Electronic Shelf Label Circuit Board Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electronic shelf labels with external switch buttons face issues such as erroneous operations, excessive battery consumption, and decreased productivity due to customer interference and the need for different circuit boards based on near field communication functionality.
Innovation Solution
An electronic price indicator design that removes the external switch button and incorporates a low-frequency (LF) circuit for management scenarios, allowing for shared circuit boards with and without near field communication functionality, using a single antenna for both frequency bands to minimize size and cost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If an external switch button is installed on the electronic shelf label, then management operations (wake-up, initialization, deep sleep) can be performed, but the device is susceptible to erroneous operations from customer interference and experiences excessive battery consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the external switch button from the electronic shelf label body, extracting the problematic interface that caused erroneous operations and excessive battery consumption. Management operations are instead performed wirelessly through NFC tags or remote devices, eliminating the physical contact point that customers could accidentally activate.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate circuit boards are manufactured for devices with and without near field communication functionality, then device functionality is optimized, but manufacturing complexity increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal circuit board that can support both NFC and non-NFC configurations. The same base circuit board is used for all electronic shelf labels, with NFC functionality optionally enabled through software configuration or optional module attachment, eliminating the need for separate circuit board manufacturing lines and improving production efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different circuit boards are used for NFC and non-NFC devices, then near field communication functionality is properly implemented, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the NFC functionality into the existing circuit board design rather than using separate circuit boards. The NFC module is integrated onto the same circuit board as other components, sharing common power supply, ground, and control lines, thereby reducing overall device complexity and component count while maintaining full NFC functionality.
Data Source
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AI summary
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the electronic price indicator comprises: a base substrate; a first mounting unit formed on the base substrate, on which a first antenna for receiving product-related information from a server is mounted; a second mounting unit formed on the base substrate, on which a first communication module connected to the first antenna is mounted; a third mounting unit formed on the base substrate, on which a second antenna for receiving a management signal from a management terminal is mounted; a fourth mounting unit formed on the base substrate, on which a second communication module connected to the second antenna is selectively mounted; and a fifth mounting unit formed on the base substrate, selectively and directly connected to any one of the second antenna and the second communication module, and provided with a low frequency (LF) circuit mounted thereon to transmit an interrupt in accordance with the management signal to the first communication module.