JP3870858B2 - Electronic shelf label system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic shelf label system used for displaying merchandise in a supermarket or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A plurality of display devices (electronic shelf labels) are each placed on the shelf at the product display position, and connected to a management device (electronic shelf label controller) wirelessly, etc., to display product information such as product sales price and discount information, A so-called electronic shelf label system for changing the selling price in real time has already been put into practical use. Even in stores where such an electronic shelf label system is introduced, it is required that products actually received are displayed in a short time on a predetermined shelf position. This is particularly important for popular products, etc., so that the products can be arranged in front of customers as soon as possible and business opportunities are not lost.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, an unfamiliar worker such as a part-time job may take time to display a product because the display position of each product on the sales floor is not accurately grasped. In addition, even a skilled worker may change the product itself or change the display position, so it is difficult to know the exact product display position for all products. As a result, there is a problem that the efficiency of product display work is poor.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic shelf label system in which the display position of a product can be easily understood at the time of product display work and work efficiency can be improved. It is in.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problem, an electronic shelf label system according to claim 1 includes a plurality of display devices arranged in association with products displayed on a product display shelf, and the display devices wired or An electronic shelf label system that displays product information on the display device by communication with the management device, and that reads product identification information attached to the product to the management device. A wireless portable terminal for transmission, a file in which the product identification information and the device identification information of the display device are set in association with each other, and a notification unit that is provided on the display device and notifies the display position of the corresponding product. When the radio based on the product identification information read by the portable terminal to operate the notification means of the display device applicable, the notification means of the display device corresponding to the first item identification information In operation, when the second product identification information is read by the wireless portable terminal, the operation of the informing means during operation is stopped, and the informing means of the display device corresponding to the second product identification information And a control processing unit of the management device that performs processing for operating the device .
[0006]
The electronic shelf label system according to claim 2 is characterized in that an LED is used as the notification means.
The electronic shelf label system according to claim 3, wherein the wireless portable terminal includes a communication unit that communicates and connects with the management device by a wireless communication method used between the management device and the display device. .
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a product sales system using an electronic shelf label system 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a POS system 10 includes a plurality of POS registers 11 which are arranged at a checkout place and perform registration and price accumulation processing of customers' purchased products, and PLU files (product files) used in the POS registers 11. A store server (PC) 12 that stores the stored product data from the POS register 11 in real time in real time online, and a WEB that loads browser software and browse various data stored in the store server 12 with the browser software The server (PC) 13 is configured. The file storing the sales result data for each product described above is called a result file.
The store server 12 and the WEB server 13 are so-called computer systems including an input unit including a mouse and a keyboard, a screen display unit, and a storage device. The storage device of the store server 12 stores various files such as a product file and an actual product file.
[0009]
As shown in FIG. 2, the product file 101 includes a product code (product identification information) that is the content of a barcode attached to a product, a product name, a selling price, an internal capacity, and a display shelf on which the product is displayed. Stored is product data associated with the device identification information (shelf label ID) of the corresponding display device (electronic shelf label display) arranged.
As shown in FIG. 3, the sales record file 102 stores sales record data in which product codes, sales amounts, sales points, and the like are associated with each other.
[0010]
Next, the operation of the POS system 10 having the above configuration will be briefly described. When the barcode of the product purchased by the consumer is read by the scanner of the POS register 11, the read barcode data (product code) is transmitted to the store server 12 via the LAN 50.
The store server 12 reads the product data specified by the received product code from the product file 101, transmits the read product data to the POS register 11 that is the transmission source of the product code, and updates the sales record file 102. .
The POS register 11 that has received the product data displays the product data and performs a checkout process based on the data.
[0011]
It should be noted that various files such as the product file 101 and the sales result file 102 stored in the store server 12 are used as needed by other devices connected to the LAN 50 such as the WEB server 13 and the electronic shelf label system 20. Can be referred to as appropriate.
[0012]
Next, the electronic shelf label system 20 includes an electronic shelf label controller (PC) 21 and a plurality of electronic shelf label displays (hereinafter, referred to as “wireless” (infrared communication) connected to the electronic shelf label controller 21 via the transceiver 22. And a wireless portable terminal 24 capable of obtaining and displaying desired data such as the product file 101 from the electronic shelf label controller 21 via the transceiver 22.
[0013]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the electronic shelf label 23 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33, an infrared signal receiving unit 34 having an infrared signal light receiving sensor 34a, a liquid crystal (LCD) display unit 36, and an LED lamp 37. It is driven by a solar cell 38. A button battery 39 such as a lithium battery is incorporated as a backup for the solar battery 38.
[0014]
The LED lamp 37 is used when it is desired to draw the attention of a customer or a store clerk. As shown in FIG. 5, the LCD display section 36 has a large display section 36a capable of displaying a 5-digit numerical value at the top, a small display section 36b capable of displaying a 5-digit numerical value on the lower left side, and 3 on the lower right side. It is composed of a small display unit 36c capable of displaying a digit value. Product information (product price, discount rate, etc.) received from the electronic shelf label controller 21 is displayed on the display units 36a to 36c.
A product information label 40 is affixed to the left space of the electronic shelf label 23. The product information label 40 is printed with a product name 41, a shelf label ID 42, a barcode 43, and the like.
[0015]
The electronic shelf label 23 having the above-described configuration is arranged in association with each commodity displayed on the commodity display shelf, and information (for example, the price of the commodity) transmitted from the electronic shelf label controller 21 is stored in the RAM 33. The information is stored and displayed on the liquid crystal display 36 in real time.
[0016]
In order to control the electronic shelf label 23, the electronic shelf label controller 21 (management device) associates the product code of each product with the shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 23 corresponding to the product code, as shown in FIG. It is set and stored in the shelf label ID file 103 as shown. The product code and shelf label ID association information set in the shelf label ID file 103 is obtained by downloading the product data of the product file 101 shown in FIG. 2 from the store server 12. This download is executed when the product file 101 is updated.
[0017]
The shelf label ID is a unique 6-digit identification number assigned to each electronic shelf label 23, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, in the product file 101, a shelf label ID is set in advance for each product code, and the corresponding electronic shelf arranged on the display shelf on which the product is displayed based on this information. The bill 23 can be identified and its position can be grasped. Therefore, even when the display position of the product is suddenly changed, if the association between the product and the electronic shelf label 23 is changed on the product file 101, the electronic shelf label controller 21 is based on the product file 101. By searching the shelf label ID file 103 and obtaining the shelf label ID, the electronic shelf label 23 corresponding to the desired product can be grasped, and various controls including the control of the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 can be performed. Can be done.
[0018]
Whether the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 is turned on, turned off, or blinked is controlled with the turn-on command, the turn-off command, and the shelf label ID of the electronic shelf label 23 to be controlled by the LED lamp 37. This is done by sending one of the blinking commands. Moreover, the LED lamps 37 of all the electronic shelf labels 23 can be turned off by transmitting the end command.
[0019]
The electronic shelf label controller 21 has a hardware configuration equivalent to that of a general personal computer, and includes a computer body including a CPU and a memory (ROM, RAM), a mouse, a keyboard, and a screen display device. The shelf label ID file 103 and the product code transmitted from the wireless portable terminal 24 are stored in the internal or external storage device.
[0020]
Next, the wireless portable terminal 24 can communicate with the electronic shelf label controller 21 via the transceiver 22 and obtain necessary information from the electronic shelf label controller 21 in a timely manner. In order to transmit / receive data to / from the transceiver 22, infrared rays, which is the same communication medium used for transmitting / receiving data between the transceiver 22 and the electronic shelf label 23, are used. As described above, since the transceiver 22 is shared by using the infrared ray that is a communication medium of the existing electronic shelf label system, it is not necessary to construct a new wireless communication system. Introduction can be made.
[0021]
FIG. 7 shows the appearance of the wireless portable terminal 24, and FIG. 8 shows its internal configuration. In FIG. 8, various control programs are stored in the ROM 51, and the product file received from the electronic shelf label controller 21 and the barcode information read by the scanner unit 53 are stored in the RAM 52. The scanner unit 53 reads the barcode attached to the product and outputs it to the CPU 54. The CPU 54 transmits the barcode information to the electronic shelf label controller 21 via the transceiver 22 by the wireless communication unit 55. The wireless communication unit 55 transmits and receives data using the transceiver 22 and infrared rays as a communication medium.
[0022]
The operation unit 56 includes a plurality of keys as shown in FIG. The display unit 57 is configured by a liquid crystal display panel or the like that displays information input from the operation unit 56, information received via the wireless communication unit 55, and the like. The touch input unit 58 is for enabling pen input and handwriting input with the touch pen 59. The touch input unit 58 is a film formed on the upper layer of the display unit 57, and various input operations can be performed by contacting the film with the touch pen 59 or the like. Furthermore, by providing the interface 60, it is possible to transmit and receive data by connecting to an external device such as a PC via the interface 60.
[0023]
9 and 10 show screen display examples of the wireless portable terminal 24. FIG. A screen 201 in FIG. 9 is a menu screen for selecting a mode to be executed using the wireless portable terminal 24. A screen 202 in FIG. 10 is displayed when “scan lighting mode” is selected on the screen 201 in FIG. 9. This screen 202 allows the operator to give an instruction to start or end barcode scanning. When the start of barcode scanning is instructed, the CPU 54 of the wireless portable terminal 24 turns on the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 corresponding to the product code included in the barcode information read from the barcode, and is necessary. In response to this, processing for instructing the electronic shelf label controller 21 to turn off the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 that was previously turned on is performed. When the end of barcode scanning is instructed, processing for instructing the electronic shelf label controller 21 to turn off the LED lamps 37 of all the electronic shelf labels 23 is performed.
[0024]
By scanning the barcode attached to the product with the wireless portable terminal 24, the product is registered on the product file 101 via the electronic shelf label controller 21, or the selling price of the product is changed. be able to.
[0025]
Next, the operation of the electronic shelf label system 20 described above will be described. In the following description, data transmission / reception between the electronic shelf label controller 21 and the wireless portable terminal 24 is performed via the transceiver 22 described in FIGS. 1 and 8.
First, the operation of the wireless portable terminal 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by the CPU 54 (control processing means) of the wireless portable terminal 24. In FIG. 11, the CPU 54 of the wireless portable terminal 24 determines which mode is selected on the screen 201 in FIG. 9 (step ST1), and proceeds to step ST2 when “scan lighting mode” is selected. If the mode is selected, the corresponding process is executed in step ST9.
[0026]
In step ST2, the CPU 54 executes initialization related to the scan lighting mode (clearing the used area of the RAM 52, etc.), displays the screen 202 of FIG. 10, and determines which instruction is selected on the screen 202 (step ST2). ST2). As a result, when “YES” is selected, the process proceeds to step ST3, and when another instruction is selected, the corresponding process is executed in step ST10.
[0027]
In step ST <b> 3, the CPU 54 reads the barcode attached to the product by the scanner unit 53. Next, the CPU 54 transmits the barcode information and the turn-off command stored in the previous area provided in the RAM 52 to the electronic shelf label controller 21 (step ST4). As a result, the electronic shelf label controller 21 turns off the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 that was previously turned on. The processing of the electronic shelf label controller 21 will be described later. However, in step ST4, when reading the barcode for the first time after the initialization in step ST2, the CPU 54 skips the processing in step ST4 because the barcode information is not stored in the previous area of the RAM 52.
[0028]
Next, the CPU 54 transmits the barcode information and the lighting command read immediately before in step ST3 to the electronic shelf label controller 21, and stores the barcode information in the previous area of the RAM 52 (steps ST5 and ST6). Thereby, the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 corresponding to the product code included in the transmitted barcode information is turned on by the electronic shelf label controller 21. Further, when a barcode of another product is continuously read without being instructed to end scanning of the barcode, the LED of the electronic shelf label 23 that has been turned on this time according to the barcode information stored in the previous area. The lamp 37 is turned off.
[0029]
Next, the CPU 54 determines whether or not an “end” instruction has been selected on the screen 202, and when selected, transmits an end command to the electronic shelf label controller 21 and ends the processing (steps ST7 and ST8). Thereby, the LED lamp 37 of the lit electronic shelf label 23 is turned off by the electronic shelf label controller 21.
On the other hand, if the “end” instruction is not selected and “start” scanning is selected, the process returns to step ST3, and the barcode reading process of the product is continued. Further, when “not start” scanning is selected, no particular processing is performed, and the process waits for an instruction to “end” or “start scanning” in step ST7.
[0030]
Next, the operation of the electronic shelf label controller 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the CPU of the electronic shelf label controller 21. In FIG. 12, the electronic shelf label controller 21 determines whether or not the lighting command and the barcode information are received from the wireless portable terminal 24. If received, the process proceeds to step ST12. If not received, the step ST13 is performed. (Step ST11).
[0031]
In step ST12, the electronic shelf label controller 21 searches the shelf label ID file 103 to obtain a shelf label ID corresponding to the product code included in the received barcode information. Then, by transmitting a lighting command together with the shelf label ID, the LED lamp 37 of the corresponding electronic shelf label 23 is turned on. After this process is completed, the process returns to step ST11.
[0032]
In step ST13, the electronic shelf label controller 21 determines whether or not the turn-off command and the barcode information are received from the wireless portable terminal 24. If received, the process proceeds to step ST14. If not received, the step ST15 is performed. Proceed to
In step ST14, the electronic shelf label controller 21 searches the shelf label ID file 103 to obtain a shelf label ID corresponding to the product code included in the received barcode information. Then, by transmitting a turn-off command together with the shelf label ID, the LED lamp 37 of the corresponding electronic shelf label 23 is turned off. After this process is completed, the process returns to step ST11.
[0033]
In step ST15, the electronic shelf label controller 21 determines whether or not an end command has been received from the wireless portable terminal 24. If received, the process proceeds to step ST16. If not received, the process proceeds to step ST17.
In step ST16, the electronic shelf label controller 21 turns off the LED lamps 37 of all the electronic shelf labels 23 by transmitting an end command. After this process is completed, the process returns to step ST11.
In step ST17, the electronic shelf label controller 21 executes other processing such as management and maintenance, and returns to step ST11 after the processing is completed.
[0034]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an operator displays a received product, if the wireless portable terminal 24 is instructed to start scanning a barcode attached to the received product, the product is displayed. The LED lamp 37 of the corresponding electronic shelf label 23 arranged on the display shelf is turned on. Thereby, since the display position of the product is notified, the operator can easily grasp the display position of the product at the time of the product display work, and as a result, an effect of improving work efficiency can be obtained. The effect is particularly remarkable in large-scale supermarkets with a large number of products in stock.
[0035]
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved, and the gist of the present invention is described. Design changes within a range that does not deviate from are included. For example, the configuration and display screen example of the wireless portable terminal 24 shown in FIGS. 7 to 10 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to this configuration.
[0036]
In the above-described embodiment, the LED lamp 37 of the electronic shelf label 23 is turned on to notify the display position of the product. However, the LED lamp 37 may be blinked. Moreover, you may blink the display parts 36a-c of the electronic shelf label 23. FIG. That is, by changing the display mode of the electronic shelf label 23 corresponding to the product whose barcode is read by the scanner unit 53 of the wireless portable terminal 24 and the other electronic shelf label 23, It is only necessary that the display position can be notified.
[0037]
In addition, the shelf label ID is shown with 6 digits, but the configuration of the shelf label ID is not limited, and any configuration can be used as long as the electronic shelf label 23 can be individually identified. In addition, the shelf label ID file 103 is set with a shelf label ID for each product code. However, the configuration of the shelf label ID file 103 uniquely defines the correspondence between the product and the electronic shelf label 23. Any configuration may be used. For example, a product code may be set for each shelf label ID, or a file in which a product code is set for each shelf label ID may be provided.
[0038]
The WEB server 13 shown in FIG. 1 may have the function of the electronic shelf label controller 21.
[0039]
In the above-described embodiment, communication between the electronic shelf label 23 and the electronic shelf label controller 21 is realized by wireless, but may be realized by wire.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, for example, if the product identification information of a product to be displayed at the time of product display work on a sales floor such as a supermarket is read, the display position of the product is notified, so the worker can The display position of the product can be easily grasped, and as a result, the effect of improving the work efficiency can be obtained. Then, after displaying one product, when displaying another product, if the product identification information of the product is read, the display of the product to be displayed will be displayed instead of the display position of the product that has been displayed so far. Since the position is notified, the operation can be simplified.
[0041]
According to the invention described in claim 3, the communication medium used for communication between the management device (electronic shelf label controller) and the display device (electronic shelf label), the management device and reading means (wireless portable terminal) Since the communication medium used for communication between the two is the same, a special apparatus for converting the communication medium is not required, and a system can be constructed easily and inexpensively.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a product sales system using an electronic shelf label system 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a product file 101. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a sales record file 102;
4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric circuit of the electronic shelf label 23. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an electronic shelf label 23;
6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a shelf label ID file 103. FIG.
7 is a diagram showing an external configuration of a wireless portable terminal 24. FIG.
8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electric circuit of the wireless portable terminal 24. FIG.
9 is a view showing a first screen display example of the wireless portable terminal 24. FIG.
10 is a diagram showing a second screen display example of the wireless portable terminal 24. FIG.
11 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing performed by a CPU 54 of the wireless portable terminal 24. FIG.
12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing performed by the CPU of the electronic shelf label controller 21. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... POS system, 11 ... POS register, 12 ... Store server, 13 ... WEB server, 20 ... Electronic shelf label system, 21 ... Electronic shelf label controller (management device), 22 ... Transceiver, 23 ... Electronic shelf label (display device) ), 24 ... wireless portable terminal, 31, 54 ... CPU, 32, 51 ... ROM, 33, 52 ... RAM, 34 ... receiving unit, 34 a ... infrared signal light receiving sensor, 36 ... LCD display unit, 37 ... LED lamp, 38 ... solar cell, 39 ... button battery, 53 ... scanner part, 55 ... wireless communication part, 56 ... operation part, 57 ... display part, 58 ... touch input part, 59 ... touch pen, 60 ... interface, 50 ... LAN

Claims (3)

The display device includes a plurality of display devices arranged in association with the products displayed on the product display shelf, and a management device that is connected to the display device by wired or wireless communication, and communicates with the management device. An electronic shelf label system that displays product information on
A wireless mobile terminal that reads product identification information attached to a product and transmits the product identification information to the management device;
A file in which the product identification information and the device identification information of the display device are set in association with each other;
Informing means provided on the display device for informing the display position of the corresponding product;
Based on the product identification information read by the wireless portable terminal, the notifying means of the display device is operated, and the notifying means of the display device corresponding to the first product identification information is in operation. When the second product identification information is read, the operation of the informing means during operation is stopped, and the informing means of the display device corresponding to the second product identification information is operated. An electronic shelf label system comprising: a control processing unit of a management device .   The electronic shelf label system according to claim 1, wherein an LED is used as the notification means. 3. The electronic shelf label according to claim 1, wherein the wireless portable terminal includes a communication unit that communicates and connects with the management device by a wireless communication method used between the management device and the display device. system.

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