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
1999-05-14
2001-10-09
Kramer, Dean J. (Department: 2167)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Automated electrical financial or business practice or...
Including point of sale terminal or electronic cash register
C705S016000, C705S020000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06301565
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to electronic price label (EPL) systems, and more specifically to a system and method of graphically displaying relative information by an EPL.
EPL systems typically include a plurality of EPLs for merchandise items in a transaction establishment. EPLs typically display the price of corresponding merchandise items on store shelves and are typically attached to a rail along the leading edge of the shelves. A transaction establishment may contain thousands of EPLs to display the prices of the merchandise items. The EPLs are coupled to a central server from where information about the EPLs is typically maintained in an EPL data file. Price information displayed by the EPLs is obtained from a price look-up (PLU) data file and stored within an EPL price change record.
EPLs typically include liquid crystal displays (LCDs) for displaying information. A typical EPL may include an LCD capable of displaying a minimum of eight characters of alphanumeric text information. Each character includes a number of segments which are turned on or off to generate a character. EPLs may also include icons for displaying limited amounts of graphical information about a product.
In order to obtain a competitive advantage, retailers must effectively market their products and have access to information about their products. For example, inventory and sales figures are important in running a retail business. The type and frequency of information may vary based upon job description. A stock person typically needs “daily quantities sold” information. A person placing orders needs another type of information, “what is in stock” and “what is on order” information. A manager needs another type of information, “how does this item rank against others” information.
Access to employee-directed competitive information is typically available only through a centralized in-store computer. Thus, to determine business information about items, employees get the information directly from the computer or from reports generated by the computer.
Therefore, it would be desirable to display competitive, promotional, and other relative information anywhere in a transaction establishment through an electronic price label system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a system and method of graphically displaying relative information by an electronic price label (EPL) is provided.
An electronic price label relative information verification system which ensures that first business information for an item is equal to second business information assigned to the electronic price label for display. The system includes a computer system coupled to the electronic price label, including a terminal and a storage medium coupled to the terminal. The storage medium contains a data record for the item, which contains identification information and a verifier for the item. The computer terminal obtains the first relative information for the item from the business information source, calculates another verifier from the first relative information for the item, reads the data record to obtain the one verifier, compares the one and the other verifiers to determine whether they are equal, and changes displayed business information to the first relative information if the one and the other verifiers are different.
The method includes reading a data record for the electronic price label to obtain an identification information number for the item and a verifier, obtaining the first relative information from the business information source using the identification information obtained from the data record, calculating another verifier from the first business information, comparing the one and the other verifiers to determine whether they are equal, and changing displayed relative information to the second relative information if the one and the other verifiers are different.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a system and method of graphically displaying relative information about a product associated with an EPL by the EPL.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method of verifying graphically displayed relative information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system and method of verifying graphically displayed employee-directed business information.
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Drug Store News“Electronic price labels add accuracy, may boom in '90s” article (v0, n0, p8), dated Oct. 22, 1990.
Kramer Dean J.
Martin Paul W.
NCR Corporation
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