WO2009065563A1

WO2009065563A1 - An electronic shelf label

Info

Publication number: WO2009065563A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/009765
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ola ÖDMARK
Original assignee: Promargin Ab
Priority date: 2007-11-19
Filing date: 2008-11-19
Publication date: 2009-05-28

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic shelf label comprising a first unit (54); (61) configured to present information, said first unit is provided with control electronics (53); (64), and a communication interface through which the control electronics may communicate with an externally arranged central unit (47). The first unit (54); (61) is provided with means (57); (63) to connect an additional unit (55); (62) and configured to supply power to said additional unit (55); (62) when connected.

Description

AN ELECTRONIC SHELF LABEL

Technical field

The present invention relates to an electronic shelf label, especially adapted for use to mark price and/ or campaign of an article in a store.

Background

Electronic Shelf Labels are used today to mark price of articles in stores and these are marketed by Pricer AB. The system uses shelf labels that for the main part consist of LCD displays, which are connected to a central control unit that wirelessly communicates with the shelf labels and enters the correct information on the LCD displays. An LCD display has certain built-in restrictions, e.g. they consume energy even when the information on the LCD display does not change, and the contrast and viewing angle are limited which may result in difficulties to read the information on the shelf label for a viewer. Furthermore, it is not possible to use the complete surface of the LCD display to present information since seals around the display, filing holes for the liquid crystals, connections of segments occur in the same layer as the segments, and a not usable surface along the seal reduces the available surface with 10-20%.

Furthermore, cabling to electronics placed behind and space for wireless communication results in that the shelf label is somewhat larger than the LCD display surface, see figure Ia and Ib. The LCD display consists of a glass which needs to be protected by an encompassing transparent protective coating. These things results in that only 70-80% of the surface of the shelf label can be used for presenting information, such as price, article name etc. One or more batteries usually are included in shelf labels and a drawback with CD displays is that presented information disappears when the power supply from the battery is terminated.

COMFIRMATIONCOPY Displays that is based on a technology called "electronic inc" has been developed by company named E Ink Corporation and these have the advantage that they do not consume any power if the information on the display is unchanged. Furthermore, the display has a considerable increased contrast compared to LCD displays and the viewing angle is comparable to printed text on a white piece of paper, i.e. close to 180 degrees. The display has a seal around the complete periphery (to prevent the environment of the electronic ink to change over time) and the complete surface of the display up to the seal can be used to present information, i.e. no unusable surface exists along the seal compared to the LCD display. Furthermore, the surface of the display does not have to be protected since the outer layer consists of a plastic material.

Summary

An object with the present invention is to provide an electronic shelf label with a larger usable active surface compared to electronic shelf labels according to prior art, i.e. surface where information may be presented.

This is achieved by an electronic shelf label in which a display with electronic ink has been integrated with control electrodes and control electronics by connecting the control electronics with the control electrodes through an electric insulated material.

An object with a preferred embodiment of the present invention is that the same active surface may be used for alternating information content, such as campaign, price, name of article, etc.

An advantage with the present invention is that the number of contacts has been reduced which results in a considerable reduced risk for manufacturing defects.

Further advantages with the present invention is that the shelf labels are simpler to read, consumes less power, has a wide viewing angle and does not lose its information if the internal power supply stops working compared to prior art technology. The latest presented information remains unchanged until new instructions are given.

Further objects and advantages are obvious from the detailed description.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure Ia and Ib show a top view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of an electronic shelf label according to prior art technology.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a display based on electronic ink.

Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of an electronic shelf label according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of an electronic shelf label according to the present invention.

Figure 5 shows an example how different patterns may be achieved on a shelf label according to the present invention.

Figure 6 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of an electronic shelf label according to the present invention.

Detailed description of preferred embodiments

Figure Ia and Ib show a top view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of an electronic shelf label 10 with an LCD display 11 according to prior art technology. The LCD display 11 has certain built-in restrictions, e.g. they consume energy even when the information on the LCD display does not change, and the contrast and viewing angle are limited which may result in difficulties to read the information on the shelf label for a viewer. Furthermore, it is not possible to use the complete surface of the LCD display to present information since seals 12 around the display, filing holes 13 for the liquid crystals, and a not usable surface along the seal 12 that results in that the text 14 written on the display must have a minimum distance (d) from the inner edge of the seal. Further, connections to the segments of the display occupy surface since they are placed in the same layer as the segments. All this reduces the available surface with 10-20%. Furthermore, cabling 15 to electronics on circuit board 16 placed behind, space for wireless communication 17, 18 and a protective plastic coating results in that the shelf label is somewhat larger than the usable surface of the LCD display.

Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a shelf label 20 with a display based on electronic ink 21. A transparent reference electrode 22 (normally ITO-

Iridium Tin Oxide) is arranged adjacent to the electronic ink and a protective coating in the form of plastic (PET) 23 is provided on the front side of the display, i.e. on top of the reference electrode 22. Further, the reference electrode is provided with a contact surface 24 to which control electronics 25 is connected using conductive glue and heat step. Below the electronic ink 21 , an adhesive layer 26 exists used for fixating control electrodes 27 having a desired shape. Electronic ink 21 and corresponding reference electrode 22, protective coating 23, and adhesive layer 26 may be obtained from E-ink Corporation as a raw material, which needs to be sealed along its edges to create a seal 28 (that is approximately 2 mm wide) with the main purpose being to preserve the moisture level in the electronic ink 21. The contact surface 24 has to be created by removing obstructing materials in an area specified by the manufacturer.

Control electronics is preferably arranged directly on a circuit board 29 in the shape of discrete components, IC-circuits and the like, or as an electronic module 27. The circuit board 29 is manufactured of an electrically insulated material with one or two conductive layers, wherein a first layer may be used to define the shape of the control electrodes and the other may be used for contacting the control electronics. It is preferred that the control electrodes are connected to the control electronics via through holes 19 through the circuit board 29. The result of this is that the number of contacts in a shelf label is considerable reduced compared to the shelf label described in connection with figures Ia and Ib, and since contacts give rise to many defects during manufacture and use, this measure results in an increased reliability of the shelf labels during manufacture and operation.

Naturally, the circuit board 29 may consist of several layers, e.g. 4 layers, wherein conductive paths may be implemented on a layer within the circuit board. These conductive paths are preferably connected to control electrodes and control electronics via through holes 19, as described above. The circuit board preferably comprises control electrodes, conductive paths and connections to control electronics.

It should be mentioned that the display described in connection with figure 2 has a major advantage in that it permits implementation of segments all the way out to the seal 28, which provides a maximum usable surface, and that the display does not consume any power when the information presented on the display is unchanged. The display may be shaped to any desired shape without reducing its functionality since it is the position of the control electrodes that determines the display functionality. A further advantage is that no protective coating is needed since the plastic coating 23 is enough to protect the display.

Furthermore, the electronic ink provides an extremely high contrast compared to LCD technology and no space is required for wiring next to the control electrodes to connect them to the control electronics since all such preferably is performed through the circuit board compared to LCD technology in which both segments and wiring is performed in the same plane.

Control electronics depends on supply of power, which normally is one or more batteries integrated into the control module 27, and power is only needed when the information presented on the display should be changed, which results in that information is maintained even though battery power stops working. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a shelf label 30 with a display 31 comprises a protective film, reference electrode and electronic ink as described in connection with figure 2. The edge has a seal 32 and the surface is rectangular with a cut 33 to provide space for communication equipment in the form of a wireless transceiver, e.g. IR receiver 34 and IR transmitter 35 that communicates with a central unit 47, configured to be able to communicate with each of a plurality of electronic shelf labels within a system installed in a store. The size of the cut may easily be adapted to the size of the transceiver. The complete surface within the seal 32 is available for presentation of information, which is clear from the illustrated text

"TOMATOES" and the bar code arranged adjacent to the seal. Furthermore, control electrodes may be designed as 7 segment numbers through which the price of the article may be changed. The text and the bar code comprise control electrodes designed in a suitable way such as described in connection with figure 5.

A circuit board 36 comprises a first conductive layer, with shaped control electrodes, arranged on top of an electrically insulated material and a second conductive layer, with designed conductive paths (wiring) for the control electronics 37. The wiring, e.g. via through holes, through the electrically insulated material connects the control electrodes with the control electronics, which in this example comprises discrete components, such as IC-circuits, capacitors, resistors, etc. The reference electrode also has a contact surface 38 for connecting the reference electrode to the control electronics as described above.

The information displayed on the surface of the display might vary over time since it is possible to create a pattern of control electrodes that allows different messages to be visible, which is described in more detail below. For example, the text "TOMATOES" and the price information may be turned off and be replaced by a flashing text "OFFER" during a short time period and thereafter return to show the name of the article and price information. This will attract the attention of the person passing the shelf label and is called "attention grabbing". Simple animations may also be introduced provided the control electrodes supporting this have been implemented. The advantage with this is the simple use of the complete surface of the display for articles under campaign.

The IR receiver 34 may also be sensitive to visible light and thereby operate as a light sensor. The light sensor may detect changes in ambient light, and in response trigger certain actions to be performed, which are exemplified below:

1) A rapid change in ambient light probably indicates that someone, or something, passes the electronic shelf label and the control electronics, which respond to the rapid change in ambient light, may alter/ trigg the presentation sequence of information on the display surface.

2) A change in ambient light below a certain level will indicate that the light in the store is turned off (store is closing) and as a response the control electronics will put the electronic shelf label in stand-by mode to save power.

3) An intentional change in light received by the light sensor (IR receiver), e.g. by sending a beam of light from a remote control, may be used to communicate with the control electronics to alter the programming. An example is that the presented message on the display may be altered without the need of communication with a central unit.

Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of a shelf label 40 wherein the display 41 is divided into a first area 42 and a second area 43, the control electrodes in the first area are arranged as segments and the control electrodes in the second area are arranged as a dot matrix. The display is provided with a seal 44 and a contact area to connect the reference electrode to control electronics (not shown) placed behind. The first area 42 is assembled in the same way as described in connection with figure 3, and the second area 43 has a traditional dot matrix assembly which means that n x m control electrodes are arranged in n rows and m columns over the surface. Each respective control electrode is preferably connected through the insulating material placed behind similar to that described for the segments in connection with figure 2.

A dot matrix results in that different texts simply may be written over the surface such as illustrated by the words "SAVE" and "OFFER". These words do not appear at the same time, and the activation of different control electrodes in the dot matrix makes it possible. If not a dot matrix is used, it is possible to realize a limited number of words on a segmented surface provided certain rules are obeyed as illustrated in figure 5.

The shelf label in figure 4 is also provided with a manual control means, illustrated as a select button, which when pushed will provide the user to present different information on the display, for instance:

ECOLINE® indicating that the article is part of the ecological supply of goods; - Member offer special offer of club members;

New article indicating that this article has been recently introduced in the store.

The available information is preferably stored in a list within a memory circuit attached to the control electronics, and the content of the list may naturally be created, updated and adapted to the need of each store.

Figure 5 shows a way how different texts or patterns may be achieved on a shelf label according to the invention. Two different letters "A" and "F" are parts of the words "SAVE" and "OFFER" that are shown in the second area in the display in figure 4. If these words would like to be shown without using a dot matrix, the letters may be divided into different segments with the help of control electrodes such as illustrated in figure 5. The electronic ink available from E Ink Corporation has the following properties: 1) Segment can be separately controlled if the distance between the control electrodes is ≥ 0.1 mm from each other when control electrodes made from metal are used. If carbon made control electrodes are used, the distance between the control electrodes must be > 0.2 mm from each other.

2) Different segments will be perceived as one if the distance between the control electrodes is ≤ 0.2 mm.

This results in that the overlapping letters "A" and "F" can be realized with three pieces of control electrodes. The dotted fields in figure 5 are connected and will be regarded as control electrode by the control electronics 1.

Furthermore, the striped field is regarded as control electrode 2 and the filled in field is regarded as control electrode 3. The letter "A" will appear when control electrode 2 and 3 are activated, i.e. a potential is placed on these in relationship to the reference potential as the control electronics place on the transparent reference electrode (not shown) arranged on top. In a similar way, the letter "F" may be realized by applying a potential on control electrode 1 and 2. Observe that a suitable potential have to be applied to the electrode that controls a segment that should be turned off since no changes (either turning off or turning on segments) is performed until instructions are sent from the control electronics. This will result in that this type of display does not consume any power when unchanged information is displayed, which will increase the life of the built-in battery greatly compared to traditional LCD technology.

It should be noted that a dot matrix has a limited resolution which is a result of the pixel size, i.e. distance between individual dots in the matrix. In contrary, control electrode formed as segments, as disclosed above, may result in an arbitrary resolution since the actual shape and size of each segment may be selected independent of any structural limitations built into the display. This will also provide a possibility to present a logotype, etc. that appears to be identical to the original logotype. Figure 6 shows a third embodiment 50 of an electronic shelf label according to the present invention that comprises a permanent unit 54 and an exchangeable unit 55. A display 51 that consist of the protective layer, reference electrode and electronic ink is common for the permanent unit 54 and the exchangeable unit 55, which means that the display 51 extends beyond the electrically insulated material of the permanent unit placed behind and forms an additional surface. The electrically insulated material is in this embodiment a printed circuit board 52 with three layers, wherein wiring may be arranged between the different layers to connect the control electrodes (not shown) with the control electronics 53. In this example the permanent unit displays a number using two 7 segment digits. A select button 53' is also provided that will allow the user to change presented information in the display, as previously disclosed in connection with figure 4. The shelf label 50 is preferable provided with means to communicate wirelessly with a central unit 47, as described above.

Furthermore, the permanent unit 54 of the electronic shelf label may be provided with a light sensor 69, such as described in connection with figure 3, which may be used to control information presented on the complete surface of the display 51.

The exchangeable unit comprises a module 56, e.g. a printed circuit board with one or several layers, wherein a number of additional control electrodes (not shown) are arranged on the surface intended to abut against the additional surface of the display when the exchangeable unit is mounted. A contact 58 is also arranged to the exchangeable unit to facilitate connecting the exchangeable unit to a contact 57 arranged on the printed circuit board 52 of the permanent unit and thereby create a connection of the control electrodes of the exchangeable unit to the control electronics 53, wherein the control electronics may control the patterns of the additional control electrodes that appear/ are removed on the additional surface, in this example the word "SALE". The advantage with the embodiment is that it is possible to manufacture a basic unit that consists of the permanent unit wit the additional surface of the display. Every user then may adapt the design of the control electrodes on the exchangeable unit 55 in such a way that a suitable message, picture, etc. appear on the upper part of the display, i.e. the additional surface. It is also necessary to make sure that the module 56 abuts against the display 51 when mounted, which may be achieved by gluing (for permanent mounting), or by pressing the module against the surface in a suitable way.

Figure 7 shows a fourth embodiment 60 of an electronic shelf label according to the invention, as an alternative embodiment of the shelf label described in connection with figure 6, which comprises two completely separated units, i.e. a basic unit 61 that corresponds to the permanent unit in figure 6, and an additional unit 61 that corresponds to the exchangeable unit in figure 6. The difference is that the display is not common for both units, and the basic unit comprises the parts described in connection with figure 3 and 4 with one exception. A slit 63 is provided on one of the sides of the basic unit, said slit is adapted to receive the additional unit 62 and furthermore to contact it to the control electronics 64 of the basic unit 61.

In an alternative embodiment, the basic unit 61 is not provided with an electronic display as described above. In this alternative embodiment, the basic unit comprises a traditional surface adapted to hold non-changeable information, such as a piece of paper, indicating the name of the article, bas codes and price. Furthermore, the basic unit will comprise all the other features of the basic unit mentioned above, i.e. control electronics and a contact for connecting the additional unit 62 to the control electronics within the basic unit 61. It is even possible to use an electronic shelf label as described in connection with figures Ia and Ib, provided a suitable contact for connecting the additional unit is provided to supply electric power to the additional unit, and optionally to provide a communication link to a central unit (not shown) . The additional unit 62 also comprises the same parts as have been described in connection with figure 3 and 4 with some exceptions. No control electronics is provided, which means that the additional unit may not operate as an autonomous unit, and the additional unit needs to be connected to a basic unit, which provides electric power, using contacts 65 to function. However, the additional unit 62 may comprise a memory circuit 66 containing some functionality, e.g. the order the control electrodes should be activated/ deactivated. The modular approach results in that a store with many basic units does not need as many additional units to be able to perform campaigns of certain selected articles. It is even possible that new additional units are provided by a special supplier that wants to perform a campaign on their articles in selected stores.

The memory circuit 66 in the additional unit may advantageously consist of a reprogrammable memory (e.g. EEPROM, flash memory etc.) wherein different types of preselected messages can be chosen. The control electrodes in the additional unit can for instance be arranged in such a way that different words and their position on the display may be chosen. Before the additional unit is connected to the basic unit, the desired message, position and possibly sequence are selected. Also simpler animations may be used.

A select button 67 is provided on the additional unit 62, which selects suitable information to be presented on the display of the additional unit 62. The information is provided in a list within the memory unit 66 and is either pre-programmed or provided through a communication link to the memory when the additional unit 62 is connected to the basic unit 61.

Furthermore, the additional unit 62 of the electronic shelf label may be provided with a light sensor 68, such as described in connection with figure 3, which may be used to control information presented on the display of the additional unit 62.

It should be emphasized that the different embodiments of the electronic shelf label described above could operate in a stand alone system, which means that each electronic shelf label operate without any connection to a central unit, i.e. without an active communication link. However, it is preferred that each electronic shelf label may be updated by a central unit through a, wireless or wired, communication link when needed.The control electronics has not been described in closer detail since controlling displays are well known for a skilled person in the art with guidance from the shelf labels that currently are on the market.

Claims

1. An electronic shelf label comprising first unit (54; 61) configured to present information, said first unit is provided with control electronics (53; 64), and a communication interface through which the control electronics may communicate with an externally arranged central unit (47), c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the first unit (54; 61) is provided with means (57; 63) to connect an additional unit (55; 62) and configured to supply power to said additional unit (55; 62) when connected.

2. The electronic shelf label according to claim 1, wherein said first unit further comprises a display (51), said control electronics (53; 64) is connected to said display (51) and configured to control information presented on the display.

3. The electronic shelf label according to claim 2, wherein said display (51) comprises a transparent reference electrode to which a reference potential is applied by the control electronics, a plurality of control electrodes, where a potential of each control electrode is controlled by the control electronics (53; 64), and a layer of electronic ink arranged between said transparent reference electrode and said control electrodes, wherein a pattern corresponding to the shape of the respective control electrode appears/ is removed dependent on the potential applied by the control electronics.

4. The electronic shelf label according to claim 3, wherein said control electrodes are arranged on a first side of an electrically insulated material and said control electronics is arranged on a second side, opposite to said first side, conductive connections between each control electrode and control electronics are provided through said electrically insulated material.

5. The electronic shelf label according to any of claims 3-4, wherein said transparent reference electrode and electronic ink forms an additional surface extending beyond the electrically insulated material on which the control electrodes are arranged, and said additional unit (55) comprises additional control electrodes, which are connected to the control electronics via contacts (57, 58) when the additional unit (55) is mounted behind the additional surface, wherein the control electronics (53) may control which patterns corresponding to the shapes of the additional control electrodes that appear/ are removed on the additional surface.

6. The electronic shelf label according to any of claims 1-4, wherein said first unit (61) is provided with a slit (63) in which contacts are arranged for connecting an additional unit (65), said additional unit (62) is provided with an additional display and additional control electrodes.

7. The electronic shelf label according to claim 6, wherein said control electronics also is configured to control said additional control electrodes in said additional unit (62).

8. The electronic shelf label according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the electronic shelf label further comprises a select button (46; 53'; 67) configured to present a pattern on the display of said first and/ or additional unit, and a memory circuit (66), wherein said pattern is stored, being connectable to said control electronics (64).

9. The electronic shelf label according to any of claims 1-8, wherein a light sensor (34; 68; 69) is provided, which is adapted to detected light, said control electronics is further configured to trigger actions in response to detected light.

10. The electronic shelf label according to claim 9, wherein said communication interface includes said light sensor.

11. An electronic shelf label system comprising a central unit (47) which is configured to communicate with a plurality of electronic shelf labels having a first unit and an additional unit as claimed in any of claims 1-10, wherein the additional unit operates independently of the central unit.

12. The electronic shelf label system according to claim 11, wherein the first unit presents information communicated from the central unit (47).