Reading out of information using an optoelectronic sensor and an RFID reader

• US 8,026,815 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2008
• Issued: 09/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Original Assignee: Sick AG (Sick)
• Inventors: Weber, Harald, Sotriffer, Ingomar
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Labbees; Edny
• Application Number:
  US12/216,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20090015380A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 235/382, 235/487, 713/185, 713/182
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10128 the step consisting of detection of the presence of one or more record carriers in the vicinity of the interrogation device
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10435 the interrogation device being positioned close to a conveyor belt or the like on which moving record carriers are passing conveying in accordance with bodily destination marks, see B65G47/46, sorting of objects carrying identity markings, see B07C5/34

Abstract

A device (10) is provided for the reading out of information from a transponder (14) arranged at an object (12), said device comprising an optoelectronic sensor (24), a reading device (16) able to excite the transponder (14) to radiate the information and able to read out the radiated information and a control (26) which is made for a control of the reading device (16) and of the sensor (24) as well as for an evaluation of the read out information.

In this connection, the optoelectronic sensor (24) can determine a movement pattern of the object (12) and the control (26) is made only to evaluate the read out information with objects (12) of a preset movement pattern.

A corresponding method is furthermore described.

Claims

1. A device for the reading out of information from a transponder arranged at an object, said device comprising:

an optoelectronic sensor;

a reading device able to excite the transponder to radiate the information and able to read out the radiated information; and

a control which is made for a control of the reading device and of the sensor as well as for an evaluation of the read out information, characterized in that

the optoelectronic sensor comprises a laser scanner which can monitor a monitored plane divided into multiple fields and can determine a movement pattern of the object, said movement pattern fixed over an order of the fields contacted sequentially by the object;

and in that the control responds to the movement pattern of the object to evaluate the read out information only with objects of a preset movement pattern, whereby the optoelectronic sensor determines a movement pattern of the object, with the control using the determined movement pattern to only evaluate the read out information in the case of the object displaying a preset movement pattern as determined by the optoelectronic sensor and disregard read out information if the object does not carry out the preset movement pattern.

2. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control is made only to activate the reading device when the object carries out the preset movement pattern at least in part.

3. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the preset movement pattern comprises a direction of movement.

4. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control is made to discard read out information if the object does not completely carry out the preset movement pattern.

5. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the optoelectronic sensor and/or the control is/are made for the determination of a geometry class;

and wherein in particular a person, a loaded loading unit or an unloaded loading unit such as a pallet respectively forms a geometry class.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5, wherein the control is made to activate the reading device only for objects of a preset geometry class and/or only to evaluate the read out information of an object of a preset geometry class.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6, wherein the geometry class is fixed with reference to the fields simultaneously swept over by the object.

8. A device in accordance claim 1, wherein the preset movement pattern is fixed by the entry into a first field, the movement into a second field first and then into a third field and the exiting of the third field, with the control in particular being made only to activate the reading device on the movement into the second field and/or to discard the read out information if the object does not first move into the third field and subsequently exit it again after the activation of the reading device.

9. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control is made to determine and to record the travel path of vehicles carrying objects by means of a transponder of the vehicle.

10. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the control comprises a memory for read out information and is made to discard read out information if it is identical to information already previously read out.

11. A device in accordance with claim 1, wherein a plurality of optical sensors (24, 25), in particular a plurality of laser scanners, are provided and these sensors comprise fields in at least two rows disposed next to one another for the recognition of more complex movement patterns and/or in at least two planes disposed above one another for the recognition of more complex geometry classes.

12. A method for the reading out of information from a transponder arranged at an object by means of a reading device which excites the transponder to radiate information and which reads out the radiated information, the method comprising

determining a movement pattern of the object by means of a laser scanner, the laser scanner having a range of view divided into multiple fields, said movement pattern fixed over an order of the fields contacted sequentially by the object, whereby the laser scanner determines a movement pattern of the object;

using the transponder to read out the radiated information, in response to the determined movement displaying a preset movement pattern as determined by the laser scanner by using the determined movement pattern to only evaluate the read out information in the case of the object displaying a preset movement pattern as determined by the laser scanner and disregarding read out information if the object does not carry out the preset movement pattern.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the reading device is only activated when the object carries out the preset movement pattern at least in part and/or read out information is discarded when the object does not completely carry out the preset movement pattern.

14. A method in accordance with claim 12,

wherein a geometry class is determined;

and wherein in particular a person, a loaded loading unit or an unloaded unit such as a pallet respectively form a geometry class; and

wherein the reading device is only activated for objects of a preset geometry class and/or only the read out information of an object of a preset geometry class is evaluated.

15. A method in accordance with claim 12,

wherein the geometry class is fixed with reference to the fields simultaneously swept over by the object, with fields being provided in at least two rows disposed next to one another for the recognition of more complex movement patterns and/or in at least two planes for the recognition of more complex geometry classes in particular while using a plurality of optoelectronic sensors.

16. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the preset movement pattern is fixed by the entry into a first field, the movement into a second field first and then into a third field and the exiting of the third field, with in particular the reading device only being activated on the movement into the second field and/or the read out information being discarded if the object does not move into the third field first and subsequently exit it after the activation of the reading device.

17. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein the read out information is discarded when it is identical to stored information already read out previously.