KR20140114686A - Wireless connecting apparatus and electronic shelf label system - Google Patents

Wireless connecting apparatus and electronic shelf label system Download PDF

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Publication number
KR20140114686A
KR20140114686A KR1020130029353A KR20130029353A KR20140114686A KR 20140114686 A KR20140114686 A KR 20140114686A KR 1020130029353 A KR1020130029353 A KR 1020130029353A KR 20130029353 A KR20130029353 A KR 20130029353A KR 20140114686 A KR20140114686 A KR 20140114686A
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KR
South Korea
Prior art keywords
esl
terminal
product information
wireless access
data
Prior art date
Application number
KR1020130029353A
Other languages
Korean (ko)
Inventor
김주형
서정수
이성언
이종진
안원혁
호희석
김기범
Original Assignee
삼성전기주식회사
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Priority to KR1020130029353A priority Critical patent/KR20140114686A/en
Publication of KR20140114686A publication Critical patent/KR20140114686A/en

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F3/00—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps
    • G09F3/02—Forms or constructions
    • G09F3/0297—Forms or constructions including a machine-readable marking, e.g. a bar code
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F3/00—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps
    • G09F3/08—Fastening or securing by means not forming part of the material of the label itself
    • G09F3/18—Casings, frames or enclosures for labels
    • G09F3/20—Casings, frames or enclosures for labels for adjustable, removable, or interchangeable labels
    • G09F3/204—Casings, frames or enclosures for labels for adjustable, removable, or interchangeable labels specially adapted to be attached to a shelf or the like
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
    • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
    • G09F3/00—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps
    • G09F3/08—Fastening or securing by means not forming part of the material of the label itself
    • G09F3/18—Casings, frames or enclosures for labels
    • G09F3/20—Casings, frames or enclosures for labels for adjustable, removable, or interchangeable labels
    • G09F3/208—Electronic labels, Labels integrating electronic displays

Abstract

The present invention includes a communication unit for acquiring ESL product information, a storage unit for storing the ESL product information, a control unit functionally coupled to the communication unit and the storage unit, and the control unit controls the ESL product information stored in the storage unit, The present invention relates to a wireless access device that performs synchronization between ESL product information included in a terminal.

Figure P1020130029353

Description

[0001] WIRELESS CONNECTING APPARATUS AND ELECTRONIC SHELF LABEL SYSTEM [0002]

The present invention relates to a wireless access device and an electronic price display system including the same.

Typically, in a retail store, paper labels are used to display product information such as sale price or discount information, unit price, and country of origin for products on shelves. In the price display method using the paper label, when the product information is changed or the product display position is changed, the paper label which is in use has to be discarded and a new paper label has to be created. Therefore, maintenance costs are incurred constantly. Waste paper is wasted, which has a negative impact on environmental protection.

Therefore, research and development of an electronic price indicator (or an electronic shelf label (ESL)) as a means for replacing a conventional paper label is actively carried out.

The electronic price indicator is arranged on a shelf of a retail store and displays various price information through a display means such as an LCD. When the information of the merchandise on display is changed or the display position of the merchandise is changed, There is an advantage that it can be repeatedly used by updating the information of the product.

The present invention seeks to provide a wireless connection device capable of reducing installation and maintenance costs of an ESL system.

The present invention also provides a wireless connection device capable of realizing a quick and stable communication environment.

A wireless connection apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a communication unit for acquiring ESL product information, a storage unit for storing the ESL product information, a control unit functionally coupled to the communication unit and the storage unit, It is possible to perform synchronization between the ESL product information stored in the storage unit and the ESL product information included in the ESL terminal.

The control unit may obtain a command message related to the control of the ESL terminal.

The control unit may obtain a command message for changing the product information displayed on the ESL terminal.

The communication unit may transmit the ESL product information stored in the storage unit to the ESL terminal based on the command message.

The communication unit can acquire ESL product information based on user input from a personal information terminal or an operating terminal.

An electronic price display system according to an aspect of the present invention includes a retail server for transmitting predetermined data, a wireless connection device for receiving the data from the retail server, and an ESL terminal for receiving the data from the wireless connection device , The wireless access device can perform synchronization with the ESL terminal.

Through the disclosure of the present specification, it is possible to provide a wireless connection device capable of reducing the installation and maintenance cost of an ESL system.

It is also intended to provide a wireless connection device capable of realizing a quick and stable communication environment by the disclosure of the present specification.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram showing a form in which an electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an actual store.
3 is a block diagram of a wireless connection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram showing a data flow in the electronic price display system.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar elements, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. The suffix "module" and " part "for the components used in the following description are given or mixed in consideration of ease of specification, and do not have their own meaning or role. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein may be blurred. In addition, it should be noted that the attached drawings are only for easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in the present specification, and should not be construed as limiting the technical idea disclosed in the present specification by the attached drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1, an electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention may include wireless connection devices 100-1 and 100-2 and an ESL tag unit 300. [

The wireless connection apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 can store and manage product information on products displayed on a retail store. In addition, the wireless access apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 may store various pieces of information required to operate a retail store as well as store product information. The wireless connection apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 can create and manage a command message for performing various functions such as synchronization, update, and change of product information displayed on the ESL tag unit 300 . To this end, the wireless access apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 may include an ESL tag unit 300 and a database for product information displayed on the ESL tag unit 300. [ That is, a database may be provided in which the identification information about the ESL tag unit 300 and the product information displayed on the corresponding ESL terminal are interlocked and stored.

The wireless connection apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 can acquire ESL product information. The ESL product information refers to information that can be displayed by the electronic price indicator. For example, price information, store symbol, promotion image, barcode, product name, product image, and country of origin can be collectively referred to as ESL product information have.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the wireless access device 100 can acquire ESL product information based on user input from a personal information terminal and an operating terminal.

Also, the wireless access apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 can acquire a command message regarding the control of the ESL terminal. Examples of the command message include synchronization of product information displayed on the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2 and the ESL tag unit 300, updating of product information displayed on the ESL tag unit 300, .

The wireless connection apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 may include a first wireless connection apparatus 100-1 and a second wireless connection apparatus 100-2.

The first wireless access point 100-1 may perform main control relating to the processing of the command message. In addition, the first wireless access point 100-1 can perform synchronization with the ESL tag unit 300 based on the control. The second wireless access point 100-2 can perform synchronization with the ESL tag unit 300 based on the control of the first wireless access point.

However, the roles of the first wireless access point 100-1 and the second wireless access point 100-2 are not fixed, and any of the wireless access points may function as the first wireless access point Can be performed.

The wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2 check whether there is a message or data to be transmitted to the ESL terminal 310 communicating with the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2 and transmit the confirmed message or data to the corresponding ESL terminal 310 .

In addition, the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2 can receive messages from the ESL terminal 310. [ For example, the ESL terminal 310 may acquire predetermined information through a sensor, and then transmit the information to the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2.

As described above, the wireless access apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 can transmit predetermined data or receive predetermined data to the ESL terminal 310. [

A plurality of ESL terminals 310 may be connected to the wireless access devices 100-1 and 100-2 and the ESL terminal 310 through one wireless access device 100-1 and 100-2, A Zigbee (i.e., IEEE 802.15.4) wireless communication scheme can be applied to the wireless communication system.

The ESL tag unit 300 displays data on the goods information received from the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2 on the display and transmits the operation result of the data reception to the wireless access points 100-1, And a plurality of ESL terminals 310 for transmitting the ESL data to the ESL terminal 100-2. A plurality of ESL terminals 310 included in one ESL tag unit 300 can communicate with one wireless access apparatus 100-1 and 100-2. As described above, the ZigBee type wireless communication system can be applied to enable communication between one wireless access apparatus 100-1 and 100-2 and a plurality of ESL terminals 310. In order to more efficiently implement the ZigBee wireless communication system, A communication operation separated into two channels of the wakeup channel and the data channel can be performed in the communication between the wireless access device and the ESL terminal.

The wakeup channel means a communication channel for transmitting a wake up signal (wake up frame) indicating the presence or absence of data to be received. And the data channel means a communication channel for transmitting data used in an actual display.

Since the ESL tag unit 300 is placed in an environment where it is difficult to always supply power from the outside, power is supplied using the battery. Therefore, it is important to minimize power consumption for long-term use over several years by replacing a single battery, and it is mainly operated using a wake-up method. That is, the ESL terminal 310 may wake up a predetermined period of time to check whether there is data to be received. Alternatively, the ESL terminal 310 may wake up by an external interrupt to check whether there is data to be received. At this time, when it is determined that there is no data to be received by the ESL terminal 310, the ESL terminal 310 operates in a sleep mode to minimize power consumption until the next wake-up period. That is, the ESL terminal 310 can operate to supply power to a predetermined functional unit and receive and process data only when it is confirmed that there is data to be received.

Another embodiment of the present invention may further include a personal information terminal (PDA) 200 in which a user can directly communicate with the wireless access devices 100-1 and 100-2. The personal digital assistant (PDA) 200 can forward the user's input to the wireless access points 100-1 and 100-2. The input of the user may be related to the synchronization with the ESL terminal displaying commodity displayed on the commodity and commodity information thereof. Alternatively, it may be for deactivation between the currently displayed merchandise and an ESL terminal synchronized with the currently displayed merchandise.

2 is a diagram showing a form in which an electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an actual store.

2, an ESL terminal 310, which displays product information on a displayed commodity, may be disposed on a shelf on which a commodity is displayed, and the ESL terminal 310 may include a wireless The price information can be changed or activated or deactivated while communicating with the access point 100. [ The store manager can use the personal information terminal 200 to transmit an instruction for synchronization between the goods and the ESL terminal 310 or correction of the information to the wireless access device.

Also, the wireless access device 100 may be connected to the ESL terminal 310 through a predetermined ZigBee channel.

Hereinafter, the wireless connection apparatus 100 applied to the electronic price display system configured as described above will be described in more detail.

3 is a block diagram of a wireless connection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The wireless access device 100 may include a storage unit 110, a communication unit 120, and a control unit 130.

The communication unit 120 can acquire ESL product information. The communication unit 120 may include a wired communication module 122 and a wireless communication module 124.

The wired communication module 122 may have a function for connection to a wired network. When the wireless access point 100 is connected to a POS terminal or the like through a wired network, the wired communication module 122 can transmit and receive data to and from the POS terminal.

The wireless communication module 124 may have a function for wireless network connection. Alternatively, the wireless communication module 124 may have a function for short-range communication. For example, a Zigbee scheme can be applied to a short distance communication technology.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication unit 120 can acquire ESL product information from a personal information terminal and an operating terminal (POS terminal). Specifically, when a user inputs a predetermined user input to the personal information terminal, the operating terminal (POS terminal), etc., the personal information terminal and the operating terminal (POS terminal) transmit predetermined ESL product information to the wireless connection device Can be transmitted.

The storage unit 110 may store the ESL product information. Alternatively, the storage unit 110 may store a program for operating the controller 130, and temporarily store input / output data.

The storage unit 110 may be a flash memory type, a hard disk type, a multimedia card micro type, a card type memory (for example, SD or XD memory) A random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM) , A magnetic disk, or an optical disk. The wireless access apparatuses 100-1 and 100-2 may operate in association with a web storage that performs a storage function of the storage unit 110 on the Internet.

 The control unit 130 may be operatively coupled to the communication unit 120 and the storage unit 110 to control the overall operation of the wireless access device 100. In particular, the controller 130 may obtain a command message for controlling the ESL terminal.

The controller 130 may perform synchronization between the ESL product information stored in the storage unit 110 and the ESL product information included in the ESL terminal 310.

For example, when the update of the ESL product information of the ESL terminal 310 is requested, the controller 130 may acquire a command message for changing the product information displayed on the ESL terminal. Also, the communication unit 120 may transmit the ESL product information stored in the storage unit 110 to the ESL terminal 310 based on the command message.

As described above, the wireless access apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can simultaneously perform the functions performed by the existing server and the functions performed by the existing gateway, thereby reducing the installation and maintenance cost of the ESL system.

In addition, since the wireless connection device according to the embodiment of the present invention can omit data transmission / reception between the ESL server and the gateway, a quick and stable communication environment can be realized.

In addition, the electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention can reduce the maintenance cost of the system by reducing maintenance equipment.

4 is a diagram showing a data flow in the electronic price display system. 4 (a) is a diagram showing a data flow in a conventional electronic price display system. 4 (b) is a diagram showing a data flow in the electronic price display system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Here, the retail server can provide predetermined information required for the electronic price display system.

Referring to FIG. 4A, the retail server can sequentially transmit predetermined data to the ESL server (S10). In addition, the ESL server that has received the predetermined data sequentially from the retail server can transmit the predetermined data to the gateway (S12). At this time, the gateway can transmit the predetermined data to the ESL terminal.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 4 (b), the retail server can sequentially transmit predetermined data to the wireless access device (S20). The wireless access device may sequentially transmit predetermined data from the retail server, and then transmit the predetermined data to the ESL terminal.

Referring to FIGs. 4A and 4B, the wireless access apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can shorten the preparation time for transmitting data to the ESL terminal by a predetermined time (T).

That is, the wireless connection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can omit data transmission / reception between the ESL server and the gateway, thereby realizing a quick and stable communication environment.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 4A, the ESL terminal may transmit predetermined data to the gateway so that the ESL terminal transmits predetermined data to the retail server. In addition, the gateway may transmit the predetermined data to the ESL server. In addition, the ESL server may transmit the predetermined data to the retail server (S14).

In this case, when there are a plurality of ESL terminals, a large amount of time is required for data transmission / reception between the gateway, the ESL server, and the retail server, so that collision may occur between the packets transmitted and received by the gateway and the ESL server.

Referring to FIG. 4B, in order for an ESL terminal to transmit predetermined data to a retail server, the ESL terminal may transmit predetermined data to a wireless access device. Further, the wireless access device can transmit the predetermined data to the retail server (S24).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, data transmission / reception process between the ESL server and the gateway can be omitted, so that data packet collision in the data transmission / reception process from the ESL terminal to the retail server can be reduced.

100: Wireless connection device
110:
120:
130:
200: personal information terminal
300: ESL tag section
310: ESL terminal

Claims (6)

A communication unit for acquiring ESL product information;
A storage unit for storing the ESL product information; And
And a control unit operatively coupled to the communication unit and the storage unit,
Wherein the controller performs synchronization between ESL product information stored in the storage unit and ESL product information included in the ESL terminal. The apparatus of claim 1,
And acquires a command message regarding control of the ESL terminal. The apparatus of claim 1,
And obtains a command message for changing the product information displayed on the ESL terminal. The communication device according to claim 3,
And transmits the ESL product information stored in the storage unit to the ESL terminal based on the command message. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,
And acquires ESL product information based on user input from the personal information terminal or the operating terminal. A retail server for transmitting predetermined data;
A wireless connection device for receiving the data from the retail server; And
An ESL terminal for receiving the data from the wireless access device;
/ RTI >
And the wireless access device performs synchronization with the ESL terminal.

KR1020130029353A 2013-03-19 2013-03-19 Wireless connecting apparatus and electronic shelf label system KR20140114686A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

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KR1020130029353A KR20140114686A (en) 2013-03-19 2013-03-19 Wireless connecting apparatus and electronic shelf label system

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
KR1020130029353A KR20140114686A (en) 2013-03-19 2013-03-19 Wireless connecting apparatus and electronic shelf label system

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
KR20140114686A true KR20140114686A (en) 2014-09-29

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Country Status (1)

Country Link
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