U.S. patent application number 14/525150 was filed with the patent office on 2015-02-12 for multi-use wireless display tag infrastructure and methods.
This patent application is currently assigned to Altierre Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Altierre Corporation. Invention is credited to Anurag Goel, Mark Douglas McDonald, Sunit Saxena, Jih-Lung Wang.
Application Number | 20150042540 14/525150 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34714662 |
Filed Date | 2015-02-12 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150042540 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Goel; Anurag ; et
al. |
February 12, 2015 |
MULTI-USE WIRELESS DISPLAY TAG INFRASTRUCTURE AND METHODS
Abstract
A multiuse system for use with Wireless Display Tags (WDTs)
includes, in one or more exemplary arrangements, techniques for
automatically maintaining synchronicity between pricing data for a
product and advertising, marketing or promotional data associated
with that product, and for detecting the proximity and location of
a customer within a category of goods displayed within a managed
environment. A messaging format suitable for such low power
operation among a large number of peers is also disclosed, as is a
technique for integrating a plurality of smaller displays to yield
a single large display. An access point capable of serving as a
communications hub within such a network, while at the same time
offering visual and audio surveillance capabilities, is also
disclosed.
Inventors: |
Goel; Anurag; (Pleasanton,
CA) ; McDonald; Mark Douglas; (Campbell, CA) ;
Saxena; Sunit; (Monte Sereno, CA) ; Wang;
Jih-Lung; (San Jose, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Altierre Corporation |
San Jose |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Altierre Corporation
|
Family ID: |
34714662 |
Appl. No.: |
14/525150 |
Filed: |
October 27, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13070016 |
Mar 23, 2011 |
8870056 |
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14525150 |
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12035402 |
Feb 21, 2008 |
8070062 |
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13070016 |
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11019916 |
Dec 20, 2004 |
7413121 |
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12035402 |
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60530791 |
Dec 18, 2003 |
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60530785 |
Dec 18, 2003 |
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60530794 |
Dec 18, 2003 |
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60530820 |
Dec 18, 2003 |
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60530788 |
Dec 18, 2003 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
345/1.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G09G 2360/04 20130101;
G09G 2370/16 20130101; G06Q 30/02 20130101; G06F 3/1446 20130101;
G09G 2300/026 20130101; G06Q 30/0248 20130101; G06Q 20/201
20130101; G07G 1/01 20130101; G06Q 30/0273 20130101; G09G 2380/04
20130101; G09G 3/2092 20130101; G06Q 30/0267 20130101; G07G 1/009
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
345/1.3 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/14 20060101
G06F003/14; G09G 3/20 20060101 G09G003/20 |
Claims
1. A multiunit display for creating a single larger display,
comprising: a plurality of bit-mapped display units, each display
unit disposed in a predetermined configuration relative to the
other display units and all of the display units adjacent to at
least one other display unit; and at least one display driver
adapted to drive the plurality of display units in a coordinated
manner to generate an image which spans at least some of the
plurality of display units.
2. The display of claim 1, wherein each display unit is a wireless
display tag.
3. The display of claim 1, wherein the plurality of bit-mapped
display units are laid out in a grid.
4. The display of claim 1, wherein each display unit displays a
portion of an image and the plurality of display units display the
image being made up of a plurality of portions of the image.
5. A method for creating a single larger display, comprising:
disposing a plurality of bit-mapped display units in a
predetermined configuration relative to the other display units and
all of the display units adjacent to at least one other display
unit; and driving, by a display driver, the plurality of display
units in a coordinated manner to generate an image which spans at
least some of the plurality of display units.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein disposing the plurality of
bit-mapped display units further comprises disposing the plurality
of bit-mapped display units in a grid.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein each display unit displays a
portion of an image and the plurality of display units display the
image being made up of a plurality of portions of the image.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIMS/RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the priority under 35 USC 120 and is
a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/070,016, filed
on Mar. 23, 2011 which in turn claims the priority under 35 USC 120
and is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/035,402,
filed on Feb. 21, 2008 which in turns claim priority under 35 USC
120 and is a divisional of Ser. No. 11/019,916 filed on Dec. 20,
2004, which in turn claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to the
following U.S. provisional applications: U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 60/530,791 filed Dec. 18, 2003 entitled "RF Network"; U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 60/530,785 filed Dec. 18, 2003 entitled
"Category-Specific Customer Location"; U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 60/530,794 filed Dec. 18, 2003 entitled "Real-Time In-Concert
Delivery of Category-Level Price, Advertising, Marketing, and
Promotions in Retail Environments"; U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 60/530,820 filed Dec. 18, 2003 entitled "Cost-Effective Method
to Combine Multiple Small-Display Units into a Large Display Unit";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/530,788 filed Dec. 18, 2003
entitled "Access Point for a Wireless Display Tag (WDT)
Network".
[0002] This application is also related to the following US utility
applications filed simultaneously herewith, assigned to the same
assignee as the present invention, and incorporated herein by
reference in full: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/019,978,
filed Dec. 20, 2004 entitled "Wireless Display Tag Unit"; U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 11/019,916, filed Dec. 20, 2004
entitled "Multiuser Wireless Display Tag Infrastructure and
Methods"; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/019,976, filed Dec.
20, 2004 entitled "Active Backscatter Wireless Display Terminal";
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/019,705, filed Dec. 20, 2004
entitled "Low Power Wireless Display Tag (WDT) Systems and
Methods"; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/019,494, filed
Dec. 20, 2004 entitled "RF Backscatter Transmission with Zero DC
Power Consumption"; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.
11/019,660, filed Dec. 20, 2004, entitled "An Error Free Method for
Wireless Display Tag."
FIELD
[0003] The present invention relates to electronic inventory
systems adapted for use with electronic shelf labels, and more
particularly relates to systems and methods for enabling
communication among such shelf labels and a host system, including
networks and systems which are adapted for wireless
communication.
BACKGROUND
[0004] Referring to FIG. 1, retail stores typically display pricing
information on paper labels located on shelf edges (shelf labels);
FIG. 1 shows an example of a typical printed shelf label. Shelf
labels are fitted into C-shaped channels at the edge of product
display shelves. Typically, an in-store computer-based printing
system downloads "Price Files" from a central location, such as a
Retail Chain Headquarters. The information in Price Files is
printed on shelf labels and these new shelf labels are manually
inserted into the shelf C-channels, usually on a weekly basis. A
typical large retail store must update thousands of shelf labels
each week.
[0005] Referring now to FIG. 2, some Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL)
10 have been produced in an effort to automate the shelf labeling
process. As shown in FIG. 4, ESLs 10 display basic price
information on a segmented liquid crystal display (LCD).
[0006] Referring to FIG. 2, ESLs 10 may receive display information
by infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) communication 12. Current
ESLs 10 often use unidirectional communications techniques to
transmit data from the in-store computer-based pricing system to
the deployed ESLs 10. Some ESLs 10 are capable of bidirectional
communication, allowing the deployed ESLs 10 to send information or
requests to the in-store computer system 14. Communication between
an in-store computer system 14 and the deployed ESLs 10 is
facilitated by one or more access points 16. Access points 16 are
often located in the ceilings of the store.
[0007] Prior art display tags have suffered other limitations, as
well. Typical prior art has no ability to provide a display larger
than a single shelf-edge device. Likewise, the prior art is unable
to provide pricing and Advertising, Marketing and Promotion ("AMP")
in synchronicity and without significant lag time. Still further,
existing RFID devices are unable to sense the presence of a
customer, nor to communicate information to devices which may be
carried by a customer.
[0008] Thus there has been a need for an RFID system which resolves
the foregoing limitations of the prior art in cost-effective
manner.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention provides a plurality of techniques and
systems which optimize operation of RFID devices to provide
marketing capabilities and information management which extend well
beyond that offered in the prior art.
[0010] In particular, the present invention provides methods and
techniques for managing and synchronizing AMP information with
pricing information. In addition, the present invention provides
the ability to sense the presence of a customer near a Wireless
Display Tag (WDT). Further, the present invention provides the
ability to configure an RF network with a large number of peers,
capable of operating with various RF protocols and having ultra
low-power active radio characteristics which avoids impediments to
radio wave propagation typically occurring in a retail or other
managed environment.
[0011] The present invention also provides the ability to combine a
plurality of WDTs into a single cohesive display for displaying
messages or other data too large to be displayed on a single
device. Finally, the present invention also provides an access
point capable of providing security surveillance features.
[0012] It will be appreciated that not all of the foregoing aspects
of the present invention are required to be implemented in each
embodiment, and thus various implementations may include selected
aspects of the invention to provide solutions which are optimized
for each particular application of the system and WDT of the
present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a prior art example shelf label printed on
paper.
[0014] FIG. 2 illustrates a prior art RFID device.
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates a method of providing Category/SKU tagged
AMP data together with pricing information.
[0016] FIG. 4 shows a system for sensing the presence of a customer
proximate to one or more WDTs.
[0017] FIG. 5 shows a circuit design for a WDT which includes the
ability to sense the presence of a customer in proximity to the
WDT.
[0018] FIG. 6 shows an exemplary message format for an RF network
in accordance with the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates in block diagram form a plurality of WDTs
configured to provide a single large display.
[0020] FIG. 8 illustrates an access point with security
surveillance capabilities.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR MORE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Referring first to FIG. 3, a system and method for
delivering AMP information synchronized together with pricing
information is illustrated, whereby in-concert delivery of Pricing
and AMP may be achieved. In an exemplary arrangement, Pricing and
AMP digital contents are maintained at a server as shown at 300,
and are delivered at step 305 from such one or more central
locations via Wide Area Networks (WAN) 310 to a retail store's In
Store Processor (ISP) 315. The ISP 315 transmits Pricing and AMP to
a Pricing/AMP delivery platform where they are multiplexed
appropriately and delivered, for example by Wireless Access Points
325, to category-level display devices over a Local Area Network
(LAN) that can be either wired or wireless. The category level
display devices for pricing are shown at 330, and typically
comprise a WDT located on a shelf edge or similar location, whereas
the AMP display may be any suitable display 335.
[0022] The current invention therefore improves upon existing
methods of Pricing and AMP delivery in that Pricing/AMP content
with the current invention always stays synchronized. There is no
lag between the design of Pricing/AMP content and its delivery to
the customer since digital transport is used for content delivery,
and the Pricing/AMP is delivered directly at the category level at
the shelf-edge in a store, or, stated differently, the point of
purchase ("POP").
[0023] In an additional feature of this aspect of the present
invention, methods are provided for measuring the number of
impressions of each AMP campaign over a given period of time and
providing a direct correlation between AMP delivered and purchase
decisions. To achieve this, the digital Advertising content
includes "Price Markers" (similar to a tag or attribute) where
Promotional Pricing can be inserted digitally at the local store
level. The Retail HQ 300 tags advertising content with category and
Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) markers and sends it down over WAN to the
local stores' ISPs along with Price Files for each store, again as
described above.
[0024] At the local retail store or other managed environment, the
present invention multiplexes the category/SKU-tagged-advertising
content with the appropriate SKU-specific pricing information and
sends it, via a LAN, to an AMP station at the proper category and
aisle location. At the AMP station 335, the Altierre Software
displays the downloaded content based on content/display
length/display frequency algorithms, or other suitable criteria.
The AMP and Pricing are now displayed synchronously.
[0025] The foregoing cycle is repeated every time there is a change
in advertising content and/or price file content.
[0026] The category level AMP stations 335 may also be equipped, in
at least some embodiments, with RF sensors 340 that detect
proximity of customers that either have RF transceiver equipped
shopping cart or an RF smart card, or other suitable device which
identifies the presence of a customer. The AMP station can thus
detect, time-domain correlate and record how long a customer
stopped in front of a particular ad, as shown at 335. This
information is then correlated with sales data from the POS and
sent back periodically to the Retail HQ, as shown at links 345, 350
and 355. This provides a scientific effectiveness measurement of
AMP campaigns by a store or other managed environment. Referring
next to FIGS. 4 and 5, another aspect of the present invention may
be better appreciated, by which the presence of a customer may be
sensed without the customer's use of a smart card or a
transceiver-equipped shopping cart or a category-level AMP station.
An alternative embodiment to using RF is to sense the customer's
heat (through IR, infrared), capacitive charge, or visually, e.g.
with a camera. Under the invention, WDTs as described in the
related applications are spaced in a predictable arrangement, which
may for example form a grid 400. The spacing between WDTs can be
quite small, for example on the order of a few inches or less. As a
customer with a suitable transmitter, shown at 405 in FIG. 4, walks
past, the WDTs 4105A-410n within the immediate vicinity detect the
signal from the customer's transmitter, in effect detecting the
presence of the customer. That detection signal may then be
transmitted to the central receiving station for data collection
purposes. A suitable transmitter may be a handheld-device, such as
a PDA or cell phone, or a specially-configured shopping cart. The
transmission from the central receiving station to the customer's
handheld device, after sensing customer presence, is two-way direct
with the need for involvement by the WDT; for example, the PDA may
be providing information to the consumer for the shopping trip, or
giving marketing information to the consumer.
[0027] As shown in FIG. 5, the detected signal from the consumer is
received on the antenna 500 of the WDT, and is amplified by a
suitable low-noise amplifier 505 within the WDT. The signal may
then be quantized by a Received Signal Strength Indicator ("RSSI")
circuit 510 in each WDT receiver. A RSSI outputs a voltage or
current amplitude that is logarithmically proportional to the input
RF signal power. That value is sent back to the central computer.
The highest value indicates the consumer is closest to that WDT,
and can be confirmed by the relative signal strengths from the
outlying WDTs. Since each WDT's location within the grid 400 is
known, then the consumer's location is known. Although it may be
impossible to know what the consumer is looking at, the category of
items the consumer is closest to is certainly known. It will also
be appreciated that the WDTs and handhelds do not add any extra
cost since they are already present within the contemplated store
configuration.
[0028] The communication between the handheld and WDT can be via RF
active radio, RF backscatter, IR, or bar-code reader. It will be
appreciated that such a communications network may be comprised of
a large number of peers. One example of such a network may be an RF
network, in which case it will be important that the RF network be
compatible with a number of RF protocols which may, for example,
include ultra-low-power active radio, RF backscatter radio, RF
backscatter radio meeting the MIT Auto-ID standards, or IEEE 802.11
standard radio.
[0029] Depending on the implementation, ultra low-power active
radio characteristics may include a star network configuration with
a very large number of peers (e.g., >10,000), a simple
modulation type to minimize power consumption, a constant envelope
modulation to increase power amplifier efficiency, and a small
packet length, to minimize power consumption. One example of a
message configuration for such a system is shown in FIG. 6, where
the message 600 may have one initial bit, sixteen sync bits, ten
command bits, 128 WDT command bits, 256 WDT ID bits, one stop bit,
and 100 CRC and other bits.
[0030] Such a system is optimized for low-power peer transceivers,
including low bit rate to minimize bandwidth requirements; for
example, on the order of 200 Kbps. Lower bandwidth requirements
results in greater dynamic range, which can be traded off for
reduced slave radio performance. In addition, a
listen-before-transmit protocol may be implemented, as well as an
acknowledgement. Still further, the active receivers can minimize
power consumption by limiting the "on" time of the active devices,
and by turning on the active devices for only short periods
compared to the bit time, as taught in the copending
applications.
[0031] The foregoing approach is also capable of avoiding the
impediments to radio-wave propagation typically found in a retail
environment. The noise caused by the harmonics of fluorescent
lighting can be avoided by using a suitable high bit rate,
typically higher than the frequency of the noise. Reflections
caused by shopping carts, shipping palettes, and so forth are
compensated for with spread-spectrum technology. Excessive radio
signal loss, which may also be caused by shopping carts or
palettes, can be accommodated by identifying, at least
periodically, those WDTs that do not respond.
[0032] In another aspect of the invention, particularly useful for,
for example, displaying AMP information, a plurality of WDTs may be
used to provide a single large display. Referring next to FIG. 7, a
technique is shown for coordinating multiple integrated m.times.n
display driving devices to drive a larger M.times.N display unit
without an external driver or other separately designed integrated
circuits. For example, in FIG. 7, a 4.times.3 grid of bitmapped
displays 700A-M may be integrated to display "ABCDEF".
[0033] For the multiple units 700A-M to display the required
pattern, the units are arranged in a predetermined configuration,
with each unit receiving in its memory a portion of the bit image
of the larger image. As taught in the copending applications, the
individual display units may receive their portion of the overall
data either individually or through a shared receiver. Each unit
then displays their own portion of the image on the display in a
coordinated manner. The combined image will be perceived by the
viewer as a larger display unit.
[0034] Note that the large display can be composed of small display
unit physically placed side-by-side, or combine the display driving
signals of each small unit in the logical fashion that perform the
driving signals for a large integrated display.
[0035] There is no limit to the size of display this invention can
support, the only limiting factor will be the electrical driving
capability that the whole display system can provide. In addition,
this aspect of the present invention will work on any bit mapped
display devices.
[0036] Referring next to FIG. 8 of the present invention, an access
point is illustrated which also provides security surveillance
features. In a number of implementations of the present invention,
the Access Point ("AP") 800 is the communication hub of this
technology The AP enables two-way communication between the
thousands of WDTs (Wireless Display Tags) which may be disposed
within a given area and the central computer system for that
network, ultimately enabling communications within an entire
multi-store system. In a typical configuration, the AP may be
either hardwired or RF connected to the central computer and RF
connected to the WDTs and local PDAs. It also contains a video
camera and microphone listening device for security
surveillance.
[0037] Having fully described an exemplary embodiment of the
invention, together with numerous alternatives and equivalents, it
will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous
additional alternatives and equivalents also exist which do not
depart from the present invention. As a result, the foregoing
description is for purposes of illustration, and the invention is
to be limited only by the appended claims.
* * * * *