Smart Movable Closure Display for Retail Cooler Inventory Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional retail product containers, such as coolers and freezers, lack effective technology for displaying inventory and conducting on-the-spot advertisements, leading to inefficient marketing and small market penetration due to blocked product views and the need for manual maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A smart, movable closure system with a display device and optical sensors that captures images of the internal storage volume, determines inventory status, and displays personalized or out-of-stock advertisements based on product descriptions and mappings, allowing for automated inventory tracking and dynamic advertising.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a movable door is used to close the cabinet, then the internal storage volume can be kept at a cooler temperature, but the product view is blocked and inventory cannot be displayed
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a digital copy of the physical inventory by capturing images with optical sensors and processing them into a composite image that displays product information, prices, and availability on the door surface, allowing customers to view inventory without opening the door
Solution Approach 2:
The door acts as an intermediary between the customer and the inventory by displaying processed image information on its surface, mediating the information transfer without requiring physical access to the stored products
2Measurement precision
If manual inventory checking is performed, then accurate stock information can be obtained, but it requires time-consuming human intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service inventory monitoring by automatically capturing images, processing them through image recognition algorithms, and displaying stock status without requiring manual human intervention for inventory checking
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inventory checking with an automated optical sensing and image processing system that uses cameras, processors, and algorithms to detect and track product inventory automatically
3Loss of information
If the door is made transparent or open, then product visibility is improved, but temperature control and energy efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the door transparent or open, the system creates a visual copy of the inventory on the door surface through processed images, providing product visibility while maintaining the door's physical barrier for temperature control
Solution Approach 2:
The door serves as an intermediary that displays inventory information optically without compromising its thermal barrier function, allowing information transfer while maintaining physical separation and temperature control
4Adaptability or versatility
If conventional advertising methods are used, then marketing messages can be displayed, but they lack personalization and real-time inventory integration
Solution Approach 1:
The system establishes a feedback loop where optical sensors continuously monitor inventory, the processor analyzes stock status in real-time, and the door display dynamically updates advertising and pricing information based on current inventory levels
Solution Approach 2:
The advertising system transitions from static conventional methods to dynamic real-time advertising, where promotional messages, prices, and product availability on the door surface change automatically based on current inventory status and customer interactions
Data Source
AI summary
A smart, movable closure system that allows access to the interior from the exterior of the cabinet, is disclosed. In some embodiments, the movable structure may be coupled with a cabinet interior that is adapted to be kept at a temperature cooler than the exterior cabinet ambient temperature, for example, to store perishable consumer goods in a retail setting. In particular, the smart, movable closure system may include electronic components that display graphical renderings corresponding to one or more products stored in the retail product container. In addition, the smart, movable closure system may include a controller that that determines an inventory status of products in the closure system, and based on the determined inventory status, controls the graphical renderings.