Technique for communicating with electronic labels in an electronic price display system

Claim 1

Apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of the character elements defining different ensembles of display characters, a memory for storing data composed of bits; means for receiving messages each having an address field and data; means for accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address; means for storing data of the accepted messages in said memory, each character element on said screen being associated with a different one of stored data bits; and means for actuating a subset of the characterele- ments associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value to display information on said screen.

Claim 19

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each electronic display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters; a memory for storing data composed of bits; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, data of the accepted messages being stored in the memory; and driving means responsive to bits of the stored data for actuating a subset of the character elements to display information on said screen, each character element being associated with a different one of the stored data bits, said driving means actuating the subset of the character elements which are associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value.

Claim 20

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each electronic display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters; a memory for storing data composed of bits; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, data of the accepted messages being stored in the memory; and driving means responsive to bits of the stored data for actuating a subset of the character elements to display information on said screen, each character element being associated with a different one of the stored data bits, said driving means actuating the subset of the character elements which are associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value.

Claim 21

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information; at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, and data of the accepted messages including pointer data; means responsive to the pointer data for selecting one of said first memory and said second memory; and driver means for actuating, on said screen, a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 22

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information; at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, and data of the accepted messages including pointer data; means responsive to the pointer data for selecting one of said first memory and said second memory; and driver means for actuating, on said screen, a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 23

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each including an address, data and an indicator; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means operative for reading the memory elements in a predetermined order; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address; means for updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and means responsive to the indicator for operating the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 24

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each including an address, data and an indicator; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means operative for reading the memory elements in a predetermined order; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address; means for updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and means responsive to the indicator for operating the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 25

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each including an address and a data field; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means for reading the memory elements; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; and means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 26

A system for displaying information comprising: control means including means for providing messages each including an address and a data field; a multiplicity of electronic displays communicatively coupled with the control means, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means for reading the memory elements; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; and means for accepting messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said respective address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 27

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of the character elements defining different ensembles of display characters, a memory for storing data composed of bits; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses match the respective address of the display; means for modifying data stored in the memory based on data of the accepted messages; and driving means responsive to bits of the modified data for actuating a subset of the character elements to display information on said screen, each character element being associated with a different one of the modified data bits, said driving means actuating the subset of the character elements which are associated with the modified data bits having a predetermined value.

Claim 28

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means including means for providing messages each containing an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of the character elements defining different ensembles of display characters, a memory for storing data composed of bits; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses match the respective address of the display; means for modifying data stored in the memory based on data of the accepted messages; and driving means responsive to bits of the modified data for actuating a subset of the character elements to display information on said screen, each character element being associated with a different one of the modified data bits, said driving means actuating the subset of the character elements which are associated with the modified data bits having a predetermined value.

Claim 29

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information; at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to the respective address, data of the accepted messages including pointer data; means responsive to the pointer data for selecting one of said first memory and said second memory; and driving means for actuating, on said screen, a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 30

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address and data; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information; at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to the respective address, data of the accepted messages including pointer data; means responsive to the pointer data for selecting one of said first memory and said second memory; and driving means for actuating, on said screen, a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 31

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address, data and an indicator; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means operative for reading the memory elements in a predetermined order; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to said respective address; means for updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and means responsive to the indicator for operating the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 32

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address, data and an indicator; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means operative for reading the memory elements in a predetermined order; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to said respective address; means for updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and means responsive to the indicator for operating the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 33

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address and a data field; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means for reading the memory elements; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; and means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to said respective address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 34

A system for displaying information in a store containing merchandise comprising: control means comprising means for providing messages each including an address and a data field; a multiplicity of electronic displays; rails disposed among merchandise in the store, each rail communicatively coupled with the control means, each rail disposed to provide mechanical coupling and communicative coupling with one or more of the electronic displays, each display having a respective address and comprising: a screen; at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data; means for reading the memory elements; means for displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; means for receiving messages provided by the control means; and means for accepting the received messages whose addresses are identical to said respective address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 47

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters, and a memory for storing data composed of bits, said method comprising the steps of: receiving messages each having an address field and data; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address; storing data of the accepted messages in said memory, each character element on said screen being associated with a different one of stored data bits; and actuating a subset of the character elements associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value to display information on said screen.

Claim 48

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters, and a memory for storing data composed of bits, said method comprising the steps of: receiving messages each having an address field and data; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address; storing data of the accepted messages in said memory, each character element on said screen being associated with a different one of stored data bits; and actuating a subset of the character elements associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value to display information on said screen.

Claim 49

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information, and at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters, said method comprising the steps of: receiving messages each having an address field and data; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address, data of the accepted messages including pointer data; selecting one of said first memory and said second memory in response to said pointer data; and actuating on said screen a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 50

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable characters for displaying information, and at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters, said method comprising the steps of: receiving messages each having an address field and data; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address, data of the accepted messages including pointer data; selecting one of said first memory and said second memory in response to said pointer data; and actuating on said screen a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 51

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: reading the memory elements in a predetermined order using a reading means; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; receiving messages each having an address field, data and an indicator; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address; updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and operating, in response to the indicator, the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 52

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: reading the memory elements in a predetermined order using a reading means; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; receiving messages each having an address field, data and an indicator; accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address; updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and operating, in response to the indicator, the reading means to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 53

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: reading the memory elements using a reading means; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; receiving messages each including an address field and a data field; and accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 54

A method for use in an apparatus for displaying information, said apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: reading the memory elements using a reading means; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading means; receiving messages each including an address field and a data field; and accepting the received messages whose address fields match said predetermined address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading means in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 55

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with said control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters, and a memory for storing data composed of bits, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each containing an address and data; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address; storing data of the accepted messages in said memory, each character element on said screen being associated with a different one of bits of stored data; and actuating a subset of the character elements associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value to display information on said screen.

Claim 56

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with said control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable character elements, subsets of which define different ensembles of display characters, and a memory for storing data composed of bits, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each containing an address and data; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address; storing data of the accepted messages in said memory, each character element on said screen being associated with a different one of bits of stored data; and actuating a subset of the character elements associated with the stored data bits having a predetermined value to display information on said screen.

Claim 57

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable characters fordisplaying information, and at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters, said method comprising the steps of: providing from the control means messages each containing an address and data; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address, and data of the accepted messages including pointer data; selecting one of said first memory and said second memory in response to said pointer data; and actuating on said screen a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 58

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen having individually actuable characters fordisplaying information, and at least a first memory and a second memory for storing first and second data, respectively, said first and second data representing individual characters, said method comprising the steps of: providing from the control means messages each containing an address and data; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address, and data of the accepted messages including pointer data; selecting one of said first memory and said second memory in response to said pointer data; and actuating on said screen a character represented by data stored in the selected memory.

Claim 59

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each including an address, data and an indicator; reading the memory elements in a predetermined order using a reading apparatus; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading apparatus; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address; updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and operating, in response to the indicator, the reading apparatus to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 60

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory array comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each including an address, data and an indicator; reading the memory elements in a predetermined order using a reading apparatus; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading apparatus; accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address; updating the memory elements with data of the accepted messages; and operating, in response to the indicator, the reading apparatus to stop reading the memory elements when one or more of said memory elements are updated.

Claim 61

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each including an address and a data field; reading the memory elements using a reading apparatus; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading apparatus; and accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading apparatus in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.

Claim 62

A method for use in a system for displaying information, said system comprising control means and at least one display apparatus communicatively coupled with the control means, said display apparatus having a predetermined address and comprising a screen, and at least one memory comprising a plurality of memory elements, each memory element storing display data, said method comprising the steps of: providing from said control means messages each including an address and a data field; reading the memory elements using a reading apparatus; displaying on said screen information based on the display data stored in the memory elements read by the reading apparatus; and accepting by said display apparatus messages provided by the control means, addresses of the accepted messages being identical to said predetermined address, the data field of an accepted message comprising a sequence of data words each including at least a first subword, the first subword of each data word in the sequence identifying a memory element, a subset of the memory elements identified by first subwords of the data words being read by the reading apparatus in an order identical to that of the corresponding first subwords in the sequence.