초록 ▼

A point-of-purchase (“POP”) display employing RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology for inventory control is provided. The POP is preferably fabricated from paper, paperboard and/or corrugated paperboard material, and incorporates one or more shelves and/or cover layers. An

A point-of-purchase (“POP”) display employing RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology for inventory control is provided. The POP is preferably fabricated from paper, paperboard and/or corrugated paperboard material, and incorporates one or more shelves and/or cover layers. An RF antenna structure is applied to the surfaces of, or built into, the one or more shelves and/or cover layers. Suitable RF transmitter/receiver circuitry may also be built into the POP, or the POP may simply have suitable connections built in, to permit such transceiver apparatus to be plugged into the POP. The transceiver circuitry is connected in any suitable manner to an inventory control computer, such as the retail store's computer. Each article that is to be displayed in the POP is provided with an RFID tag. Removal of an article from the POP, results in a signal being transmitted to the inventory control computer, corresponding to the removal of the article from the POP, and corresponding adjustment of the inventory records in the inventory control computer.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A system for monitoring inventory in a point of purchase display, comprising: a portable display stand, having a display area including at least one shelf, operably configured to support an article being displayed for sale thereon, the portable display stand configured

The invention claimed is: 1. A system for monitoring inventory in a point of purchase display, comprising: a portable display stand, having a display area including at least one shelf, operably configured to support an article being displayed for sale thereon, the portable display stand configured to be collapsible; the display stand further having at least one of a bottom wall, a side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a front wall, wherein the at least one bottom wall, side wall, back wall, top wall and front wall being fabricated at least in part from corrugated paperboard comprising a plurality of layers of paper; at least one article being displayed for sale within the display area, said article operably configured to be positioned on the at least one shelf, the at least one article containing a radio frequency identification tag; a single radio frequency antenna embedded within the corrugated paperboard between juxtaposed layers of paper; a radio frequency identification tag reader, operably connected to the radio frequency antenna, for transmitting to and receiving radio frequency signals from the radio frequency identification tag, the radio frequency identification tag reader being operably configured to interrogate any radio frequency identification tags located within the display area, the radio frequency identification tag reader being operably connectable to a remotely situated monitoring apparatus, for providing a remote indication of the presence and absence of the at least one article containing the radio frequency identification tag, within the display area. 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the portable display stand is fabricated from at least one of: paper, paperboard, corrugated paperboard, bristol board, foam cored board, and plastic. 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the portable display stand is at least partially covered with emf absorbing/shielding material. 4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one radio frequency antenna is printed with metallic ink on one of the layers of paper. 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the portable display stand is provided with wheels to facilitate movement of the portable display stand. 6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the portable display stand comprising a bulk bin on a pallet structure, the bulk bin comprising at least a bottom wall, a back wall, a front wall, and a pair of side walls, at least one of the walls is removable for accessing the at least one article therein. 7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring apparatus is configured to maintain a running inventory of a plurality of articles positioned on the at least one shelf. 8. A system according to claim 7, wherein said monitoring apparatus is configured to communicate the running inventory to an inventory computer. 9. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the radio frequency identification tag reader is positioned adjacent the bottom wall of the portable display stand. 10. A system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the radio frequency identification tag reader is positioned adjacent a bottom surface of the at least one shelf of the portable display stand. 11. A system for monitoring inventory in a point of purchase display, comprising: a portable display stand, having at least one shelf, operably configured to support an article being displayed for sale positioned thereon, the portable display stand substantially fabricated from paperboard comprising a plurality of layers of paper, the display stand further comprising at least one of a bottom wall, a side wall, a back wall, a top wall, a front wall; at least one article being displayed for sale, said article operably configured to be positioned on the at least one shelf, the at least one article containing a radio frequency identification tag; at least one radio frequency antenna embedded within the paperboard between juxtaposed layers of paper of at least one of the bottom wall, the side wall, the back wall, the top wall, and the front wall; and a radio frequency identification tag reader, operably connected to the at least one radio frequency antenna, for transmitting to and receiving radio frequency signals from the radio frequency identification tag, the radio frequency identification tag reader being operably configured to interrogate any radio frequency identification tags located within the display stand, the radio frequency identification tag reader being operably connectable to a remotely situated monitoring apparatus, for providing a remote indication of the presence and absence of the at least one article containing a radio frequency identification tag, within the display. 12. A system according to claim 11, wherein the display stand is configured as a shipping container for carrying a plurality of articles to the point of purchase, said front wall being at least one of integrally formed with at least one of the bottom wall, the side wall, and the top wall, and detachably coupled to at least one of the bottom wall, the side wall, and the top wall wherein the front wall is configured to be at least partially moved to display the at least one article for sale. 13. A system for monitoring inventory in a point of purchase display, the inventory including at least one article being displayed for sale having a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached thereto, the system comprising: a portable display stand, having at least one shelf, operably configured to support the at least one article thereon, the portable display stand configured to be collapsible, the portable display stand further comprising at least one of a bottom wall, a side wall, a back wall, a top wall, and a front wall, wherein at least the back wall comprises a plurality of layers, each layer fabricated from at least one of a foam core, paperboard, and corrugated paperboard; and at least one radio frequency (RE) antenna embedded between juxtaposed layers of the back wall, wherein the at least one RF antenna is configured to: receive RF energy from an RFID reader; transmit RF energy to interrogate the RFID tag attached to the at least one article positioned on any of the at least one shelf; and receive an RE signal from the interrogated RFID tag, the received RF signal indicating a presence of the at least one article within the portable display stand. 14. A system according to claim 13, wherein the portable display stand is substantially fabricated from corrugated paperboard having a fluted paperboard layer positioned between an interior paperboard layer and an exterior paperboard layer, wherein the at least one RF antenna is embedded within flutes of the fluted paperboard layer. 15. A system according to claim 13, wherein the RF antenna is communicatively coupled to the RFID reader by at least one wire. 16. A system according to claim 15, wherein the at least one wire is printed on the portable display stand. 17. A system according to claim 13, wherein the portable display stand is shipped to a destination in a folded flat configuration and erected at the destination. 18. A system according to claim 13 further comprising an inventory computer communicatively coupled to said radio frequency identification tag reader, said radio frequency identification tag reader configured to continuously interrogate said RFID tags, said inventory computer configured to decrement a running inventory of articles when one of the at least one articles is removed from the at least one shelf and to increment the running inventory of articles when an articles is positioned on the at least one shelf. 19. A system for monitoring inventory in a point of purchase display, comprising: a portable display stand comprising corrugated paperboard configured to be collapsible, the display stand including a plurality of shelves configured to support an article being displayed for sale thereon, the display stand further comprising a back wall opposing an open display front, the corrugated paperboard having a fluted paperboard layer positioned between an interior paperboard layer and an exterior paperboard layer; a single radio frequency antenna embedded within flutes of the fluted paperboard layer; a radio frequency identification tag reader, operably connected to the radio frequency antenna, for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals between the reader and a radio frequency identification enabled article positioned on any of the plurality of shelves; and a monitoring apparatus communicatively coupled to the radio frequency identification tag reader, the monitoring apparatus positioned remotely from the tag reader and configured to maintain a running inventory of the radio frequency identification enabled articles positioned on any of the plurality of shelves of the portable display stand. 20. A system in accordance with claim 19 wherein the corrugated paperboard display stand is configured to facilitate interrogation of the radio frequency identification enabled article positioned on any of the shelves by the single radio frequency antenna.