Systems, apparatus and methods capable of shelf management
First Claim
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1. An article comprising:
- a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the machine performing operations comprising;
determining, by at least one component of a plurality of components populating a shelf system, which of the plurality of components is a component to perform shelf management;
discovering, via a shelf manager included within said non-transitory machine readable medium, at least one variable from any one of said plurality of components populating said shelf system;
performing, via said shelf manager, at least one shelf management function based on said at least one variable with said component to perform shelf management, said at least one shelf management function comprising;
determining signaling types of an interface associated with each of said plurality of components;
enabling said plurality of components populating said shelf system to communicate with one another;
determining a total amount of power available to said plurality of components populating said shelf system; and
monitoring power consumption of at least one of said plurality of components populating said shelf system;
wherein said shelf manager is location independent within said shelf system; and
wherein said component to perform shelf management is configured to perform another function independent of said shelf manager.
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Abstract
A method according to one embodiment may include discovering, by software, at least one variable from at least one component populated on a shelf system. The method may also include performing, by the software, at least one shelf management function based on at least one variable. Of course, many alternatives, variations, and modifications are possible without departing from this embodiment.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An article comprising:
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a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored thereon instructions that when executed by a machine result in the machine performing operations comprising; determining, by at least one component of a plurality of components populating a shelf system, which of the plurality of components is a component to perform shelf management; discovering, via a shelf manager included within said non-transitory machine readable medium, at least one variable from any one of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; performing, via said shelf manager, at least one shelf management function based on said at least one variable with said component to perform shelf management, said at least one shelf management function comprising; determining signaling types of an interface associated with each of said plurality of components; enabling said plurality of components populating said shelf system to communicate with one another; determining a total amount of power available to said plurality of components populating said shelf system; and monitoring power consumption of at least one of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; wherein said shelf manager is location independent within said shelf system; and wherein said component to perform shelf management is configured to perform another function independent of said shelf manager. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 17, 18)
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5. An apparatus, comprising:
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at least one component of a plurality of components populating a shelf system, the at least one component comprising a circuit board comprising an integrated circuit, said integrated circuit comprising firmware configured to perform the following operations comprising; determining, by at least one component of a plurality of components on said circuit board, which of the plurality of components on said circuit board is a component to perform shelf management for said plurality of components populating said shelf system; discovering, via a shelf manager included within said firmware, at least one variable from any one of said plurality of components said shelf system; performing, via a shelf manager, at least one shelf management function based on said at least one variable with said component to perform shelf management, said at least one shelf management function comprising; determining signaling types of an interface associated with each of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; enabling said plurality of components populating said shelf system to communicate with one another; determining a total amount of power available to at least one component of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; and monitoring power consumption of at least one component of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; wherein said shelf manager is location independent within said shelf system; and wherein said component to perform shelf management is configured to perform another function independent of said shelf manager. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 19, 20)
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11. A system comprising:
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a bus; at least one component of a plurality of components populating a shelf system, the at least one component comprising a circuit board coupled to said bus, said circuit board comprising; an integrated circuit, said integrated circuit comprising firmware, said firmware configured to perform the following operations comprising; determining, by at least one component of a plurality of components on said circuit board, which of the plurality of components on said circuit board is a component to perform shelf management for said plurality of components populating said shelf system; discovering, via a shelf manager included within said firmware, at least one variable from any one of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; and performing, via said shelf manager, at least one shelf management function based on at least one said variable with said component to perform shelf management, said at least one shelf management function comprising; determining signaling types of an interface associated with each of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; enabling said plurality of components populating said shelf system to communicate with one another; determining a total amount of power available to at least one said component of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; and monitoring power consumption of said at least one component of said plurality of components populating said shelf system; wherein said shelf manager is location independent within said shelf system; and wherein said component to perform shelf management is configured to perform another function independent of said shelf manager. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification