Systems and methods for tracking the location of items within a controlled area
First Claim
1. A method for determining a location of a vehicle in a controlled area, comprising:
- receiving RFID tag information from a first RFID interrogator mounted on the vehicle;
receiving RFID tag information from a second RFID interrogator mounted on the vehicle; and
determining the location of the vehicle using the received RFID tag information from the first and second RFID interrogators.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A location tracking system for tracking the location of items within a controlled area comprises a plurality of RFID tags located according to the required accuracy of the location determinations. Vehicles configured to transport items being tracked include two RFID interrogators configured to acquire RFID information from the plurality of RFID tags and to transmit the RFID tag information to a location authority. The separation the two RFID interrogators is set based on the spacing of the plurality of RFID tags such that the required accuracy results. The location authority can then simply map the RFID tag information to coordinate information stored for each of the plurality of tags to obtain the location of the vehicle and, therefore, the item being transported.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A method for determining a location of a vehicle in a controlled area, comprising:
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receiving RFID tag information from a first RFID interrogator mounted on the vehicle; receiving RFID tag information from a second RFID interrogator mounted on the vehicle; and determining the location of the vehicle using the received RFID tag information from the first and second RFID interrogators. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A vehicle configured to transport an item within a controlled area, the vehicle comprising:
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a first RFID interrogator configured to receive information from a plurality RFID tags installed in the controlled area; a second RFID interrogator configured to receive information from the plurality of RFID tags, the first and second RFID interrogators separated by a distance that is related to the distance between each of the plurality of RFID tags. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A location authority configured to track the location of items within a controlled area, the location authority comprising:
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a communication interface configured to receive RFID tag information from a first and second RFID interrogator mounted on a vehicle transporting the item; and a processing unit configured to determine the location of the vehicle using the received RFID tag information from the first and second RFID interrogators. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for determining the location of an item within a controlled area, the system comprising:
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a plurality of RFID tags; a vehicle configured to transport the item, the vehicle comprising; a first RFID interrogator configured to receive information from the plurality RFID tags, a second RFID interrogator configured to receive information from the plurality of RFID tags; and a location authority configured to track the location the item, the location authority comprising; a communication interface configured to receive RFID tag information from the first and second RFID interrogators, and a processing unit configured to determine the location of the vehicle using the received RFU) tag information from the first and second RFID interrogators. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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Specification