KR20200084731A - Electronic Shelf Label And Plan o gram Using The Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for linking and automating a POG used in distribution store management with an electronic shelf label. The present invention is made by linking information of a POG and electronic shelf label. First, the POG compares and manages a novel POG and a previous POG. When the POG is changed, reallocation is automatically defined. The POG is reassigned as a POG change merchandise. If a merchandise of the previous POG and a merchandise the novel POG do not match, the POG is applied to a left-first, right-first, or optimal position.

Description

Electronic price display and product display system using the same{Electronic Shelf Label And Plan o gram Using The Same}

The present invention relates to a method for automating the interlocking of electronic price indicators and product display systems used in distribution store management.

Electronic Shelf Label, which stands for Electronic Shelf Label, is a system that receives and displays various product information including price information by using wireless communication technology, display technology, and low power technology to replace and automate existing paper labels.

POG or display guide, which stands for Plan o gram, can be present in the form of data in a database, application program, or storage device as information about product placement of where to be displayed and sold in store shelves to maximize customer purchase. The display guide is intended to arrange related products around the product so that it is possible to induce the product display decision and further purchase of other products by the customer who purchases the product. The display guide includes information such as the location of products arranged by category and shelves (display racks) in the store, the size of products, and more specifically, the quantity of products arranged. Stores look at display guides and display products for sale at specific locations for each category and shelf. Through daily sales data analysis, it is judged whether the display guide contributes to sales, and data analysis and new display guide composition are conducted at regular times, such as daily or weekly, and product display is performed accordingly.

The present invention provides a method for automating the interlocking of electronic price indicators and product display systems used in distribution store management.

The electronic price indicator or electronic information indicator referred to in the present invention is a device characterized by wirelessly receiving and displaying information data on a paired product or object. The present invention is made by automatically interlocking information of a display guide and an electronic price indicator. In the display guide, a product list is organized for a specific category or shelf, and information on a list of products, coordinates on a shelf, and width of the product is managed. In the present invention, the composition of the product list for interworking with the electronic price indicator based on the display guide is made by using the location information of the product and the product length to create a location index (sequence number) of the product on the shelf, and the product of the display guide based on the index. And pairing the electronic price indicator. Because the coordinate information on the display guide and the position of the electronic price indicator installed on the actual shelf cannot be exactly matched, it is characterized by constructing a list for each product corresponding to the electronic price indicator based on the product number (index) for each shelf, not location information. Is done. In addition, when the display guide is changed, a change list is constructed by comparing the product-specific index on the display guide for each particular shelf and the product-specific index on the new display guide on the same shelf. The change list construction method can be applied considering the left priority, right priority, or optimal position based on one end of each shelf according to the method of determining the previous display guide product and the corresponding new display guide product based on the sequence number. have.

When the display guide is changed, the electronic price indicator that was previously paired with the changed product is paired with a new product. To this end, the electronic price indicator system performs reassignment to pair the product and the electronic price indicator again. Reassignment receives a new product list corresponding to the previous product on the display guide change list, finds an electronic price indicator corresponding to the previous product, and configures pairing with the new product corresponding thereto. The products and pairing information in the new display guide in the change list are stored and managed in the electronic information system, and as a result of the pairing, the electronic price indicator changes the product information on the previous display guide to the corresponding product information on the new display guide. do. According to the change list, a separate notification such as LED or text information may be generated in the electronic price indicator corresponding to the changed product so that the store manager or other people can easily recognize and find the product to which the new display guide is applied. One example is to control the LED on the electronic price indicator to control the LED for the changed product so that a person can easily recognize it. Alternatively, a notification message can be sent by text information or SMS.

The electronic information system may send a change completion message to the display guide system for the newly paired product in order to be able to check whether the change list is actually applied in the store in the display guide. The display guide system may manage newly paired products in a change list or a separate list to provide a list of products in which the display guide change is actually paired in a store and a newly changed product in a store.

The electronic price indicator according to the embodiment of the present invention can easily perform the display of the electronic price indicator by receiving information of the display guide and automatically reallocating the product according to the product arrangement.

In addition, when the display guide is changed, the electronic price indicator is re-allocated to minimize the moving distance to install or move the electronic price indicator in accordance with the position of the product to be changed. The reassignment operation of can be performed most efficiently and smoothly.

1 is an example of a POG used in the operation of the electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a configuration diagram of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an example showing a data configuration of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an example screen for explaining the detailed flow of FIG. 5.
7 is a screen illustrating a situation in which products on the shelf are added, deleted, replaced, or duplicated in the electronic price display according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings to a degree that can be easily carried out by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

1 is an example of a display guide used in the operation of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows the contents of a display guide table managed in a display guide system. Location, product code, product name and detailed product information are managed together. Each shelf has a unique ID, which can be managed by giving a unique location ID to each floor and detail section of the shelf. When the display plan is changed, the product information of the corresponding location in the display guide program is changed.

2 is a configuration diagram of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Electronic price indicator, also abbreviated as'ESL', which stands for'Electronic Shelf Label', is a device that receives and shows various product information including price information using wireless communication technology, display technology, and low-power technology to replace the existing paper label and automate it. System.

The electronic price indicator is matched and fixed to the product on the store shelf, and the electronic price indicator and the gateway receive product price information using wireless communication. Specifically, the electronic price indicator is coupled to the store shelf in a movable form, and can receive and display product information including prices through wireless communication through a gateway. The wireless gateway may send product information to an electronic price indicator based on text or imaged.

A separate server is used to connect the product information called a product master at the gateway. Here, the server may be defined as a software implementation component, and the server and gateway may be physically implemented through a single PC or hardware device.

It is possible to receive product information through a server and change it to an appropriate form that the electronic price tag can receive and display, and then display product information on the corresponding tag through a wireless gateway.

3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of an electronic price indicator in an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to associate an electronic price indicator product with an individual electronic price indicator, the operations of Assign, Update, Unassign, and Delete can be implemented.

When the electronic price indicator and the product are first installed in the store, in order to link the placed product with the electronic price indicator, an assignment is performed using the unique ID of the product and the unique ID of the electronic price indicator.

When the product information is changed after the allocation, the tag corresponding to the product information is updated and displayed. De-allocation deletes the relationship between the electronic price indicator and the product, which corresponds to the case of product relocation or sale completion.

The gateway wirelessly updates the updated product information, and the electronic price indicator tag implements a function of wirelessly receiving and displaying the product information. The server receives product information in a predetermined format or in the form of a communication interface, API, file/database, and requests product information display with tags associated with the product.

For assignment and deallocation, you can use a PDA or a PC or smartphone.

4 is an example showing a data configuration of an electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The configuration of the data according to this is as follows. MS_LABEL represents the information table for the electronic price indicator and MS_OBJECT represents the information about the product. MS_LABEL and MS_OBJECT each have a unique ID, and logically connect the two to map the ID of MS_LABEL of the electronic price indicator and MS_OBJECT of the product associated with the product located on the store shelf.

The corresponding mapping data (MS_ASSOCIATION) is managed by the server or gateway, and when product information is updated, a product information update command is transmitted to the corresponding electronic price indicator by referring to the ID of the electronic price indicator mapped with the corresponding product.

5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 5, the operation of the electronic price indicator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

(1) Initial allocation of stores

The allocation can map the unique code of the tag itself and the product's unique code, and it is also possible to assign the tag based on the category and shelf position in the store instead of the product's unique code.

(2) In the display guide, index (sequential number) according to the location of the product for each shelf

(3) Using the index of the previous display status and the new display guide, a change list that requires electronic price labeling allocation is constructed.

(4) Reassign the electronic price indicator to the product according to the change list.

(5) In order to easily display workers (markers, specific displays) on tags that match the new location information, display the change of display guides on the tag display or enable monitoring in the system.

(6) Push tag on rail to fine-tune it to fit the product

(7) Newly installed tags and unassigned unnecessary tags

FIG. 6 is an example screen for explaining the detailed flow of FIG. 5. 7 is a screen illustrating a situation in which the products on the shelf are added, deleted, replaced, or duplicated in the electronic price display according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, a method of applying an optimal position when creating a POG will be described as follows.

1. Identify the product location in the display guide

First, the display guide program manages accurate coordinate information for each product of the shelf, the length of the product, and the height and depth to be arranged.

2. Construct a list of changed products that require reassignment of the electronic price indicator

In the case of a new display, it is possible to use the display guide or, if the product is changed and displayed, compare the previous display guide with the new display guide to construct a list of changed products.

1) First, the present invention is characterized by constructing a list of changed products ignoring the actual position of the product on the shelf and taking into account the sequence number (index) of the product on the shelf. The same index in the previous display guide and the subsequent display guide can be matched.

A separate index number may be assigned on the shelf guide program, or the sequence number may be estimated based on product coordinates or product length information. The sequence number can be composed of a change list based on the left reference, the right reference, or the shortest distance based on one end. Or, if there is no previous display guide or a new display, index the product by shelf using only the new display guide.

As shown in FIG. 7, there are various cases in which the arrangement plan of products is different in the previous display guide and the new display guide. There may be cases where a product is added, deleted, replaced, or duplicated. And, if the arrangement of these products is mixed, it is possible to (re)deploy the products based on the final index and reallocate the electronic price indicator.

Another feature of the present invention is that only the final index of the old display guide and the new display guide are compared. That is, instead of individually tracking or comparing products added, replaced, or removed for each product, the change list is constructed by comparing only the entire sequence number in the changed display guide. That is, a display guide change list is constructed by mapping the products of the previous display guide and the new display guide in a 1:1 ratio by applying the left priority, the right priority, and the shortest distance. When a plurality of products of the same phase in the previous display guide are changed in the new display guide, what kind of product in the previous display guide should be changed (or all should be changed) is input from the user or a separate predefined rule, etc. In order to be able to process it, the duplicated products are configured to be checked separately.

2) It is also possible to locate the product by index number and product length information on a specific floor of the shelf.

For example, the location of shelf C, number of floors 5, and index number 3 => 10, category C shelf 5th floor products in category 10 can be found by adding the area of index 0, index 1, and index 2 on the same floor. have.

As a result, indexes, products, and coordinates may be configured for each shelf as illustrated in the example of FIG. 6 (top).

And the location of the tag is limited among the location of the product. Most commonly, it is possible to limit the position of the tag by assuming that there is a tag in the middle of the product (eg, the position of the tag in front of the product on the fifth floor index number 3 of C shelf in category 10 is the middle of the product location).

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an example of constructing a list of changed products using the previous display guide and the new display guide will be described.

1) Left priority method (previous POG index number and subsequent POG index number are mapped from the left):

0=>0, 1=>1, 2=>2, 3=>3, 4=> 4, 5=>Remove product.

2) Right priority method (previous POG index number => subsequent POG index number):

5=>4, 4=>3, 3=>2, 2=>1, 1=>0, 0=> Remove product

3) How to apply optimal position

As shown in FIG. 6, when the previous POG and the new POG are changed and applied, the product is relocated accordingly and the corresponding electronic price indicator should be automatically changed. However, if the product location in the previous POG and the product location in the new POG do not exactly match, the corresponding electronic price indicator must be changed according to the new product location. When the POG is newly applied, the display is automatically changed according to the new product, and the minimization of the movement of the electronic price indicator device according to the location of the new product can increase store operation efficiency. The method of applying the optimal location of the electronic price indicator is selected to minimize the movement of the entire tag by considering the coordinates rather than the simple mapping of the index.

(Where n is the index, m is the maximum index, Xn is the position coordinate of the previous index, and Xn' is the position coordinate of the new index)

That is, it is possible to select a POG change list that minimizes the sum S of the coordinates from the index number 0 to the maximum index of the new POG and the previous POG index coordinates.

That is, changing the ESL corresponding to the previous POG 5 (90) to the product 7 of the new POG rather than using 4 (60) of the previous POG at the index and coordinates given in FIG. 6 moves the electronic price indicator. Since the change is minimized, the change list is constructed by changing the tag of product number 6 to product number 7.

To explain a specific calculation method, starting from the left or right reference, the tag moving distance when changing the index n of the old POG to the index n of the new POG and the index n of the old POG to the index n+1 of the new POG Compare and select to have less movement.

In addition, more accurately, both the left and right criteria are executed, and a method with less average motion can be selected as the final change list.

1) Moving distance when index 0 product of new POG is mapped to index 0 of old POG: |20-20|=0

2) Moving distance when index 0 product of new POG is mapped to index 1 of old POG: |30-20|=10

Therefore, 1) method with less moving distance is selected (old POG index 0 => new POG index 1)

3) Moving distance when mapping the next index 1 product of the new POG to index 1 of the previous POG: |30-30|=0

4) Moving distance when mapping the next index 1 product of the new POG to the index 2 of the previous POG: |40-30|=10

Therefore, 4) method with less moving distance is selected (old POG index 1 => new POG index 1)

5) Moving distance when mapping the next index 2 product of the new POG to index 2 of the previous POG: |40-40|=0

6) Moving distance when mapping the next index 2 product of the new POG to index 3 of the previous POG: |50-40|=10

Therefore, 5) method with less moving distance is selected (old POG index 2 => new POG index 2)

6) Moving distance when mapping the next index 3 product of the new POG to index 3 of the previous POG: |50-50|=0

7) Moving distance when mapping the next index 3 product of the new POG to index 3 of the previous POG: |50-60|=10

Therefore, 7) method with less moving distance is selected (old POG index 3 => new POG index 3)

On the other hand, as shown by the bold box in the configuration of Figure 6, it may be necessary to place the existing product (index 4, 5) as a new product (index 4). In this case, the operation may proceed as follows.

8) Moving distance when mapping the next index 4 product of the new POG to index 4 of the previous POG: |60-80|=20

9) Moving distance when mapping the next index 4 product of the new POG to index 5 of the previous POG: |90-80|=10

Therefore, 9) method with less moving distance is selected (old POG index 5 => new POG index 4), and index 4 of the previous POG is deleted.

3. Reassignment of electronic price indicators according to the list of changed products

<Reassignment method>

The present invention links two different solutions. The POG solution manages the mapping of location information and product code, and the electronic price indicator solution manages the mapping of the ID and product code of the electronic price indicator. Comparing the old POG with the new POG, a list of changed products is constructed, and the electronic price indicator corresponding to the old product is reassigned as a new product.

To this end, the reassignment function can be provided in the form of API, file, or DB. The actual operation of reassignment consists of obtaining the ID of the electronic price indicator combined with the previous product and the operation of allocating the corresponding electronic price indicator ID and a new product.

The electronic price indicator is newly allocated or reallocated according to the change list. To this end, the index (sequence number) of the electronic price indicator located on the shelf can be managed by the system. That is, the unique ID of the newly installed electronic price indicator can be managed for each display stand (shelf) to store and utilize the index (order number) information of the electronic price indicator for each shelf. The index (sequence number) information of the electronic price indicator is the index of the electronic price indicator by using a handheld device such as a PDA to enter the unique ID of the electronic price indicator in sequence using a barcode or NFC, or directly inputting it on the system. Information can be organized.

The electronic price indicator is to be paid as a new product for newly added or changed products according to the display guide. For each shelf, reset (pair) the electronic price indicator so that the index of the new display guide matches the index of the electronic price indicator. Alternatively, by using the list of changed products created by comparing the old display guide with the new display guide, the electronic price indicator mapped to the product of the previous display guide corresponding to the index of the new display guide can be found and reset to the product of the new display guide. . Receive a list of new products corresponding to the previous product, find an electronic price indicator corresponding to the previous product, and configure the pairing with the new product corresponding to it. The products and pairing information on the new display guide in the change list are stored and managed in the electronic information system, and as a result of the pairing, the electronic price indicator changes the product information on the previous display guide to the corresponding product information on the new display guide. do.

Alternatively, if there is no previous product, an electronic price indicator is automatically reassigned according to the display guide by associating a display guide corresponding to the index number of the electronic price indicator on the shelf or a product list on the change list.

According to the change list, a separate notification such as LED or text information may be generated in the electronic price indicator corresponding to the changed product so that the store manager or other people can easily recognize and find the product to which the new display guide is applied.

One example is to control the LED on the electronic price indicator to control the LED for the changed product so that a person can easily recognize it. In this process, the electronic price indicator is automatically changed according to the changed display guide arrangement, and the LED, etc. of the changed electronic price indicator is controlled to facilitate the placement of the product according to the changed electronic price indicator. It is possible to accurately check whether a product is placed according to the changed electronic price indicator in the store, and to force the change in the store, the individual electronic price indicator changed by using a separate button or an external switch or a handheld device in the electronic price indicator. You can go through a separate manipulation that forces a person to check.

Using the button of the electronic price indicator or an external switch or a handheld device such as a PDA, the checked electronic price indicator is checked separately, and the information is stored in the server and provided on the screen through a web page or app, etc. It is possible to check how much is applied in stores and to provide feedback to systems such as headquarters or data centers that created a display plan for distribution guides in stores. The electronic price indicator can also send a notification message to the user via text information or SMS.

The electronic information system may send a change completion message to the display guide system for the newly paired product in order to be able to check whether the change list is actually applied in the store in the display guide. The display guide system may manage newly paired products in a change list or a separate list to provide a list of products in which the display guide change is actually paired in a store, and a list of products newly changed from a store to a new product.

What has been described above is only one embodiment for implementing the electronic price indicator according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but is outside the gist of the present invention as claimed in the following claims. Without this, anyone who has ordinary knowledge in the field to which the present invention pertains will have the technical spirit of the present invention to the extent that various changes can be implemented.

Claims (11)

In the product display system linked to the electronic price indicator,
An electronic price indicator matching products displayed on the shelf; And
And a server that stores product information and transmits product information to the electronic price indicator through a gateway,
The electronic price indicator is a product display system that is allocated, reallocated, or deallocated to a product according to the product information of the server. According to claim 1,
The electronic price indicator and the products displayed on the shelf are each given a unique ID,
The server is a product display system for storing the mapping data generated by logically connecting between the electronic price indicator and the product ID. According to claim 2,
The server is a product display system for transmitting an update command of the product information using the mapping data. According to claim 1,
The electronic price indicator is provided with a tag, and the product display system is allocated to the location of the electronic price indicator by communicating with a terminal in a store through the tag. According to claim 1,
The electronic price indicator is set to be located at a predetermined position of the product on the shelf,
When the server needs to update the previous display guide, the product display that creates a display guide change list by mapping the products of the previous display guide and the new display guide to 1:1 by applying the left priority, right priority, or the shortest distance priority. system. The method of claim 5,
When the server applies the left priority, the product display system generates a display guide change list by mapping the previous display guide index number and the subsequent display guide index number from the left. The method of claim 5,
When the server applies the left priority, the product display system generates a display guide change list by mapping the previous display guide index number and the subsequent display guide index number from the right. When the server applies the shortest distance priority,
The server moves the moving distance when moving the position of the target index (n) of the new display guide to the position of the target index (n) of the previous display guide,
Compare the moving distance when moving the position of the target index (n) of the new display guide to the position of the next target index (n+1) of the previous display guide,
A product display system that generates a display guide change list by mapping by selecting a movement in a manner that has a small movement distance. The method of claim 8,
The server is a product display system that generates a display guide change list by mapping in the manner that the entire electronic price indicator has the smallest moving distance through the following formula.

(Where n is the index, m is the maximum index, Xn is the position coordinate of the previous index, and Xn' is the position coordinate of the new index) The method of claim 5,
Electronic price indicator is a product display system that displays the changed product through a separate notification. According to claim 1,
In the absence of a previous product displayed on the shelf, a product display configured to automatically reassign an electronic price indicator according to the display guide by associating a product list on the display guide corresponding to the index number of the electronic price indicator on the shelf. system.

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