Orphaned product stray analysis using RFID

US9098824B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• WAL-MART STORES, INC. · US

Inventors

• Nicholaus A. Jones · Fayetteville, US
• Jarrod Lee Bourlon · Centerton, US
• Thomas Stiefel · Stuttgart, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 12, 2013
• Grant date: Aug 4, 2015
• Expiry date: Apr 12, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/087
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A computer-implemented method of managing inventory includes receiving, at an antenna operatively coupled to a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, product identification information encoded in an RF signal transmitted by a plurality of RFID tags. Each of the RFID tags is associated with a respective one of a plurality of products. The method further includes processing, by a processor, the product identification information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to identify a characteristic associated with each of the products, and identifying, by the processor using the product identification information, one of the products having a characteristic different from another one of the products. The method may include identifying a majority of the products having a characteristic in common based on the product identification information, and identifying at least one of the products having a characteristic different from the majority.