The present invention relates to a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, which is particularly, although not exclusively, useful and practical in the sector of managing and optionally sharing information about the position of commercial products of various kinds arranged on the shelving units of a retail shop.

In the present description, the term“article” indicates any product or any good available in any sales point, offered to potential shoppers and intended to meet individual, family or company needs.

Nowadays in the commercial sector the tendency is increasingly widespread to reproduce in“bricks and mortar” shops, i.e. in sales points, an interactive purchasing experience similar to what the buying user, i.e. the potential purchaser, has when using "virtual" or online shops.

In this context, an aspect of interest is managing the“facing” of the articles, where the“facing” is the way the commercial products are positioned in a shop and/or arranged in a shelving unit. In fact, it is known that the owners of various brands sign agreements and pay the large-scale retail trade to have their product in“hot” zones of the shop and arranged in a certain manner, for example at a given height on the shelving unit and/or near other products. For this reason, the central offices of the large-scale retail trade need to manage and enforce, in the various sales points, the indications regarding the facing agreed with the above mentioned brand owners.

Another aspect of interest consists in knowing where a commercial product is, i.e. its position, in order to be able to rapidly find it in the sales point if needed.

A further aspect of interest consists in rapidly obtaining information, more or less detailed, about the commercial products that are available in the sales point.

Nowadays, the use is known in bricks-and-mortar shops of electronic labels, of displays that show static images, audiovisual content and/or information about products, or even of freestanding totems that offer the buying user the possibility to search for information (including the location) about products of interest in a sales point.

Likewise, the use is known in bricks-and-mortar shops of geolocation systems for locating the position of commercial products, typically by way of electronic geolocation devices associated with the labels of the products proper, which offer the buying user the possibility to search for the location of products of interest in a sales point, for example among the shelving units.

However, such conventional solutions are not devoid of drawbacks, among which is the fact that they do not in any way allow commercial operators, i.e. the selling users, to manage the facing of the available products either at the level of the individual sales points or at the level of the central offices of the large-scale retail trade.

Another drawback of the conventional solutions consists in that they do not ensure a sufficiently fast exchange of information about products, and therefore they do not offer the buying user a degree of interactivity of the shopping experience which is similar to that offered in virtual shops.

A further drawback of the conventional solutions consists in that they require a setup process that is excessively laborious, typically by way of navigating complex menus, with consequent loss of precious time by the commercial operators, i.e. of the selling users.

A further disadvantage of the conventional solutions, in particular of the above mentioned geolocation systems, consists in that they have a degree of uncertainty of the position of a product that is such as to make them too inaccurate for this kind of application.

The aim of the present invention is to overcome the limitations of the known art described above, by devising a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point which make it possible to increase the convergence between the bricks-and-mortar shop and the virtual shop, increasing consequently the degree of interactivity of the shopping experience for the buying user in the bricks- and-mortar shop.

Within this aim, an object of the present invention is to devise a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point which make it possible to speed up the exchange of information about the products in the bricks-and-mortar shop.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point that make it possible to keep the shelving units in order, in particular the corresponding shelves, while at the same time giving the buying user information about products which is adapted to encourage the purchase thereof.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point which are as accurate as possible, thus enabling the buying user to know with precision the location of the products of interest in a sales point, for example among the shelving units.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point which are simple and rapid to use, i.e. user-friendly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point which are highly reliable, easily and practically implemented, and low cost when compared to the known art. This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, which comprises at least one longitudinally extended shelf which is adapted to support and display said articles, and a processing device, characterized in that it comprises a longitudinally extended sensitive bar which is coupled to said at least one shelf and arranged parallel to a longitudinal axis of said at least one shelf, said sensitive bar comprising a touch sensor and being configured to detect a touch by a user and to generate longitudinal coordinates that define a portion of said sensitive bar touched by said user, said sensitive bar comprising a transceiver which is configured to transmit, following said touch by said user, an identification code of said sensitive bar and said longitudinal coordinates to said processing device, over a telematic communications network; said processing device comprising a transceiver, a database and a data entry module, said data entry module being configured to generate pairing information between an article, identified by a corresponding barcode, and an area of said at least one shelf on which said article is arranged, identified by said identification code of said sensitive bar coupled to said at least one shelf and by said longitudinal coordinates corresponding to said portion of said sensitive bar, and said database being configured to store said pairing information.

The aim and objects are also achieved by a method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, which comprises the steps of:

- arranging an article on a longitudinally extended shelf;

- scanning a barcode of said article and sending said scanned barcode to a processing device, by way of a device for reading barcodes;

- detecting a touch by a user at an area of said shelf on which said article is arranged and generating longitudinal coordinates that define a portion touched by said user, by way of a longitudinally extended sensitive bar which is coupled to said shelf;

- transmitting an identification code of said sensitive bar and said longitudinal coordinates to said processing device, by way of a transceiver of said sensitive bar;

- generating pairing information between said article and said area of said shelf on which said article is arranged, by way of a data entry module comprised in said processing device; and

- storing said pairing information, by way of a database comprised in said processing device.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments of the system and of the method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the invention, which are illustrated by way of non-limiting example with the aid of the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic partial view of a second embodiment of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a detail view, specifically a shelf of a shelving unit, of the second embodiment of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, according to the present invention, shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates an embodiment of the processing device of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a flowchart that schematically illustrates an embodiment of the method for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, according to the present invention.

With reference to the figures, the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, comprises substantially at least one shelf 14 which is adapted to support and display the articles 80, typically commercial products, a sensitive bar 16 which is coupled to the at least one shelf 14, a remote or local processing device 30, and a device for reading barcodes (not shown) operated by a selling user 90.

The shelf 14 extends longitudinally, is substantially horizontal, and is arranged in the sales point. In a preferred embodiment of the system 10 according to the invention, the shelf 14 is comprised in a shelving unit 12 arranged in the sales point. In another embodiment of the system 10 according to the invention, the shelf 14 is comprised in a display area arranged in the sales point.

The sensitive bar 16 of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention is uniquely identified by an identification code. The sensitive bar 16 extends longitudinally and is arranged parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shelf 14, preferably along the front edge of the shelf 14. The sensitive bar 16 is made of polymeric material (plastic), preferably transparent, and can be rectangular in cross-section, for example 2 millimeters thick, or triangular.

The sensitive bar 16 comprises a touch sensor, for example infrared or capacitive, and is sensitive to the touch of a buying user or selling user 90 substantially along all of its longitudinal extension.

Each portion of the sensitive bar 16 corresponds to a respective area of the shelf 14 to which the sensitive bar 16 is coupled, and vice versa. The sensitive bar 16 is configured to define or delimit a portion of the sensitive bar 16 by way of a touch, and as a consequence to define an area of the shelf 14 to which the sensitive bar 16 is coupled. In practice, the sensitive bar 16 is configured to detect the touch of a user 90 and to generate longitudinal coordinates that define the portion touched by the user 90, i.e. the extent of this touch along the longitudinal extension of the sensitive bar 16.

By way of example, if the user 90 touches the sensitive bar 16 from a first point A and to a second point B, by swiping a finger along it, the sensitive bar 16 generates longitudinal coordinates that define the portion comprised between the first point A and the second point B.

The sensitive bar 16 comprises a transceiver 18 which is wireless, for example Bluetooth, or wired, arranged preferably at an end of the sensitive bar 16 proper. By way of the wireless or wired transceiver 18, the sensitive bar 16 is connected to and in communication with the remote or local processing device 30, over a wireless or wired telematic communications network 25.

The transceiver 18 of the sensitive bar 16 is configured to transmit, following a touch by the user 90, the identification code of such sensitive bar 16 and the longitudinal coordinates, which define the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, to the remote or local processing device 30, over the wireless or wired telematic communications network 25.

In an embodiment of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the invention, the sensitive bar 16 is associated with a plurality of electronic labels 20, which are configured to display summary information (for example price, discount etc.) about the article 80 which is arranged on the shelf 14 at the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, such portion of the sensitive bar 16 being as mentioned defined by respective longitudinal coordinates. The electronic labels 20 are coupled to the front edge of the shelf 14, preferably by way of an interlocking base.

Advantageously, the electronic labels 20 are e-paper labels. E- paper, also known as electronic paper, is a screen technology designed to imitate the appearance of ink on a normal sheet of paper, by reflecting ambient light just like a sheet of paper, instead of using a backlight behind the screen to illuminate the pixels, such as for example LCD technology.

In an embodiment of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention, the sensitive bar 16 is associated with a longitudinally extended display 21, which is substantially the same length as the sensitive bar 16 and is configured to display summary information (for example price, discount etc.) about the article 80 which is arranged on the shelf 14 at the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, such portion of the sensitive bar 16 being as mentioned defined by respective longitudinal coordinates. This longitudinally extended display 21 automatically determines the area of the shelf 14 on which the article 80 is arranged and, as a consequence, the portion of the display 21 proper where the information about the article 80 is to be displayed. The longitudinally extended display 21 is coupled to the front edge of the shelf 14, preferably by way of an interlocking base 23.

In a preferred embodiment of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention, the sensitive bar 16 is electrically powered by way of a battery, for example lithium.

In another embodiment of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention, the sensitive bar 16 is electrically powered by way of a mains distribution grid; in this case, the sensitive bar 16 can further comprise a strip of LEDs which is adapted to light up the articles 80 arranged on the shelf 14.

Advantageously, the system 10 can be configured to interface with the mobile processing device, for example a smartphone or a tablet computer, of the buying user 90 in the step of searching for an article 80 in the sales point and, once the buying user 90 has found and subsequently selected the article 80 of interest, the strip of LEDs of the sensitive bar 16 is configured to be switched on, i.e. to light up, at the selected article 80 which is arranged on the shelf 14, as a consequence highlighting the location of the article 80 proper.

The device for reading barcodes of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention, which as mentioned is operated by a selling user 90, is configured to scan the barcodes that uniquely identify the articles 80, in particular when stocking the shelves 14 and arranging the articles 80. The operation of the device for reading barcodes will be better described in the remainder of the present description.

With particular reference to Figure 4, the processing device 30 of the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point according to the invention comprises a control unit 32, a transceiver 34 which is wireless, for example Bluetooth, or wired, a database 36, a data entry module 38, and optionally a data sharing module 40.

The control unit 32 is the main functional element of the processing unit 30, and for this reason it is connected to and in communication with the other elements comprised in the processing unit 30.

The control unit 32 of the processor 30 is provided with suitable capacity for processing and for interfacing with the other elements of the processing unit 30, and it is configured to command, control and coordinate the operation of the elements of the processing unit 30 with which it is connected and in communication.

The transceiver 34 of the processing unit 30 is configured to receive, from the sensitive bar 16, following a touch by the user 90, the identification code of the sensitive bar 16 and the longitudinal coordinates corresponding to the portion touched by the user 90, over the wireless or wired telematic communications network 25.

The database 36 of the processing unit 30, such as for example a database stored on conveniently dimensioned memory media and located at the sales point or in the cloud, is configured to store the identification codes of all the sensitive bars 16 associated with the positions of the respective shelves 14 of the sales point, to which the aforementioned sensitive bars 16 are coupled. Therefore, the database 36 contains information about the position (for example in what shelving unit 12 and on what shelf 14 thereof) in the sales point where the sensitive bar 16 with a specific identification code is found.

Furthermore, the database 36 is configured to store information (summary and detailed) about all the articles 80 arranged on the shelves 14 of the sales point, in particular the barcodes that uniquely identify the above mentioned articles 80.

The database 36 is configured to store pairing information between an article 80, which is uniquely identified by the respective barcode, and the area of the shelf 14 on which the article is arranged, which is uniquely identified by the identification code of the sensitive bar 16 coupled to the shelf 14, of which as mentioned the position in the sales point is known, and by the longitudinal coordinates corresponding to the portion of the sensitive bar 16.

The data entry module 38 of the processing unit 30 is configured to load the data and the information into the database 36, in particular when stocking the shelves 14 and arranging the articles 80. In particular, the data entry module 38 is configured to generate pairing information between an article 80, which is uniquely identified by the respective barcode, and the area of the shelf 14 on which the article is arranged, which is uniquely identified by the identification code of the sensitive bar 16 coupled to the shelf 14, of which as mentioned the position in the sales point is known, and by the longitudinal coordinates corresponding to the portion of the sensitive bar 16.

Beforehand, an installation technician couples at least one longitudinally extended sensitive bar 16 to at least one shelf 14, for example of a shelving unit 12 or of a display area of the sales point, and loads into the database 36, by way of the data entry module 38, the identification codes of all the sensitive bars 16 associated with the positions of the respective shelves 14 of the sales point, to which the aforementioned sensitive bars 16 are coupled.

This operation, which is carried out once and at the time of installation of the sensitive bars 16, makes it possible to store information about the position (for example in what shelving unit 12 and on what shelf 14 thereof) in the sales point where the sensitive bar 16 with a specific identification code is found.

With particular reference to Figure 5, when the operator of the sales point, i.e. the selling user 90, in step 50 places an article 80 on the shelf 14 of a shelving unit 12 or of a display area, in step 52 he/she scans the barcode of that article 80 by way of the device for reading barcodes, which then sends the scanned barcode to the processing device 30, directly or indirectly, by way of the transceiver 18 of the sensitive bar 16.

In the moments immediately after scanning the barcode of the article, the operator of the sales point, i.e. the selling user 90, in step 54 touches the sensitive bar 16 by swiping a finger at the area of the shelf 14 on which the article is arranged.

At this point, in step 56 the sensitive bar 16 transmits, to the processing device 30, the identification code of that sensitive bar 16 and the longitudinal coordinates that define the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, i.e. the area of the shelf 14 on which the article is arranged.

By combining this input information, in step 58 the data entry module 38 generates the above mentioned pairing information between the article and the area of the shelf 14 on which the article is arranged.

The data sharing module 40 of the processing unit 30, which as mentioned is optional, is configured to interface with the mobile processing device, for example a smartphone or a tablet computer, of the buying user 90 in the step of searching for an article 80 in the sales point, in fact making it possible for the buying user 90 to search for and subsequently select the article of interest. In this case, the transceiver 34 of the processing unit 30 is further configured to transmit, to the mobile processing device of the buying user 90, the information about the selected article, including its exact location in the sales point, i.e. the area of the shelf 14 on which it is arranged, over the wireless or wired telematic communications network 25.

In an embodiment of the invention, the system 10 for detecting and storing the position of articles 80 in a sales point comprises a luminous screen 22, for example LCD or OLED, associated with the sensitive bar 16, for example coupled to the front edge of a shelf 14 of the shelving unit 12, or arranged in proximity to the shelving unit 12 or in the middle of a pair of shelving units 12.

The luminous screen 22 is configured to display, following a touch by the buying user 90, information (for example in the form of an audiovisual content) about the article arranged on the shelf 14 at the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, or comparative information about all the articles 80 arranged on the shelf 14 at the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90. Advantageously, the luminous screen 22 can be a touch screen and provided with a graphical user interface 90 (GUI) so that, once the buying user 90 has selected an article 80 arranged on the shelf 14 at the portion of the sensitive bar 16 touched by the user 90, information can also be displayed about the other articles 80 arranged on the same shelf 14 or even in the same shelving unit 12, in particular navigating between information about the various articles 80 by way of a touch by the user 90 on the luminous screen 22 to the right, left, up or down, depending on the relative position of the other articles 80 with respect to the position of the article initially selected by the buying user 90. In fact, by way of the data and the information available to the processing device 30, in particular stored in the database 36, the system 10 according to the invention knows the facing of the articles 80 on the shelves 14 of a shelving unit 12 or of a display area.

Advantageously, the luminous screen 22 can support the use of proximity sensors, or Li-Fi transmission technology, for example to transmit geolocation signals and/or to transmit specific content to“local” users who are positioned in a specific location.

In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the set aim and objects. In particular, it has been seen that the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point, thus conceived, makes it possible to overcome the qualitative limitations of the known art, since it makes it possible to increase the convergence between the bricks-and-mortar shop and the virtual shop, increasing consequently the degree of interactivity of the experience for the buying user in the bricks-and-mortar shop.

An advantage of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the present invention consists in that it makes it possible to speed up the exchange of information about the products in the bricks-and-mortar shop. Another advantage of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the present invention consists in that it makes it possible to keep the shelving units in order, in particular the corresponding shelves, while at the same time giving the buying user information about products which is adapted to encourage the purchase thereof

A further advantage of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the present invention consists in that it is as accurate as possible, thus enabling the buying user to know with precision the location of the products of interest in a sales point, for example among the shelving units.

Another advantage of the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the present invention consists in that it is simple and rapid to use, i.e. user-friendly.

Although the system for detecting and storing the position of articles in a sales point according to the invention has been devised in particular for managing and optionally sharing information about the position of commercial products of various kinds arranged on the shelving units of a retail shop, it can also be used, more generally, for managing and optionally sharing information about the position of any article offered to potential purchasers in any sales point.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

In conclusion, the scope of protection of the claims shall not be limited by the explanations or by the preferred embodiments illustrated in the description by way of examples, but rather the claims shall comprise all the patentable characteristics of novelty that reside in the present invention, including all the characteristics that would be considered as equivalent by the person skilled in the art.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly, such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.