Methods and systems to improve RFID inventory polling accuracy

• US 8,004,387 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2008
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Watt, Stephen J., Huffman, Joann, Childs, Bradley, Hyman, Stewart J., Childress, Rhonda L., Kumhyr, David B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mullen; Thomas J
• Application Number:
  US12/257,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20090051490A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,033 Days
• Field of Search: 340/5.92, 340/10.1, 340/572.4, 705/28, 235/385
• US Class Current: 340/5.92
• 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: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring

Abstract

Methods, systems, and media to improve polling accuracy in RFID systems are disclosed. Embodiments comprise receiving information from one or more tags by a tag reader, comparing the information from the tags to other information, and adding the tag to an inventory if the tag does not exist in the other information. While some embodiments compare the tag information from the tags to baseline inventories for other areas, some embodiments compare it to current inventories for the other areas or compare it to a combination of both inventories. Some embodiments involve polling RFID tags in storage containers. Other embodiments involve machine-accessible mediums with instructions to receive information from the tag reader, analyze the information with baseline and current inventories of other areas, and store identification information for the tag in a current inventory database if the information is absent from the baseline and current inventories.

Claims

1. A method to improve polling accuracy in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, the method comprising:

creating a current set of inventory information for a shipping container, wherein the current set of inventory information is based on data stored on RFID tags attached to a plurality of items in the shipping container, and wherein the current set is generated via an interrogation by a first tag reader of the RFID tags subsequent to the plurality of items being placed in the shipping container;

storing, by the first tag reader, the current set in a container tag, wherein the container tag comprises an RFID tag inside or attached to the shipping container;

creating a first baseline set of inventory information, wherein the first baseline set is based on an initial plurality of items in the shipping container, and wherein comparison of the first baseline set and the current set enables detection of removal of items from the shipping container; and

receiving, by a second tag reader, data of at least some of the current set from the container tag, wherein the second tag reader is located external to the shipping container.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

periodically performing interrogations of RFID tags in the shipping container by the first tag reader to enable updates to the current set of inventory information, wherein the periodically performed interrogations enable detection of changes from the first baseline set of inventory information due to removal of items from the shipping container or addition of items to the shipping container.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

storing at least a portion of the current set at the container tag to enable reception of the portion by the second tag reader.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving, by the first tag reader, a second set of information, wherein the second set of information comprises data from a second baseline set of inventory information for a second shipping container.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the storing of at least the portion of the current set comprises excluding interrogation data transmitted for an item in the second shipping container, and wherein the excluding the interrogation data is based on a comparison of the first baseline set with the second baseline set.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, via a transmission from a third tag reader, the first baseline set to the container tag.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing, via a transmission from the first tag reader, the first baseline set to the container tag and receiving, by the second tag reader, data of the first baseline set from the container tag, wherein the container tag comprises an active tag.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the second tag reader, data of at least some of the baseline set from the container tag, wherein the second tag reader is either inside or attached to a second shipping container.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

comparing, by the second tag reader, the received data with at least one of a current set of inventory information of the second shipping container and a second baseline set of inventory information of the second shipping container; and

updating, based on the comparison by the second tag reader, the current set of inventory information of the second shipping container.

10. A radio frequency identification (RFID) polling apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a first tag reader configured to be placed proximate to a shipping container, wherein the shipping container is arranged to contain a first plurality of items, and wherein the first tag reader is configured to interrogate RFID tags attached to the first plurality of items and to generate information of a current inventory based on transmissions of the RFID tags attached to the first plurality of items, and wherein the transmissions are a response to the first tag reader interrogating the RFID tags attached to the first plurality of items, and wherein the first tag reader is configured to perform the interrogation subsequent to the first plurality of items being placed in the shipping container, and wherein the first tag reader is configured to update the information of the current inventory based on periodic interrogations of the RFID tags attached to the first plurality of items in the shipping container, and wherein the first tag reader comprises memory configured to store information of a baseline inventory, and wherein the information of the baseline inventory comprises data read from the first plurality of items; and

a container tag configured to be placed proximate to the shipping container, wherein the container tag is configured to store the information of the current inventory and transmit at least a portion of the information of the current inventory to a second tag reader located outside the shipping container.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a third tag reader is configured to interrogate the first plurality of items and generate the information of the baseline inventory.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first tag reader is configured to generate the information of the baseline inventory via an interrogation of the first plurality of items.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the first tag reader comprises a processor configured to compare the information of the baseline inventory with the information of the current inventory, and wherein the comparison of the information of the baseline and current inventories enables detection of removal of items from the shipping container or detection of additional items placed in the shipping container.

14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first tag reader is configured to store information of a second inventory, and wherein the information of the second inventory is for a second plurality of items stored in a second shipping container.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the first tag reader is configured to receive information from at least one RFID tag of an item of the second plurality of items during an interrogation of the first plurality of items, and wherein the first tag reader is configured to exclude the information from the at least one RFID tag from the current inventory based on a comparison involving the information of the second inventory.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first tag reader is configured to compare the information of the current inventory with the information of the second inventory to enable the exclusion.

17. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the container tag is configured to store the information of the baseline inventory, and wherein the container tag is configured to transmit at least a portion of the information of the baseline inventory to the second tag reader.

18. A system, comprising:

a conveyor tag reader configured to read data from container tags of shipping containers as the shipping containers move along a conveyor assembly, wherein the container tags of individual shipping containers are configured to store inventory information from the data for items in the individual shipping containers such that each of the container tags stores inventory information about contents of a particular shipping container; and

a plurality of tag readers, wherein each tag reader of the plurality is in an individual shipping container, and wherein a first tag reader of the plurality is configured to interrogate RFID tags attached to items of a first shipping container and store a current set of inventory information in a container tag of the first shipping container, and wherein the first tag reader is configured to store a baseline set of inventory information, and wherein the baseline set is based on an initial plurality of items in the first shipping container, and wherein a processor of the first tag reader is configured to compare the baseline set and the current set to detect changes in inventory of the first shipping container.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first tag reader comprises memory to store the current set of inventory information.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first tag reader is configured to exclude inventory information received from an RFID tag of an item in a second shipping container based on a comparison of the baseline set with a second baseline set of inventory information of the second shipping container.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first tag reader is configured to receive information of the second baseline set from a container tag of the second shipping container.