Suppressing alerts for RFID systems

• US 8,866,612 B1
• Filed: 12/14/2012
• Issued: 10/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: Foster, Robert F.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US13/715,144
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 340/568.1, 340/571, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/5.2, 340/5.92, 235/462, 235/462.01, 705/22, 705/28, 177/50, 177/128, 177/185
• US Class Current: 340/568.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID

Abstract

A value is stored in memory indicating that an alert is to be issued if more than a threshold quantity of an item is moved out of a location. Instructions to employees to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location are also stored in memory. A signal from at least one sensor is received indicating that an item has been moved out of the location. At least one of an identifier for the item and an identifier for the location is used to locate the instructions to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location. In response to locating the instructions, an alert that would otherwise be issued because more than the threshold quantity of the item was removed from the location is suppressed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing a value in memory indicating that an alert is to be issued if more than a threshold quantity of an item is moved out of a location;

storing in memory instructions to employees to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location;

receiving a signal from at least one sensor indicating that an item has been moved out of the location;

using at least one of an identifier for the item and an identifier for the location to find the instructions to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location; and

in response to finding the instructions, suppressing an alert that would otherwise be issued because more than the threshold quantity of the item was removed from the location.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the instructions to employees to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location comprises an entry in a task database that identifies the location, the item, at least one date and an instruction to remove the item from the location.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the instructions to employees to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location comprises a list of items that are to be in the location wherein the list does not include the item that was removed from the location.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the list of items is associated with a planogram that describes how items in the list are to be positioned at the location.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving a signal from at least one sensor comprises receiving a signal from an RFID sensor.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a value in memory indicating that an alert is to be issued if more than a threshold quantity of a further item is moved out of a location;

receiving a signal from at least one sensor indicating that at least one of the further item has been moved out of the location;

using at least one of an identifier for the further item and an identifier for the location to search for instructions to remove more than the threshold quantity of the further item from the location;

in response to not finding instructions to remove more than the threshold quantity of the further item from the location, allowing an alert to be issued.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein finding the instructions to remove more than the threshold quantity of the item from the location further comprises locating a value associated with the instructions that indicates whether an employee has indicated that the employee is executing the instructions and only suppressing the alert if the value associated with the instructions indicates that an employee has indicated that the employee is executing the instructions.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to perform steps comprising:

receiving a signal from at least one sensor indicating that an item is no longer within an area;

using an identifier for the item to search a memory for plans to remove more than a specified number of the item from the area; and

in response to locating the plans, not sending an alert that would otherwise be sent because more than the specified number of the item was removed from the area.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein using the identifier for the item to search the memory comprises searching a stocking guide for the identifier, wherein the stocking guide describes what items are to be positioned within the area.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 9 wherein not locating the identifier for the item in the stocking guide constitutes locating plans to remove more than the specified number of the item from the area.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein using the identifier for the item to search the memory comprises searching the memory for a task that involves removing the item from the area.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 wherein locating the plans comprises locating a task that has been assigned to an employee to be performed on the same day as the day the signal was received.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein locating the plans further comprises locating a task that has been marked as being at least started by the employee.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 wherein the steps further comprise:

receiving an additional signal from at least one sensor indicating that a different item is no longer within the area;

using an identifier for the different item to search a memory for plans to remove more than a specified number of the different item from the area; and

in response to not locating plans to remove more than the specified number of the different item from the area, sending an alert that more than the specified number of the different item was removed from the area.

15. A system comprising:

a handheld device transmitting an indication that an employee has checked out an item;

a server receiving the indication that an employee has checked out an item from the handheld device and storing in memory the indication that the employee has checked out the item;

a sensor detecting that an item is not in an area and transmitting information indicating that the item is not in the area;

a sensor server receiving from the sensor the information indicating that the item is not in the area, accessing the memory to determine if an employee has checked out the item, and because the employee has checked out the item, suppressing an alert that would otherwise be sent.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the employee checks out the item by selecting the item from a list of items displayed on the handheld device.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the list of items displayed on the handheld device comprises items that are detected by the handheld device to be within a given radius of the handheld device.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein the employee checks out the item by capturing a code printed on the item.

19. The system of claim 15 wherein the server further receives an indication that the employee has checked the item in after checking the item out and the sensor server determines an area where the item was located when the employee checked the item in.

20. The system of claim 15 wherein the handheld device comprises a user interface that allows the employee to check out multiple items at the same time.