Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – With particular system function
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-02
2002-05-14
Mullen, Thomas (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
With particular system function
C235S385000, C340S010310, C340S010330, C340S870030, C705S028000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06388569
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The technical field of this invention is electronic communication systems and, in particular, systems for locating and/or retrieving objects by electromagnetic interrogation of a spatial region to detect the presence (or absence) of an object.
Searching for possessions, tools and other objects is often a time-consuming task. Since the beginning of history, people have sought to solve this problem in many ways by devising implements to help keep track of useful objects. For example, one of the earliest metal implements devised by man was the bell, used by shepherds and other handlers of animals to locate their flocks or herds. As civilization has developed, so has the need for locating and identifying useful objects or possessions. Modern society faces an unparalleled proliferation of personal and business objects, many of which are either visually indistinguishable from each other or are difficult to examine readily. Examples of such objects include office files, business inventory, retail merchandise, luggage, freight and other commercial or personal items.
Office files are a particularly perplexing problem since it is common for more than one individual to work on a file, e.g., to add papers, make notations or otherwise review and/or revise the file's contents. Office productivity is lost whenever a file is misplaced or can not be located. Accuracy and efficiency are also lost whenever papers can not be placed into an appropriate file in a timely fashion.
Another area where tracking of objects is of critical importance is in shipping, where packages destined for diverse locations must be stored and then routed to particular carriers or vehicles. This problem is particularly acute in luggage handling where lost articles of luggage can be especially vexing to passengers. At present, visual tags are used to identify the destination of luggage. However, there is no simple way to verify if all the luggage intended for a particular destination has been loaded on the proper carrier, and it is difficult, even with visual tags, to find misplaced or misrouted items of luggage.
Similarly, the management of retail items, such as clothing, or stock parts for manufacturing purposes often requires inventory-taking. If an item can not be located, e.g., an article of clothing in a particular size or a manufacturing part of particular characteristics, then a sale is lost or a manufacturing order goes unfilled. Moreover, the business manager may order supplemental items, not knowing that a supply exists on the premises in some unidentified location.
Recently, a number of electronic finding aids have been developed. For example, many cordless telephones now come equipped with a radio receiver to assist in their location in event that the telephone headset is misplaced. A transmitter incorporated into the charger/line interface module emits a signal that causes the headset to ring when a button is activated on the interface module. Similarly, the problem of lost keys can sometimes be remedied by a key chain tag which generates an alarm in response to certain sonic signals, such as a sharp whistle or a loud slap.
Unfortunately, conventional electronic finding aids are not capable of tracking large inventories or large numbers of files. In many cases, the simplicity of the finding aid system (e.g., the nature of the transmission signal or the receiver) makes it impossible to distinguish one object from another. In other cases, the overlap of signals from various sources causes too much interference when a plurality of objects need to be located. There exists a need for better electronic location systems, particularly systems that can accommodate the tracking of large numbers of files, items of inventory or the like.
There also exists a need for systems and methods that would permit automatic inventory-taking of files or merchandise on a regular basis (e.g. daily or on another periodic basis), as well as permit immediate or real time location and retrieval of objects in diverse environments.
Moreover, simple systems for locating and/or retrieving objects which can be incorporated into a conventional office or commercial data processing or communications infrastructure would likewise enhance efficiency while also achieving a cost economy as a result of integration with existing hardware and/or software.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Methods and apparatus are disclosed for location of objects to facilitate retrieval, filing, inventory stock-keeping, security and the like. The methods and apparatus employ a tag element associated with each object to be located, and an interrogation system for searching one or more spatial regions, as well as mechanisms for identifying objects within the interrogated region.
In one simple embodiment suitable, for example, for inventory control and security purposes, the tag element can be a electromagnetic antenna and/or signal receiver which responds either passively or actively to announce the presence (or absence) of an object within a controlled region defined by a broadcasted electromagnetic interrogation signal, e.g., a low power radio or microwave frequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) transmission, or a time-varying magnetic field.
In one aspect of the invention, the tags can include a coding mechanism for uniquely defining particular objects, thereby facilitating location (and retrieval, if desired) of one or more desired objects from a plurality of objects present within an interrogated region (e.g., an office, file room, retail floor display or stockroom). This embodiment is particularly useful, for example, in locating specific files within an office or other workplace environment, in locating merchandise within a store, or in locating specific stock within a warehouse or stockyard.
One or more interrogation signal generators, or search beacons, can be used to search each interrogation region. The beacons can be simple electromagnetic field generators (e.g., radio transmitters or magnetic field coils) which merely cause a specific tag to respond, or they can be more complex. In one preferred embodiment, the beacons can be constructed as transceivers (or operated in conjunction with a set of distributed receivers) to both transmit an interrogation signal and receive a responsive signal, echo, or otherwise sense a field perturbation, indicating the presence of a specific tagged item within the interrogation region.
Moreover, the beacons can poll the various regions for all tagged items and then take a census of each region's contents. When serving in a census-taking role, the beacons can cooperate with a master controller to report the census results and, thereby, construct a master census of all tagged items within the controlled system. This aspect of the invention is particularly useful in office environments, for example, where files are often moved during the course of a day. An individual seeking access to a file need only consult the master controller for the last known location of the file. This aspect of the invention is also useful in keeping track of parcels, freight or baggage during transit. By conducting censuses on a periodic basis, e.g., at the beginning of a day and hourly during the course of business, the location of all tagged items can be readily tracked.
In a further aspect of the invention, systems and methods are disclosed whereby a user can interactively request the location of an object, and a controller can check stored census data to determine the last known location of the object. The system can then interrogate the region of the last known location to verify that the object is still there. If the object is found at the same location, the user is immediately notified. If the object is not found at its last census location, other regions can be polled either globally or on a region-by-region basis to locate the object. The user is then notified of the new location and the census is updated either entirely or partially based on the search protocol chosen.
The tag coding mechanism can take a varie
Cahill Ronald E.
Mullen Thomas
Nutter & McClennen & Fish LLP
LandOfFree
Electronic locating methods does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Electronic locating methods, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Electronic locating methods will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2878167