ADAPTIVE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

• US 20090012882A1
• Filed: 02/26/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Curators of the University of Missouri (University of Missouri)
• Original Assignee: Curators of the University of Missouri (University of Missouri)
• Inventors: Cha, Kainan, Ramachandran, Anil, Sarangapani, Jagannathan, Saygin, Can
• Granted Patent: US 7,752,089 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

An adaptive inventory management system and method eliminates or minimizes frequency interference issues within a facility that employs a plurality of RFID readers for purposes of tracking and managing inventory. A middleware server activates and deactivates adjacent RFID readers within the facility based on the location of an item having an RFID tag. The middleware server also queries an inventory database based on the information collected from the RFID tag of the item and generates a command signal based on information retrieved from the database to control the travel route of the vehicle transporting items of inventory within the facility.

Claims

1. An adaptive inventory management system, comprising:

a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for determining a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory;

a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for determining the position of the vehicle relative to the second point;

a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for retrieving inventory data from the at least one tag; and

a server in operative association with the first and second sensors and in operative association with the plurality of readers for activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the first and second points.

2. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the server is in operative communication with the vehicle such that the server transmits a command signal to the vehicle with the command signal including route instructions that define a particular travel route of the vehicle.

3. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the server is in operative communication with a database for transmitting the inventory data received from the at least one tag, and wherein the database compares the inventory data received from the at least one tag with inventory data contained in the database.

4. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 1, wherein activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle prevents frequency interference between at least two of the plurality of readers.

5. A method of adaptive inventory management comprising:

generating a first position signal at a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle, wherein the first position signal indicates a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, and wherein the vehicle transports one or more items of inventory;

generating a second position signal at a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle, wherein the second position signal indicates a position of the vehicle relative to the second point;

determining a position of the vehicle along the route of travel as a function of the first and second position signals; and

controlling the operation of each of a plurality of readers positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel as a function of the determined position of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for identifying inventory data from the at least one tag.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein controlling the operation of each of a plurality of readers includes activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the first and second points.

8. The method of claim 5 further including transmitting a command signal that controls the route of travel of the vehicle based on the first and second position signals.

9. The method of claim 5 further including transmitting the first and second position signals to a server for determining the position of the vehicle along the route of travel.

10. An inventory management system comprising:

a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for generating a first position signal, the first position signal indicating a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, and the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory;

a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for generating a second position signal, the second position signal indicating a position of the vehicle relative to the second point;

a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag communicates with at least one of the plurality of readers to identify inventory information from the at least one tag; and

a processor comprising;

a decision component to control the operation of the each of the plurality of readers, and

a sensor front-end component to provide a communication interface between the decision component and the first and second sensors;

wherein the decision component is responsive to the first position signal and the second position signal to determine a position of the vehicle; and

wherein the decision component controls the operation of each of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle.

11. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10 wherein the processor further comprises:

a RFID front-end component to provide another communication interface between the decision component and each of the plurality of readers;

wherein the decision component is responsive to inventory information identified from the at least one tag to generate a query request; and

a database front-end component responsive to the generated query request to query an inventory database to retrieve inventory data that corresponds to the inventory information identified from the at least one tag; and

wherein the decision component is responsive to the inventory information to generate a vehicle command to direct the vehicle to a particular location along the route.

12. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10 wherein a gate is positioned along the route of travel of the vehicle and in operative communication with the processor and wherein the first point corresponds to an entry side of the gate and the second point corresponds to an opposite side of the gate.

13. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10, wherein the processor is in operative communication with the vehicle such that the processor transmits a command signal to the vehicle with the command signal including route instructions that define a particular travel route of the vehicle

14. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10, wherein the processor is in operative communication with a database for transmitting the inventory data received from the at least one tag, and wherein the database compares the inventory information received from the at least one tag with inventory data contained in the database

15. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10, wherein activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle prevents frequency interference between at least two of the plurality of readers.

16. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10 wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for identifying inventory information from the at least one tag.

17. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10 wherein controlling the operation of each of a plurality of readers includes activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the first and second points.

18. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 10, wherein the decision component generates a command signal that controls the route of the vehicle and wherein the command signal controls the route of travel of the vehicle based on the first and second position signals.

19. The adaptive inventory management system of claim 18, wherein the decision component further transmits the first and second position signals to the processor for determining the position of the vehicle along the route of travel.