Infrastructure-Mounted RFID Tags

• US 20140144986A1
• Filed: 01/29/2014
• Published: 05/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC (Avery Dennison Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Avery Dennison Corporation
• Inventors: FORSTER, Ian James
• Granted Patent: US 9,613,333 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/385
• 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: G06K 7/10168 the powering being adversely affected by environmental influences, e.g. unwanted energy loss in the interrogation signal due to metallic or capacitive objects in the proximity of the interrogation device or in the proximity of the interrogated record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Infrastructure-mounted RFID-readable tags or transponders are provided for various applications. Such infrastructure tags may be employed in combination with RFID-readable product tags and an RFID reader for an improved inventory-management system which requires both types of tags to be scanned to constitute a successful product count. Infrastructure tags may also be employed as “read” or “no-read” tags in an RFID read field. The infrastructure tags of the RFID read field are combined with an RFID reader which is dynamically adaptable during initial set-up and use to improve the performance of the read field. When a perturbing object is detected in the read field, one or more performance parameters of the reader are adjusted to overcome any perturbing influence caused by the object.

Claims

1. An RFID-based inventory management system of a type including an RFID reader, comprising:

an RFID-readable product tag associated with a piece of merchandise; and

an RFID-readable infrastructure tag associated with a fixed location capable of sending signals to and receiving return signals from RFID readable tags.

2. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises an RFID reader and a system controller associated with the RFID reader and programmed to determine the location of the product tag based on the return signals received by the RFID reader from the product tag and the infrastructure tag.

3. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 2, wherein the system controller is programmed to determine the location of the product tag based on the times at which the RFID reader receives the return signals from the product tag and the infrastructure tag.

4. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of infrastructure tags associated at different fixed locations and having unique identities.

5. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 4, wherein the system further comprises an RFID reader and a system controller associated with the RFID reader and programmed to determine the location of the product tag based on the return signals received by the RFID reader from the product tag and two or more of the infrastructure tags.

6. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 5, wherein the system controller is programmed to determine the location of the product tag based on the times at which the RFID reader receives the return signals from the product tag and said two or more infrastructure tags.

7. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 4, wherein the system further comprises an RFID reader and a system controller associated with the RFID reader and programmed to require two or more of the infrastructure tags to be detected by the RFID reader in a particular sequence.

8. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the product tag is associated with the piece of merchandise by a hang tag.

9. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the product tag is associated with the piece of merchandise by an adhesive material.

10. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 4, wherein the infrastructure tags have different sensitivities and/or radiation patterns.

11. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the infrastructure tag is employed in a dynamic RFID read field.

12. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 11, wherein the read field is installed at point-of sale location.

13. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the RFID-readable product tag, the RFID-readable infrastructure tag, and the reader are mounted to an infrastructure of a location to define a read field.

14. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the reader can both emit and receive signals.

15. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the reader is adapted to receive a return signal from “

read”

tags and receive a “

non-signal”

from no-read tags.

16. The RFID-based inventory management system of claim 15, wherein the non-signal is in a form of no reading whatsoever.