METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR GENERATING AN INVENTORY AT A LOCATION IN RESPONSE TO AN EVENT

• US 20080048031A1
• Filed: 08/24/2006
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Milliner, Nancy Jean, SANTOS, JOSE R.
• Application Number:
  US11/466,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20080048031A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance

Abstract

A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for handling security events. Data is gathered from a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags present at the location through a set of radio frequency identifier tag readers located at the location to form tag data in response to detecting the occurrence of a security event at a location. The tag sends data to a remote location for processing.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for handling security events, the computer implemented method comprising:

responsive to detecting the occurrence of a security event at a location, gathering data from a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags present at the location through a set of radio frequency identifier tag readers located at the location to form tag data; and

sending the tag data to a remote location for processing.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

detecting the security event from a sensor at the location.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the sensor is selected from one of a fire detector, smoke detector, motion detector, glass break detector, or door sensor.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the security event is generated by a security system located at the location.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of radio frequency identifier tags are attached to items at the location.

6. The computer implemented method of claim of 1, wherein each radio frequency tag identifier transmits tag data identifying items located at the location to the set of radio frequency identifier tag readers once the radio frequency tag reader initializes the tags.

7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 further comprising:

responsive to receiving the security event and the tag data, generating an inventory of items present at the location.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a controller;

a set of sensors located in a location, wherein the set of detection devices are connected to the controller and wherein the set of detection devices send an event detected by the set of detection devices to the controller; and

a set of radio frequency identifier tag readers connected to the controller, wherein controller collects data from a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags associated with items present at the location through the set of radio frequency identifiers tag readers in response to receiving the event from the set of sensors and wherein the controller sends the event and the data collected from the a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags to a remote location for processing.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 further comprising:

a data processing system located at the remote location, wherein the data processing system processes the data to generate an inventory of items present at the location at a time when the event was generated.

10. A computer program product comprising:

a computer usable medium having computer usable program code for handling security events, the computer implemented method comprising;

computer usable program code, responsive to detecting the occurrence of a security event at a location, for gathering data from a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags present at the location through a set of radio frequency identifier tag readers located at the location to form tag data; and

computer usable program code for sending the tag data to a remote location for processing.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising:

computer usable program code for detecting the security event from a sensor at the location.

12. The computer program product of claim 11, wherein the sensor is selected from one of a fire detector, smoke detector, motion detector, glass break detector, or door sensor.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the security event is generated by a security system located at the location.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein the plurality of radio frequency identifier tags are attached to items at the location.

15. The computer program product of claim of 10, wherein each radio frequency tag identifier transmits tag data identifying items located at the location to the set of radio frequency identifier tag readers once the radio frequency tag reader initializes the tags.

16. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising:

computer usable program code, responsive to receiving the security event and the tag data, generating an inventory of items present at the location.

17. A data processing system comprising:

a bus;

a communications unit connected to the bus;

a storage device connected to the bus, wherein the storage device includes a set of computer usable program code; and

a processor unit connected to the bus, wherein the processor unit executes the computer usable program code to gather data from a plurality of radio frequency identifier tags present at a location through a set of radio frequency identifier tag readers located at the location to form tag data in response to detecting the occurrence of a security event at the location; and

send the tag data to a remote location for processing.

18. The data processing system of claim 17 further executes the computer usable program code to detect the security event from a sensor at the location.

19. The data processing system of claim 18, wherein the sensor is selected from one of a fire detector, smoke detector, motion detector, glass break detector, or door sensor.

20. The data processing system of claim 17, wherein the security event is generated by a security system located at the location.