System and method for managing electronic price label overlays

• US 20040267699A1
• Filed: 07/21/2004
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Haynes, Christopher M., Bitner, Scott A., Goodwin, John C. III, Harrelson, Kelly S., Campbell, Gregory H., Zimmerman, Terry L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,533,127 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99942 Manipulating data structure, e.g. compression, compaction, compilation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99944 Object-oriented database structure
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

A system and method of managing data for electronic price label overlays which automates printing of new and changed overlays. The method determines electronic price label information and price look-up file descriptions that have been added or changed for particular electronic price labels. Additions and changes in overlay data are marked and identified by the marks to create a print data file. Alternatively, additions and changes are identified by a comparison of a first file with a second file containing the additions and changes. The system includes a number of storage media for storing the PLU file and the EPL data file, and a computer which determines a change in the PLU file or the EPL data file and which creates the print file for printing an overlay for the change in the PLU file and EPL data file.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A method of managing EPL overlay data as the EPL overlay data changes during operation of an EPL system in a store comprising the steps of:

copying PLU descriptions from a PLU file in the EPL system to a PLU descriptions file;

making a change to the PLU file for an item with an associated EPL;

recording a command to print an overlay;

comparing the PLU descriptions file to the PLU file to determine the change; and

creating a print file for printing an overlay containing the change.

3. A method of managing EPL overlay data as the EPL overlay data changes during operation of an EPL system in a store comprising the steps of:

copying a first set of PLU descriptions from a PLU file in the EPL system to a master overlay data file;

copying a first set of EPL data from an EPL data file in the EPL system for a first set of EPLs associated with the first set of PLU descriptions to the master overlay data file;

recording a command to print overlays;

copying a second set of PLU descriptions from the PLU file to a temporary overlay data file;

copying a second set of EPL data from the EPL data file for a second set of EPLs associated with the second set of PLU descriptions to the temporary overlay data file;

comparing the master overlay data file to the temporary overlay data file to determine a third set of PLU descriptions that are different from the first set of PLU descriptions and a third set of EPL data that are different from the first set of EPL data; and

creating a print file for printing overlays containing the third set of PLU descriptions and the third set of EPL data.

4. A method of managing EPL overlay data as the EPL overlay data changes during operation of an EPL system in a store comprising the steps of:

creating an EPL data file containing PLU descriptions from a PLU file in the EPL system and EPL data;

making a change to the EPL data file;

marking the change;

recording a command to print an overlay;

reading the EPL data file for the marked change; and

creating a print file for printing an overlay containing the change.

5. (canceled)

6. A system for managing EPL overlay data as the EPL overlay data changes during operation of an EPL system comprising:

a number of storage media for storing a PLU file and an EPL data file; and

a store based computer which determines a change in the PLU file and the EPL data file in the EPL system, and which creates a print file for printing an overlay for the change in the PLU file and EPL data file, wherein the computer reads the EPL data file for a marked change and compares PLU descriptions in a PLU descriptions file to the PLU file to determine the change.

9. The system as recited in claim 6, wherein the computer creates a master overlay data containing first data in the PLU file and the EPL data file, creates a temporary overlay data file containing second data in the PLU file and the EPL data file, and compares the master overlay data file to the temporary overlay data file to determine a third set of data representing the change.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the computer operates in conjunction with an overlay data management program which creates a master overlay data file and a temporary overlay data file in addition to said print file.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the master overlay data file includes descriptions of products from the PLU file.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the master overlay data file includes information from within the EPL data file including PLU number, measure, unit of measure, package size, EPL serial number and price level.

13. The system of claim 10 wherein the temporary overlay data file includes new and updated descriptions of products from the PLU file and the EPL data file since creation of the master overlay data file.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the print data file contains overlay information for new and updated records and results from a comparison of the master overlay data file with the temporary overlay data file by the overlay data management program.

15. The system of claim 6 further comprising an overlay printer which prints an overlay for the print file upon receipt of a print command from the computer.

16. The system of claim 6 further comprising an EPL data file manager which marks each EPL record stored in the EPL data file with one or more flags or dirty bits, as each EPL record is added or changed by the EPL data file manager.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the computer operates in conjunction with an overlay data management program which operates to determine said change in the EPL data file by reading the EPL data file for records marked with one or more flags or dirty bits.

18. The system of claim 6 further comprising a storage medium for storing the print file for possible reprinting later.

19. The system of claim 16 further comprising user-configurable filters that determine fields defining the dirtiness of a record.

7. (canceled)

8. (canceled)