Industrial data capture system including a choke point portal and tracking software for radio frequency identification of cargo

• US 20030117268A1
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Published: 06/26/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Genei Industries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Genei Industries, Inc.
• Inventors: Parrent, Travis M., Genei, Martin, Hewitt, Matthew C., Hobson, Tim
• Granted Patent: US 6,825,766 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.92
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A radio frequency identification (RFID) capture system for identifying and recording information parameters associated with cargo items. A choke point portal defines a doorway through which passes a plurality of the cargo items in transit from a first location to a second location. The portal includes a radio frequency scanner and a plurality of antennas mounted at specified locations along said portal and in operative communication with said scanner for issuing a radio frequency signal scan across a three dimensional spaced preceding the portal doorway. A plurality of radio frequency sensitive labels are affixed to a selected cargo items. A processor based operating system is in interfacing communication with the portal scanner. In response to each of the labels signaling a selected portal antenna and processor, the processor system captures the information from scanner and, upon comparing the information with an inventory manifest held in a computer readable media, records the transport of the cargo item.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) capture system for identifying and recording information parameters associated with cargo items, said system comprising:

a choke point portal defining a doorway through which passes a plurality of the cargo items in transit from a first location to a second location, said portal including at least one radio frequency scanner and at least one antenna in operative communication with said scanner for issuing a radio frequency signal;

a plurality of radio frequency sensitive labels, each of said labels being affixed to a selected one of the cargo items; and

a processor based operating system in interfacing communication with said portal scanner and, in response to each of said labels signaling said portal antenna and processor, capturing and comparing information derived from said labels with an inventory manifest held in a computer readable media.

2. The RFID capture system as described in claim 1, said portal further comprising first and second spaced apart and upwardly extending sides, a top extending in crosswise and interconnecting fashion between said upwardly extending sides, a plurality of antennas being located along said sides and top and, in combination, scanning a three dimensional space preceding said portal doorway.

3. The RFID capture system as described in claim 2, further comprising a first sub-plurality of three antennas mounted in an array along said first upwardly extending side, a second sub-plurality of three antennas mounted in an array along said second upwardly extending side, and a third sub-plurality of three antennas mounted in an array along said interconnecting top.

4. The RFID capture system as described in claim 3, at least one of said sub-pluralities of antennas being arranged at offsetting angular increments relative to one another.

5. The RFID capture system as described in claim 3, said portal further comprising a power supply and a serial port connection for communicating with said processor based operating system.

6. The RFID capture system as described in claim 3, said portal further comprising a power source and a central processor unit (CPU), with output serial port, said CPU in networked to a server to communicate with the processor based operating system.

7. The RFID capture system as described in claim 1, said processor based operating system further comprising a software program incorporated into a location situated server.

8. The RFID capture system as described in claim 7, further comprising a remote terminal interfacing with said location situated server.

9. The RFID capture system as described in claim 8, said remote terminal further comprising a portable processor device including a touch screen, said device being mounted upon an intermediate cargo transport vehicle.

10. The RFID capture system as described in claim 7, said processor based operating system further comprising subroutines for designating a first inactive condition, a second succeeding and ready condition, a third succeeding and label scanning/reading condition and a fourth completed condition.

11. The RFID capture system as described in claim 10, further comprising a traffic lamp signal in proximate location to said portal and communicable by said processor operating system, said lamp signal including first, second, third and fourth individually colored light portions which corresponding, respectively, to each of said first, second third and fourth subroutine conditions.

12. The RFID capture system as described in claim 9, said remote terminal further comprising an operator key entry screen for inputting a quantity of cargo to be transported by said cargo transport vehicle.

13. The RFID capture system as described in claim 9, said remote terminal further comprising manual override capability in the event of an improper reading of said plurality of labels.

14. The RFID capture system as described in claim 9, said software program further comprising a unit load evaluation (ULE) subroutine for automatically identifying said labels and standard loads associated with said labels and which are stored within said inventory manifest.

15. The RFID capture system as described in claim 9, said software program further comprising an integrated shipping solution (ISS) subroutine for compiling, into a file, information corresponding to a given quantity of cargo.

16. The RFID capture system as described in claim 15, said file capable of being exported to third party programs and applications.

17. The RFID capture system as described in claim 13, said software program further comprising a remote portal scanning interface (RPSI) module, interfacing said remote located terminals with a portal scanning interface (PSI) module, and thereby allowing the fork operator to remotely control (or override) the portal.

18. The RFID capture system as described in claim 17, said software program further comprising a customer order interface (COI) allowing orders to be entered into said operating system and which can then be selected from said PSI or RPSI modules for filling.

19. A choke point portal incorporating a radio frequency identification (RFID) capture system for identifying and recording information parameters associated with cargo items, each of the cargo items including a radio frequency sensitive label capable of issuing a signal in response to sensing a radio frequency scan, said portal comprising:

a first upwardly extending side and a second spaced apart and upwardly extending side;

a top extending in crosswise and interconnecting fashion between upper end locations of said first and second sides and, in combination, defining a doorway through which may pass the cargo items;

an RFID scanner unit mounted to said portal at a first selected location, a power supply communicating with said scanner unit, a serial port connection communicating said scanner unit with a remotely located and processor based operating system; and

a plurality of antennas situated at respective locations along at least one of said upwardly extending sides and said top and for scanning a three dimensional space preceding said portal doorway, said antennas being in operative communication with said scanner and, upon instruction by said scanner, issuing the radio frequency scan, said antennas, following receipt of the response signal issued by a scanned label, communicating said signal to said scanner unit.

20. A software program embodying a computer code for use with a computer readable and writeable media for use with a radio frequency identification (RFID) capture system, said program comprising:

a first subroutine for interfacing an RFID scanner with an inventory manifest compiled in a computer readable media;

a second subroutine for incrementing readings of labels corresponding to a predetermined quantity of cargo; and

a third subroutine for authorizing transport of said cargo upon reading a correct number of labels.

21. The software program according to claim 20, further comprising a fourth subroutine for manually overriding an incorrect number of incremented labels.

22. The software program according to claim 20, further comprising a fourth subroutine for automatically identifying, from said labels, standard load information contained within said manifest.

23. The software program according to claim 20, further comprising a fourth subroutine for compiling, into a file, information corresponding to a given quantity of cargo.

24. The software program according to claim 23, further comprising a fifth subroutine for exporting said file to a third party program.

25. The software program according to claim 20, further comprising a fourth subroutine for operating a remote portal scanning interface (RPSI) for communicating a portal scanning interface (PSI) with a remote located terminal.

26. The software program according to claim 25, further comprising a fifth subroutine for establishing a customer order interface (COI) for entering orders selected from said PSI or RPSI for filling.