Identifying the Location of an Asset
First Claim
1. A tracking system to track the location of a plurality of assets of interest, said tracking system comprising:
- a set of asset badges, wherein each of said set of asset badges is attached to a corresponding one of a first set of assets and transmits a corresponding badge identifier;
a plurality of intelligent badges, wherein each of said plurality of intelligent badges is attached to a corresponding one of a second set of assets and transmits a corresponding badge identifier, wherein said first set of assets and said second set of assets are comprised in said plurality of assets;
each of said plurality of intelligent badges receiving a corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers, each of said plurality of intelligent badges sending said corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers associated with a badge identifier of the intelligent badge, wherein the badge identifiers in each set are sent together associated with the badge identifier of the intelligent badge even if the badge identifiers in the set are received at different time instances; and
a processing system receiving and processing said plurality of sets of badge identifiers and corresponding identifiers of said intelligent badges to determine a location of each of said plurality of assets of interest.
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Accused Products
Abstract
According to an aspect of the present invention, an intelligent badge having the ability of collecting the identifiers of each of the badges located within the zone of the intelligent badge may be employed to identify the location of each badge. The central processing system determines the relative location of an asset by processing the sets of identifiers received from multiple intelligent badges. The relative location of an asset is determined by identifying at least one common badge identifier of a badge attached to a corresponding one of assets. The relative location of each asset may be determined with reference to known location of some badges by employing reference badges.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A tracking system to track the location of a plurality of assets of interest, said tracking system comprising:
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a set of asset badges, wherein each of said set of asset badges is attached to a corresponding one of a first set of assets and transmits a corresponding badge identifier;
a plurality of intelligent badges, wherein each of said plurality of intelligent badges is attached to a corresponding one of a second set of assets and transmits a corresponding badge identifier, wherein said first set of assets and said second set of assets are comprised in said plurality of assets;
each of said plurality of intelligent badges receiving a corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers, each of said plurality of intelligent badges sending said corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers associated with a badge identifier of the intelligent badge, wherein the badge identifiers in each set are sent together associated with the badge identifier of the intelligent badge even if the badge identifiers in the set are received at different time instances; and
a processing system receiving and processing said plurality of sets of badge identifiers and corresponding identifiers of said intelligent badges to determine a location of each of said plurality of assets of interest. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 17)
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9. A computer readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for causing a processing system to determine a physical location of each of a plurality of assets, wherein each of a set of asset badges is attached to a corresponding one of a set of assets, wherein each of a plurality of intelligent badges is attached to a corresponding asset, wherein said corresponding asset and said set of assets are comprised in said plurality of assets, each of said plurality of intelligent badges being associated with a corresponding intelligent physical zone, each of said plurality of intelligent badges receiving a corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers, the set of badge identifiers received by an intelligent badge corresponding to asset badges located in the intelligent physical zone of the intelligent badge, each of said plurality of intelligent badges sending said corresponding one of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers associated with a badge identifier of the intelligent badge, wherein execution of said one or more sequences of instructions by one or more processors contained in said processing system causes said one or more processors to perform the actions of:
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receiving said plurality of sets of badge identifiers and corresponding identifiers of said plurality of intelligent badges, wherein the badge identifiers in each set are received together associated with the badge identifier of the intelligent badge; and
examining said plurality of sets of badge identifiers and corresponding identifiers of said plurality of intelligent badges to determine said relative physical location of each of said plurality of assets of interest as being in one or more of said intelligent physical zones. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method of tracking the location of a plurality of assets of interest, said method comprising:
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attaching each of a set of asset badges to a corresponding one of a first set of assets, wherein each of said set of asset badges transmits a corresponding badge identifier;
attaching each of a plurality of intelligent badges to a corresponding one of a second set of assets, wherein each of said plurality of intelligent badges also transmits a corresponding badge identifier, wherein said first set of assets and said second set of assets are comprised in said plurality of assets;
receiving each of a plurality of sets of badge identifiers in a corresponding one of said plurality of intelligent badges;
transmitting from each intelligent badge a corresponding one of said plurality of sets of badge identifiers along with a badge identifier of the intelligent badge, wherein the badge identifiers in each set are sent together associated with the badge identifier of the intelligent badge even if the badge identifiers in the set are received at different time instances; and
processing in a processing system said plurality of sets of badge identifiers and corresponding identifiers of said intelligent badges to determine a location of each of said plurality of assets of interest. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19)
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Specification