Orphaned product stray analysis using RFID

• US 9,098,824 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Issued: 08/04/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal Mart Stores Inc (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Jones, Nicholaus Adam, Bourlon, Jarrod Lee, Stiefel, Thomas Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Labaze, Edwyn
• Application Number:
  US13/861,958
• Publication Number:
  US 20140263635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 235/383, 235/375, 235/487, 235/462.46, 235/472.02, 340/572.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of managing inventory includes receiving, at an antenna operatively coupled to a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, product identification information encoded in an RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags. Each of the RFID tags is associated with a respective one of a plurality of products. The method further includes processing, by a processor, the product identification information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to identify a characteristic associated with each of the products, and identifying, by the processor using the product identification information, one of the products having a characteristic different from another one of the products. The method may include identifying a majority of the products having a characteristic in common based on the product identification information, and identifying at least one of the products having a characteristic different from the majority.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of managing inventory, comprising:

receiving, at an antenna operatively coupled to a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, product identification information encoded in a first RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags associated with a plurality of first products at a first location;

receiving, at the antenna, product identification information encoded in a second RF signal transmitted by one or more RFID tags associated with one or more second products at the first location;

analyzing, by a processor, the first RF signal to identify a first product characteristic common to the plurality of first products based on the product identification information encoded in the first RF signal;

analyzing, by the processor, the second RF signal to identify a second product characteristic different from the first product characteristic and associated with the one or more second products based on the product identification information encoded in the second RF signal; and

identifying, by the processor, a data pattern from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, the data pattern identifying that the plurality of first products comprise a majority of all products at the first location based on the first product characteristic, and indicating that the one or more second products are incorrectly co-located at the first location with the plurality of first products based on the difference between the second product characteristic and the first product characteristic.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first product characteristic or the second product characteristic includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, a product category, a department number, a package quantity, a pack type identifier, a style, a season, a size, and a color.

3. The computer-implement method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the processor via a display, information representing at least one item having the first product characteristic different from the second product characteristic.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the product identification information includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, and a product name.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the product identification information is read over a predetermined period of time.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising identifying a misplaced product in response to identifying one or more data patterns from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, wherein identifying the misplaced product includes employing pattern matching using the first and second characteristics to determine whether the misplaced product is associated with the plurality of first products or the one or more second products.

7. An inventory management system comprising:

a programmable processor; and

a memory operatively coupled to the processor, the memory having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to;

receive, at an antenna operatively coupled to a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, product identification information encoded in a first RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags associated with a plurality of first products at a first location;

receive, at the antenna, product identification information encoded in a second RF signal transmitted by one or more RFID tags associated with one or more second products at the first location;

analyze the first RF signal to identify a first product characteristic common to the plurality of first products based on the product identification information encoded in the first RF signal;

analyze the second RF signal to identify a second product characteristic different from the first product characteristic and associated with the one or more second products based on the product identification information encoded in the second RF signal; and

identify a data pattern from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, the data pattern identifying that the plurality of first products comprise a majority of all products at the first location based on the first product characteristic, and indicating that the one or more second products are incorrectly co-located at the first location based on the difference between the second product characteristic and the first product characteristic.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the first product characteristic or the second product characteristic includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, a product category, a department number, a package quantity, a pack type identifier, a style, a season, a size, and a color.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to display, via a display, information representing at least one item having the first product characteristic different from the second product characteristic.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the product identification information includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, and a product name.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the product identification information is read over a predetermined period of time.

12. The system of claim 7, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to identify a misplaced product in response to identifying one or more data patterns from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, wherein the misplaced product is identified by employing pattern matching using the first and second characteristics to determine whether the misplaced product is associated with the plurality of first products or the one or more second products.

13. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that when executed by a processor cause the processor to:

receive, at an antenna operatively coupled to a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, product identification information encoded in a first RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags associated with a plurality of first products at a first location;

receive, at the antenna, product identification information encoded in a second RF signal transmitted by one or more RFID tags associated with one or more second products at the first location;

analyze the first RF signal to identify a first product characteristic common to the plurality of first products based on the product identification information encoded in the first RF signal;

analyze the second RF signal to identify a second product characteristic different from the first product characteristic and associated with the one or more second products based on the product identification information encoded in the second RF signal; and

identify a data pattern from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, the data pattern identifying that the plurality of first products comprise a majority of all products at the first location based on the first product characteristic, and indicating that the one or more second products are incorrectly co-located at the first location with the plurality of first products based on the difference between the second product characteristic and the first product characteristic.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the first product characteristic or the second product characteristic includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, a product category, a department number, a package quantity, a package identifier, a style, a season, a size, and a color.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to display, via a display, information representing at least one item having the first product characteristic different from the second product characteristic.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the product identification information includes at least one of a product stock keeping unit (SKU) number, a manufacturer product number, a brand identifier, a model identifier, and a product name.

17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 13, further comprising instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to identify a misplaced product in response to identifying one or more data patterns from the first product characteristic and the second product characteristic, wherein the misplaced product is identified by employing pattern matching using the first and second characteristics to determine whether the misplaced product is associated with the plurality of first products or the one or more second products.