REMOVABLE DATA STORAGE MEDIA TRACKING SYSTEM

• US 20070296581A1
• Filed: 06/23/2006
• Published: 12/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Leonhardt, Michael L., Lynch, William, Schnee, Jonathan P., Hodge, Leslie K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,659,820 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2457 Lending systems using EAS tags wherein the tags are reusable, e.g. they can be activated and deactivated more than once, e.g. for a library
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/248 EAS system combined with another detection technology, e.g. dual EAS and video or other presence detection system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2482 EAS methods, e.g. description of flow chart of the detection procedure

Abstract

A system for tracking locations of portable data storage media. The system includes media with a wireless tag storing metadata pertaining to its stored data. The tag is adapted to respond to an interrogatory signal by wirelessly transmitting a signal comprising the metadata, e.g., is a high frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) tag powered inductively to transmit contents of its memory. The system includes a stationary and mobile locators that includes tag readers transmitting the interrogatory signals to the media and receiving the metadata signals from the wireless tags. Mobile ones of the locators include a communication module receiving location data (e.g., Global Positioning System (GPS) data) and sending wireless signals made up of the received location data and the received metadata signals. The system includes a media tracker that receives signals from the mobile locator and determines and stores locations of the media typically along with a time stamp.

Claims

1. A system for tracking removable data storage media, comprising:

a plurality of storage media comprising media for storing data and each including a wireless tag storing metadata and adapted to respond to an interrogatory signal by wirelessly transmitting a signal comprising the metadata;

a locator comprising a tag reader transmitting the interrogatory signals to the wireless tag and receiving the metadata signals from the wireless tags and further comprising a communication module receiving location data and sending signals comprising the received location data and the received metadata signals; and

a media tracking system receiving the signals from the locator and determining locations of the plurality of storage media.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the media tracking system further operates to associate the determined locations for the storage media with the metadata and an identifier for each of the plurality of storage media.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location data comprises positioning data from a remote system associated with a physical location of the wireless tag and the media tracking system comprises a module for performing the determining of the locations using the positioning data.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless tags comprise radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, the interrogatory signal comprises an RF signal, and the tag reader comprises an RFID reader.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of stationary locators in or near a controlled space, wherein the stationary locators each comprise a tag reader for periodically transmitting the interrogatory signals to the wireless tag and receiving the metadata signals from the wireless tags and further comprise a communication module for communicating the received metadata signals and an identifier associated with each of the locators to the media tracking system.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least some of the stationary locators are provided at egress portals for the controlled space, one of the egress portals being an egress point between the controlled space and a data access system configured for accessing the stored data on the plurality of storage media and another one of the egress portals being an egress point between the controlled space and a free or uncontrolled space.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cartridge that houses the storage media, wherein the cartridge has an external form factor, and wherein the locator further comprises a housing in which the tag reader and communication module are positioned, the locator housing having the external form factor of the cartridge, whereby the locator is receivable in a magazine used to ship or store the storage media.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the signals transmitted by the locator comprises a time stamp indicative of a time of the receipt of the metadata signals from the plurality of storage media and wherein the media tracking system associates the time stamp with the determined locations.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the media tracking system operates to receive a business process rule pertaining to one of the plurality of storage media and to verify compliance of with the business process rule by processing of the time stamps and the determined locations.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of storage media further each comprise or the locator comprises a sensor sensing information regarding a physical characteristic of an environment about the storage media or of the storage media itself and wherein the locator transmits the sensor information to the media tracking system where it is compared to a business process rule.

11. A removable media tracking system, comprising:

a plurality of storage media each comprising an RFID tag storing metadata;

locators positioned at egress portals for a controlled space, each of the locators comprising a tag reader for reading the metadata from the RFID tags and a communication module for transmitting a signal in response to each of the readings of the metadata;

a mobile locator comprising a tag reader for reading the metadata from the RFID tags and a wireless communication module obtaining positioning data and transmitting a signal in response to each of the readings of the metadata including the received positioning data; and

a media tracking system receiving the signals from the locators and the mobile locator and determining physical locations for each of the plurality of storage media associated with the signals.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of locators positioned in the controlled space between the egress portals, each of the locators comprising a tag reader for reading the metadata from the RFID tags periodically when the RFID tags are within a preset distance of the tag reader and a communication module for transmitting a signal in response to each of the readings of the metadata to the media tracking system.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the media tracking system is operable to store the determined locations providing an association to the metadata and to respond to a query providing information matching a portion of the metadata for one of the storage media by providing the location and the metadata for the one of the storage media.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the mobile locator comprises a housing with an external form factor similar to an external form factor of the storage media, the tag reader and the wireless communication module for the mobile locator being positioned in the housing, and the system further comprising a shipping container with slots for receiving a number of the storage media and the mobile locator housing, whereby the mobile locator is operable to periodically read the metadata from the RFID tags of the number of the storage media in the shipping container.

15. The system of claim 11, the plurality of storage media further comprising a sensor operating to sense an environmental parameter for the associated storage media and to transmit the sensed environmental parameter to one of the locators, and wherein the media tracking system operates to process the sensed environmental parameter to verify compliance with a business process rule applicable to the associated storage media.

16. A method of managing removable storage media, comprising:

in memory, providing a plurality of business processes each comprising one or more rules associated with the storage media;

providing a media tracking system communicatively linked to the memory and with software applications for processing the business processes to manage the storage media;

receiving tracking data associated with a set of the storage media;

operating the media tracking system to determine compliance with the rules of the business processes based on the received tracking data; and

with the media tracking system, initiating a management process for at least one of the storage media in the set based on the business rules compliance determination.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the tracking data comprises location information for at least one of the storage media in the set and the business rules include a rule defining an acceptable location for at least one of the storage media, the business rules compliance determination including determining a physical location of the at least one of the storage media and comparing the determined physical location with the acceptable location.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the determined physical location fails to match the acceptable location and wherein the initiating of the management process comprises notifying a custody management system or a security system of non-compliance with the rule defining the acceptable location.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the tracking data comprises metadata associated with the storage media and environmental data from a sensor provided on a locator, the locator operating to read the metadata from wireless tags provided on the storage media, and wherein the business rules include a rule defining a range of acceptable values for an environmental parameter and the business rules compliance determination includes comparing the environmental data for the at least one of the storage media with the range of acceptable values.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the tracking data comprises location information with a time stamp and wherein the business rules compliance determination includes using the location information to determine a physical position at a particular time for the at least one of the storage media, and comparing the physical position to a location defined by one or more of the rules of the business processes, the one or more of the rules being selected based on identification of the at least one of the storage media, whereby differing ones of the rules may be applied to the storage media.