MOBILE RFID READER WITH INTEGRATED LOCATION AWARENESS FOR MATERIAL TRACKING AND MANAGEMENT

• US 20080278328A1
• Filed: 06/16/2008
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Chand, Sujeet, Hall, Kenwood H., Pietrzyk, Arthur P., Bapat, Vivek R., Morse, Richard A., Somogyi, Andreas, Tinnell, Kenneth A., Owen, Joseph P. JR.
• Granted Patent: US 7,932,827 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/48 by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A portable RFID reader (or reader/writer) that also employs a location determination subsystem that facilitates determination of the reader (or reader/writer) location. The location subsystem can employ a satellite-based GPS (Global Positioning System) location technology where such signals are unimpeded by structures. Additionally, the location subsystem can employ other terrestrial location technologies that operate inside structures such as warehouses and the factory automation environment.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system, comprising:

an RFID component that senses an RFID tag associated with an object; and

a location component integral to the RFID component that facilitates determination of a location of the RFID component.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component utilizes at least one of triangulation technology and signal strength technology to determine the location of the RFID component.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component utilizes GPS (global positioning system) technology to determine the location of the RFID component.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the location component generates location data that is transmitted from the reader with RFID data.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein location data associated with the location is used for object flow and tracking.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID component is one of a mobile reader and a mobile reader/writer.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the mobile reader is one of a handheld portable reader and a mechanically motivated reader.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein data representative of the location is transmitted to a PLC (programmable logic controller) and utilized in combination with PLC data to determine location of material.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein PLC data includes bar code data.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an artificial intelligence (AI) component that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

11. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for carrying out the system of claim 1.

12. A handheld portable RFID reader that employs the system of claim 1.

13. An RFID system, comprising:

a mobile RFID reader that reads an RFID tag associated with an object; and

a location component as part of the RFID reader that facilitates determination of location data of a location of the mobile RFID reader.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the location component utilizes at least one of triangulation technology and signal strength technology to determine the location data of the RFID reader.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the location component interfaces with a remote GPS technology to determine the GPS location data of the RFID reader, which GPS location data is transmitted from the RFID reader with RFID tag data.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the location component includes both a GPS location subsystem that receives and processes GPS location data and an inside location subsystem that interfaces to remote location system which operates inside a structure.

17. The system of claim 13, further comprising a filter component that filters received RFID tag data according to the location data.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the location data resides in at least one of a database and the RFID reader.

19. The system of claim 13, further comprising an AI component as part of the RFID reader that employs a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the RFID reader interfaces to a remote database system that employs an AI component facilitates probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed.