Electronic tag powered by battery pack

Abstract

An electronic tag having a housing with a front wall and a rear wall and side walls, where the front wall has a particularly reflective screen, and where the side walls are different from the front wall and the rear wall, and where a light source is positioned within the housing, the light source is used for emitting light which can be generated by the light source through the side wall, and the side wall is inclined towards the front wall.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electronic tag powered by a battery pack. Background Art

[0002] In the case of known labels of the type mentioned at the outset, the display unit (screen) is implemented with the aid of electronic ink or electronic paper technology, i.e. with the aid of "electronic paper" (abbreviated as "e-paper", also in English "e-paper", or "e-ink"). The reflective screen used for this purpose is known in the professional jargon as an electronic paper display (abbreviated as EPD). These terms basically represent the principle of electrophoretic displays, in which, for example, positively charged white particles and negatively charged black particles are contained in a transparent viscous polymer. By briefly applying a voltage to the electrodes, the black particles are placed in front of the white particles in the viewing direction, or vice versa, wherein the medium made of particles and polymer is arranged between the electrodes. This arrangement is then maintained for a relatively long time (e.g. several weeks) without further energy supply. These EPDs are usually constructed for black and white reproduction or for grayscale reproduction, and are also constructed for black, white and red reproduction or black, white and yellow reproduction. Labels equipped with such EPDs display static information similarly to classic non-electronic labels. In this case, the EPD is configured to display the same information for a longer time in a manner that is as energy-efficient as possible.

[0003] In order to change the image, the image change process described at the beginning must be repeated. In addition, updating the image is relatively energy-intensive compared to displaying the image statically. In addition, the particles need time to rearrange, so that updating the image takes place more slowly than with other screen technologies, so that changes in the image content are sometimes visible to the viewer. Therefore, relatively frequent updating of the display within a short period of time for EPD technology would lead to significantly higher energy consumption and would lead to a seemingly stagnant image sequence, with the undesirable attention paid to this disadvantage.

[0004] The screen technology used here therefore does not offer the possibility of attracting the desired attention of the viewer due to dynamic image changes. Thus, apart from displaying different static images with similar color changes, there is no possibility of drawing attention to individual products or offers in a visually dynamic manner on the label and thus distinguishing these products from other products in a visually perceptible manner.

[0005] The present invention has been addressed to the task of providing an improved electronic tag in which the previously discussed problems are eliminated. Summary of the invention

[0006] This object is achieved by an electronic tag having a housing, which has a front wall and a rear wall and at least one side wall, wherein the front wall has a screen, which is particularly reflective, and wherein, unlike the front wall and the rear wall, the side wall is designed to be light-conducting, and wherein a light source is positioned in the housing for emitting light that can be generated by the light source through the side wall, and wherein the side wall is inclined towards the front wall.

[0007] This object is also achieved by a system comprising an electronic tag according to the invention and an anti-theft device, as well as a strip connecting the electronic tag to the anti-theft device.

[0008] The following advantages emerge with the measures according to the invention, in that the light output via the side wall can dynamically draw attention to individual products or product groups, or only to the electronic label itself in a manner separate from the product or product group. The screen displays the information statically in the form of texts and images and in this case requires little or no electrical energy, while the electronics of the label control whether and how (in the form of, for example, frequency, color, intensity, etc.), i.e., with what dynamics, the light is emitted through the side wall in order to thereby direct the attention of potential customers or also persons to the corresponding product, product group or label.

[0009] As mentioned, the tags can also be used to draw the attention of personnel to themselves. Thus, for example, before a food store opens for customers, those tags associated with products that are about to expire may emit warning light signals at a specific frequency or a specific color, while those tags associated with products that have expired emit warning light signals at other frequencies or colors, so that personnel become aware of this based on the light signal encoding and can take corresponding measures. The control data required for this can either be stored in a storage module of the electronic equipment of the tag and / or can be obtained from a data processing device via a communication module of the tag.

[0010] The side wall, which is oriented at least partially (as this may be the case, for example, in the case of a curved side wall surface), preferably for the most part, and in particular completely (as this would be the case, for example, in the case of a flat side wall surface) in the direction of the front wall, causes the light generated in the housing to be guided or radiated so that the light is well visible from as many viewing directions as possible onto the label. In particular, a slight inclination of the side wall toward the front wall, for example 3°-15°, causes the light signal to be well perceived when viewed from the front (i.e. in a viewing direction toward the screen). Even if the light signal is initially generated in the interior of the housing essentially in a point-like manner, the construction of the side wall as light-conducting or light-transmissive and the feeding of light into the interior of the housing causes the light signal to be radiated in a planar manner, indeed (ja) in practice the entire side wall is illuminated. As a result, less intense light is required to direct attention to the electronic label, its information and the product or product group. Despite the dynamic and large-area radiated light signal, this results in a lower energy requirement.

[0011] The side walls can be realized, for example, by transparent plastic parts produced by means of a die-casting method. However, the side walls can also be realized by glass or plexiglass or the like. The side walls can also be constructed similarly to conventional light guides, wherein the light entry at the side thereof oriented toward the interior of the housing and the light exit at the side thereof oriented outward from the housing are favored, and in the meantime the lateral exit of light is prevented or avoided due to a corresponding course of the refractive index.

[0012] The sidewalls can be shaped at their peripheral ends in such a way that they are practically edgeless and only end in a pointed converging edge. However, if the sidewalls have an edge with thickness, they have a sidewall edge. The sidewall edge can be shaped to be opaque. However, it can also be advantageous if the sidewall edge is also light-transmissive, so that light can not only escape through the sidewall surface that is dominant in area, but also through the sidewall edge that is sometimes relatively narrow and elongated compared to the sidewall surface. This may be preferred if the sidewalls are not embedded between adjacent walls, but are placed on these adjacent walls so that the sidewall edge is visible. The viewing area can thereby be increased for the viewer, since the viewer can also perceive the luminous sidewall edge.

[0013] The side walls or their material are preferably designed such that the side walls guide the light from the inside to the outside as well as possible. By optional optimization of the shape and the material, it can be achieved that the greatest possible luminosity (light intensity) is present when emitted from the side walls.

[0014] The side wall can extend, for example, all around the circumference between the front wall and the rear wall, so that the light signal can also be perceived when viewed from every side of the label.

[0015] However, in the case of a substantially cuboid design of the label, for example, preferably only one of the lateral surfaces is designed as a side wall to be light-transmissive or light-conducting.

[0016] According to a further preferred embodiment, separate further lateral wall elements may not be necessary at all. In this case, apart from a light-conducting side wall or side surface, the rest of the housing can be formed completely by a front wall and a rear wall, which are designed in a shell-like manner with the side walls and the recess for the screen at the front wall freed and between them largely surround the interior of the label on the circumferential side.

[0017] In order to obtain light emission only at the side walls, it is advantageous if the front and rear walls are light-impermeable. This is achieved, for example, by selecting suitable plastic granules, optionally by coloring them, from which all other walls or wall sections, for example the front and rear walls, are made.

[0018] Any arbitrary active screen, such as OLED or LCD screen can certainly be used as screen. However, in the case of battery-powered tags, as discussed at the beginning, it is preferred to use extremely energy-saving reflective EPD screens.

[0019] Further particularly advantageous embodiments and developments of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims and the following description.

[0020] As mentioned, the tag may have a communication module for radio communication, by means of which data and / or instructions can be exchanged with the access point. The tag can thus be controlled from a central server or data processing device. For the purpose of communicating with the access point, a variety of communication protocols can be used, such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, WLAN, etc. However, preferably a proprietary time slot communication method is used, which is discussed in WO 2015 / 124197 A1, pages 2 to 22, and the disclosure of which is deemed to be admitted here (incorporated by reference).

[0021] According to another aspect of the invention, the side wall has an energy storage holder extending into the interior of the housing, which is designed to hold at least one electrical energy storage, in particular a battery or storage battery, particularly preferably a button cell battery, in the housing at a desired position. At the desired position, the poles of the energy storage are contacted with conductive (usually metallic) contact elements, wherein the contact elements are conductively connected to the electronic device on their side in order to supply the electronic device of the tag with electrical energy. The side wall and the energy storage holder can be realized separately from each other and can be connected to each other by bonding or screwing.

[0022] The side wall and the energy storage support are preferably constructed as one piece. Therefore, both, that is, the side wall and the energy storage support, which are also collectively referred to as the combination component below, are made of the same material and are constructed to be light-permeable or light-transmissive or, in other words, light-conducting. The following advantage arises, that is, it is not necessary to force the light to be fed directly at the side wall, which may sometimes occur with the problematic and difficult positioning of the light source and its connection to the electronic device, but it can occur in the region of the energy storage support at a position placed deeper in the housing. The light emitted from there in the combination component allows the side wall to be illuminated more evenly than it would be when the light would be fed directly at the side wall or in the immediate vicinity. This should give the reason: the light source is placed farther from the side wall, and the light can already propagate in space on the way through the combination component toward the side wall from its essentially point-shaped generation area at the light source, so that the light illuminates the side wall as evenly as possible when it reaches the side wall, and therefore when viewed from the outer surface, the side wall is perceived as emitting light with uniform brightness. That is, if light were to be fed directly into the side wall at a particular point of the side wall, the side wall would be illuminated extremely brightly at that feeding point, while other areas placed further away from the feeding location would be illuminated less brightly.

[0023] The energy storage bracket is particularly preferably free of separate clamps or springs or electrical contacts, etc., so that the energy storage can be inserted into or removed from the energy storage bracket without obstacles, especially without adhesion friction (Kraftschluss-frei) and / or without clamps. This means that, with the help of the energy storage bracket, the energy storage is only positioned in the housing at a position set for this purpose, that is, along the introduction direction or the removal direction. The energy storage is basically positioned there in a direct contact manner by a contact element arranged in the housing, and is fixed transversely to the introduction direction or the removal direction by the contact element in a force-transmitting manner. Here, the contact element is constructed or positioned so that the energy storage can be introduced into the housing only by the energy storage bracket along the introduction direction without other auxiliary devices and can be pulled out from the housing along the removal direction extending in the opposite direction.

[0024] The energy storage device support can be configured differently in a manner adapted to the shape of the energy storage device. If, for example, a button cell battery pack (button cell for short) is used, it is advantageous when the energy storage device support is configured in a shell or disc shape. Thus, the button cell can be placed in a shell or disc adapted to its size and shape without any problem, and is introduced into the housing in this way. In this case, it may also be advantageous if the shell or disc (Pfanne) is configured as material-free in its central region, that is, it is only basically composed of a ring, which slightly or only grips (untergreifenden) or surrounds the button cell from below. This leads to significant material savings, especially in the case of a large number of pieces, and thus leads to a more beneficial structural shape. The shell or disc can also be configured in two parts, especially in the case of a gap formed at the central region farthest from the side wall, that is, it has a left part and a right part, wherein the two parts converge toward the side wall and the button cell is received between the two parts. The two parts can be dimensioned or their distance from one another can be set in such a way that the button cell is at least lightly clamped between the two parts, so that it can be removed without tools.

[0025] The shell-shaped or disk-shaped construction also facilitates the removal of button cells, since the shell or disk only has to be turned over so that the button cell falls out of it, or, given a slight adhesion friction between the shell or disk and the button cell, it can be pressed out by light finger pressure (e.g. through the material-free center area onto the button cell).

[0026] It is particularly advantageous in this case if the assembly consisting of the side wall together with its energy storage device holder is designed in a box-shaped manner. As a result, the assembly can be very easily gripped in the area of ​​the side wall or directly at the side wall and handled similarly to a drawer in which the energy storage devices are stored. This allows for convenient and rapid assembly (insertion of the battery pack) both during initial installation and during maintenance (e.g. when replacing the battery pack).

[0027] In order to realize this simple operation, the housing also has a slot extending between the front wall and the rear wall for receiving the energy storage holder. The slot can be constructed to receive the energy storage holder in a form-fitting and / or force-transmitting manner. The assembly can be pushed into the slot in the manner of a manipulation box as described, so as to position the energy storage in its nominal position in the housing and to supply power to the tag there, or can be pulled out in a box-like manner, so as to replace or remove the energy storage, so as to end the operation of the tag, for example. In order to provide the mentioned form-fitting and / or force-transmitting properties, the shapes and sizes of the slot and the assembly are correspondingly coordinated with each other.

[0028] According to another aspect, the rear wall has an outward turn that surrounds the energy storage receiving area, and the energy storage receiving area is measured so that the energy storage bracket can be received in the energy storage receiving area together with the energy storage. The outward turn rises from the rest of the rear wall and opens toward the side wall. The outward turn can be dimensioned according to the space requirements in the interior of the label. The outward turn can be said to constitute the frame of the slot at the rear wall. This special shaping of the rear wall allows a material-saving design, because in other areas of the housing (where only relatively flat electronic devices or screens should be placed in the housing), a significantly more slender or flatter structural shape of the housing is possible, which leads to reduced lateral material use compared to the outward turn.

[0029] It is also advantageous if the rear wall has a recess adjacent to the side wall and a part of the energy storage holder is exposed there. This results in the advantageous effect that it is possible to touch this part of the energy storage holder with the fingertips of a human hand in a flat manner there. In particular, when the energy storage holder is pulled out of the housing, a significantly more efficient transmission of force can thereby be ensured than would be the case if only the typically relatively slender edges of the side wall had to be grasped.

[0030] The assembly can thus be separated from the housing in a particularly simple manner, since a part of the energy storage holder actually forms part of the outer surface of the housing in the recess. Thus, for example, the label can be held in the hand, with the fingers of the hand holding the housing substantially parallel to the flat extension of the side wall, and at the same time with the thumb of the hand applying pressure normal to the outer surface formed by the assembly and in the direction of the side wall, so that the assembly is pressed out of the housing. Only the recess in the rear wall enables such a one-handed pressing of the assembly out of the housing.

[0031] However, the part of the energy storage holder that is removed in the recess also illuminates in a flat manner just like the side walls, only at the rear wall which has a different surface shape, namely square or rectangular instead of elongated or long, as is the case with relatively narrow side walls compared to the front wall or rear wall. This difference can be perceived by a person without much attention expenditure, for example, in order to identify a label that is placed on the goods in an inverted manner, i.e. oriented with the screen and therefore also with the side wall oriented forwards towards the goods.

[0032] If, however, the label is oriented correctly, i.e. with the screen facing away from the product, the light radiating from its back side can contribute to illuminating the product in the immediate vicinity of the label, which (especially in the case of correspondingly dimmed ambient light) results in a somewhat magical light effect on the product itself. This is possible because there is always a distance between product and label along the rear wall between the fold-over and the side walls, where the light emitted from the exempted part of the energy storage holder on the back side of the label can also propagate laterally.

[0033] The eversion of the rear wall surrounding the energy storage receiving area is constructed adjacent to the recess. The eversion is therefore positioned at a distance from the side wall. The distance can have a value between a few millimeters and about 2 cm or even 3 cm. The length of the portion of the energy storage support that can be used to interact with the fingertips of a human hand and to emit light at the rear wall of the label can be defined by determining the size of the distance. The width of this portion of the energy storage support (the portion can be used to interact with the fingertips of a human hand and to emit light at the rear wall of the label) can also be oriented to the size of the energy storage. In the case of a button cell, this will be the diameter of the button cell, wherein the width exceeds the diameter of the button cell by about 1 to 5 mm in order to ensure sufficient stability of the energy storage support.

[0034] As discussed, the eversion of the rear wall is used to receive the energy storage device holder together with the energy storage device with respect to its inner side. In addition, the eversion can have a belt for guiding the insertable belt guide device along the outer contour of the eversion. Therefore, the eversion can be used for dual use. The belt guide device is used to guide the belt, with which the label is fastened to another object, such as an anti-theft device. However, the label can also be fastened to an object other than the shelf rail with the belt without an anti-theft device. In both applications, the label can be positioned at the belt in a shaking manner. The label together with the belt constitutes a first system for fastening only the label. The label together with the belt fastened at the anti-theft device constitutes a second system, namely the anti-theft system.

[0035] When products should not be on the bottom of common shelves The use of straps for fastening labels to products has proven to be particularly advantageous when they are displayed on shelves, where individual labels are fastened to the front of the shelf bottom, which labels display information about a large number of identical products. With the aid of straps, labels can also be fastened in a highly visible manner to individual products, which are displayed, for example, hanging or individually mounted or placed. This is the case, for example, with clothing, handbags, sports equipment or also watches.

[0036] Particularly preferably, the belt guide, in particular when viewed from the belt guide in the direction of the side wall, exposes the slot and has tubes on both sides of the slot. This ensures that the slot is not covered by the belt and that the assembly consisting of the side wall and the energy storage holder can be pushed into the slot and pulled out of the slot without hindrance. The distance between the tubes also ensures that the left and right belt sections extending above the label are not blocked by the rope forces that occur during shaking. The label is induced to rotate on its own and adopt this orientation corresponding to the parallel extension of the strap section towards the strap fastening at another product or anti-theft device.

[0037] Furthermore, it can be provided that the belt guide runs between two tubes, preferably running at the outer edge of the rear wall, in an arcuate, preferably partially circular, particularly preferably semicircular and / or outwardly open manner. The belt guide can thus be completely closed along the eversion, which ensures that the belt runs essentially invisibly at the rear wall. On the other hand, the belt guide can also be open to the outside, which leads to aspects that contribute to material saving with respect to the rear wall.

[0038] Therefore, the belt can be guided by the belt guide, and the electronic tag can be fastened to the product by the belt. In order to avoid damage to the product caused by heavy loads and for aesthetic reasons, a compact electronic tag is sought. This is achieved when the combination is used to keep the battery pack or storage battery in the appropriate position at the end of the tag where the belt guide introduces and leads the belt out. In order to guide the belt with the smallest possible resistance, the belt should not be guided around the edge that is too sharp. Therefore, a minimum radius is necessary to reduce friction when guiding the belt. However, in contrast, a disproportionately large radius will increase friction again. Through the arrangement mentioned, it is now possible to guide the belt around the slot in the housing of the electronic tag using the belt guide, the slot contains the battery pack or storage battery and the combination, and the belt is not blocked at the narrow edge or there will be a disproportionately large radius. Therefore, the electronic tag does not have to be implemented larger than other electronic tags without a belt guide at the point of the belt guide.

[0039] It has also proven to be particularly advantageous if the center of gravity of the electronic tag is below the center point of the belt guide. This enables the shaking tag to be automatically oriented vertically under the effect of gravity and, as discussed, the belt section above the tag can be rotated independently if necessary.

[0040] For the label that should be positioned on the product, it is desirable that the electronic label can be oriented so that the label can be well read by the customer. This usually conflicts with the requirement that the traditional label should be fastened to the product as firmly as possible so that it cannot fall off the product in the case of traditional labels. However, in practice, this leads to restrictions in the orientation of the product at the shelf, because the label should always be well readable, and therefore its orientation must also be coordinated with the orientation of the image content. However, two aspects are considered with the label according to the present invention. On the one hand, the label is firmly connected to the product or the anti-theft device coupled to the product by the belt. On the other hand, the label is indeed only loosely connected to the belt (freely movable relative to the belt, but within the limits given in advance by the length of the belt) by the belt guide, and therefore remains variable or adjustable in its angle (in its orientation) in the position on the product. This results in the product being stored at the shelf in virtually any orientation, but at the same time the orientation of the label stored thereon also remains freely selectable.

[0041] The belt can be realized by a single fiber or by a fiber composite (for example twisted fibers). The belt can be realized as a plastic belt, a carbon fiber belt, a natural fiber belt, a metal belt, etc. or also as a combination of various materials. The diameter of the belt can be adapted to the belt guide in the range of about 1 to 6 mm.

[0042] The mentioned anti-theft device can be realized, for example, by a conventional mechanical security tag, which can be connected to the anti-theft device by a strap.

[0043] In order to provide the various functionalities of the tag, the tag has the already mentioned electronic device powered by a battery pack, which is configured to operate the screen and the light source. For example, the light source can be operated by a constant current or also by a current modeled in terms of duration and / or amplitude. Correspondingly, the electronic device has a corresponding driver stage, which can typically be implemented by means of one or more transistors. The driver stage can be implemented in a discrete or digital, i.e. integrated manner. The electronic device can also be implemented by means of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a microcontroller or a microprocessor with corresponding peripheral components. Thus, a program can be executed, which, for example, implements a communication protocol for a communication module, controls or communicates with an access point, and / or sends instructions and / or data to the screen, or inquires about status information from the screen and processes it. In addition, it should be mentioned at this point that the screen can also have its own digital screen controller in addition to the physical display medium, and the digital screen controller processes the received data and / or instructions accordingly so that the corresponding image content becomes visible at the physical display medium. All these electronic components are supplied with electrical energy by means of an energy storage device.

[0044] A single LED or an OLED or the like can be used as the light source. According to a preferred construction, which is also extremely energy-saving and nevertheless causes the side wall to be evenly illuminated, the electronic tag has at least two LEDs positioned at different points as light sources. With the aid of the light sources, light can be fed into the energy storage bracket in the interior of the housing from different sides (for example, from the left and right). Of course, this can also be done with a higher number of LEDs positioned along the energy storage bracket. According to this measure, in order to stably and evenly illuminate the side wall, it is not only necessary that light can propagate from the light source toward the side wall at a corresponding distance therefrom, but also that a large number of light sources additionally have a positive influence on the stable and even illumination of the side wall.

[0045] These and other aspects of the invention are apparent from the figures discussed below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0046] The present invention is explained again in more detail below based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. In this case, the same components are provided with the same reference numerals in different figures. In a schematic manner: Figures 1 to 2 The electronic tag according to the present invention is shown in two oblique views; Figure 3 Viewed from below showing the label; Figure 4 A view showing the label with a view toward its front wall; Figure 5 The label is shown from above, viewed towards the side wall; Figure 6 A side view showing a label as viewed from one side; Figure 7 A view showing the label viewed from its rear wall; Figure 8 Another side view showing the label as viewed from the other side; Fig. 9 The label is shown with a view toward the front wall, which has a partially pulled-out component consisting of the side wall and the energy storage holder; Fig.10 The view toward the rear wall shows the Fig. 9 Labels; Figures 11 to 15 The assembled components are shown in different views; Fig.16 The housing slot is shown with the top side of the tag open; Fig.17 The arrangement of the electronic components of the tag is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] The electronic tag 1 according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as tag 1) is Figures 1 to 10 The label 1 has a housing 2 which is composed of a front wall 3 , a rear wall 4 and side walls 5 .

[0048] A reflective screen 3A is also a component of the front wall 3 , which is inserted into a recess in the material of the front wall 3 which is adapted to its dimensions.

[0049] The three walls 3 to 5 are made of plastic (for example by injection molding), wherein the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 are made of opaque or non-transparent (if necessary also dyed) plastic. ) plastic. In contrast, the side wall 5 is made of light-transmitting or transparent plastic, i.e., light-conducting plastic. In addition, the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 are configured as shells except for their upper ends, so that the front wall and the rear wall realize most of the housing 2 in a joined manner as half shells.

[0050] The side walls 5 of the two joined housing shells closing or delimiting the housing 2 consisting of the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 on the top side are Figures 11 to 15 Components of a component 6 are visualized from different angles in FIG. In addition to the side wall 5, the component 6 has an energy storage holder 7 adjoining it at an angle, which is implemented as a button cell battery holder, a button cell battery 8 (see Fig. 9 and 10 ) can be inserted into the button cell battery pack holder. Like the side wall 5, the energy storage holder 7 is also made of the light-conducting plastic and is integrally formed with the side wall 5, i.e., manufactured in the same manufacturing step. The combining part 6 is basically constructed in a box-shaped so that the button cell battery pack 8 can be placed in the housing 2.

[0051] The two housing shells 3 and 4 of the housing 2 close the housing 2 on the left and right sides and on the bottom side, that is, at its underside, and on the top side make it possible to connect the housing 2 to the outside. Fig. 9 The access to the slot 9 visible in the drawing is open. The assembly 6 can be introduced into the slot 9 or pulled out in a drawer-like manner. By introducing the assembly 6, the button cell battery pack 8 can be placed in its intended position in the housing 2. position, where the button cell battery pack is used to power the entire electronics of the tag 1 (not shown in detail, but see Fig.17 By pulling out the assembly 6, the button cell battery pack 8 can be removed from the housing 2 and replaced if necessary. In this regard, reference should be made to Fig. 9 and 10 , Fig. 9 and 10The housing 2 is shown with a view toward the front wall 3 and with a view toward the rear wall 4 with a partially pulled-out module 6 into which a button cell battery 8 is inserted.

[0052] Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the side wall 5 is inclined towards the front wall 3 at an angle of approximately 10°. Figure 1 , 4 , 6 and 8. This can also be seen in a similar manner from Fig.12 , 13 , 14 and 15, where the assembly 6 is shown detached from the housing 2 and the oblique orientation of the side wall 5 relative to the energy storage device holder 7 can be seen. In order to achieve a flush connection of the two housing shells 3 and 4 at the top with the underside of the side wall 5, the course of the upper edges of the front wall 3 and the rear wall 4 is adapted to the inclination of the side wall 5.

[0053] Reference Figure 1 , 2 , 3, 5 and 6 to 8 and 10 and 16, it is understood that the rear wall 4 also has an outward turn 10, which encloses the energy storage receiving area in the interior of the housing 2 from the rear side, that is, on the rear wall side. This outward turn 10 forms the rear limit of the previously mentioned slot 9. In addition, the rear wall 4 shows a recess 12 extending from its upper rear wall edge 11 toward the outward turn 10, which is limited by other rear wall edges 13, 14 and 15. In this recess 12, a part of the energy storage holder 7 is exposed, so that finger pressure can be applied there with the fingertips of the fingers of a human hand (not shown) in order to more easily introduce the energy storage holder 7 into the slot 9, but in particular to be able to pull it out or press it out.

[0054] The rear wall 4 also has a belt guide 16, which consists of two tubes 17 and 18 extending at the left and right edges of the eversion 10 and a semicircular recess 19 in the eversion 10, which connects the tubes 17, 18 and is open to the outside. The top-oriented ends of the tubes 17, 18 end on the left and right sides of the recess 12. The belt guide 16 is used to guide the belt 20 (see FIG. Fig. 9 , 10 and 16) fastening the tag 1 to another object (not shown). Thus, the tag can be, for example, directly attached to the merchandise or (for example, non-detachably without auxiliary devices or tools) connected to an anti-theft device (not shown), wherein the anti-theft device is then directly connected to the merchandise, wherein the anti-theft device can usually only be removed by a cashier at a store. Fig. 9 , 10 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 16 , the strap 20 may have two loose ends, or may be implemented as a closed strap loop.

[0055] Furthermore, positioning the eversion 10 in the half of the housing 2 that is oriented toward the side wall 5 brings the following advantage: the label 1 suspended on the strip 20 is always oriented by the effect of gravity so that the side wall 5 always points upwards. The center of gravity of the label 1 is thus asymmetrically displaced toward the side wall 5. This can be advantageously taken into account in the image formation, the orientation of the final image content, so that the image content is always displayed on the screen 3A in the correct orientation for the viewer of the label 1.

[0056] Let's discuss Figures 11 to 15 The details of Figures 11 to 15 As mentioned, the component 6 is shown which can be introduced into the insertion slot 9. It should be emphasized here that the energy storage carrier 7 has a left and a right carrier element 21 and 22. This brings two advantages.

[0057] On the one hand, this makes it easier to introduce and remove the modular component 6. That is, the contact elements for electrically conductively contacting the poles of the button cell battery 8 (not visible in the figures described so far, but see Fig.17 , contact bosses 23 and 24 are located in the housing 2, and these contact elements can be positioned in the housing 2 so that they are located between the support elements (Halterungselementen) 21, 22, that is, when the component 6 is pushed in or pulled out, there is no mechanical interaction with the component 6 at all, but only contact with the button cell battery pack 8.

[0058] On the other hand, the two-part design of carrier elements 21 and 22 can also be used to dimension their distance in such a way that, when button cell battery 8 is inserted, a clamping effect is achieved which largely prevents button cell battery 8 from accidentally falling out of energy storage carrier 7 .

[0059] Let's discuss Fig.17 , Fig.17 A selection of electronic functional blocks of the electronic device 25 in the interior of the housing 2 is shown very roughly and not completely, without, however, discussing details, such as the details of the connections between them, since these details are customarily understandable to a person skilled in the art. Fig.17It is shown how the energy storage holder 7 positions the button cell battery 8 in the interior of the housing 2 between the contact projections 23 and 24 forming contact elements, and these contact projections 23, 24 contact the poles of the button cell battery 8, for example from above and from below, respectively, wherein the button cell battery 8 is positioned between the contact projections 23 and 24. The other ends of the metal contact projections 23, 24 are connected to the electronic device 25 of the tag 1. The electronic device 25 includes a communication module 26, which is designed for radio communication with an access point (not shown) according to the proprietary time slot communication method mentioned in the general part of the description and for this purpose has an antenna configuration 26A in addition to other electronic components such as an adaptation network, an oscillating circuit, etc.; a screen controller 27, which is designed to control the screen 3A; and a universal digital controller 28, which carries out information exchange with the access point and supplies the screen controller 27 with instructions and / or data and also controls the light output behavior of the two light-emitting diodes 29A and 29B forming the light source. The two light-emitting diodes 29A and 29B are positioned so that they feed their emitted light into the transparent body of the energy storage holder 7 at different points of the energy storage holder 7. In the present case, the feeding takes place symmetrically with respect to the position of the button cell battery 8, i.e., to the left and right thereof approximately at the position or in the region of the position of the button cell battery 8. From there, the light propagates in the body of the energy storage holder 7 towards the side wall 5 and causes a stable Basically uniform illumination. The two light-emitting diodes 29A and 29B can be designed as monochrome or as RGB-LEDs. However, it is also possible to feed light into the energy storage holder 7 at a distance from the side wall 5 above the position of the button cell battery 8. It is also possible to use only a single LED here. How the side wall 5 is illuminated (e.g. color, flash frequency, brightness, signal coding, etc.) can be controlled from a server (not shown) by transmitting instructions via the access point to the universal digital controller 28 of the tag 1. The universal controller 28 decodes the instructions and controls the light-emitting diodes 29A and 29B accordingly. Thus, a variety of effects can be obtained for the viewer. Thus, the attention of customers and personnel can be directed to the tag 1 in question. In particular, by using a planar type display via the entire side wall 5 The light output may result in a pleasing perception of an optical attention trigger to the viewer, quite unlike what would be the case if a light emitting diode or other point light source would flash directly at the viewer, which is generally considered to be glaring and intrusive.

[0060] Furthermore, the light output via the forwardly inclined side wall 5 brings with it the advantage that, despite the light signature perceived in a planar manner from the front, the front wall 3 can be used to the greatest extent possible for the screen 3A, i.e. the size and positioning of the screen 3A cannot be reduced by additional light signal output devices (light source, energy storage device holder 7, side wall 5).

[0061] Finally, it is pointed out again that the figures described in detail above are only embodiments, which can be modified in various ways by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. For the sake of completeness, it is also pointed out that the use of the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude that the features involved can also exist multiple times.

Claims

1. An electronic tag (1) having a housing (2), wherein the housing (2) has a front wall (3), a rear wall (4) and at least one side wall (5), - wherein the front wall (3) has a screen (3A) which is in particular reflective, and - wherein, unlike the front wall (3) and the rear wall (4), the side wall (5) is designed to be light-conducting, and - wherein a light source (19A, 29B) is positioned within the housing (2) for emitting light producible by means of the light source through the side wall (5), and - wherein the side wall (5) is at least partially inclined towards the front wall (3), and The side wall (5) has an energy storage holder (7) which projects into the interior of the housing (2) and is designed to hold at least one electrical energy storage device (8), in particular a battery or accumulator, particularly preferably a button cell battery, in a desired position in the housing (2). The rear wall (4) has a bulge (10) which encloses an energy reservoir receiving area, the energy reservoir receiving area being dimensioned such that the energy reservoir holder (7) together with the energy reservoir (8) can be accommodated therein.

2. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall (5) partially oriented forward in the direction of the front wall has a curved side wall surface.

3. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall (5) is configured to be light-transmissive so that light fed into the interior of the housing (2) is radiated in a planar manner.

4. An electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall (5) has a side wall edge, and wherein the side wall edge is light-transmissive, so that light can be emitted not only through the side wall surface that is dominant in the area, but also through the side wall edge that is relatively narrow and long compared to the side wall surface.

5. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall (5) extends around the circumference between the front wall (3) and the rear wall (4). 6 . The electronic tag ( 1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the side wall ( 5 ) and the energy storage support ( 7 ) are integrally constructed to be light-transmissive.

7. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the energy storage bracket (7) has no separate clamps or springs or electrical contacts or the like.

8. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the side wall (5) together with its energy storage support (7) is constructed in a box shape.

9. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, - wherein the housing (2) has a slot (9) extending between the front wall (3) and the rear wall (4) for receiving the energy storage device support (7).

10. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rear wall (4) has a recess (12) adjacent to the side wall (5), and a portion of the energy storage holder (7) is exposed therein.

11. The electronic tag (1) according to claim 10, wherein the bulge (10) of the rear wall (4) surrounding the energy storage receiving area (7) is configured adjacent to the recess (12).

12. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the eversion (10) has a tape guide (16) for guiding a tape (20) that can be inserted into the tape guide (16) along an outer contour of the eversion (10).

13. The electronic tag (1) according to claim 12, wherein the tape guide (16) exposes the slot (9) and has tubes (17, 18) on both sides of the slot (9).

14. The electronic tag (1) according to claim 13, wherein the tape guide (16) extends between the two tubes (17, 18) in an arc-shaped, preferably partially circular, particularly preferably semicircular and / or outwardly open manner.

15. The electronic tag (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising at least two LEDs positioned at different points as light sources (29A, 29B), by means of which light can be fed into the energy storage bracket (7) from different sides.

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