Systems and methods for secure supply chain management and inventory control
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A collection, comprising:
- a plurality of items, where each item possesses an item identifier string; and
a plurality of RFID tags, where an RFID tag is affixed to each of the items and each RFID tag is encoded with a code word element generated using at least all of the item identifier strings,wherein the items are not identifiable by reading an individual RFID tag affixed to the item, andwherein the combination of code word elements from a subset of the RFID tags contains information indicative of all of the item identifier strings.
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Abstract
Systems for encoding and reading RFID tags on a collection of items are shown. One embodiment of the invention includes a plurality of items, where each item possesses an item identifier string, and a plurality of RFID tags, where an RFID tag is affixed to each of the items and each RFID tag is encoded with a code word element generated using at least all of the item identifier strings. In many embodiments, the collection is a plurality of goods contained within a case, pallet, container or storage area.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. A collection, comprising:
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a plurality of items, where each item possesses an item identifier string; and a plurality of RFID tags, where an RFID tag is affixed to each of the items and each RFID tag is encoded with a code word element generated using at least all of the item identifier strings, wherein the items are not identifiable by reading an individual RFID tag affixed to the item, and wherein the combination of code word elements from a subset of the RFID tags contains information indicative of all of the item identifier strings. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of producing RFID tags for identifying a collection of items, where each item is identified by an item identifier string, comprising:
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creating a set of identifier strings using the item identifier strings of all of the items in the collection; generating a code word using at least the set of identifier strings; breaking the code word into a number of code word elements equal to the number of items in the collection; using each code word element to encode a separate RFID tag; and affixing the RFID tags to the collection of items so that the items are not identifiable by reading an individual RFID tag affixed to the item, and the combination of code word elements from a subset of the RFID tags contains information indicative of the set of item identifier strings. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method of identifying items in a collection that is identified by a collection serial number, where each item bears a memory encoded with a code word element, a collection serial number and an item sequence number, and where the items are not identifiable by reading an individual RFID tag affixed to the item, and where the combination of code word elements from a subset of the RFID tags contains information indicative of the set of item identifier strings, the method comprising:
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reading the code word element, collection serial number and item sequence number from a plurality of memories; discarding the code word element from memories that bear a collection serial number that does not match the serial number of the collection; reordering the remaining code word elements in accordance with the item sequence numbers read from the memories; forming a code word using the ordered code word elements; extracting a set of item identifier strings from the code word; and identifying the items in the collection using each of the item identifier strings. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for encoding RFID tags, comprising:
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an antenna configured to generate a signal formatted to encode an RFID tag; a processor in communication with the antenna; a memory in communication with the processor, where the memory contains item identifier strings for a collection of goods; wherein the processor is configured to generate a code word using at least the item identifier strings; wherein the processor is configured to extract a code word element from the code word and direct the antenna to generate a signal formatted to encode an RFID tag with the code word element, and wherein the processor is configured to;
compress the item identifier strings;
generate error correction code using the compressed item identifier strings; and
generate the code word using at least the compressed item identifier strings and the error correction code. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for decoding a collection of RFID tags identifiable using a collection serial number, where each RFID tag is encoded with a code word element, an item sequence number and a collection serial number, where the items are not identifiable by reading an individual RFID tag affixed to the item, and where the combination of code word elements from a subset of the RFID tags contains information indicative of the set of item identifier strings, comprising:
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an RFID tag reader configured to read information from a plurality of RFID tags; a processor configured to receive information from the RFID tag reader, store information from RFID tags that possess collection serial numbers that match the collection serial number of the collection and discard information from other RFID tags; wherein the processor is also configured to reorder the code word elements in accordance with the item sequence numbers of the RFID tags from which the code word elements were read; wherein the processor is also configured to create a code word using the code word elements; and wherein the processor is also configured to extract item identifier sequences using the code word. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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Specification