Fully interactive, wireless, retail video display tag, integrated with
Contents
1. 103 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 2 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 201 FIG 2 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 3 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al FIG 3 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 4 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 402 FIG 4 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 5 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 501 FIG 5 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 6 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 602 Acces point or 3G Wireless Base Station 603 a Internet 604 FIG 6 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 7 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al FIG Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 8 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al FIG 8 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 9 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al Upload to Server Communication with Server lt Receive Receive ee Video other Beg p Update Updates On Demand inventory Snapshot Save Content in Local Storage Facial Detection Motion Sensor Touch Screen Scheduled Triggered Triggered Tamen Play back Playback Playback Playback Server Communication 911 908 FIG 9 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 10 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 1003 1001 Transmit Video Tag Product T M t 2 SKU ee Video Tag2. has reached a critical threshold where powerful computing devices capable of processing general operating system tasks such as file management and user interface functions as well as full motion video playback have become highly affordable for mass consumption Consumers have seen highly powerful mobile phones running embedded Linux OS in below 40 price range It is desirable to put a miniaturized wireless computer in front of every product on a retail shelf to fully showcase the product to achieve its sales potential 0007 From another perspective consumers not only need sufficient easy to understand information and clear demon stration of a product they also want to conveniently search and find out which retailer is carrying a product at any given time and whether the product is on the shelf by using a web browser from home PCs mobile phones or tablet computers May 9 2013 Traditionally such information is virtually impossible to access outside of large retailer s proprietary and closed inter nal information systems SUMMARY 0008 Disclosed is a video display tag that includes a pro cessor that is wirelessly connected to a remote server A video display screen and a motion sensor are coupled to the proces sor The processor is configured to update the display screen in real time with information relating to availability and or character of a select product Also included is a transmitter that sends the updated displ
3. help a customer set up a product in this example the stereo It can even be configured with voice recognition that can trigger a fre quently asked questions menu Similar to above using facial recognition techniques the disposable system can have a camera that captures the facial expressions of a user in order to determine whether to offer help to a visibly perplexed customer 0034 Preferably the disposable system will be mailed back to the product supplier for further use in other product packaging Alternatively the disposable system can be pro vided to a store to use as a video display tag as explained above The store can even offer a deposit similar to returned aluminum cans 0035 With reference to the figures FIG 3 is a depiction of an embodiment of a video display tag system 301 including a sliding video display screen 302 The screen is configured to engage with a shelf via a sliding tab on the back of the screen 302 Thus store clerks can quickly change the screen if nec essary FIG 4 shows a more permanent display screen 401 that is tacked to a shelf at its rear side 402 via screws or some other type of fastener FIG 5 shows a rack video display tag 501 that can be attached to a clothes rack and elevated via a post to average eye level to catch a customer s attention 0036 Communication to the back office is done through the internet via a 3G wireless base station as shown in FIG 6 this system is not
4. tag as recited in claim 1 further com prising a transmitter for sending the updated display screen information to remote users 3 The video display tag as recited in claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to activate in response to a signal from the motion detector indicating that a human being is nearby the system 4 The video display tag as recited in claim 1 further com prising a camera directed at a product in a predetermined radius of the video display tag to provide actual product availability to a user 5 The video display tag as recited in claim 4 wherein the remote servers is coupled to a plurality of video display screens 6 The video display tag as recited in claim 5 wherein the processor is configured to provide a plurality of locations to a remote user each location having a like product respective to every other location the plurality of locations provided to the user sorted nearest to farthest from the user US 2013 0117153 Al 7 The video display tag as recited in claim 1 wherein the instantaneous characteristic is selected from the group con sisting of an amount of product in stock quality of remaining product units price of product future price discounts and equivalent product alternatives 8 A video display tag system comprising a display monitor and a publicly accessible server coupled to the display monitor wherein the publicly accessible server is configured to display updated product infor
5. US 20130117153A1 a2 Patent Application Publication 10 Pub No US 2013 0117153 A1 as United States SHEN 43 Pub Date May 9 2013 54 FULLY INTERACTIVE WIRELESS RETAIL VIDEO DISPLAY TAG INTEGRATED WITH CONTENT DISTRIBUTION DATA MANAGEMENT FEEDBACK DATA COLLECTION INVENTORY AND PRODUCT PRICE SEARCH CAPABILITIES 71 Applicant JI SHEN San Diego CA US 72 Inventor JI SHEN San Diego CA US 73 Assignee Pathway Innovations and Technologies Inc San Diego CA US 21 Appl No 13 661 540 22 Filed Oct 26 2012 Related U S Application Data 60 Provisional application No 61 555 574 filed on Nov 4 2011 Publication Classification 51 Int Cl G06Q 30 00 2012 01 G060 10 08 2012 01 52 U S CI USPE eend aie 705 26 9 705 28 57 ABSTRACT In the disclosed video display tag a processor is wirelessly connected to a remote server A video display screen and a motion sensor are coupled to the processor The processor is configured to update the display screen in real time with information relatingto availability and or character ofa select product Also included is a transmitter that sends the updated display screen information to remote users The processor activates in response to a signal from the motion detector indicating that a human being is nearby the system 402 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 1 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 101 102
6. an existing electronic price tag 0014 FIG 3 is a single Video Tag Device 0015 FIG 4 is an embodiment of possible mounting appa ratus for the Video Tag Device 0016 FIG 5 is an alternative mounting apparatus for the Video Tag Device 0017 FIG 6 is a wireless Communication Network Dia gram Linking the Video Tag Devices and the Server System 0018 FIG 7 is a consumer viewing and interacting with the video tag device 0019 FIG 8 is a consumer downloading content onto mobile device and view the content later 0020 FIG 9 is a software logical diagram for the device 0021 FIG 10 is a server software logical diagram for the device and 0022 FIG 11 is an electronic Circuit Logical Diagram DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0023 The present system places a wireless mobile com puting device in place of a price tag on retail shelves poten tially for every product SKU It is connected with an open back office management system wirelessly to have continu ous content updated collected and transmitted to and from customers US 2013 0117153 Al 0024 The present system has a form factor that is slightly bigger or thicker than a typical credit card and it can be securely mounted on retail shelves and near end caps It can play full motion video or it can present a slideshow of images As such it can display pricing and product information elec tronically 0025 The system has markings such as a barcode a serial numb
7. ay screen information to remote users The processor activates in response to a signal from the motion detector indicating that a human being is nearby the system 0009 In another embodiment a video display tag system includes a display monitor and a publicly accessible server coupled to the display monitor The publicly accessible server is configured to display updated product information in real time on the display monitor as product information changes The publicly available server is further configured to transmit the updated product information to remote users 0010 A bar code reader can be attached to any of the embodiments The processor would display information relating to a scanned bar code in response to the bar code s detection by the bar code reader In other circumstances the processor would provide product information upon receipt of a stock keeping unit SKU number by a remote user 0011 A method of providing up to date product informa tion to a user would include selecting a product and display ing a video relating to the product and the product s availabil ity Availability includes information such as how to use the product ease of assembly or use availability within a store s inventory availability at other stores user comments and feedback about the product suggested companion products BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS 0012 FIG 1 is a traditional retail price tag 0013 FIG 2 is
8. eo display tag with price video or other updates at steps 903 904 and or 905 The video display tag has a local memory means such as a non volatile hard drive on which the original inventory content as well as updates can be stored Storing occurs at step 907 At data collection step 908 a customer s facial features are determined If a particular facial contortion is discovered one of various videos is selected for playback based on the facial contortion and played to a customer Such a facial contortion is communicated to the back room server and stored therein Alternatively a video is played back in accor dance with a predetermined schedule at step 909 In steps 910 and 911 respectively a video is played in response to a motion sensor or in response to a touch screen request 0039 FIG 10 shows a product price management dia gram Product SKU 1001 price 1004 related video 1007 and other product information 1008 are all managed via a central server 1005 A separate inventory management system 1009 communicates with the central server 1005 The central server receives video 1010 and events 1006 from the video display tag Such events include number of requests for infor mation customer s facial expressions etc The central server 1005 updates a video tag management server 1002 and in return can be updated by the video tag management server 1002 The transmission 1003 occurs via wireless internet or any other form of electronic c
9. er radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC or 3G wireless integrated circuit wireless pairing ID s etc so that a customer can identify the device and the corresponding prod uct that is displayed on the video screen using a customer handheld bar code scanner or RFID scanner On the other hand the system has a barcode scanner credit card reader cash receptacle and other means of reading and accepting payment information from the customer Advantageously a customer can then buy a product right at the video display tag system 0026 The present system has internal storage of video or image files for playback Motion sensors trigger playback of video when a customer is present and lack of motion causes the system to go to sleep when no one is present 0027 Embodiments of the system enable wireless receipt and transmission of content from a server system The content can be something that is locally collected such as shopper s habits the number of times a display tag is passed and or activated and information relating to a product Also the system can have a front facing camera that can capture a customer s visual reactions to a product A gesture recogni tion lookup table can be coupled to the system that can pro vide an image or response to the user based on and in response to the facial expressions of the customer This includes being able to recognize when a customer s facial reaction is positive or negative via facia
10. ess trans mission etc 0031 The back office can be another name for a store office control room or simply a remote or local server The server manages the storage distribution and update of video or image content onto respective display devices matching various products This update can be done by the store by the May 9 2013 product supplier who has access to the server or by the cus tomer ifallowed by a system administrator Things such as pricing product description new product versions etc are updatable through the back office As such information is stored on the server pricing product description information pricing and other product presentation content are availablein open and searchable format 0032 The back office server also enables management of the collection storage distribution and presentation of user feedback statistics As discussed above feedback is likely collected through the local device via user text input facial recognition etc Actual consumer comments are likely col lected via web browsers 0033 An alternative embodiment of the system is one in which an ultra low cost disposable display such as an MP4 player or other recyclable device is included in product pack aging For example a home theatre or stereo system would include the disclosed device rather than a paper instruction manual The device can be triggered by touch light or a switch and configured with a tutorial video to
11. hopping assistant is possible The portable shopping assistant would be installed on shop ping carts or handed to a shopper at the entrance to a store As a result the shopper can have video pushed to the portable shopping assistant when he or she gets close to a shelved video display tag The shelved tag would emit a signal once it is triggered by an RFID of the shopper s portable shopping assistant 0046 Those skilled in the art will appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad techniques of the embodiments ofthe present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms Therefore while the embodiments of this invention have been described in connection with particular examples thereof the true scope of the embodiments of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study ofthe drawings specification and following claims I claim 1 A video display tag comprising a processor wirelessly connected to a remote server a video display screen coupled to the processor and a motion sensor coupled to the processor configured to activate the display screen upon sensing motion within a predefined distance of the video display tag wherein the processor is configured to update the display screen in real time with information relating to instan taneous characteristic of a product purported to be in a merchant s inventory 2 The video display
12. l pattern recognition techniques 0028 The system can have a fully interactive user inter face with buttons and touchable screens that will allow a user to complete many functions such as looking up information on a product transmission of product information to a smart phone and programming with particular product information Buttons mechanical touch screen or other finger operated inputs can capture consumer survey feedback on the spot right at the video display tag 0029 When positioned on the shelf the system has a back facing camera i e the system has a camera that can capture images of what s being displayed on the shelf behind the display tag This back facing camera can help visually recognize the approximate number and quality of inventory on a merchant s shelf The advantage to this is that a person who is on the way to a store to pick up an item can get visual verification via smartphone or some other personal data assis tant of the inventory left in the store 0030 Through a web address or phone number specific to the display tag a remote user can connect to the display tag Connectivity allows consumers to download video and other product information onto their mobile devices such as an iPhone or an Android phone for later viewing or record keeping Connectivity also allows consumers to easily share the video content and URL web links to products via various communication means such as email direct wirel
13. limited to 3G any other mobile telecom munications technology generation is available The display tags are configured to send and receive signals 601 to and from the 3G wireless base station 602 through the internet 603 A server 604 at the back office collects and transmits data to be used on the display tag for display to a customer As shown in FIG 7 a customer would be able to view an update 701 to the video display tag as it occurs There is no need to shut down the tag to update the displayed information 0037 Ifa customer is interested in viewing information about a product at a later period the customer can download the information from the video display tag to a personal data assistant or a smart phone for viewing later As shown in FIG 8 a request can be made to the video display tag 801 to send video information 802 about a product to a smartphone 803 The smartphone holding customer then can review product information at home including information that can be found on various internet sources about the product in general as well as information about a particular unit on the shelf includ US 2013 0117153 Al ing whether the product was previously bought and returned to the store by another customer 0038 A method for maintaining an updated video display tag and back room server is shown in FIG 9 A snapshot of inventory units is taken at step 906 and sent to a server in steps 901 and 902 The server can then update the vid
14. mation in real time on the display monitor as product information changes 9 The video display tag system as recited in claim 8 wherein the publicly available server is further configured to transmit the updated product information to remote users 10 The video display tag system as recited in claim 8 further comprising a motion detector coupled to the proces sor wherein the processor is configured to activate in May 9 2013 response to a signal from the motion detector indicating that a human being is nearby the system 11 The video display tag system as recited in claim 8 further comprising a bar code reader 12 The video display tag system as recited in claim 11 wherein the processor is configured to display information relating to a scanned bar code in response to the bar code s detecting by the bar code reader 13 The video display tag system as recited in claim 8 wherein the processor is configured to provide product infor mation upon receipt ofa stock keeping unit SKU number by a remote user 14 The video display tag system as recited in claim 8 wherein the product information is selected from the group consisting of an amount of product in stock quality of remaining product units price of product future price dis counts and equivalent product alternatives
15. ode are possible Shelf space is limited Products don t just sell by sitting on a shelf Signage and attention getters increase sales A solution is hard to come by and expensive FIG 1 shows three examples of typical display tags 101 102 and 103 0003 Electronic price tags have emerged They are mostly small gray scale LCD displays similar to the panels used in a wristwatch They display no more than the price product name and a bar code FIG 2 shows an example of a typical electronic price tag 201 0004 Video presentation of product data similar to an infomercial advertising clips user s manual endorsements demonstrations and user testimonials all can significantly improve sales by supplying sufficient information to potential consumer buyers However traditionally such a rich set of information is not possible to present at retail shelves where the product is physically present 0005 Furthermore consumer feedback of products reac tions to certain ad or demonstration has been difficult to collect even though they are highly valuable to manufactur ers and retailers Fully interactive kiosks exist often with the form factor of a small photo booth standing on the floor They present a rich and interactive experience But they are too big and too expensive which makes them only suitable for show casing expensive products or being used as information booth 0006 The advent of wireless personal computing devices
16. ommunication 0040 As shown in FIG 11 the circuitry for the video display tag includes a power management component 1103 a touch panel 1104 RFID 1105 and antenna 1101 a camera interface 1106 and a camera 1102 an LCD display 1107 a processor 1108 memory 1109 and storage means 1110 The term coupled may be used herein to refer to any type of relationship direct or indirect between the components in question and may apply to electrical mechanical fluid opti cal electromagnetic electromechanical or other connections In addition the terms first second etc might be used herein only to facilitate discussion and carry no particular temporal or chronological significance unless otherwise indi cated 0041 The technology disclosed in this document can expand to use in other applications For example it is envi sioned that a restaurant table top can include a video display on which menus would be displayed Cameras positioned in the table or somewhere nearby could capture a diner s response to food suggestions Thus rather than having a waiter or waitress on staff to take a person s order a diner can simply order at the table directly to a kitchen or single wait staff As diners often have special requests such as removing onions from a hamburger the video display tag system can be configured to answer questions about food specials menu items etc 0042 Also if video display tags can be placed in a re
17. s Management 1006 1004 Product Central Receive price Server Events Management Management from Video Tag 1007 Product Video Management Receive Video from Video Tag 1008 Other product Information Management Communicate wih Inventory Management Systems 1009 Management functions include upload update edit delete search and view FIG 10 Patent Application Publication May 9 2013 Sheet 11 of 11 US 2013 0117153 Al 1101 1102 1103 1104 Power Camera RFIC co 1105 Touch Panel Controller 1108 4107 1110 DDR Solid State Disk LCD A a Display 1109 Flash Memory FIG 11 US 2013 0117153 Al FULLY INTERACTIVE WIRELESS RETAIL VIDEO DISPLAY TAG INTEGRATED WITH CONTENT DISTRIBUTION DATA MANAGEMENT FEEDBACK DATA COLLECTION INVENTORY AND PRODUCT PRICE SEARCH CAPABILITIES 0001 The present application is a non provisional appli cation of U S Provisional Patent Application No 61 555 574 filed Nov 4 2011 the entirety of the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference FIELD Retail display tools video kiosk interactive kiosk digital media player personal mobile computing devices BACKGROUND 0002 A traditional retail display tool is primarily the paper price tag However what can be displayed on a price tag is limited not much more than the price product name and a bar c
18. stau rant s kitchen so that diners can see how clean a kitchen is and the cooking habits used by the chefs Often a diner will comment on how they have to be nice to the wait staff or the wait staff will tamper with the food Kitchen cameras that send images to dining tables can help eliminate this problem 0043 Another alternative use would be in singles bars Each person at a singles bar would be given a portable video May 9 2013 display tag with an RFID The portable video display tag can be programmed with the holder s personal information such as likes dislikes mobile phone number etc It can be pro grammed to provide different levels of access to other users For example general bar patrons can be allowed access to likes and dislikes but the tag holder would have to grant access to a person who desires a telephone number or email address 0044 Also rather than have a portable display tag given to a user a singles bar patron can have a personal tag In this way before getting to a venue the tag holder can connect with cameras at the venue to determine how many people are already there If that person wants to advertise his or her arrival at the venue he or she can send a general message to all of the patrons currently at the bar with an attached picture or video of himself as well as personal statistical information 0045 With further reference to a video display tag used in a shopping center a portable s
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