Discrepancy analysis of RFID reads to determine locations

US9165277B2 · 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: Oct 20, 2015
• Expiry date: Aug 29, 2033

Classification

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

Abstract

According to an embodiment, 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 and using the product identification information, information contained in a portion of the encoded RF signal to compare apparent location information associated with the RFID reader with prior location information associated with at least one of the products, and updating, by the processor, the apparent location information to match the prior location information where the apparent location information is different than the prior location information.