Patents by Inventor J. Robert Venable

J. Robert Venable has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5812985
    Abstract: An improved system for space management in retail stores is described. The space management system includes price display labels mounted on rails along the edges of shelves in a store. A communications link between the computer and the labels permits the computer to address each label by a logical address and to determine the physical location of each label to within a resolution of typically four feet. The system prepares price audit lists and adjacency audit lists that permit economical use of the time of store personnel during the audit. The lists are generated in such a way that the items on a particular list are physically contiguous; thus once the correct general area has been located by the auditor little additional time need be spent locating the individual items. In performing an audit of product facings, the user is able to use the display hardware, including the pushbutton on each label, as a data collection system for product facing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1993
    Date of Patent: September 22, 1998
    Assignee: Electronic Retailing Systems Inc.
    Inventors: Bruce F. Failing, Anthony P. Fernandez, George T. Briechle, Edward J. Fenwick, J. Robert Venable
  • Patent number: 5241467
    Abstract: An improved system for space management in retail stores is described. The space management system includes price display labels mounted on rails along the edges of shelves in a store. A communications link between the computer and the labels permits the computer to address each label by a logical address and to determine the physical location of each label to within a resolution of typically four feet. The system prepares price audit lists and adjacency audit lists that permit economical use of the time of store personnel during the audit. The lists are generated in such a way that the items on a particular list are physically contiguous; thus once the correct general area has been located by the auditor little additional time need be spent locating the individual items. In performing an audit of product facings, the user is able to use the display hardware, including the pushbutton on each label, as a data collection system for product facing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 31, 1993
    Assignee: ERS Associates Limited Partnership
    Inventors: Bruce F. Failing, Anthony P. Fernandez, George T. Briechle, Edward J. Fenwick, J. Robert Venable