Product tray and method for determining the position of a product tray

Abstract

The present invention relates to a product tray (10), comprising: an autonomous module (20) having a smartphone search module (24) through which it is possible to detect whether there is a smartphone in the vicinity of the product tray (10); and a transmission module (22) through which it is possible to transmit data via a data network. The present invention also relates to a method for determining the position of the product tray (10) in a store, wherein, in a first step, the module (20) provided on the product tray (10) detects which smartphones are in the vicinity of the product tray (10), and in a second step, based on the number of detected smartphones, it is automatically determined whether the product tray (10) is located on the store floor or in the storage room of the store.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a product tray and a method for determining the position of a product tray, specifically a product tray for secondary placement of products and a product tray for replenishment. Background Art

[0002] Secondary placement is understood to mean providing products to customers not only on the shelves but also at a second point of sale in the store, especially on product trays where product-specific displays can be arranged to attract more attention.

[0003] In the German food retail industry, the number of these secondary placements is increasing continuously. Generally, a distinction is made between two types of secondary placements. One is focused on weekly promotions, such as flyers. The other is permanent secondary placement. Specifically, in the first type, since weekly promotions are advertised through television commercials or coupon campaigns or flyers, it is very important to place them on the store floor in a timely manner. Therefore, product suppliers will invest a certain amount of financial expenditure to promote the sale of their products through marketing and market development funds. However, the supplier cannot verify whether the products to be promoted have been removed from the storage room and placed on the store floor at the correct time. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to allow the supplier to verify in an automated manner whether the products it promotes are provided to customers on the store floor in the store as agreed.

[0005] To achieve this object, according to the present invention, there is provided a product tray equipped with: an autonomous module having a smartphone search module through which it is possible to detect whether there is a smartphone near the product tray; and a transmission module through which data can be transmitted via a data network.

[0006] In this case, the "autonomous module" should be understood as an electronic component that can operate without an external power source. It can be a tag containing a battery (i.e., capable of active transmission) or a beacon that responds to an external signal.

[0007] To achieve this object, according to the present invention, there is also provided a method in which, in a first step, the module provided on the product tray interacts with a smartphone located near the product tray, and in a second step, the product tray is automatically determined to be located on the store floor or in the storage room of the store based on the number of different smartphones that have interacted.

[0008] The product tray according to the present invention and the method according to the present invention are both based on the following finding: The number of different smartphones "passing by" near the product tray within a predetermined time allows for a highly accurate determination of whether the product tray is located in a storage room or on the store floor. If there are no smartphones, only a few smartphones, or always the same smartphones, the product tray is located in the storage room. If there are many different smartphones, the product tray is located on the store floor.

[0009] According to a variant, the interaction with the smartphone can be carried out by a module explained with respect to the product tray according to the present invention, which module is equipped with a smartphone search module and a transmission module. These modules can particularly effectively detect smartphones in the area around the product tray by means of the WLAN module of the smartphone, specifically based on the MAC address of the WLAN module of the smartphone.

[0010] The information detected by this module is transmitted via a data link, which is distinguished by low power consumption. For this purpose, GSM can be specifically used, such as a 2G link and / or an NB-IoT link (narrowband Internet of Things link).

[0011] This module is equipped with a battery that provides electrical energy for the module. Due to the low power consumption of all functions, the battery can provide electrical energy for the module for up to 10 years.

[0012] According to the configuration of the present invention, this module has a motion sensor. The sensor makes it possible to detect smartphones based on a certain situation, for example, after the product tray has been moved. This can save energy and thus extend the service life of the module. If the position of the product tray in the store is determined with a sufficiently high degree of certainty based on the detected smartphones, it can be assumed that the position will not change unless the product tray is moved. Only when it is detected that the product tray has been moved is a new detection operation initiated; when the position of the product tray in the store is redetermined with sufficient accuracy, the operation can be terminated.

[0013] With the help of the transmission module, the "raw information" on the detected smartphones can be transmitted (for example, the number of different smartphones detected in a specific time unit or the number of features calculated in a predetermined manner). However, preferably, the information about the position of the product tray in the store is actually transmitted (for example, the information "store floor" when a relatively large number of different smartphones are detected within a predetermined time period, or the information "non-store floor" when the number of different smartphones detected within a predetermined time period is below a predetermined threshold).

[0014] Preferably, the measurement is carried out at set times, for example: at 9:00 am and 18:00 pm. The "threshold" for differentiating between different locations can be set according to the expected customer volume and the size of the storage room (and the expected number of non-customer smartphones therein). For example, a convenient figure might be more than 10 different smartphones every 5 minutes.

[0015] According to an alternative variant, the module for the method according to the invention is a beacon, i.e., a tag, which can interact with an application installed on the smartphone when the Bluetooth function of the smartphone is activated, such as an application of a food retail chain in the store where the customer is currently located. If the application interacts with such a beacon, the application can send a message to the server to indicate that the interaction has occurred. If a plurality of such messages regarding the same product tray are received within a short period of time, it can be determined that the product tray is located on the store floor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings, wherein:

[0017] - Figure 1 is a schematic view of a product tray according to the present invention; and

[0018] - Figure 2 is a schematic view of two product trays according to the present invention, the two product trays being located at different positions in the store, and their positions in the store being determined by means of the method according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] Figure 1 is a schematic view of the product tray 10, which has a product support plate 11 with a substantially flat top surface 12 on which products can be accommodated. A plurality of legs 14 are provided on the lower side of the product support plate 11.

[0020] The product tray 10 is loaded with products at the distribution center and then transported to the store (e.g., a supermarket). The products are arranged on the product tray in such a way that the product tray 10 can be placed directly on the store floor; thus, there is no need to place the products on the shelves additionally. For this purpose, a display (e.g., a printed cardboard) for displaying the products in a promotional manner can be attached to the product tray 10.

[0021] The product tray 10 is equipped with a module 20, which includes a transmission module 22, a smartphone search module 24, and a motion sensor 26. A battery is also integrated.

[0022] Module 20 is preferably a unit sealed in a watertight manner, which is fastened, for example, to the underside of the product support plate 11 or, if the plate has a honeycomb structure, attached in a countersunk manner to a cavity of the honeycomb structure so as not to protrude to the underside of the product support plate 11.

[0023] The smartphone search module 24 "scans" the surrounding area and determines how many different smartphones are in its surrounding area. Specifically, for this purpose, the MAC address of the WLAN module of the smartphone is detected. During this process, the detected MAC address is compared with the discovered MAC addresses to ensure that the same smartphone (for example, the smartphone of the storeroom worker) is not counted multiple times.

[0024] The transmission module 22 transmits information about the number of detected different smartphones via a data link with low bandwidth and low power consumption. Such as 2G and NB-IoT.

[0025] The movement sensor 26 detects whether the product tray 10 moves. Specifically, this information is used to activate the smartphone search module 24.

[0026] Specifically, the product tray shown can be a so-called quarter tray. However, the product tray can also be a tray for replenishment. In this case, the tray is a 1 / 2 or Euro tray for sugar, flour, water, kitchen paper, etc.

[0027] Based on Figure 2 The function of the product tray 10 and the evaluation of the detected data will be described.

[0028] Figure 2 A store 30 (such as a supermarket) is schematically shown having a store floor 32 including shelves 34 and a storeroom 36.

[0029] A product tray 10A is located on the store floor 32 and an additional product tray 10B is located in the storeroom 36.

[0030] Regularly or after certain factors are achieved (for example, the product tray has been moved), the smartphone search modules 24 of the two product trays 10A, 10B search for the MAC addresses of the smartphones located in the surrounding area. Once the MAC address has been "found", the system will automatically compare

[0031] 1) Whether the MAC address has been found

[0032] 2) Whether the MAC address has changed significantly compared to the previous scan operation

[0033] 3) Whether the MAC addresses are the same.

[0034] In case 1), it can be assumed that the product tray 10 is not located on the store floor 32, but in the storage room 36.

[0035] In case 2), it can be assumed that the product tray 10 is located on the store floor 32.

[0036] In case 3), it can again be assumed that the product tray 10 is located in the storage room 36 and only the staff's smartphone is detected.

[0037] The transmission module 22 of the module 20 transmits information via 2G, NB-IoT or similar telecommunication technologies (see the schematically shown receiving station 40) on the different detected smartphones, so that a suitable application, database or computer program (reference numeral 42) can be displayed, where the location of the product tray 10 involved: for the product tray 10A, based on a large number of different smartphones detected within a specific time period, it has been determined that it is located on the store floor VP, while for the product tray 10B, its location in the storage room L has been determined based on a small number of different smartphones.

[0038] This information allows retailers and suppliers of the product tray 10 to see whether

[0039] - the product has been placed on the store floor 32 at the correct time (an alarm system is set),

[0040] - sufficient inventory has been ordered, since it is now possible to reliably track whether the product has been available from the start and when the product tray is withdrawn,

[0041] - the inventory needs to be reordered, since it is possible to see in real time whether the product tray has been put back into the storage room 36, even if the promotional activity may continue for several more days.

Claims

1. A product tray, comprising: a product support plate having a flat top surface for accommodating a product thereon; a plurality of feet provided on the lower side of the product support plate; an autonomous device carried by the product support plate, comprising: a smartphone search module configured to detect whether there is a smartphone near the product tray; and a transmission module coupled to the smartphone search module and configured to transmit data via a data network in response to detecting a smartphone near the product tray, and these detected smartphones are used to determine the position of the product tray; wherein, the MAC addresses of the WLAN modules of the surrounding smartphones are scanned and obtained by the smartphone search module, the number information of different smartphones within a specific time period is obtained, and the detected number of smartphones is compared with a threshold value to determine whether the product tray is in a first position or a second position. The first position corresponds to the detected number of smartphones being less than the threshold value and indicates that the product tray is located in a storage room, and the second position corresponds to the detected number of smartphones being greater than the threshold value and indicates that the product tray is located on the store floor.

2. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the autonomous device further comprises a motion sensor configured to detect the movement of the product tray, and the smartphone search module is activated in response to the motion sensor detecting the movement of the product tray.

3. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the data network is configured as GSM.

4. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the autonomous device further comprises a battery coupled to the smartphone search module and the transmission module.

5. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the autonomous device is attached to the lower side of the product support plate.

6. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the product support plate includes at least one cavity therein to accommodate the autonomous device.

7. The product tray according to claim 1, wherein, the autonomous device is connected to a database via a data network.

8. A method for determining the position of a product tray, the product tray comprising a product support plate having a flat top surface for accommodating a product thereon, a plurality of feet provided on the lower side of the product support plate, and an autonomous device carried by the product support plate, the autonomous device comprising: a smartphone search module configured to detect whether there is a smartphone near the product tray; and a transmission module coupled to the smartphone search module and configured to transmit data via a data network in response to detecting a smartphone near the product tray, and these detected smartphones are used to determine the position of the product tray; the method comprising: operating the autonomous device to perform the following operations: The WLAN module MAC addresses of surrounding smartphones are scanned and obtained through the smartphone search module, and the quantity information of different smartphones within a specific time period is obtained. The detected number of smartphones is compared with a threshold value to determine whether the product tray is in the first position or the second position. The first position corresponds to the detected number of smartphones being less than the threshold value and indicates that the product tray is in the storage room, and the second position corresponds to the detected number of smartphones being greater than the threshold value and indicates that the product tray is on the store floor.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the autonomous device is further configured to detect the movement of the product tray, and the detected movement is used to initiate the detection of whether there is a smartphone near the product tray.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the data network is configured as GSM.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the autonomous device is powered by a battery.

12. The method according to claim 8, wherein, the autonomous device is connected to a database through a data network.

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