MOBILE RFID CONTAINER AND DISTRIBUTION METHOD
First Claim
1. A mobile RFID container for carrying a plurality of products, each product having at least one RFID tag, the container comprising:
- a housing comprising a main body and a door, the main body and the door cooperating to define an interior compartment configured to carry the plurality of products, the door being movable relative to the main body between an open position to provide access to the interior compartment and a closed position to prevent access to the interior compartment;
a door sensor configured to detect opening and closing of the door;
an RFID detector positioned in the housing, the RFID detector being configured to conduct RFID scans of the interior compartment and collect scan data concerning the products contained within the compartment;
a controller coupled to the door sensor and the RFID detector, the controller configured to trigger an RFID scan via the RFID detector in response to the door sensor detecting that the door has closed and to transmit the scan data to a remote device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A transportable container is enabled with radio frequency identification (“RFID”) technologies to maintain automated inventory levels of those items that are inside the container. The inventory data is communicated via wireless methods, such as cellular or Wi-Fi, to a remote device such as enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) system. The ERP system may use the inventory data received from the remote device to automatically update appropriately and generate appropriate records (e.g., container inventory, restocking, invoicing, etc.). In some embodiments, automated RFID scans are triggered when the container is opened and subsequently closed. The container may include RF containment/screening to prevent inadvertent scanning of RFID tags outside of the container. The container may also include a location device to allow the location of the container to be readily determined.
30 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A mobile RFID container for carrying a plurality of products, each product having at least one RFID tag, the container comprising:
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a housing comprising a main body and a door, the main body and the door cooperating to define an interior compartment configured to carry the plurality of products, the door being movable relative to the main body between an open position to provide access to the interior compartment and a closed position to prevent access to the interior compartment; a door sensor configured to detect opening and closing of the door; an RFID detector positioned in the housing, the RFID detector being configured to conduct RFID scans of the interior compartment and collect scan data concerning the products contained within the compartment; a controller coupled to the door sensor and the RFID detector, the controller configured to trigger an RFID scan via the RFID detector in response to the door sensor detecting that the door has closed and to transmit the scan data to a remote device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 28)
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20. A method for distributing a plurality of products, each product having an RFID tag, the method comprising:
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a. providing a mobile RFID container, the container comprising; a housing comprising a main body and a door, the main body and the door cooperating to define an interior compartment that is configured to carry the plurality of products, the door being movable relative to the main body between an open position to provide access to the interior compartment and a closed position to prevent access to the interior compartment; a sensor configured to detect opening and closing of the door; an RFID detector positioned in the housing, the RFID detector being configured to conduct an RFID scans of the interior compartment and collect scan data concerning the products contained within the compartment; a controller coupled to the sensor and the at least RFID detector, the controller being configured to trigger an RFID scan via the RFID detector in response to the sensor detecting that the door has closed and to transmit scan data collected during the RFID scan to a remote device; b. placing a plurality of products in the interior compartment of the mobile RFID container; c. transporting the mobile RFID container to an end user; d. conducting an RFID scan of the interior compartment of the mobile RFID container in response to sensing the opening and closing of the door following the transporting step; and e. transmitting scan data collected via the RFID scan from the mobile RFID container to a remote device. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification