Patent · US Expired

RFID material tracking method and apparatus

US6956538B2 · kind B2 · utility

76Cited by
42References
39Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 28, 2002
Grant dateOct 18, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 19, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG08B13/2462
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for tracking items automatically is described. A passive RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag is used with a material tracking system capable of real-time pinpoint location and identification of thousands of items in production and storage areas. Passive RFID tags are attached to the item to be tracked, remote sensing antennas are placed at each remote location to be monitored, interrogators with several antenna inputs are connected to the sensing antennas to multiplex the antenna signals, and a host computer communicates with the interrogators to determine item locations to an exacting measure.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.