Adaptive inventory management system
First Claim
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1. An adaptive inventory management system, comprising:
- a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for determining a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory;
a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for determining the position of the vehicle relative to the second point;
a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for retrieving inventory data from the at least one tag; and
a server in operative association with the first and second sensors and in operative association with the plurality of readers for activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the first and second points.
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Abstract
An adaptive inventory management system and method eliminates or minimizes frequency interference issues within a facility that employs a plurality of RFID readers for purposes of tracking and managing inventory. A middleware server activates and deactivates adjacent RFID readers within the facility based on the location of an item having an RFID tag. The middleware server also queries an inventory database based on the information collected from the RFID tag of the item and generates a command signal based on information retrieved from the database to control the travel route of the vehicle transporting items of inventory within the facility.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An adaptive inventory management system, comprising:
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a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for determining a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory; a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for determining the position of the vehicle relative to the second point; a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for retrieving inventory data from the at least one tag; and a server in operative association with the first and second sensors and in operative association with the plurality of readers for activating and deactivating one or more of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle relative to the first and second points. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of adaptive inventory management comprising:
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generating a first position signal at a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle, wherein the first position signal indicates a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, and wherein the vehicle transports one or more items of inventory; generating a second position signal at a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle, wherein the second position signal indicates a position of the vehicle relative to the second point; determining a position of the vehicle along the route of travel at a server as a function of the first and second position signals; and controlling, at the server, the operation of each of a plurality of readers positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel as a function of the determined position of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An inventory management system comprising:
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a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for generating a first position signal, the first position signal indicating a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, and the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory; a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for generating a second position signal, the second position signal indicating a position of the vehicle relative to the second point; a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag communicates with at least one of the plurality of readers to identify inventory information from the at least one tag; and a processor comprising; a decision component to control an operation of the each of the plurality of readers, and a sensor front-end component to provide a communication interface between the decision component and the first and second sensors; wherein the decision component is responsive to the first position signal and the second position signal to determine a position of the vehicle; and wherein the decision component controls the operation of each of the plurality of readers as a function of the determined position of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An adaptive inventory management system, comprising:
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a first sensor located at a first point along a route of travel of a vehicle for determining a position of the vehicle relative to the first point, the vehicle transporting one or more items of inventory; a second sensor located at a second point along the route of travel of the vehicle for determining the position of the vehicle relative to the second point; a plurality of readers, each of the plurality of readers being positioned at predetermined locations along the route of travel, and wherein each of the one or more items of inventory include at least one tag in operative communication with the one or more of the plurality of readers such that the at least one tag is detected by at least one of the plurality of readers for retrieving inventory data from the at least one tag; and a server in operative association with the first and second sensors and in operative association with at least a first reader located at the first point and a second reader located at the second point, wherein the server deactivates the first reader and activates the second reader when the position of the vehicle is determined to be at the second point, and wherein the server deactivates the second reader and activates the first reader when the position of the vehicle is determined to be at the first point. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification