Shelf-like display machine and image display method

• US 20080055087A1
• Filed: 07/11/2007
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Hoshino, Takeshi, Nakajima, Isshu, Ishikawa, Tadaaki, Horii, Youichi, Maruyama, Yukinobu
• Granted Patent: US 7,696,897 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/006 using LCD's
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 21/13 Projectors for producing special effects at the edges of picture, e.g. blurring
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 37/04 with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 19/18 involving the use of optical projection means, e.g. projection of images on clouds projection apparatus per se G03B
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2380/04 Electronic labels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/002 to project the image of a two-dimensional display, such as an array of light emitting or modulating elements or a CRT

Abstract

The prior art in this field had a display portion of electronic paper at a part of a shelf and showed a problem that the display portion and the goods were hardly co-related to each other in response to an arrangement of the goods. In addition, it was necessary to prepare a special display substrate for changing all the shelf lengths into a display portion and its price was expensive. It was necessary to provide a signal line and a wiring for power supply up to the display portion and so it was necessary to perform a wiring at the shelf surface with opaque raw material or perform a connecting work for the wiring every time when the shelf was transferred. In view of the foregoing, plural images (either still images or animations) arranged in response to the number of stages of the shelves to be displayed are irradiated with a light source after each of the images is corrected in correspondence with the optical path length ranging from the light source to the end of each of the shelves, each of the images is guided to the end of each of the shelves by plural reflector members and then the images are displayed at the ends. In addition, each of the images is guided to the end of each of the shelves by plural reflector members and the images are displayed at the ends after plural images (either still images or animations) arranged in response to the number of stages of shelves to be displayed are irradiated by the light source and the optical path lengths ranging from the light source to the end of each of the shelves are set to be substantially the same to each other.

Claims

1. A shelf-like display machine comprising:

a light source for outputting an image;

a first reflector member for reflecting the image projected from said light source;

a first shelf plate and a second shelf plate in which light can be transmitted through their inner portions;

a rear member supporting said first and second shelf plates in which light can be transmitted at their inner portions;

a second reflector member for guiding the image reflected by said first reflector member and guided through said rear member to said first shelf plate; and

a third reflector plate for guiding the image reflected by said first reflector member and guided through said rear member to said second shelf plate;

wherein;

said image has a first image and a second image,

and said light source outputs said first image and said second image upon performing a correction processing to said first image and said second image in correspondence with an optical path length 1 ranging from said light source to the end of said first shelf plate and an optical path length 2 ranging from said light source to the end of said second shelf plate in such a way that said first image is displayed at the end of said first shelf plate opposite to said rear member and said second image is displayed at the end of said second shelf plate opposite to said rear member.

2. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said correction processing is a correction processing to expand or reduce said first image and/or said second image in such a way that a difference in magnifying power caused by a difference between said optical path length 1 and optical path length 2 is corrected.

3. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 2, wherein said image is an image outputted from a computer and height information of said first and second shelf plates, shelf thickness information and shelf depth length information can be set on said computer.

4. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 3, wherein said computer calculates said optical path length 1 and optical path length 2 on the basis of said set information and performs said correction processing.

5. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein a screen is applied to said end of said first and/or second shelf plate.

6. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said first and/or second reflector member is cut slant at the end of said shelf plate contacting with said rear member and said image is reflected at said cut surface.

7. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said first and/or second reflector member is constituted such that its angle can be adjusted.

8. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein the end of said first and/or second shelf plate at said rear member and/or the end opposite to said rear member is constituted by a curved surface.

9. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said first and/or second shelf plate is constituted such that light transmitted inside the shelf plate shows a total reflection when it strikes against both front and rears of the shelf.

10. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said first and/or second image is an image outputted from the computer and a position and/or size of said first and/or second image can be adjusted on said computer.

11. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein the side of said first and/or second shelf plate has a reflector member for reflecting said image toward said side so as to enable said first and/or second image to be displayed there.

12. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein an end of said first and/or second shelf plate opposite to said rear member has a sensor for detecting a contacted state of an item from outside.

13. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 12, wherein said image is an image outputted from a computer, and said computer changes the outputted image in response to information detected by said sensor indicating that the contacted shelf corresponds to which shelf or which position in the shelf is contacted.

14. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 1, wherein said image is an image outputted from a computer, an RFID tag reader is arranged on said first and/or second shelf plate, a result of wireless detection of said RFID tag reader is constituted to be sent to the computer, and said computer changes the image to be outputted in response to said detected result.

15. A shelf-like display machine comprising:

a light source for outputting an image;

a first reflector member for reflecting the image projected from said light source;

a first shelf plate and a second shelf plate in which light can be transmitted through their inner portions;

a rear member supporting said first and second shelf plates in which light can be transmitted at their inner portions;

a second reflector member for guiding the image reflected by said first reflector member and guided through said rear member to said first shelf plate; and

a third reflector plate for guiding the image reflected by said first reflector member and guided through said rear member to said second shelf plate;

wherein;

said image has a first image and a second image, and

an optical path length 1 ranging from said light source to the end of said first shelf plate and an optical path length 2 ranging from said light source to the end of said second shelf plate become substantially the same to each other in such a way that said first image is displayed at the end of said first shelf plate opposite to said rear member and said second image is displayed at the end of said second shelf plate opposite to the rear member.

16. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 15, wherein when said optical path length 1 is longer than said optical path length 2, arranging a third reflector member in the optical path of said optical path length 2 causes said optical path length 1 and said optical path length 2 to become substantially the same to each other.

17. The shelf-like display machine according to claim 15, wherein making a curvature of said first reflector member and a curvature of said second reflector member different to each other causes said optical path length 1 and said optical path length 2 to become substantially equal to each other.

18. An image display method for displaying an image on the spaced-apart first and second screens comprising the steps of:

extracting a first region of which shape is similar to that of said first screen and a second region of which shape is similar to that of said second screen from said image while keeping a positional relation between said first and second screens;

extracting said first region and said second region from said image while scrolling them at a predetermined speed in a direction where said first region and said second region are connected;

correcting a difference in magnifying power caused by different optical path lengths ranging from a light source for projecting said image to each of the screens and correcting to expand or reduce said first region and/or said second region; and

projecting said first region to said first screen and said second region to said second screen.