Communication system for traceability monitoring

• US 20060265584A1
• Filed: 09/03/2004
• Published: 11/23/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fidalis
• Original Assignee: Fidalis
• Inventors: Nowak, Jeremie, Bourret, Dominique, Genon-Catalot, Denis
• Application Number:
  US10/570,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20060265584A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/150
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Communication system for monitoring traceability between at least one upstream operator (2) and at least one downstream operator (3), by way of a controller (4), using a multiplicity (CPUC₁, CPUC₂, CPUC_n) of identification codes (CPUC), each comprising an identifier (IDU₁, IDU₂, IDU_n) associated with a multiplicity (14₁, 14₂, 14_n) of objects (14) by way of a support (15), the downstream operator (3) having a reader (17, 27) and the controller having under its control a server (9) being devised so as to accomplish the following functions:

declaration of identification of any downstream operator (3),

association (ASSOC1) of this identification code (CPUC) read and of the downstream operator (3) that performed the read, and recording of this association (ASSOC1) in a database (19, 35), accessible to the upstream operator (2).

Claims

1-22. -22. (canceled)

23. Communication system for monitoring traceability, intended for communicating between at least one upstream operator and at least one downstream operator, by way of a controller, comprising:

a) a first subsystem, intended to be placed under the control of the controller, comprising;

means of generation of a multiplicity of identification codes, each comprising an identifier

a primary medium or support allowing the storage and/or the transmission of said multiplicity of identification codes to the upstream operator; and

a server associated with a means of communication,

b) at least one second subsystem, intended to be placed under the control of an upstream operator, and comprising;

means of production of a multiplicity of objects, each object comprising or being associated with a so-called secondary marking support; and

means of marking, in a manner readable by means of an appropriate reader, of an identification code on each secondary support of said multiplicity of objects, on the basis of the primary medium or support;

c) at least one third subsystem, intended to be made available to a downstream operator identified by a downstream operator identification code comprising;

a reader of the identification code of the said marked object,

the server comprising;

means of declaration of identification of any downstream operator with which the server communicates via the means of communication,

means of association of this identification code read and of the downstream operator having performed the read,

and a database for recording this association, accessible to the upstream operator by way of the means of communication, and containing a multiplicity of associations, each association matching an identification code read, with respectively the downstream operator declared as having performed the read,

characterized in that

the means of declaration of identification of the server comprise means of verification of the validity of the identification code, and of the correspondence of this code with the identification code of the downstream operator,

and in that

the first subsystem furthermore comprises means of configuration of the reader devised so as to carry out an encryption of the encrypted unique identification code of the reader and its recording in the identification part, comprising;

means of generating a pseudo random sequence on the basis of a series of parameters comprising at least one parameter or combination of parameters guaranteeing a uniqueness, and

means of encryption by a key to obtain the unique identification code of the reader using said series of parameters as well as the pseudo random sequence.

24. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the identification part of the reader is also intended for the recording of an identification code of the downstream operator under the control of which the reader is situated.

25. System according to claim 24, characterized in that the system comprises means suitable for the definition of the identification code of the downstream operator during the first read of a product identification code by means of the reader.

26. System according to claim 24, characterized in that the parameters used during the encryption of the encrypted unique identification code of the reader comprise:

the date of encryption,

a unique serial number,

a manufacturing code.

27. System according to claim 24, characterized in that an identifier of an intermediate operator carrying out the distribution of the readers to the downstream operators is used as parameter by the means of configuration of the reader that are intended to carry out the encryption of the unique identification code of the reader.

28. System according to claim 27, characterized in that the server is devised so as to carry out a recording of an association between a downstream operator and the intermediate operator having distributed the reader in a database.

29. System according to claim 28, characterized in that the recording of the association between a downstream operator and the intermediate operator having distributed the reader are encrypted by means of a key specific to each intermediate operator.

30. System according to claim 28, characterized in that the recording of the associations between a downstream operator and an upstream operator are encrypted by means of a key specific to each upstream operator.

31. System according to claim 23, characterized in that:

each identification code of said multiplicity of identification codes is unique,

each identifier included in an identification code is unique,

the means of marking under the control of the upstream operator, allowing the marking in a manner readable by means of an appropriate reader, on the secondary support of said multiplicity of objects, respectively of said multiplicity of the unique identification codes on the basis of the primary medium or support;

the server is also devised so as to accomplish the function of checking of uniqueness of the unique identification code, read by the downstream operator, by way of the reader, and

the association of the unique identification code read and of the downstream operator having performed the read is one-to-one.

32. System according to claim 31, characterized in that each unique identification code comprises, in addition to the unique identifier at least the identifier of the upstream operator, this identifier allowing matching between a unique identification code and an upstream operator.

33. System according to claim 32, characterized in that each unique identification code additionally comprises the identifier of the type of object marked.

34. System according to claim 31, characterized in that the server is hooked up with a second database, allowing the storage of the unique identification codes generated and the identifier of the upstream operator to which each unique code is transmitted, allowing matching between a unique identification code and an upstream operator.

35. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the means of generation of the multiplicity of identification codes comprise means in encryption of said codes, and in correspondence the server comprises means of decryption of each identification code read.

36. System according to claim 23, characterized in that each identification code is marked on the secondary support in a format with at least one dimension, in particular a barcode with one dimension.

37. System according to claim 23, characterized in that each identification code is marked on the secondary support in a format with two dimensions.

38. System according to claim 37, characterized in that the secondary support is a two-dimensional barcode or a pictogram.

39. System according claim 23, characterized in that the secondary support is of the type with identification by radio frequency also referred to as RFID.

40. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the secondary support is of the digital watermarking, magnetic marking or molecular marking type.

41. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the server is devised so as, on the one hand, to associate a period of validity with the generated multiplicity of identification codes, and on the other hand to check the validity of each identification code, read by the downstream operator.

42. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the upstream operator can, during the marking, append additional traceability information on the secondary support, then access this information during access to the base, this information being recorded by the server.

43. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the means of communication between the downstream and upstream operators and the server are of Internet type.

44. System according to claim 23, characterized in that the reader is associated with means making it possible to automatically establish a connection between the downstream operator and the controller.