Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Automated electrical financial or business practice or... – Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-20
2001-06-26
Stamber, Eric W. (Department: 2163)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register
C235S383000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253190
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the electronic display of information on a shelf tag, and more particularly to an electronic shelf tag that does not require additional circuitry or power to maintain the information displayed. More specifically, this invention relates to a programmable shelf tag along with an apparatus and method for programming the shelf tag and incorporating the information into a computer system for purposes such as inventory control.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Shelf tags have been used for many years to display pricing information in association with the shelving on which various products are displayed for purchase. Along with pricing information, shelf tags may include additional information including bar codes representing a product on the shelf which can be used for inventory control, as well as product information or additional material. Such shelf tags have conventionally been simply constructed of a paper material on which pricing and product information is printed, which can then be placed directly on the shelving adjacent the product to which it pertains. Shelving associated with the display of product in supermarkets and other retail stores have been designed to accommodate shelf tags, with these types of shelf tags placed within a flexible plastic casing which can be snap fit onto a shelf at an appropriate position. The plastic case allows the shelf tag to be easily removed and replaced to update pricing or other information when needed.
Although serving the desired purpose, these types of shelf tags are somewhat cumbersome in use, in that updating of the pricing information requires physical removal and replacement of the shelf tag, which for retail environments becomes time consuming and expensive. Further, updating of pricing or other information on the shelf tag requires complete replacement, necessitating continuous repurchasing of new shelf tags with properly printed updated information thereon. These characteristics of the shelf tag also result in a risk that pricing or other information is not updated accurately or the shelf tags are not replaced properly.
The above problems with common shelf tags have led to the development of electronic shelf tags. Current electronic shelf tags implement the simple function of displaying information, such as a goods price, in a complicated and expensive manner. Known electronic shelf tags require an electronic display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), display driver circuitry, programming interface circuitry, an independent power source, and other miscellaneous control circuitry to accomplish this simple function. One major drawback to the prior art devices is that the shelf tag must continuously be supplied with power to maintain its display. The power necessary to maintain the display has thus limited the amount of information which can be reasonable displayed and requires frequent replacement of a battery power supply. Also the addressing schemes used to write information onto typical LCD displays requires many connections making it necessary to incorporate the interface and driver circuitry directly into the shelf tag. Additionally, due to the sensitive nature of electronics to environmental conditions and LCD displays typically being made with glass, the known shelf tags are fragile and can be easily damaged by unconcerned shoppers or others unaware of the devices frail structure.
Also, to program and change the information displayed in known electronic shelf tags, a fixed connection between the shelf tag and the programming device must be maintained which is inconvenient and time consuming for persons assigned to change the information. Additionally, the shelf tags would require additional memory circuitry in order for a programming device to monitor the current value being displayed before writing new information over it. This function would be critical to an inventory control system.
Further to the above deficiencies of known electronic shelf tags, a main problem is associated with their cost. With all of the necessary additional circuitry and constant power requirements, current electronic shelf tags are prohibitively expensive, particularly for large -stores that would require hundreds of tags from using the electronic shelf tags in place of standard paper shelf tags.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Based upon the foregoing deficiencies in the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, nonvolatile electronic shelf tag that requires no additional circuitry and no power source to maintain its display of information. The invention provides an electronic shelf tag that is easily programmable and can display a variety of information while maintaining whatever information is programmed onto it indefinitely with no continued power requirements or electronics.
A further object of the invention is to provide a programmable electronic shelf tag which utilizes flexible plastic substrate in its fabrication to increase the durability and adaptability of the shelf tag for use in retail environments. As shelf tags are placed in environments such as supermarkets and shopping malls where they may be subjected to impacts, spills, dropped products or other things which could damage them, the use of flexible plastic material will provide durability in these environments. The shelf tag of the invention will thus reduce replacement costs for damaged shelf tags, adding to their cost effectiveness. The construction of the shelf tag also does not require any packaging, as the shelf tag is adaptable to snap into existing retaining devices associated with conventional merchandise shelving.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for interfacing with the shelf tag in order to program new information into the display, with the apparatus supplying power and necessary control signals to reprogram the shelf tag. In a preferred embodiment, a hand-held apparatus is provided that can be easily used to program the shelf tag by simply entering desired information to be displayed via an input device such as a keypad, and interfacing the apparatus with the shelf tag to update display information. The ease of entering data and the versatility of the shelf tags decreases labor costs and allows information to be verified so any mistaken information erroneously entered onto the shelf tags can be changed immediately.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for programming a shelf tag and a method of taking inventory and updating a shelf tag in an integrated manner via a micro cellular local area network (LAN). Such LAN's may use wireless communication from portable devices such as bar code readers to maintain and update a variety of product information. The present invention provides an apparatus for programming the shelf tag integrated with a data collection device for use in a micro cellular local area network, to allow information on prices, inventory and other types of data to. be instantly tracked, updated and changed, both in the LAN and on the shelf tag. The method of the present invention simplifies and integrates a larger number of tasks that are common in many businesses, further lowering operating costs by reducing labor.
This along with other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a reading of the detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims.
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Meinecke-Diaz Susanna
Renner , Otto, Boisselle & Sklar, LLP
Stamber Eric W.
Telxon Corporation
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