System and method for locating and communicating with personnel and equipment in a facility
First Claim
1. A system for locating, tracking and communicating with persons and equipment within a facility comprising:
- a plurality of access points each interconnected by a network to a location server having a location-determination procedure thereon, the access points including a wireless network interface for wireless communication of data with network-based devices and a radio frequency (RF) location transceiver that communicates with RF tags so as to resolve relative location of the RF tags with respect to the access points; and
a plurality of relays that each include a relay RF location transceiver that communicates with the RF tags so as to resolve relative location of the RF tags with respect to the relays and that are constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one access point of the plurality of access points through the RF location transceiver on the access point to report location information related to the RF tags to the access point.
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Accused Products
Abstract
This invention provides a system and method for identifying, locating, authorizing by proximity and communicating with equipment and personnel in a facility that generally employs a series of limited range transceivers for location determination and a distributed wireless data network for data transfer. The system employs unique RF transceiver tags on personnel and equipment that are each uniquely identified and registered with a facility control application that oversees activities in the facility. The tags are tracked by RF communication based upon their proximity to one or more fixed-base networked access points and relays (which transfer location data by RF back to access points) within four range zones. Location data on all tags is uploaded periodically to a location server that interfaces with the facility control server. Tag data is monitored by the facility control server to track, authorize and deauthorize certain data transfers, movements and activities in accordance with rules established for each tag (or type of tag) within the facility control server'"'"'s application. Wireless networking (WiFi, for example), in combination with the RF-derived location information, allows the facility control server to correlate and transmit data to staff in conjunction with location and proximity. WiFi can transmit authorizations, deauthorizations and general data based upon triggers established by proximity and location. Likewise, data can be transmitted over WiFi from readers etc. from personnel and equipment located and identified by the system.
485 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for locating, tracking and communicating with persons and equipment within a facility comprising:
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a plurality of access points each interconnected by a network to a location server having a location-determination procedure thereon, the access points including a wireless network interface for wireless communication of data with network-based devices and a radio frequency (RF) location transceiver that communicates with RF tags so as to resolve relative location of the RF tags with respect to the access points; and a plurality of relays that each include a relay RF location transceiver that communicates with the RF tags so as to resolve relative location of the RF tags with respect to the relays and that are constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one access point of the plurality of access points through the RF location transceiver on the access point to report location information related to the RF tags to the access point. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for locating, tracking, authorizing and deauthorizing actions by holders of RF tags in a facility comprising:
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a first plurality of RF access points that have a predetermined first communication range, a second plurality, greater than the first plurality, of relays that communicate with access points and have a second communication range less than the first communication range for communicating with RF tags, and a location server, interconnected with the access points, that determined locations of the RF tags with respect to the relays based upon relative proximity of each of the RF tags to one or more of the relays within the second range; wherein the access points include transceivers for communicating with the tags and with the relays to obtain location information.
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19. A system for locating, tracking, authorizing and deauthorizing actions by holders of RF tags in a facility comprising:
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an array of intercommunicating relays deployed throughout a facility in which at least two or more relays are provided in each predetermined locus of the facility so as to redundantly listen to transmissions from RF tags located in proximity to the locus; a location server interconnected with and receiving reports on listened-to tags from the relays, the location server associating each of the listened-to RF tags with a name of the locus assigned to the relays that report on the listened-to RF tags; and an array of access points each having a transceiver that communicates with RF tags and the relays to report location information.
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20. A method for authorizing and deauthorizing actions in a facility comprising the steps of:
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sensing, with an array of relays, the relative proximity of each person and asset having a uniquely identified tag; associating each of the relays with a particular locus within the facility and assigning each uniquely identified tag to the particular locus; determining whether the person or asset having the uniquely identified tag is allowed in the locus; and applying an appropriate authorization or deauthorization action to the locus, wherein the step of applying includes transmitting a data stream over a wireless data communication network associated with access points that are tied to the array of relays.
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21. A method for locating persons and items each having a uniquely identified RF tag comprising the steps of:
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sensing the proximity of each uniquely identified RF tag with respect to one or more relays, a plurality of the relays being provided to each discrete locus in the facility; associating each uniquely identified tag to the locus based upon the known locus of relays sensing the uniquely identified RF tag; gathering data from each of the relays on each uniquely identified RF tag sensed thereby, the data including a sensed signal strength and a tag identifier; and transmitting the data to at least one of a plurality of access points by RF communication. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification