Exchange of article-based information between multiple enterprises
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving from a first enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the first enterprise collectively including information read from tags bound to first multiple articles, the tag-read-data including data derived from a first data processing system of the first enterprise;
using the tag-read-data received from the first enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in a virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each one of the multiple articles, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article;
receiving from a second enterprise multiple instances of second tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the second enterprise collectively including information read from a tag bound to at least one of the first multiple articles, the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise including data derived from a second data processing system of the second enterprise;
using the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in the virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each of the second multiple articles, each a virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article, where tag-read-data received from either enterprise for a particular article is used to update the a virtual representative corresponding to the article;
making available information from updated virtual representatives and from the virtual world to both the first enterprise and the second enterprise;
receiving one or more instances of context information, each instance describing an associated non-taggable environmental circumstance, the context information indicating a status including a location of the circumstance, the multiple instances of context information collectively including information describing multiple circumstances;
using the received context information to maintain a virtual representative far each of the associated circumstances in the virtual world, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding circumstance; and
detecting interactions occurring in the virtual world between the circumstances and the articles as represented by their respective virtual representatives.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for making information available between enterprises. In one aspect, a method includes: receiving from a first enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data for first articles including information read automatically from tags bound to the articles, article locations, and data derived from a first data processing system of the first enterprise; receiving from a second enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data for second articles and data derived from a second data processing system of the second enterprise; using the tag-read-data to maintain virtual representatives for the articles in a virtual world, where tag-read-data received from either enterprise for a particular article is used to update the virtual representative corresponding to the article; and making available information from updated virtual representatives and from the virtual world to both the first enterprise and the second enterprise.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving from a first enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the first enterprise collectively including information read from tags bound to first multiple articles, the tag-read-data including data derived from a first data processing system of the first enterprise;
using the tag-read-data received from the first enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in a virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each one of the multiple articles, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article;
receiving from a second enterprise multiple instances of second tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the second enterprise collectively including information read from a tag bound to at least one of the first multiple articles, the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise including data derived from a second data processing system of the second enterprise;
using the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in the virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each of the second multiple articles, each a virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article, where tag-read-data received from either enterprise for a particular article is used to update the a virtual representative corresponding to the article;
making available information from updated virtual representatives and from the virtual world to both the first enterprise and the second enterprise;
receiving one or more instances of context information, each instance describing an associated non-taggable environmental circumstance, the context information indicating a status including a location of the circumstance, the multiple instances of context information collectively including information describing multiple circumstances;
using the received context information to maintain a virtual representative far each of the associated circumstances in the virtual world, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding circumstance; and
detecting interactions occurring in the virtual world between the circumstances and the articles as represented by their respective virtual representatives. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 31)
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11. A computer program product, tangibly stored on a computer-readable medium, for context-aware and real time tracking of articles, the product comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:
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receive from a first enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data, each instance including information read from a tag bound to an article, including at least a unique digital identifier read automatically from the tag, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from a first enterprise collectively including information read from tags bound to first multiple articles, the tag-read-data including data derived from a first data processing system of the first enterprise;
use the tag-read-data received from the first enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in a virtual world, the virtual representative including a virtual representative for each one of the multiple articles, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article;
receive from a second enterprise multiple instances of second tag-read-data, each instance including information read from a tag bound to an article, including at least a unique digital identifier read automatically from the tag, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from a second enterprise collectively including information read from a tag bound to at least one of the first multiple articles, the tag-read-data received from a second enterprise including data derived from a second data processing system of the second enterprise;
use the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in the virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each one of the second multiple articles, each a virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article, where tag-read-data received from either enterprise for a particular article is used to update the virtual representative corresponding to the article;
make available information from updated virtual representatives and from the virtual world to both the first enterprise and the second enterprise;
receive one or more instances of context information, each instance describing an associated non-taggable environmental circumstance, the context information indicating a status including a location of the circumstance, the multiple instances of context information collectively including information describing multiple circumstances;
use the received context information to maintain a virtual representative for each of the associated circumstances in the virtual world, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding circumstance; and
detect interactions occurring in the virtual world between the circumstances and the articles as represented by their respective virtual representatives. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 32)
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21. A system, comprising:
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means for receiving from a first enterprise multiple instances of tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the first enterprise collectively including information read from tags bound to first multiple articles, the tag-read-data including data derived from a first data processing system of the first enterprise;
means for using the tag-read-data received from the first enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in a virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each one of the multiple articles, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article;
means for receiving from a second enterprise multiple instances of second tag-read-data, each instance including information read automatically from a tag bound to an article including at least a unique digital identifier, each instance also including status information including a location of the corresponding tag and its bound article, the multiple instances of tag-read-data received from the second enterprise collectively including information read from a tag bound to at least one of the first multiple articles, the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise including data derived from a second data processing system of the second enterprise;
means for using the tag-read-data received from the second enterprise to maintain virtual representatives in the virtual world, the virtual representatives including a virtual representative for each of the second multiple articles, each a virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding article, where tag-read-data received from either enterprise for a particular article is used to update the virtual representative corresponding to the article;
means for making available information from updated virtual representatives and from the virtual world to both the first enterprise and the second enterprise;
means for receiving one or more instances of context information, each instance describing an associated non-taggable circumstance, the context information indicating a status including a location of the circumstance, the multiple instances of context information collectively including information describing multiple circumstances;
means for using the received context information to maintain a virtual representative for each of the associated circumstances in the virtual world, each virtual representative representing the status of its corresponding circumstance; and
means for detecting interactions occurring in the virtual world between the circumstances and the articles as represented by their respective virtual representatives. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33)
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Specification