System and method of identifying products enclosed in electrostatic discharge protective packaging

• US 20080001761A1
• Filed: 07/03/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/03/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Healthcare GMBH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Schwarz, Horst
• Granted Patent: US 8,106,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.8
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00

Abstract

A system and method of identifying objects packaged in electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection packaging is disclosed. The system includes an ESD protection package and a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The RFID tag is affixed to the object prior to being inserted into the ESD protection packaging. A RFID interrogation device having a transmitter, an antenna and a receiver is used to interrogate the RFID tag and output the identification data to a display or to a computer. The method includes affixing an RFID tag to an object prior to placement in the ESD protection packaging, providing a RFID interrogation device including an antenna in proximity to the packaged object, and reading the data stored by the RFID tag for identifying the object.

Claims

1. A system for identification of packaged products, comprising:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag affixed to, or associated with, an object to be identified;

a electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection package; and

a RFID interrogation device,

wherein the object is enclosed in the ESD protection package and the RFID interrogation device transmits at a low radio frequency.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the low radio frequency is between approximately 120 kHz and approximately 150 kHz.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the low radio frequency is one of approximately 125 kHz or approximately 134 kHz.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogation device comprises a transmitter, an antenna and a receiver.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID interrogation device has a data interface configured to communicate with at least one of a computer, a telecommunications network or a visual display.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is affixed to the object by one of gluing, clamping, clipping, or tying.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag has one of a read-only memory or a read/write-once memory or a read/write memory.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the antenna comprises two antennas disposed such that the packaged product may be inserted therebetween.

9. A method of identifying an object in an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection package, the method comprising:

providing an radio frequency identification (RFID) tag capable of storing at least identification data associated with an object;

attaching or associating the RFID tag to the object; and

inserting the object into the ESD protection package.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing an RFID interrogation device having a transmitter, an antenna and a receiver;

interrogating the packaged object; and

at least one of displaying the object information or transferring the object information a computer data base.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the transfer of object information to a computer data base is by transmission over a network.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising updating an object inventory file in the computer data base.