Method and system for tracking clustered items

• US 20030083964A1
• Filed: 12/13/2002
• Published: 05/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: Sirit Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Horwitz, Clifford A., Davidson, William E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,336,152 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0029 the arrangement being specially adapted for wireless interrogation of grouped or bundled articles tagged with wireless record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method and system for tracking each item in a cluster of items. Each item has an associated item ID. The method and system involve the following steps. Storing a plurality of item records. The plurality of item records includes, for each item in the cluster of items, an associated item record for storing the associated item ID for the item. Each item record in the plurality of records is then linked to the other item records in the plurality of item records. Using the associated item record for each item in the threshold number of items, and the link between each item record and the other item records, the item records for the associated item ID of each item in the cluster that are not in the threshold number of items are determined.

Claims

1. A method of tracking items in a cluster of items having a first subset of items and a second subset of items mutually exclusive from the first subset of items, the method comprising:

receiving a signal associated with an item in the first subset of items, the signal being indicative of an identifier associated with the item in the first subset of items;

obtaining an item record associated with the item in the first subset of items based on the identifier associated with the item in the first subset of items; and

obtaining an item record associated with an item in the second subset of items based on a linking between the item record associated with the item in the first subset of items and the item record associated with the item in the second subset of items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the identifier associated with the item in the first subset of items is an item ID, each item from the cluster of items being uniquely associated with its own item ID.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the identifier associated with the item in the first subset of items is a cluster ID, each item from the cluster of items being associated with the cluster ID.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a threshold defines a minimum number of items in the first subset of items, the threshold being predefined,

the method further comprising:

repeating, for at least the threshold number of times, the receiving and the obtaining the item record associated with an item in the first subset of items.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a signal associated with a tag, the signal being indicative of a location identifier associated with the tag; and

associating a location value with the item records associated with the item in the first subset of items and with the item records associated with the item in the second subset of items based on the location identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a signal associated with a first tag from a plurality of tags, the signal associated with the first tag being indicative of a location identifier associated with the first tag;

receiving a signal associated with a second tag from the plurality of tags, the signal associated with the second tag being indicative of a location identifier associated with the second tag; and

tracking a location of the cluster of items based on the location identifier of the first tag and the location identifier of the second tag.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving a signal associated with an item in a first subset of items, the receiving the signal associated with the first tag, the receiving the signal associated with the second tag are performed from a substantially shared location.

8. A method of maintaining information about items in a plurality of item clusters including a first item cluster and a second item cluster, the method comprising:

storing a first plurality of item records, each item record from the first plurality of item records including an identifier uniquely associated with a corresponding item from the first item cluster;

storing a second plurality of item records, each item record from the second plurality of item records including an identifier uniquely associated with a corresponding item from the second item cluster;

linking the identifier associated with a first item from the first item cluster with the identifier associated with each remaining item from the first item cluster; and

linking the identifier associated with a first item from the second item cluster with the identifier associated with each remaining item from the second item cluster.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the identifier associated with the first item from the first item cluster is an item ID, each remaining item from the first item cluster being uniquely associated with its own item ID.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein:

the identifier associated with the first item from the first item cluster is a cluster ID, each remaining item from the first item cluster being associated with the cluster ID.

11. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory having stored thereon a plurality of item records, each item record including an identifier and being associated with a item from a plurality of item clusters including a first item cluster and a second item cluster, the identifier for each item from the first item cluster being linked with the identifier for each remaining item from the first item cluster; and

a processor coupled to the memory, the processor configured to obtain the item record associated with a first item from the first item cluster based on the linking with the item record associated with a second item from the first item cluster.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the identifier associated with the first item from the first item cluster is an item identifier, the identifier associated with the second item from the first item cluster is an item identifier, each item from the first item cluster being uniquely associated with its own item identifier.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein:

the identifier associated with the first item from the first item cluster is a cluster identifier, the identifier associated with the second item from the first item cluster is the cluster identifier, each item from the first item cluster being associated with the cluster identifier.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising:

a receiver coupled to the processor, the receiver being configured to receive a signal associated the first item from the first item cluster, the signal having an identifier associated with the first item from the first item cluster.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein:

the receiver is further configured to receive a signal associated with a first tag from a plurality of tags, the signal associated with the first tag having a location identifier associated with the first tag;

the receiver is further configured to receive a signal associated with a second tag from a plurality of tags, the signal associated with the second tag having a location identifier associated with the second tag; and

the processor configured to track a location of the first item cluster based on the location identifier of the first tag and the location identifier of the second tag.

16. Computer-executable software code, comprising:

code to store an item record associated with a first item from a cluster of items and a item record associated with a second item from the cluster of items, the item record associated with the first item including a identifier associated with the first item, the item record associated with the second item including a identifier associated with the second item; and

code to link the identifier associated with the first item with the identifier associated with the second item.

17. The computer-executable software code of claim 16, further comprising:

code to obtain the item record associated with the first item based on a received signal having the identifier associated with the first item; and

code to obtain the item record associated with the second item based on the link between the item record associated with the first item and the item record associated with the second item.

18. The computer-executable software code of claim 17, wherein:

the cluster of items having a first subset of items and a second subset of items mutually exclusive from the first subset of items, the first item is from the first subset of items, the second item is from the second subset of items,

the code to obtain the item record associated with the first item being independent from an identifier associated with an item from the second subset of items.

19. The computer-executable software code of claim 16, further comprising:

code to receive a signal indicative of a location identifier associated with a tag; and

code to identify a location of the cluster of items based on the location identifier of the tag.

20. The computer-executable software code of claim 19, further comprising:

code to receive a signal associated with a first tag from a plurality of tags, the signal associated with the first tag being indicative of a location identifier associated with the first tag;

code to receive a signal associated with a second tag from the plurality of tags, the signal associated with the second tag being indicative of a location identifier associated with the second tag; and

code to track a location of the cluster of items based on the location identifier of the first tag and the location identifier of the second tag.