. As another example, in order to reduce the data to be transmitted, this information may be transmitted in text only and the QR code may be generated by the app of the customer terminal. As another example, the additional information transmitting unit 340 of the second short-range communication unit may transmit only the authentication number for coupon issuance, and the customer terminal may request the service server with the authentication number so that the coupon is issued to the service server and transmitted have. The service that the customer feels may be the same in any case.

In an aspect, the additional information transmission step may include a goods information service step (S45) for transmitting the additional information about the goods mapped to the electronic information label to the connected customer terminals. The product information service unit can provide additional information about the product mapped to the electronic information label, for example, more detailed specifications, product reviews, review period, sales volume, and the like.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (18)

delete delete A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus;
An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna;
A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit;
A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit;
A display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the controller;
And a timer for generating an interrupt according to the operation mode according to the set cycle,
The control unit maintains the second short-range communication unit in the inactive state and the connection switch off in the default mode and activates the second short-range communication unit in the second communication mode communicating through the second short- On state,
Wherein the control unit includes a display update unit for waking up according to an interrupt of the timer, receiving information through the first short range communication unit, and displaying the received information on the display unit.
A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus;
An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna;
A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit;
A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit;
And a display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit,
The control unit maintains the second short-range communication unit in the inactive state and the connection switch off in the default mode and activates the second short-range communication unit in the second communication mode communicating through the second short- On state,
Wherein the control unit includes an additional information receiving unit for transmitting the information received through the first short range communication unit to the second short distance communication unit.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the control unit
And an additional information service unit for activating the second short-range communication unit and controlling the connection switch to control the service for the customer terminal of the second short-range communication unit.
A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus;
An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna;
A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit;
A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit;
And a display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit,
The control unit maintains the second short-range communication unit in the inactive state and the connection switch off in the default mode and activates the second short-range communication unit in the second communication mode communicating through the second short- On state,
Wherein the control unit includes a customer information transmitter for transmitting the collected customer information received from the second local communication unit to the gateway through the first local communication unit.
A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus;
An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna;
A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit;
A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit;
And a display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit,
The control unit maintains the second short-range communication unit in the inactive state and the connection switch off in the default mode and activates the second short-range communication unit in the second communication mode communicating through the second short- On state,
And the second short-range communication unit receives the additional information through communication with the control unit and stores the received additional information in the memory.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the second short-
An additional information transmission unit for transmitting the additional information related to the goods matched with the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal; ≪ / RTI >
The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the additional information transmitting unit of the second short-
And a coupon transfer section for transferring the discount coupon related to the goods matched to the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal.
The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the additional information transmitting unit of the second short-
A merchandise information service unit for transmitting the additional information related to the merchandise matched with the electronic information label to the connected customer terminals; ≪ / RTI >
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the second short-
And a customer information collecting unit collecting feedback information including identification information of the customer terminal from the connected customer terminals and transmitting the collected feedback information to the control unit.
delete A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus; An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna; A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit; A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit; A display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit; A method of controlling an electronic information label performed by a control unit of an electronic information label, the method comprising:
An update information reception step of switching the connection switch to an off state by waking up the wakeup period, the second short range communication unit being switched from an inactive state to an active state, and receiving and storing information therefrom;
A display updating step of displaying display information among received information on a display unit;
After completion of the display update step and in the information update rest period which is a time range before the next display update step cycle, the connection switch is switched to the ON state, and the first short-range communication unit is switched from the inactive state to the active state A non-secured communication mode switching step,
The non-secured communication mode switching step
An additional information service step of controlling the service of the customer terminal of the second short distance communication unit to proceed; To
The method comprising the steps of:
14. The method according to claim 13,
An additional information transmission step of transmitting at least a part of the received information including the additional information related to the goods matched with the electronic information label to the connected customer terminal; And a control unit for controlling the electronic information label.
15. The method according to claim 14,
A coupon transmitting step of transmitting a discount coupon related to a product matched with the electronic information label to a connected customer terminal; And a control unit for controlling the electronic information label.
15. The method according to claim 14,
A merchandise information service step of transmitting to the connected customer terminal additional information related to the goods mapped to the electronic information label; Further comprising the steps < RTI ID = 0.0 > of: < / RTI >
A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus; An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna; A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit; A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit; A display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit; A method of controlling an electronic information label performed by a control unit of an electronic information label, the method comprising:
An update information reception step of switching the connection switch to an off state by waking up the wakeup period, the second short range communication unit being switched from an inactive state to an active state, and receiving and storing information therefrom;
A display updating step of displaying display information among received information on a display unit;
After completion of the display update step and in the information update rest period which is a time range before the next display update step cycle, the connection switch is switched to the ON state, and the first short-range communication unit is switched from the inactive state to the active state A non-secured communication mode switching step,
The non-secure communication mode switching step
Collecting feedback information including identification information of the customer terminal from the connected customer terminals and transmitting the collected feedback information to the controller; And a control unit for controlling the electronic information label.
A control unit for collectively controlling the apparatus; An antenna; A display unit;
A first short range communication unit for transmitting and receiving data through the antenna; A second short range communication unit transmitting and receiving data through the antenna and having a lower level of security than the first short range communication unit; A connection switch for interrupting a connection between the second short-range communication unit and the control unit; A display driver for driving the display unit to display information according to data output from the control unit; A method of controlling an electronic information label performed by a control unit of an electronic information label, the method comprising:
An update information reception step of switching the connection switch to an off state by waking up the wakeup period, the second short range communication unit being switched from an inactive state to an active state, and receiving and storing information therefrom;
A display updating step of displaying display information among received information on a display unit;
After completion of the display update step and in the information update rest period which is a time range before the next display update step cycle, the connection switch is switched to the ON state, and the first short-range communication unit is switched from the inactive state to the active state A non-secured communication mode switching step of switching the non-secured communication mode;
A customer information transmission step of transmitting the collected customer information received from the second short-range communication unit to the gateway through the first short-range communication unit; And a control unit for controlling the electronic information label.
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