System and Method for Enhanced Item Tracking

• US 20080274757A1
• Filed: 05/03/2007
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sybase 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Original Assignee: Sybase 365 Incorporated (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Lovell, Robert C.
• Application Number:
  US11/743,787
• Publication Number:
  US 20080274757A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/35 for the management of goods or merchandise

Abstract

A service that leverages established wireless messaging paradigms such as, possibly inter alia, Short Message Service and Multimedia Message Service to allow Mobile Subscribers to use their Wireless Devices to comprehensively dynamically track items such as, possibly inter alia, RFID-augmented items, within multiple devices such as, possibly inter alia, next-generation or intelligent appliances (e.g., refrigerators), intelligent storage facilities (in, e.g., a home, a store, a restaurant, a hospital). The service may optionally leverage the capabilities of a Messaging Inter-Carrier Vendor.

Claims

1. A method for item tracking, comprising:

receiving from a storage device a notification message indicating a change in the presence of an item that is stored in or in the vicinity of said storage device;

processing said notification message based, at least in part, on information previously supplied by a Mobile Subscriber who has an interest in a status of the item;

generating an alert message including an indication of the status of the item; and

dispatching said alert message to a Wireless Device of said Mobile Subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said storage device contains a reader/scanner facility.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said reader/scanner facility is responsive to at least one of RFID, a UPC, and a SKU.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said notification message contains at least one of an Electronic Product Code, Global Trade Item Number, and Stock Keeping Unit.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said information is defined by a Mobile Subscriber during a registration process.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said information includes at least one of Identifying Information, Device Information, Item Information, Alert Information, and Billing Information.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said information is preserved through a User Profile.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said registration process is Web-based.

9. The method of claim 5, wherein said registration process includes a billing component.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said alert message is a SMS message.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said alert message is a MMS message.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said alert message contains advertising and/or promotional material.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging a fee for said item tracking.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a reply from said Mobile Subscriber;

processing said reply resulting in a processed reply; and

conditionally communicating with a third party in view of the processed reply.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said third party is an online grocery service.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said storage device is a refrigerator.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said storage device is a book stack.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein said storage device is storage facility.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the item is RFID-augmented.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the item belongs to someone other than the Mobile Subscriber.

21. The method of claim 1, further comprising dispatching said alert message at a predetermined time based on a nature of the item.

22. An item tracking method, comprising:

receiving a notification message, initiated by a storage device, that indicates a depletion of a given item;

identifying, based on the storage device, a Mobile Subscriber who has previously, through a registration process, associated the storage device with a mobile telephone telephone number of the Mobile Subscriber;

generating an alert message that includes the telephone number as part of addressing information for the alert message; and

dispatching the alert message to the Mobile Subscriber, and thereby indicating to the mobile Subscriber that the item has been depleted.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the storage device is a refrigerator.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein in the storage device is storage facility.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein a timing of the step of dispatching the alert message is based on a nature of the item.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein a timing of the step of dispatching the alert message is based on the location of the Mobile Subscriber.

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving a response message from the Mobile Subscriber in response to the alert message, the response message indicating a desire to place the item on a list for replenishment.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the item is a grocery item.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the list is associated with an on-line shopping system.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein the storage device detects RFID information associated with the item.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein the item belongs to someone other than the Mobile Subscriber.