Radio frequency identification in document management

• US 7,511,601 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2002
• Issued: 03/31/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Hickok, Gene J., Morel, Diane E., Erickson, David P., Ring, Edmund J., Goff, Edward D., Waldner, Michele A., Kelliher, William J. Jr., Keller, Janet T., Pearson, Scott D., Kirschhoffer, Jon A., Grunes, Mitchell B., Kruse, John M., Sainati, Robert A., Piotrowski, Chester, Eisenberg, Peter M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III; Edwin C
• Application Number:
  US10/153,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20020196126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,507 Days
• Field of Search: 340/3.51, 340/10.1, 340/10.32, 340/572.1, 340/10.2, 340/825.49
• US Class Current: 340/3.51
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07796 arrangements on the record carrier to allow stacking of a plurality of similar record carriers, e.g. to avoid interference between the non-contact communication of the plurality of record carriers

Abstract

Various systems and methods of handling items such as files are disclosed, including systems and methods for polling RFID-tagged items while they are stored in storage areas.

Claims

1. A method for interrogating a storage area that includes a number of items stored in the storage area each bearing an RFID tag, the method comprising:

prior to initiating a polling of RFID tags within the storage area by an RFID interrogator having a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the RFID interrogator to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area, determining a number of people who have used each of the different portions of the storage area to access items stored in the different portions of the storage area; and

after determining the number of people that have used the different portions of the storage area, controlling the RFID interrogator to poll at least some of the different portions of the storage area with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the different portions of the storage area more frequently than other portions of the storage area are polled by the RFID interrogator with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the other portions of the storage area, wherein the frequency of polling each of the different portions of the storage area depends on the determined number of people who have used the respective portion of the storage area to access items in that portion of the storage area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further includes controlling the RFID interrogator to automatically poll at least some of the different portions of the storage area with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the different portions of the storage area more frequently than the other portions of the storage area are polled by the RFID interrogator with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the other portions of the storage area based on information determined from polling.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the frequency of the polling of each of the different portions of the storage area depends on the number of items that have been removed from or returned to the respective portion of the storage area.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting the number of people who have used the different portions of the storage area using an optical sensor.

5. A method for interrogating a storage area that includes a number of items each bearing an RFID tag, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a polling schedule for polling the RFID tags that designates the order in which different portions of the storage area are polled by an RFID interrogator coupled to a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags, wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the RFID interrogator to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area;

(b) prior to initiating polling the RFID tags, sensing activity within the storage area; and

(c) preempting the polling schedule to cause the RFID interrogator to use antennas of the plurality of antennas to poll one of the different portions of the storage area associated with the antennas of the plurality of antennas in response to the sensed activity, prior to the RFID interrogator polling the RFID tags with the RFID interrogator using the plurality of antennas according to the polling schedule.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sensing activity within the storage area comprises sensing activity within the storage area based on information obtained from a database.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein sensing activity within the storage area comprises sensing activity within the storage area using an optical sensor.

8. A method for interrogating a storage area that includes items each bearing an RFID tag, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a polling schedule for polling the RFID tags that designates the order in which portions of the storage area are polled by an RFID interrogator having a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags, wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the RFID interrogator to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area; and

(b) providing a user interface associated with the RFID polling system that enables a user to alter the polling schedule by increasing or decreasing the number of times that a portion of the storage area is polled by the RFID interrogator with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with that portion of the storage area relative to the number of times that other portions of the storage area are polled by the RFID interrogator with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the other portions of the storage area.

9. An RFID polling system, comprising:

(a) an antenna system for polling RFID tags associated with items stored in a storage areas, wherein the antenna system includes one or more RFID interrogators, each of the RFID interrogators having a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags, wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the one or more RFID interrogators to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area;

(b) a controller for controlling which of the plurality of antennas of the RFID interrogators are used for polling the portion(s) of the storage area;

(c) a polling schedule that designates the order in which the portions of the storage area are polled by the one or more RFID interrogators using the plurality of antennas; and

(d) a user interface associated with the RFID polling system that enables a user to alter the polling schedule by increasing or decreasing the number of times that a portion of the storage area is polled by the one or more RFID interrogators with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with that portion of the storage area relative to the number of times that other portions of the storage area are polled by the one or more RFID interrogators with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the other portions of the storage area.

10. An RFID polling system, comprising:

(a) an antenna system for polling RFID tags associated with items stored in a storage area, wherein the antenna system includes one or more RFID interrogators, each of the RFID interrogators having a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags, wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the one or more RFID interrogators to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area;

(b) a controller for controlling which of the plurality of antennas are used by the RFID interrogators for polling the portion(s) of the storage area;

(c) a polling schedule that designates the order in which the portions of the storage area are polled by the one or more RFID interrogators using antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the portions of the storage area; and

(d) a detection system that detects activity in portions of the storage area prior to the one or more RFID interrogators initiating polling of the RFID tags with the antennas associated with the portions, whereby the polling schedule is altered based on information provided by the detection system regarding the detected activity that specifies an amount of activity within one or more portions of the storage area.

11. The polling system of claim 10, wherein the alteration in the polling schedule is proportional to the activity detected.

12. A method for polling RFID tags associated with items in a storage area, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a polling schedule for polling the RFID tags that designates the order in which a plurality of different portions of the storage area are polled by an RFID interrogator coupled to a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID taps, wherein the different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the RFID interrogator to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area;

(b) prior to initiating polling the RFID tags, sensing activity within the storage area;

(c) preempting the polling schedule to cause the RFID interrogator to use antennas of the plurality of antennas to poll a different portion of the storage area associated with the antennas of the plurality of antennas in response to the sensed activity, prior to polling the RFID tags of the plurality of different portions of the storage area with the RFID interrogator using the plurality of antennas according to the polling schedule;

(d) polling the RFID tags with the RFID interrogator using the plurality of antennas in accordance with the polling schedule;

(e) providing a database including information identifying the current location of each item within the storage area; and

(f) updating the database using information from polling the storage area for items being removed or replaced.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the RFID interrogator polls the entire storage area using the plurality of antennas periodically to obtain a census of every RFID-tagged item in the storage area.