System and Method for Tracking, Monitoring and Deriving the Location of Transient Objects by Monitoring the Location of Equipment Used to Move the Objects
First Claim
1. A method of tracking a location of an object comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of receivers covering a predefined area to be monitored;
providing wireless transmitters on equipment used within the predefined area to move objects;
monitoring movement of the equipment within the predefined area via the wireless transmitters and receivers;
providing, by a piece of equipment, a signal indicative of an action performed on an object by the piece of equipment; and
identifying a location of the object based on the monitored location of the piece of equipment at the time of performing the action.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
System and method combining a Dock Automation (“DA”) system with a Real Time Locating System (“RTLS”) to achieve automated accuracy relating to the location of shipment components. An RTLS system is used to track the position of assets which move shipment components over time. When any action is performed on a shipment component in the DA system, the time of the action and the RTLS device ID of the asset (piece of equipment or person) performing the action would be used in conjunction with the RTLS database, providing the location at which the event took place. Knowing the location of the asset performing an action on a component implies knowing the location of the component being acted upon. At any time, the component should be wherever the last asset interacted with it.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of tracking a location of an object comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of receivers covering a predefined area to be monitored; providing wireless transmitters on equipment used within the predefined area to move objects; monitoring movement of the equipment within the predefined area via the wireless transmitters and receivers; providing, by a piece of equipment, a signal indicative of an action performed on an object by the piece of equipment; and identifying a location of the object based on the monitored location of the piece of equipment at the time of performing the action. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for tracking a location of an object comprising:
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a plurality of receivers positioned about a predefined area to be monitored; wireless transmitters provided on each piece of equipment used within the predefined area to move objects, the wireless transmitters transmitting signals received by the plurality of receivers; and a main computer including a processor receiving the wireless transmitter signals from the plurality of receivers and monitoring movement of the equipment within the predefined area, wherein upon picking up an object to be moved, a user of a piece of equipment transmits an identification of the object and a pick up command to the main computer, the main computer identifying the location of the piece of equipment at the time of issuing the pick up command as a first location of the object, and wherein upon placing down the object moved, the user of the piece of equipment transmits a put down command to the main computer, the main computer identifying the location of the piece of equipment at the time of issuing the put down command as a second location of the object. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of tracking a location of an object comprising the steps of:
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providing a plurality of receivers covering a predefined area to be monitored; providing wireless transmitters on equipment used within the predefined area to move objects; monitoring movement of the equipment within the predefined area via the wireless transmitters and receivers; upon picking up an object to be moved, transmitting, by a piece of equipment, a signal indicative of picking up the object; storing, in a database, a location of the piece of equipment at the time of transmitting the pick up signal as a first location of the object; upon putting down the object moved, transmitting, by the piece of equipment, a signal indicative of putting down the object; and storing, in a database, a location of the piece of equipment at the time of transmitting the put down signal as a second location of the object. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification