Shelf Lighting System with Addressable Units for Product Location
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Solution Overview
Problem
Customers face difficulty in finding products in large shopping areas, leading to a negative shopping experience and staff time being used to answer location questions, as existing lighting systems do not effectively assist in product location.
Innovation Solution
A lighting system with multiple units assigned to different spatial areas, controlled by a unit that links lighting addresses to product assignments, allowing users to easily locate products through a user interface, which can be stationary or mobile, and includes electronic tags for information transmission via modulated light signals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If conventional shelf lighting systems are used to illuminate products, then product visibility is improved, but product location difficulty remains unresolved
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting system is divided into multiple individually addressable lighting units, each corresponding to a specific shelf area or product zone. This segmentation allows selective illumination of specific areas rather than uniform lighting, enabling customers to easily locate particular products while maintaining good visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting units can change color or intensity to indicate different product locations or categories. By using color-coded or intensity-varied lighting, the system provides visual guidance to help customers find products quickly, transforming the lighting function from mere illumination to active location assistance.
2Area of stationary object
If multiple lighting units are added to cover larger shopping areas, then product coverage is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each lighting unit is designed as a universal module that can be deployed in various shelf locations and configured for different product types. The standardized modules with integrated control capabilities reduce overall system complexity while enabling coverage of large shopping areas through modular expansion.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses digital addressing and wireless communication dimensions to manage lighting units, transforming the control architecture from complex physical wiring to simplified logical addressing. This allows scalable expansion across large areas without proportionally increasing system complexity.
3Ease of operation
If lighting units are individually addressable for precise product location, then product finding ease is improved, but control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system replaces complex mechanical wiring and manual switching with digital addressing and wireless communication protocols. This substitution enables individual addressing of lighting units for precise product location while significantly reducing physical system complexity through software-based control.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting units incorporate integrated control capabilities and can be independently addressed and controlled. This self-service design allows the system to manage complex individual control functions within each unit, reducing the burden on the central control system while maintaining precise product location capability.
4Loss of information
If electronic tags with modulated light signals are added for information transmission, then information availability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic tags combine multiple functions including information storage, optical communication via modulated light signals, and potential lighting integration into a single component. This merging provides comprehensive information availability while minimizing the increase in overall system complexity through functional integration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables easy product location with minimal effort by illuminating the correct area, allowing multiple users to find products simultaneously and providing information like price or ingredient details without additional aids, reducing staff time and enhancing customer experience.
Implementation Method 1
The electronic tag is designed to receive modulated light signals from the lighting unit (assigned to it) or defined group of lighting units
Data Source
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AI summary
A lighting system (10), in particular a shelf lighting system, is used for locating products (40, 41, 42). Said lighting system comprises at least two lamp units (24-31), each of which (24-31) or a defined group of which (24-31) is assigned to a different space, especially a shelf surface. The lighting system (10) further comprises a control unit for controlling the lamp units (24-31), to each of which (24-31) or to each defined group of which (24-31) a different lamp address is assigned. The lamp address is linked to a product association that is unambiguously associated with a product (40, 41, 42) located in the assigned space. The lighting system (10) also comprises a user interface (54) used for displaying the product association and for selecting, by means of the displayed product association, the lamp unit (24-31) or defined group of lamp units (24-31) to be controlled. The invention further relates to a corresponding method for providing a lighting system (10) and locating a product.