KR20230148973A - Electronic price indicator control system - Google Patents

Abstract

The electronic price indicator control system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of electronic price indicators arranged adjacent to each other; and a controller;
One of the plurality of electronic price displays acquires image information about the user according to the user's proximity, and transmits the obtained image information to the controller,
The controller is,
Based on the image information, it is determined whether the user close to the electronic price display is an elderly person, and based on the determination, a control command is generated for the electronic price display group including the electronic price display. And, the generated control command can be transmitted to the electronic price display group.

Description

Electronic price indicator control system

The present invention relates to an electronic price display control system, and more specifically, to an electronic price display control system that performs different controls on electronic price display devices depending on whether a user close to a plurality of electronic price display devices arranged adjacent to each other is an elderly person. It's about.

Generally, products are displayed on shelves in distribution stores, and information such as sales price, discount information, unit price, country of origin, etc. for the products is displayed on labels.

Recently, research and development has been conducted on electronic shelf labels (ESLs) or electronic shelf labels as a means to replace paper labels.

The electronic price indicator receives price-related information about the product from the central control center (server) through a wireless device, displays the received price-related information, and provides information about the product in real time.

In addition, the electronic price indicator can display frequent information changes or discount information for the product in real time through the display of the electronic price indicator. For the user's convenience, it displays not only price information but also a store symbol. , a lot of information such as promotion image, barcode, product name, product image, and country of origin information can be displayed.

Meanwhile, since conventional electronic price indicators must be placed on shelves corresponding to each product, there is a limitation in that only small-sized content can be output on a small-sized display.

That is, in the case of each electronic price indicator implemented as a conventional separate display, the size of each display is small, so there is a problem that it is difficult for elderly people to properly check the contents of the content output from each price indicator.

The present invention was developed to solve the above-described problem. In order to overcome the size limitations of the display of individual electronic price indicators, content is output through an integrated layout implemented in the form of an integrated display, so that users can easily see it at a glance. The purpose is to enable you to understand the content.

In other words, the purpose of the present invention is to enable more effective output when text/images of a limited size/number of objects are to be output in a limited space, in an environment where only a display of a limited size can be provided.

In particular, the purpose is to provide a more suitable display environment for each user by providing a display screen suitable for each user by distinguishing between those who are elderly and those who are not.

In addition, the purpose is to enable more effective playback by allowing output of the same content in a larger size.

The electronic price indicator control system according to the embodiment includes a plurality of electronic price indicators arranged adjacent to each other; and a controller;

One of the plurality of electronic price displays acquires image information about the user according to the user's proximity, and transmits the obtained image information to the controller,

The controller is,

Based on the image information, it is determined whether the user close to the electronic price display is an elderly person, and based on the determination, a control command is generated for the electronic price display group including the electronic price display. And, the generated control command can be transmitted to the electronic price display group.

When the controller determines that the user is a senior citizen, the controller controls the electronic price display group to display one content through an integrated layout that integrates the screens of each display unit of each electronic price display group included in the electronic price display group. The control command can be generated.

When the controller determines that the user is not a senior citizen, the controller generates the control command for the electronic price display group so that different content is output through the screen of each display unit of each electronic price display device included in the electronic price display group. can do.

The controller may generate the control command for the electronic price display group so that purchase history information is preferentially output as the single content through the integrated layout.

The controller is,

The number of each electronic price indicator to be included in the electronic price indicator group can be determined by referring to the user's visual acuity information.

According to the present invention, in order to overcome the size limitations of the display of individual electronic price indicators, content is output through an integrated layout implemented in the form of an integrated display, allowing users to easily understand the content at a glance.

In addition, more effective playback is possible by allowing output of the same content in a larger size.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an electronic price display control system according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic price display 1 according to an embodiment.
Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of the display unit of an electronic price display according to an embodiment.
Figure 4 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the electronic price display control system according to the embodiment, and Figures 5 and 6 are content displayed on the electronic price display 1 according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an example of a display unit for forming the integrated layout of FIG. 6 according to an embodiment.

The detailed description of the present invention described below refers to the accompanying drawings, which show by way of example specific embodiments in which the present invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention are different from one another but are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, specific shapes, structures and characteristics described herein with respect to one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the detailed description that follows is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims, together with all equivalents to what those claims assert, if properly described. Similar reference numbers in the drawings refer to identical or similar functions across various aspects.

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an electronic price display control system according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic price display 1 according to an embodiment.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the electronic price display control system may include a plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n) and a controller (2).

A plurality of electronic price indicators (1) may be mounted and arranged on a display stand.

A plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n) may be arranged adjacent to each other.

For reference, in the present invention, 'adjacent' may include a state in which a plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n) are adjacent to each other or are in contact, or are spaced apart by less than a predetermined distance even if they are not in contact. According to embodiments, the predetermined distance may be defined differently for each control system.

Each of the plurality of electronic price displays (1) can display information about the product being displayed. According to an embodiment, information about displayed products may be displayed in the form of text and/or images.

The controller 2 may generate a control command to control at least one of the plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n) and transmit it to at least one of the plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n).

Each of the plurality of electronic price indicators 1 may include a camera 10, a control unit 20, a communication unit 30, a display unit 40, a user detection unit 50, and a sensor 60.

The user detection unit 50 may include various detection sensors such as a proximity sensor for detecting that the user is approaching the electronic price display 1.

The camera 10 can acquire image information about the user.

The camera 10 may include a facial recognition camera for acquiring a facial image of the user's face.

The control unit 20 can control the overall function of the electronic price display 1, and when the user's proximity is detected by the user detection unit 50, facial image information is acquired by the camera 10 according to the user's proximity. The operation of the camera 10 can be controlled to perform the operation, and the obtained facial image information can be transmitted to the controller 2 through the communication unit 30.

According to an embodiment, the control unit 20 may control the above operation to be performed when the user's proximity is detected by the user detection unit 50 over a predetermined period of time.

The display unit 40 can output various contents on the screen based on the operation of the control unit 20.

The sensor 60 can detect the positions of each of the plurality of display units 40.

The sensor 60 may be composed of a sensing unit and a sensing unit, and the sensing unit receives a signal generated from the sensing unit to determine the distance between sensors and the location of each display unit. For example, various known sensors that can measure short distances or determine location, such as infrared sensors and laser sensors, can be applied.

According to the embodiment, the sensor 60 may be mounted on each display unit 40.

According to an embodiment, the sensor 60 may be provided in at least a selected part of the edge/corner/center portion of each display unit 40.

When the electronic price display (1) receives a control command for controlling the electronic price display (1) from the controller (2), the control unit 20 controls the function of the electronic price display (1) based on the received control command. can do.

When receiving a control command for outputting content through the electronic price display 1 from the controller 2, the control unit 20 can output content on the display unit 40 based on the received control command.

According to the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 40 may be provided with a screen 41 whose horizontal length is the same as that of the electronic price display 1.

That is, one side area of the display unit 40 may be implemented as bezel-less. In other words, the display unit 40 may be manufactured without a bezel 42 on at least one of the upper, lower, left, and right sides.

That is, in order to be able to continuously reproduce one content even when there are not one but more than one electronic price display 1, the display unit 40 can be implemented as bezel-less and an integrated layout can be created.

The controller 2 may include a control module 21 and a storage module 22. The control module 21 controls the overall functions of the controller 21.

When facial image information is transmitted from the control unit 20 to the controller 2, the control module 21 generates a control command for controlling the electronic price display group based on the received facial image information and transmits it to the electronic price display group. You can.

The electronic price display group may be electronic price displays that output one content based on a control command among a plurality of electronic price displays. In other words, they may be electronic price indicators that are subject to control based on control commands.

For example, in the case of Figure 5 (a), the electronic price indicator group consists of five electronic price indicators (1a to 1e), and in the case of Figure 6 (a), the electronic price indicator group consists of three electronic price indicators. It is composed of price indicators (1a to 1c), and in the case of Figure 6 (b), the electronic price indicator group may be composed of two electronic price indicators (1a to 1b).

The control module 21 analyzes the received facial image information to determine whether the user close to the electronic price display 1 is an elderly person, and generates a control command to control the electronic price display group based on the determination. It can be sent to the price indicator group.

According to the embodiment, the control module 21 searches the user's face using the image on the facial image information, distinguishes the eyes, nose, mouth, and chin from the discovered face to extract facial feature points, and then extracts the facial feature points of the entire face. Among the feature points, the facial feature point whose similarity to the reference aging feature point previously matched and stored at the location of the extracted feature point of the face is greater than or equal to a preset reference value can be searched from the image as the aging feature point. Next, after reading the metadata of the discovered aging feature point and the reference aging feature point, it can be determined whether the user is an elderly person using the read metadata.

However, this is an example, and various known facial recognition algorithms can be applied equally/similarly to the present invention.

For reference, in the present invention, the elderly refers to a general term for socially disadvantaged people whose health status and cognitive abilities tend to be relatively lower or slower than those of younger people due to old age, and the government helps them adapt without inconvenience in society in the name of social welfare. It means something that needs to be supported so that one can live.

The term “elderly” means a person over a predetermined age, and in the present invention, it can be assumed that a person over 60 years of age is referred to as an elderly person. However, this is an example, and the age recognized as elderly may be set differently for each control system according to different standards.

The storage module 22 stores all types of data necessary for the control and operation of the controller 2.

The storage module 22 may store content related to the product mapped to the identification number of each of the plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n). In other words, each identification number and the content related to each product can be mapped and stored.

According to an embodiment, content related to a product may include at least one of product attribute information, event information for the product, product purchase store information, and purchase history information of a user who purchased the product.

According to an embodiment, product attribute information may include product name, product type, product price, time information (product manufacturing time, expiration date, etc.), product composition, and detailed information such as usage or performance.

According to an embodiment, the user's purchase history information may include at least one of product purchase date, price, product purchase frequency, product evaluation information, purchase reservation information, and user membership information.

According to an embodiment, the user's purchase history information may be stored separately for each user along with at least one of the user's facial image, age, and user identification number.

Figure 4 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the electronic price display control system according to the embodiment, and Figures 5 and 6 are content displayed on the electronic price display 1 according to the embodiment.

For reference, in each flow chart of the present invention, each step is an example, and the present invention can be applied in the same/similar manner even when each order is changed and/or combined differently.

4 to 6, one of the plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a to 1n) arranged adjacent to each other detects the proximity of the user (s10), and detects the user's proximity according to the detection of the user's proximity. Image information for may be acquired (s20), and the acquired image information may be transmitted to the controller 2.

The controller 2 may analyze image information received from one of the electronic price indicators (s40) and determine whether a user close to one of the electronic price indicators is an elderly person (s50).

The controller 2 can determine whether the user is an elderly person by searching the user's face using the image on the facial image information.

When the controller 2 determines that the user is an elderly person, the controller 2 controls the electronic price display group so that one content is output through an integrated layout that integrates the screens of each display unit of each electronic price display group included in the electronic price display group. A command can be created (s51).

If the controller 2 determines that the user is an elderly person, it can determine electronic price indicators to be included in the electronic price indicator group and include the determined electronic price indicators in the electronic price indicator group. Here, the electronic price indicator group may include any one of the above electronic price indicators.

For example, if the controller 2 determines that the user is an elderly person from the image information received from the electronic price display 1a, in the case of Figure 5 (a), each electronic price display 1a to 1e is Included in the display group, and in the case of Figure 6 (a), each electronic price indicator (1a to 1c) is included in the electronic price display group, and in the case of Figure 6 (b), each electronic price indicator (1a to 1b) ) can be included in the electronic price display group.

The controller 2 can create an integrated layout in which the screens of each display unit of each electronic price display included in the electronic price display group are integrated.

That is, the controller 2 can create an integrated layout so that one content is output through an integrated layout that integrates the display units 40 adjacent to each other within the electronic price display group.

In the present invention, the integrated layout can be defined as a newly formed area by integrating the screens of each display unit to output content. In other words, it can be defined as a boundary unit for outputting one content.

According to an embodiment, the controller 2 may generate an integrated layout by referring to at least one of the location information, arrangement type, and resolution of each of the plurality of display units 40.

According to an embodiment, the location information of each display unit 40 is the coordinate values of the corners of each display unit 40 and may be defined by the number of each display unit 40. The coordinate values of the corners of each display unit 40 can be defined by one reference coordinate value and the size of each display unit 40.

For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 7, assuming that the size of each display unit (40a, 40b, 40c) is (width: w, height: h), the reference coordinate value of the display unit (40b) is ( x,y: coordinate value of 61-7), the controller 2 determines the coordinates of each corner from the sensing information of the sensors 61-5 to 61-8 provided at each corner of the display unit 40b. The value can be calculated as ((x, y+h) (x+w, y+h) (x,y), (x+w, y)).

Additionally, assuming that the resolution of each display unit (40a, 40b, and 40c) is 10:5, the controller 2 uses sensors 61-1 to 61-4 provided in each display unit (40a, 40b, and 40c). According to the position information of the plurality of display units (40a, 40b, 40c) generated with reference to the sensing values of 61-5 to 61-8, 61-9 to 61-12), the display units (40a, 40b, 40c) You can create an integrated layout with each screen having a resolution of 30:5.

However, this is just an example, and an integrated layout composed of various combinations of resolutions can be created depending on the arrangement of each display unit.

In addition, even in the case of a sensor disposed in the middle portion of the display unit described in (b) of FIG. 7, the integrated layout configured with resolution according to each arrangement type described in (a) of FIG. 7 can be applied in the same/similar manner.

The controller 2 may generate a control command for the electronic price display group so that one content is output through an integrated layout.

For example, as shown in (a) of Figure 5, a control command to output one content ("TWO CARROTS with 50% OFF (March, 2022)") to an electronic price indicator group consisting of five electronic price indicators. can be created.

In other words, rather than each separate content being played in each electronic price display (1), one content is played through an integrated layout, so that the content can be played continuously without interruption and at a larger size. This can be a very effective display for the elderly.

In addition, since the display unit 40 of each electronic price display 1 is implemented bezel-less, even when a part of the content is stretched between each display unit 40, the content is continuously displayed without interruption. It can have a regenerative effect.

In addition, by making it possible to provide content of an enlarged size while using the existing electronic price display (1) without changing the physical or hardware configuration of the electronic price display (1), which is each small in size, elderly people It is possible to provide a more effective display to the user.

According to the embodiment, the controller 2 refers to the identification number of the electronic price display that transmitted the image information, and preferentially selects the user's purchase history information through the integrated layout for the one content ("TWO CARROTS with 50% OFF (March, 2022)", the control command for the electronic price display group may be generated to be output.

That is, when it is determined that the user is an elderly person through the image information, the controller 2 provides product attribute information corresponding to the identification number of the electronic price display previously stored in the storage module 22, event information for the product, and product purchase store information. , and among the purchase history information of the user who purchased the product, the purchase history information of the user may be preferentially output as one content.

More specifically, the purchase history information of the user may be stored in advance in the storage module 2 along with at least one of the facial image of the user, the age, and the identification number of the user, and the controller 2 may recognize the user from the image information. By comparing the user's facial image with the facial image previously stored in the storage module 2, the user's purchase history information corresponding to the same facial image can be preferentially output as one content.

In the case of the elderly, in particular, memory is relatively poor compared to the younger age group, and purchase history information is needed more than other information, so purchase history information can be provided preferentially compared to other information.

According to the embodiment, the controller 2 distinguishes the control command generation mode and basically generates a plurality of electronic price displays (1, 1, 1a to 1n) operates in a first mode to generate a control command to output at least one of product attribute information, event information for the product, and product purchase store information through each of a plurality of electronic price indicators (1, 1a) After receiving facial image information of an elderly person from any one of through 1n), a mode conversion may be performed to operate in a second mode that generates a control command to preferentially output the purchase history information of the elderly person through the electronic price display group. You can.

According to the present invention, through mode switching, information oriented to products or stores is normally output to provide necessary information to general users of all ages, and when an elderly person is detected, information oriented to the elderly is output. By providing targeted information especially to the elderly, efficient information can be provided appropriately to the situation while using the same electronic price display.

According to the embodiment, the controller 2 may determine the number of each electronic price display to be included in the electronic price display group by referring to the vision information of the elderly person.

According to the embodiment, the controller 2 may receive vision information of the elderly person from a big data server (not shown). Specifically, in the big data server (not shown), at least one of the elderly person's identification number, facial image, age, and vision information of the elderly person may be linked to each other and stored for each elderly person, and the controller 2 may store the information corresponding to the elderly person. Vision information can be provided from a big data server (not shown), and the number of each electronic price indicator to be included in the electronic price indicator group can be determined using the vision information.

Specifically, the number of electronic price indicators can be determined in inverse proportion to the vision information of the senior citizen.

For example, if the elderly person's visual acuity level is relatively high, the number of electronic price indicators to be included in the electronic price indicator group is determined to be relatively small, as shown in Figure 6 (b), and an electronic price consisting of two electronic price indicators is determined. Create a control command that causes one content ("TWO CARROTS with 50% OFF (March, 2022)") to be output to the indicator group, and when the elderly person's visual acuity level is relatively low, as shown in (a) of Figure 6 The number of electronic price indicators to be included in the electronic price indicator group was determined to be relatively high, and one content ("TWO CARROTS with 50% OFF (March, 2022)") was created in the electronic price indicator group consisting of three electronic price indicators. You can create control commands that cause output.

According to the present invention, by adjusting the size of the integrated layout for outputting one content by reflecting the visual acuity value of the elderly person, it is possible to output content including objects of a size more suitable for the user.

On the other hand, if the controller 2 determines that the user is not an elderly person, the control command for the electronic price display group so that different content is output through the screen of each display unit of each electronic price display included in the electronic price display group. can be created (s52).

That is, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5, when the controller 2 determines that the user is not an elderly person, the controller 2 sets the electronic price display device 1a to 1e so that different content is output through the screen of the display unit 20 of each electronic price display device 1a to 1e. Control commands can be generated for each price indicator (1a to 1e). That is, in this case, it is possible to control the content for each product to be individually output through each electronic price display.

According to the present invention, the case where the user is an elderly person and the case where the user is not a senior citizen are distinguished from each other, and if the user is a senior citizen, the content of the enlarged object is output through an integrated layout, while if the user is not a senior citizen, the content of the enlarged object is output through each electronic price display. By allowing different content to be output, each electronic price indicator can be used in an environment suitable for the user, and each electronic price indicator can be used in various forms, making it possible to use each electronic price indicator more efficiently.

The controller 2 generates a control command according to the performance of each step of s51 or s52, transmits the generated control command to the electronic price display group (s60), so that the content according to the control command is output by the electronic price display group. can (s70).

The embodiments described above can be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer components and recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc., singly or in combination.

Program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention or may be known and usable by those skilled in the computer software field.

Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floptical disks. optical media), and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. Examples of program instructions include not only machine language code such as that created by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like. The hardware device may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to carry out processing according to the invention and vice versa.

Aspects herein may take the form of a computer program product embodied entirely in hardware, entirely in software (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or on one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code embodied thereon. .

The features, structures, effects, etc. described in the embodiments above are included in one embodiment of the present invention and are not necessarily limited to only one embodiment. Furthermore, the features, structures, effects, etc. illustrated in each embodiment can be combined or modified and implemented in other embodiments by a person with ordinary knowledge in the field to which the embodiments belong. Therefore, contents related to such combinations and modifications should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, although the above description has been made focusing on the examples, this is only an example and does not limit the present invention, and those skilled in the art will understand the above examples without departing from the essential characteristics of the present embodiment. You will be able to see that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the examples can be modified and implemented. And these variations and differences in application should be construed as being included in the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (5)

A plurality of electronic price indicators arranged adjacent to each other; and a controller;
One of the plurality of electronic price displays acquires image information about the user according to the user's proximity, and transmits the obtained image information to the controller,
The controller is,
Based on the image information, it is determined whether the user close to the electronic price display is an elderly person, and based on the determination, a control command is generated for the electronic price display group including the electronic price display. And transmitting the generated control command to the electronic price indicator group,
Electronic price display control system.
According to clause 1,
The controller is,
If it is determined that the user is an elderly person, the control command for the electronic price display group is issued so that one content is output through an integrated layout in which the screens of each display unit of each electronic price display included in the electronic price display group are integrated. generating,
Electronic price display control system.
According to clause 1,
The controller is,
When it is determined that the user is not a senior citizen, generating the control command for the electronic price display group so that different content is output through the screen of each display unit of each electronic price display device included in the electronic price display group.
Electronic price display control system.
According to clause 2,
The controller is,
Generating the control command for the electronic price display group so that purchase history information is preferentially output as the single content through the integrated layout,
Electronic price display control system.
According to clause 2,
The controller is,
Determining the number of each electronic price indicator to be included in the electronic price indicator group by referring to the user's vision information,
Electronic price display control system.

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