Product information display system with expanded retail display functions
AssigneeDisplay Edge Technology, Ltd.
InventorsStanley J. Swartzel, Timothy B. Honeck
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage areas, a plurality of display tags associated with the product storage areas, a multiplicity of the display tags including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the display tags, and a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller, expanded retail mode functions and methods are provided for stocking products, locating products, printing new overlay labels for tags, and performing tag maintenance.
Claims27
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage plurality of electronic display tags associated with the product storage areas to display product information, a multiplicity of electronic display tags each including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the electronic display tags and connected for accessing a database identifying products associated with particular electronic display tags, and a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller, a method for locating a desired product associated with and located proximate to at least one electronic display tag of the multiplicity of display tags, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) identifying the desired product using the portable wireless terminal;
- (b) communicating the desired product to the controller using the portable wireless terminal;
- (c) identifying, by the controller, the at least one electronic display tag associated with the desired product via a database check according to the desired product;
- (d) communicating, from the controller to the identified electronic display tag, a signal for activating the annunciator of the identified electronic display tag.
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage areas, a plurality of display tags associated with the product storage areas to display product information, a multiplicity of the display tags each including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the display tags, a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller, a method for retrieving multiple products stored in the product storage areas, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) uploading a product list to the portable wireless terminal and displaying at least part of the list on a display of the portable wireless terminal;
- (b) selecting a desired product from the product list of the portable wireless terminal;
- (c) communicating the desired product to the controller using the portable wireless terminal;
- (d) the controller identifying a display tag associated with the desired product and activating the annunciator of the associated display tag;
- (e) retrieving the desired product;
- (f) marking the desired product as retrieved on the product list on the portable wireless terminal;
- (g) updating the product list on the portable wireless terminal by removing the retrieved product from the product list;
- and
- (h) repeating steps (b) through (g) for multiple products on the product list.
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage areas, a plurality of display tags associated with the product storage areas to display product information areas, a multiplicity of the display tags each including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the display tags, and a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller and having a scanner for scanning product codes, a method for facilitating product stocking to the product storage areas, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) using the portable wireless terminal, scanning a product code of a given package of a particular product in order to identify information regarding the particular product, where the given package is one that (i) is not yet located at one of the product storage area and (ii) is to be stocked;
- (b) communicating said information regarding the particular product to the controller;
- (c) the controller identifying a display tag associated with the particular product and activating the annunciator of the associated display tag to alert a user or users to a particular product storage area proximate to the associated display tag and that is the appropriate stocking location for the given package.
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage areas, a plurality of display tags associated with the product storage areas to display product storage areas to display production information;
- multiplicity of the display tags each including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the display tags, a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller, and a printer associated with the portable wireless terminal, a method for replacing at least one overlay label for a display tag, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) uploading a display tag or product list to the portable wireless terminal and displaying at least part of the list on a display of the portable wireless terminal;
- (b) selecting a list item from the list on the portable wireless terminal;
- (c) communicating the list item to the controller using the portable wireless terminal;
- (d) the controller activating an annunciator of a given display tag associated with the selected list item;
- (e) the controller communicating print information for the given display tag to the portable wireless terminal;
- (f) the portable wireless terminal causing the printer to print a new overlay label for the given display tag according to the received print information.
In an electronic product information display system including multiple product storage areas, a plurality of display tags associated with the product storage areas to display product information areas, a multiplicity of the display tags each including an annunciator, a controller connected for communication with the display tags, and a portable wireless terminal operable for communication with the controller, a method for performing display tag maintenance, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) uploading a display tag or product list to the portable wireless terminal and displaying at least part of the list on a display of the portable wireless terminal;
- (b) selecting a list item from the list on the portable wireless terminal;
- (c) communicating the list item to the controller using the portable wireless terminal;
- (d) the controller activating an annunciator of a given display tag associated with the selected list item;
- (e) a person locating the given display tag via the annunciator and performing required display tag maintenance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.