Supply chain management using item detection system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system to monitor item placement and item movement on surfaces, the system comprising:
- an identification system embedded in one or more surfaces and operable to generate data related to items placed on the surfaces by periodically scanning the surfaces, the data including item type, item location on each surface, and number of items placed on each surface, the identification system comprising an RF-ID system configured to;
receive a first electronic indication of a physical size of items to be placed on a first portion of a surface of a shelf in which is embedded a first group of inductor coils,in response to the first electronic indication and conditioned on the first electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively large, set a strength of a magnetic field generated by the first group of inductor coils during scanning to a first magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the first surface portion of the shelf, andin response to the first electronic indication and conditioned on the first electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively small, set the strength of the magnetic field generated by the first group of inductor coils during scanning to a second magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the first surface portion of the shelf, the second magnetic field level being less than the first magnetic field level; and
a computer configured to receive and process the data to monitor item placement and item movement on the surfaces.
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Abstract
A system to monitor item placement and item movement on surfaces includes an identification system embedded in one or more surfaces and a computer. The identification system periodically scans the surfaces to generate data related to items placed on the surfaces. The data includes item type, item location on each surface, and number of items placed on each surface. The computer receives and processes the data to monitor item placement and item movement on the surfaces.
76 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A system to monitor item placement and item movement on surfaces, the system comprising:
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an identification system embedded in one or more surfaces and operable to generate data related to items placed on the surfaces by periodically scanning the surfaces, the data including item type, item location on each surface, and number of items placed on each surface, the identification system comprising an RF-ID system configured to; receive a first electronic indication of a physical size of items to be placed on a first portion of a surface of a shelf in which is embedded a first group of inductor coils, in response to the first electronic indication and conditioned on the first electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively large, set a strength of a magnetic field generated by the first group of inductor coils during scanning to a first magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the first surface portion of the shelf, and in response to the first electronic indication and conditioned on the first electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively small, set the strength of the magnetic field generated by the first group of inductor coils during scanning to a second magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the first surface portion of the shelf, the second magnetic field level being less than the first magnetic field level; and a computer configured to receive and process the data to monitor item placement and item movement on the surfaces. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 30, 31)
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19. A system comprising:
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an RF-ID item identification system operable to periodically generate data related to placement and movement of items in one or more supply chain nodes, the RF-ID item identification system being configured to; receive an electronic indication of a physical size of items to be placed on a portion of a surface of a shelf in which is embedded a group of inductor coils, in response to the electronic indication and conditioned on the electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively large, set a strength of a magnetic field generated by the group of inductor coils during scanning to a first magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the surface portion of the shelf, and in response to the electronic indication and conditioned on the electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively small, set the strength of the magnetic field generated by the group of inductor coils during scanning to a second magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the surface portion of the shelf, the second magnetic field level being less than the first magnetic field level; and a supply chain management system configured to receive and process the data to monitor inventory or customer behavior in the one or more supply chain nodes. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A system comprising:
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a content based messaging network; an identification system embedded in one or more surfaces and operable to generate data related to items placed on the surfaces by periodically scanning the surfaces, the data including item type, item location on each surface, and number of items placed on each surface, the identification system comprising an RF-ID system configured to; receive an electronic indication of a physical size of items to be placed on a portion of a surface of a shelf in which is embedded a group of inductor coils, in response to the electronic indication and conditioned on the electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively large, set a strength of a magnetic field generated by the group of inductor coils during scanning to a first magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the surface portion of the shelf, and in response to the electronic indication and conditioned on the electronic indication representing that the physical size of the items is relatively small, set the strength of the magnetic field generated by the group of inductor coils during scanning to a second magnetic field level for detecting RF-ID tags of items placed on the surface portion of the shelf, the second magnetic field level being less than the first magnetic field level; a first computer configured to receive, process, and periodically publish the data to the content based messaging network, the first computer associated with a first supply chain node; and a second computer configured to periodically receive the data from the content based messaging network, the second computer associated with a second supply chain node. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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Specification