Method of sending messages to an electronic price label

• US 6,026,373 A
• Filed: 10/30/1997
• Issued: 02/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Goodwin, John C. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Trammell, James P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nga B.
• Application Number:
  US08/960,667
• Time in Patent Office: 838 Days
• Field of Search: 705/20, 395/214, 354/192
• US Class Current: 705/20
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A method of sending information to an electronic price label (EPL) for display which requires only one message to be sent to the EPL. Second information is recorded in response to an operator request to change first information displayed by the EPL. The second information includes predetermined characters within a group of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols. The second information is encoded into a word using a number of translation tables. The word is sent to the EPL in a single wireless message. The word is received by the EPL. The word is decoded by the EPL using the translation tables. Finally, the second information is displayed by the EPL.

Claims

1. A method of wirelessly sending information to an electronic price label (EPL) for display on a multiple segment display comprising the steps of:

recording second information in response to an operator request to change first information displayed by the EPL, wherein the second information includes predetermined characters within a group of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols;

encoding the second information into a word using a number of translation tables;

sending the word to the EPL in a single wireless message;

receiving the word by the EPL;

decoding the word by the EPL using a corresponding set of translation tables stored in the EPL; and

displaying the second information by the EPL on the multiple segment display.

2. A method of wirelessly sending information to an electronic price label (EPL) for display comprising the steps of:

recording second information in response to an operator request to change first information displayed by the EPL, wherein the second information includes predetermined characters within a group of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols;

encoding the second information into hexadecimal data using a plurality of translation tables, wherein the hexadecimal data has a first portion identifying the translation tables and a second portion containing the second information;

receiving the hexadecimal data by the EPL;

decoding the hexadecimal data by the EPL using the first portion of the hexadecimal data and a corresponding set of translation tables stored in the EPL, to decode the second portion containing the second information; and

displaying the second information by the EPL.

3. A method of changing first and second information displayed by an electronic price label (EPL) comprising the steps of:

recording new first and second information, in response to an operator request to change first and second information displayed by the EPL, wherein the new first and second information includes predetermined characters within a group of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols;

encoding the new first and second information into hexadecimal data using a plurality of translation tables, wherein the hexadecimal data has a first portion identifying first predetermined ones of the translation tables, a second portion containing the new first information encoded using the first predetermined ones of the translation tables, a third portion identifying second predetermined ones of the translation tables, and a fourth portion containing the new second information encoded using the second predetermined ones of the translation tables;

sending the hexadecimal data to the EPL in a single wireless message;

receiving the hexadecimal data by the EPL;

reading the first and third portions of the hexadecimal data to identify the first and second predetermined ones of the translation tables;

decoding the second portion of the hexadecimal data using the first predetermined ones of corresponding translation tables stored by the EPL;

decoding the fourth portion of the hexadecimal data using the second predetermined ones of corresponding translation tables stored by the EPL; and

displaying the new first and second information by the EPL.

4. A method of displaying information by electronic price label (EPL) comprising the steps of:

identifying a maximum number of characters that the EPL can display;

identifying a maximum number of characters that the EPL can receive in a single message;

recording a number of second characters equal to the maximum number of characters that the EPL can display in response to an operator request to change first characters displayed by the EPL, wherein the second characters include predetermined characters within a group of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols;

generating a word having a length no greater than maximum number of characters that the EPL can receive in a single message including the substeps of

encoding the second characters into an equal number of third characters using a number of translation tables; and

providing a fourth character which identifies the translation tables;

sending the word to the EPL in a single wireless message;

receiving the word by the EPL;

reading the fourth character to identify corresponding translation tables stored by the EPL;

decoding the third characters to identify the second characters by the EPL using the corresponding translation tables; and

displaying the second characters by the EPL.

5. A method of displaying information by electronic price label (EPL) comprising the steps of:

identifying a maximum number of characters that the EPL can display;

identifying first and second groups of characters within the maximum number of characters that the EPL can display;

identifying a maximum number of characters that the EPL can receive in a single message;

recording second characters in response to an operator request to change first characters in the first group of characters displayed by the EPL;

recording fourth characters in response to an operator request to change third characters in the second group of characters displayed by the EPL;

wherein the second and fourth characters include predetermined characters within a list of characters including numerals 0-9, letters A-Z, blanks, and predetermined symbols;

generating a word having a length no greater than maximum number of characters that the EPL can receive in a single message including the substeps of

encoding the second characters into an equal number of fifth characters using a first number of translation tables;

providing a sixth character which identifies the first number of translation tables;

encoding the fourth characters into an equal number of seventh characters using a second number of translation tables; and

providing an eighth character which identifies the second number of translation tables;

sending the word to the EPL in a single wireless message;

receiving the word by the EPL;

reading the sixth character to identify the first number of corresponding translation tables stored by the EPL;

decoding the fifth characters to identify the second characters by the EPL using the translation tables corresponding to the first number;

reading the eighth character to identify the second number of the corresponding translation tables stored by the EPL;

decoding the seventh characters to identify the fourth characters by the EPL using the translation tables corresponding to the second number; and

displaying the second and fourth characters by the EPL on a multiple segment display.

6. An electronic price label (EPL) system comprising an EPL computer, a storage medium, a communication base station (CBS) and a plurality of electronic price labels (EPLs) which wirelessly communicate with the CBS, the improvement comprising:

EPL control software executed by the EPL computer which employs translation tables to convert message information to be wirelessly sent to an EPL to binary data which is sent using a single wireless message;

EPL memory in the EPL storing corresponding translation tables; and

EPL control circuitry in the EPL for utilizing the corresponding translation tables to display price or other information on a display in response to the single wireless message.

7. The EPL system of claim 6 wherein the single wireless message is a binary word having a first half and a second half, the first half including a first table identifier and the second half including a second table identifier.

8. The EPL system of claim 7 wherein the first half of the binary word further comprises a sequence of characters and the first table identifier indicates a table sequence to be followed in looking up the sequence of characters.

9. An electronic price label (EPL) adapted for wireless communication in an EPL system, the EPL comprising a battery, a transmit and receive antenna, a display, memory and EPL control circuitry, the improvement comprising:

EPL memory storing a plurality of translation tables to convert message information sent in a single wireless message to display information; and

EPL control circuitry for utilizing the translation table to display price and other information on the display in response to the single wireless message.

10. The EPL of claim 9 wherein the display is a multiple segment liquid crystal display.

11. The EPL of claim 9 wherein the plurality of translation tables correlate binary code and displayed values and a particular binary code in a first translation table has a different displayed value than the particular binary code has in a second translation table.

12. The EPL of claim 11 wherein these translation tables are employed with a hexadecimal binary code for displayed values including numerals 0-9 and alphabet characters A-Z.

13. The EPL of claim 9 wherein a single memory stores price verifier information, EPL type information, store promotional information, received binary hexadecimal data, and said plurality of translation tables.

14. The EPL of claim 13 wherein said plurality of translation tables are stored during manufacture of the EPL.