Systems and methods for identifying missing items
First Claim
1. A system for identifying missing items, comprising:
- an interrogator to transmit commands to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags secured to respective devices and to receive replies from the RFID tags within a defined area, the interrogator operable to extract identifier information from the replies; and
a processor coupled to the interrogator and to a database, the database storing identification information of a device to identify the device as missing, the identification information being associated with the device to identify the device independent of an RFID tag that is secured to the device, the processor operable to use the identifier information extracted by the interrogator and the identification information stored in the database to identify the missing device associated with the RFID tag.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for identifying a lost or stolen device is disclosed herein. The system includes: a transmitter, coupled to said device, for transmitting identification information; a receiver for receiving the identification information transmitted by the transmitter, when the transmitter is within a defined distance from the receiver; and a computer, coupled to the receiver for receiving the information from the receiver, and having a database for storing data associated with lost or stolen devices; wherein the computer compares the information with the data, and generates an alarm if the information indicates that the device is lost or stolen. The method includes: receiving information transmitted by a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, coupled to an item, when the item comes within a defined range of a receiver which receives the information; storing data associated with lost or stolen goods in a database coupled to the receiver; comparing the information to the data and determining if the information matches the data associated with the lost or stolen goods; and generating an alarm, if the information matches the data.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A system for identifying missing items, comprising:
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an interrogator to transmit commands to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags secured to respective devices and to receive replies from the RFID tags within a defined area, the interrogator operable to extract identifier information from the replies; and a processor coupled to the interrogator and to a database, the database storing identification information of a device to identify the device as missing, the identification information being associated with the device to identify the device independent of an RFID tag that is secured to the device, the processor operable to use the identifier information extracted by the interrogator and the identification information stored in the database to identify the missing device associated with the RFID tag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of locating missing items, comprising:
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storing, in a database, first identification information of a device to identify the device as missing, the first identification information being associated with the device to identify the device independent of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that is secured to the device; communicating, by a computer coupled with the database, with an interrogator configured to; send commands to RFID tags secured to respective devices that pass through a defined area, the commands requiring each respective RFID tag of the RFID tags within the defined area to transmit a reply that includes second identification information of the respective RFID tag that transmits the reply; receive the reply from each of the RFID tags within the defined area, and extract the second identification information from the reply received from each of the RFID tags; and issuing an alert by the computer when a missing device is identified based on the second identification information extracted by the interrogator and the first identification information stored in the database. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for locating missing items, comprising:
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transmitting commands from a plurality of readers via direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) radio frequency messages to radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, wherein each of the plurality of readers is associated with a predetermined location; receiving by the plurality of readers reply messages communicated from the RFID tags, wherein each of the reply messages includes an identifier; extracting the identifier from each of the reply messages; comparing the identifier with entries stored in a secure database, wherein the entries comprise identification information for RFID tags associated with devices that have been identified as lost or stolen; and alerting an operator when the identifier of one of the reply messages corresponds to identification information in one of the entries stored in the secure database; wherein the alerting further comprises one of;
identifying a reader that received a reply message comprising an identifier corresponding to identification information in one of the entries stored in the secure database; and
identifying the predetermined location from which a reader received a reply message comprising an identifier corresponding to identification information in one of the entries stored in the secure database. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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23. A system to identify missing items, the system comprising:
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a plurality of readers, each of the readers being positioned at a known location to interrogate Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags to obtain interrogation results; a database to store first identification information of an RFID tag physically attached to an item being transported, the RFID tag configured to store the first identification information to represent the item to which the RFID tag is physically attached, and the RFID tag configured to transmit the first identification information to the readers when being positioned in vicinity of the readers and interrogated by the readers; and a computer coupled to the database to identify the item as being missing, based on the first identification information stored in the database and the interrogation results obtained at the readers, and identify a location of a first reader of the plurality of readers where the RFID tag has transmitted the first identification information to the first reader. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method to identify missing items, the method comprising:
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interrogating Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags using a plurality of readers to generate interrogation results, wherein each of the readers being positioned at a known location; storing by a computer in a database first identification information of an RFID tag physically attached to an item being transported, the RFID tag configured to store the first identification information to represent the item to which the RFID tag is physically attached, and the RFID tag configured to transmit the first identification information to each corresponding reader of the readers when being transported to vicinity of the corresponding reader and interrogated by the corresponding reader; and identifying the item as being missing based on the first identification information stored in the database and the interrogation results from the readers and identifying a first reader, among the plurality of readers, to which the RFID tag has transmitted the first identification information, using the computer coupled to the database. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification