KR20230129210A - Electronic information label system - Google Patents

Abstract

As a technology related to an electronic information label (EIL), a technology of displaying one group image with a plurality of electronic information label tags is disclosed. According to one aspect, EIL tags are arranged contiguously. In addition, each EIL tag arranged adjacently displays an image, thereby displaying one image as a whole. To this end, each EIL tag checks whether there is an adjacent EIL tag and reports it to the electronic information label management server.

Description

Electronic information label system {Electronic information label system}

An electronic information label technology for displaying information on an electronic display is disclosed.

Paper labels attached to shelves in stores are cumbersome to replace when prices fluctuate. In place of paper labels, electronic information labels (EILs) are known that are attached to a shelf of a store and display information about products displayed in the store. Among known electronic information label systems, there is one in which an electronic information label communicates with a management server through a gateway to manage displayed information. The display image of the electronic information label is updated as a whole. For reference, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0051076 is known as an electronic information label-related technology.

A technical solution capable of resolving the limitation of displayable information due to the display size of an electronic information label device is disclosed.

According to one aspect, electronic information label devices (EIL tags) are arranged adjacently. In addition, each EIL tag arranged adjacently displays an image, thereby displaying one image as a whole. To this end, each EIL tag checks whether there is an adjacent EIL tag and reports it to the electronic information label management server.

According to another aspect, the EIL tag includes a communication unit for determining whether the EIL tag is adjacent to one side and a separate communication unit for determining whether the EIL tag is adjacent to the other side. One communication unit can operate as a master communication unit, and the other communication unit can operate as a slave communication unit.

According to another aspect, adjacently arranged EIL tags display images out of timing with each other.

Meanwhile, according to one aspect, an electronic information label management server (EIL server) receives tag arrangement information from EIL tags. The EIL server identifies the number and arrangement order of adjacently arranged EIL tags through tag arrangement information. The EIL server transmits a corresponding image among group image information belonging to the same group to each EIL tag according to the identified number of tags and arrangement order information.

According to another aspect, the image information is different according to the number of adjacently arranged EIL tags.

According to another aspect, the EIL server recognizes only EIL tags assigned to the same product as adjacently arranged EIL tags.

According to another aspect, the EIL server controls adjacently arranged EIL tags to display images according to different timings.

The disclosed electronic information label system enables each of a plurality of adjacently arranged EIL tags to display only an image so that one image can be displayed as a whole.

1 shows the overall configuration of an electronic information label system according to an embodiment.
2 shows an example arrangement of EIL tags.
3 shows an EIL tag example.
4 shows an example of display of adjacently arranged EIL tags.
5 shows an example of a display error of adjacently arranged EIL tags.
6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an EIL tag according to an embodiment.
7 illustrates a configuration of communication with an adjacent tag provided in an EIL tag according to an embodiment.
8 illustrates EIL tag groups according to one embodiment.
9 is a block diagram illustrating an EIL server configuration according to an embodiment.
10 illustrates EIL tags and EIL server procedures according to an embodiment.

The foregoing and additional aspects are embodied through embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that the components of each embodiment are possible in various combinations within an embodiment unless otherwise stated or contradictory to each other.

1 shows the configuration of an entire system according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the entire system is composed of a customer management system 10 and an EIL system 20 which is an electronic information label system. The customer management system may be a well-known point of sales (POS) system. The EIL system 20 includes EIL tags 100 as electronic information label devices, an EIL server 200 as a central server, and gateways 200 relaying communication between them. The EIL tags 100 are installed on each shelf in the store. For example, they can be mounted on rails provided on the shelf, and communicate with the EIL server 200 through the gateway 200. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the EIL server 200 and the gateway 200 are connected by wire, and the gateway 200 and the EIL tags 100 of a group belonging to the gateway 200 are connected through short-range wireless communication, For example, it communicates according to the protocol defined above the PHY/MAC layer according to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard.

The EIL tag 100 may be a 7-segment tag capable of displaying numbers or characters with seven strokes or a graphic tag capable of displaying various information such as product names, barcodes, logos, and advertisements in addition to product prices. The EIL tag 100 receives and displays image information from the EIL server 200 through the gateway 200, and saves power by switching to a sleep state when communication with the outside is not required. Of course, even in the sleep state, image information is displayed using minimal power. In addition, the EIL server 200 manages EIL tag information assigned to each product displayed on a shelf in the store using the database 310 . The technology itself of allocating EIL tags to products is well known. The EIL server 200 transmits image information to the EIL tags 100, and transmits corresponding image information for each assigned product. Accordingly, it is easy to display and update information on products displayed on shelves in a store.

Furthermore, the EIL system 20 according to one aspect allows each EIL tag 100 to display image information so that a plurality of EIL tags 100 display one image information. Since image information that can be displayed on one screen may be limited due to the display size of the EIL tag 100, one group image information is displayed with a plurality of EIL tags 100. In order for the image information displayed on the plurality of EIL tags 100 to be felt as a single group image information, the EIL tags 100 must be arranged adjacent to each other. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2, EIL tags 100 are arranged adjacent to each other. In one embodiment, EIL tags 100 are arranged in physical contact to increase the continuity of image information. To maximize the continuity of image information, as shown in FIG. 3 , a zero bezel technique may be applied to both side edges of the EIL tag 100 .

4 shows an example of display of adjacently arranged EIL tags. 4 illustrates an adjacent arrangement of only two EIL tags. When image information is displayed using two EIL tags on one product, as shown in FIG. 3, it can be displayed with emphasis in large letters with good visibility on a larger screen than in the case of using one EIL tag. Although only two EIL tags are illustrated in FIG. 4 , image information on one product may be displayed using three or more EIL tags.

5 shows an example of a display error of adjacently arranged EIL tags. Since the EIL tags 100 receive and display image information from the EIL server, the EIL server 200 needs to know the arrangement order of the EIL tags 100 to accurately check and transmit image information corresponding to each EIL tag 100. there is. However, if the EIL server 200 does not accurately know the arrangement order, the display position of the two image information may be changed as shown in FIG. 5 .

6 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an EIL tag according to an embodiment. The server communication unit 110 is a component for communicating with the EIL server 200 . Since the server communication unit 110 communicates with the server communication unit 110 through the gateway 200, it communicates according to a defined wireless protocol with the gateway 200. The tag communication unit 120 is a component for communicating with one or more adjacent EIL tags 100 . The tag communication unit 120 communicates with an adjacent tag through a wired communication method or a wireless communication method. As a wired communication method, serial communication such as SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) or I2C (Inter Integrated Circuit) may be exemplified, and as a wireless communication method, communication using infrared rays may be exemplified. The display unit 130 may be an electronic paper display, and the electronic paper display may be a segment type or a graphic type. The display unit 130 displays image information provided from the EIL server 200 . The tag storage unit 140 may be a non-volatile memory and stores image information received from the EIL server 200 .

The control unit 150 is a control unit that controls the overall EIL tag, and may be formed of a combination of hardware and software. The control unit 150 according to an aspect recognizes whether an adjacent tag exists through the tag communication unit 120 . That is, the controller 150 recognizes that an adjacent tag exists when a signal is transmitted through the tag communication unit 120 and a response is received or a signal is received. The control unit 150 receives the unique information of the adjacent tag from the recognized adjacent tag, generates tag arrangement information including the unique information of the adjacent tag and its own tag, and transmits the EIL server 200 through the server communication unit 110. Send to, that is, report.

The tag communication unit 120 according to one aspect includes a first communication unit 121 and a second communication unit 122 . The first communication unit 121 communicates with a tag adjacent to one side of the EIL tag 100, and the second communication unit 122 communicates with a tag adjacent to the other side of the EIL tag 100. The first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 may be a serial communication interface such as SPI or I2C or a communication interface using infrared rays as described above. The controller 150 may set the mode of the first communication unit 121 and the mode of the second communication unit 122. For example, the first communication unit 121 is set to a master mode and the second communication unit 122 is a slave mode. mode can be set.

The first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 are illustrated in FIG. 7 . The first communication unit 121 is a master communication unit set to the master mode, and the second communication unit 122 is a slave communication unit set to the slave mode. As shown in FIG. 7 , the master side can be set to the right side, and the slave side can be set to the left side. Or vice versa. 7 has a wired communication method in mind, and a communication path is established and communication is possible only when EIL tags are connected. The control unit 150 transmits a signal to an adjacent tag through the first communication unit 121 and receives unique information of the adjacent tag in response thereto. When receiving a signal from an adjacent tag through the second communication unit 122, the controller 150 transmits its own tag-specific information to the adjacent tag. Additionally, the control unit 150 may receive unique information of an adjacent tag from an adjacent tag adjacent to the slave side.

8 illustrates EIL tag groups according to one embodiment. Each of the illustrated tags (tag 1, tag 2, tag 3, tag 4, tag 5) recognizes an adjacent tag, generates tag arrangement information including its own information and the information of adjacent tags, and transmits it to the EIL server. . In one embodiment, each tag generates tag arrangement information including its own unique information and the unique information of tags adjacent to the master side. In another embodiment, each tag generates tag arrangement information including unique information of a tag adjacent to a slave side and adjacent direction information of adjacent tags in addition to its own unique information and unique information of a tag adjacent to a master side.

For better understanding, it will be described with reference to FIG. 8 . In one embodiment, 'Tag 3' transmits a signal to 'Tag 4' adjacent to the master side, receives unique information of 'Tag 4' in response, and transmits a signal from 'Tag 2' adjacent to the slave side. If received, it transmits its own unique information to 'Tag 2' in response. And 'Tag 3' generates tag array information including its own information and unique information of 'Tag 4' and reports it to the EIL server 200. Similarly to 'Tag 3', 'Tag 1', 'Tag 2', and 'Tag 4' generate tag array information and report it to the EIL server 200. In the case of 'Tag 5', a tag adjacent to the master side Since it does not exist, there is no need to report tag array information. Accordingly, the EIL server 200 can determine the number and arrangement order of adjacently arranged tags through tag arrangement information reported from 'tag 1', 'tag 2', 'tag 3', and 'tag 4'. . In addition, although the tag array information may further include the direction information of adjacent tags, the number of adjacent tags included in the tag array information is one and the direction (position) of the adjacent tags is predetermined, so it is not necessary. It is not necessary to add the direction information of .

In another embodiment, 'Tag 3' transmits a signal to 'Tag 4' adjacent to the master side, receives unique information of 'Tag 4' in response, and transmits a signal from 'Tag 2' adjacent to the slave side. If received, it transmits its own unique information to 'Tag 2' in response. In addition, 'Tag 3' also receives unique information of 'Tag 2'. 'Tag 3' generates tag array information including its own unique information and unique information of 'Tag 4' as well as unique information of 'Tag 2' and reports it to the EIL server 200. In this case, the number of adjacent tags is two. Therefore, information capable of identifying the direction of an adjacent tag is also required. Accordingly, the tag arrangement information includes direction information of adjacent tags. Direction information of an adjacent tag may be information such as left/right or slave side/master side. Like 'Tag 3', 'Tag 1', 'Tag 2', 'Tag 4', and 'Tag 5' also generate tag arrangement information and report it to the EIL server 200. In the case of 'Tag 5', since there is no tag adjacent to the master side, the tag array information generated in 'Tag 5' includes the unique information of 'Tag 5' and the unique information of 'Tag 4', the adjacent direction of 'Tag 4' Only information is included. In addition, the EIL server 200 can determine the number and arrangement order of adjacently arranged tags through tag arrangement information reported from 'tag 1', 'tag 2', 'tag 3', and 'tag 4'.

Comparing the above two embodiments, in the first embodiment, the tags report only the unique information of the tag adjacent to the master side among the adjacent tags, whereas in the second embodiment, the tags report the unique information of all adjacent tags. It can be said that there is In the first embodiment, since the unique information of adjacent tags transmitted by tags does not overlap, this cannot but be completely trusted. On the other hand, the second embodiment has an advantage of higher reliability compared to the first embodiment because unique information of adjacent tags transmitted by tags arranged adjacent to each other overlaps, so that it can be verified by comparing whether they match.

In another embodiment, the tags may be arranged not only in a one-dimensional arrangement as shown in FIG. 8 but also in a two-dimensional arrangement. In this case, the EIL tag 100 may further include a third communication unit and a fourth communication unit in addition to the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 . The third communication unit may be a master communication unit communicating with a tag adjacent to the upper side of the EIL tag 100, and the fourth communication unit may be a slave communication unit communicating with a tag adjacent to the lower side of the EIL tag 100. The roles of the third communication unit and the fourth communication unit are the same as those of the first communication unit 121 and the second communication unit 122 .

Meanwhile, unlike the case where communication is possible only when tags are in contact as shown in FIG. 8 , when communication is possible even in a non-contact case such as infrared communication, a means for determining whether or not contact is additionally required may be additionally required. Of course, if the communication radius is very short and the tags are quite adjacent even if they do not physically contact each other, there may be no problem in displaying an image as a whole by displaying an image for each tag. Furthermore, wireless communication may be performed between tags only when actual contact is made. To this end, each EIL tag 100 may further include a mechanical contact sensing means, for example, a switch pressed by physical pressure.

According to another aspect, the EIL tag group can perform an animation function in which images are sequentially changed. That is, images can be displayed sequentially from the first tag according to the arrangement order of tag groups, so that an animation effect that changes sequentially can be produced. Referring to FIG. 8, image information is displayed sequentially from 'Tag 1' to 'Tag 5' so that the image is switched.

In one embodiment, the control unit 150 of the EIL tags 100 displays image information stored in the tag storage unit 140 on the display unit 130 at a corresponding time according to the scheduling of the EIL server 200. To ensure image transition timing, the clock times of the tags can be synchronized. If the clock time synchronization is not correct, the effect is reduced because the image switching sequence is reversed or the time difference is not constant. Accordingly, the EIL tags 100 belonging to the tag group synchronize their clock time, for example, they can synchronize with the clock time of the master tag. Here, the master tag means a tag located at the front of adjacently arranged tags, and can be designated from the EIL server 200, and in FIG. 8, 'tag 1' becomes the master tag. 'Tag 1', a master tag, transmits its own master clock information to 'Tag 2'. For example, when 'Tag 1' transmits its own information to 'Tag 2', master clock information can be transmitted together. . 'Tag 2' synchronizes the clock time according to the master clock information received from 'Tag 1' and transfers the master clock information to 'Tag 3'. 'Tag 2' can also transmit master clock information when transmitting its own information to 'Tag 3', but if it has already delivered its own information, master clock information is delivered to 'Tag 3' regardless of this. In this way, the clock times of 'Tag 1' to 'Tag 5' are all synchronized.

In another embodiment, a group of EIL tags achieves an animation function without using a scheduling function. When any one tag of the EIL tag group, for example, 'tag 1' receives an animation start function command from the EIL server 200, the controller 150 of 'tag 1' converts the image information stored in the tag storage unit 140. After displaying on the display unit 130, an image display for animation function is commanded as 'Tag 2' through the first communication unit 121. At this time, the command to 'Tag 2' may be executed after a predetermined time elapses, not immediately after image information is displayed in 'Tag 1'. In addition, 'Tag 2', which received the command through the second communication unit 122, also displays its own image information, and then commands 'Tag 3' to display the image. In this way, sequential image conversion is performed from 'Tag 1' to 'Tag 5'.

9 is a block diagram illustrating an EIL server configuration according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9 , the EIL server 200 includes an array information receiving unit 310, a tag array determining unit 320, and an image providing unit 330, and may further include an image display timing controller 340. can These configurations may indicate a functional group or instruction group of instructions of a computer program and one or a plurality of hardware controlled according to the group. The server storage unit 350 is a database for data management and stores tag allocation information for each product. Also, the server storage unit 350 stores tag group information. The tag group information includes information on the number and arrangement order of adjacently arranged tags. The server storage unit 350 may be configured inside the EIL server 200 or may be configured as a separate database server.

The array information receiving unit 310 receives tag array information from the EIL tags 100 through the gateway 200 . In one embodiment, the EIL server 200 requests and receives tag arrangement information only for the EIL tags 100 to which products are allocated. In another embodiment, the EIL tag 100 transmits tag arrangement information to the EIL server 200 regardless of a request of the EIL server 200, and transmits the tag arrangement information regardless of product allocation. The tag array identification unit 320 parses the tag array information received from the EIL tags 100 to determine the number and array order of adjacently arrayed tags, generates tag group information, and generates the tag group information so that the server storage unit 350 ) to store and manage. In one embodiment, the tag arrangement detection unit 320 determines that only tags allocated to the same product are adjacently arranged tags. Alternatively, tag group information may be created and managed for unassigned adjacently arranged tags.

The image providing unit 330 manages group image information mapped for each tag group, and provides corresponding image information to the EIL tags 100 belonging to the tag group. The group image information is composed of a plurality of image information, and each image information is mapped to different EIL tags 100 and managed. Also, the group image information may be different according to the number of tags belonging to the tag group. That is, group image information such as promotion of a size corresponding to the size of the group may be different. To explain further, group image information of various sizes may exist for one product, and the image providing unit 330 maps and manages corresponding group image information according to tag group information. As another example, the image providing unit 330 may map, manage, and provide group image information such as advertisements for tag groups to which products are not allocated.

The image display timing control unit 340 is a component for enabling a tag group to perform an animation function. In one embodiment, the image display timing control unit 340 commands tags belonging to the same tag group to display image information, but commands image information to be displayed according to different timings. That is, by scheduling image information display time for each tag, image information is displayed on each tag at the time according to the scheduling. To this end, it is preferable that clock time synchronization of tags is ensured, and the image display timing control unit 340 may command clock time synchronization to the master tag. In another embodiment, the image display timing control unit 340 commands the start of an animation function for sequentially displaying image information to any one tag in the same tag group, for example, a master tag.

10 illustrates EIL tags and EIL server procedures according to an embodiment. Each of the EIL tags 100 recognizes whether an adjacent tag exists (S110). The EIL tag 100 recognizing the adjacent tag generates tag arrangement information (S120) and reports the generated tag arrangement information to the EIL server 200 (S130). The EIL server 200 receives tag arrangement information from the EIL tags 100 (S310), and determines the number of adjacently arranged tags and the arrangement order through the tag arrangement information (S320). Accordingly, tag group information is generated. The EIL server 200 transmits corresponding image information for each EIL tag 100 belonging to the same tag group (S330). The EIL tags 100 receive image information corresponding to themselves (S140) and display the received image information (S150).

The above has been described with reference to an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, but this is only exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. You will be able to. Therefore, the true scope of protection should be defined only by the appended claims.

100: EIL tag 110: server communication unit
120: tag communication unit 121: first communication unit
122: second communication unit 130: display unit
140: tag storage unit 150: control unit
200: gateway 300: EIL server
310: array information receiving unit 320: tag array grasping unit
330: image providing unit 340: image display timing control unit
350: server storage unit

Claims (7)

a server communication unit for communicating with the central server;
a tag communication unit configured to physically contact and communicate with a tag, which is an adjacent electronic information label device;
a display unit displaying image information received from the central server; and
a control unit that recognizes at least one tag through the tag communication unit and reports tag arrangement information including unique information of the recognized tag, its own unique information, and adjacent direction information of the recognized tag to the central server;
Among the adjacently arranged tags, tags assigned to the same product are managed by the central server as the same tag group;
If the tag is a master tag, master clock information is transferred to an adjacent tag, and if the tag is not a master tag, clock time is synchronized according to the master clock information received from an adjacent tag on one side, and reception is received when an adjacent tag on the other side exists Synchronizing clock times of tags in the tag group by transmitting one master clock information to an adjacent tag on the other side;
One group image information is displayed with tags belonging to the same tag group.
The image information received from the central server is transmitted for each assigned product,
The image information of tags belonging to the same tag group received from the central server is part of the entire image information displayed by the tags belonging to the same tag group. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag communication unit:
a first communication unit communicating with a tag adjacent to one side; and
a second communication unit communicating with a tag adjacent to the other side;
Electronic information label device comprising a. According to claim 2,
The first communication unit,
An electronic information label device that is a master communication unit that transmits a signal to a tag adjacent to one side and receives unique information of the tag in response. According to claim 3,
The second communication unit,
An electronic information label device that is a slave communication unit that transmits its own information in response when a signal is received from an adjacent tag on the other side. According to claim 4,
The second communication unit,
An electronic information labeling device that receives unique information of an adjacent tag from an adjacent tag on the other side. According to claim 4,
The control unit,
An electronic information label device that synchronizes clocks with adjacent tags through the first communication unit and the second communication unit. According to claim 4,
The control unit,
When an animation function start command for sequential image switching of tags is received from the central server or an image switching command is received from a tag adjacent to one side through the first communication unit, after displaying image information, the tag adjacent to the other side is displayed through the second communication unit. An electronic information labeling device that commands image conversion with a tag.