System and method of displaying information by an electronic price label

• US 8,504,429 B2
• Filed: 01/10/2005
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NCR Voyix Corporation
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation
• Inventors: Goodwin, III, John C., Zimmerman, Terry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shaawat, Mussa A
• Application Number:
  US11/032,350
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125297A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,130 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A system and method of displaying information by an electronic price label which uses thresholds to minimize the number of messages to an electronic price label. The system includes a record for an item associated with the electronic price label which contains the thresholds. The thresholds divide the information into a number of ranges including a first range of information and a second range of information. The system further includes a computer for scheduling messages for transmission to the electronic price label, wherein the computer obtains first information associated with the first range and displayed by the electronic price label, obtains second information which is more recent than the first information, determines whether the first information equals the second information, and if the first information does not equal the second information, obtains the second range, determines whether the first information is within the second range, and sends a message to the electronic price label containing the second information and a command to display the second information instead of the first information if the first information is outside the second range.

Claims

1. A system for displaying information for an item besides price by an electronic price label comprising:

a record for the item which contains thresholds which divide the information into a number of ranges including a first range of information and a second range of information;

a computer for scheduling messages for transmission to the electronic price label, wherein the computer obtains first information associated with the first range and displayed by the electronic price label, obtains second information which is more recent than the first information, determines whether the first information equals the second information, and if the first information does not equal the second information, obtains the second range, determines whether the first information is within the second range, sends a message to the electronic price label containing the second information and a command to display the second information instead of the first information if the first information is outside the second range, and otherwise allows the electronic price label to continue displaying the first information even though the first information is not so accurate as the second information if the first information is within the second range.

2. An electronic price label system comprising:

an electronic price label associated with an item;

a record for the item which contains thresholds which divide information for display by the electronic price label into a number of ranges including a first range of information and a second range of information;

a computer for scheduling messages for transmission to the electronic price label, wherein the computer obtains first information associated with the first range and displayed by the electronic price label, obtains second information which is more recent than the first information, determines whether the first information equals the second information, and if the first information does not equal the second information, obtains the second range, determines whether the first information is within the second range, sends a message to the electronic price label containing the second information and a command to display the second information instead of the first information if the first information is outside the second range, and otherwise allows the electronic price label to continue displaying the first information even though the first information is not so accurate as the second information if the first information is within the second range.