Restocking validation / invalidation

Abstract

A method for restocking validation / invalidation includes: obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location corresponding to a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves; determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

Description

Qualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -1 / 54-RESTOCKING VALID ATION / INVALIDATIONRELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of Greek Application No. 20250100133, filed February 19, 2025, entitled “RESTOCKING VALID ATION / INVALIDATION,” which is assigned to the assignee hereof, and incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

[0002] Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, a fourthgeneration (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax®), a fifthgeneration (5G) service (e.g., 5GNew Radio (NR)), etc., with a sixth-generation (6G) service in development. There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including Cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDM A, etc.

[0003] A fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transfer speeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among other improvements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance, is designed to provide data rates of several tens of megabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1 gigabit per second to tens of workers on an office floor. Several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported in order to support large sensor deployments. Consequently, the spectral efficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhanced compared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficiencies should be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced compared to current standards.

[0004] Networks of devices may be used for various wireless signal transfer applications. For example, networks of devices may transmit positioning signals thatWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -2 / 54-may be measured to determine information from which position information (e.g., one or more ranges between a target device and one or more signal sources, a position estimate, etc.) may be determined. As another example, networks of devices may transmit signals containing data and / or communications.SUMMARY

[0005] An example method for restocking validation / invalidation includes: obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location corresponding to a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves; determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0006] An example apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation includes: at least one memory; at least one transceiver; and at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to: obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves; determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -3 / 54-

[0007] Another example apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation includes: means for obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; means for determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves; means for determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and means for transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0008] An example non-transitory processor-readable storage medium includes processor-readable instructions to cause at least one processor of an apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation to: obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves; determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmit a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example deployment of anchor wireless-signal transmitters.

[0010] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a gondola, shown in FIG. 1, with shelves containing anchor wireless-signal transmitters.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -4 / 54-

[0011] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components of an example transmission / reception point.

[0012] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components of a server.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of an example user equipment.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of an example network entity.

[0015] FIG. 7 is a graph of beacon signals transmitted from different radios in respective time windows.

[0016] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an example environment for restocking cases of products (items).

[0017] FIG. 9 is a signal and processing flow of an example method for determining, based on scanning a barcode of a case, whether valid restocking is occurring.

[0018] FIG. 10 is a signal and processing flow of an example method for determining, based on energizing an e-Tag of a case, whether valid restocking is occurring.

[0019] FIG. 11 is a signal and processing flow of an example method for determining, based on tracking a case and a user equipment of a restocker, whether valid restocking is occurring.

[0020] FIG. 12 is a block flow diagram of a method for restocking validation / invalidation.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Techniques are discussed herein for validating or invalidating restocking, e.g., of items on a shelf. For example, a location of a case of items may be determined, based on a location of a barcode scanner that scans a barcode on the case, and / or based on a received e-Tag beacon signal (e.g., based on one or more signal strengths of the beacon signal received at one or more known locations), and / or based on a location of a mobile wireless signaling device and proximity of the device to the case. The location of the case may be compared against a location of a shelf for storing and displaying items contained by the case to determine that the case is located near the shelf and thus that proper restocking is likely occurring or that the case is not located near the shelf and thus that proper restocking is likely not occurring (e.g., improper restocking (such asWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -5 / 54-putting the items on a shelf for storing and displaying other items) is occurring). A notification of proper or erroneous restocking may be provided to a restocker to confirm for the restocker that proper restocking is occurring, or to alert the restocker to determine if corrective restocking action (e.g., stop putting items on the shelf and / or redetermine a shelf to stock) is appropriate and if so, to take such action. Other configurations, however, may be used.

[0022] Items and / or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned. Proper restocking of shelves may be confirmed and reinforced. Improper restocking of shelves may be stopped and corrective action prompted. Power may be conserved in determining whether proper restocking is occurring, e.g., by selectively enabling barcode scanners and / or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) scanners only if an object to be scanned is near the scanners. Power may be conserved by using low-duty-cycle barcode / RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) scanners instead of radio devices such as electronic shelf labels or access points. Other capabilities may be provided and not every implementation according to the disclosure must provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.

[0023] Obtaining the locations of mobile devices that are accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a variety of devices or entities including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network such as base stations and / or access points. Various positioning methods may be used with wireless networks, e.g., positioning methods that use reference signals transmitted by signal sources (e.g., base stations and / or access points) in a manner similar to which LTE wireless networks utilize Positioning Reference Signals (PRS) and / or Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS) for position determination.

[0024] Using a wireless network to convey signals, e.g., communication signals, positioning signals, and / or data signals may be very useful. One or more of such signals may serve multiple purposes, e.g., a communication signal may also be used as a positioning signal. Transmitting and receiving such signals has limitless applications.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -6 / 54-

[0025] Using a synchronized network may help with operation of a wireless network. For example, with synchronized signal transmissions from multiple access points, would-be recipients of the signal may be able to listen for the signal transmissions at specific times, over small windows of time, which may help conserve processing time and / or processing power to receive, measure, decode, and / or interpret the signal transmissions.

[0026] The description herein may refer to sequences of actions to be performed, for example, by elements of a computing device. Various actions described herein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by a combination of both. Sequences of actions described herein may be embodied within a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon a corresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution would cause an associated processor to perform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various examples described herein may be embodied in a number of different forms, all of which are within the scope of the disclosure, including appropriate claimed subject matter.

[0027] An electronic shelf label (ESL) system may include one or more ESLs that are controlled by a management entity. To facilitate control by the management entity, each ESL system may have a wireless connection (e.g., a BLUETOOTH® Low Energy (BLE) wireless communication protocol connection) from an ESL radio, of the ESL system, to an access point (AP) that is communicatively connected to the management entity (e.g., via a communication line, or via a network such as the Internet).Commands from the management entity may be wirelessly transmitted to the ESL system by the access point. An ESL system may include an ESL and one or more other devices (e.g., a radio (which may include a radio transmitter and / or a radio receiver as appropriate), a camera, etc.) that are physically separate from the ESL (e.g., an electronic display, a speaker, a camera, etc.).

[0028] Referring to FIG. 1, an example environment 100 includes an anchor-node deployment including ESL radios 110, access points 120, and a management entity 130. The management entity 130 may be communicatively coupled to the access points 120, e.g., via wired connections. The management entity 130 may be hosted in the cloud and accessed via a network, e.g., a personal area network (e.g., a Bluetooth® wirelessWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -7 / 54-communication protocol network) or other Local Area Network (LAN), and / or the Internet or another Wide Area Network (WAN). The access points 120 and the ESL radios 110 may be configured to communicate with each other wirelessly, e.g., using a short-range wireless protocol such as Bluetooth® wireless communication protocol or BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy wireless communication protocol) and / or through another wireless protocol such as a cellular communication protocol, e.g., 5G NR (New Radio). In the example environment 100, the anchor nodes are ESL radios 110 with known locations. For example, each of the ESL radios 110 may know its own location and / or another entity (e.g., a management entity and / or a gateway (e.g., an edge server)) may know the locations of the ESL radios 110. At least some of the ESL radios 110 may be associated with one or more ESLs 115, although an ESL radio 110 may not be associated with any ESL. Also, one or more of the ESL radios 110 may each be associated with multiple ESLs 115. The ESL radios 110 may each include one or more transmitters and may each include one or more receivers, as discussed further below.

[0029] The access points 120 may include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, providing, and / or routing information associated with access point synchronization and / or handover, as described herein. The access points 120 may include a communication device and / or a computing device. The access points 120 may be configured to transmit beacons (e.g., BLE beacons), as well as to scan for and locate other devices (e.g., other devices communicating using BLE protocols). Each of the access points 120 may provide a protocol translator to translate between Internet Protocol (IP) and a non-IP protocol.

[0030] The ESL radios 110 may each include one or more devices capable of receiving, generating, storing, processing, and / or providing information associated with access point synchronization and / or handover. Each of the radios 110 may include a communication device and / or a computing device. The radios 110 may each be, may each include, or may each be included in, an ESL.

[0031] The management entity 130 may include a communication device and / or a computing device. For example, the management entity 130 may include a server, such as an application server, a client server, a web server, a database server, a host server, a proxy server, a virtual server (e.g., executing on computing hardware), or a server in a cloud computing system. The management entity 130 may include computing hardwareWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -8 / 54-used in a cloud computing environment. The management entity 130 may provide control of a system (e.g., an ESL system) that includes the access points 120 and the radios 110.

[0032] The number and arrangement of devices and networks shown in FIG. 1 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional devices and / or networks, fewer devices and / or networks, different devices and / or networks, and / or differently arranged devices and / or networks than those shown in FIG. 1. Furthermore, two or more devices shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented within a single device, and / or one or more single devices shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented as multiple, distributed devices. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of devices (e.g., one or more devices) of the environment 100 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of devices of the environment 100. While in the example shown in FIG.1, the environment 100 includes nine ESL radios 110, the environment 100 may include a large-scale deployment of ESL radios, e.g., tens or even hundreds of ESL radios. For example, the environment 100 includes three shelving units 140 forming two aisles 150, and each of the shelving units 140 may include more than the three ESL radios 110 shown for each of the shelving units 140.

[0033] Referring also to FIG. 2, shelving unit 200, which may be called a gondola and which may be an example of one of the shelving units 140, may have a deployment of numerous ESL radios 210 and corresponding ESLs 225. Groups of the ESL radios 210 may be disposed in regularly-spaced arrays. For example, ESL radios 210 in each of ESL radio groups 231, 232, 233, 234 may be disposed at regular intervals, with center-to-center separation distances being consistent, with separation distances in different groups perhaps being different. For example, centers of the ESL radios 210 in each of the groups 231-233 are separated from the adjacent ESL radio(s) 210 by a separation distance 240 (e.g., between Im and 3m), and centers of the ESL radios 210 in the group 234 are separated from adjacent ESL radio(s) 210 by a separation distance 250 that is larger than the separation distance 240. Further, the ESL radios 210 in different groups may be disposed at respectively different heights (here corresponding to different shelves 261, 262, 263, 264). A vertical separation distance 270 corresponding to the vertical separation of the groups 231-234 may be the same between vertically-adjacent groups of ESL radios 210. The regular spacing of ESL radios within groups may be leveraged to reduce overhead to provide locations of the ESL radios to a target UE to beWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -9 / 54-positioned (i.e., a UE whose location is to be determined), e.g., a UE 160 shown in FIG.1. Also, a different quantity of shelves may be provided in a store gondola, e.g., six shelves, etc.

[0034] The ESLs 225 may be installed along the shelves 261-264 within an aisle, although for sake of simplicity of FIG. 2, ESLs are only shown on the shelves 261, 264 in FIG. 2. One or more of the ESLs 225 may be equipped with a display and a camera. The ESL radios 210 may be deployed in a dense manner, e.g., such that radios are spaced in close proximity to each other, e.g., less than or equal to 4m apart such as 2m apart, Im apart, or a different distance apart.

[0035] Referring also to FIG. 3, an example of a TRP 300 (Transmission / Reception Point), which may be an example of the access points 120, comprises a computing platform including a processor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver 315. Even if referred to in the singular, the processor 310 may include one or more processors, the transceiver 315 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., one or more transmitters and / or one or more receivers), and / or the memory 311 may include one or more memories. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor). The memory 311 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 311 may store the software 312 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310 but may be configured to cause the processor 310, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -10 / 54-

[0036] The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 310 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 310 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 310 and the memory 311) of the TRP 300 (e.g., a gNB (general NodeB), an eNB (evolved NodeB), or an ng-eNB (next-generation eNB)) performing the function. The processor 310 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 311. Functionality of the processor 310 is discussed more fully below.

[0037] The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and / or a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter 342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and / or one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and / or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 348 to guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals and from guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wireless transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 160, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers specification 802.11, including IEEE 802. lip), WiFi® short-range wireless signaling protocol, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D) wireless signaling protocol, Bluetooth® short-range wireless signaling protocol, Zigbee® short-range wireless signaling protocol, etc. The wired transceiver 350 may include a wiredWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -11 / 54-transmitter 352 and a wired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with an NG-RAN (Next Generation Radio Access Network) to send communications to, and receive communications from, the management entity 130 (e.g., an LMF (Location Management Function)), for example, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0038] The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in FIG. 3 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the description herein discusses that the TRP 300 may be configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by another device (e.g., a server and / or a UE may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0039] Referring also to FIG. 4, a server 400, that may be an example of the management entity 130, may comprise a computing platform including a processor 410, memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. Even if referred to in the singular, the processor 410 may include one or more processors, the transceiver 415 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., one or more transmitters and / or one or more receivers), and / or the memory 411 may include one or more memories. The processor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may be communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 420 (which may be configured, e.g., for optical and / or electrical communication). One or more of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless transceiver) may be omitted from the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor). The memory 411 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 411 may store the software 412 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software codeWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -12 / 54-containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but may be configured to cause the processor 410, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 410 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 410 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. The processor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 411. Functionality of the processor 410 is discussed more fully below.

[0040] The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and / or a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter 442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 448 to guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals and from guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wireless transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 160, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers specification 802.11, including IEEE 802. lip), WiFi® short-range wireless signaling protocol, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D) wirelessWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -13 / 54-signaling protocol, Bluetooth® short-range wireless signaling protocol, Zigbee® short-range wireless signaling protocol, etc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and a wired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with an NG-RAN to send communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300, for example, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0041] The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 410 executes software (stored in the memory 411) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 410 and the memory 411) of the server 400 performing the function.

[0042] The configuration of the server 400 shown in FIG. 4 is an example and not limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and other configurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein discusses that the server 400 is configured to perform or performs several functions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by the TRP 300 and / or another device, e.g., a UE (i.e., the TRP 300 and / or a UE may be configured to perform one or more of these functions).

[0043] Referring also to FIG. 5, a UE 500, which may be an example of the UE 160, includes a processor 510, a transceiver 520, and a memory 530 communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 540. Even if referred to in the singular, the processor 510 may include one or more processors, the transceiver 520 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., one or more transmitters and / or one or more receivers), and the memory 530 may include one or more memories. The UE 500 may include the components shown in FIG. 5 and may include one or more other components. For example, the processor 510 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 510 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including aWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -14 / 54-general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor). The transceiver 520 may include one or more wireless transmitters, one or more wireless receivers, one or more antennas, one or more wired transmitters, and / or one or more wired receivers. The memory 530 may include software with processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 to perform functions as discussed herein.

[0044] The description herein may refer to the processor 510 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 510 executes software (stored in the memory 530) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the UE 500 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 510 and the memory 530) of the UE 500 performing the function. The processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 530 and, as appropriate, the transceiver 520) may include a positioning unit 550. The positioning unit 550 may be configured to perform positioning operations (e.g., determine position information (e.g., measurements, pseudoranges, position estimates, etc.). The positioning unit 550 is discussed further below, and the description may refer to the processor 510 generally, or the UE 500 generally, as performing any of the functions of the positioning unit 550, with the UE 500 being configured to perform the function(s).

[0045] As used herein, the terms "user equipment" (UE) and "base station" are not specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio Access Technology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, a UE may be any wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tablet computer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet of Things (loT) device, automobile, etc.) used to communicate over a wireless communications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certain times) be stationary, and may communicate with a Radio Access Network (RAN). As used herein, the term "UE" may be referred to interchangeably as an "access terminal" or "AT," a "client device," a "wireless device," a "subscriber device," a "subscriber terminal," a "subscriber station," a "user terminal" or UT, a "mobile terminal," a "mobile station," a "mobile device," or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicate with a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs can be connected with external networks such as the Internet and with other UEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core network and / or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wired access networks, WiFi® short-range wirelessWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -15 / 54-communication technology networks (e.g., based on IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11, etc.) and so on. Two or more UEs may communicate directly in addition to or instead of passing information to each other through a network.

[0046] A UE may be a mobile wireless signaling device. A mobile wireless signaling device may be a device that is configured to transmit wireless signals. A mobile wireless signaling device may be a device that is configured to receive wireless signals. A mobile wireless signaling device may be a device that is configured to transmit wireless signals and to receive wireless signals.

[0047] A base station may operate according to one of several RATs in communication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed. Examples of a base station include an Access Point (AP), a Network Node, a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), or a general Node B (gNodeB, gNB). In addition, in some systems a base station may provide purely edge node signaling functions while in other systems it may provide additional control and / or network management functions.

[0048] UEs may be embodied by any of a number of types of devices including but not limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices, external or internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, smartphones, tablets, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, and so on. A communication link through which UEs can send signals to a RAN is called an uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse control channel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through which the RAN can send signals to UEs is called a downlink or forward link channel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel, a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term traffic channel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink / reverse or downlink / forward traffic channel.

[0049] Referring also to FIG. 6, a network entity 600, which may be an example of an ESL radio, includes a processor 610, a transceiver 620, and a memory 630 communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 635. Even if referred to in the singular, the network entity 600 may include one or more network entities, the processor 610 may include one or more processors, the transceiver 620 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., one or more transmitters and / or one or more receivers), and the memory 630 may include one or more memories. The network entity 600 may include the components shown in FIG. 6, and may include one or more other components, andWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -16 / 54-may be configured to be a component of a communication network (e.g., a terrestrial communication network such as a cellular network). The processor 610 may include one or more hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc. The processor 610 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including a general-purpose / application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a video processor, and / or a sensor processor). The memory 630 may be a non-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and / or read-only memory (ROM), etc. The memory 630 may store software 632 which may be processor-readable, processor-executable software code containing instructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor 610 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, the software 632 may not be directly executable by the processor 610 but may be configured to cause the processor 610, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform the functions. The description herein may refer to the processor 610 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 610 executes software and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the processor 610 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in the processor 610 performing the function. The description herein may refer to the network entity 600 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components of the network entity 600 performing the function. The processor 610 may include a memory with stored instructions in addition to and / or instead of the memory 630.Functionality of the processor 610 is discussed more fully below.

[0050] The transceiver 620 may include a wireless transceiver 640 and / or a wired transceiver 650 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 640 may include a wireless transmitter 642 and a wireless receiver 644 coupled to one or more antennas 646 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and / or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 648 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 648 to guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals and from guided (e.g., wired electrical, and / or optical) signals to the wireless signals 648. Thus, the wireless transmitter 642 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wireless receiver 644 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components orWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -17 / 54-combined / integrated components. The wireless transceiver 640 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 160, one or more other UEs, and / or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers specification 802.11, including IEEE 802. lip), WiFi® short-range wireless signaling protocol, WiFi® Direct (WiFi®-D) wireless signaling protocol, Bluetooth® short-range wireless signaling protocol, Zigbee® short-range wireless signaling protocol, etc. The wired transceiver 650 may include a wired transmitter 652 and a wired receiver 654 configured for wired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized to communicate with an NG-RAN to send communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300, for example, and / or one or more other network entities. The wired transmitter 652 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components, and / or the wired receiver 654 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined / integrated components. The wired transceiver 650 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and / or electrical communication.

[0051] The description herein may refer to the processor 610 performing a function, but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 610 executes software (stored in the memory 630) and / or firmware. The description herein may refer to the network entity 600 performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 610 and the memory 630) of the network entity 600 performing the function. The processor 610 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 630 and, as appropriate, the transceiver 620) may include a positioning unit 615. The positioning unit 615 may be configured to perform positioning operations (e.g., sending positioning signals, and possibly sending an indication of a location of the network entity 600, indications of locations of other network entities, a correction to a location of the network entity, and / or corrections to locations of other network entities. The positioning unit 615 is discussed further below, and the description may refer to the processor 610 generally, or the network entity 600 generally, as performing any of theWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -18 / 54-functions of the positioning unit 615, with the network entity 600 being configured to perform the function(s).

[0052] Referring also to FIG. 7, the ESL radios 110, 210 are configured to transmit beacon signals in a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) manner. For example, the processor 610, e.g., the positioning unit 615, may be configured to transmit, via the wireless transmitter 642 and the antenna 646, a beacon signal during a time window assigned to the network entity 600, here, an ESL radio. The beacon signals may include an AP ID (AP identity), application-layer information (e.g., such that only customers of a store deploying the ESL radios 110, 210 may decode the beacon signals), an indication of a location (which may be called a position) of one or more of the ESL radios 110, 210, and / or other information. The positioning unit 615 may be configured dynamically (e.g., by a configuration message received via the transceiver 620 from the TRP 300 (e.g., the AP 120)) as to a time window in which to transmit a beacon signal. Different ESL radios may be assigned different time windows for transmitting their respective beacon signals. Also or alternatively, different network entities 600 may be assigned different frequencies for transmitting their respective beacon signals, e.g., different OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) resource elements. As shown in FIG. 7, a TDMA schedule 700 of beacon signals includes time windows Tl, T2, T3, . . ., TN and time windows TM, TM+1, TM+2, . . ., TM+P. In this example, the time windows Tl, T2, T3, . . ., TN are assigned to ESL radios ESL1, ESL2, ESL3, . . ., ESLN and the time windows TM, TM+1, TM+2, . . ., TM+P are assigned to ESL radios ESLM, ESLM+1, ESLM+2, . . ., ESLM+P. such that each of the ESL radios ESL1, ESL2, ESL3, . . ., ESLN, ESLM, ESLM+1, ESLM+2, . . ., ESLM+P is assigned a different (distinct) time window in which to transmit a respective beacon signal. In this way, beacon signals may be transmitted without colliding and a UE receiving the beacon signals can distinguish from which ESL radios the respective beacon signals are received.

[0053] The UE 500, e.g., the positioning unit 550, may be configured to determine a location of the UE 500 based on beacon signals received from the network entities 600 (e.g., the ESL radios 110, 210) and knowledge of the locations of the network entities 600 transmitting the respective beacon signals. For example, the UE 160 may be a target device and may receive beacon signals from multiple anchor nodes (here, ESL radios) and measure signal strengths to determine indications of signal strengths (e.g.,WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -19 / 54-RSSIs (Received Signal Strength Indicators) of the received beacon signals. The positioning unit 550 may be configured to determine the location of the UE 500 (e.g., the UE 160) as a weighted average of locations of the anchor nodes from which beacons signals are received. The locations of the anchor nodes may be weighted based on the RSSI values of the respective beacon signals. For example, the positioning unit 550 may be configured to determine the position of the UE 500 according to

[0055] where P is the weighted average location, wk is a weight factor for a kth beacon signal (where the weight factor depends on the RSSI of the kth beacon signal), Pk is the location of the ESL radio from which the kth beacon signal is received, and N is the quantity of received beacon signals used to determine the weighted average location. The quantity N may be the quantity of beacon signals received, or a total quantity of ESL radios in an environment, or may be another quantity, e.g., a specified number of highest-RSSI beacon signals that the UE 500 will consider to determine the weighted average location.

[0056] A location of the network entity 600 in an environment (e.g., any of the ESL radios 110 in the environment 100) may be indicated by an ID included in the beacon signal from the network entity 600. The environment 100 (e.g., a store) may be associated with a unique identifier along with a unique topology and / or deployment of the network entities 600. A region within the environment 100 may be associated with a unique offset relative to (with respect to) a reference point in the environment 100. For example, each of the aisles 150 of the environment 100 may be associated with a respective relative offset with respect to a reference point in the environment 100.Within each of the aisles 150, each shelf (e.g., each of the shelves 261-264) may be associated with a unique relative offset with respect to a reference point in the aisle, e.g., an entry point of the aisle 150. Each shelf of a gondola may be associated with a single network entity 600 such that a shelf ID is akin to a network entity ID.Alternatively, a single shelf may have multiple network entities 600 that each have a respective network entity ID and each of the network entity IDs may have one or more shared portions corresponding to the shared shelf (e.g., corresponding to a shared height component (z component of location) and a shared lateral location component (e.g., shared y component (see FIG. 1) of the location of the network entities 600)). A targetWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -20 / 54-device, e.g., the UE 500, may gauge at least a portion of a location of the network entity 600 by analyzing the network entity ID. The network entity 600 may thus not transmit a full location (e.g., all three coordinates of a three-dimensional location, e.g., x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate) of the network entity 600 because the network entity ID may provide a coded indication of at least one component of the location of the network entity 600. The coded location may use fewer bits than a full indication of the location component(s) coded into the network entity ID. The location(s) of the reference point(s) of the environment 100 (e.g., of the whole environment 100 and / or of a portion (e.g., an aisle) of the environment 100) may be provided to a target device. The reference point location(s) may be provided before the target device begins positioning, e.g., through a communication session with the management entity 130 upon the target device entering the environment 100.

[0057] A subset of the network entities 600 may be determined and used based on a coarse location of the target device. A coarse location of the target device may be determined based on one or more of a variety of factors. For example, the location of an access point that receives a signal from the target device, or the access point that receives a signal with a strongest RS SI if multiple access points receive the signal from the target device, may be used as a coarse location of the target device. Alternatively, a coarse location of the target device may be obtained using trilateration based on signals (e.g., 5GNR signals, short-range wireless protocol signals) transferred between the target device and one or more other devices, based on dead reckoning, and / or trilateration based on Satellite Positioning System (SPS) signals received by the target device. A subset of the network entities 600 may be determined as the network entities 600 close to the target UE, e.g., based on a threshold distance of the coarse location and / or based on signal strengths and / or based on one or more other criteria. A hierarchical approach may be taken to determine the subset of network entities.

[0058] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example environment 800 for validating / invalidating restocking. The environment 800 includes shelving units 810, a movable carrier 820, a restocker 830 (i.e., a person), a UE 840, scanners 850, access points 860, and a management entity 870. One or more components of the environment may be omitted, e.g., one or more of the access points 860. Shelves of the shelving units 810 may be restocked or attempted to be restocked, and restocking may be validated or invalidated using components of the environment 800. Notification ofWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -21 / 54-proper or improper restocking may be provided, e.g., to the restocker 830 attempting to restock.

[0059] The shelving units 810 include ESLs 812, ESL radios 814, rail controllers 816, and the scanners 850. Only two ESLs 812, one ESL radio 814, and one rail controller 816 are shown in FIG. 8 for sake of simplicity of the figure, but the shelving units 810 may each contain other quantities of the ESLs 812 and / or multiple ESL radios 814 and / or multiple rail controllers 816. The ESLs 812 may be configured to display labels for various products on shelves of the shelving units 810. A single one of the ESL radios 814 may be associated with multiple ones of the ESLs 812. A group of ESLs 812 may be linked to a single one of the ESL radios 814 associated with a single one of the rail controllers 816 (with the rail controller 816 possibly containing the ESL radio 814).

[0060] The movable carrier 820 may be configured to transport cases 821, 822, 823 to various restocking locations. The cases 821-823 are containers that may each (partially or fully) contain at least one object (such as a store item or product) of any of a variety of shapes and / or sizes. The cases 821-823 may have any of a variety of constructions (e.g., be made of any of a variety of materials) and may be of any of a variety of shapes (e.g., rectangular) and / or sizes. The restocking locations may be at or near portions of the shelving units 810.

[0061] Each of the cases 821-823 and the movable carrier may be affixed with an electronic tag (e-Tag) 826 and / or a barcode 827 to identify a respective one of the cases 821-823 or the movable carrier 820, respectively. Each e-Tag 826 may be a passive tag (that is not self-powered) that is charged by the network entity 600 (e.g., an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag) broadcasting energizing waveforms throughout environment 800. Each e-Tag 826 may include an e-Tag ID / MAC address (Media Access Control address) used to identify one of the cases 821-823, and, possibly, the nature of the items within the case 821-823. Each of the e-Tags 826 may take time to charge up using energy from the energizing waveforms and, once charged up, transmit a beacon signal indicative of a respective one of cases 821-823, e.g., the e-Tag ID / MAC address. An e-Tag beacon signal may include information that can be used to determine a location of the e-Tag. For example, the information may include an indication of the location of the e-Tag and / or an indication of at least one signal characteristic, such as an RS SI value, of at least one received signal that charged the e-Tag 826, e.g., at least oneWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -22 / 54-received ESL beacon signal from at least one of the ESL radios 814 or a signal received from the UE 840 that charged the e-Tag 826. An e-Tag beacon signal may contain information about the e-Tag (e.g., an ID and / or an e-Tag MAC address) and information (e.g., an ID) about a source of an energizing signal that charges the e-Tag. The time used by e-Tag 826 to charge up for transmission may be inversely proportional to the received energizing signal strength since an e-Tag requires more time to accumulate sufficient charge from weaker energizing signals. Because the e-Tag 826 is not self-powered and relies on received charging energy that is of unknown strength in advance, an e-Tag beacon transmission cannot be scheduled, and the ESL radios 814 do not know when to expect e-Tag beacon signals. Hence, the ESL radios 814 may scan for beacon signals for extended periods of time. Each barcode 827 may uniquely identify the respective case 821-823 or may identify the type of case (e.g., the items (e.g., Snickers® candy bars) or type of items (e.g., candy bars) contained by the case) without uniquely identifying the case 821-823.

[0062] Also or alternatively, the movable carrier 820 may be affixed with a radio 828. The radio 828 may be configured to transfer signals according to one or more radio access technologies, e.g., short-range wireless protocols such as WiFi®, Bluetooth®, and / or long-range wireless protocols such as NR. The radio 828 may be configured to measure signals (e.g., from the ESL radios 814 and / or the access points 860), e.g., to determine RSSI, ToA (Time of Arrival), and / or AoA (Angle of Arrival), e.g., for use in determining location of the movable carrier 820 using one or more positioning methods (e g., RSSI (e g., BLE (Bluetooth® Low Energy) DL-RSSI, WiFi RSSI), RTT (Round-Trip Time) (e.g., WiFi® RTT, NR RTT), AoA, etc.). The radio 828 may be configured to communicate one or more signal measurements, e.g., to the management entity 870 (e.g., via one or more of the access points 860), and the management entity 870 may determine a location (position) of the radio 828, and thus of the movable carrier 820.

[0063] The UE 840 may include an RFID scanner, e.g., as part of the positioning unit 550 and part of the transceiver 520. The UE 840 may be configured to energize the e-Tags 826 and determine a proximity of one or more of the e-Tags 826 to the UE 840 (e.g., based on an RSSI of the e-Tag beacon signal(s)). The UE 840, e.g., the positioning unit 550, may be configured to determine and provide position information to the management entity 870. The position information may include an indication of aWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -23 / 54-position of the UE 840 and / or information (e.g., positioning signal measurement(s)) from which the position of the UE 840 may be determined.

[0064] Each of the scanners 850 may comprise, for example, a barcode reader, a camera, and / or an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) scanner). One or more of the scanners 850 may be integrated with an EST sub-system, e.g., integrated with a respective one of the rail controllers 816. At least some of the scanners 850 may be disposed in multiple rows at respectively different heights in the shelving units 810, and may be displaced along lengths of the shelving units 810 (along one or more aisles between the shelving units 810). Each of the scanners 850 may be configured to scan any of the cases 821-823 within range of the scanner 850, and may be configured to identify a scanned case and / or relay scanned information to another entity (e.g., to the management entity 870) for identification of the scanned case. A barcode scanner may be a camera-based scanner and may have a low-power, low-resolution camera that is capable of reading a barcode within a threshold distance. For example, a subset of the ESLs 812 and / or a subset of ESL rail-controllers may include camera-based scanners. The scanners 850, being in addition to the ESL radios 814, The scanner 850 may be a low-duty-cycle scanner, e.g., with a duty cycle of less than 5%. The scanner 850 may wake up once per second, or less often (e.g., once every 10 seconds).

[0065] The management entity 870, e.g., the network entity 600, may be configured to track the movable carrier 820, infer a location of each of the cases 821-823, determine whether an inferred location of a static one of the cases 821-823 is proximate to a shelf for items associated with the static case, and provide a restocking validation indication accordingly. The management entity 870, which may be an example of the network entity 600, may be configured to track the position of the carrier 820 using one or more RATs and / or track the position of the UE 840 using one or more RATs. The management entity 870 may be configured to selectively activate (turn ON) one or more of the scanners 850, e.g., in response to determining that the carrier 820 is within a threshold distance of the scanners 850. The management entity 870 may be configured to transmit one or more notifications of valid restocking (e.g., to one or more ESLs 812 and / or to the UE 840), e.g., based on the case 821 being stationary near (e.g., within a threshold distance of) a shelf for containing items that the case 821 is known or expected to contain. The management entity 870 may be configured to transmit one or more notifications of valid restocking (e.g., to one or more ESLs 812 and / or to the UEWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -24 / 54-840), e.g., based on the case 821 being stationary but not near a shelf for containing items that the case 821 is known or expected to contain.

[0066] Referring also to FIG. 9, a signal and processing flow 900 for determining, based on scanning a barcode of a case, whether valid restocking is occurring includes stages shown. The flow 900 is an example flow and not limiting. The flow 900 may be altered, e.g., by having one or more messages and / or one or more stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or having one or more messages and / or one or more stages split into multiple messages and / or stages.

[0067] At stage 910, the carrier 820 is tracked in the environment 800. For example, the management entity 870 may transmit an ESL beacon schedule 912 to the ESL AP(s) 860, i.e., one or more of the ELS APs 860. The schedule 912 provides a schedule for beacon signal transmissions by ESL radios. For example, the ESL beacon schedule 912 transmitted to a particular ESL AP 860 may include the beacon transmissions for only one or more ESL radios 814 associated with the particular ESL AP 860 or may include the beacon transmissions for ESL radios 814 associated with the particular ESL AP 860 and for one or more other ESL radios (e.g., all of the ESL radios 814 in the environment). The ESL AP(s) 860 may transmit an ESL beacon schedule 914 to one or more of the ESL rail controllers 816. For example, the ESL beacon schedule 914 transmitted to a particular ESL rail controller 816 may include the beacon transmissions for the particular ESL rail controller 816 (e.g., for an associated ESL radio) or may include the beacon transmissions for the particular ESL rail controller 816 and for one or more other ESL rail controllers 816 (e.g., all of the ESL rail controllers 816 in the environment). At sub-stage 916, the ESL rail controller(s) 816 cause the ESL radio(s) 814 to transmit the beacon signals according to the ESL beacon schedule 914. The radio 828 of the carrier 820 can measure the beacon signal(s) and report carrier position information 918 to the management entity 870 (e.g., directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more of the ESL APs 860)). The carrier position information 918 may include one or more beacon signal measurement(s) that the management entity 870 may use to determine a position estimate for the carrier 820 and / or may include a position estimate for the carrier 820, e.g., based on one or more beacon signal measurement s) made by the carrier 820, determined (e.g., by the positioning unit 550) using one or more positioning methods (e.g., BLE DL-RSSI, WiFi® RSSI / RTT, and / or NR RTT / AoA). The management entity 870, e.g., the positioning unit 615, may determine a location ofWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -25 / 54-the carrier 820 using the carrier position information 918 using one or more positioning methods. The terms “position”, “position estimate”, “location”, and “location estimate” are used interchangeably herein.

[0068] At stage 920, one or more of the scanners 850 are triggered to turn ON to scan for identifying information of one or more cases of items. For example, the management entity 870 may transmit a trigger 922 to each of the scanners 850 that is disposed near (e.g., within a threshold distance) of the carrier 820. This may help conserve power by leaving the scanners 850 in an OFF state while there is no case nearby and thus no case to scan, and turning select one(s) of the scanners 850 to an ON state during potential restocking near the selected scanner(s) 850, instead of having ESL radios operating in receive mode. The scanner(s) 850 may operate at one or more low duty cycles, as each case is likely to be identified eventually (e.g., having the restocker 830 hold the case 821 to a barcode scanner to scan the barcode 827 of the case 821).

[0069] At stage 930, a case, e.g., the case 821, to be used for restocking a particular shelf is scanned by a scanner 850 near (e.g., nearest) to the particular shelf. For example, the case 821 may include a barcode and the scanner 850 may be a barcode scanner that scans the barcode 827 on the case 821. The barcode 827 would be associated with the case 821 such that the items (or type(s) of the items) contained in the case may be identified. The restocker 830 may manually scan the barcode 827 with the scanner 850 (i.e., intentionally hold the case 821 such that the barcode 827 is readable by the scanner 850) or the scanner 850 may scan the barcode 827 automatically (e.g., by scanning for a barcode until the barcode 827 is readable even if not put into view of the scanner 850 intentionally). The scanning at stage 930 can be performed quickly. The scanning process may be initiated by, for example, the restocker 830 holding the case 821 to the scanner 850 such that the barcode 827 is visible to the scanner 850.

[0070] The scanner 850 may provide scanner information (e.g., the scanned barcode and / or associated information) to the ESL rail controller 816 associated with the scanner 850, and the ESL rail controller 816 may transmit scanner information 932 to the management entity 870. The scanner information 932 may include information from which a location of the case 821 may be determined (e.g., inferred), such as information regarding the scanner 850 that scanned a barcode.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -26 / 54-

[0071] At stage 940, the management entity 870 may determine whether proper restocking is being performed (is likely being performed). For example, the management entity 870 may determine whether the location of the case 821 (or attributed to (e.g., the location of the scanner 850 that scanned the barcode 827 of) the case 821)) corresponds to (e.g., is within a threshold distance of) a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821 (e.g., the shelf has a label indicating the items contained by the case 821). A shelf may be assigned for storing and displaying multiple different items. The management entity 870 may determine whether any scanner 850, e.g., the only scanner 850, that scanned the case 821 is near the shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821. If the management entity 870 determines that the location of the case 821 corresponds to a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821, then the restocking is validated and the management entity 870 may transmit a restocking validation notification 944 to the ESL rail controlled s) 816 proximate to the location of the case 821. The validation notification 944 may, for example, cause the ESL rail controller(s) 816 near the case 821 to cause an ESL display / speaker associated with the scanner 850 to provide one or more positive indications for the restocker 830. For example, the ESL display / speaker may be caused to provide a positive, reinforcing audible and / or visual notification (e.g., a positive sound (e.g., a bell, an audible message (e.g., “restocking correct” or “Successful restocking. Please proceed.”)), and / or a green light, etc.) to assure (provide positive feedback / confirmation) the restocker 830 of likely correct restocking. The ESL display may, for example, comprise one or more LEDs (light-emitting diodes). If the management entity 870 determines that the location of the case 821 does not correspond to a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821, e.g., that the location of (or attributed to) the case 821 is beyond a threshold distance from the shelf for the items of the case 821 (or that the location is not determined to be within a threshold distance of the shelf), then the restocking is invalidated and the management entity 870 may transmit a restocking invalidation notification 946 to the ESL rail controlled s) 816 proximate to the location of the case 821. The invalidation notification 946 may, for example, cause the ESL rail controller(s) 816 near the case 821 to cause an ESL display / speaker associated with the scanner 850 to provide one or more negative indications for the restocker 830. For example, the ESL display / speaker may be caused to provide an audible and / or visual notification of possible erroneous restocking, e.g., an alert (e.g., a negative sound (e.g.,WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -27 / 54-buzzer, siren, , an audible warning message (e.g., “restocking incorrect” or “not the correct shelf’), etc.) and / or a red (flashing) light, etc.) to warn the restocker 830 of a possible restocking error, and to prompt the restocker 830 to re-assess the restocking being implemented by the restocker 830. Case restocking information (e.g., that the restocking was invalid (at least initially) or valid) may be stored in an edge server (e.g., the management entity 870) for analysis (e.g., to determine metrics regarding correct or incorrect scanning of cases for corresponding shelves).

[0072] Referring also to FIG. 10, a signal and processing flow 1000 for determining, based on energizing an e-Tag of a case, whether valid restocking is occurring includes stages shown. The flow 1000 is an example flow and not limiting. The flow 1000 may be altered, e.g., by having one or more messages and / or one or more stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or having one or more messages and / or one or more stages split into multiple messages and / or stages.

[0073] Stages 1010, 1020 are, in this example, the same as stages 910, 920 shown in, and discussed with respect to, FIG. 9. The descriptions of these stages is thus not repeated here.

[0074] At stage 1030, a case, e.g., the case 821, to be used for restocking a particular shelf is scanned by one or more scanners 850 near (e.g., nearest) to the particular shelf. For example, the case 821 includes the e-Tag 826 (RFID tag) and the scanner(s) 850 is(are) one or more RFID scanners, then the e-Tag 826 may be scanned automatically, e.g., without the restocker 830 manually placing the case 821 near the scanner 850. The RFID scanner 850 energizes the e-Tag 826, which (when charged) transmits an e-Tag beacon signal 1032 that is received by the ESL AP 860, and the ESL AP 860 transmits e-Tag beacon data 1034 (determined from the e-Tag beacon signal 1032) to the management entity 870. The scanner 850 being an RFID scanner, the scanner 850 may be placed under a shelf or disposed on a ceiling (with multiple RFID scanners disposed on the ceiling, e.g., across a store comprising the environment 800). RFID scanners may be plugged in (especially scanners disposed on a ceiling). The scanning at stage 1030 can be performed quickly. The scanning process may be initiated in a physical manner by, for example, the restocker 830 peeling a sticker of the e-Tag 826 off to trigger transmission of an e-Tag beacon from the e-Tag 826. As another example, a mechanical switch or a push button may be actuated to trigger transmission of the e-TagWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -28 / 54-beacon. As another example, the e-Tag 826 may be charged by the scanner 850 based on the e-Tag 826 coming with charging range of the scanner 850, and may transmit the e-Tag beacon once charged. After being triggered, the e-Tag 826 may transmit a beacon signal a limited number of times, e.g., twice. Triggering the e-Tag 826 in a physical way to transmit the beacon signal may help ensure that the e-Tag 826 transmits the beacon signal only when needed / useful, and thus may help conserve power (e.g., if the e-Tag 826 is battery operated). The e-Tag beacon signal may include information regarding the scanner 850 that energized the e-Tag 826 (e.g., an ID and / or a MAC address of the scanner 850), which may be mapped to a restocking location.

[0075] The e-Tag beacon data 1034 may include information from which a location of the case 821 may be determined (e.g., inferred), such as information for trilateration of the e-Tag 826 (e.g., IDs of the ESL AP(s) 860 that received the e-Tag beacon signal and the signal strength(s) with which the beacon signal was received) and / or the scanner 850 that energized the e-Tag 826. The e-Tag beacon data 1034 may include information identifying the source of an energizing signal that charged the e-Tag 826. The management entity may have locations of RFID scanners or other e-Tag energizing signal sources stored such that the management entity 870 may determine locations of the energizing signal source to help determine the location of the e-Tag 826.

[0076] At stage 1040, the management entity 870 may determine whether proper restocking is being performed (is likely being performed). Similar to stage 940 discussed above, the management entity 870 may determine whether the location of (or attributed to) the case 821 corresponds to (e.g., is within a threshold distance of) a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821. The management entity 870 may determine whether the location of the case 821 (e.g., as determined from e-Tag beacon signal strength (e.g., from multiple receivers (e.g., ESL APs 860) using trilateration), and / or determined from e-Tag beacon signal information (e.g., identified source of energizing signal), and / or determined based on which scanners 850 received the e-Tag beacon signal from the case 821, etc.) is near the assigned shelf for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821. If the management entity 870 determines that the location of the case 821 corresponds to a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821, then the restocking is validated and the management entity 870 may transmit the restocking validation notification 944 to the ESL rail controlled s) 816 proximate to the location of the case 821. Otherwise, theWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -29 / 54-restocking is invalidated and the management entity 870 may transmit the restocking invalidation notification 946 to the ESL rail controlled s) 816 proximate to the location of the case 821.

[0077] While FIG. 9 focused on using a barcode to determine a location of a case and FIG. 10 focused on using an e-Tag to determine a location of a case, other implementations may be used. For example, both a barcode and an e-Tag may be used to determine location of a case. Also or alternatively, one or more other techniques for determining a location of a case may be used.

[0078] Further, techniques other than those discussed above may be used, for example, for determining location of a case. For example, a mobile barcode scanner or mobile e-Tag scanner may be used to scan the barcode 827 and / or probe the e-Tag 826 and, close in time to scanning the barcode 827 and / or the e-Tag 826, also to scan a shelf identifier affixed to a shelf to localize the case 821 near that shelf. The UE 840 may include a barcode scanner and / or an e-Tag scanner, e.g., as part of the sensor(s) 560, and thus the UE 840 may be a mobile barcode scanner and / or a mobile e-Tag scanner.

[0079] Referring also to FIG. 11, a signal and processing flow 1100 for determining, based on tracking a case and the UE 840 of the restocker 830, whether valid restocking is occurring includes stages shown. The flow 1100 is an example flow and not limiting. The flow 1100 may be altered, e.g., by having one or more messages and / or one or more stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or having one or more messages and / or one or more stages split into multiple messages and / or stages.

[0080] Stage 1110 of the flow 1100 includes stage 910, as discussed above, and further includes tracking the UE 840 of the restocker 830. At sub-stage 1112, the location of the carrier 820 may be tracked as discussed with respect to stage 910. Further, the location of the UE 840 may be obtained (e.g., tracked), e.g., using one or more positioning methods. For example, a radio of the UE 840 can measure the beacon signal(s) broadcast by the ESL APs 860 and report UE position information 1113 to the management entity 870 (e.g., directly or indirectly (e.g., via one or more of the ESL APs 860)). Also or alternatively, a camera of the UE 840 (e.g., a camera included in one or more sensors 560 communicatively coupled to the processor 510) may be used to help determine the position of the UE 840 and / or the position of the case 821. ForWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -30 / 54-example, one or more images obtained by a camera of the sensor(s) 560 may be used to identify known-location objects and to determine distances from those objects to the UE 840. As another example, one or more images obtained by a camera of the sensor(s) 560 may be used to determine a distance (and possibly a direction) from the UE 840 to the case 821. The UE position information 1113 may include one or more beacon signal measurement(s) that the management entity 870 may use to determine a position estimate for the UE 840 and / or may include a position estimate for the UE 840, e.g., based on one or more beacon signal measurement(s) made by the UE 840, determined using one or more positioning methods (e.g., BLE DL-RSSI, WiFi® RSSI / RTT, and / or NR RTT / AoA). The management entity 870, e.g., the positioning unit 615, may determine a location of the UE 840 using the UE position information 1113 using one or more positioning methods.

[0081] The UE 840 may send an energizing signal 1114 that the e-Tag 826 may receive. For example, the UE 840 may broadcast the signal 1114 and the e-Tag 826, and possibly other e-Tags, may receive the signal 1114. The signal 1114 may energize the e-Tag 826 and the e-Tag 826, once charged, may transmit (e.g., broadcast) a beacon signal 1116 that the UE 840 may receive. The UE 840 may transmit a proximity indication 1118 to the management entity 870 (directly and / or indirectly through one or more ESL APs 860). The proximity indication 1118 may provide information regarding whether the e-Tag 826 (and thus the case 821) is close to the UE 840, and possibly how close. For example, the proximity indication 1118 may indicate that the e-Tag 826 is within a threshold distance of the UE 840, and / or may indicate a distance from the UE 840 to the e-Tag 826 (e.g., based on received signal strength (e.g., RSSI) of the beacon signal 1116), and / or may indicate a received signal strength of the beacon signal 1116.

[0082] At stage 1120, the management entity 870 may determine whether to use a location of the UE 840 as the location of the case 821. The management entity 870 may determine whether to attribute the location of the UE 840 to the case 821. For example, the positioning unit 615 may determine whether the UE 840 is beyond a UE-carrier threshold distance from the carrier 820 (e.g., as determined from the location of the UE 840 and the location of the carrier 820, and / or from one or more signal transfers between the UE 840 and the carrier 820 (e.g., a signal strength of a signal transmitted by the carrier 820 (e.g., the radio 828 or an e-Tag on the carrier 820) and received by the UE 840). The management entity 870 may also determine whether the UE 840 is withinWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -31 / 54-a UE-case threshold distance, e.g., based on a received signal strength at the UE 840 of the beacon signal 1116. The UE-case threshold distance may be different from, e.g., shorter than, the UE-carrier threshold distance. Based on the UE 840 being within the UE-case threshold distance for a threshold separation time while the UE 840 is beyond the UE-carrier threshold distance from the carrier 820, the management entity 870 may determine to use the location (position) of the UE 840 as a proxy for the location of the case 821. The determination at stage 1120 may be made without using signals received by ESL radios, and thus the ESL radios may not be operated in receive mode, thereby conserving significant amounts of power.

[0083] At stage 1130, the management entity 870 may determine whether valid restocking is occurring (or at least likely to be occurring). The management entity 870 may determine that restocking is occurring based on the attributed location of the case 821 being static (e.g., moving less than a threshold distance or being within a threshold area) for at least a threshold static time, e.g., one minute. The threshold separation time and the threshold static time may be the same or different. Based on the location of the case 821, the management entity 870 may determine whether proper restocking is being performed (is likely being performed). Similar to stage 940 discussed above, the management entity 870 may determine whether the location of the UE 840 (attributed to the case 821) corresponds to (e.g., is within a threshold distance of) a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821. Based on whether the location of the case 821 corresponds to a shelf assigned for storing and displaying items contained by the case 821 or not, the management entity 870 may transmit a restocking validity / invalidity notification 1134 to one or more of the ESL rail controllers 816 and / or a restocking validity / invalidity notification 1136 to the UE 840. The notifications 1134, 1136 indicate either proper restocking or improper restocking. The notification 1134 may cause the ESL rail controller(s) 860 to implement one or more visual and / or audible indications of proper or improper restocking as appropriate. The notification 1136 may cause the UE 840 to provide one or more visual and / or audible indications (e.g., using a display and / or a speaker of the UE 840) of proper or improper restocking as appropriate.

[0084] Referring to FIG. 12, with further reference to FIGS. 1-11, a restocking validation / invalidation method 1200 includes the stages shown. The method 1200 is, however, an example only and not limiting. The method 1200 may be altered, e.g., byWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -32 / 54-having one or more stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performed concurrently, and / or by having one or more single stages split into multiple stages.

[0085] At stage 1210, the method 1200 includes obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location corresponding to a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products. For example, at stage 910, or stage 1010, or stages 1110, 1120 a location corresponding to (e.g., of or attributed to) the carrier 820 may be obtained by the management entity 870. The location may be the location of the carrier 820 or another location attributed to the carrier 820, such as the location of the UE 840. The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 446, and / or the wired receiver 454) may comprise means for obtaining the first location corresponding to the movable carrier.

[0086] At stage 1220, the method 1200 includes determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves. For example, at stage 940, or stage 1040, or sub-stage 1132, the management entity 870 may process positioning information (e.g., a position estimate, one or more measured signals, and / or beacon signal information, etc.) to determine that the case 821 is disposed near a shelf (or shelves). The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, may comprise means for determining that the selected container is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0087] At stage 1230, the method 1200 includes determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products. For example, at stage 940, or stage 1040, or sub-stage 1132, the management entity 870 may determine whether a shelf (any shelf) that the case 821 is disposed near is assigned for storing and displaying products contained by the case 821, e.g., whether any shelf within a threshold distance of the case 821 is labeled with an identifier of the products or otherwise assigned for the products. The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, may comprise means for determiningWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -33 / 54-whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0088] At stage 1240, the method 1200 includes transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products. For example, at stage 940, or stage 1040, or sub-stage 1132, the management entity 870 may transmit, as appropriate, one of the notifications 944, 946, or one or more of the notifications 1134, 1136, with an appropriate indication of proper or erroneous restocking. The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 442 and the antenna 446, and / or the wired transmitter 452) may comprise means for transmitting the notification of restocking validation / invalidation.

[0089] Implementations of the method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the method 1200 includes causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves. For example, at stage 920 or stage 1020, the management entity 870 may transmit a trigger 922 to each of the scanners 850 that comes within a threshold distance of the carrier 820 (i.e., any scanner 850 with which the carrier 820 moves within a threshold distance). The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 442 and the antenna 446, and / or the wired transmitter 452) may comprise means for causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state. In a further example implementation, determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises scanning the selected container by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves. For example, at stage 930 a barcode scanner 850 may scan the barcode 827 of the case 821, with a location of the barcode scanner 850 being used as a location of the case 821 and that location compared to a location of a shelf for displaying products contained by the case 821. In another further example implementation, each of the at least one scanner isWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -34 / 54-distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

[0090] Also or alternatively, implementations of the method 1200 may include one or more of the following features. In an example implementation, the method 1200 includes obtaining, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device, wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises determining that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and determining that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength. For example, at sub-stage 1112 the location of the UE 840 may be determined using a second radio access technology, which may be the same as or different from the first radio access technology. The location of the carrier 820 may be determined using a first set of one or more radio access technologies and the location of the UE 840 may be determined using a second set of one or more radio access technologies, where one or more radio access technologies may be in both of the sets of radio access technologies, or the sets of radio access technologies may be non-overlapping. At stage 1120, the management entity 870 may determine that the UE 840 is further than the UE-carrier threshold distance from the carrier 820 and that an RSSI of the beacon signal 1116 is greater than a threshold signal strength (indicating that the UE 840 is within the UE-case threshold distance). The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 446, and / or the wired receiver 454) may comprise means for obtaining the second location of the mobile wireless signaling device. In a further example implementation, determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves includes: determining that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves. For example, at stage 1120, the management entity 870 may determine whether the UE 840 is further from the carrier than the UE-carrier threshold distance for more than a threshold time. At substage 1132, the management entity 870 may determine whether the location of the UEWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -35 / 54-840 (or the location of a closest radio to the UE 840) is within a threshold distance of a shelf for displaying products contained by the case 821. The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, may comprise means for that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time and means for determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves. In another further example implementation, the method 1200 includes wirelessly transmitting, to the mobile wireless signaling device, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products. For example, at stage 940, or stage 1040, or sub-stage 1132, the management entity 870 may transmit, as appropriate, one of the notifications 944, 946, or one or more of the notifications 1134, 1136, with an appropriate indication of proper or erroneous restocking. The processor 610, possibly in combination with the memory 630, in combination with the transceiver 620 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 442 and the antenna 446, and / or the wired transmitter 452) may comprise means for transmitting the notification of restocking validation / invalidation.

[0091] Implementation examples

[0092] Implementation examples are provided in the following numbered clauses.

[0093] Clause 1. A method for restocking validation / invalidation, the method comprising:

[0094] obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location corresponding to a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;

[0095] determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;

[0096] determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; andWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -36 / 54-

[0097] transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0098] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, further comprising causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

[0099] Clause 3. The method of clause 2, wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises scanning the selected container by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0100] Clause 4. The method of clause 2, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

[0101] Clause 5. The method of clause 1, further comprising:

[0102] obtaining, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;

[0103] wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises determining that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and determining that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

[0104] Clause 6. The method of clause 5, wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises:

[0105] determining that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; andWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -37 / 54-

[0106] determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0107] Clause 7. The method of clause 5, further comprising wirelessly transmitting, to the mobile wireless signaling device, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0108] Clause 8. An apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation, the apparatus comprising:

[0109] at least one memory;

[0110] at least one transceiver; and

[0111] at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:

[0112] obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;

[0113] determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;

[0114] determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and

[0115] transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0116] Clause 9. The apparatus of clause 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -38 / 54-

[0117] Clause 10. The apparatus of clause 9, wherein to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to determine that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0118] Clause 11. The apparatus of clause 9, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

[0119] Clause 12. The apparatus of clause 8, wherein:

[0120] the at least one processor is configured to obtain, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;

[0121] to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to determine that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and determine that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

[0122] Clause 13. The apparatus of clause 12, wherein to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to:

[0123] determine that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and

[0124] determine that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0125] Clause 14. The apparatus of clause 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause a wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -39 / 54-

[0126] Clause 15. An apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation, the apparatus comprising:

[0127] means for obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;

[0128] means for determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;

[0129] means for determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and

[0130] means for transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0131] Clause 16. The apparatus of clause 15, further comprising means for causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

[0132] Clause 17. The apparatus of clause 16, wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise means for determining that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0133] Clause 18. The apparatus of clause 16, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

[0134] Clause 19. The apparatus of clause 15, further comprising:

[0135] means for obtaining, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -40 / 54-

[0136] wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise means for determining that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and means for determining that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

[0137] Clause 20. The apparatus of clause 19, wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise:

[0138] means for determining that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and

[0139] means for determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0140] Clause 21. The apparatus of clause 19, further comprising means for causing wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0141] Clause 22. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions to cause at least one processor of an apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation to:

[0142] obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;

[0143] determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;

[0144] determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; andWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -41 / 54-

[0145] transmit a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0146] Clause 23. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 22, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to cause each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

[0147] Clause 24. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 23, wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0148] Clause 25. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 23, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

[0149] Clause 26. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 22, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to:

[0150] obtain, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;

[0151] wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that aWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -42 / 54-received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

[0152] Clause 27. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 26, wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to:

[0153] determine that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and

[0154] determine that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

[0155] Clause 28. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of clause 26, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to cause wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

[0156] Other considerations

[0157] Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0158] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, reference to a device in the singular (e.g., “a device,” “the device”), including in the claims, includes at least one, i.e., one or more, of such devices (e.g., “a processor” includes at least one processor (e.g., one processor, two processors, etc.), “the processor” includes at least one processor, “a memory” includes at least one memory, “the memory” includes atWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -43 / 54-least one memory, etc.). The phrases “at least one” and “one or more” are used interchangeably and such that “at least one” referred-to object and “one or more” referred-to objects include implementations that have one referred-to object and implementations that have multiple referred-to objects. For example, “at least one processor” and “one or more processors” each includes implementations that have one processor and implementations that have multiple processors. Also, a “set” as used herein includes one or more members, and a “subset” contains fewer than all members of the set to which the subset refers.

[0159] The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and / or “including,” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0160] Also, as used herein, a list of items prefaced by “at least one of’ or prefaced by “one or more of’ indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C,” or a list of “at least one of A, B, and C,” or a list of “one or more of A, B, or C”, or a list of “one or more of A, B, and C”, or a list of “A or B or C” means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (B and C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.).Thus, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function regarding at least one of A or B, or a recitation that an item is configured to perform a function A or a function B, means that the item may be configured to perform the function regarding A, or may be configured to perform the function regarding B, or may be configured to perform the function regarding A and B. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to measure at least one of A or B” or “a processor configured to measure A or measure B” means that the processor may be configured to measure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may be configured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configured to select which, or both, of A and B to measure). Similarly, a recitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includes means for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), or means for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A), or means for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which, or both, of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation that an item, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one ofWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -44 / 54-perform function X or perform function Y means that the item may be configured to perform the function X, or may be configured to perform the function Y, or may be configured to perform the function X and to perform the function Y. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to at least one of measure X or measure Y” means that the processor may be configured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y), or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured to measure X), or may be configured to measure X and to measure Y (and may be configured to select which, or both, of X and Y to measure).

[0161] As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based on one or more items and / or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.

[0162] Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used, and / or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by a processor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input / output devices may be employed. Components, functional or otherwise, shown in the figures and / or discussed herein as being connected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupled unless otherwise noted. That is, they may be directly or indirectly connected to enable communication between them.

[0163] The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

[0164] A wireless communication system is one in which communications are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and / or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire or other physical connection, between wireless communication devices. A wireless communication system (alsoWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -45 / 54-called a wireless communications system, a wireless communication network, or a wireless communications network) may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Further, the term “wireless communication device,” or similar term, does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or even primarily, for communication, or that communication using the wireless communication device is exclusively, or even primarily, wireless, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capability (one-way or two-way), e.g., includes at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

[0165] Specific details are given in the description herein to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the configurations. The description herein provides example configurations, and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements.

[0166] The terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media might be involved in providing instructions / code to processor(s) for execution and / or might be used to store and / or carry such instructions / code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, a processor-readable medium is a physical and / or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and / or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamic memory.

[0167] Having described several example configurations, various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used. For example, the above elements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeWAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -46 / 54-precedence over or otherwise modify the application of the disclosure. Also, a number of operations may be undertaken before, during, or after the above elements are considered. Accordingly, the above description does not bound the scope of the claims.

[0168] Unless otherwise indicated, “about” and / or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. Unless otherwise indicated, “substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or ±0.1% from the specified value, as appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.

[0169] A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value higher than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than the first threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value lower than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WO

Claims

Qualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -47 / 54-CLAIMS:

1. A method for restocking validation / invalidation, the method comprising: obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location corresponding to a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products; determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises scanning the selected container by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:obtaining, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -48 / 54-wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises determining that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and determining that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprises:determining that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising wirelessly transmitting, to the mobile wireless signaling device, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

8. An apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation, the apparatus comprising:at least one memory;at least one transceiver; andat least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one transceiver and configured to:obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -49 / 54-determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to determine that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein:the at least one processor is configured to obtain, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to determine that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and determine that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -50 / 54-13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves the at least one processor is configured to:determine that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and determine that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause a wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

15. An apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation, the apparatus comprising:means for obtaining, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;means for determining, using electronic signal processing, that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;means for determining whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; and means for transmitting a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising means for causing each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -51 / 54-17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise means for determining that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).

19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:means for obtaining, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise means for determining that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and means for determining that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for determining that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise:means for determining that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and means for determining that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising means for causing wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -52 / 54-22. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions to cause at least one processor of an apparatus for restocking validation / invalidation to:obtain, based on at least a first radio access technology, a first location of a movable carrier within a region having a plurality of shelves for storing and displaying products, the movable carrier being configured to carry a plurality of containers each configured to contain a plurality of respective products;determine that a selected container of the plurality of containers, corresponding to a selected plurality of respective products, is disposed proximate to a particular one of the plurality of shelves;determine whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products; andtransmit a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.

23. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to cause each of at least one scanner of which the movable carrier comes within a first threshold distance to turn from an OFF state to an ON state, each of the at least one scanner being associated with at least a respective one of the plurality of shelves.

24. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container was scanned by a particular scanner, of the at least one scanner, that is associated with the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

25. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 23, wherein each of the at least one scanner is distinct from an electronic shelf label radio and comprises at least one of a barcode reader, a camera, and an RFID scanner (radio frequency identification scanner).WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WOQualcomm Ref. No. 2406644 WO -53 / 54-26. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 22, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to:obtain, based on at least a second radio access technology, a second location of a mobile wireless signaling device;wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that a distance between the first location and the second location exceeds a second threshold distance, and processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that a received signal strength, of an e-Tag beacon signal from the selected container, at the mobile wireless signaling device exceeds a threshold signal strength.

27. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 26, wherein the processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to determine that the selected container of the plurality of containers is disposed proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves comprise processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to:determine that the distance between the first location and the second location exceeds the second threshold distance for more than a threshold time; and determine that the second location is proximate to the particular one of the plurality of shelves.

28. The non-transitory processor-readable storage medium of claim 26, further comprising processor-readable instructions to cause the at least one processor to cause wireless transmission, to the mobile wireless signaling device, of a notification of restocking validation / invalidation based on whether the particular one of the plurality of shelves is assigned for storing and displaying the selected plurality of respective products.WAVS Ref. No. QLCMP615WO

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