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Article inventory tracking and control system

  • US 5,777,884 A
  • Filed: 10/16/1995
  • Issued: 07/07/1998
  • Est. Priority Date: 10/16/1995
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. An article inventory tracking and control system which tracks and controls transactions of articles out of or into a protected area, comprising:

  • a receiving compartment adapted to receive a single article of a plurality of articles, each of the plurality of articles containing prerecorded magnetic data, each article of the plurality of articles having a same predefined configuration with a marker located at a same predetermined position at or near a surface of each article, the receiving compartment sized and adapted to accept the article in a predetermined orientation within the receiving compartment;

    means associated with the receiving compartment for changing the status of the marker of an article inserted into the receiving compartment;

    user id code reading means for receiving user information from a user identification code;

    article id code reading means for receiving article information from an article identification code attached to the article;

    sensing means for determining whether the article is properly placed within the receiving compartment; and

    means for validating a transaction based on the user information and the article information, the status changing means including means for creating a magnetic field of sufficient magnitude proximate only the marker to change the status of the marker as the article is removed after the transaction is validated, wherein the magnetic field is of a lesser magnitude at a distance from the marker such that the prerecorded magnetic data of the article is not detectably degraded.

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