System and method for determining and controlling status and location of an object

• US 10,134,007 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2017
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PINC Solutions Incorporated
• Original Assignee: PINC Solutions Incorporated
• Inventors: Gollu, Aleks
• Primary Examiner(s): Cumbess, Yolanda R
• Application Number:
  US15/707,308
• Publication Number:
  US 20180005178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 428 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 43/00 Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1413 1D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Techniques are described with regard to determining and controlling a location and status of assets directly and/or indirectly. The techniques may be used to track and control the respective locations and status of any number of objects. Applications include but are not limited to tracking dry and refrigerated trailers and their status in a supply-chain yard; tracking pallets and boxes and their status in a warehouse; tracking items in a retail environment; tracking finished goods and work in progress in and around a manufacturing plant; tracking vehicles in a parking lot; tracking cargo and equipment at an airport; tracking equipment in a lay down yard; etc. In all cases the laborious and error prone data gathering is replaced with automated data collection methods reducing cost, increasing accuracy, and increasing efficiency.

Claims

1. An asset inventorying method, comprising:

moving a mobile vehicle along a trajectory in a facility, the mobile vehicle having at least one sensor;

as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, using the sensor to collect information relating to one or more assets in the facility that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle, the collected information defining one or more shapes associated with each asset that is in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

transmitting the information collected by the sensor to a processor;

the processor creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

wherein the processor creates a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from the mobile vehicle, the processor using the time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes to determine a most-likely location of the corresponding asset in the current mapping.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information included in the current mapping of the facility includes 3D coordinate point information about the location of the one or more assets and the mobile vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a future action concerning one of the one or more assets based on the current mapping.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a future action concerning the mobile vehicle based on the current mapping.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the indicium comprises a passive identifier.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the indicium comprises an active identifier.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the trajectory changes as a real-time function of the information obtained by the mobile vehicle.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor is located remote from the mobile vehicle.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor is located on the mobile vehicle.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the processor uses the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the determined status comprises a condition of the corresponding asset.

18. An asset inventorying method, comprising:

moving a mobile vehicle along a trajectory in a facility, the mobile vehicle having at least one sensor;

as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, using the sensor to collect information relating to one or more assets in the facility that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle, the collected information defining one or more shapes associated with each asset that in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

transmitting the information collected by the sensor to a processor;

the processor creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

wherein the sensor has a range for sensing information and a sampling frequency at which the sensor periodically collects instances of information so that as the mobile vehicle moves proximal to a given asset of the one or more assets, the sensor collects multiple, periodic instances of information about the given asset while the given asset is within the range of the sensor, each instance defining at least one of the defined shapes, the processor correlating the multiple, periodic instances of information with the information relating to the trajectory to create the current mapping.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the processor creates a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

27. An asset inventorying system, comprising:

a mobile vehicle capable of moving along a trajectory in a facility;

at least one sensor coupled to the mobile vehicle, the sensor capable of collecting information relating to one or more assets that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, wherein the collected information defines one or more shapes associated with each asset in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

the mobile vehicle having a transmitter capable of transmitting information collected by the sensor from the mobile vehicle to a processor;

the processor being capable of creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

the processor being capable of creating a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from the mobile vehicle, the processor being capable of using the time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes to determine a most-likely location of the corresponding asset in the current mapping.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the location information included in the current mapping of the facility includes 3D coordinate point information about the location of the one or more assets and the mobile vehicle.

29. The system of claim 27, the processor being capable of determining a future action concerning one of the one or more assets based on the current mapping.

30. The system of claim 27, the processor being capable of determining a future action concerning the mobile vehicle based on the current mapping.

31. The system of claim 27, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

32. The system of claim 27, wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

35. The system of claim 32, wherein the indicium comprises a passive identifier.

36. The system of claim 32, wherein the indicium comprises an active identifier.

37. The system of claim 32, wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

38. The system of claim 27, wherein the trajectory changes as a real-time function of the information obtained by the mobile vehicle.

39. The system of claim 27, wherein the processor is located remote from the mobile vehicle.

40. The system of claim 27, wherein the processor is located on the mobile vehicle.

41. The system of claim 27, the processor being capable of creating a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor being capable of using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

43. The system of claim 41, wherein the determined status comprises a condition of the corresponding asset.

44. The system of claim 41, the processor being capable of performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

45. An asset inventorying method, comprising:

moving a mobile vehicle along a trajectory in a facility, the mobile vehicle having at least one sensor;

as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, using the sensor to collect information relating to one or more assets in the facility that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle, the collected information defining one or more shapes associated with each asset that in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

transmitting the information collected by the sensor to a processor;

the processor creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

wherein the processor creates a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

47. The method of claim 45, wherein the determined status comprises a condition of the corresponding asset.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

49. An asset inventorying method, comprising:

moving a mobile vehicle along a trajectory in a facility, the mobile vehicle having at least one sensor;

as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, using the sensor to collect information relating to one or more assets in the facility that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle, the collected information defining one or more shapes associated with each asset that in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

transmitting the information collected by the sensor to a processor;

the processor creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes;

wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium; and

wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

51. The method of claim 49, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

52. The method of claim 49, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

53. The method of claim 49, wherein the processor creates a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

55. The method of claim 53, further comprising performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

56. An asset inventorying system, comprising:

a mobile vehicle capable of moving along a trajectory in a facility;

at least one sensor coupled to the mobile vehicle, the sensor capable of collecting information relating to one or more assets that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, wherein the collected information defines one or more shapes associated with each asset in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

the mobile vehicle having a transmitter capable of transmitting information collected by the sensor from the mobile vehicle to a processor,

the processor being capable of creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

the sensor having a range for sensing information and a sampling frequency at which the sensor is capable of periodically collecting instances of information so that when the mobile vehicle is moved proximal to a given asset of the one or more assets, the sensor is capable of collecting multiple, periodic instances of information about the given asset while the given asset is within the range of the sensor, wherein each instance defines at least one of the defined shapes, the processor being capable of correlating the multiple, periodic instances of information with the information relating to the trajectory to create the current mapping.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

58. The system of claim 56, wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

60. The system of claim 58, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

61. The system of claim 58, wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

62. The system of claim 56, wherein the processor is capable of creating a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor being capable of using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein the processor is capable of performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

65. An asset inventorying system, comprising:

a mobile vehicle capable of moving along a trajectory in a facility;

at least one sensor coupled to the mobile vehicle, the sensor capable of collecting information relating to one or more assets that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, wherein the collected information defines one or more shapes associated with each asset in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

the mobile vehicle having a transmitter capable of transmitting information collected by the sensor from the mobile vehicle to a processor,

the processor being capable of creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes; and

the processor being capable of creating a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from the mobile vehicle, the processor being capable of using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

66. The system of claim 65, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

67. The system of claim 65 wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the indicium comprises a bar code or a QR code.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

70. The system of claim 67, wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

71. The system of claim 65, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

72. The system of claim 65, wherein the processor is capable of performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.

73. An asset inventorying system, comprising:

a mobile vehicle capable of moving along a trajectory in a facility;

at least one sensor coupled to the mobile vehicle, the sensor capable of collecting information relating to one or more assets that come into proximity with the mobile vehicle as the mobile vehicle moves along the trajectory, wherein the collected information defines one or more shapes associated with each asset in proximity to the mobile vehicle;

the mobile vehicle having a transmitter capable of transmitting information collected by the sensor from the mobile vehicle to a processor,

the processor being capable of creating a current mapping of the identity and location of the one or more assets in the facility using information relating to the trajectory and the collected information including the defined one or more shapes;

wherein each asset has an indicium associated therewith, and wherein the information collected by the sensor includes information relating to the indicium; and

wherein the indicium is coupled to an actuator operable through commands issued by the processor to perform an action on the asset.

74. The system of claim 73, wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

75. The system of claim 73, wherein the indicium comprises a radio frequency identifier.

76. The system of claim 73, wherein the processor is capable of creating a time-evolved, overlapping set of the defined shapes for each asset sensed by the sensor based on the collected information received from mobile vehicle, the processor being capable of using the time-evolved set of the defined shapes to determine a status of the corresponding asset.

77. The system of claim 76, wherein the determined status comprises dimensions of the corresponding asset.

78. The system of claim 76, wherein the processor is capable of performing a cycle count for one or more assets using the determined status.