Method and apparatus for preparing an item with an RFID tag

• US 7,218,231 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2005
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Inventors: Higham, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Goins; Davetta W.
• Application Number:
  US11/187,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20060022826A1
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/571, 340/572.5, 340/10.1, 340/10.51, 340/825.22, 235/375, 235/380, 235/462.46, 235/472.02, 702/22, 702/216, 702/28, 702/244, 702/236, 702/240, 702/242, 702/182, 702/183, 702/108, 700/95, 198/502.1, 198/502.2
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

An automated reading system for associating an RFID tag and product information includes a conveyor belt for moving a product having an RFID tag and a bar code. The system also includes an RFID scanner and a bar code scanner for reading information on the product as it travels down the conveyor belt. A collecting device is used for receiving the product, and a computer having a database is used for recording the association between the RFID tag and the product information.

Claims

1. A method for adding an RFID tag to a product comprising:

affixing the RFID tag to the product, the RFID tag having tag identification information, wherein when the RFID tag is affixed to the product, no association exists between the tag identification information and product identification information;

reading the tag identification information from the RFID tag with an RF reader;

reading a product identifier from the product using an electronic reading device;

associating the tag identification information from the RFID tag with the product identifier using a computer system that is associated with a database; and

storing an association between the product identifier and the tag identification information from the RFID tag in the database.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the product information is chosen from a group comprising an internal product ID number used in a hospital data base, a lot number, a serial number, an expiration date and a UPN or HIBCC bar code.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the collecting device comprises an accepted belt and a rejected belt.

3. An automatic reading system for associating an RFID tag and product identification information comprising:

a conveyor belt for moving a product having an RFID tag and a bar code that comprises product identification information;

a first tunnel comprising a first RFID scanner and a first bar code scanner, the first tunnel positioned above the conveyor belt for reading the RFID tag and the bar code on the product traveling down the conveyor belt;

a collecting device for receiving the product;

a computer system having a database for recording the association between the RFID tag and the product identification information; and

a second tunnel having a second RFID scanner and a second bar code scanner, wherein the computer system is configured to compare the reading of the first bar code scanner and the first RFID scanner with the reading of the second bar code scanner and the second RFID scanner to see if they are the same.