WO2010082835A9

WO2010082835A9 - System and method for displaying and updating price and product related information

Info

Publication number: WO2010082835A9
Application number: PCT/NO2010/000019
Authority: WO
Inventors: Øyvind ARNTZEN
Original assignee: Realtime Holding As
Priority date: 2009-01-19
Filing date: 2010-01-18
Publication date: 2011-05-12
Also published as: TW201030625A; WO2010082835A1

Abstract

Described is a system for displaying price and product related information for sales articles and other types of merchandise, comprising a number of price labels in the form of an electronic display (12), for display of relevant information, and at least one network (26) for communication with and between said numbers of electronic displays (12). The network (26) is a wireless mesh network for internal communication between said number of electronic displays (12) and at least one data unit (14) containing price and product related information, and said electronic display (12) comprises equipment for remote, contactless, near field communication with handheld units (16, 18, 20). The invention also relates to a method for updating price and product related information for sales items.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING AND UPDATING PRICE AND PRODUCT RELATED INFORMATION

The present invention relates to a system for displaying and updating price and product related information for sales articles and other types of merchandise, comprising a number of price labels in the form of an electronic display, for display of relevant information, and at least one network for communication with and between said numbers of electronic displays. The invention further relates to a method for updating price and product related information for sales items.

The invention relates to a system and a method for

displaying price and product related information, as well as other information on a display and other screen units. The invention also relates to the disclosure of price and product related information, and other information from a display/screen unit and/or other units to external

handheld units. Handheld units may, for example, be mobile telephones. Said display or other units can be a part of a complete enterprise network for handling of price and product related information or other information.

In the trade and store sector, price and product

information generally appear on printed paper labels which, in various ways, are attached to the front edge shelves with the different products. In addition to pr information such printed price labels often include information about the size, weight, unit price,

manufacturer and content. In addition, there are often codes and information about how many units per package pallet on the labels.

The aforementioned paper solution has no security

functions against the wrong information and price

accuracy, something which results in situations which can lead to losses with respect to customer complaints and extra work for staff. Furthermore, the current solution requires a large number of working hours with regard to updating and changing. This leads to considerable costs in terms of labour hours, accessories and economic losses due to lost profits and a lack of sales.

Most companies in today's modern society have implemented computer technology which normally contains a form of point-of-sale (POS) system for automating the sales and reporting routines. Furthermore, most of these systems have one or more automated "checkout" terminals, equipped with a scanner for scanning of bar codes or other labels, to further use the information in different systems such as UPC and SKU. The checkout terminals are usually in direct contact with, and can retrieve information from, POS (price, content and stock information) .

With today's systems, changing of the prices is regarded as monotonous and boring work. The operation takes place in two main phases, via the price or information being changed in a main server and then to be printed out and physically changed one by one in the individual shops. Very often the individual stores fall behind in this work, something which leads to customer complaints, financial losses and eventually resentment against the individual shop and the chain from both customers and employees.

In recent years there have been products and system solutions that have been designed to eliminate the manual price and information work. These are the so-called ESL (electronic shelf label) and EPL (electronic price label) systems which, through two or more units (price managers, radio transmitters, infrared transmitters and external hard drives), and through the store's POS system, retrieve price and product information that are sent to display units which, on each individual goods item, show the information required. These solutions work, to some extent, as desired, but have clear limitations in range, type and quantity of information that can be transmitted. Furthermore, very large installations of transmitters (IR - RF) are required and in some cases there may be up to many miles of cables in a complete installation. In addition, the mentioned systems depend on getting

information from a third party software (such as VISMA RETAIL AS) in order to get the installations to work. This often creates large and unexpected complications, as the developers of these programmes do not give access to other players who can inflict damage to their solutions or sources of income.

Today's solutions are constantly evolving, and solutions are steadily improving, but there are still no solutions presented which mean that one can act independently of third party solutions. Furthermore, up to now there have been no known solutions that enable communication lines with end users via handheld units.

There are two solutions that appear as known in the market for price display systems and price display units. These solutions, known as electronic shelf labels, ESL, have as a main function to transmit information about prices and other product information from the store's POS system, wirelessly via an associated network. This is done via so- called price managers out to the price display units located at/on the individual goods.

The two known solutions have the same main function, but differ significantly from each other when it comes to method of communication. The two communication methods are: an infrared system (IR Signals) and radio signals (RF signals) . Price Display Systems that rely on communication via RF signals through signal transmitters and so-called loops are becoming more common. The solutions reduce

installation time and costs for the systems drastically through the entire process function being simplified. The biggest challenges one has had with these systems, have been an uncertain degree of communication, and that one has not always managed to maintain the reliability of the systems satisfactorily. As with the solutions used in the infrared signals this solution is also dependent on its own software and PC unit, which is connected to the store's POS system, with the negative responses this often entails .

With regard to the price display units in this solution, these lag behind the units one uses in the IR systems. The companies that have solutions based on low-frequency radio signals have used almost all the time on the

simplification of the transmission process, and thus the development on other fronts has virtually stagnated. The units that are on the market today are based almost only on the number-based units. Price display units, with the use of up to 15 text characters and simple logo

presentations, are being developed.

The IR solution is the most sold system and the number one player and market leader Pricer AB has developed a number of different units for use in the retail market.

Pricer AB or others that use the solution have not managed to develop the negative part of the IR-based solutions. IR-based solutions require massive hardware and network installations, which makes the solutions very expensive. The system itself works well, but that the system needs its own database/pc/hub external to the POS system of the shop is an element that is often regarded as negative by many shop owners. A shop's POS system is the "heart and main pulse" of the shop. Disturbances in this system affect the individual shop and the chain directly, and the consequences are very great and costly. This means that many dread allowing external data units to be connected in, and retrieve information from, the POS system.

Moreover, programme developers are often very negative to let other players come in connection with their own developed POS systems.

The price display units themselves that are developed into the IR systems are the most modern in the overall ESL market. The basic/standard units themselves can display a limited number of text lines, 2 x 12 characters, in addition to numbers. The last unit that is developed allows a more extensive use of text on the label, and makes it possible to use simple black and white based logos. The chip is based on a dot matrix.

The solution which is presented can be based on

communication from the shop/chain's own POS through a mesh network and the use of ZigBee modules fitted in the individual display or screen unit, as well as the use of NFC for customer communication. The solution is simple to install and provides secure and stable communication.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a new, short-range wireless connection technology that was developed from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies. Products with built-in NFC simplify the way units communicate with each other.

Today's solution works on 13.56 MHz and transfers data at up to 424 Kbits/second, which leads to NFC communicating intuitively, simply and safely between electronic units. _r

6

NFC is both a "read" and "write" technology. Communication between two NFC-compatible units occurs when they are within a radius of four centimetres of one another: a simple wave or touch can establish an NFC connection, which is thereafter compatible with other known wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The underlying layer of NFC technology follows universally implemented ISO, ECMA and ETSI standards. Because the range is so short, NFC-enabled transactions are inherently secure. Also, physical proximity of the unit to the reader gives users the reassurance of having control over the process.

NFC can be used with many different units, from mobile phones that provide payment or transfer information to digital cameras that send images to a TV with just one click. The possibilities are endless, and NFC is sure to take the complexity of today's increasingly sophisticated consumer units and make them easier to use.

From prior art reference is made to U.S. 7,152,640 Bl which relates to an electronic price label which is placed on the edge of a shelf in a shop, comprising a display, a memory, a battery, a solar cell and a communication unit. With the help of a wireless network the display can be updated with new information from a server with the use of RF or other wireless communication.

U.S. 2606/0226990 Al describes a network to send

information from one unit to another in a store. The units consist of a display, a processor, an RFID chip and a battery. Data is sent from a server to the RFID chips in the units and between units in a mesh network.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a solution which, through considerably larger user

friendliness, reliability and stable transmission methods, will provide a product with substantially greater

applicability and benefit to the individual shop and chain, as well as the end users which are the individual customers. Furthermore, the invention will have a

substantially wider use basis, as it does not require any kind of server setup, which in turn means that the user can be everything from the little shop on the corner and up to international chains.

The individual customer will, with ease and without major assembly and investment, be able to introduce an

automation system that is very efficient according to the personal cost, time, supplies and savings on cost disputes with customers. Moreover, the system will provide great opportunities for cost-effective profile-building and product launch for the individual shop, manufacturers and suppliers. The end user, the individual customer, will meet a shop system that communicates in a timely manner. The simple installation and functionality of the system will cost less in relation to existing solutions on the market. The invention will provide better availability, better information and ultimately, much better quality for a much smaller investment.

Through the system's unique communication capabilities, ZigBee, Bluetooth and NFC offer the invention internal communication and communication towards the end-user's mobile unit in a manner that has never been previously possible. With regard to the fact that the solution can also be operated without a server setup, and then through the handheld units, the invention also is particularly applicable to smaller units in the general trade industry. The invention is also very timely in accordance with environmental savings when considering that the current carrying rail will eliminate the use of environmentally harmful battery solutions. The invention will provide a new and compelling solution to the problems around the fastening device for bar codes in that this will be stored in an internal memory in the individual display/screen unit. The fastening device for the display/screen unit also ensures an effective theft deterrence through a two- way solution where one uses a magnetic or spring-loaded locking mechanism. The unique resolution of the

display/screen unit through the use of LCD and not least electronic paper, ensures the optimal quality and

reliability which the market today offers.

The system can also, without a server solution and

independent POS unit, be used as an information and price display system through the use of handheld units in smaller trading locations. These can easily use the handheld units that can download the information from their own PC or upload unit, and transmit or communicate directly with the display/screen unit. Said object is achieved with a system as described in the independent claim 1, in that the network is a wireless mesh network for internal communication between the number of electronic displays and at least one data unit

containing price and product related information, and said electronic display comprises equipment for remote, contactless, near field communication with handheld units.

Alternative embodiments of the system are described in respective dependent claims 2 - 15.

Said equipment for external near field communication can be an NFC chip, where the NFC chip can be static or active for communication to or from handheld units. Said

electronic display may comprise Bluetooth option for external communication with the handheld units. The handheld units are preferable mobile phones, PDA, PDA AIR-POD, POS scanners, or the like. And the network is preferable a ZigBee mesh network, although other networks may be used.

The electronic display may comprise a memory arranged to store information from a bar code or another price and product code, where said code is transmitted from the central server through the mesh network or from the handheld unit via the near field communication. Said memory in the electronic display may also comprise

customer related information, such as recipes or the like, where said information is arranged to be transferred to the handheld unit via near field communication or

Bluetooth .

The electronic display can be a battery free unit and be connected to a current conducting fastening rail. The current conducting rail may be equipped with a conductor and a magnet, wherein a number of electronic displays are arranged for detachable introduction and assembly. The electronic display can also comprise a spring-loaded lock for engagement and retention of the display in the rail.

A PDA, AIR POD or POS scanner can be set up for direct communication with the central server or with each of said electronic displays, for updating price and other

information .

Said electronic display is preferable an ESL high- resolution display. Alternatively, said ESL display can comprise electronic paper.

A display may be arranged on a trolley or the like, where the display is arranged to display customer related information and advertising.

The data unit can be a central server, which comprises equipment arranged to monitor output ports from the POS software, where said equipment is arranged to send data directly to a selected electronic display via the mesh net, for updating and displaying price and other relevant information .

In a method according to the invention, as described in the independent claim 16, the following steps are

performed:

- output ports from the POS software in the central server are being monitored and data is sent directly to a selected electronic display via a mesh net, for updating and displaying price and other relevant information.

Alternatively can corresponding data be sent to handheld units, whereupon said display can be updated.

As suggested earlier the display equipment can be a display and/or other screen units that are set up to show t !e desired information. In the following, the term

"display" is used for simplicity's sake, and must be regarded as including all these types of display units. Furthermore, it must be understood that with the term server, one does not necessarily mean a large known server solution but may also mean a single PC or laptop, as discussed above.

The invention shall now be described in more detail with the help of the enclosed figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows an example of a standard setup of the present system in a shop. Figure 2 shows schematically, different units that can be included in the system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 shows schematically, an electronic display in a rail, to be used in the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a partial cross section of a rail for use together with an electronic display.

Figure 1 shows a setup in a shop, comprising several shelves 24 for goods upon which various goods are placed. Situated adjoining the goods is an electronic display 12, which in the figure is highlighted as a round field. How many displays 12 which are used will vary from shop to shop and also be dependent on the selection of goods.

The electronic displays 12 that are intended to be used can be so-called ESL displays with an internal memory to be able to store all necessary information about the goods and which are also eguipped with wireless communication equipment, such as, for example, a ZigBee module. In the example shown in Figure 1, a network 26 in the form of a mesh net has been used. A signal (data signal) is then sent from a central server 14, which may be a POS server (point of sale server) or other type of server, the data unit, computer, or other file storing units, to a master node 22 which acts as a spreader or hub. Thereafter the signal is sent further between the different

aforementioned units (display and screen units) 12 until the signal reaches the desired unit (the destination display) . In the figure this is indicated by the solid line. The communication path to a second display 12 can thus be quite different from those shown. Correspondingly, the signals are sent back to the central server 14 (by the use of a POS network) .

A star network can also be used that supports a single ZigBee main unit, or other communication equipment, as a coordinator for several end units, such as, for example, the ZigBee units. The electronic displays 12, the network 26 and the central server 14 are thus included in the internal communication system. In this system, handheld units can also be

included for updating and monitoring of the information which is shown on the displays 12, such as, for example, a POS scanner 16 (point of sale scanner) and PDA-AIR POD 18 or other handheld units. The latter handheld units can communicate directly with the electronic displays 12, with each other or with the central server. An essential feature of the present invention is that the electronic displays 12 shall also be able to communicate externally with other handheld units, such as a mobile phone 20. This is primarily intended to be carried out using the so-called Near Field Communication (NFC) , as described earlier. Alternatively or in addition, Bluetooth can also be used. Then it will be possible for customers to be able to download information about the products in the shop. This can be any kind of information, but first and foremost one imagines that it can be more specific information than that shown on the display, such as recipes and the like for use of the different products, or other desired information from the shop, supplier or manufacturer. The same information can also be forwarded to the larger display or screen units 40 that are located elsewhere in the shop. From these larger displays 40 customers can either directly call up information on the screen, and when they have been presented with the info they want, this can be downloaded in a similar way to their mobile phone 20. Alternatively, the ¹ relevant

information can also be sent via e-mail or the like, to the customers. The larger displays 40 can communicate directly with selected electronic displays 12 or with the central server 14.

Correspondingly, shopping trolleys 30, can also be fitted with an electronic display 12a for displaying more

advertising-focussed information but, of course, displays on shopping trolleys can also function according to the same principle as previously described. The displays 12a can communicate with the network 26 in the same way as the other electronic displays 12, and/or they can be updated via the handheld units 16, 18, as PDAs and the like. The displays 12a on the shopping trolleys are, for example, equipped with communication equipment, a battery, a memory, a screen and a NFC chip.

The electronic displays 12 on the shelves 24 may, as mentioned, be an ESL display with high-resolution, for example, 122x32, i.e. so that it can display 122

characters on 32 lines. Other resolutions are, of course, also possible. The advantage of a high resolution display is that you then can show significantly more and better information about the product and the manufacturer, than is usual with well-known, dot-matrix displays. In

addition, the logo of the manufacturer can be shown, also in colour. Other options for the display may be that it involves electronic paper, which can give a better reading experience for customers and a substantially larger and better application area for the users and suppliers and manufacturers within the industry.

The electronic displays 12 need not be equipped with a battery, this will give them considerably greater "power" for the storage capacity and display mode, but at the same time make them as small as possible and also ease the handling, as no replacement of battery is necessary. To provide power to the displays 12 they can be placed in a current carrying rail 50 which is arranged to the shelf edge. The current carrying rail 50 can be equipped with a magnet 54 for the retention of the display, and the rail 50 can be equipped with a conductor 52. In this way, a number of electronic displays 12 can be inserted and fitted so that they can be detached from the rail. The electronic display 12 can also comprise a spring-loaded lock for engagement and retention of the display on the rail, in addition to the use of the magnet. The current carrying rail 50 is powered from an external power source.

Another important aspect of the present invention is the ability to monitor ports in the central server 14. The purpose of this is that the output from third-party software related to price and sales information can be monitored and sent directly to selected electronic

displays 12, instead of said data having to go through several networks and units before it can be shown to the customer. In a standard IR solution much management equipment is normally required, several types of scanners, a separate printer for bar code stickers, and also a separate machine for the update and activation of new price display units. A data plan in a standard solution can have many external server units, for example, front servers, price servers, web servers and back office servers. Furthermore, a communication plan in which a base station is connected in the front-end server, via its own wifi network is normally included. Furthermore, the base station communicates with a large number of infrared transmitters, which in turn communicate with the

individual price display units. In total, this is an operation in which information changes to the price display units must go via or through many networks and units before being shown to a customer in the shop. By sending data directly to the electronic displays 12, 12a significant savings can be achieved. The central server 14 can thereby comprise equipment arranged to monitor the output ports from the POS software, where said equipment is arranged to send data directly to selected electronic display 12, 12a, 40 via the mesh net 26, for updating and displaying price and other relevant information. The solution can, of course, be used by other existing POS solutions if desired. Any type of equipment or software for monitoring ports on a computer can be used, and is thus regarded as known by a man skilled in the art. Said equipment or software is therefore not explained in detail.

Claims

1. System for displaying price and product related information for sales articles and other types of

merchandise, comprising a number of price labels in the form of an electronic display (12), for display of relevant information, and at least one network (26) for communication with and between said number of electronic displays (12), c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that

- said network (26) is a wireless mesh network for internal communication between said number of electronic displays (12) and at least one data unit (14) containing price and product related information, and

- said electronic display (12) comprises equipment for remote, contactless, near field communication with handheld units (16, 18, 20) .

2. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said equipment for external near field communication is an NFC chip, where the NFC chip can be static or active for communication to or from handheld units.

3. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said electronic display comprises Bluetooth option for external

communication with the handheld units.

4. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the handheld units (16, 18, 20) are mobile phones, PDA, PDA AIR-POD, POS scanners, or the like.

5. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the network (26) is a ZigBee mesh network.

6. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said electronic display (12) comprises a memory arranged to store

information from a bar code or another price and product code, where said code is transmitted from the central server (14) through the mesh network or from the handheld unit (16, 18) via the near field communication.

7. System according to claim 6,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said memory in the electronic display (12) also comprises customer related information, such as recipes or the like, where said information is arranged to be transferred to the handheld unit (16, 18, 20) via near field communication or

Bluetooth .

8. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said electronic display (12) is a battery free unit and is connected to a current conducting fastening rail (50).

9. System according to claim 8,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that that the current conducting rail (50) is equipped with a conductor (52) and a magnet (54), wherein a number of electronic displays (12) are arranged for detachable introduction and assembly.

10. System according to claim 8 or 9,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the electronic display comprises a spring-loaded lock for engagement and retention of the display in the rail.

11. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that a PDA, AIR POD or POS scanner (16, 18) is set up for direct communication with the central server (14) or with each of said electronic displays (12), for updating price and other information.

12. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said electronic display (12) is an ESL high-resolution display.

13. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that said ESL display (12) comprises electronic paper.

14. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that a display (12a) is arranged on a trolley (30), where the display (12a) is arranged to display customer related information and advertising.

15. System according to claim 1,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the data unit is a central server (14) which comprises equipment arranged to monitor output ports from the POS software, where said equipment is arranged to send data directly to a selected electronic display (12) via the mesh net (26), for

updating and displaying price and other relevant

information.

16. Method for updating price and product related

information for sales items in a system comprising a number of electronic displays (12) for displaying relevant information, and a network (26) for internal communication between said electronic display (12) and a central server (14 ), c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that

- output ports from the POS software in the central server (14) are being monitored and that data is sent directly to a selected electronic display (12) via a mesh net (26) , for updating and displaying price and other relevant information.

17. Method according to claim 16,

c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that corresponding data is sent to handheld units (16, 18), whereupon said display can be updated.