Item monitoring system and methods
First Claim
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.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
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.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. An item monitoring system comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification