System and method for tracking and monitoring personnel and equipment
First Claim
1. An object monitoring system comprising:
- a plurality of antennae;
an RFID tag activator for successively selecting combinations of the plurality of antennae to form a series of antennae subsets, defining a full activation signal for each antennae subset, calculating a portion of the full activation signal for each antennae in the antennae subset, assigning the corresponding calculated portion of the full activation signal to each of the antennae in the antennae subset, and transmitting the assigned portions of the full activation signal from each of the antennae in each antennae subset, such that the assigned portions arrive at a local interrogation zone corresponding to each antennae subset to form the full activation signal in the local interrogation zone; and
at least one RFID tag attached to an object positioned in the local interrogation zone, the RFID tag for transmitting a data signal upon receiving the full activation signal from the antennae subset.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method are described for using RFID tags to track and monitor personnel and equipment in large environments and environments that are prone to multipath fading. The system scans the environment by selecting local interrogation zones where RFID tags may be located. Multiple antennae are used, each transmitting a portion of an activation signal, such that the activation signal will be formed in the selected local interrogation zone. Different subsets of the antennae are successively selected, each targeting the selected local interrogation zone, to repeat the activation signal for each subset of antenna. RFID tags in the local interrogation zone will receive the portions of the activation signals and process them to determine whether the full activation signal was destined for that local interrogation zone for each of the subsets of antennae. An activated RFID tag will transmit its tag information, including any data collected from sensors connected to the tag, back to the system. The systems and method will use the location information of the various RFID tags in the global environment and combine that with data received through cameras and other sensors to provide a display with the RFID tag location information superimposed. The data collected about various regions of the environment may be transmitted back to the RFID tags to provide the personnel with information about their surroundings.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An object monitoring system comprising:
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a plurality of antennae; an RFID tag activator for successively selecting combinations of the plurality of antennae to form a series of antennae subsets, defining a full activation signal for each antennae subset, calculating a portion of the full activation signal for each antennae in the antennae subset, assigning the corresponding calculated portion of the full activation signal to each of the antennae in the antennae subset, and transmitting the assigned portions of the full activation signal from each of the antennae in each antennae subset, such that the assigned portions arrive at a local interrogation zone corresponding to each antennae subset to form the full activation signal in the local interrogation zone; and at least one RFID tag attached to an object positioned in the local interrogation zone, the RFID tag for transmitting a data signal upon receiving the full activation signal from the antennae subset. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for monitoring objects comprising:
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providing a plurality of antennae; providing at least one RFID tag coupled to each of the objects; selecting combinations of antennae from the plurality of antennae to form a series of antennae subsets; and for each antennae subset; defining a full activation signal; calculating a portion of the full activation signal for each antennae in the antennae subset; assigning the corresponding calculated portion of the full activation signal to each of the antennae in the antennae subset; and transmitting the assigned portions of the full activation signal from each of the antennae in the antennae subset, such that the assigned portions arrive in a local interrogation zone corresponding to the antennae subset to form the full activation signal in the local interrogation zone, wherein the local interrogation zone is selected within a global interrogation zone. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A personnel module, the module comprising:
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an RFID tag for receiving portions of a full activation signal, each portion being received from an antenna in a plurality of antennae, and transmitting a data signal; a data module operatively coupled to the RFID tag, the data module for sensing data; a memory operatively coupled to the data module, the memory for storing data; processing logic operatively coupled to the RFID tag and data module, the processing logic for combining portions of the full activation signal to form a combined signal, and determining if the combined signal corresponds to an expected activation signal; wherein each portion is calculated from the full activation signal and assigned to one of the antennae. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification