Method and apparatus for locating and tracking documents and other objects
First Claim
1. A method for locating a particular object among a plurality of objects, each of the objects having a tag affixed thereto, the method comprising the steps of:
- transmitting a first signal from one or more host transceivers to one or more exciters;
transmitting a second signal from the one or more exciters to the plurality of objects, wherein the second signal is received and modulated by the tag affixed to the particular object;
receiving the modulated second signal with one of the one or more host transceivers, wherein the location of the particular object is determined; and
coupling a computer to the one or more host transceivers, wherein the computer receives and sends data from and to the one or more host transceivers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method are described for a radio frequency document control system that enables the location of documents, such as office files, to be automatically and rapidly identified. A host transceiver, controlled via a PC, transmits a coded RF signal, at a first frequency, to individually addressable, low cost, local exciters/transceivers located on shelves and/or in drawers. The local exciters, which may be sequentially addressed, retransmit the coded RF signal at a second frequency via an antenna. A passive radio frequency identification tag, containing the same code as that transmitted by the local exciter and attached to a document, such as a file folder, when in the vicinity of the antenna of the local exciter, is energized by the RF field and modulates the second frequency signal from the local exciter. The second frequency signal modulated by the energized tag is then directly received by the host transceiver. A PC, coupled to the host transceiver, enables the system to automatically and rapidly identify, down to a specific shelf or drawer, the location of tagged documents in an office environment.
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Citations
62 Claims
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1. A method for locating a particular object among a plurality of objects, each of the objects having a tag affixed thereto, the method comprising the steps of:
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transmitting a first signal from one or more host transceivers to one or more exciters; transmitting a second signal from the one or more exciters to the plurality of objects, wherein the second signal is received and modulated by the tag affixed to the particular object; receiving the modulated second signal with one of the one or more host transceivers, wherein the location of the particular object is determined; and coupling a computer to the one or more host transceivers, wherein the computer receives and sends data from and to the one or more host transceivers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A business environment in which a particular object may be located, comprising:
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at least one area having a plurality of containers for storing a plurality of objects; one or more host transceivers, wherein each host transceiver comprises a transmitter and a receiver; one or more exciters, wherein at least one exciter is positioned within each of the containers, and wherein the one or more exciters receive a first signal from one of the one or more host transceivers, and, in response to the first signal, the one or more exciters selectively transmit a second signal to tags affixed to one or more of the objects, wherein the tag affixed to the particular object is excited by the second signal, wherein the excited tag selectively modulates the second signal and one or more of the host transceivers directly receives the signal modulated by the excited tag; and a computer coupled to the host transceiver, wherein the computer receives and sends data from and to the one or more host transceivers, wherein the computer displays information indicative of the container containing the particular object. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62)
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Specification