Electronic Label

Abstract

The present invention provides an electronic tag, comprising: a display module for displaying an image; an antenna for receiving a radio frequency signal; a controller electrically connected to the display module and the antenna, respectively, for acquiring an image signal according to the radio frequency signal, and for controlling the display module to display an image according to the image signal; and a reference electrode layer electrically connected to the antenna and the controller, respectively, for outputting a ground voltage to the controller and the antenna. The electronic tag of the present application is configured to provide a ground voltage to both the controller and the antenna through the reference electrode layer, which is conducive to improving the receiving efficiency of the antenna.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of electronic display technology, and in particular to an electronic tag. Background Art

[0002] Electronic tags are widely used to replace paper tags because they can dynamically display product prices. A traditional electronic tag usually includes an antenna for receiving radio frequency signals and a processor for display control. Since the antenna and processor transmit different types of signals (analog signals and digital signals), different structures are usually used to provide ground potential for the antenna and processor. However, the structure of the above electronic tag is not conducive to improving the reception efficiency of the antenna. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application provides an electronic tag, comprising:

[0004] A display module, used for displaying images;

[0005] An antenna for receiving radio frequency signals;

[0006] a controller, electrically connected to the display module and the antenna, respectively, for acquiring an image signal according to the radio frequency signal, and for controlling the display module to display an image according to the image signal; and

[0007] The reference electrode layer is electrically connected to the antenna and the controller, and is used to output ground voltage to the controller and the antenna, respectively.

[0008] The above-mentioned electronic tag provides ground voltage to the controller and the antenna at the same time by setting a reference electrode layer, which is beneficial to increase the area of ​​the conductive structure (reference electrode layer) that provides ground voltage to the antenna, thereby facilitating improving the reception efficiency of the antenna receiving signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the module structure of an electronic tag and a card reader according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0010] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the electronic tag.

[0011] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The planar structure diagram of the module, antenna and controller is shown in the figure.

[0012] Figure 4 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the planar structure of the reference electrode layer.

[0013] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the planar structure of the reference electrode layer in a pair of ratios.

[0014] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the loss test result of the antenna receiving signal in the electronic tag of comparative example 1.

[0015] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the loss test result of the antenna receiving signal in the electronic tag of comparative example 2.

[0016] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the loss test result of the antenna receiving signal in the electronic tag of the embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Main component symbols

[0018]

[0019] The following specific implementation manner will further illustrate the present invention in conjunction with the above-mentioned drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Electronic tags are mostly used in scenarios where product information needs to be displayed, such as supermarket shelves and warehouses. They are used to display product information such as product type (such as name, model, logo, etc.), product price, etc. Compared with traditional paper labels, the product information displayed on electronic tags can be changed according to the received signal. Therefore, electronic tags can be reused to display different product information.

[0021] See also Figure 1 The electronic tag 10 of one embodiment of the present application can be used in conjunction with a card reader 20. The card reader 20 is used to transmit a signal, and the electronic tag 10 is used to receive the signal and display a corresponding image (including the above-mentioned product information, etc.) according to the signal.

[0022] In this embodiment, the electronic tag 10 includes a display module 11, an antenna 12, a controller 13 and a reference electrode layer 14, wherein the controller 13 is electrically connected to the display module 11 and the antenna 12, and the reference electrode layer 14 is electrically connected to the antenna 12 and the controller 13.

[0023] The display module 11 is used to display an image, and the image displayed includes the above-mentioned product information. The antenna 12 is used to receive a radio frequency signal, which may come from a card reader. The antenna 12 is also used to convert the received radio frequency signal into an image signal and then output it to the controller 13, and the image signal is an electrical signal. The controller 13 is used to control the display module 11 to display the corresponding image according to the image signal. That is, when it is necessary to update the image displayed by the electronic tag 10 (or the display module 11), the radio frequency signal is output to the electronic tag 10 through the card reader. In this embodiment, the reference electrode layer 14 is a continuous structure of a whole layer. During the operation of the electronic tag 10, the voltage on the reference electrode layer 14 is equal at each location (or substantially equal, because the differences in materials or structures at each location on the reference electrode layer may cause slight differences in voltage at each location) and remains unchanged, so as to provide ground voltage for the antenna 12 and the controller 13 at the same time, so that the antenna 12 and the controller 13 can work normally.

[0024] Please also read Figure 2-Figure 4 In this embodiment, the electronic tag 10 further includes a substrate 15. The substrate 15 is an insulating substrate, and is used to support and carry other structures in the electronic tag 10. The substrate 15 has a first surface 151 and a second surface 152 opposite to each other. When the electronic tag is in use, the user can observe the image displayed by the electronic tag 10 from the side close to the first surface 151.

[0025] The display module 11 and the controller 13 are located on the first surface 151 of the substrate 15 and are disposed in the same layer. That is, the display module 11 and the controller 13 are disposed side by side on the first surface 151 of the substrate 15 and are in direct contact with the first surface 151 respectively. The reference electrode layer 14 is located on the second surface 152 of the substrate 15.

[0026] In this embodiment, the first surface 151 and the second surface 152 of the substrate 15 are both rectangular, and the shape of the reference electrode layer 14 is adapted to the shape of the second surface 152 of the substrate 15, and is also rectangular. In other embodiments, the shapes of the substrate 15 and the reference electrode layer 14 may be different, but the shapes of the substrate 15 and the reference electrode layer 14 are still adapted (or the same). In other embodiments, the voltages at various locations on the reference electrode layer 14 are substantially equal, but it may be a discontinuous structure (that is, it may be a continuous whole-layer rectangular structure different from that in this embodiment), for example, it may have hollow patterns, through holes, etc.

[0027] A plurality of through holes 153 are provided on the substrate 15, and each through hole 153 penetrates the first surface 151 and the second surface 152 of the substrate 15. A conductive column 16 is embedded in each through hole 153. Each conductive column 16 is used to establish an electrical connection between the structures on the first surface 151 and the second surface 152. In the above-mentioned plurality of through holes 153 of this embodiment, the two ends of the conductive column 16 in a part of the through holes 153 are respectively electrically connected to the controller 13 and the reference electrode layer 14, and are used to establish an electrical connection between the controller 13 and the reference electrode layer 14, so that the reference electrode layer 14 can provide a ground voltage for the controller 13; the two ends of the conductive column 16 in another part of the through holes 153 are respectively electrically connected to the antenna 12 and the reference electrode layer 14, and are used to establish an electrical connection between the antenna 12 and the reference electrode layer 14, so that the reference electrode layer 14 can provide a ground voltage for the antenna 12. That is, in this embodiment, the reference electrode layer 14 provides a ground voltage for both the antenna 12 and the controller 13.

[0028] The reference electrode layer 14 is a conductive material layer. In this embodiment, the reference electrode layer 14 is a copper layer.

[0029] See also Figure 5 In a pair of ratios, the electronic tag includes a reference electrode layer 34, which includes a first electrode portion 341 and a second electrode portion 342 that are separated and insulated from each other. The first electrode portion 341 is electrically connected to the controller to provide a ground voltage to the controller, and the second electrode portion 342 is electrically connected to the antenna to provide a ground voltage to the antenna.

[0030] In this embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the reference electrode layer 14 is a whole layer structure. When the reference electrode layer 14 and the reference electrode layer 34 have the same area, the area of ​​the second electrode portion 342 is obviously smaller than the area of ​​the reference electrode layer 14. That is, the area of ​​the conductive structure (reference electrode layer 14) that provides the ground voltage for the antenna 12 in this embodiment is larger than the area of ​​the conductive structure (second electrode portion 342) that provides the ground voltage for the antenna in the above comparative example. In this way, the receiving efficiency of the antenna 12 in this embodiment is higher.

[0031] In this embodiment, the receiving efficiency of the antenna 12 is defined as the ratio between the strength of the radio frequency signal received by the antenna 12 and the strength of the radio frequency signal emitted by the card reader, which can also reflect the energy loss of the radio frequency signal from the time it is emitted by the card reader to the time it is received by the antenna 12. The higher the receiving efficiency, the smaller the signal loss, which means the better the antenna performance; the lower the receiving efficiency, the greater the signal loss, which means the worse the antenna performance.

[0032] In the first comparison, the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna is represented by S1. In the second comparison, the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna is represented by S2. In this embodiment, the area of ​​the conductive structure (reference electrode layer 14) that provides the ground voltage for the antenna 12 is represented by S3. Wherein, S1<S2<S3.

[0033] See also Figure 6-Figure 8 , Figure 6-Figure 8 The horizontal axis represents the frequency of the radio frequency signal, and the vertical axis represents the loss of the antenna. The card reader is controlled to transmit radio frequency signals of the same frequency and strength, and the electronic tags in comparative example 1, comparative example 2 and this embodiment are used to receive the radio frequency signals, and the strength of the received radio frequency signals is detected, so as to calculate the loss for comparison. Figure 6 It shows the loss of the antenna in the electronic tag in Example 1. Figure 7 It shows the loss of the antenna in the electronic tag in Example 2. Figure 8 It represents the loss of the antenna in the electronic tag in this embodiment.

[0034] according to Figure 6-Figure 8 It can be seen that when the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna is S1 (Comparative Example 1), the loss of the antenna receiving the radio frequency signal is measured to be -4.5dB (converted to a percentage of 36%); when the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna is S2 (Comparative Example 2), the loss of the antenna receiving the radio frequency signal is measured to be -7.9dB (converted to a percentage of 16%); when the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna is S3 (this embodiment), the loss of the antenna receiving the radio frequency signal is measured to be -12.3dB (converted to a percentage of 5%).

[0035] That is, the larger the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna, the smaller the loss of the antenna receiving the radio frequency signal, and the higher the receiving efficiency; the smaller the area of ​​the conductive structure that provides the ground voltage for the antenna, the greater the loss of the antenna receiving the radio frequency signal, and the lower the receiving efficiency. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, the electronic tag 10 provides the ground voltage for the antenna 12 and the controller 13 at the same time by setting the reference electrode layer 14, which is conducive to increasing the area of ​​the reference electrode layer 14 that provides the ground voltage for the antenna 12, thereby facilitating the improvement of the receiving efficiency of the antenna 12 receiving the radio frequency signal.

[0036] In a modified embodiment of the present application, the electronic tag 10 further includes a battery, which is electrically connected to the controller 13 and is used to supply power to various structures in the electronic tag 10 .

[0037] In another modified embodiment of the present application, the electronic tag 10 may also include a greater number of antennas 12, for example, two antennas 12. The signals received by each antenna 12 may be the same or different. For example, both antennas 12 are used to receive radio frequency signals to generate image signals based on the radio frequency signals, so that the controller 13 controls the display module 11 to display images based on the image signals. Or, for example, one of the antennas 12 is used to receive radio frequency signals, while the other antenna is used to receive electrical energy. In this modified embodiment, since the antenna 12 can be used to receive electrical energy to power each structure in the electronic tag 10, the electronic tag 10 may not include an additional battery.

[0038] In the above-mentioned embodiments, the specific structure of the antenna 12 matches the frequency of the radio frequency signal to be received and matches the frequency of the radio frequency signal output by the card reader.

[0039] In the embodiment of the present application, the controller 13 may be a circuit, a chip (eg, a microcontroller: Microcontroller Unit, MCU), a chipset, etc.

[0040] In the embodiment of the present application, the display module 11 may include conventional structures such as a driving circuit and display pixels, which will not be described in detail in this application.

[0041] In summary, the electronic tag 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application provides ground voltage to the controller 13 and the antenna 12 at the same time by setting the reference electrode layer 14, which is beneficial to increase the area of ​​the conductive structure (reference electrode layer 14) that provides ground voltage to the antenna 12, thereby facilitating improving the reception efficiency of the antenna 12 receiving signals.

[0042] Those skilled in the art should recognize that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. As long as they are within the spirit of the present invention, appropriate changes and modifications to the above embodiments are within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An electronic tag, It is characterized in that include: a substrate including a first surface and a second surface that are opposite to each other; A display module, located on the first surface, for displaying images; An antenna, located on the first surface, for receiving radio frequency signals; a controller, electrically connected to the display module and the antenna, respectively, for acquiring an image signal according to the radio frequency signal, and for controlling the display module to display an image according to the image signal; as well as A reference electrode layer is located on the second surface, wherein the reference electrode layer has a continuous structure and is electrically connected to the antenna and the controller respectively, and is used to output a ground voltage to the controller and the antenna respectively.

2. The electronic tag according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The substrate is provided with a plurality of through holes, each of which is provided with a conductive column, and the controller and the reference electrode layer are electrically connected via the conductive columns in at least some of the plurality of through holes.

3. The electronic tag according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The antenna is located on the first surface, and the antenna is electrically connected to the reference electrode layer through at least a portion of the conductive posts in the plurality of through holes.

4. The electronic tag according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The display module, the antenna and the controller are arranged in the same layer on the first surface.

5. The electronic tag according to claim 1, It is characterized in that A battery is also included, the battery being electrically connected to the controller to power the controller.

6. The electronic tag according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The reference electrode layer is copper.

7. The electronic tag according to claim 1, It is characterized in that including a first antenna and a second antenna; The first antenna is used to receive the radio frequency signal, and the controller is used to acquire an image signal according to the radio frequency signal; The second antenna is used to receive electric energy, and the electric energy is used to activate the electronic tag.

8. The electronic tag according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The display module is used to display product type and product price.

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