Electronic Label Image Updates Using Partial Image Compression
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electronic labels consume significant network bandwidth and battery life due to frequent image transmissions and processing, especially when item attributes change.
Innovation Solution
Implementing image compression techniques, such as run-length encoding, to transmit only updated portions of images rather than entire images, reducing data transmission and processing demands.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If entire images are transmitted to electronic labels each time information changes, then image display accuracy is maintained, but network bandwidth consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides an image into multiple zones (e.g., header zone, body zone, footer zone) and transmits only the specific zones that contain changed information rather than the entire image. This segmentation allows the system to maintain image display accuracy for changed portions while significantly reducing network bandwidth consumption by excluding unchanged zones from transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and transmits only the necessary portions of image data that contain changed information. By identifying and extracting specific changed zones from the full image, the system achieves both goals: maintaining information accuracy for updated content while minimizing the quantity of transmitted data to reduce bandwidth usage.
2Loss of information
If entire images are received and processed by electronic labels, then complete image information is available, but battery power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments image updates into specific zones and processes only those segments on the electronic label. By receiving and processing only the necessary image portions rather than complete images, the device maintains access to complete image information when needed while significantly reducing the computational load and battery power consumption associated with processing entire images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by transmitting and processing only the minimum necessary image data (changed zones) rather than complete images. This partial approach to image transmission and processing ensures that electronic labels have sufficient information to display updated content accurately while avoiding the excessive power consumption that would result from processing full-resolution complete images.
3Loss of time
If frequent image transmissions are performed to update item information, then information freshness is maintained, but network bandwidth availability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments image updates into discrete zones that can be transmitted independently. This allows frequent updates of specific information areas (maintaining information freshness) without requiring complete image retransmissions, thereby preserving network bandwidth availability for other communications while still achieving timely information updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the changed portions from images and transmits these extracted segments frequently to maintain information freshness. This extraction approach enables rapid information updates without consuming excessive network bandwidth, as only the necessary changed data is transmitted rather than complete images.
4Loss of information
If complete images are stored in onboard memory, then full image quality is preserved, but memory capacity requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments images into zones and stores only the necessary zone data in onboard memory rather than complete high-resolution images. This segmentation approach preserves sufficient image quality for display purposes while significantly reducing memory capacity requirements, as the system stores minimal image data needed for accurate display rather than full-quality complete images.
Data Source
AI summary
Where an image displayed by an electronic label depicts information that requires replacement or revision, data for causing the revised information to be displayed by the electronic label is reduced. The data represents portions of the image depicting the information that requires replacement or revision, rather than an entirely new image. Such portions are smaller in size than an image then being displayed, and are transmitted to the electronic label when such changes or required, or along with the image then being displayed. Such portions may also be compressed or uncompressed versions of the images, and may be represented as sets of code words including one or more bytes that identify rows or pixels having discrete colors.