Self-referential integrity checking system and method

• US 20070273516A1
• Filed: 05/24/2006
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Deolalikar, Vinay, Sayers, Craig Peter, Pradhan, Salll
• Granted Patent: US 7,690,559 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• 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

An integrity checking system includes a tag programming device that generates a plurality of identifiers. Each identifier is associated with either a storage item or an item to be stored by the storage item. The programming device stores each of the identifiers in a plurality of readable tags, each readable tag being adapted to be attached to a corresponding item. A tag reading device reads the identifiers stored in the readable tags and, using only information from the read tags, provides information indicating whether any item supposed to be stored on the storage item is missing from the storage item. Also, methods for storing and reading the identifiers are disclosed along with storing additional information about the items in the tags, such as physical information like weight and/or volume of the items, and then using this information to determine whether any items have been altered.

Claims

1. A method generating checking the integrity of items associated with a storage item, the method comprising:

defining an identifier for each item;

defining an identifier for the storage item;

storing the identifiers in a plurality of readable tags, with a plurality of identifiers being stored in each readable tag; and

attaching each readable tag to one of the items.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein storing the identifiers in readable tags includes storing a first identifier in each tag and wherein attaching each readable tag to one of the items comprises attaching the tag to the item associated with the first identifier.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein storing the identifiers includes, prior to storing at least some of the identifiers, encrypting the identifiers and then storing these encrypted identifiers in the tags.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a sequence of N identifiers is defined from the identifiers, and wherein each identifier is stored in a corresponding readable tag and in the readable tags corresponding to the next two identifiers in the sequence, and wherein the sequence wraps back on itself for the determining the identifiers stored in the readable tags associated with the N and N-1 identifiers in the sequence.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each identifier is stored in three readable tags.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the number of readable tags in which each identifier is stored varies for at least some identifiers, with some identifiers being stored in more tags than other ones of the identifiers.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising storing additional information related to each item in the readable tags.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the additional information comprises physical information about the associated item.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the physical information is either a weight or a volume of the associated item.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising defining identifiers for additional storage items and wherein identifiers for at least some items associated with a first one of the storage items are stored in readable tags for items associated with at least one of the other storage items.

11. A method of performing an integrity check to identify missing items contained on a storage item, a readable tag being attached to each item and the method comprising:

reading identifiers stored in each of the readable tags; and

using only information from the read tags, determining whether any item supposed to be stored on the storage item is missing from the storage item.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein multiple identifiers are stored in each readable tag.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein a single identifier is stored in each readable tag and multiple readable tags are associated with each item.

14. The integrity checking system of claim 11 wherein the tag reading device is further operable using only information from the read tags to provide information indicating whether any of the items have been altered.

15. An integrity checking system, comprising:

a tag programming device operable to generate a plurality of identifiers, each identifier being associated with either a storage item or an item to be stored by the storage item, and the programming device further operable to store each of the identifiers in a plurality of readable tags, each readable tag adapted to be attached to a corresponding item; and

a tag reading device operable to read the identifiers stored in the readable tags and operable using only information from the read tags to provide information indicating whether any item supposed to be stored on the storage item is missing from the storage item.

16. The integrity checking system of claim 15 wherein the tag reading device is further operable using only information from the read tags to provide information indicating whether any of the items have been altered.

17. The integrity checking system of claim 16,

wherein the programming device is further operable to store additional information related to at least some of the items in the readable tags;

and

wherein the tag reading device is further operable to utilize this additional information for indicating whether any of the items have been altered.

18. The integrity checking system of claim 17 wherein the additional information comprises physical information about the corresponding items.

19. The integrity checking system of claim 15 wherein the readable tags comprise RFID tags and wherein the storage item comprises a pallet.

20. The integrity checking system of claim 15 wherein each readable tag comprises first and second tags, the first tag storing the identifier for a corresponding item and being attached to the item, and the second tag storing identifiers for other items and being attached to the item.