AN ELECTRICALLY OPERATED DISPLAY TICKETThis invention relates to an electrically operated display ticket.
In shops, supermarkets and stores, the price of merchandise to be sold is usually indicated by a paper or cardboard ticket that has the price written or otherwise provided on it. The tickets are usually provided on the front of shelves containing the merchandise.
Often the shelves have channel portions for receiving the tickets, the channel portions enabling the tickets easily to be inserted and to be removed. Changes in price are effected manually so that a person is required to hand write or otherwise provide price changes and these can occur quite frequently. If the display ticket is to contain other information such for example as the fact that the price is a sale price, then further changes may be required. The changing of price tickets is a time consuming task and one which is subject to human error due, for example to a person changing the display tickets being constantly interrupted by customers with various enquiries.
It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or reduce this problem.
Accordingly, this invention provides an electrically operated display ticket comprising display means for displaying at least the price of merchandise to be sold, and receiver means for receiving electrical command signals from remote control means and for causing the display means to change its display as required by the command signals, whereby the display means is able to be remotely up-dated by the control means.
The electrically operated display ticket of the present invention enables price changes and other information much more easily to be altered than the previous system of physically having to visit each display ticket and then manually having to alter it.
With the electrically operated display ticket of the present invention, price changes and other changes may be effected remotely by the control means. The display means may also enable clearer displays than are available by manual writing. Price changes on a plurality of the electrically.operated display tickets may be effected substantially simultaneously if the display tickets describes the same article of merchandise that has had a price change. The prompt changing of the merchandising information will give members of staff more time to acquaint themselves with the new information.
Generally, the electrically operated display ticket may enable a considerable reduction of the time that it takes to display price changes, to display new lines and to remove discontinued lines. Staff may be relieved of the tedious task of manually altering and then checking price and other changes. The staff would be given more time for general selling duties, to the benefit of both the selling establishment and the customer.
The electrically operated display ticket may be such that the display means is for displaying the price of the merchandise to be sold and the name of the merchandise to be sold. Generally, in addition to displaying the price of the merchandise to be sold, the display means may be for displaying one or more of the weight of the merchandise to be sold, a bar code, the date, the time, a number code, a computer number or a colour code. The colour code may utilise the colours red, blue and yellow. Any other desired information may also be displayed such for example as calcultator functions, a back stock memory display, a data entry display, and a total stock order display.
Preferably, the display means is a liquid crystal display, a light emitting diode display, or a ferro-elect-ric display. Other types of display means may however be employed.
Preferably, the display means gives a display of the type obtained in electronic calculators. Thus the displayed numbers and letters may be shaped from separate parts which together form the number or the letter, as in electronic calculator displays.
In one embodiment of the invention, the electrically operated display ticket is such that the receiver means is responsive to electrical command signals from a remote control means in the form of a computer in a remote computer room. The electrically operated display ticket will then normally be connected by one or more electrically insulating wires to the computers so that, in its simplest form, the receiver means may then simply be terminal means for receiving the wire with the command signals.
In another embodiment of the invention, the electrically operated display ticket may be such that the receiver means is responsive to electrical command signals from a remote control means in the form of a hand held transmitter which is adapted to be operated in the vicinity of the electrically operated display ticket. The hand held transmitter may thus operate similar to remote control apparatus employed for operating a television. Wires connecting the receiver means to the control means may then not be required so that the receiver means may then be a radio receiver for receiving radio signals.
The electrically operated display ticket can be of any desired size. Thus the display ticket may be similar to the size of current paper or cardboard display tickets. By way of example, it is mentioned that the electrically operated display ticket may be approximately 4" (10 cm) long. Also, if desired, the electrically operated display ticket may be 1.25" (3 cm) wide.
The electrically operated display ticket may include fastener means for fastening the display ticket to a shelf. Any suitable and appropriate type of fastener means may be employed.
In a more complex form of the present invention, the electrically operated display ticket may include stock ordering means.
The stock ordering means may comprise a key section on the electrically operated display ticket. The key section may have push button keys or touch-operated keys.
The stock ordering means may have a display section for displaying what has been ordered. This will enable an operator visually to check what he or she has ordered.
Activation of the stock ordering means may cause the order to be fed to a computer. If the computer is a store computer, then an operator in the store may order the stock or the operator may transfer the order to a Head Office computer for ordering.
Alternatively, the stock ordering means could be effective to transmit an order direct to a Head Office computer.
The stock ordering means may be effective to obviate the need for hand written orders.
The present invention also provides a display system comprising a plurality of the electrically operated display tickets.
The display system may be one in which each electrically operated display ticket is for displaying at least the price of a different article of merchandise.
Alternatively, in the display system, the majority of each of the electrically operated display tickets may be for displaying at least the price of a different article of merchandise.
The display system may include the remote control means. As indicated above, the remote control means may be a computer in a remote computer room or a hand held transmitter. The computer can be housed where desired and it is not necessary that it be housed in a remote computer room.
The present invention further provides â selling establishment having the display system. The selling establishment may be a shop, a supermarket or a store.
Enbodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:Figure 1 shows an electrically operated display ticket;Figure 2 shows an electrically operated display ticket connected to control means in the form of a store computer;Figure 3 shows in block diagram form the store computer shown in Figure 2 connected also to a Head Office computer;Figure 4 shows a second electrically operated display ticket having stock ordering means; andFigure 5 shows a computer arrangement operating with the electrically operated display ticket shown inFigure 4.
Referring to Figure 1, there is shown an electrically operated display ticket 2 which has display means 4 for displaying the price of merchandise to be sold. As can be seen, the display ticket 2 has a name panel 6 for displaying the name of the product and the price is displayed in a display panel 8. The display ticket 2 also has a bar code panel 10, a date panel 12 and a time panel 14. If desired, the display ticket 2 can be provided with further information such for example as a computer number and/or a colour code, for example using the colours blue, red and yellow.
Referring now to Figure 2, there is shown a similar display ticket 2 and similar parts as inFigure 1 have been given the same reference numerals for ease of understanding. As can be seen fromFigure 2, the display ticket 2 is such that the bar code panel 10 includes a number 16. The display ticket 2 further includes a computer number 18,letter and number panels 20,22 and further panels 24 for other desired information.
As shown in Figure 2, the display ticket 2 is connected by an electrical cable 26 to remote control means in the form of a store computer 28. The store computer 28 has a keyboard 30,a visual display unit 32, and a printer 33. The store computer is housed in a computer room 54.
Referring now to Figure 3, it will be seen that the display ticket 2 and the store computer 28 are linked to a Head Office computer 56. This linking is shown schematically by a pair of electrical cables 58,40. It will be seen that data can be input into the store computer via input line 42 and this data can then be used to up-date the merchandising information on the display ticket 2, via the electrical cable 26. The store computer 28 can also be controlled by the HeadOffice computer 56 and data can be put into the HeadOffice computer 56 via input line 44.
Because the electrical cable 26 receives the command signals for the display ticket 2, it will be apparent that the display ticket 2 only needs some form of simple receiver means for receiving the electrical command signals and for causing the display means 4 to change its display as required by the command signals.
In the display system as shown in Figures 2 and 3, the receiver means may be regarded as a simple input socket connected to the cable 26. This input socket has been shown schematically as input socket 46 in Figure 5.
Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a price ticket 2. The display panel 20 is a display order stock panel, and the display panel 24 is a display amount and computer number panel. Blue, red and yellow colour panels 46 are employed and similar panels are also employed in the display ticket 2 shown in Figure 2.
Also shown in the display ticket 2 shown in Figure 4 a back stock memory display 48. This back stock memory display 48 operates such that when the "0" button is pressed for ordering of stock, the display will show the current back stock. In the illustrated example shown on the display ticket 2, it will be seen that for Monday no orange cream yogurt was ordered, for Tuesday two lots of orange cream yogurt were ordered, and so on up untilSaturday.
Figure 4 also shows that the display ticket 2 has a store button 50 and a total quantity of stock ordered display button 52.
The display ticket 2 shown in Figure 4 is provided with stock-ordering means 54 which has a key section as shown containing the numbers 0-9 and an on/off switch 56.
The key section with the numbers 0-9 may be such as to have push button keys or touch-operated keys. When stock is depleted, fresh stock can be ordered using the stock ordering means 54. Thus, directly members of staff see shelves depleted, they can order up fresh stocks.
Figure 5 illustrates how members of staff can input data via the stock ordering means 54 which forms part of the display ticket 2. The ordered information can then be transmitted to the store computer 28 and theHead Office computer 36 as necessary as indicated above in connection with Figure 5. Thus members of staff can order stock simply by pushing or touching a few buttons and there is no need for the manual writing out of stock orders.
It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above with reference to the accompanying drawings have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, the display tickets 2 can be of various sizes and they may be regarded as microelectronic display tickets. The electrically operated display ticket may include fastener means for fastening the display ticket to a shelf. Various types of fastener means may be employed, such for example as adhesive pads. The adhesive pads may be protected prior to use by a peel-off backing sheet. Also, the remote control means could be a hand held transmitter instead of the store computer 28 or the Head Office computer 36 and, in this case, the receiver means will usually be a radio receiver to receive the signals from the hand held transmitter. When a computer is employed a printer such as the printer 55 may be employed and/or a visual display unit.