Discrepancy analysis of RFID reads to determine locations

• US 9,165,277 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2013
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Wal-Mart Stores Texas LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Jones, Nicholaus Adam, Bourlon, Jarrod Lee, Stiefel, Thomas Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): HESS, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US13/862,110
• Publication Number:
  US 20140263636A1
• Time in Patent Office: 921 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 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

According to an embodiment, 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 and using the product identification information, information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to compare apparent location information associated with the RFID reader with prior location information associated with at least one of the products, and updating, by the processor, the apparent location information to match the prior location information where the apparent location information is different than the prior location information.

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 an RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags, each of the plurality of RFID tags associated with a respective one of a plurality of products, the product identification information including product location information associated with each respective one of the plurality of products;

processing, by a processor, the product identification information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to compare apparent location information associated with the RFID reader with historical location information associated with at least one of the plurality of products;

,

updating, by the processor, the apparent location information to match the historical location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products is different from the apparent location information; and

updating the product location information to match the apparent location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products corresponds to the apparent location information,

wherein the historical location information includes the product location information acquired from at least one previous reading of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein comparing the apparent location information comprises retrieving, by the processor from a database, machine-readable product data representing the historical location information associated with each of the plurality of products.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the historical location information includes product location information acquired from at least two previous readings of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the processor via a display, at least one of the historical location information and the apparent location information.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising displaying, by the processor via a display, a prompt for a user to manually update the apparent location information to match the historical location information where the apparent location information is different than the historical location information.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the historical location information and the apparent location information each represent at least one physical location.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, further comprising displaying, by the processor via a display, information representing the at least one physical location.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the product identification information is received while the physical location of the reader is substantially static.

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

10. 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 an RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags, each of the plurality of RFID tags associated with a respective one of a plurality of products, the product identification information including product location information associated with each respective one of the plurality of products;

process the product identification information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to compare apparent location information associated with the RFID reader with historical location information associated with each of the plurality of products, wherein the historical location information includes product location information acquired from at least one previous reading of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader;

update the apparent location information to match the historical location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products is different from the apparent location information; and

update the product location information to match the apparent location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products corresponds to the apparent location information.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to compare the apparent location information by retrieving, from a database, machine-readable product data representing the historical location information associated with each of the plurality of products.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the historical location information includes product location information acquired from at least two previous readings of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to display, via a display, at least one of the historical location information and the apparent location information.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the historical location information and the apparent location information each represent at least one physical location.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the memory further comprises instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to display, via a display, information representing the at least one physical location.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein the product identification information is received while the physical location of the reader is substantially static.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the product identification information is received over a predetermined period of time.

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

receive, 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 plurality of RFID tags associated with a respective one of a plurality of products, the product identification information including product location information associated with each respective one of the plurality of products;

process the product identification information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to compare apparent location information associated with the RFID reader with historical location information associated with at least one of the plurality of products, wherein the historical location information includes product location information acquired from at least one previous reading of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader;

update the apparent location information to match the historical location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products is different from the apparent location information; and

update the product location information to match the apparent location information where the historical location information associated with a majority of the plurality of products corresponds to the apparent location information.

19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the historical location information includes product location information acquired from at least two previous readings of at least one of the plurality of RFID tags associated with the at least one of the plurality of products by the RFID reader.