Inventory management system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An inventory management system, comprising:
- an RFID reader;
a multiplexing device operably connected to the RFID reader;
a plurality of shelving units, each shelving unit having an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material;
a plurality of shelf antennas multiplexed to the RFID reader via the multiplexing device, at least one shelf antenna routed within each shelving unit and tuned such that only RFID tags within the outer boundary of the shelving unit respond to an interrogation signal; and
at least one of the shelving units has two or more shelf antennas arranged in laterally spaced relation to one another, the two or more shelf antennas are each configured to simultaneously radiate an interrogation signal within a defined portion of physical space that is non-overlapping with the defined portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the other of the two or more shelf antennas.
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Abstract
An inventory management system includes an RFID reader, a multiplexing device operably connected to the RFID reader, and a plurality of shelving units. Each shelving unit has an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material. The inventory management system additionally includes a plurality of shelf antennas multiplexed to the RFID reader via the multiplexing device. At least one shelf antenna is routed within each shelving unit and tuned such that only RFID tags within the outer boundary of the shelving unit respond to an interrogation signal.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. An inventory management system, comprising:
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an RFID reader; a multiplexing device operably connected to the RFID reader; a plurality of shelving units, each shelving unit having an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material; a plurality of shelf antennas multiplexed to the RFID reader via the multiplexing device, at least one shelf antenna routed within each shelving unit and tuned such that only RFID tags within the outer boundary of the shelving unit respond to an interrogation signal; and at least one of the shelving units has two or more shelf antennas arranged in laterally spaced relation to one another, the two or more shelf antennas are each configured to simultaneously radiate an interrogation signal within a defined portion of physical space that is non-overlapping with the defined portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the other of the two or more shelf antennas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An inventory management system, comprising:
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an RFID reader; a multiplexing device operably connected to the RFID reader; a plurality of shelving units of a storage rack of a shelf system located in a refrigerated area, each shelving unit having an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material; a plurality of tunable shelf antennas multiplexed to the RFID reader via the multiplexing device, at least one shelf antenna routed within each shelving unit and tuned such that only RFID tags within the outer boundary of the shelving unit respond to an interrogation signal, at least one of the shelving units has two or more shelf antennas arranged in laterally spaced relation to one another, the two or more shelf antennas are each configured to simultaneously radiate an interrogation signal within a defined portion of physical space that is non-overlapping with the defined portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the other of the two or more shelf antennas; and an indicator light associated with each one of the shelving units and configured to illuminate for indicating a shelving unit containing a tracked item to be moved, the tracked item having at least one of the RFID tags affixed thereto.
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16. A method of managing inventory, comprising:
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radiating an interrogation signal from a plurality of shelf antennas multiplexed to an RFID reader, at least one shelf antenna being routed within each one of a plurality of shelving units of a shelf system, each shelving unit having an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material, at least one of the shelving units having two or more shelf antennas arranged in laterally spaced relation to one another and configured to simultaneously radiate an interrogation signal within a defined portion of physical space that is non-overlapping with the defined portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the other of the two or more shelf antennas; blocking, using the RF blocking material of each shelving unit, at least a portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the shelf antenna contained within the outer boundary; emitting, from one or more RFID tags located within each outer boundary and affixed to one or more tracked items, a response signal in response to the interrogation signal radiated by the shelf antenna contained within the outer boundary; and blocking, using the RF blocking material of each shelving unit, at least a portion of the response signals emitted by the RFID tags within each outer boundary such that each shelf antenna receives only the response signals from the RFID tags located within the outer boundary containing the shelf antenna. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of managing inventory, comprising:
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radiating an interrogation signal from a plurality of shelf antennas multiplexed to an RFID reader, at least one shelf antenna being routed within each one of a plurality of shelving units of a shelf system, each shelving unit having an outer boundary defined at least in part by RF blocking material; blocking, using the RF blocking material of each shelving unit, at least a portion of the interrogation signal radiated by the shelf antenna contained within the outer boundary; emitting, from one or more RFID tags located within each outer boundary and affixed to one or more tracked items, a response signal in response to the interrogation signal radiated by the shelf antenna contained within the outer boundary; blocking, using the RF blocking material of each shelving unit, at least a portion of the response signals emitted by the RFID tags within each outer boundary such that each shelf antenna receives only the response signals from the RFID tags located within the outer boundary containing the shelf antenna; transmitting the response signals received by each shelf antenna to a system controller, each one of the response signals having a unique identification number; correlating, using a system controller connected to the RFID reader, the identification number encoded in each response signal to one of the tracked items; searching, using the system controller, a database for a tracked item from among a plurality of the tracked items; and identifying, using the system controller, a shelving unit containing the tracked item resulting from the database search. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification