Wireless tracking system and method utilizing near-field communication devices

• US 8,903,416 B1
• Filed: 02/19/2012
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Centrak Incorporated (Halma PLC)
• Original Assignee: Awarepoint Corporation
• Inventors: Perkins, Matthew R., Truscott, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): HSIEH, PING Y
• Application Number:
  US13/400,090
• Time in Patent Office: 1,017 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.1, 455/41.2, 455/41.3, 455/556.1, 455/557, 455/500, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 340/572.1, 340/573.1
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

The present invention provides a solution to determining a near-field communication interaction in a wireless tracking mesh network. The present invention utilizes near-field communication devices in conjunction with tracking tags to transmit signals for reception by sensors stationed throughout a facility which form a mesh network and forward the signals to an information engine for analysis.

Claims

1. A system utilizing near-field communications for monitoring hand sterilization, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensors located in a facility;

a plurality of near-field communication devices, each of the plurality of near-field communication devices transmitting a beacon signal using a short range communication format receivable by another near-field communication device when the near-field communication devices are within a predetermined distance of each other, and each of the plurality of near-field communication devices transmitting interaction data using a medium range communication format to at least one of the plurality of sensors;

a hand sterilization station comprising a hand washing facet activated by an infrared sensor and in communication with a near-field communication device using the short range communication format; and

an information engine in communication with the plurality of sensors, the information engine processing the interaction data;

wherein a near-field communication interaction is recorded at the near-field communication device when a bearer of a near field communication device of the plurality of near-field communication devices activates the infrared sensor of the hand washing facet during a hand washing event, the recordation of the near-field communication interaction is transmitted to at least one of the plurality of sensors utilizing the medium range communication format and then transmitted to the information engine for storage.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the medium range communication format comprises ZIGBEE, Bluetooth, Low-Power BlueTooth, WiFi or Low-Power WiFi, Ultra Wide Band (“

UWB”

), Ultrasound or Infrared communication system, and the short range communication format comprises magnetic induction, 9 kHz, <

125 kHz, 125 kHz RFID, 13.56 MHz, 433 MHz, 433 MHz RFID, or 900 MHz RFID.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined distance is less than ten centimeters.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the interaction data comprises a previous location of a first bearer of a near-field communication device, a previous location of a second bearer of a near-field communication and a number of other objects located near the interaction.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein the short range communication format comprises magnetic induction, 9 kHz, <

125 kHz, 125 kHz RFID, 13.56 MHz, 433 MHz, 433 MHz RFID, 900 MHz RFID, or 2.4 GHz.

6. A method for monitoring hand sterilization utilizing near-field communications, the method comprising:

sensing for a near-field communication interaction at a hand washing station;

verifying activation of a infrared sensor for activation of a hand washing facet of the hand washing station;

verifying a near-field communication interaction with a bearer of a near-field communication device and an activator of the infrared sensor, wherein the near-field communication device and the activator communicate utilizing a short-range communication format;

recording data concerning the near-field communication interaction at at least one of an interacting near-field communication device; and

transmitting the data concerning the near-field communication interaction to at least one sensor of a plurality of sensors using a medium range communication format for transmission to a processing engine.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein near-field communication is transmitted using a short range communication format that comprises magnetic induction, 9 kHz, <

125 kHz, 125 kHz RFID, 13.56 MHz, 433 MHz, 433 MHz RFID, or 900 MHz RFID.

8. The method according to claim 6 wherein the near-field communication data is transmitted from the sensor to the information engine using a medium range communication format comprises ZIGBEE, Bluetooth, Low-Power BlueTooth, WiFi or Low-Power WiFi, Ultra Wide Band (“

UWB”

), Ultrasound or Infrared communication system.