阅读说明：本技术 电子货架标签 (Electronic shelf label ) 是由 张轩满 李炫运 谢桦岳 李璟林 于 2021-09-02 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明系一种电子货架标签,包括电子纸显示器及控制电路板,电子纸显示器电性连接控制电路板,且电子纸显示器内设置有透明天线层,透明天线层的馈入点系电性连接到控制电路板,如此,透明天线层的位置将较接近于外界,有助于透明天线层的讯号接收能力,也避免占用控制电路板的布局空间。(The invention relates to an electronic shelf label, which comprises an electronic paper display and a control circuit board, wherein the electronic paper display is electrically connected with the control circuit board, a transparent antenna layer is arranged in the electronic paper display, and a feed-in point of the transparent antenna layer is electrically connected to the control circuit board, so that the position of the transparent antenna layer is closer to the outside, the signal receiving capability of the transparent antenna layer is facilitated, and the occupation of the layout space of the control circuit board is also avoided.)

1. An electronic shelf label, comprising:

a control circuit board; and

and the electronic paper display is electrically connected with the control circuit board, a transparent antenna layer is arranged in the electronic paper display, and a feed-in point of the transparent antenna layer is electrically connected to the control circuit board and further connected to the wireless network module.

2. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 1, wherein the electronic paper display is a laminated structure comprising a protective layer, an optical connection layer, an upper electrode layer, an electronic ink layer, a lower electrode layer and a substrate in sequence from top to bottom.

3. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 2, wherein the protective layer is a plastic protective film, the optical connection layer is a photo-curing adhesive or a photosensitive adhesive, the upper electrode layer is indium tin oxide, the lower electrode layer is a thin film transistor array, and the substrate is glass.

4. An electronic shelf label as defined in claim 2, wherein the transparent antenna layer is disposed between the protective layer and the optical connection layer.

5. An electronic shelf label as defined in claim 2, wherein the transparent antenna layer is provided between the optical connection layer and the upper electrode layer.

6. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 4 or 5, wherein the control circuit board is provided with a wireless network module and a flexible board connector, the wireless network module is electrically connected to the flexible board connector, the circuit of the substrate is connected to one end of a first flexible circuit board, and the other end of the first flexible circuit board is connected to the first flexible board connector.

7. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 6, wherein a conductive through hole is formed between the feeding point and the substrate, one end of the conductive through hole is connected to the feeding point, and the other end of the conductive through hole is connected to a circuit formed on the substrate.

8. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 6, wherein the control circuit board is provided with a second flexible board connector, the feeding point is connected to one end of a second flexible board, the other end of the second flexible board is connected to the second flexible board connector, and the second flexible board connector is connected to the wireless network module.

9. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 1, wherein the transparent antenna layer is a metal oxide, a nano-silver wire, a metal wire, a transparent conductive polymer material, or a carbon nanotube.

10. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 1, wherein the antenna pattern of the transparent antenna layer is an inverted-F antenna or a loop antenna.

11. The electronic shelf label as defined in claim 1, wherein the transparent antenna layer has a transmittance of greater than 80% in the visible light band.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to electronic shelf labels, and more particularly, to an electronic shelf label having a transparent antenna layer disposed on an electronic paper display.

Background

In recent years, traditional retail operators such as convenience stores and supermarkets face a lot of troublesome problems, labor cost is greatly increased, market competition is increasingly fierced, and each retail operator pays more attention to storefront images. This problem not only increases labor and paper costs, but also results in less frequent updates of paper labels by merchants. With the development of science and technology and the promotion of the green environmental protection concept, people hope to have a mode of updating label information in accordance with the environmental protection mode.

Based on the above problems, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL) have been produced, which are Electronic display devices replacing conventional paper price Labels, are connected to an Electronic Shelf label system through a wired network or a wireless network, and display label information such as the name, price, and place of production … of a commodity through a display on the Electronic Shelf label. The electronic shelf label system changes the label information of the goods of the electronic shelf label on the shelf, such as the name of the goods, the price or the production place, and the like through the wired network or the wireless network, solves the problem of the traditional paper label, greatly reduces the manual label changing cost, can more dynamically change the label information with higher frequency, provides complete label information, and can even be combined with the inventory system, thereby subverting the operation mode of the prior retail industry, providing electronic label information, improving the convenience and the operation flow, and maintaining the career advantages.

Referring to fig. 1-2, the electronic shelf label includes an electronic paper display 1 and a control circuit board 2, a flexible circuit board 10 is disposed on one side of the electronic paper display 1, and a wireless network module 20, an antenna module 22 and a flexible board connector 24 are disposed on one side of the control circuit board 2, wherein the flexible board connector 24 is connected to the flexible circuit board 10, and the wireless network module 20 is connected to the antenna module 22 and the flexible board connector 24. After being received by the antenna module, the wireless tag information sent by the electronic shelf system (not shown) in the office is processed by the wireless network module 20, and then is transmitted to the electronic paper display 1 by the flexible circuit board 10, so that the electronic paper display 1 can output tag information to be presented.

Referring to fig. 3, the electronic paper display 1 and the control circuit board are generally assembled in a stacked manner, the electronic paper display is a stacked structure and sequentially includes a protection layer 11, an optical connection layer 12, an upper electrode layer 13 (e.g., ITO), an electronic ink layer 14, a lower electrode layer 15 (e.g., TFT array), and a substrate 16 from top to bottom, and the flexible circuit board 10 is connected to the lower electrode layer 15, so that the electronic ink layer 14 presents corresponding label information by controlling the positive and negative states of each electrode of the lower electrode layer 15.

However, the electronic paper display 1 and the control circuit board 2 are usually covered in a casing (not shown), so that the reception of the antenna module 22 is blocked by the casing, and it can be seen from fig. 3 that the antenna module 22 is disposed on the control circuit board 2, and the electronic paper display 1 is disposed above the control circuit board 2, and the electronic paper display 1 also blocks the reception of the antenna module 22, in addition, the antenna module 22 must occupy a part of the space of the control circuit board 2, if the antenna module 22 can reduce or even not occupy the control circuit board 2, the whole volume of the electronic shelf label can be reduced, or additional functional modules can be added, so it is necessary to improve the problem.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the problems in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to remove the antenna module from the control circuit board and to replace the antenna module with the electronic paper display, so that the antenna module can be as close to the outside as possible, thereby improving the signal receiving capability, and saving the layout space on the control circuit board, or using the space to install other functional modules.

The invention relates to an electronic shelf label, which comprises an electronic paper display and a control circuit board, wherein the electronic paper display is electrically connected with the control circuit board, a transparent antenna layer is arranged in the electronic paper display, and a feed-in point of the transparent antenna layer is electrically connected to the control circuit board, so that the position of the transparent antenna layer is closer to the outside, the signal receiving capability of the transparent antenna layer is facilitated, and the occupation of the layout space of the control circuit board is also avoided.

The control circuit board is provided with a wireless network module and a first flexible board connector, and the wireless network module is electrically connected with the flexible board connector.

The electronic paper display is a laminated structure, and comprises a protective layer, an optical connection layer, an upper electrode layer (such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)), an electronic ink layer, a lower electrode layer and a substrate in sequence from top to bottom.

The protective layer can be a plastic protective film, the optical connection layer can be a photo-curing adhesive or a photosensitive adhesive, the upper electrode layer can be indium tin oxide, the lower electrode layer can be a thin film transistor array, and the substrate can be glass.

The transparent antenna layer is disposed between the passivation layer and the optical connection layer, or the transparent antenna layer is disposed between the optical connection layer and the upper electrode layer.

The substrate is connected with one end of the first flexible circuit board, and the other end of the first flexible circuit board is connected with the first flexible board connector.

The feed-in point of the transparent antenna layer is connected with the substrate through the conductive through hole and is connected to the other end of the first flexible circuit board through the circuit arranged on the substrate, so that the wireless signal can be transmitted to the wireless network module through the feed-in point, the conductive through hole, the substrate, the first flexible circuit board and the flexible board connector. Or the control circuit board is provided with a second flexible board connector, the second flexible board connector is connected with the wireless network module, and the feed-in point of the transparent antenna layer is directly connected to the second flexible board connector through the second flexible board connector, so that the wireless signal can be transmitted to the wireless network module through the feed-in point second flexible board and the second flexible board connector.

The transparent antenna layer may be metal oxide, nano silver wire, metal mesh (metal mesh), transparent conductive Polymer (PEDOT) or Carbon Nanotube (CNT).

Wherein, the Antenna pattern of the transparent Antenna layer is an inverted-F Antenna or a Loop Antenna (Loop Antenna).

Wherein, the penetration rate of the transparent antenna layer is more than 80% in a visible light wave band.

According to the above, the transparent antenna layer of the electronic shelf label is arranged in the electronic paper display, so that the transparent antenna layer is closer to the outside than the traditional antenna module, the control circuit board can leave a certain space, the control circuit board can be reduced, or other functional modules can be added, the penetration rate of the transparent antenna layer is good, and the content displayed by the electronic shelf label cannot be influenced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic external view of an electronic paper display of a conventional electronic shelf label.

Fig. 2 is an external view of a control circuit board of a conventional electronic shelf label.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of an electronic paper display of a conventional electronic shelf label.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an electronic paper display of the electronic shelf label according to the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an external view of the control circuit board of the electronic shelf label of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic stacked view of an electronic paper display of an electronic shelf label according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic stacked view of an electronic paper display of an electronic shelf label according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic stacked view of an electronic paper display of an electronic shelf label according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a schematic stacked view of an electronic paper display of an electronic shelf label according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numerals:

1. 3: electronic paper display

10: flexible circuit board

11. 30: protective layer

12. 31: optical connection layer

13. 32: upper electrode layer

14. 33: electronic ink layer

15. 34: lower electrode layer

16. 35: substrate

2. 4: control circuit board

20. 40: wireless network module

22: antenna module

24: soft board connector

36: conductive through hole

42: first flexible board connector

44: second flexible board connector

5: transparent antenna layer

50: feed-in point

6: first flexible circuit board

7: second flexible circuit board

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the present invention is an electronic shelf label, including an electronic paper display 3 and a control circuit board 4, wherein the electronic paper display 3 is electrically connected to the control circuit board 4, and a transparent antenna layer 5 is disposed in the electronic paper display 3, and a feed point 50 of the transparent antenna layer 5 is electrically connected to the control circuit board 4, so that the position of the transparent antenna layer 5 is closer to the outside, which is helpful for the signal receiving capability of the transparent antenna layer 5 and also avoids occupying the layout space of the control circuit board 4.

In the present invention, the control circuit board 4 is provided with a wireless network module 40 and a first flexible board connector 42, the wireless network module 40 is electrically connected to the first flexible board connector 42, the circuit of the substrate 35 is connected to one end of the first flexible board 6, and the other end of the first flexible board 6 is connected to the first flexible board connector 42.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 6, the electronic paper display 3 is a laminated structure, which comprises a passivation layer 30, an optical connection layer 31, an upper electrode layer 32 (e.g. ITO), an electronic ink layer 33, a lower electrode layer 34 and a substrate 35 from top to bottom, wherein the transparent antenna layer 5 is disposed between the optical connection layer 31 and the upper electrode layer 32, and a conductive through hole 36 is disposed between the transparent antenna layer 5 and the substrate 35, the conductive through hole 36 penetrates through the upper electrode layer 32, the electronic ink layer 33 and the lower electrode layer 34 to be connected to the substrate 35, one end of the conductive through hole 36 is connected to the feed point 50 of the transparent antenna layer 5, the other end of the conductive through hole 36 is connected to a circuit disposed on the substrate 35, the circuit of the substrate 35 is connected to one end of a first flexible printed circuit board 6, and the other end of the first flexible printed circuit board 6 is connected to the first flexible printed circuit board connector 42.

In a second embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 7, the electronic paper display 3 is also a stacked structure, which comprises a passivation layer 30, an optical connection layer 31, an upper electrode layer 32 (e.g. ITO), an electronic ink layer 33, a lower electrode layer 34 and a substrate 35 from top to bottom, wherein the transparent antenna layer 5 is disposed between the passivation layer 30 and the optical connection layer 31, and a conductive through hole 36 is arranged between the transparent antenna layer 5 and the substrate 35, the conductive through hole 36 penetrates through the optical connection layer 31, the upper electrode layer 32, the electronic ink layer 33 and the lower electrode layer 34 to be connected to the substrate 35, one end of the conductive through hole 36 is connected to the feed point 50 of the transparent antenna layer 5, the other end of the conductive through hole 36 is connected to a circuit arranged on the substrate 35, the circuit of the substrate 35 is connected to one end of a first flexible circuit board 6, and the other end of the first flexible circuit board 6 is connected to the first flexible circuit board connector 42.

In a third embodiment of the present invention, please refer to fig. 8, the electronic paper display 3 and the second embodiment are the same laminated structure, which sequentially comprises a protection layer 30, an optical connection layer 31, an upper electrode layer 32, an electronic ink layer 33, a lower electrode layer 34 and a substrate 35 from top to bottom, the transparent antenna layer 5 is disposed between the protection layer 30 and the optical connection layer 31, but no conductive through hole 36 is disposed between the transparent antenna layer 5 and the substrate 35, in this embodiment, the transparent antenna layer 5 is connected to one end of the second flexible circuit board 7, and the other end of the second flexible circuit board 7 is connected to a second flexible board connector 44 disposed on the control circuit board 4, so that the wireless signal is transmitted to the second flexible circuit board 7 through the wireless network module 40 and the second flexible board connector 44, then transmitted to a feeding point 50 of the transparent antenna layer 5, and finally emitted from the transparent antenna layer 5, or the wireless signal is received from the outside through the transparent antenna layer 5, and then transmitted to the second flexible printed circuit board 7 and the second flexible board connector 44 through the feed-in point 50, and then transmitted to the wireless network module 40 for processing.

In a fourth embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 9, the electronic paper display 3 has a laminated structure similar to that of the first embodiment, which includes a protection layer 30, an optical connection layer 31, an upper electrode layer 32, an electronic ink layer 33, a lower electrode layer 34 and a substrate 35 from top to bottom, and the transparent antenna layer 5 is disposed between the optical connection layer 31 and the upper electrode layer 32. However, no conductive through hole 36 is disposed between the transparent antenna layer 5 and the substrate 35, in this embodiment, the connection method is the same as that of the third embodiment, the transparent antenna layer 5 is connected to one end of the second flexible circuit board 7, and the other end of the second flexible circuit board 7 is connected to the second flexible board connector 44 disposed on the control circuit board 4, so that the wireless signal is transmitted to the second flexible circuit board 7 through the second flexible board connector 44 via the wireless network module 40, then transmitted to the feed-in point 50 of the transparent antenna layer 5, and finally transmitted out through the transparent antenna layer 5, or the wireless signal is received through the transparent antenna layer 5 from the outside, then transmitted to the second flexible circuit board 7 and the second flexible board connector 44 through the feed-in point 50, and then transmitted to the wireless network module 40 for processing.

In the above embodiments, the first flexible printed circuit 6 is provided with a driving chip, and the wireless network module 40 processes the received external wireless signal, transmits the processed signal to the driving chip through the first flexible printed circuit connector 42, and then controls the polarity of the electrode of the lower electrode layer 34 through the first flexible printed circuit 6 and the substrate 35, so that the electronic ink layer 33 displays the corresponding image.

Furthermore, the passivation layer 30 can be a plastic passivation layer, the optical connection layer 31 can be a photo-curing adhesive or a photosensitive adhesive, the upper electrode layer 32 can be indium tin oxide, the lower electrode layer 34 can be a thin film transistor array, and the substrate 35 can be glass. The transparent antenna layer 5 may be metal oxide, nano silver wire, metal mesh (metal mesh), transparent conductive Polymer (PEDOT) or Carbon Nanotube (CNT).

The Antenna pattern of the transparent Antenna layer 5 is an inverted F Antenna or a Loop Antenna (Loop Antenna), but the present invention is not limited to this in practice. The transmittance of the transparent antenna layer 5 is more than 80% in the visible light band. However, it should be noted that the driving chip may be disposed on the control circuit board 4 instead of the first flexible circuit board 6.

Furthermore, in the electronic ink layer 33, for the two-color electronic ink layer 33, a plurality of microcapsules are filled between two transparent substrates 35 (such as transparent glass or transparent plastic), the microcapsules contain electrophoretic particles, wherein negatively charged white particles and positively charged black particles are suspended in transparent liquid, and by using the principle of positive and negative attraction, when the upper electrode layer 32 and the lower electrode layer 34 are connected, the white particles and the black particles corresponding to each electrode will move upward to the top of the microcapsule or to the bottom of the microcapsule corresponding to the driven electrode type of the lower electrode layer 34, so that the user can see the white or black picture on the block. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the electronic ink layer 33 can be a three-color, four-color or color electronic ink layer 33, which will not be described herein again.

According to the invention, the transparent antenna layer is arranged in the electronic paper display, so that the transparent antenna layer is closer to the outside than the traditional antenna module and is easier to receive and transmit wireless signals, in addition, the whole thickness of the transparent antenna layer is not increased too much, and the control circuit board can be enabled to leave a certain space, so that the control circuit board can be reduced, or other functional modules can be added on the original size, and the penetration rate of the transparent antenna layer is good, so that the content displayed by the electronic shelf label can not be influenced, and the problem of the traditional electronic shelf label is solved.

The above detailed description is specific to possible embodiments of the present invention, but the above embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and all equivalent implementations or modifications that do not depart from the technical spirit of the present invention are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.