Processor-based positioning system

• US 7,084,765 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2001
• Issued: 08/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Clapper, Edward O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US09/904,236
• Publication Number:
  US 20030011477A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,846 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/495.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.1, 340/572.6, 340/568.5, 340/825.49, 340/539.1, 455/500, 455/556, 455/88, 455/66, 235/375, 235/353, 235/384, 705/14, 705/8, 705/10, 705/1
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence

Abstract

A facility such as a retail facility may include a plurality of wireless identifier tags distributed about the facility. An article associated with a user such as a retail customer may include a detector that detects one or more of those tags when the user is proximate to a tag. For example, a plurality of detectors may be placed on a shopping cart in a retail application. Based on the detection of information associated with each tag, the real time position of the user may be determined in the facility.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving information from a plurality of wireless tags around a retail facility;

analyzing information from said tags to determine the current location of a shopping cart;

wirelessly linking a plurality of shopping carts within a retail facility through a local area network based in the retail facility; and

enabling the carts to communicate with one another through said network.

2. The method of claim 1 including providing a processor-based device on a shopping cart to retail customers that wirelessly communicates with a server.

3. The method of claim 1 including pushing information to the cart depending on the carts current location.

4. The method of claim 1 including providing a plurality of sensors associated with the user, each sensor to sense the tags to determine the position of the user in the facility.

5. The method of claim 1 including providing a sensor to sense the tags on a shopping cart.

6. The method of claim 1 including receiving identifying information from each of a plurality of wireless tags.

7. The method of claim 6 including providing said information from said wireless tags to a server.

8. The method of claim 6 including using said information from said wireless tags to determine the current location of the user.

9. The method of claim 1 including providing a route from the user'"'"'s current position to a requested destination within said facility.

10. An article comprising a medium storing instructions that, if executed, enable a processor-based system to:

receive information from a plurality of wireless tags distributed about a retail facility;

analyze information from the tags to determine the current location of a user;

wirelessly link a plurality of shopping carts within the retail facility through a local area network based in the retail facility; and

enable the carts to exchange information among the carts through said network.

11. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to provide information about the current location of a processor-based device associated with a cart.

12. The article of claim 11 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to determine the carts location.

13. The article of claim 12 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to push information to a cart depending on the cart'"'"'s current location.

14. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to receive information from a plurality of sensors associated with the user, and extract position information from a plurality of tags sensed by each of the plurality of sensors to determine the position of the user.

15. The article of claim 10 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to receive identifying information from each of a plurality of wireless tags.

16. The article of claim 15 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to provide said information from said wireless tags to a server.

17. The article of claim 15 further storing instructions that enable the processor-based system to use the information from the wireless tags to determine the current location of the user.

18. The article of claim 10 storing instructions that enable the processor based system to provide information about the route traveled from the user'"'"'s current location to a requested destination.

19. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a storage coupled to said processor recevie information from a plurality of wireless tags distrubuted about a retail facility, analyze information from the tagsto determine the current location of a shopping cart, wirelessly link a plurality of shopping carts within the retail facility through a local area network based in the retail facility, and enable the carts to exchange information among the carts through said network.

20. The system of claim 19 further including a wireless transceiver.

21. The system of claim 19 further including an interface to enable network communications.

22. The system of claim 19, said system including a plurality of wireless tags, wherein each of said wireless tags provides an identifying code to said wireless sensor.

23. The system of claim 19 including a plurality of wireless sensors associated with the user.

24. The system of claim 19 including a shopping cart, said wireless sensor and said processor mounted on said shopping cart.

25. The system of claim 19 including a wireless interface to communicate with a network.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein said processor forwards information from said tags through said wireless interface to said network.

27. The system of claim 19 including a server coupled to said network, said server to receive position identifying information from a sensor and provide advertising information to said processor.