System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects

• US 7,639,119 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2007
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Original Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
• Inventors: Gilbert, Ronald W., Carrender, Curtis L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Holloway, III; Edwin C
• Application Number:
  US11/864,112
• Publication Number:
  US 20080018434A1
• Time in Patent Office: 823 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.31, 340/10.51, 340/10.32, 340/825.35, 340/825.49, 340/571.1, 340/10.1, 340/10.33, 340/5.61, 340/5.9, 340/5.91, 340/5.92, 340/568.1, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/10.34, 235/375, 235/385, 235/492
• US Class Current: 340/10.42
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0029 the arrangement being specially adapted for wireless interrogation of grouped or bundled articles tagged with wireless record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

A system and method of inventorying multiple objects utilizing a multi-level or a chained radio frequency identification system. The system includes a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects. The upper and lower level tags communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags. In the chained RF system, the upper and lower level tags communicate locally with each other in a manner so that more remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller.

Claims

1. A system for tracking a plurality of objects stored in a containment device, comprising:

a plurality of beam-powered passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, each of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags configured for association with a corresponding object in the containment device, and each of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags configured to derive power solely from an interrogation signal; and

an active RFID tag configured for association with the container, the active RFID tag configured to communicate with the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags, to store information received from at least one of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags, and to respond to the interrogation signal to relay the stored information.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a remote interrogator configured to communicate with the active RFID tag via the interrogation signal and to receive an output from the active RFID tag corresponding to information stored in the active RFID tag.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the containment device comprises one from among a container, a box, a jar, a room, a vehicle, a vehicle trailer, an envelope, a file, and a device.

4. A system for tracking a plurality of objects stored in a containment device, comprising:

a plurality of beam-powered passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tags configured for association with corresponding objects in the containment device, each beam-powered passive RFID tag adapted to communicate with at least one other of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags within its range and with at least one other of the plurality of RFID tags outside of its range through the at least one other of the plurality of RFID tags within its range to provide a chained communication link among all of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags in the system to read and store information from all of the other beam-powered passive RFID tags, each beam-powered passive RFID tag adapted to send notice to the other beam-powered passive RFID tags when a communication link disappears; and

an interrogator configured to query the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags by transmitting a signal, the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags configured to generate operating power solely from the signal transmitted from the interrogator, the interrogator configured to receive from any one of the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags the information received from all of the other plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags that have communicated with the beam-powered passive RFID tag queried by the reader.

5. The system of claim 4, further comprising an active RFID tag configured for association with the containment device, the active RFID tag configured to communicate with the plurality of beam-powered passive RFID tags, to store information, and to respond to an interrogation signal to relay the stored information.

6. A method of inventorying remote objects stored in a defined area, comprising:

associating a plurality of beam-powered passive asset radio frequency tags configured for read and write operations with a respective object, each tag communicating with other tags within its range and other tags outside of its range through the other tags within its range, the beam-powered passive asset tags generating operating power solely from a received radio frequency interrogation signal;

providing an active master tag configured to store information regarding the status of the beam-powered passive asset tags associated with their respective objects, the master tag adapted to automatically communicate a notice of a missing communication link with at least one of the asset tags; and

reading the master tag to determine the contents of the defined area.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein providing the master tag comprises writing to the master tag information regarding the objects stored in the defined area on a periodic basis to update the information in the master tag.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the master tag is configured to read the asset tags associated with the respective objects to determine the asset tags, and hence the associated objects, present in the defined area.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the defined area comprises one of either a container, a box, and a room, and further wherein the master tag is associated with the container, box, or room.

10. A system for tracking a plurality of objects stored in a containment device, comprising:

a plurality of first radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, each first RFID tag configured for association with a corresponding object in the containment device, each first RFID tag configured to communicate with other first RFID tags within its range and with other first RFID tags outside its range through the other first RFID tags within its range so each first RFID tag communicates with all the other of the first RFID tags a notification of a changed condition without being first interrogated and upon sensing the changed condition or upon receiving notification of a changed condition from another of the plurality of first RFID tags, the changed condition including an absence of communication with at least one first RFID tag; and

a second RFID tag configured as an active RFID tag for association with the container, the second RFID tag communicating with the plurality of first RFID tags to store information and to respond to an interrogation signal from a remote interrogator to relay the stored information.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the remote interrogator is configured to communicate with the second RFID tag via the interrogation signal and to receive an output from the second RFID tag corresponding to information stored in the second RFID tag.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the containment device comprises one from among a container, a box, a jar, a room, a vehicle, a vehicle trailer, an envelope, a file, and a device.

13. A method of inventorying remote objects stored in a defined area, comprising:

associating first radio frequency tags configured for read and write operations regarding a respective object, to store information about a condition of the first tags, and to transmit to other of the first tags within communications range of the first tags and transmit to all of the other of the first tags out of communications range through the other of the first tags within communications range a notification of a change in the condition and without being first interrogated wherein transmitting notification of the change in the condition includes transmitting notification of an absence of communication with another first radio frequency tag within communications range;

providing a master active radio frequency tag configured to store information regarding the condition information stored in the first tags associated with their respective objects; and

reading the master tag to determine the location condition of the remote objects in the defined area.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein providing the master tag comprises writing to the master tag information regarding the objects stored in the defined area on a periodic basis to update the information in the master tag.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the master tag is configured to read the first tags associated with the respective objects to determine the first tags, and hence the associated objects, present in the defined area.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the defined area comprises one of either a container, a box, and a room, and further wherein the master tag is associated with the container, box, or room.

17. A system of inventorying multiple objects utilizing multi-level or chained radio frequency identification tags, the system comprising:

a master tag and a plurality of upper level tags and lower level tags associated with respective objects, the upper and lower level tags adapted to communicate with each other and the master tag so that reading of the master tag reveals the presence and absence of upper and lower level tags, the upper and lower level tags adapted to communicate locally with each other in a manner so that all remote tags that are out of range of some of the upper and lower level tags have their information relayed through adjacent tags to the master tag and thence to a controller, the upper and lower level tags adapted to store the information of all of the remote tags relayed through adjacent tags.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the lower level tags are passive beam-powered tags.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the upper level tags are passive beam-powered tags.