ELECTRONIC PRICE LABEL SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20120326849A1
• Filed: 06/24/2011
• Published: 12/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tyco Fire & Security GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: RELIHAN, Timothy J., WAGNER, Jeffrey Paul, RASBAND, Paul Brent
• Application Number:
  US13/168,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20120326849A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/145 PLU-management

Abstract

A product display system and method. A database stores product information for a corresponding product. An access point, which can be a reader, receives the product information. The access point is arranged to wirelessly transmit the product information within a corresponding interrogation zone. The wireless transmission uses an electronic product code (“EPC”) transmission protocol. An electronic price label (“EPL”) has an antenna, an RFID element and a display. The antenna is arranged to receive the product information from the access point. The RFID element is in communication with the antenna. The RFID element stores the received product information. The display is arranged to display the received product information.

Claims

1. A method of transmitting information to an electronic pricing label, the method comprising:

storing product information in a database, the product information related to a product associated with an electronic pricing label (“

EPL”

);

transmitting the product information to at least one access point, the at least one access point establishing an interrogation zone;

identifying the EPL within the interrogation zone; and

transmitting the product information to the identified EPL within the interrogation zone, the transmission from the at least one access point to the identified at least one EPL using an electronic product code (“

EPC”

) transmission protocol.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the EPL associated with the product is affixed to the product.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the EPL associated with the product is positioned on a shelf, the shelf housing the product.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one access point is a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) reader.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the EPC transmission protocol is an EPC class 1 generation 2 protocol.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein transmitting the product information to the at least access point occurs via a low level reader protocol (“

LLRP”

).

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the RFID reader is a handheld reader.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising transmitting the product information to the EPL associated with the product when the EPL associated with the product is within the interrogation zone of the handheld reader.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the product information includes pricing information for the product.

10. A product information display system, comprising:

a database, the database storing product information for a corresponding product;

an access point, the access point receiving the product information, the access point arranged to wirelessly transmit the product information within a corresponding interrogation zone, the wireless transmission using an electronic product code (“

EPC”

) transmission protocol; and

an electronic price label (“

EPL”

), the EPL having;

an antenna arranged to receive the product information from the access point;

an RFID element in communication with the antenna, the RFID element storing the received product information; and

a display arranged to display the received product information.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the EPL is positionable on a shelf proximate the corresponding product.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the EPC transmission protocol is an EPC class 1 generation 2 protocol.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the access point is a handheld reader.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the EPL is situated within a housing, the system further comprising an RFID security tag situated within the housing.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the RFID element includes a memory, the memory having a user memory area, the user memory area storing the product information.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the product information includes pricing information.

17. An electronic pricing label (“

EPL”

), the EPL comprising;

a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) element, the RFID element receiving a product information signal, the product information signal being based on an electronic product code (“

EPC”

) transmission protocol and containing product information related to a product associated with the EPL;

a controller, the controller receiving the product information from the RFID element; and

a display in communication with the controller, the display displaying product information received from the controller.

18. The EPL of claim 17, wherein the RFID element includes a memory, the memory having a user memory area, the user memory area storing the product information.

19. The EPL of claim 18, wherein the user memory further stores a state of the controller, the state of the controller including a low battery indication.

20. The EPL of claim 18, wherein the user memory further stores a state of the RFID element, the state of the RFID element being used by the controller to determine when the product information has been updated.