Object Tracking in an Enclosure

• US 20080165013A1
• Filed: 03/19/2008
• Published: 07/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Industrial & Automotive, LLC (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Winware Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: DeNise, Derry Thomas, Harper, Lawrence Edward
• Granted Patent: US 7,859,417 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: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder

Abstract

Various embodiments of object tracking systems and related methods and devices are disclosed. One enclosure for object tracking comprises an interior space that is designed to contain radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. The enclosure further includes top, bottom and side walls that form the interior space. The walls are designed to prevent very little or no radio frequency (RF) signals leakage outside of the enclosure. The side walls include a front wall that includes at least one slot to facilitate accessing the interior space. The enclosure further includes at least one access member that is designed to move in and out of the enclosure via the at least one slot. The access member includes extending members that are designed to cover the openings between the access member and slot, thus preventing very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure.

Claims

1. A system for object tracking in an enclosure, comprising:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that transmit radio frequency (RF) signals; and

an enclosure that is designed to contain the RFID tag, the enclosure comprising;

an interior space that is designed to contain the RFID tag;

top, side and bottom walls that form the interior space, the walls being designed to prevent very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure, the side walls including a front wall that includes at least one slot to facilitate accessing the interior space; and

at least one access member that is designed to move in and out of the enclosure via the at least one slot, the access member including at least one extending member that is designed to cover the openings between the access member and slot, thus preventing very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one access member includes a front wall that is designed to be attached with the at least one extending member along the peripheries of the front wall.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one slot includes grooves along a portion of the edge of the slot, the at least one extending member including the at least one first extending member that is configured to extend from the peripheries of the front wall towards the interior space of the enclosure, the at least one first extending member being designed to engage the grooves to cover the openings between the access member and the slot, the grooves having materials that prevents very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one extending member includes the at least one second extending member that is attached on the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member, the at least one second extending member being configured to extend towards the left and right side walls of the enclosure and designed to overlap the side wall of the enclosure and cover the openings between the access member and the slot.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one access member includes a bottom wall that is made of materials that enable RF signals to pass through the bottom wall, the materials including at least one of the following:

compound wood, cardboard, plastic and plexiglass, the bottom wall of the access member being design to support the weight of the RFID tag placed on the bottom wall.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one extending member includes at least one third extending member that is attached to the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member and designed to extend towards the interior space of the enclosure, the grooves being attached along a portion of the left and right edge of the at least one slot, the at least one third extending member being configured to engage the grooves at the left and right edge of the at least one slot.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

reader logic; and

transceiver control logic coupled to one or more antennas, wherein the processor is further configured with the reader logic and the transceiver control logic to implement a scan of the interior space, wherein the scan of the interior space comprises transmitting excitation signals to the RFID tag and other RFID tags, receiving response signals from the RFID tag and the other tags, and reading RFID tag identifying information corresponding to the response signals.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the reader logic is configured to:

resume scanning of the interior space of the enclosure responsive to determining that the at least one access member is either closed or locked,

detect an object that was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure,

report the mistake to a user responsive to detecting that the object was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure, and

update the count of the objects associated with the enclosure.

9. An enclosure for object tracking, comprising:

an interior space that is designed to contain radio frequency identification (RFID) tag;

top, bottom and side walls that form the interior space, the walls being designed to prevent very little or no radio frequency (RF) signals leakage outside of the enclosure, the side walls include a front wall that includes at least one slot to facilitate accessing the interior space; and

at least one access member that is designed to move in and out of the enclosure via the at least one slot, the access member including at least one extending member that is designed to cover the openings between the access member and slot, thus preventing very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure.

10. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the at least one access member includes a front wall that is designed to be attached with at least one extending member along the peripheries of the front wall.

11. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the at least one slot includes grooves along a portion of the edge of the slot, the at least one extending member including at least one first extending member that is configured to extend from the peripheries of the front wall towards the interior space of the enclosure, the at least one first extending member being designed to engage the grooves to cover the openings between the access member and the slot, the grooves having materials that prevents very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure.

12. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the at least one extending member includes at least one second extending member that is attached on the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member, the at least one second extending member being configured to extend towards the left and right side walls of the enclosure and designed to overlap the side wall of the enclosure and cover the openings between the access member and the slot.

13. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the at least one access member includes a bottom wall that is made of materials that enable RF signals to pass through the bottom wall, the materials including at least one of the following:

compound wood, cardboard, plastic and plexiglass, the bottom wall of the access member being design to support the weight of the RFID tag placed on the bottom wall.

14. The enclosure of claim 9, wherein the at least one extending member includes at least one third extending member that is attached to the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member and designed to extend towards the interior space of the enclosure, the grooves being attached along a portion of the left and right edge of the at least one slot, the at least one third extending member being configured to engage the grooves at the left and right edge of the at least one slot.

15. The enclosure of claim 9, further comprising:

reader logic; and

transceiver control logic coupled to one or more antennas, wherein the processor is further configured with the reader logic and the transceiver control logic to implement a scan of the interior space, wherein the scan of the interior space comprises transmitting excitation signals to the RFID tag and other RFID tags, receiving response signals from the RFID tag and the other tags, and reading RFID tag identifying information corresponding to the response signals.

16. The enclosure of claim 15, wherein the reader logic is configured to:

resume scanning of the interior space of the enclosure responsive to determining that the at least one access member is either closed or locked,

detect an object that was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure,

report the mistake to a user responsive to detecting that the object was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure, and

update the count of the objects associated with the enclosure.

17. An enclosure for object tracking, comprising:

an interior space that is designed to contain radio frequency identification (RFID) tag;

top, bottom and side walls that form the interior space, the side walls including a front wall that includes at least one slot to facilitate accessing the interior space, the at least one slot including grooves along a portion of the edge of the slot, the walls and grooves being designed to prevent very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure; and

at least one access member that is designed to move in and out of the enclosure via the at least one slot, the access member including at least one extending member that is designed to cover the openings between the access member and slot, thus preventing very little or no RF signals leakage outside of the enclosure, the at least one extending member including at least one first extending member that is designed to engage the grooves to cover the openings between the access member and the slot.

18. The enclosure of claim 17, wherein the at least one first extending member is configured to extend from the peripheries of the front wall towards the interior space of the enclosure.

19. The enclosure of claim 17, wherein the at least one extending member includes at least one second extending member that is attached on the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member, the at least one second extending member being configured to extend towards the left and right side walls of the enclosure and designed to overlap the side wall of the enclosure and cover the openings between the access member and the slot.

20. The enclosure of claim 17, wherein the at least one access member includes a bottom wall that is made of materials that enable RF signals to pass through the bottom wall, the materials including at least one of the following:

compound wood, cardboard, plastic and plexiglass, the bottom wall of the access member being design to support the weight of the RFID tag placed on the bottom wall.

21. The enclosure of claim 17, wherein the at least one extending member includes at least one third extending member that is attached to the left and right sides of the front wall of the access member and designed to extend towards the interior space of the enclosure, the grooves being attached along a portion of the left and right edge of the at least one slot, the at least one third extending member being configured to engage the grooves at the left and right edge of the at least one slot.

22. The enclosure of claim 17, further comprising:

reader logic; and

transceiver control logic coupled to one or more antennas, wherein the processor is further configured with the reader logic and the transceiver control logic to implement a scan of the interior space, wherein the scan of the interior space comprises transmitting excitation signals to the RFID tag and other RFID tags, receiving response signals from the RFID tag and the other tags, and reading RFID tag identifying information corresponding to the response signals.

23. The enclosure of claim 22, wherein the reader logic is configured to:

resume scanning of the interior space of the enclosure responsive to determining that the at least one access member is either closed or locked,

detect an object that was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure,

report the mistake to a user responsive to detecting that the object was previously detected to be removed from the enclosure, and

update the count of the objects associated with the enclosure.