Systems and methods for monitoring a headcount

• US 9,396,447 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Codex Corporation (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Codex Corporation (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dalley, Kenneth L. Jr., Wilmeth, Brett
• Primary Examiner(s): Alizada, Omeed
• Application Number:
  US13/838,097
• Publication Number:
  US 20140266726A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,222 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2451 Specific applications combined with EAS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons

Abstract

The disclosure relates to systems and methods for monitoring a headcount with RFID. Such a system can include a plurality or transponders, each transponder of the plurality of transponders associated with an offender. The system can include a plurality of radio frequency identification readers configured to transmit an interrogating signal to one or more transponders of the plurality of transponders and receive an identifying signal in response to the one or more transponders receiving the interrogating signal, the plurality of radio frequency identification readers associated with at least one programmable event, the at least one programmable event including a headcount. The system can include a server configured to receive data from the plurality of radio frequency identification readers through a network and determine if there is a discrepancy in the headcount.

Claims

1. A computer readable storage device with instructions stored thereon, the instructions, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

receiving data including a plurality of radio frequency identification reader unique identifiers, the data including a plurality of transponder unique identifiers detected by the plurality of radio frequency identification readers during a headcount, wherein each radio frequency unique identifier is associated with an individual radio frequency identification reader and each transponder unique identifier is associated with an individual transponder, each individual radio frequency identification reader configured in association with a location and thereby identifying a location of the individual transponders, the received data including data representative of a direction of travel, as determined by a radar module of a radio frequency identification reader, associated with at least one of the transponder unique identifiers;

comparing the received plurality of transponder unique identifiers to an expected set of transponder unique identifiers to be received in the headcount and location where one or more of the individual transponder are to be located and not to be located;

determining if there is a discrepancy between the expected set of transponder unique identifiers, the received plurality of transponder unique identifiers, and locations where the individual transponders are to be and not to be located;

determining, in view of a stored offender relation restriction rule with regard to unique transponder identifiers of at least two individuals, whether the unique transponder identifiers of the at least two individuals will be at a same location based on a direction of travel associated with at least one unique transponder identifier of an individual of the at least two individuals, that the at least two individuals will be in the same location; and

sending an alert to an entity in response to determining the stored offender relation restriction rule is violated by the at least two individuals being at the same location.

2. The computer readable storage device of claim 1, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising sending an alert to an entity in response to determining that there is a discrepancy in the headcount.

3. The computer readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the instructions for sending the alert include instructions, which when executed by the machine, cause the machine to send an alert that indicates that a transponder of the expected set of transponders was not detected and a unique identifier of the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected.

4. The computer readable storage device of claim 3, wherein the storage device further comprises instructions, which when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising before sending the alert, determining if the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected has moved.

5. The computer readable storage device of claim 4, wherein the instructions for receiving data includes instructions which cause the machine to receive data indicating an amount of time it took to complete the headcount.

6. The computer readable storage device of claim 5, the instructions for receiving data include instructions that cause the machine to receive, after the alert is sent, data indicating a location of the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected.

7. The computer readable storage device of claim 6, further comprising instructions, which when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising displaying headcount data including a date and time of a headcount, a location corresponding to the headcount, and a number of transponders expected to be detected from the headcount.

8. A method comprising:

receiving, at a web service server, data including a plurality of radio frequency identification reader unique identifiers, the data including a plurality of transponder unique identifiers detected by the plurality of radio frequency identification readers during a headcount, wherein each radio frequency unique identifier is associated with an individual radio frequency identification reader and each transponder unique identifier is associated with an individual transponder, each individual radio frequency identification reader configured in association with a location and thereby identifying a location of the individual transponders, the received data including data representative of a direction of travel, as determined by a radar module of a radio frequency identification reader, associated with at least one of the transponder unique identifiers;

comparing, using the web service server, the received plurality of transponder unique identifiers to an expected set of transponder unique identifiers to be received in the headcount and location where one or more of the individual transponder are to be located and not to be located;

determining if there is a discrepancy between the expected set of transponder unique identifiers the received plurality of transponder unique identifiers, and locations where the individual transponders are to be and not to be located;

determining, in view of a stored offender relation restriction rule with regard to unique transponder identifiers of at least two individuals, whether the unique transponder identifiers of the at least two individuals will be at a same location based on a direction of travel associated with at least one unique transponder identifier of an individual of the at least two individuals, that the at least two individuals will be in the same location; and

sending an alert to an entity in response to determining the stored offender relation restriction rule is violated by the at least two individuals being at the same location.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising sending an alert to an entity in response to determining that there is a discrepancy in the headcount.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein sending the alert includes sending an alert that indicates that a transponder of the expected set of transponders was not detected and a unique identifier of the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising, before sending the alert, determining if the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected has moved.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein receiving data includes receiving data indicating an amount of time it took to complete the headcount.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein receiving data includes receiving, after the alert is sent, data indicating a location of the offender associated with the transponder that was not detected.