Smart electronic label employing electronic ink
First Claim
1. An electronic display label system suitable for displaying information, said system comprising:
- an electronic label including a pixel-addressable display assembly comprising electronic ink disposed on a support and a first antenna for sending or receiving signals corresponding to information to be displayed by said display assembly; and
a remote activator module in electronic communication with the electronic label for activating the electronic label to display said information, comprising a transceiver for receiving input signals and sending output signals to the electronic label.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides for smart and dumb implementations of a standalone, remotely updateable, remotely alterable, flexible electronic label. The electronic label provides for displaying information, such as prices, bar codes, advertising messages and restocking information, in connection with a mammal, non-mammal, an item or location. The flexibility and form factor of the electronic label allow the label to fit into and conform to the shape of the molding used in retail store shelving to display merchandize and warehouse shelving. The label can be of various sizes, shapes and lengths to allow for multiple applications. The flexible, thin label includes a flexible display assembly having electronic ink disposed on a support, one or more antennas for sending or receiving signals corresponding to one of instructions, programs, data or selected indicia to be displayed by said display assembly, a storage element in circuit with the antenna for storing the instructions, programs, data and indicia, and one or more processors for intelligently determining the indicia to be displayed by the display assembly, for controlling and coordinating operation of the label, and for generating output signals for instructing the display assembly to display the indicia.
362 Citations
49 Claims
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1. An electronic display label system suitable for displaying information, said system comprising:
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an electronic label including a pixel-addressable display assembly comprising electronic ink disposed on a support and a first antenna for sending or receiving signals corresponding to information to be displayed by said display assembly; and
a remote activator module in electronic communication with the electronic label for activating the electronic label to display said information, comprising a transceiver for receiving input signals and sending output signals to the electronic label. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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28. An electronic labeling system for displaying information related to items on a shelf, comprising:
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a flexible antenna strip connected to the shelf;
one or more electronic labels coupled to the antenna strip, each of said electronic labels comprising a pixel-addressable display layer including electronic ink disposed on a support, wherein the antenna strip communicates with said one or more electronic labels regarding the information to be displayed by the display layer; and
a transceiver coupled to the antenna strip for receiving and sending signals to the antenna strip regarding the information to be displayed by the label.
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34. An electronic shelf label for displaying information related to an item on a shelf, comprising:
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a display assembly including electronic ink disposed on a support, one or more antennas for sending or receiving signals corresponding to one of instructions, programs, data or selected indicia to be displayed by said display assembly, a storage element in circuit with said one or more antenna for storing said instructions, programs, data and indicia, one or more processors in circuit with said display assembly, said storage element and said antenna for intelligently determining said indicia to be displayed by said display assembly, for controlling and coordinating operation of the label, and for generating output signals for instructing the display assembly to display the indicia, wherein the label is coupled to the shelf, and a securing mechanism for coupling the label to the shelf.
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40. An electronic label for displaying information, comprising:
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a display assembly including electronic ink disposed on a support, and a thin film battery coupled to the display assembly for providing power to the display assembly. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49)
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46. An electronic labeling system for displaying information, comprising:
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a stacked electronic label including a pixel-addressable display assembly comprising a layer of electronic ink disposed over a first electrode; and
an activator module comprising a second electrode having a polarity opposite the first electrode for controlling pixels in the display layer.
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48. A stacked, layered electronic label suitable for displaying information, said label comprising:
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one or more display layers including electronic ink disposed on a support, a flexible integrated circuit layer electrically connected to the display layer;
a radio-frequency identification (RFID) layer electrically coupled to the integrated circuit layer including an antenna and a transceiver for receiving and generating output signals instructing the display layer to display the information, wherein said display layer, said integrated circuit layer and the RFID layer are stacked together to form said stacked electronic label.
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Specification