US6456239B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for locating mobile tags
Assignee: RF Technologies Inc
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Filing: 2000-08-24
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Granted: 2002-09-24
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Expires: 2020-08-24
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for determining tag location is disclosed. Tag reference data may be stored, e.g., in the form of a lookup table, as a trained neural network, and so on, and used to determine the location of tags. Readings used to determine tag location and/or preliminary tag locations may be filtered to produce reliable tag location indications. Packages of user configurable parameters can be provided and used for the filtering of the preliminary tag locations. Confidence levels may also be generated for determined tag locations and used, for example, to indicate how well an asset location system can distinguish between different tag locations.
Inventors
- 👤 Jay Werb
- 👤 Emin Martinian
- 👤 Melanie Swiderek
- 👤 Samuel Levy
- 👤 Peter Stein
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-28 07:14
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S5/00; G01S5/02; G01S5/04; G01S11/00; G01S11/16; G01S13/00; G01S13/87; G01S13/878; G01S5/0205; G01S5/0244; G01S5/0269; G06; G06K; G06K7/00; G06K7/0008; G06K7/10; G06K7/10009; G06K7/10019; G06K7/10079; G06Q; G06Q10/00; G06Q10/08; G06Q10/087
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 50
Claim 1
Independent Claim
102 words
A system for determining a location of a tag, comprising: at least one receiver that receives a signal from the tag; a controller that communicates with the at least one receiver; and a memory that stores information regarding previous communication between at least one receiver and a reference tag while the reference tag was in at least two different locations; wherein the controller determines a location of the tag based on information stored in the memory regarding the previous communication with the reference tag; and wherein the controller provides a plurality of configuration setting packages that can be selected by a user.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
102 words
A system for determining a location of a tag, comprising: at least one receiver that receives a signal from the tag; a controller that communicates with the at least one receiver; and a memory that stores information regarding previous communication between at least one receiver and a reference tag while the reference tag was in at least two different locations; wherein the controller determines a location of the tag based on information stored in the memory regarding the previous communication with the reference tag; and wherein the controller provides a plurality of configuration setting packages that can be selected by a user.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
98 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the information stored in the memory regarding communications with the reference tag is based on at least one of a time of arrival of a signal from the reference tag at a receiver, a round trip time of flight of a signal between a receiver and the reference tag, a time difference of arrival of signals received at two or more receivers, a strength of a signal received at a receiver, variable receiver sensitivity to a signal sent from the reference tag, and an ultrasonic signal sent from the reference tag.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the information stored in the memory is indicative of a distance between at least one receiver and the tag.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the information stored in the memory includes a quality metric to determine a quality of a signal received from a tag.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller displays information representing previously detected signals from the reference tag.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The system of claim 5 , wherein the displayed information includes an indication of a distance between the reference tag and a receiver while the reference tag was located within a zone.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller stores a set of rules used to determine a tag location using communications between at least one receiver and the tag, the rules being generated based on the previous communications with the reference tag.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller uses the information regarding previous communication with the reference tag to train a neural network.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 8 , wherein the neural network is a feed-forward network that is used to determine tag location.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller uses the information regarding previous communication with the reference tag to populate a lookup table.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 10 , wherein the lookup table is a hash table used to determine tag location.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein an individual zone may be selected as a particular type of zone by a user and a corresponding configuration package is used to control how the controller determines tag location for the selected zone.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller provides user configurable settings for at least one of sequential filtering of tag tracking data, average filtering of tag tracking data, time filtering of tag tracking data, and a tag location publication delay.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller determines a confidence level for the location determined for the tag.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the confidence levels are determined based on one of prior probability information regarding the tag, and a transitional probability for the tag.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller uses the confidence level to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
43 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein the controller uses a variable threshold to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another, the variable threshold being variable depending upon a zone in which the tag is located.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 16 , wherein the controller uses a variable threshold to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another, the variable threshold being variable depending upon whether the tag location is to be used for real-time tracking or archival purposes.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller uses the confidence level to identify zones in which tags are seldom located.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 14 , wherein the controller uses the confidence level to trigger an alarm based on the tag location.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
76 words
A method for locating a tag, comprising: receiving a signal from a reference tag; storing information regarding the signal received from the reference tag, the signal being received from the reference tag while the reference tag is in at least two locations; determining a location of the tag based on the stored information regarding the signal received from the reference tag; and providing a plurality of configuration setting packages that can be selected by a user.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
76 words
A method for locating a tag, comprising: receiving a signal from a reference tag; storing information regarding the signal received from the reference tag, the signal being received from the reference tag while the reference tag is in at least two locations; determining a location of the tag based on the stored information regarding the signal received from the reference tag; and providing a plurality of configuration setting packages that can be selected by a user.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
29 words
An article of manufacture comprising instructions to control a data processing apparatus, the instructions operative to cause the data processing apparatus to perform the method of claim 21 .
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
95 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the step of storing information comprises storing information that is based on at least one of a time of arrival of a signal from the reference tag at a receiver, a round trip time of flight of a signal between a receiver and the reference tag, a time difference of arrival of signals received at two or more receivers, a strength of a signal received at a receiver, variable receiver sensitivity to a signal sent from the reference tag, and an ultrasonic signal sent from the reference tag.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the step of storing information comprises storing information that is indicative of a distance between at least one receiver and the reference tag.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising storing a quality metric to determine a quality of a signal received from a tag.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
18 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising displaying information representing previously detected signals from the reference tag.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method of claim 26 , wherein the step of displaying information comprises providing an indication of a number of antenna readings indicating a tag-antenna distance while the reference tag was located within a zone.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the step of determining a location comprises using a set of rules used to determine the tracking tag location using communications between a receiver and the tracking tag, the rules being generated based on the stored information regarding previous communications with the reference tag.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising using the stored information regarding previous communication with the reference tag to train a neural network.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 29 , wherein the step of using the stored information comprises using the stored information to train a feed-forward network that is used to determine tag location.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising populating a lookup table that is used to determine a location of the tracking tag using the stored information regarding previous communication with the reference tag.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 31 , wherein the step of populating comprises populating a hash table used to determine tag location.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
53 words
The method of claim 21 , wherein the step of providing comprises providing zones that can be selected as a particular type of zone by a user, and the method further comprising: using configuration packages that correspond to the selected zones to control how the controller determines tag location for the selected zones.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising providing user configurable settings for at least one of sequential filtering of tag tracking data, average filtering of tag tracking data, time filtering of tag tracking data, and a tag location publication delay.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 21 , further comprising determining a confidence level for the location determined for the tracking tag.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
37 words
The method of claim 35 , wherein the step of determining a confidence level comprises determining confidence levels based on one of prior probability information regarding the tracking tag, and a transitional probability for the tracking tag.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
27 words
The method of claim 35 , further comprising using the confidence level to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 35 , further comprising using a variable confidence level threshold to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another, the variable threshold being variable depending upon a zone in which the tag is located.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 35 , further comprising using a variable confidence level threshold to determine whether to indicate that the tag has moved from one location to another, the variable threshold being variable depending upon whether the tag location is to be used for real-time tracking or archival purposes.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 35 , further comprising using the confidence level to identify zones in which tags are seldom located.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 35 , further comprising using the confidence level to trigger an alarm based on the tag location.
Claim 44
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of setting up a system for determining a location of a tag within a facility, comprising the acts of: providing a template of at least one tag locating system comprising at least one zone layout including a receiver locations layout and corresponding rules; selecting a zone layout; placing receivers at receiver locations defined by the receiver locations layout; and using the corresponding rules to set up the system.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
70 words
A method of setting up a system for determining a location of a tag within a facility, comprising the acts of: providing a template of at least one tag locating system comprising at least one zone layout including a receiver locations layout and corresponding rules; selecting a zone layout; placing receivers at receiver locations defined by the receiver locations layout; and using the corresponding rules to set up the system.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
63 words
The method of claim 42 , wherein the act of providing the template comprises: providing tag location rules that are used to determine a location of a tracking tag based on at least one signal received by a receiver; and wherein the step of placing receivers at receiver locations comprises establishing a physical size of at least one zone in the zone layout.
Claim 47
Independent Claim
112 words
A method of determining a location of a tag, comprising: providing at least one device to communicate with the tag; receiving a signal representing communication with the tag; determining a preliminary location for the tag based on the signal; filtering the preliminary location for the tag using one of sticky rule filtering, sequential filtering, average filtering, time filtering and a tag location publication delay, before using the preliminary location to determine the tag location; receiving user input configuration parameters that are used to adjust the filtering of the preliminary location; and providing packages of user configurable parameters that can be selected and used for filtering preliminary location data from a specific zone.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
112 words
A method of determining a location of a tag, comprising: providing at least one device to communicate with the tag; receiving a signal representing communication with the tag; determining a preliminary location for the tag based on the signal; filtering the preliminary location for the tag using one of sticky rule filtering, sequential filtering, average filtering, time filtering and a tag location publication delay, before using the preliminary location to determine the tag location; receiving user input configuration parameters that are used to adjust the filtering of the preliminary location; and providing packages of user configurable parameters that can be selected and used for filtering preliminary location data from a specific zone.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method of claim 44 , wherein the step of receiving user input comprises: receiving different sets of user input configuration parameters for different zones.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 44 , further comprising: determining a first location for the tag, the first location intended for use with real-time tracking of the tag; and determining a second location for the tag, the second location intended for use storage in a tag movement archive.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-09-23 | 2006-03-25 | 2006-09-24 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-09-23 | 2010-03-25 | 2010-09-24 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-09-23 | 2014-03-25 | 2014-09-24 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |