Portable encoded information reading terminal configured to locate groups of RFID tags

• US 10,387,692 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2016
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Zumsteg, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilson, Brian
• Application Number:
  US15/160,342
• Publication Number:
  US 20160267300A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 340 101- 106, 3406916, 3408704, 235375, 235385, 235440, 353 28, 353 46, 1 1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10099 the directional field being used for pinpointing the location of the record carrier, e.g. for finding or locating an RFID tag amongst a plurality of RFID tags, each RFID tag being associated with an object, e.g. for physically locating the RFID tagged object in a warehouse
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

A portable radio-frequency identifier (RFID) reading terminal can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, an RFID reading device, and a display. The portable EIR terminal can be configured, responsive to successfully reading a plurality of RFID tags attached to a plurality of items sustained by a physical structure, to group the plurality of read RFID tags into zero or more clusters, by correlating quantities of RFID tags read within several time periods to spatial positions of the coverage shapes of the RF signals transmitted by the RFID reading device during the several time periods. The EIR terminal can be further configured to determine the spatial positions of the RFID signal coverage shapes based on the spatial positions and orientations of the portable EIR terminal during the several time periods. The EIR terminal can be further configured to display a quantity of RFID tags within each cluster overlaid over an image.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

an RFID reader that reads RFID tags in an area comprising a plurality of locations and determines numbers of the RFID tags that are within each of the plurality of locations; and

a display that;

displays an image of the area; and

displays a scan trace overlaid over the image, wherein the scan trace is projected onto an imaginary plane that intersects with a physical structure of the area, wherein the scan trace is provided by a line comprising a plurality of time varying points representing locations in the area where the RFID reader has scanned for RFID tags.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a two-dimensional imager; and

an RF antenna;

wherein a spatial position of an RF signal coverage shape is based on a location and orientation of the RF antenna relative to a field of view of the two-dimensional imager.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising a motion sensing device, wherein a change of the location and orientation of the RF signal coverage shape is determined based on motion sensing data received from the motion sensing device.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensing device, wherein the motion sensing device comprises three or more accelerometers configured to measure acceleration values of the RFID reader along three mutually perpendicular axes.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a receiver that receives the image from an external computer.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a receiver to receive a description of the image, wherein the device is further configured to create the image based on the description.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a two-dimensional imager, wherein the device is further configured to acquire the image using the two-dimensional imager.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising a system configured to transmit to an external computer at least one of:

a list of read RFID tags, a count of read RFID tags, a count of clusters of RFID tag bearing items, a list of items in each respective location, and/or a list of the respective locations.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to identify each of the respective locations based on an RF coverage shape of an RF signal transmitted by the RFID reader and a location of the RFID reader relative to the respective locations.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the device is further configured to calculate the numbers of RFID tags in each of the identified, respective locations based on RFID tag identifiers received while the RF coverage shape of the RF signal transmitted by the RFID reader is positioned over each respective location.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the device is further configured to calculate a first number of RFID tags in a first identified location based on the RFID tag identifiers received while the RF coverage shape of the RF signal transmitted by the RFID reader is only positioned over the first identified location.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the image comprises an actual image taken of the area.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the image that is displayed corresponds to the plurality of locations.

14. The device of claim 1, further comprising

for each of the plurality of locations, overlaying an alphanumeric character over respective portions of the image corresponding to respective locations where the RFID tags are read, each alphanumeric character representing the numbers of the RFID tags read within each respective location;

and

wherein each of the time varying points are defined by the projection onto the imaginary plane at a given moment in time of a coverage shape of an RF signal transmitted by the RFID reader.

15. A device comprising:

an RFID reader that reads at least one RFID tag in an area and determines how many of the at least one RFID tag are read in a portion of the area;

an imager that takes an image of the area; and

a display that;

displays the image taken of the area by the imager,

displays a scan trace overlaid over the image, wherein the scan trace is projected onto an imaginary plane that intersects with a physical structure of the area, wherein the scan trace is provided by a line comprising a plurality of time varying points representing locations in the area where the RFID reader has scanned for RFID tags, and

overlays an alphanumeric character over a part of the image corresponding to the portion of the area, the alphanumeric character representing numbers of RFID tags read within the portion of the area.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein the image comprises an actual image of the area.

17. The device of claim 15, wherein the display is part of the RFID reader.

18. The device of claim 15,

wherein the area comprises a plurality of locations, and

wherein the display overlays an alphanumeric character for each of the plurality of locations that are displayed or represented in the image, the alphanumeric character representing the numbers of the RFID tags identified within each respective location.

19. A method comprising:

reading, via an RFID reader, at least one RFID tag in a first area, the first area having a physical geographical layout;

determining how many of the at least one RFID tag are read in a portion of the first area;

displaying, via a display, the first area in a same geographical layout as the physical geographical layout;

displaying, via the display, a scan trace overlaid over the image, wherein the scan trace is projected onto an imaginary plane that intersects with a physical structure of the first area, wherein the scan trace is provided by a line comprising a plurality of time varying points representing locations in the first area where the RFID reader has scanned for RFID tags; and

overlaying an alphanumeric character over a part of the image corresponding to the portion of the first area, the alphanumeric character representing numbers of RFID tags read within the portion of the first area.