Item monitoring system and methods

• US 7,584,016 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Issued: 09/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intrinsic Marks International LLC
• Original Assignee: Intrinsic Marks International LLC
• Inventors: Weaver, Frederick Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): BURGESS, RAMYA PRAKASAM
• Application Number:
  US10/956,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20050131578A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,797 Days
• Field of Search: 700/213, 700/244, 700/301, 700/305, 738/626.27, 738/623.81, 738/623.91, 738/626.29, 738/626.36, 738/626.37, 738/626.8, 235/385
• US Class Current: 700/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/4144 for controlling weight of goods in commercial establishments, e.g. supermarket, P.O.S. systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 23/3735 using a digital network
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

An item monitoring system is provided which is operative at points of storage automatically to sense the presence, number of item(s) stored and relative location of items and to generate near real-time item and location data from storage locations so that time-related changes can be compared to detect item additions and subtractions, and to recognize and report events such as shrink/theft, low inventory conditions and misplaced items. Embodiments incorporate a surface sensing system comprised of one or more contiguous item sensor strips that measure the relative pressure of items in contact with a surface or a hanger support using pressure sensitive analog type conductive material. Item information can be collected from multiple hangers and/or storage surfaces and relayed to databases and application systems for varied uses. The system and method disclosed are cost effective and widely applicable to many categories of inventory application providing real-time updates without item packaging changes.

Claims

1. An item monitoring system comprising:

a sensor strip extending in a generally linear fashion, said sensor strip comprising a pluralilty of sensors functioning simultaneously in a resistor network selected from the group of a parallel resisitor network and a series resistor network, and sensor strip providing a single output that is dependent upon force applied thereto such that the output provided by said sensor strip is reflective of a cumulative effect of one or more items placed upon said sensor strip; and

a processing element in communication with said sensor strip for receiving and processing the output of said sensor strip,

wherein one or more items contacts a plurality of sensors and a single output is provided to the processing element.

2. An item monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein said sensor strip is configured such that each item that is placed upon the sensor strip causes a discrete change in a property of said sensor strip at a pluralilty of points of contact with the said single output provided by said sensor strip being reflective of the cumulative net change in the property of said sensor strip and corresponding to the number of items placed upon said sensor strip.

3. An item monitoring system according to claim 2 wherein said sensor strip comprises at least one layer of pressure sensitive material and upper and lower conductive traces on opposite sides of the pressure sensitive material.

4. An item monitoring system according to claim 3 wherein said upper and lower conductive traces are shaped in the form of repeating sinuous patterns.

5. An item monitoring system according to claim 4 further comprising a signal trace and a return trace, wherein one end of each sinuous pattern defined by one of said upper and lower conductive traces is electrically connected to said signal trace, and wherein one end of each sinuous pattern defined by the other one of said lower or upper conductive traces is electrically connected to said return trace forming said single output from said sensor strip.

6. An item monitoring system according to claim 5 further comprising a dielectric layer disposed upon one of said signal and return traces, wherein the other of said signal and return traces is disposed upon said dielectric layer such that said signal and return traces have an overlaid configuration in an area not including the sinuous pattern.

7. An item monitoring system according to claim 4 wherein the upper and lower conductive traces define a plurality of sinuous patterns arranged physically along the length of said sensor strip and connected electrically to form a parallel resistor network forming said single output from said sensor strip.

8. An item monitoring system according to claim 3 wherein said pressure sensitive material comprises a pressure sensitive ink.

9. An item monitoring system according to claim 2 wherein said sensor strip comprises a pair of conductive traces in a pattern layout and a pressure sensitive, variable resistance material overlaying said pair of conductive traces for electrically interconnecting said pair of conductive traces upon application of pressure thereto by means of the pressure sensitive, variable resistance material forming said single output from said sensor strip.

10. An item monitoring system according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of sensor strips arranged in parallel such that each item placed thereupon applies pressure to at least one of said sensor strips and alters a property of said sensor strip at its respective point of contact such that the cumulative net change in the output of each said single output from said sensor strips is related to a number of items disposed thereupon.

11. An item monitoring system according to claim 1 further comprising a flexible substrate for supporting said sensor strip and said processing element.

12. An item monitoring system according to claim 1 further comprising a plurality of sensor strips extending in parallel and being configured to have different sensitivity to the applied force such that the plurality of sensor strips collectively have a greater range of sensitivity than any one sensor strip has individually.

13. An item monitoring system according to claim 1 further comprises a protective coating that overlays said sensor strip and that includes predefined markings.

14. An item monitoring system according to claim 13 further comprising data and power bus lines connected to said communication unit and a power source, respectively, and a plurality of sensor strips connected to the data and power bus lines so as to share a common communication unit and power source.