Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – With particular system function
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-11
2004-01-06
Crosland, Donnie L. (Department: 2636)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
With particular system function
C340S572100, C340S572200, C340S572500, C340S005920, C235S385000, C705S022000, C705S028000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06674361
ABSTRACT:
The invention relates to a method of determining the position of a wanted object which is positioned in a row of objects, said objects being each provided with a transponder.
The invention also relates to a system for determining the position of a wanted object which is positioned in a row of objects, said objects being each provided with a transponder.
Such a method and such a system are known from the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,527 A. A method and a system for determining the position of a wanted object are known from the patent document U.S. Pat. No. 5,936,527 A, according to which the position of a wanted object can only be determined as being within a given shelf or within a given drawer. This means that it is indeed possible to determine exactly the shelf carrying the wanted object from among a plurality of shelves or the drawer containing the wanted object from among a plurality of drawers for finding a wanted object, but that subsequently the wanted object is to be individually located on the determined shelf or in the determined drawer by means of a manually performed search, which represents an additional, undesirable effort. Because of this fact, an automatic removal of a wanted object from the determined shelf or drawer is not possible either.
The invention has for its object to eliminate the limitations described above and to provide an improved method and an improved system.
To achieve the object mentioned above, according to the invention, a method as mentioned in the opening paragraph is characterized in that a left scanning signal for triggering a response signal of a transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, is supplied with a left current strength having a starting value to a left transmission coil which is provided at a left-hand end of the row of objects, and in that subsequently the left scanning signal for triggering the response signal of the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, is supplied to the left transmission coil with left current strengths changed in steps, such that a change in accordance with a minimum current value difference is carried out upon changing of the left current strength, and in that it is ascertained for each step whether the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, has given off the response signal triggered by means of the left scanning signal supplied to the left transmission coil, and in that the value is determined of that changed left current strength of the left scanning signal with which after a change of the left current strength in accordance with the minimum current value difference the left scanning signal was supplied to the left transmission coil, and in that a right scanning signal for triggering the response signal from the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, is supplied in a first step to a right transmission coil, which is provided at a right-hand end of the row of objects, with a right current strength having a starting value, and in that subsequently the right scanning signal for triggering the response signal of the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, is supplied to the right transmission coil with right current strengths changed in steps, such that a change in accordance with a minimum current value difference is carried out upon changing of the right current strength, and in that it is ascertained for each step whether the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, has given off the response signal triggered by means of the right scanning signal supplied to the right transmission coil, and in that the value is determined of that changed right current strength of the right scanning signal with which after a change in the right current strength in accordance with the minimum current value difference the right scanning signal was supplied to the right transmission coil, and in that the position of the wanted object is determined from the knowledge of said value of the determined changed left current strength of the left scanning signal and from the knowledge of said value of the determined changed right current strength of the right scanning signal.
To achieve the object as mentioned above, according to the invention, a system as mentioned in the second paragraph is furthermore characterized in that a left transmission coil is provided which is arranged at a left-hand end of the row of objects, and in that left scanning signal generation means are provided by means of which a left scanning signal for triggering a response signal of a transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, can be supplied in a first step to the left transmission coil with a left current strength having a starting value, and by means of which subsequently the left scanning signal can be supplied to the left transmission coil with current strengths changed in steps, and by means of which a change in the left current strength in accordance with a minimum current value difference is achievable, and in that left detection means are provided by means of which it can be ascertained whether the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, has given off the response signal triggered by means of the left scanning signal supplied to the left transmission coil, and in that left current strength value detection means are provided by means of which the value can be determined of that changed left current strength of the left scanning signal with which after a change in the left current strength in accordance with the minimum current value difference the left scanning signal was supplied to the left transmission coil, and in that a right transmission coil is provided which is arranged at a right-hand end of the row of objects, and in that right scanning signal generation means are provided by means of which the right scanning signal for triggering the response signal of the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, can be supplied in a first step to the right transmission coil with a right current strength having a starting value, and by means of which subsequently the right scanning signal can be supplied to the right transmission coil with current strengths changed in steps, and by means of which a change in the right current strength in accordance with a minimum current value difference is achievable, and in that right detection means are provided by means of which it can be ascertained whether the transponder, with which the wanted object is fitted, has given off the response signal triggered by means of the right scanning signal supplied to the right transmission coil, and in that right current strength value detection means are provided by means of which the value can be determined of that changed right current strength of the right scanning signal with which after a change in the right current strength in accordance with the minimum current value difference the right scanning signal was supplied to the right transmission coil, and in that position determination means are provided by means of which the position of the wanted object can be determined from the knowledge of said value of the determined changed left current strength of the left scanning signal and from the knowledge of said value of the determined changed right current strength of the right scanning signal.
The provision of the measures according to the invention renders it possible by comparatively simple means and with a comparatively small expenditure to determine the position of a wanted object present in a row of objects in a very accurate and reliable manner. The major advantage is achieved thereby that the storage location of a wanted object can be exactly determined automatically, so that an additional search for a wanted object in a manual search operation becomes redundant. Furthermore, an automatic removal of a wanted and found object from the row of objects is advantageously rendered possible thereby, because an automatic delivery device may be automatically displaced towards the wanted and found object after the determination of the wanted object, whereu
Cernusca Michael
Morgenroth Dirk
Crosland Donnie L.
Waxler Aaron
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