Method and apparatus for tracking objects and people

• US 8,742,929 B2
• Filed: 04/23/2012
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Automated Tracking Solutions LLC
• Original Assignee: Automated Tracking Solutions LLC
• Inventors: Sawyer, Frederick
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US13/453,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20130038452A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/539.21, 340/539.23, 340/568.1, 340/568.2, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.7, 340/8.1, 340/10.1, 340/10.4, 340/10.42, 340/5.8, 702/150, 702/153, 705/22, 705/28
• US Class Current: 340/572.4
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/74 Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0029 the arrangement being specially adapted for wireless interrogation of grouped or bundled articles tagged with wireless record carriers
• 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 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0202 Child monitoring systems using a transmitter-receiver system carried by the parent and the child

Abstract

An object locating, identifying, tracking, and surveillance system, denoted the Assets Locating, Tracking, and Surveillance System (ALTSS), is provided for managing physical objects and evidence in environments such as police departments, law offices, and the Courts. ALTSS employs radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, computer programming and database applications, networking technologies, and hardware elements. ALTSS may locate and track physical evidence, merchandise, information carriers like files, folders or individual pieces of paper, and people, under certain conditions, in near-real time. It may be configured as part of a local area network, a wide area network, or the Internet. ALTSS may employ exemplary components such as RFID transponders, scanners, strategically located antennas and computers to facilitate tracking of objects and people as needed. Any number of users having access privileges and connected to the network may access ALTSS directly or remotely via the Internet to locate and track evidence or objects.

Claims

1. A system for locating, identifying and tracking of at least one object or person, said system comprising:

an active or passive transponders affixable to the object or person;

a scanner for transmitting and receiving time-varying electromagnetic radio frequency (RF) signals; and

an antenna having a first coverage area for respectively transmitting and receiving said RF signals to and from said scanner and said transponder,

wherein said antennas being strategically affixable within a facility, and said system including locating, identifying and tracking means for enabling the system to process data generated by said transponder, scanner and antenna to locate, identify and track the object or person having said transponder affixed to the object or person, said locating means enabling location of a position of the object or person, said identifying means enabling identification of a characteristic by which the object or person is recognizable and said tracking means enabling tracking of the course of a moving object or person entering or exiting a plurality of coverage areas.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of transponders, scanners and antennas.

3. A system according to claim 2, further comprising a computer program for:

interrupting at least one of said scanners; and

polling said interrupted scanner to determine whether said scanner is at least one of;

an entrance/exit scanner;

a scanner affixed on a ceiling or wall of the facility, thereby designated a wall scanner; and

a scanner for locating and tracking objects within a storage unit within the facility, thereby designated a unit scanner.

4. A system according to claim 3, if said scanner is an entrance/exit scanner and detects a transponder ID, said computer program including code for:

comparing known transponder IDs with said detected transponder ID;

if one of said known transponder IDs does not correspond to said detected transponder ID, then at least one of recording said detected transponder ID and indicating said detected transponder ID as being unknown; and

if one of said known transponder IDs corresponds to one of said detected transponder IDs, then at least one of recording said detected transponder ID and indicating said detected transponder ID as entering or exiting the facility.

5. A system according to claim 3, if said scanner is a wall scanner and detects a transponder ID, said computer program including code for:

comparing known transponder IDs with said detected transponder ID;

if one of said known transponder IDs does not correspond to said detected transponder ID, then at least one of recording movement of said detected transponder ID and indicating said detected transponder ID as being unknown; and

if one of said known transponder IDs corresponds to one of said detected transponder IDs, then at least one of recording said detected transponder ID and recording movement of said detected transponder ID.

6. A system according to claim 3, for each unit scanner, said computer program including code for:

determining a number of active antennas operationally connected to said unit scanner;

cycling through said active antennas and listing all corresponding transponder IDs for transponders in a field of view of said active antennas;

reporting said transponder IDs found by each active antenna; and

after all unit scanners have been evaluated, comparing a number of said reported transponder IDs with a number of all transponder IDs for transponders known to be in the storage unit.

7. A system according to claim 6, if said number of all transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit is greater than said number of reported transponder IDs, said computer program including code for:

comparing each of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit with each of said reported transponder IDs;

if one of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit does not correspond to each of said reported transponder IDs, then at least one of designating said one known transponder ID as a missing transponder ID, and indicating the object having the missing transponder ID as being removed from said system; and

if one of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit corresponds to one of said reported transponder IDs, then recording a location of the object relative to said field of view of said corresponding active antenna.

8. A system according to claim 6, if said number of all transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit is equal to said number of reported transponder IDs, said computer program including code for:

comparing each said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit with each of said reported transponder IDs;

if one of said reported transponder IDs does not correspond to one of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit, then at least one of recording a location of said reported transponder ID, designating said one reported transponder ID as an unknown transponder ID, and indicating the object having the unknown transponder ID as being unknown and new to said system; and

if one of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit corresponds to one of said reported transponder IDs, then recording a location of the object relative to said field of view of said corresponding active antenna.

9. A system according to claim 6, if said number of all transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit is less than said number of reported transponder IDs, said computer program including code for:

comparing each of said reported transponder IDs with each of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit;

if one of said reported transponder IDs does not correspond to each of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit, then at least one of recording a location of said reported transponder ID, designating said one reported transponder ID as an unknown transponder ID, and indicating the object having the unknown transponder ID as being at least one of unknown and new to said system; and

if one of said reported transponder IDs corresponds to one of said transponder IDs known to be in the storage unit, then recording a location of the object relative to said field of view of said corresponding active antenna.

10. A system according to claim 1, further comprising:

at least one application server for processing said data and being logically connectable to said scanner, at least one user terminal and workstation for inputting said data into said system, and at least one database server for managing and storing said data in an enterprise database.

11. A system according to claim 1, said antennas being affixed at least one of at:

an entrance of the facility;

an exit of the facility;

a wall of the facility;

a ceiling of the facility; and

furniture within the facility.

12. A system according to claim 1, wherein said scanner further includes a computer program including code for handling deterministic or stochastic polling requests to include stochastic polling requests generated by said scanner based on a random event.

13. A system according to claim 12, further including a computer program for:

receiving and processing requests for polling from said scanners based on event data; and

polling said scanners reporting the event data.

14. A system according to claim 1, wherein said scanner further includes means for:

handling deterministic or stochastic polling requests to include stochastic polling requests generated by said scanner based on a random event.

15. A system according to claim 14, further including means for:

receiving and processing requests for polling from said scanner based on event data; and

polling said scanner reporting the event data.