US20040174260A1 - Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications - Google Patents

Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20040174260A1
US20040174260A1 US10/804,280 US80428004A US2004174260A1 US 20040174260 A1 US20040174260 A1 US 20040174260A1 US 80428004 A US80428004 A US 80428004A US 2004174260 A1 US2004174260 A1 US 2004174260A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
tag
tags
network
rms
assets
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US10/804,280
Inventor
Ronald Wagner
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Georgia Tech Research Corp
Original Assignee
Georgia Tech Research Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Georgia Tech Research Corp filed Critical Georgia Tech Research Corp
Priority to US10/804,280 priority Critical patent/US20040174260A1/en
Assigned to GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION reassignment GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: BAGGERMAN, ROBERT W., LAREAU, NEIL W., MEDLIN, BENJAMIN A. JR., WAGNER, RONALD E., WELCH, GISELE
Publication of US20040174260A1 publication Critical patent/US20040174260A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • HELECTRICITY
    • H04ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04WWIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W84/00Network topologies
    • H04W84/18Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to systems, devices, methods, and programs for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications.
  • Package delivery companies focus mainly on small items, such as envelopes and small packages.
  • high-value assets such as International Standards Organization (ISO) cargo containers, automobiles, and ammunitions.
  • ISO International Standards Organization
  • These goods often travel long distances across different shipping mediums, such as ships, trains, and trucks.
  • the presence of assets may be recorded.
  • each asset's location can be reasonably tracked across the supply chain.
  • most of the systems in place today are pieced together to form a tracking system across the entire supply chain.
  • These hybrid systems are prone to lose asset visibility when assets move from one form of asset tracking to another.
  • the inventory system at a shipyard is often different from the inventory system at a warehouse.
  • Each inventory system may utilize different technology, and so may require different means of identifying each asset, adding cost and increasing the chance for lost visibility.
  • the first of such technologies utilizes passive RF ID tags.
  • the tags are often coupled to the shipping pallets that hold the assets to be monitored.
  • the monitoring is performed by a gateway which is a restricted space that contains strong electric or magnetic fields.
  • the field energizes and queries the passive RF ID tags as the tags pass through the gateway.
  • Computers at the gateway can thus monitor the goods entering and leaving the warehouse, or sections thereof.
  • the strength of gateway systems is that the tags are relatively cheap, in large part because they are passive (requiring no batteries).
  • the tags last for an indefinite period of time.
  • One drawback to these systems is that they require the goods to be passed through designated gateway areas, typically causing great inconvenience.
  • Another drawback is that it is not possible to track the location of the goods within the warehouse. Further, a gateway system must be set up at each warehouse, train depot, shipyard, etc.
  • the second family of technologies utilizes triangulation systems appropriately set up within the warehouse.
  • the triangulation system typically requires multiple antennas to be positioned in the warehouse.
  • the system utilizes the antennas to periodically interrogate active RF ID tags on the assets.
  • the multiple antennas can triangulate the location of the tag.
  • the tags typically require a battery to power a transceiver.
  • the transceiver typically requires considerable power, so as to transmit a fairly strong signal because the antennas are typically positioned relatively far away.
  • the strength of the triangulation system is that assets can be located within the warehouse on demand and with sufficient accuracy.
  • One drawback is that the battery life of the tags is shortened because of the required strong transmit signal.
  • the antenna network is typically inflexible and so provides limited coverage within a warehouse. Further, simple configurations of a triangulation system can cost well over $100,000 for the antenna arrays alone. Similar to the gateway system, a triangulation system must be set up at each warehouse, train depot, shipyard, etc.
  • Systems, devices, methods, and programs disclosed herein provide a solution for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications.
  • the solution provides for in-transit visibility of the existence, location, and conditions of the assets throughout a supply chain.
  • the solution requires minimal new infrastructure and can be integrated with many existing supply chain infrastructures.
  • a system for monitoring assets includes a remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags.
  • Each ID tag is coupled to an asset and is configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags in the network within a predetermined proximity.
  • Each tag is also configured to relay communications from other ID tags so that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags.
  • Another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a wireless ID tag coupled to an asset to be tracked, wherein the wireless ID tag is one of a network of ID tags configured to communicate with an RMS.
  • the wireless ID tag includes a portable power supply and a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags within a predetermined proximity. The determined proximity is a function of the power supplied by the portable power supply.
  • the wireless ID tag also includes memory configured to store information about the asset upon which the ID tag is coupled.
  • the memory is further configured to store logic for various algorithms.
  • the wireless ID tag also includes a processor for executing the logic for the various algorithms stored in memory.
  • One of the various algorithms comprises relaying communications from other ID tags such that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags.
  • Still another embodiment may be construed as a system for monitoring assets across a supply chain.
  • the system includes a plurality of wireless radio frequency (RF) ID tags each coupled to an asset to be monitored.
  • Each wireless RF ID tag includes means for communicating with other wireless RF ID tags within a predetermined proximity such that a plurality of networks of wireless RF ID tags are formed across the supply chain.
  • Each network comprises those wireless RF ID tags within proximity of each other.
  • the system also includes a plurality of RMSs positioned across the supply chain, wherein each RMS includes means for communicating with any network of the plurality of networks that is within proximity of the RMS.
  • the system also includes a central monitoring station (CMS) that includes means for communicating with the plurality of RMSs.
  • CMS central monitoring station
  • Yet another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a method of monitoring assets across a supply chain, whereby each asset has an ID tag coupled thereto.
  • the method includes: forming a network of ID tags such that existence in the network conveys the existence and location of the corresponding assets in the supply chain; and polling the network of ID tags to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the corresponding assets.
  • another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a computer readable medium having a program for monitoring assets across a supply chain, whereby each asset has an ID tag coupled thereto.
  • the program includes logic configured to form a network of ID tags such that existence in the network conveys the existence and location of the corresponding assets in the supply chain.
  • the program also includes logic configured to poll the network of ID tags to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the corresponding assets.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a supply chain for shipping goods from source to destination.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of several embodiments of an asset monitoring system implemented in the storage facility of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of an asset monitoring system implemented in the shipping container of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the asset monitoring system implemented in the shipping vessel of FIG. 1.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the various asset monitoring systems of FIGS. 2-4 networked together to form one system servicing an entire supply chain.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless RF ID tag in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a data frame as used for communicating between a Remote Monitoring Station (RMS) and the wireless RF ID tag of FIG. 6.
  • RMS Remote Monitoring Station
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation of an RMS in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail the step of forming a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8.
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail the step of polling a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8.
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation for a wireless RF ID tag within a network of wireless RF ID tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • systems, devices, methods devices, and programs of the present invention facilitate the monitoring of the location and condition of assets.
  • the present invention provides for a low-cost solution that can locate an asset across a supply-chain, including within a storage facility, and can also monitor the environmental conditions, such as temperature and air pressure, affecting the asset, both while being stored and in transit.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a supply chain 1 for shipping goods from a source 10 to a destination 30 .
  • the source 10 may be a city, such as Hong Kong
  • the destination 30 may be a country, such as the United States.
  • the supply chain 1 described herein attempts only to show the general components needed in shipping goods from one location to another, as well as showing several examples in which embodiments of the present invention may be found. In reality, a supply chain is often customized to the particular goods shipped, as well as to the parties shipping the goods.
  • the source 10 may include, among other shipping gateways, an airport 12 and a ship port, or shipyard 14 .
  • several embodiments of the invention may also be utilized for military purposes. Militaries often ship heavy assets, including ammunitions and personnel, via cargo ships 25 as well as cargo airplanes 20 .
  • a destination 30 will include a reciprocating airport 32 and shipyard 34 for in-bound vessels 20 and 25 .
  • both inbound and outbound transit is conducted at both airports 32 and shipyards 34 .
  • Great confusion at these locations leads to inefficient shipping, lost assets-in-transit, and reduced security.
  • Embodiments of the present invention may be found in source airport 12 , source shipyard 14 , destination airport 32 and destination shipyard 34 to help reduce the confusion by, among other things, tracking the locations of the assets-in-transit.
  • embodiments of the present invention may be found on the shipping vessels themselves (i.e., airplane 20 and cargo ship 25 ). Several of these embodiments will be discussed in further detail in subsequent figures.
  • the gateway i.e., airport 32 or shipyard 34
  • more shipping is performed to provide the goods to their final destination.
  • the final destination is a storage facility 70 , such as a warehouse.
  • the supply chain 1 does not end at the storage facility 70 , as several more destinations, such as retail or wholesale locations, may exist prior to the goods being received at their ultimate destination, typically a consumer.
  • trucks 40 ship goods from airport 32 and shipyard 34 to storage facility 70 .
  • trucks 40 may ship goods to a train depot 50 , where the goods are placed on trains 60 for further shipping.
  • Embodiments of the invention may be found at a storage facility 70 , such as a warehouse or factory, as well as a train depot 50 . Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may be found on trucks 40 as well as trains 60 . Subsequent figures will provide greater detail to these embodiments.
  • ISO containers 45 are typically steel containers that may store several pallets of goods, or assets.
  • the containers 45 are typically shipped overseas on large shipping vessels, such as cargo ship 25 .
  • the cargo ship 25 may carry several hundreds of the containers 45 , which are typically stacked on top of each other.
  • large cranes are used to remove the ISO containers 45 from the ships.
  • the containers 45 are temporarily stored at the shipyard 34 until a truck 40 or train 60 is available. The containers 45 can then be placed on the truck 40 , or train 60 , where shipping of the container 45 proceeds.
  • the contents of the container 45 are often removed once the container 45 reaches a storage facility 70 , such as a warehouse.
  • a storage facility 70 such as a warehouse.
  • embodiments of the invention may be found inside an ISO container 45 to track its contents.
  • Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented to track the ISO containers, themselves. It should also be noted, that other goods, particularly heavy assets, such as automobiles and tanks, that may be shipped without the use of ISO containers 45 can also be tracked by embodiments of the present invention.
  • assets has been utilized to describe several objects that may be shipped. These objects may be for example, but not limited to, goods, such as raw materials, food, automobiles as well as military assets such as ammunitions, tanks, and personnel.
  • goods such as raw materials, food, automobiles as well as military assets such as ammunitions, tanks, and personnel.
  • military assets such as ammunitions, tanks, and personnel.
  • asset may be considered anything that is movable and thus can be shipped.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of several embodiments of an asset monitoring system 100 implemented in the storage facility 70 of FIG. 1.
  • the storage facility 70 may be a structure such as a warehouse or a factory whereby assets are temporarily held during shipping. Often, the assets are moved in and out of the storage facility 70 at great frequency, causing a need for the relative location of each asset within the facility 70 to be monitored. It is important to note that FIG. 2 provides merely a schematic representation of the facility 70 . In reality, the storage facility 70 could contain hundreds or thousands of assets dispersed throughout the facility, and potentially stacked on top of each other.
  • the system 100 is designed to facilitate the most complex layouts of the storage facility 70 , including three-dimensional location monitoring.
  • the asset monitoring system 100 generally includes at least a first remote monitoring station (RMS) 150 .
  • the system 100 may include a network of RMSs placed throughout the facility 70 so as to provide maximum coverage.
  • RMS remote monitoring station
  • FIG. 2 two RMSs 150 and 155 are coupled together by a local area network (LAN) 140 , so as to provide support for the system 100 both inside and immediately outside of the facility 70 , perhaps on a loading dock.
  • LAN local area network
  • each RMS 150 or 155 includes a wireless transceiver coupled to a computer, such as a personal computer (PC).
  • PC personal computer
  • each tag is configured to wirelessly communicate with other tags and any RMSs within a determined proximity.
  • the power consumed by each tag is a direct function of the range of the tag, so the range of each tag will be determined so as to provide for power efficiency.
  • communication between RMS 150 and a destination tag 110 may be relayed via intermediate tags such as tags 120 and 130 . Accordingly, each tag can communicate with the RMS 150 , either directly or indirectly, thus creating a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • a wireless RF ID tag may be capable of communicating within a 50 ft radius.
  • the RMS 150 may be located well over 50 ft away from this tag. In this case, several intermediate tags may be necessary to relay the communications between the RMS 150 and the tag.
  • the present invention can provide for the shortest path between any tag and the RMS 150 .
  • each tag 110 , 120 , and 130 is coupled to an asset.
  • assets are shipped on pallets, either wooden or steel, whereby a forklift is generally used to move the pallets throughout the facility 70 .
  • a wireless RF ID tag may be coupled to the pallet holding the assets. In this manner, the trackable pallet can be re-used.
  • a dummy wireless RF ID tag 135 may be used to relay communications between remote assets and the RMS 150 .
  • the dummy wireless RF ID tag 135 is essentially the same as the wireless RF ID tags, except that it is not coupled to a mobile asset.
  • the dummy wireless RF ID tag 135 may be positioned throughout the facility 70 , so as to provide better coverage when assets are spread sparingly throughout the facility 70 .
  • the asset monitoring system 100 provides for the communication between any wireless RF ID tag among a network of tags and the RMS 150 .
  • the destination tag 110 is located far enough away from the RMS 150 that intermediate tags are required to relay any communication.
  • the system 100 facilitates communication from the tag 110 to the RMS 150 only after the RMS 150 has requested a communication.
  • the RF ID tags act as slaves to the RMS 150 , the master.
  • the RMS 150 can transmit a downstream communication to the destination tag 110 (coupled to an asset).
  • the downstream communication is relayed from a first intermediate tag 130 (coupled to an asset) to a second intermediate tag 120 (coupled to an asset) to the destination tag 110 .
  • the downstream communication although containing the same payload, can be broken up into segments.
  • the first downstream segment 101 is from RMS 150 to the first intermediate tag 130 .
  • the first intermediate tag 130 interprets the first downstream segment 101 and relays it along to the second intermediate tag 120 via a second downstream segment 103 .
  • the second intermediate tag 120 does the same and relays the communication along to the destination tag 110 via a third downstream segment 105 .
  • the destination tag 110 can process the downstream communication and reply with an upstream communication to the RMS 150 .
  • a first upstream segment 102 is received by the second intermediate tag 120 and relayed along to the first intermediate tag 130 via second upstream segment 104 .
  • a third upstream segment 106 is communicated to the RMS 150 from the first intermediate tag 130 .
  • the path in which a communication may travel can be determined by the RMS 150 . Otherwise, the path in which a communication may travel may not be precisely known by the RMS 150 , but the path will be communicated to the RMS 150 . As will be discussed in further detail in relation to FIG. 7, the path of intermediate tags may be fixed for each destination tag 110 and communicated along with the information from the RMS 150 to the destination tag 110 . Alternatively, a broadcast signal may be communicated from the RMS 150 , or any intermediate tag, such that any tag within the range of the broadcast can receive and retransmit the signal, if necessary.
  • the RMS 150 may reform the network of tags.
  • the method in which the RMS 150 can accomplish this is described in further detail in FIG. 8.
  • the RMS 150 sends out repetitive broadcast signals and waits for replies to come back. Once all of the replies are from tags already having replied, the RMS 150 is aware of the tags in the surrounding network. Furthermore, the RMS 150 is aware of the relative location of each tag to each other tag because a trail of intermediate tags is recorded for each upstream communication segment. With this information, the RMS 150 has the ability to calculate the shortest path of intermediate tags for each destination tag. As can be seen, some tags closest to the RMS 150 would receive and transmit as intermediate tags more often than others, leading to battery overuse for some of the tags. The RMS 150 can alter the shortest path algorithm for each destination tag so that power use is spread evenly across intermediate tags.
  • the RMS 150 can monitor which tags have entered the network and which tags have left the network. Furthermore, the RMS 150 can monitor the relative position of the tags as they may move between reforms of the network.
  • the periodicity of reforming the network may vary according to the asset traffic within the facility 70 . For example, for a facility 70 that handles little asset traffic, the network may be reformed once a day. In this regard, if an asset were to arrive and depart before a reform of the network, the asset would not be detected. As another example, the network may be reformed periodically, for example, every fifteen minutes. Accordingly any asset that arrives and departs more than fifteen minutes later will be detected.
  • the size of the network of tags is limited only by the number and spacing of the tags in the network. Provided there are enough intermediate tags to relay the signals, there is no maximum distance a destination tag must be from the RMS 150 . Furthermore, by utilizing more than one RMS 150 , the network can be extended beyond the reach of the most remote tags in the network. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates two RMSs 150 and 155 . RMS 155 may be used to monitor outside of the facility 70 , which may be too far away from the nearest tag inside the facility 70 . By networking the RMSs 150 and 155 , any asset that exists in or around the facility 70 may be monitored. Furthermore, the movement of assets from inside to outside, or vice versa, can be monitored.
  • FIG. 2 also illustrates a secondary communication path 125 from RMS 150 to destination tag 110 .
  • the RMS 150 is capable of determining an alternative path for communicating with the destination tag 110 if needed. This may occur as a result of an intermediate tag being moved or running out of power.
  • the system 100 is configured so that the tags utilize minimum power during operation. Extended battery life for each tag is a main advantage of the system 100 , so the prospect of a tag running out of power, although inevitable, is not expected to happen often.
  • an absolute location can also be established for each asset and can be stored in the tag.
  • forklifts are often used to move the assets in, out, and around the facility 70 .
  • the tag coupled to the particular asset can be programmed with the location. This may be done in a number of ways. One way is to track the location of the forklift that is moving the asset, for instance with an inertial navigation system (INS).
  • INS inertial navigation system
  • the coordinates (i.e., Cartesian, polar, or spherical) of the location can then be programmed into the memory of the tag.
  • a handheld device such as a personal desktop assistant, with a positioning system could be used to communicate the location of an asset to the asset.
  • Other equivalent methods could be utilized as well to communicate the information to the asset.
  • the asset may convey such information on the next successive communication with the RMS 150 .
  • the location of tags in proximity to a tag with a known location can be also found. For example, if a tag with an unknown location can communicate directly with a tag with a known location, then the tag with the unknown location must be within range of the other tag.
  • the approximate location of the unknown tag can be more precisely found. For example, by finding another tag with a known location that the tag with the unknown location can communicate with can further approximate the location by using various geometry techniques. Obviously, the more tags with a known location, the more accurate the approximate location of the tags with an unknown location. In practice, it would seem likely that either all of the locations are known, or none of the locations are known. In the latter case, only the existence of the asset and the relative distance from the RMS 150 would be known.
  • various sensors may be coupled to each asset and may connect to the tag also coupled to the asset.
  • various environmental parameters may be monitored and communicated to the RMS 150 .
  • temperature, air pressure, vibrations, humidity, and electromagnetic radiation, including ionizing radiation (i.e., alpha and gamma rays) can be sensed.
  • the same general communication protocol can be used to communicate such information between RMS 150 and destination tag 110 , via intermediate tags.
  • the asset monitoring system 100 can be implemented in various environments where environmental conditions must be considered. Accordingly, these conditions can be monitored throughout the transport of the goods.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the asset monitoring system 200 implemented in the ISO shipping container 45 of FIG. 1.
  • the location of the assets within the ISO shipping container 45 is obviously not much of a concern, although the location of the ISO shipping container 45 is important.
  • OmniTRACS® is a system known as OmniTRACS®, which is a two-way satellite communication system that allows trucks to be monitored and tracked and to allow data communication with dispatchers.
  • Other systems such as Aether System's MobileMaxTM, Axiom Navigation's Asset Tracking, and Preco's Advanced Asset Management exist that provide essentially the same service.
  • the system 200 can effectively monitor the environmental conditions of the assets within the container 45 . This information can then be communicated via satellite to a central monitoring station (CMS). Alternatively, a resident system, such as OmniTRACS® may be used to communicate such information from the container to a central location, via satellite, or other communication link.
  • CMS central monitoring station
  • OmniTRACS® a resident system, such as OmniTRACS® may be used to communicate such information from the container to a central location, via satellite, or other communication link.
  • the system 200 generally includes the same components as the system 100 of FIG. 2.
  • a container communication unit 250 may include similar means as the RMS 150 of FIG. 2 for communicating with a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • the container 45 includes, in its storage, assets often stacked on top of each other. Each asset in the container 45 may have coupled to it a wireless RF ID tag that includes various sensors.
  • the wireless RF ID tags within the container 45 make up a network of tags, where each tag can communicate with the container communication unit 250 , either directly or indirectly, via intermediate tags, in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 2.
  • destination tag 210 may be coupled to an asset which requires several intermediate tags, such as intermediate tag 230 to communicate with the container communication unit 250 .
  • a downstream communication signal from the container communication unit 250 may be relayed to the destination tag 210 in segments. Similarly, an upstream communication signal may be relayed from the destination tag 210 to container communication unit 250 .
  • fewer intermediate tags i.e., tag 230 ) would be required in this implementation, because of the close proximity of the tags to the container communication unit 250 .
  • the system 200 may perform an initial forming of the network of tags at the start of transit, and may periodically reform the network during transit to check for lost or stolen goods.
  • the periodicity of the reforming of the network would be greatly decreased in this implementation, for obvious reasons.
  • the environmental conditions may be periodically monitored more often in this implementation. For example, each tag in the network may be polled to see if any preprogrammed sensor thresholds have been exceeded since the last poll. This information can be communicated back to the container communication unit 250 from each tag in the network. This will be discussed in more detail in relation to FIG. 9. Practical examples of environmental conditions that may be monitored in this implementation, are vibrations and temperature.
  • Vibration sensitive assets such as ammunitions for the military, may be equipped to sustain a maximum amount of vibrations during transit.
  • the system 200 can monitor for vibrations during transit, and if the measured vibrations are near the threshold, appropriate actions can be taken. Perhaps a more practical use is to monitor temperature.
  • Various goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals, are sensitive to temperature. By utilizing the system 200 , a recipient of the goods will know the temperature environments in which the goods were shipped, which can help in establishing the quality of the goods shipped.
  • the container communication unit 250 can be configured to relay the information received to a central monitoring station (CMS) (not shown). This may be performed in a number of ways. The first is by communicating with a satellite 270 via a satellite link 252 directly from the container communication unit 250 , whereby the container communication unit 250 would include an appropriate transceiver communicate with the CMS via the satellite 270 . An alternative method is to communicate with an intermediate transceiver unit 260 , which may be mounted to the truck 40 hauling the container 45 . In this case, the container communication unit 250 may have the means for communicating with the wireless RF ID tags, but not with the satellite 270 . A wired or wireless link 262 may be provided to communicate between the transceiver unit 260 and the container communication unit 250 .
  • CMS central monitoring station
  • the communication links 252 or 264 either from the container communication unit 250 or the transceiver unit 260 may be provided by a third party such as the services discussed above. In this manner, the system 200 can be implemented into an existing structure with little cost.
  • the assets are typically shipped on pallets, and the tags would be coupled thereto.
  • the same pallets, and thus the same tags, can be used in the implementation as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3.
  • the asset monitoring system provides a modular solution that can be implemented across the entire supply chain.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of the asset monitoring system 300 as implemented in the shipping vessel 25 of FIG. 1. This implementation is similar to that of FIG. 3 in that it can provide for in-transit visibility of the environmental conditions of the assets being shipped.
  • FIG. 4 also shows an implementation in which the container communication units, such as unit 250 of FIG. 3, serve as intermediate tags in a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • the system 300 includes a shipping communication unit 350 which includes the equivalent means as the RMS 150 of FIG. 2 for communicating with a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • the network includes the tags coupled to the assets within each cargo container 45 , but also the container communication units, which now function as intermediate tags.
  • the shipping communication unit 350 can communicate with an asset located within cargo container 46 via various intermediate tags, which includes the container communication unit 310 of the destination cargo container 46 , as well as container communication unit 330 . Accordingly, the shipping communication unit 350 may communicate with the CMS (not shown) via satellite 370 .
  • the shipping communicate unit 350 includes the necessary resources (i.e., a satellite transceiver) to communicate with the satellite 370 via link 352 .
  • This service may be provided by a third party service such as Qualcomm's® OmniTRACS®.
  • each container communication unit i.e., 310
  • each container communication unit may be configured to communicate directly with the satellite 370 via link 372 .
  • the environmental conditions within the container 46 could still be communicated to the CMS in this fashion.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the various asset monitoring systems networked together to form one system 170 servicing an entire supply chain.
  • the system 170 generally includes a central monitoring station (CMS) 160 coupled to a communication network 161 . Also coupled to the network 161 are the various RMSs 150 and 155 from the asset monitoring system 100 configured in the storage facility 70 (See FIG. 2).
  • the container communication unit 250 of the asset monitoring system 200 configured in a cargo container (See FIG. 3) as well as the shipping communication unit 350 of the asset monitoring system 300 configured on the shipping vessel 25 are coupled to the network 161 . Collectively these two units will be referred to as communication units. With this configuration, the CMS 160 can monitor the activity and conditions of the various assets across the supply chain.
  • An asset monitoring system could be implemented in many facilities equivalent to the storage facility 70 , such as the shipyard 34 , airport 32 , and train depot 50 (See FIG. 1). Likewise, an asset monitoring system, could be configured on an airplane 20 as well as a train 60 . All of these applications, as well as other equivalents, could easily be implemented and connected to the network 161 such that the CMS 160 could monitor them as well.
  • the CMS 160 is the central location for access to the remote units (ie., RMS 150 , 155 , container communication unit 250 , and shipping communication unit 350 ).
  • the CMS 160 may be configured to communicate in both directions, so that a user at the CMS 160 could not only monitor the information being received by the CMS 160 , but could also send a command to, for example, RMS 155 to search for a particular asset, or, as another example, to test the environmental conditions of an asset communicating with the shipping communication unit 350 .
  • the CMS 160 may comprise a computer (not shown) with a network interface for communicating with the network 161 .
  • the CMS 160 may also include a transceiver for receiving satellite communications from the container communication unit 250 and the shipping communication unit 350 .
  • the necessary software and firmware to communicate with the remote units, as well as monitor the assets across the supply chain, may be resident on the computer of the CMS 160 .
  • the network 161 may be any type of communication network in which various computing devices can communicate.
  • the network 161 could be a Local Area Network (LAN) and/or a Wide Area Network (WAN) and could utilize the Internet.
  • the network 161 could be comprised of various hardware components such as routers and bridges (not shown) to facilitate the communication between the various interconnected devices. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication between RMS 150 and 155 may be accomplished through a LAN, whereas the communication between the RMS 150 and the CMS 160 may require a WAN and the Internet.
  • RMS 150 includes a computer, such as PC 151 , coupled to a wireless transceiver 152 .
  • the wireless transceiver 152 may be coupled to an antenna 153 for communicating with the network wireless RF ID tags (See FIG. 2).
  • the wireless transceiver 152 may be external from PC 151 or may be configured internally.
  • the PC 151 may include a network interface (not shown) for communicating with the CMS 160 and the RMS 155 via the network 161 (either LAN or WAN).
  • the PC 151 also includes, although not shown for clarity, a processor for processing various functions stored in memory, also found in the PC 151 .
  • the memory may store firmware and software for the various algorithms needed to monitor the network of wireless RF ID tags. These algorithms include those to be described in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 .
  • the memory may include a program for determining the shortest path for each tag in the network, as discussed earlier.
  • RMS 155 includes a PC 156 and a wireless transceiver 157 , and generally includes similar hardware and software as RMS 150 .
  • the container communication unit 250 includes similar components as to the RMS 150 for communicating with the network of wireless RF ID tags. Likewise, the container communication unit 250 may also include similar software and firmware to perform various algorithms for monitoring the assets.
  • the container communication unit 250 may not necessarily utilize a PC, but instead may utilize a general computer, without any user interface.
  • the CMS 160 may be configured to provide a user interface, remotely, for the container communication unit 250 .
  • the unit 250 may also include the necessary transceiver to communicate with the CMS 160 via the satellite 270 , or some other communication scheme.
  • the communication link 162 may include a satellite uplink, and a satellite downlink to the CMS 160 , which may pass through an intermediate gateway, or server.
  • the satellite 270 can provide a two-way communication, such that the CMS 160 can remotely control the container communication unit 250 .
  • Other forms of the communication link 162 may be via a cellular connection to a switched-circuit telephone service, or perhaps through a radio transmission, such as microwave.
  • the ship communication unit 350 can communicate with the CMS 160 via communication link 163 in much the same manner as the container communication unit 250 .
  • the ship communication unit 350 also includes the necessary resources to communicate with a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • the remote units such as the ship communication unit 350 may be configured to communicate directly with RMS 150 and 155 , but in practice, this would be done indirectly through the CMS 160 .
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless RF ID tag 400 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • the wireless RF ID tag 400 as discussed earlier, is coupled to an asset that is to be tracked and monitored.
  • the asset may be anything in which knowledge of its location and/or environmental surroundings is important, particularly while being shipped. Most of the assets, accordingly, will be of significant value, either monetarily or for security reasons. Examples include: automobiles, ammunitions, and tanks. Further, many assets (e.g., consumer goods) are shipped on pallets.
  • the tag 400 may be coupled to the pallets, which can be re-used many times for different shipments.
  • the tag 400 includes a processing device 420 , memory 410 , a transceiver 450 , and an input/output interface 440 all coupled via a local interface 460 .
  • a variety of sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 may be configured with the tag 400 , and may be considered as components of the tag 400 .
  • the tag 400 may also include a user interface (not shown) for providing interaction from a user.
  • the user interface may include several buttons and switches and a display screen for interacting with a user.
  • the local interface 460 can be, for example, but not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art.
  • the local interface 460 may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications. Further, the local interface 460 may include address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components.
  • the components of the tag 400 are powered by a portable power supply 430 .
  • the portable power supply 430 most likely would be a battery providing extended life. Since the purpose of the system is to track assets in transit, the system itself must meet regulatory requirements for shipping, specifically the system must meet Department of Transportation regulations and international air cargo regulations. Accordingly, the portable power supply 430 must be of a size and construction that does not become hazardous.
  • the design of the tag 400 is such that it may be powered by a lithium battery for over two years using a total quantity of lithium less than 10 grams. Many container storage areas are subject to extremes of heat and cold, therefore the portable power supply 430 and tag 400 combination may be designed to operate from ⁇ 40 C. to 70 C., without generating hazardous waste or noxious/corrosive gases.
  • the design of the hardware, protocols, and algorithms is geared toward meeting these objectives.
  • the power supplied by the portable power supply 430 directly affects the transmission and reception range of the transceiver 450 and can be controllably adapted to the environment in which the asset is located. For example, assets inside a cargo container 45 are typically placed closer together and so the distance for a wireless communication to travel is reduced, thus allowing for the reduction in the power supplied by the portable power supply 430 . In this manner, power can be conserved.
  • the processor 420 is a hardware device for executing software or firmware, particularly that stored in memory 410 .
  • the processor 460 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the tag 400 , a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or generally any device for executing software instructions.
  • the memory 410 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape, NVRAM, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory 410 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 410 can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor 420 .
  • the transceiver 450 is configured to facilitate the communication of signals to and from the tag 460 .
  • a variety of wireless protocols may be implemented in the tag 460 , one of which is a frame based protocol to be discussed in further detail in FIG. 7.
  • the memory 410 includes the necessary resources (e.g., firmware and software) to modulate and demodulate the data for the particular protocol, but the transceiver 450 includes the necessary hardware resources to communicate the information.
  • Such hardware resources may include the necessary circuitry to amplify the downstream and upstream signals, such as gain amplifiers.
  • a variable strength line driver amplifier may be included in the transceiver 450 for controlling the level of output power on the transmitted signal.
  • the strength of the transmitted signal is a direct function of the power supplied by the portable power supply 430 .
  • Filters for reducing noise may also be included in the transceiver 450 as well.
  • the transceiver 450 may be coupled to an antenna 452 , used for transmitting and receiving the electromagnetic radiation.
  • the wireless communications would be performed in the radio frequency band and more preferably around 900 MHz.
  • the transceiver 450 could easily be configured for other frequencies, however, such as 830 MHz (Europe) or 2.4 GHz.
  • the input/output interface 440 provides an interface for the variety of sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 .
  • the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 can be used to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the asset, and thus the tag 400 .
  • a first sensor 442 may be configured to measure the air pressure surrounding the asset. This may be particularly useful for implementing the asset monitoring system in the cargo airplane 20 of FIG. 1, or perhaps at a high altitude location.
  • a second sensor 444 may be configured to measure the air temperature surrounding the asset. As discussed earlier, this is particularly useful for implementing the asset monitoring system on a shipping vessel 25 , where extreme temperature conditions are a factor.
  • a third sensor 446 may be configured to measure the electromagnetic radiation surrounding the asset, including the total radiation being emitted from the network of wireless RF ID tags. Assets, such as ammunitions and missiles are vulnerable to high levels of electromagnetic radiation. By monitoring the radiation emitted by the network, one can be sure that the radiation level in critical areas, such as around ammunitions, is not exceeded.
  • a fourth sensor 448 may be configured to measure vibrations experienced by the asset. Again, assets, such as ammunitions and missiles are vulnerable to high levels of vibrations. Other sensors may be configured with the tag 400 to measure a wide variety of other environmental conditions, such as humidity and solar exposure.
  • the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 may be integrated with the tag 400 or, as shown in FIG. 6, may be exclusive to the tag 400 and connected to the tag 400 via the input/output interface 440 .
  • Power from the portable power supply 430 may be supplied to the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 via the input/output interface 440 .
  • the memory 410 includes a variety of memory elements, such as volatile and non-volatile memory, for storing data.
  • Software and firmware may also be stored in the memory 410 that is configured to provide various functions to the tag 410 . It will be appreciated, however, that a key aspect of the invention is the simplicity incorporated into the tag 400 , thus keeping the memory 410 to a minimum.
  • the memory 410 generally comprises a storage location for a unique identifier, such as a serial number 418 designated for each tag 400 upon its creation.
  • the unique serial number 418 is used during wireless communications to identify the tag 400 .
  • the contents of the asset may also be linked to the unique serial number 418 , however this information will not be conveyed wirelessly.
  • An RMS, or the CMS upon reception of the unique serial number 418 , may correlate the contents of the asset with the unique serial number 418 . In this manner, relevant information, which can be intercepted by eavesdroppers, is not communicated wirelessly.
  • the unique serial number 418 may be stored in a simple register and may be re-programmed at a later time.
  • the coordinate location 414 may be in the Cartesian coordinate system, perhaps a polar or spherical coordinate system, or a proprietary coordinate system.
  • the coordinate location 414 may be programmed via communication from the RMS, from a wireless communication via a hand-held device, such as a PDA, from an inertial navigation system onboard a forklift, or some other equivalent means. If the tag 400 is so equipped, the coordinate location 414 may be programmed via a user interface, such as the one briefly discussed above. The coordinate location 414 , can be re-programmed and several previous locations can remain stored for a chosen period of time.
  • the sensor information section 412 may include variable parameters stored in non-volatile memory to help operate the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 .
  • variable parameters may include the time between two successive sensor readings and threshold limits. For example, the time between successive readings may be on the order of 15 minutes or 120 minutes. Threshold limits can be programmed according to the necessary environmental conditions of the asset. For example, a high and low temperature threshold, or a maximum level of electromagnetic radiation. These parameters may be programmed from the RMS or may be programmed in a similar fashion as the coordination location information 414 .
  • the sensor information section 412 of the memory Also stored in the sensor information section 412 of the memory are previous readings of the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 .
  • the sensor information section 412 may be large enough to hold three prior readings for each sensor 442 , 444 , 446 , or 448 .
  • threshold exceedances for each sensor 442 , 444 , 446 , or 448 may be triggered at any reading and stored in the sensor information section 412 .
  • the data such as the sensor readings and threshold exceedances can be communicated back to the RMS.
  • the sensor information section 412 , the coordinate location 414 information, and the serial number 418 will be stored in non-volatile memory.
  • the operating algorithms 416 may include the algorithms necessary to communicate with the RMS as well as the other wireless RF ID tags in the network.
  • the operating algorithms 416 may also include the algorithms necessary to operate the sensors 442 , 444 , 446 , and 448 .
  • Another algorithm potentially included in the operating algorithms 416 may be for managing the output of the portable power supply 430 .
  • the communication algorithms include the resources for modulating and demodulating the wireless communications and preparing and receiving such communications from the transceiver 450 of the tag 400 .
  • the modulation protocol incorporated into the communication algorithm may vary greatly by the implementation. Routing and linking algorithms may also be stored among the communication algorithms. These algorithms perform the framing of data frames for communication of data between tags, as well as manipulating the frames for proper routing among the network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • a representative data frame 500 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention is illustrated in detail in FIG. 7.
  • An error checking scheme such as a Checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scheme can also be stored among the communication algorithms.
  • Temporary memory such as RAM, may be included in memory 410 for temporarily storing data frame information while communicating.
  • commands include storing information received from the RMS, retrieving information, such as sensor information, and replying with requested information, as well as simply replying to inform the RMS of the existence of the tag 400 in the network. More detail about the various commands will be provided in the discussion relating to FIG. 7.
  • various software and/or firmware programs have been briefly described herein. It will be appreciated that the various software and/or firmware programs, such as the various communication algorithms and command response algorithms, comprise an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. These programs can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or transmission device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.
  • a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the information system, apparatus, or device.
  • the computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable media would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical).
  • an electrical connection having one or more wires
  • a portable computer diskette magnetic
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read-only memory
  • EPROM or Flash memory erasable programmable read-only memory
  • CDROM portable compact disc read-only memory
  • the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a data frame 500 as used for communicating between an RMS and a wireless RF ID tag.
  • the data frame 500 consists of several fields each containing pertinent information.
  • the length of the data frame 500 is not fixed, but would have some nominal maximum length in accordance with the size of the memory 410 of the wireless RF ID tag 400 .
  • the data may be made up of several 8 bit characters, and preferably, but not necessarily made up of 8 bit ASCII characters. It should be appreciated that the data frame 500 is one of many ways available to wirelessly communicate information, and although this represents the currently preferred method, certainly other equivalent methods are available, and should be accordingly protected herewith.
  • the data frame 500 begins with a header portion 510 that merely identifies the start of the frame 500 .
  • a message destination field 520 is next in the frame 500 , followed by a message source field 530 .
  • the payload 540 including various tokens i.e., 541 , 542 , and 543 ) is next in the frame 500 .
  • an error-checking field 550 is next in the frame 500 .
  • a trailer portion 560 signifies the end of the data frame 500 .
  • Each field of the frame 500 may be delimited from each other by white space.
  • the header portion 510 is made up of three consecutive carriage return characters (ASCII-0 ⁇ 0D) each of which is composed of 8 bits. Utilizing three consecutive similar characters is helpful when synchronizing the communication. Manchester encoding and decoding may be used to synchronize communication, and three characters is often enough to establish synchronization. Manchester encoding is well known in the art. Other predetermined characters could be utilized in place of a carriage return.
  • the header portion 510 is used to signify the start of the data frame 500 and to delimit it from preceding frames.
  • the message destination field 520 identifies the destination tag for a particular communication as well as the necessary intermediate tags by including a string of unique identifiers of the wireless RF ID tags that are to communicate, by relaying, the data frame 500 .
  • the unique identifier preferably would be the serial number 418 of each tag.
  • the rightmost serial number is the ultimate destination tag for the data frame 500 .
  • the first string of serial numbers 521 is “ABC
  • Tag ABC knows to relay this frame 500 because its serial number is the leftmost serial number in the string 521 .
  • tag “ABC” Upon relaying the frame 500 , tag “ABC” will remove its serial number from the message destination field 520 and place it in the message source field 530 .
  • Tag “ABC” will then relay this frame and tag “567” will be the only tag to receive and accept the frame 500 just re-broadcast by Tag “ABC”, although other tags within the vicinity may receive it as well.
  • Tag “567” knows to relay the frame 500 because now its serial number is the leftmost serial number in the string 521 . Any other tags within the range of the broadcasting tag may receive the frame 500 , but will not relay it because its serial number is not in the string 521 . Eventually, the destination tag will receive the data frame 500 and process it. The destination tag will know to process it when it recognizes that its serial number is the rightmost serial number in the string 521 and/or the only serial number in the string 521 .
  • the second string of serial numbers 522 is “D7E
  • the ‘*’ character represents a broadcast address, which means that any tag within the range of the preceding tag (in this example tag “124”) should process the frame 500 .
  • the broadcast address is often utilized in forming the network and will be described in further detail in FIGS. 8 and 9.
  • Each tag serial number may be communicated with the binary equivalent of the ASCII character, or hexadecimal representation, of each character of the serial number. So for the example of “D7E,” three octets would be necessary, one for each character in the serial number.
  • Each serial number in this embodiment, is delimited by the ‘
  • the ultimate length of any one string of serial numbers in the message destination field 520 may be limited by the temporary memory in the tags. The length of the string of serial numbers also limits the number of intermediate tags in a communication, which limits the overall width of the network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • the RMS identifier, or address may be characterized by the characters ‘RMSx’ where ‘x’ represents a sequence of characters unique to that particular RMS.
  • the message source field 530 identifies the source of the frame 500 , as well as the intermediate tags that have relayed the frame 500 by conveying the serial numbers of the source and intermediate tags in a string. This is similar to that of the message destination field 520 .
  • An example string is provided that is “4C2
  • the ‘x’ in ‘RMSx’ would be a unique sequence of characters identifying a particular RMS.
  • the destination tag in replying, simply takes the string of serial numbers stored in the source field 530 and places it in the destination field 520 .
  • This information in a reply message back to an RMS, is also used by the RMS to form the network.
  • the TELL command instructs the destination tag to retrieve the information stored in non-volatile memory, such as the tag serial number 418 , and/or its location coordinates 414 (See FIG. 6).
  • a reply 543 to the SET command 542 is simply “SET” which is communicated from destination tag to the RMS.
  • the replies to certain commands are simply acknowledgments and affirmations of the command.
  • pertinent information such as the sensor readings or the coordinate locations could be communicated in the reply message.
  • the error-checking field 550 is used for data integrity of the frame 500 . Any conventional error-checking scheme could be utilized, such as a Checksum, or a CRC.
  • the trailer 560 indicates the end of the frame 500 .
  • the trailer 560 is simply a single carriage return character, although another predetermined character could be used.
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 600 of operation of an RMS (e.g., RMS 150 ) in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • RMS e.g., RMS 150
  • the method 600 could function free from user interaction, but more than likely would have some periodic user input.
  • the steps of the method 600 may be initialized remotely by a central monitoring station (CMS).
  • CMS central monitoring station
  • the method 600 begins with a receiving command to form the network (step 602 ).
  • a network of wireless RF ID tags may be reformed on a programmed periodic basis, perhaps hourly, or daily.
  • the RMS begins forming the network (step 610 ) by sending out broadcasts to discover the wireless RF ID tags in the network. This step will be further illustrated in detail in FIG. 9.
  • Step 620 may encompass several algorithms to produce the shortest communication links required for each tag in the network.
  • the algorithms also may map the network such that the communications are more evenly spread across the network, so as to avoid depending on a select few key positioned tags in the network. For instance, tags closest to the RMS in a given direction would experience more traffic, than others, thus resulting in quicker power consumption.
  • the algorithms incorporated into step 620 can reconfigure the communication links to spread out the burden over other tags.
  • the RMS may return to an idle mode 660 . Forming and mapping the network helps to track the existence and relative location of the tags in the network.
  • the network may be reformed periodically.
  • the term periodically in the context of this document, should be construed to mean performing in a manner more than once with some type of algorithmic expression of its frequency. For example, forming the network may be performed every hour, whereby the time between successive reformings would be constant. Alternatively, the time between reformings may be in a pseudo-random fashion, for example, ranging from five minutes to sixty minutes. Another feasible alternative is reforming the network more often during busiest shipping hours, such as during the day and reforming the network less often during the night.
  • the tags of the network may be polled for their status, such as environmental status and location.
  • the network may be polled (step 630 ). This step is described in further detail in FIG. 10, but in brief, any environmental parameter exceedances, as well as location coordinate information may be requested of each tag in the network.
  • the RMS then receives responses conveying this information from the tags in the network.
  • the RMS can then record and report the status of the assets by communicating, for example, the exceedance information, to the CMS (step 640 ). Upon recording and reporting the status of the assets, the RMS may return back to the idle mode 660 .
  • the RMS may be triggered to send a message to a particular tag in the network (step 606 ).
  • This may be enabled by a user operating the RMS, or it may be enabled remotely by the CMS.
  • the message that is to be sent to the particular tag may be a command requesting information about the tag, or it may be a command to store information also being sent.
  • the tag's new location may be programmed by the RMS, or new environmental thresholds may be communicated to the tag.
  • Sending a message requires preparing the message (step 650 ). This includes building the appropriate data frame(s) to convey the message.
  • the RMS can populate the message destination field 520 (See FIG. 7) with the appropriate destination tag as well as intermediate tags. This information is available to the RMS upon forming and mapping the network (step 610 and 620 ). Alternatively, the RMS can send out a broadcast message to the destination tag, without knowing the intermediate tags necessary to convey the information.
  • the message can be sent (step 652 ).
  • the RMS will receive a response (step 654 ) and record the response (step 656 ). This step may require communicating the information along to the CMS.
  • the RMS can return back to the idle mode 660 .
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 610 of forming a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8.
  • the method 610 encompasses the process by which the RMS forms and periodically reforms the network, as discussed in FIG. 8, to properly track the existence and relative location of the tags, and thus the assets, within the network.
  • the method 610 begins with an initialization (step 611 ).
  • a counter may be initialized to ‘0.’
  • the counter tracks the levels in the network which signifies the number of tags necessary to communicate to a destination tag. So, when the counter initialized to ‘0,’ the RMS is looking for the tags within the immediate range of the RMS, thus requiring zero intermediate tags.
  • the width of the network increases, from zero intermediate tags, to one intermediate tag, to two intermediate tags, and so on, until no new tags are found in an iteration of the method 610 .
  • the RMS broadcasts out a ‘PING’ command to any tags that are within its range (step 612 ).
  • the RMS can populate the message destination field of the data frame with a broadcast address, ‘*’. By including only one ‘*’, the tags within the immediate range of the RMS will receive the command. Each of these tags will then respond to the ‘PING’ command.
  • the RMS begins collecting the responses (step 613 ) and records the tags that have responded. If any new tags respond (step 614 ) (in the first iteration, all of the tags that respond will be new) the counter is incremented (step 615 ).
  • the process is repeated by sending a ‘PING’ command out for each tag that was discovered in the previous level. For example, if a level ‘0’ ‘PING” command returned three tags, A, B, and C, then three new ‘PING commands’ will be sent out during the level ‘1’ iteration.
  • the three ‘PING’ commands would include in the message destination field ‘A
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 630 of polling a network of wireless RF ID tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • the method 630 provides more detail to the step 630 of FIG. 8, which as discussed briefly, polls each of the tags in the network to find out the environmental conditions in which their assets are experiencing. Alternatively, the tags may be polled for location information.
  • the method 630 begins with a simple initialization step (step 631 ).
  • the RMS from forming and mapping a network, includes a list of the tags in the network. To properly poll these tags, the RMS must send out many messages, at least one for each tag. However, these messages cannot be sent out in a single burst, as it could overload the network due to an excessive number of relays by intermediate tags. Further, an excessive amount of wireless communications at any one time within a confined area, may cause problems. To transmit the wireless communications, electromagnetic radiation must be emitted by the transmitter. In some cases, too much electromagnetic radiation within a given area at any one time can cause a problem for radiation sensitive assets, such as ammunitions and explosives.
  • the RMS can send out the polling signals to the network of tags over an extended period of time in a pseudo-random fashion, and in a manner that avoids too much radiation within a given area. So, the RMS will continue the method 630 provided there are more messages to be sent (step 632 ). Once the tags have been polled, the method 630 will end (step 638 ).
  • a ‘READINGS’ command may be sent to each tag (step 633 ).
  • the tag may then retrieve this information from its memory and reply back accordingly.
  • the RMS can store the responses (step 635 ) as well as monitor for any threshold exceedances that have occurred (step 636 ). If a threshold exceedance has occurred, the pertinent information will be recorded and may be communicated to the CMS (step 637 ).
  • Such pertinent information may include the time of exceedance, the specific tag that replied with the exceedance, and the location of the specific tag.
  • the responses may also include the actual readings of the sensors, so if an exceedance is recognized, the sensor readings can be communicated to the CMS. Without an exceedance being detected, the information may or may not be recorded (depending on the specific configuration) nor communicated to CMS. This process continues until each desired tag has been polled for its readings.
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 700 of operation for a wireless RF ID tag within a network of RF tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.
  • the method 700 assumes that the tag remains in a sleep mode 710 until it receives a communication. During the sleep mode 710 however, the tag may periodically take a reading of its sensors and store the readings until a request for them has been received.
  • the tag receives a message (step 720 )
  • the tag checks to see if its own address, designated by its unique serial number, is in the message destination field 520 of the received data frame 500 (FIG. 7) or message (step 730 ).
  • the tag looks to see if a ‘*’ address for a network wide broadcast is the leftmost address in the message destination field. In either case, the method 700 proceeds to step 740 . If neither its unique serial number exists anywhere in the message destination field 520 , nor a ‘*’ exists at the leftmost address in the message destination field 520 , the tag will then return to sleep mode 710 , as the current message is neither for that tag nor requires that tag to relay the message.
  • the tag then checks to see if the its address or the ‘*’ is the only address in the message destination field 520 (step 740 ). If so, the tag must process the message according to the command sent in the message (step 750 ). If its own address or the ‘*’ is not the only address in the message destination field 520 , the tag recognizes that it must relay the message. To relay the message, the tag can strip the address from the message destination field 520 (step 742 ) and append the address to the message source field 530 (step 744 ). The message can then be re-transmitted (step 760 ).
  • the tag will then process the message according to the command received in the payload (step 750 ) of the message, or data frame 500 .
  • the tag may perform an error check, using the error-checking field 550 of the message.
  • the tag can create a reply message by populating the message destination field 520 of the reply message with the information in the message source field 530 (step 752 ).
  • the message source field can then be populated with the serial number of the tag (step 754 ).
  • the payload of the reply message can then be appropriately configured to convey a receipt of the received message as well as communicate the requested information.
  • the error-checking field 550 will be repopulated with the correct error-checking information.

Abstract

Systems, devices, methods, and programs disclosed herein provide a solution for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications. A representative system for monitoring assets includes a remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags. Each ID tag is coupled to an asset and is configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags in the network within a predetermined proximity. Each tag is also configured to relay communications from other ID tags so that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags.

Description

    CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
  • This application claims priority to U.S. Utility Application entitled “Monitoring and Tracking of Assets by Utilizing Wireless Communications,” assigned application Ser. No. 10/324,422, filed Dec. 20, 2002, which also claims priority to copending U.S. Provisional Application entitled “Implementation of a Low Power Pallet Network for the Tracking of Goods in a Supply Chain,” assigned Application No. 60/349,533, filed Jan. 18, 2002, U.S. Provisional Application entitled “Implementation of a Low Power Pallet Network for the Tracking of Goods in a Supply Chain,” assigned Application No. 60/378,731, filed May 8, 2002, and U.S. Provisional Application entitled “System for an Integrated Sensor RF Identification (ISRFID) with Scalable Location Capabilities and Error Correction,” assigned Application No. 60/350,601, filed Jan. 22, 2002 which are all entirely incorporated herein by reference.[0001]
  • FIELD OF THE INVENTION
  • The present invention relates to systems, devices, methods, and programs for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications. [0002]
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
  • The supply chain management industry, like most industries, has seen great advances due in large part to the technology boom resulting from the Internet. Today, goods can be tracked with moderate success from source to destination. For example, package delivery companies, such as Federal Express® (FedEx®) and United Parcel Service® (UPS®), provide a package shipping feature in which a user, typically the sender or receiver, can track the current location in the supply chain of a shipped package. Both FedEx® and UPS® command a market premium due in part to this value-added service. [0003]
  • Package delivery companies focus mainly on small items, such as envelopes and small packages. There is a need in the shipping industry for similar tracking systems for high-value assets, such as International Standards Organization (ISO) cargo containers, automobiles, and ammunitions. These goods often travel long distances across different shipping mediums, such as ships, trains, and trucks. At each hand-off, from for example, ship to truck, the presence of assets may be recorded. In this manner, each asset's location can be reasonably tracked across the supply chain. Unfortunately, however, most of the systems in place today are pieced together to form a tracking system across the entire supply chain. These hybrid systems are prone to lose asset visibility when assets move from one form of asset tracking to another. For example, the inventory system at a shipyard is often different from the inventory system at a warehouse. Each inventory system may utilize different technology, and so may require different means of identifying each asset, adding cost and increasing the chance for lost visibility. [0004]
  • Tracking the assets in a temporary storage location, such as a warehouse or shipyard, is another aspect of the supply chain. Assets arrive and depart from warehouses continuously, and so tracking the location of the assets within the warehouse is difficult. Two general families of wireless technology exist for monitoring assets in a warehouse. Both families utilize radio frequency (RF) wireless identification (ID) tags. [0005]
  • The first of such technologies utilizes passive RF ID tags. The tags are often coupled to the shipping pallets that hold the assets to be monitored. The monitoring is performed by a gateway which is a restricted space that contains strong electric or magnetic fields. The field energizes and queries the passive RF ID tags as the tags pass through the gateway. Computers at the gateway can thus monitor the goods entering and leaving the warehouse, or sections thereof. The strength of gateway systems is that the tags are relatively cheap, in large part because they are passive (requiring no batteries). For similar reasons, the tags last for an indefinite period of time. One drawback to these systems is that they require the goods to be passed through designated gateway areas, typically causing great inconvenience. Another drawback is that it is not possible to track the location of the goods within the warehouse. Further, a gateway system must be set up at each warehouse, train depot, shipyard, etc. [0006]
  • The second family of technologies utilizes triangulation systems appropriately set up within the warehouse. The triangulation system typically requires multiple antennas to be positioned in the warehouse. The system utilizes the antennas to periodically interrogate active RF ID tags on the assets. When the tag responds to the interrogation, the multiple antennas can triangulate the location of the tag. The tags typically require a battery to power a transceiver. The transceiver typically requires considerable power, so as to transmit a fairly strong signal because the antennas are typically positioned relatively far away. The strength of the triangulation system is that assets can be located within the warehouse on demand and with sufficient accuracy. One drawback is that the battery life of the tags is shortened because of the required strong transmit signal. Another drawback is that the antenna network is typically inflexible and so provides limited coverage within a warehouse. Further, simple configurations of a triangulation system can cost well over $100,000 for the antenna arrays alone. Similar to the gateway system, a triangulation system must be set up at each warehouse, train depot, shipyard, etc. [0007]
  • Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that there remains a need for improved systems and methods that address the aforementioned and/or other shortcomings of the prior art. For example, there remains a need for a relatively low-cost asset monitoring system that can be implemented across an entire supply chain and require little maintenance. Accordingly, it would be beneficial if such high-value assets could be monitored across the supply chain with greater accuracy without adding substantial cost. [0008]
  • SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
  • Systems, devices, methods, and programs disclosed herein provide a solution for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications. In particular, the solution provides for in-transit visibility of the existence, location, and conditions of the assets throughout a supply chain. Furthermore, the solution requires minimal new infrastructure and can be integrated with many existing supply chain infrastructures. [0009]
  • Accordingly, one embodiment of a system for monitoring assets includes a remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags. Each ID tag is coupled to an asset and is configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags in the network within a predetermined proximity. Each tag is also configured to relay communications from other ID tags so that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags. [0010]
  • Another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a wireless ID tag coupled to an asset to be tracked, wherein the wireless ID tag is one of a network of ID tags configured to communicate with an RMS. The wireless ID tag includes a portable power supply and a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags within a predetermined proximity. The determined proximity is a function of the power supplied by the portable power supply. The wireless ID tag also includes memory configured to store information about the asset upon which the ID tag is coupled. The memory is further configured to store logic for various algorithms. The wireless ID tag also includes a processor for executing the logic for the various algorithms stored in memory. One of the various algorithms comprises relaying communications from other ID tags such that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags. [0011]
  • Still another embodiment may be construed as a system for monitoring assets across a supply chain. The system includes a plurality of wireless radio frequency (RF) ID tags each coupled to an asset to be monitored. Each wireless RF ID tag includes means for communicating with other wireless RF ID tags within a predetermined proximity such that a plurality of networks of wireless RF ID tags are formed across the supply chain. Each network comprises those wireless RF ID tags within proximity of each other. The system also includes a plurality of RMSs positioned across the supply chain, wherein each RMS includes means for communicating with any network of the plurality of networks that is within proximity of the RMS. The system also includes a central monitoring station (CMS) that includes means for communicating with the plurality of RMSs. [0012]
  • Yet another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a method of monitoring assets across a supply chain, whereby each asset has an ID tag coupled thereto. The method includes: forming a network of ID tags such that existence in the network conveys the existence and location of the corresponding assets in the supply chain; and polling the network of ID tags to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the corresponding assets. [0013]
  • Finally, another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a computer readable medium having a program for monitoring assets across a supply chain, whereby each asset has an ID tag coupled thereto. The program includes logic configured to form a network of ID tags such that existence in the network conveys the existence and location of the corresponding assets in the supply chain. The program also includes logic configured to poll the network of ID tags to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the corresponding assets. [0014]
  • Clearly, some embodiments of the invention may address shortcomings of the prior art in addition to, or in lieu of, those described here. Additionally, other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.[0015]
  • BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • Many aspects of the invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. [0016]
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a supply chain for shipping goods from source to destination. [0017]
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of several embodiments of an asset monitoring system implemented in the storage facility of FIG. 1. [0018]
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of an asset monitoring system implemented in the shipping container of FIG. 1. [0019]
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the asset monitoring system implemented in the shipping vessel of FIG. 1. [0020]
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the various asset monitoring systems of FIGS. 2-4 networked together to form one system servicing an entire supply chain. [0021]
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless RF ID tag in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. [0022]
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a data frame as used for communicating between a Remote Monitoring Station (RMS) and the wireless RF ID tag of FIG. 6. [0023]
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation of an RMS in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. [0024]
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail the step of forming a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8. [0025]
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating in more detail the step of polling a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8. [0026]
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operation for a wireless RF ID tag within a network of wireless RF ID tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. [0027]
  • DETAILED DESCRIPTION
  • As will be described in greater detail herein, systems, devices, methods devices, and programs of the present invention facilitate the monitoring of the location and condition of assets. In particular, the present invention provides for a low-cost solution that can locate an asset across a supply-chain, including within a storage facility, and can also monitor the environmental conditions, such as temperature and air pressure, affecting the asset, both while being stored and in transit. [0028]
  • Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in which like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a [0029] supply chain 1 for shipping goods from a source 10 to a destination 30. For example, the source 10 may be a city, such as Hong Kong, and the destination 30 may be a country, such as the United States. The supply chain 1 described herein attempts only to show the general components needed in shipping goods from one location to another, as well as showing several examples in which embodiments of the present invention may be found. In reality, a supply chain is often customized to the particular goods shipped, as well as to the parties shipping the goods.
  • The [0030] source 10, may include, among other shipping gateways, an airport 12 and a ship port, or shipyard 14. Often, overseas shipping for large commercial goods, or assets, is performed via cargo ships 25, whereas shipping for small commercial goods, such as mail and small packages, is performed via airplanes 20. As will become clear later, several embodiments of the invention may also be utilized for military purposes. Militaries often ship heavy assets, including ammunitions and personnel, via cargo ships 25 as well as cargo airplanes 20.
  • A [0031] destination 30 will include a reciprocating airport 32 and shipyard 34 for in-bound vessels 20 and 25. As is well known, both inbound and outbound transit is conducted at both airports 32 and shipyards 34. Great confusion at these locations leads to inefficient shipping, lost assets-in-transit, and reduced security. Embodiments of the present invention may be found in source airport 12, source shipyard 14, destination airport 32 and destination shipyard 34 to help reduce the confusion by, among other things, tracking the locations of the assets-in-transit. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may be found on the shipping vessels themselves (i.e., airplane 20 and cargo ship 25). Several of these embodiments will be discussed in further detail in subsequent figures.
  • Once the goods have reached the gateway (i.e., [0032] airport 32 or shipyard 34) of the destination 30, more shipping is performed to provide the goods to their final destination. In this example, the final destination is a storage facility 70, such as a warehouse. In practice, the supply chain 1 does not end at the storage facility 70, as several more destinations, such as retail or wholesale locations, may exist prior to the goods being received at their ultimate destination, typically a consumer. Quite often, trucks 40 ship goods from airport 32 and shipyard 34 to storage facility 70. Alternatively, trucks 40 may ship goods to a train depot 50, where the goods are placed on trains 60 for further shipping. Embodiments of the invention may be found at a storage facility 70, such as a warehouse or factory, as well as a train depot 50. Furthermore, embodiments of the present invention may be found on trucks 40 as well as trains 60. Subsequent figures will provide greater detail to these embodiments.
  • The shipping industry has standardized many aspects of shipping. One such way is by the use of International Standards Organization (ISO) [0033] containers 45. ISO containers 45 are typically steel containers that may store several pallets of goods, or assets. The containers 45 are typically shipped overseas on large shipping vessels, such as cargo ship 25. The cargo ship 25 may carry several hundreds of the containers 45, which are typically stacked on top of each other. At the shipyard 34, large cranes are used to remove the ISO containers 45 from the ships. The containers 45 are temporarily stored at the shipyard 34 until a truck 40 or train 60 is available. The containers 45 can then be placed on the truck 40, or train 60, where shipping of the container 45 proceeds. The contents of the container 45 are often removed once the container 45 reaches a storage facility 70, such as a warehouse. As will become evident in further figures, embodiments of the invention may be found inside an ISO container 45 to track its contents. Embodiments of the invention may also be implemented to track the ISO containers, themselves. It should also be noted, that other goods, particularly heavy assets, such as automobiles and tanks, that may be shipped without the use of ISO containers 45 can also be tracked by embodiments of the present invention.
  • It should be noted that the term assets has been utilized to describe several objects that may be shipped. These objects may be for example, but not limited to, goods, such as raw materials, food, automobiles as well as military assets such as ammunitions, tanks, and personnel. In the broadest sense, the term asset may be considered anything that is movable and thus can be shipped. [0034]
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of several embodiments of an [0035] asset monitoring system 100 implemented in the storage facility 70 of FIG. 1. The storage facility 70 may be a structure such as a warehouse or a factory whereby assets are temporarily held during shipping. Often, the assets are moved in and out of the storage facility 70 at great frequency, causing a need for the relative location of each asset within the facility 70 to be monitored. It is important to note that FIG. 2 provides merely a schematic representation of the facility 70. In reality, the storage facility 70 could contain hundreds or thousands of assets dispersed throughout the facility, and potentially stacked on top of each other. The system 100 is designed to facilitate the most complex layouts of the storage facility 70, including three-dimensional location monitoring.
  • The [0036] asset monitoring system 100 generally includes at least a first remote monitoring station (RMS) 150. In some embodiments, the system 100 may include a network of RMSs placed throughout the facility 70 so as to provide maximum coverage. In FIG. 2, two RMSs 150 and 155 are coupled together by a local area network (LAN) 140, so as to provide support for the system 100 both inside and immediately outside of the facility 70, perhaps on a loading dock. In short, each RMS 150 or 155 includes a wireless transceiver coupled to a computer, such as a personal computer (PC).
  • Various assets may be dispersed throughout the [0037] facility 70. Coupled to each asset is a wireless radio frequency (RF) identification (ID) tag. FIG. 6 will provide more detail about the wireless RF ID tags, but in brief, each tag is configured to wirelessly communicate with other tags and any RMSs within a determined proximity. The power consumed by each tag is a direct function of the range of the tag, so the range of each tag will be determined so as to provide for power efficiency. Because of the limited range of the tags, communication between RMS 150 and a destination tag 110, may be relayed via intermediate tags such as tags 120 and 130. Accordingly, each tag can communicate with the RMS 150, either directly or indirectly, thus creating a network of wireless RF ID tags. For example, a wireless RF ID tag may be capable of communicating within a 50 ft radius. The RMS 150 may be located well over 50 ft away from this tag. In this case, several intermediate tags may be necessary to relay the communications between the RMS 150 and the tag. The present invention can provide for the shortest path between any tag and the RMS 150.
  • As mentioned, each [0038] tag 110, 120, and 130 is coupled to an asset. In conventional supply-chain systems, assets are shipped on pallets, either wooden or steel, whereby a forklift is generally used to move the pallets throughout the facility 70. In general, a wireless RF ID tag may be coupled to the pallet holding the assets. In this manner, the trackable pallet can be re-used.
  • In other embodiments, a dummy wireless [0039] RF ID tag 135 may be used to relay communications between remote assets and the RMS 150. The dummy wireless RF ID tag 135 is essentially the same as the wireless RF ID tags, except that it is not coupled to a mobile asset. The dummy wireless RF ID tag 135 may be positioned throughout the facility 70, so as to provide better coverage when assets are spread sparingly throughout the facility 70.
  • The [0040] asset monitoring system 100 provides for the communication between any wireless RF ID tag among a network of tags and the RMS 150. In FIG. 2, the destination tag 110 is located far enough away from the RMS 150 that intermediate tags are required to relay any communication. The system 100 facilitates communication from the tag 110 to the RMS 150 only after the RMS 150 has requested a communication. In this regard, the RF ID tags act as slaves to the RMS 150, the master. The RMS 150 can transmit a downstream communication to the destination tag 110 (coupled to an asset). In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the downstream communication is relayed from a first intermediate tag 130 (coupled to an asset) to a second intermediate tag 120 (coupled to an asset) to the destination tag 110. The downstream communication, although containing the same payload, can be broken up into segments. The first downstream segment 101 is from RMS 150 to the first intermediate tag 130. The first intermediate tag 130 interprets the first downstream segment 101 and relays it along to the second intermediate tag 120 via a second downstream segment 103. The second intermediate tag 120 does the same and relays the communication along to the destination tag 110 via a third downstream segment 105. The destination tag 110 can process the downstream communication and reply with an upstream communication to the RMS 150. A first upstream segment 102 is received by the second intermediate tag 120 and relayed along to the first intermediate tag 130 via second upstream segment 104. A third upstream segment 106 is communicated to the RMS 150 from the first intermediate tag 130. Once the network has been formed, the path in which a communication may travel can be determined by the RMS 150. Otherwise, the path in which a communication may travel may not be precisely known by the RMS 150, but the path will be communicated to the RMS 150. As will be discussed in further detail in relation to FIG. 7, the path of intermediate tags may be fixed for each destination tag 110 and communicated along with the information from the RMS 150 to the destination tag 110. Alternatively, a broadcast signal may be communicated from the RMS 150, or any intermediate tag, such that any tag within the range of the broadcast can receive and retransmit the signal, if necessary.
  • Periodically, the [0041] RMS 150 may reform the network of tags. The method in which the RMS 150 can accomplish this is described in further detail in FIG. 8. In short, the RMS 150 sends out repetitive broadcast signals and waits for replies to come back. Once all of the replies are from tags already having replied, the RMS 150 is aware of the tags in the surrounding network. Furthermore, the RMS 150 is aware of the relative location of each tag to each other tag because a trail of intermediate tags is recorded for each upstream communication segment. With this information, the RMS 150 has the ability to calculate the shortest path of intermediate tags for each destination tag. As can be seen, some tags closest to the RMS 150 would receive and transmit as intermediate tags more often than others, leading to battery overuse for some of the tags. The RMS 150 can alter the shortest path algorithm for each destination tag so that power use is spread evenly across intermediate tags.
  • By periodically reforming the network, the [0042] RMS 150 can monitor which tags have entered the network and which tags have left the network. Furthermore, the RMS 150 can monitor the relative position of the tags as they may move between reforms of the network. The periodicity of reforming the network may vary according to the asset traffic within the facility 70. For example, for a facility 70 that handles little asset traffic, the network may be reformed once a day. In this regard, if an asset were to arrive and depart before a reform of the network, the asset would not be detected. As another example, the network may be reformed periodically, for example, every fifteen minutes. Accordingly any asset that arrives and departs more than fifteen minutes later will be detected.
  • The size of the network of tags is limited only by the number and spacing of the tags in the network. Provided there are enough intermediate tags to relay the signals, there is no maximum distance a destination tag must be from the [0043] RMS 150. Furthermore, by utilizing more than one RMS 150, the network can be extended beyond the reach of the most remote tags in the network. For example, FIG. 2 illustrates two RMSs 150 and 155. RMS 155 may be used to monitor outside of the facility 70, which may be too far away from the nearest tag inside the facility 70. By networking the RMSs 150 and 155, any asset that exists in or around the facility 70 may be monitored. Furthermore, the movement of assets from inside to outside, or vice versa, can be monitored.
  • FIG. 2 also illustrates a [0044] secondary communication path 125 from RMS 150 to destination tag 110. The RMS 150 is capable of determining an alternative path for communicating with the destination tag 110 if needed. This may occur as a result of an intermediate tag being moved or running out of power. However, as will become evident, the system 100 is configured so that the tags utilize minimum power during operation. Extended battery life for each tag is a main advantage of the system 100, so the prospect of a tag running out of power, although inevitable, is not expected to happen often.
  • Up until this point, only the relative position of each tag in the network could be calculated. However, an absolute location can also be established for each asset and can be stored in the tag. As mentioned earlier, forklifts are often used to move the assets in, out, and around the [0045] facility 70. Once placed at a location, the tag coupled to the particular asset can be programmed with the location. This may be done in a number of ways. One way is to track the location of the forklift that is moving the asset, for instance with an inertial navigation system (INS). Once the asset is placed, the location of the forklift established by the INS, as well as the position of the forklift tines (for height dimension), may be communicated to the tag of the asset. The coordinates (i.e., Cartesian, polar, or spherical) of the location can then be programmed into the memory of the tag. Alternatively, a handheld device, such as a personal desktop assistant, with a positioning system could be used to communicate the location of an asset to the asset. Other equivalent methods could be utilized as well to communicate the information to the asset. Once programmed, the asset may convey such information on the next successive communication with the RMS 150. In this manner, the location of tags in proximity to a tag with a known location can be also found. For example, if a tag with an unknown location can communicate directly with a tag with a known location, then the tag with the unknown location must be within range of the other tag. Using various techniques, the approximate location of the unknown tag can be more precisely found. For example, by finding another tag with a known location that the tag with the unknown location can communicate with can further approximate the location by using various geometry techniques. Obviously, the more tags with a known location, the more accurate the approximate location of the tags with an unknown location. In practice, it would seem likely that either all of the locations are known, or none of the locations are known. In the latter case, only the existence of the asset and the relative distance from the RMS 150 would be known.
  • As will be better illustrated in FIG. 6, various sensors may be coupled to each asset and may connect to the tag also coupled to the asset. In this manner, various environmental parameters may be monitored and communicated to the [0046] RMS 150. For example, temperature, air pressure, vibrations, humidity, and electromagnetic radiation, including ionizing radiation (i.e., alpha and gamma rays), can be sensed. The same general communication protocol can be used to communicate such information between RMS 150 and destination tag 110, via intermediate tags.
  • As will become clear in FIGS. 3 and 4 the same assets that are stored in the [0047] storage facility 70 are often shipped overseas. The asset monitoring system 100 can be implemented in various environments where environmental conditions must be considered. Accordingly, these conditions can be monitored throughout the transport of the goods.
  • The first of such implementations, where environmental conditions may be a factor, is illustrated in FIG. 3, which is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the [0048] asset monitoring system 200 implemented in the ISO shipping container 45 of FIG. 1. In this implementation, the location of the assets within the ISO shipping container 45 is obviously not much of a concern, although the location of the ISO shipping container 45 is important. In actuality there are various systems already implemented that provide for such tracking. For example, Qualcomm® Corporation has a system known as OmniTRACS®, which is a two-way satellite communication system that allows trucks to be monitored and tracked and to allow data communication with dispatchers. Other systems, such as Aether System's MobileMax™, Axiom Navigation's Asset Tracking, and Preco's Advanced Asset Management exist that provide essentially the same service. However, none of these systems provide the in-transit visibility of the asset monitoring system 200. The system 200 can effectively monitor the environmental conditions of the assets within the container 45. This information can then be communicated via satellite to a central monitoring station (CMS). Alternatively, a resident system, such as OmniTRACS® may be used to communicate such information from the container to a central location, via satellite, or other communication link.
  • The [0049] system 200 generally includes the same components as the system 100 of FIG. 2. A container communication unit 250 may include similar means as the RMS 150 of FIG. 2 for communicating with a network of wireless RF ID tags. The container 45 includes, in its storage, assets often stacked on top of each other. Each asset in the container 45 may have coupled to it a wireless RF ID tag that includes various sensors. Collectively, the wireless RF ID tags within the container 45 make up a network of tags, where each tag can communicate with the container communication unit 250, either directly or indirectly, via intermediate tags, in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 2. For example, destination tag 210 may be coupled to an asset which requires several intermediate tags, such as intermediate tag 230 to communicate with the container communication unit 250. A downstream communication signal from the container communication unit 250 may be relayed to the destination tag 210 in segments. Similarly, an upstream communication signal may be relayed from the destination tag 210 to container communication unit 250. In practice, fewer intermediate tags (i.e., tag 230) would be required in this implementation, because of the close proximity of the tags to the container communication unit 250.
  • The [0050] system 200 may perform an initial forming of the network of tags at the start of transit, and may periodically reform the network during transit to check for lost or stolen goods. In practice, the periodicity of the reforming of the network would be greatly decreased in this implementation, for obvious reasons. However, the environmental conditions may be periodically monitored more often in this implementation. For example, each tag in the network may be polled to see if any preprogrammed sensor thresholds have been exceeded since the last poll. This information can be communicated back to the container communication unit 250 from each tag in the network. This will be discussed in more detail in relation to FIG. 9. Practical examples of environmental conditions that may be monitored in this implementation, are vibrations and temperature. Vibration sensitive assets, such as ammunitions for the military, may be equipped to sustain a maximum amount of vibrations during transit. The system 200 can monitor for vibrations during transit, and if the measured vibrations are near the threshold, appropriate actions can be taken. Perhaps a more practical use is to monitor temperature. Various goods, such as food and pharmaceuticals, are sensitive to temperature. By utilizing the system 200, a recipient of the goods will know the temperature environments in which the goods were shipped, which can help in establishing the quality of the goods shipped.
  • The [0051] container communication unit 250 can be configured to relay the information received to a central monitoring station (CMS) (not shown). This may be performed in a number of ways. The first is by communicating with a satellite 270 via a satellite link 252 directly from the container communication unit 250, whereby the container communication unit 250 would include an appropriate transceiver communicate with the CMS via the satellite 270. An alternative method is to communicate with an intermediate transceiver unit 260, which may be mounted to the truck 40 hauling the container 45. In this case, the container communication unit 250 may have the means for communicating with the wireless RF ID tags, but not with the satellite 270. A wired or wireless link 262 may be provided to communicate between the transceiver unit 260 and the container communication unit 250. Other equivalents in the art, such as cellular communication, could also be utilized, and should be included herein. It is important to note that the communication links 252 or 264, either from the container communication unit 250 or the transceiver unit 260 may be provided by a third party such as the services discussed above. In this manner, the system 200 can be implemented into an existing structure with little cost.
  • It should also be noted that the assets, as discussed earlier, are typically shipped on pallets, and the tags would be coupled thereto. The same pallets, and thus the same tags, can be used in the implementation as illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. As will become clearer upon discussion of the implementation of FIG. 4, the asset monitoring system provides a modular solution that can be implemented across the entire supply chain. [0052]
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of the [0053] asset monitoring system 300 as implemented in the shipping vessel 25 of FIG. 1. This implementation is similar to that of FIG. 3 in that it can provide for in-transit visibility of the environmental conditions of the assets being shipped. FIG. 4 also shows an implementation in which the container communication units, such as unit 250 of FIG. 3, serve as intermediate tags in a network of wireless RF ID tags. The system 300 includes a shipping communication unit 350 which includes the equivalent means as the RMS 150 of FIG. 2 for communicating with a network of wireless RF ID tags. The network, however, includes the tags coupled to the assets within each cargo container 45, but also the container communication units, which now function as intermediate tags. For example, the shipping communication unit 350 can communicate with an asset located within cargo container 46 via various intermediate tags, which includes the container communication unit 310 of the destination cargo container 46, as well as container communication unit 330. Accordingly, the shipping communication unit 350 may communicate with the CMS (not shown) via satellite 370. The shipping communicate unit 350 includes the necessary resources (i.e., a satellite transceiver) to communicate with the satellite 370 via link 352. This service may be provided by a third party service such as Qualcomm's® OmniTRACS®.
  • In an alternative manner, as also illustrated in FIG. 3, each container communication unit (i.e., [0054] 310) may be configured to communicate directly with the satellite 370 via link 372. The environmental conditions within the container 46 could still be communicated to the CMS in this fashion.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the various asset monitoring systems networked together to form one [0055] system 170 servicing an entire supply chain. The system 170 generally includes a central monitoring station (CMS) 160 coupled to a communication network 161. Also coupled to the network 161 are the various RMSs 150 and 155 from the asset monitoring system 100 configured in the storage facility 70 (See FIG. 2). The container communication unit 250 of the asset monitoring system 200 configured in a cargo container (See FIG. 3) as well as the shipping communication unit 350 of the asset monitoring system 300 configured on the shipping vessel 25 are coupled to the network 161. Collectively these two units will be referred to as communication units. With this configuration, the CMS 160 can monitor the activity and conditions of the various assets across the supply chain.
  • Although only a handful of implementations have been illustrated, such as in the [0056] storage facility 70, the cargo container 45, and the shipping vessel 25, those skilled in the art will appreciate the various other implementations that could be utilized. An asset monitoring system could be implemented in many facilities equivalent to the storage facility 70, such as the shipyard 34, airport 32, and train depot 50 (See FIG. 1). Likewise, an asset monitoring system, could be configured on an airplane 20 as well as a train 60. All of these applications, as well as other equivalents, could easily be implemented and connected to the network 161 such that the CMS 160 could monitor them as well.
  • The [0057] CMS 160, as its name implies, is the central location for access to the remote units (ie., RMS 150, 155, container communication unit 250, and shipping communication unit 350). The CMS 160 may be configured to communicate in both directions, so that a user at the CMS 160 could not only monitor the information being received by the CMS 160, but could also send a command to, for example, RMS 155 to search for a particular asset, or, as another example, to test the environmental conditions of an asset communicating with the shipping communication unit 350. The CMS 160 may comprise a computer (not shown) with a network interface for communicating with the network 161. Furthermore, the CMS 160 may also include a transceiver for receiving satellite communications from the container communication unit 250 and the shipping communication unit 350. The necessary software and firmware to communicate with the remote units, as well as monitor the assets across the supply chain, may be resident on the computer of the CMS 160.
  • The [0058] network 161 may be any type of communication network in which various computing devices can communicate. For example, but not limited to, the network 161 could be a Local Area Network (LAN) and/or a Wide Area Network (WAN) and could utilize the Internet. The network 161 could be comprised of various hardware components such as routers and bridges (not shown) to facilitate the communication between the various interconnected devices. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication between RMS 150 and 155 may be accomplished through a LAN, whereas the communication between the RMS 150 and the CMS 160 may require a WAN and the Internet.
  • [0059] RMS 150 includes a computer, such as PC 151, coupled to a wireless transceiver 152. The wireless transceiver 152 may be coupled to an antenna 153 for communicating with the network wireless RF ID tags (See FIG. 2). The wireless transceiver 152 may be external from PC 151 or may be configured internally.
  • The [0060] PC 151 may include a network interface (not shown) for communicating with the CMS 160 and the RMS 155 via the network 161 (either LAN or WAN). The PC 151 also includes, although not shown for clarity, a processor for processing various functions stored in memory, also found in the PC 151. The memory may store firmware and software for the various algorithms needed to monitor the network of wireless RF ID tags. These algorithms include those to be described in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10. Furthermore, the memory may include a program for determining the shortest path for each tag in the network, as discussed earlier. RMS 155 includes a PC 156 and a wireless transceiver 157, and generally includes similar hardware and software as RMS 150.
  • The [0061] container communication unit 250, as briefly discussed in FIG. 3, includes similar components as to the RMS 150 for communicating with the network of wireless RF ID tags. Likewise, the container communication unit 250 may also include similar software and firmware to perform various algorithms for monitoring the assets. The container communication unit 250 may not necessarily utilize a PC, but instead may utilize a general computer, without any user interface. The CMS 160 may be configured to provide a user interface, remotely, for the container communication unit 250. The unit 250 may also include the necessary transceiver to communicate with the CMS 160 via the satellite 270, or some other communication scheme. The communication link 162 may include a satellite uplink, and a satellite downlink to the CMS 160, which may pass through an intermediate gateway, or server. The satellite 270 can provide a two-way communication, such that the CMS 160 can remotely control the container communication unit 250. Other forms of the communication link 162 may be via a cellular connection to a switched-circuit telephone service, or perhaps through a radio transmission, such as microwave.
  • The [0062] ship communication unit 350 can communicate with the CMS 160 via communication link 163 in much the same manner as the container communication unit 250. The ship communication unit 350 also includes the necessary resources to communicate with a network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • The remote units, such as the [0063] ship communication unit 350 may be configured to communicate directly with RMS 150 and 155, but in practice, this would be done indirectly through the CMS 160.
  • FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a wireless [0064] RF ID tag 400 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The wireless RF ID tag 400, as discussed earlier, is coupled to an asset that is to be tracked and monitored. The asset, may be anything in which knowledge of its location and/or environmental surroundings is important, particularly while being shipped. Most of the assets, accordingly, will be of significant value, either monetarily or for security reasons. Examples include: automobiles, ammunitions, and tanks. Further, many assets (e.g., consumer goods) are shipped on pallets. The tag 400 may be coupled to the pallets, which can be re-used many times for different shipments.
  • Generally, the [0065] tag 400 includes a processing device 420, memory 410, a transceiver 450, and an input/output interface 440 all coupled via a local interface 460. Although illustrated as external and exclusive components, a variety of sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448 may be configured with the tag 400, and may be considered as components of the tag 400. The tag 400 may also include a user interface (not shown) for providing interaction from a user. The user interface may include several buttons and switches and a display screen for interacting with a user.
  • The [0066] local interface 460 can be, for example, but not limited to, one or more buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the art. The local interface 460 may have additional elements, which are omitted for simplicity, such as controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers, to enable communications. Further, the local interface 460 may include address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate communications among the aforementioned components.
  • The components of the [0067] tag 400 are powered by a portable power supply 430. The portable power supply 430, most likely would be a battery providing extended life. Since the purpose of the system is to track assets in transit, the system itself must meet regulatory requirements for shipping, specifically the system must meet Department of Transportation regulations and international air cargo regulations. Accordingly, the portable power supply 430 must be of a size and construction that does not become hazardous. The design of the tag 400 is such that it may be powered by a lithium battery for over two years using a total quantity of lithium less than 10 grams. Many container storage areas are subject to extremes of heat and cold, therefore the portable power supply 430 and tag 400 combination may be designed to operate from −40 C. to 70 C., without generating hazardous waste or noxious/corrosive gases. The design of the hardware, protocols, and algorithms is geared toward meeting these objectives. The power supplied by the portable power supply 430 directly affects the transmission and reception range of the transceiver 450 and can be controllably adapted to the environment in which the asset is located. For example, assets inside a cargo container 45 are typically placed closer together and so the distance for a wireless communication to travel is reduced, thus allowing for the reduction in the power supplied by the portable power supply 430. In this manner, power can be conserved.
  • The [0068] processor 420 is a hardware device for executing software or firmware, particularly that stored in memory 410. The processor 460 can be any custom made or commercially available processor, a central processing unit (CPU), an auxiliary processor among several processors associated with the tag 400, a semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip or chip set), a macroprocessor, or generally any device for executing software instructions.
  • The [0069] memory 410 can include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM, such as DRAM, SRAM, SDRAM, etc.)) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, hard drive, tape, NVRAM, CDROM, etc.). Moreover, the memory 410 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or other types of storage media. Note that the memory 410 can have a distributed architecture, where various components are situated remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor 420.
  • The [0070] transceiver 450 is configured to facilitate the communication of signals to and from the tag 460. A variety of wireless protocols may be implemented in the tag 460, one of which is a frame based protocol to be discussed in further detail in FIG. 7. The memory 410 includes the necessary resources (e.g., firmware and software) to modulate and demodulate the data for the particular protocol, but the transceiver 450 includes the necessary hardware resources to communicate the information. Such hardware resources may include the necessary circuitry to amplify the downstream and upstream signals, such as gain amplifiers. A variable strength line driver amplifier may be included in the transceiver 450 for controlling the level of output power on the transmitted signal. The strength of the transmitted signal is a direct function of the power supplied by the portable power supply 430. Filters for reducing noise may also be included in the transceiver 450 as well. The transceiver 450 may be coupled to an antenna 452, used for transmitting and receiving the electromagnetic radiation. Preferably, the wireless communications would be performed in the radio frequency band and more preferably around 900 MHz. The transceiver 450 could easily be configured for other frequencies, however, such as 830 MHz (Europe) or 2.4 GHz.
  • The input/[0071] output interface 440 provides an interface for the variety of sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448. As discussed earlier, the sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448 can be used to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the asset, and thus the tag 400. For example, a first sensor 442 may be configured to measure the air pressure surrounding the asset. This may be particularly useful for implementing the asset monitoring system in the cargo airplane 20 of FIG. 1, or perhaps at a high altitude location. A second sensor 444 may be configured to measure the air temperature surrounding the asset. As discussed earlier, this is particularly useful for implementing the asset monitoring system on a shipping vessel 25, where extreme temperature conditions are a factor. A third sensor 446 may be configured to measure the electromagnetic radiation surrounding the asset, including the total radiation being emitted from the network of wireless RF ID tags. Assets, such as ammunitions and missiles are vulnerable to high levels of electromagnetic radiation. By monitoring the radiation emitted by the network, one can be sure that the radiation level in critical areas, such as around ammunitions, is not exceeded. A fourth sensor 448 may be configured to measure vibrations experienced by the asset. Again, assets, such as ammunitions and missiles are vulnerable to high levels of vibrations. Other sensors may be configured with the tag 400 to measure a wide variety of other environmental conditions, such as humidity and solar exposure.
  • The [0072] sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448 may be integrated with the tag 400 or, as shown in FIG. 6, may be exclusive to the tag 400 and connected to the tag 400 via the input/output interface 440. Power from the portable power supply 430 may be supplied to the sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448 via the input/output interface 440.
  • The [0073] memory 410, as mentioned, includes a variety of memory elements, such as volatile and non-volatile memory, for storing data. Software and firmware may also be stored in the memory 410 that is configured to provide various functions to the tag 410. It will be appreciated, however, that a key aspect of the invention is the simplicity incorporated into the tag 400, thus keeping the memory 410 to a minimum.
  • The [0074] memory 410 generally comprises a storage location for a unique identifier, such as a serial number 418 designated for each tag 400 upon its creation. The unique serial number 418 is used during wireless communications to identify the tag 400. The contents of the asset may also be linked to the unique serial number 418, however this information will not be conveyed wirelessly. An RMS, or the CMS, upon reception of the unique serial number 418, may correlate the contents of the asset with the unique serial number 418. In this manner, relevant information, which can be intercepted by eavesdroppers, is not communicated wirelessly. The unique serial number 418 may be stored in a simple register and may be re-programmed at a later time.
  • Also included in the [0075] memory 410 is storage for the coordinate location 414 of the asset. This information, as discussed earlier, may be in the Cartesian coordinate system, perhaps a polar or spherical coordinate system, or a proprietary coordinate system. The coordinate location 414 may be programmed via communication from the RMS, from a wireless communication via a hand-held device, such as a PDA, from an inertial navigation system onboard a forklift, or some other equivalent means. If the tag 400 is so equipped, the coordinate location 414 may be programmed via a user interface, such as the one briefly discussed above. The coordinate location 414, can be re-programmed and several previous locations can remain stored for a chosen period of time.
  • Various sensor parameters are stored in the [0076] memory 410 along with recorded sensor data in the sensor information section 412. The sensor information section 412 may include variable parameters stored in non-volatile memory to help operate the sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448. Such variable parameters may include the time between two successive sensor readings and threshold limits. For example, the time between successive readings may be on the order of 15 minutes or 120 minutes. Threshold limits can be programmed according to the necessary environmental conditions of the asset. For example, a high and low temperature threshold, or a maximum level of electromagnetic radiation. These parameters may be programmed from the RMS or may be programmed in a similar fashion as the coordination location information 414.
  • Also stored in the [0077] sensor information section 412 of the memory are previous readings of the sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448. For example, the sensor information section 412 may be large enough to hold three prior readings for each sensor 442, 444, 446, or 448. Likewise, threshold exceedances for each sensor 442, 444, 446, or 448 may be triggered at any reading and stored in the sensor information section 412. Upon a command from the RMS, the data, such as the sensor readings and threshold exceedances can be communicated back to the RMS. Generally, the sensor information section 412, the coordinate location 414 information, and the serial number 418 will be stored in non-volatile memory.
  • [0078] Several operating algorithms 416 through software and firmware are also stored in the memory 410. The operating algorithms 416 may include the algorithms necessary to communicate with the RMS as well as the other wireless RF ID tags in the network. The operating algorithms 416 may also include the algorithms necessary to operate the sensors 442, 444, 446, and 448. Another algorithm potentially included in the operating algorithms 416 may be for managing the output of the portable power supply 430.
  • The communication algorithms include the resources for modulating and demodulating the wireless communications and preparing and receiving such communications from the [0079] transceiver 450 of the tag 400. The modulation protocol incorporated into the communication algorithm may vary greatly by the implementation. Routing and linking algorithms may also be stored among the communication algorithms. These algorithms perform the framing of data frames for communication of data between tags, as well as manipulating the frames for proper routing among the network of wireless RF ID tags. A representative data frame 500 in accordance with embodiments of the present invention is illustrated in detail in FIG. 7. An error checking scheme such as a Checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scheme can also be stored among the communication algorithms. Temporary memory, such as RAM, may be included in memory 410 for temporarily storing data frame information while communicating.
  • Also included in the operating [0080] algorithms 416 are the appropriate processes to be performed in response to a variety of commands from the RMS. Such commands include storing information received from the RMS, retrieving information, such as sensor information, and replying with requested information, as well as simply replying to inform the RMS of the existence of the tag 400 in the network. More detail about the various commands will be provided in the discussion relating to FIG. 7.
  • It should be noted that various software and/or firmware programs have been briefly described herein. It will be appreciated that the various software and/or firmware programs, such as the various communication algorithms and command response algorithms, comprise an ordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. These programs can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or transmission device, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In the context of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be any means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the information system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable media would include the following: an electrical connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Note that the computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory. [0081]
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a [0082] data frame 500 as used for communicating between an RMS and a wireless RF ID tag. The data frame 500 consists of several fields each containing pertinent information. In the preferred embodiment, the length of the data frame 500 is not fixed, but would have some nominal maximum length in accordance with the size of the memory 410 of the wireless RF ID tag 400. The data may be made up of several 8 bit characters, and preferably, but not necessarily made up of 8 bit ASCII characters. It should be appreciated that the data frame 500 is one of many ways available to wirelessly communicate information, and although this represents the currently preferred method, certainly other equivalent methods are available, and should be accordingly protected herewith.
  • The [0083] data frame 500 begins with a header portion 510 that merely identifies the start of the frame 500. A message destination field 520 is next in the frame 500, followed by a message source field 530. The payload 540 including various tokens (i.e., 541, 542, and 543) is next in the frame 500. Following the payload 540 is an error-checking field 550. A trailer portion 560 signifies the end of the data frame 500. Each field of the frame 500 may be delimited from each other by white space.
  • The [0084] header portion 510, in this embodiment, is made up of three consecutive carriage return characters (ASCII-0×0D) each of which is composed of 8 bits. Utilizing three consecutive similar characters is helpful when synchronizing the communication. Manchester encoding and decoding may be used to synchronize communication, and three characters is often enough to establish synchronization. Manchester encoding is well known in the art. Other predetermined characters could be utilized in place of a carriage return. The header portion 510 is used to signify the start of the data frame 500 and to delimit it from preceding frames.
  • The [0085] message destination field 520 identifies the destination tag for a particular communication as well as the necessary intermediate tags by including a string of unique identifiers of the wireless RF ID tags that are to communicate, by relaying, the data frame 500. The unique identifier preferably would be the serial number 418 of each tag. The rightmost serial number is the ultimate destination tag for the data frame 500.
  • Two example strings of [0086] serial numbers 521 are 522 are provided for illustrations purposes. The first string of serial numbers 521 is “ABC|567|321” which signifies that the tag with serial number “ABC” will first receive this frame 500. Tag ABC knows to relay this frame 500 because its serial number is the leftmost serial number in the string 521. Upon relaying the frame 500, tag “ABC” will remove its serial number from the message destination field 520 and place it in the message source field 530. Tag “ABC” will then relay this frame and tag “567” will be the only tag to receive and accept the frame 500 just re-broadcast by Tag “ABC”, although other tags within the vicinity may receive it as well. Tag “567” knows to relay the frame 500 because now its serial number is the leftmost serial number in the string 521. Any other tags within the range of the broadcasting tag may receive the frame 500, but will not relay it because its serial number is not in the string 521. Eventually, the destination tag will receive the data frame 500 and process it. The destination tag will know to process it when it recognizes that its serial number is the rightmost serial number in the string 521 and/or the only serial number in the string 521.
  • The second string of [0087] serial numbers 522 is “D7E|124|*” which signifies that tag “D7E” will next relay the message. The ‘*’ character represents a broadcast address, which means that any tag within the range of the preceding tag (in this example tag “124”) should process the frame 500. The broadcast address is often utilized in forming the network and will be described in further detail in FIGS. 8 and 9.
  • Each tag serial number may be communicated with the binary equivalent of the ASCII character, or hexadecimal representation, of each character of the serial number. So for the example of “D7E,” three octets would be necessary, one for each character in the serial number. Each serial number, in this embodiment, is delimited by the ‘|’ character, although some other character may be used. The ultimate length of any one string of serial numbers in the [0088] message destination field 520 may be limited by the temporary memory in the tags. The length of the string of serial numbers also limits the number of intermediate tags in a communication, which limits the overall width of the network of wireless RF ID tags.
  • In the case of a reply communication from a tag to the RMS, the RMS identifier, or address, may be characterized by the characters ‘RMSx’ where ‘x’ represents a sequence of characters unique to that particular RMS. [0089]
  • The [0090] message source field 530 identifies the source of the frame 500, as well as the intermediate tags that have relayed the frame 500 by conveying the serial numbers of the source and intermediate tags in a string. This is similar to that of the message destination field 520. An example string is provided that is “4C2|RMSx” which indicates that “RMSx” is the source of the frame 500, and tag “4C2” has relayed the frame 500. As mentioned, the ‘x’ in ‘RMSx’ would be a unique sequence of characters identifying a particular RMS. When a tag relays the frame 500, it adds its own serial number, or identifier, to the beginning of the string. Once the frame 500 has reached the destination tag, the destination tag, in replying, simply takes the string of serial numbers stored in the source field 530 and places it in the destination field 520. This information, in a reply message back to an RMS, is also used by the RMS to form the network.
  • The payload [0091] 540 of the frame 500 includes the information that is to be conveyed from source to destination. In most cases where an RMS is communicating to a destination tag in its network, the information will be a command. The destination tag will in turn, reply with a receipt of the command in a reply communication. Generally, the payload 540 can be filled with several tokens delimited by a space. Several examples are provided of various commands that may be communicated in the payload 540. For instance, a first command 541 is “CMD=TELL” which would be found in a data frame 500 sent from an RMS to a destination tag. The TELL command instructs the destination tag to retrieve the information stored in non-volatile memory, such as the tag serial number 418, and/or its location coordinates 414 (See FIG. 6). A second command 542 is “CMD=SET M=60 THI=140 TLO=39” which again would be in a communication from the RMS to a destination tag. The SET command instructs the destination tag to set its sensor operating parameters to the prescribed values. In this example, setting the time between sensor readings to 60 minutes (M=60), setting the high temperature threshold to 140° F. (THI=140), and the low temperature threshold to 39° F. (TLO=39). As discussed in FIG. 8 this information may be stored in the memory 410 of the tag 400 in the sensor information section 412. The second command 542 contains several tokens (i.e., CMD=SET, M=60, THI=140, TLO=39) all delimited with a space. In practice, multiple commands with multiple tokens could be sent in the payload 540 of one frame 500. A reply 543 to the SET command 542 is simply “SET” which is communicated from destination tag to the RMS. The replies to certain commands are simply acknowledgments and affirmations of the command. To other commands, pertinent information, such as the sensor readings or the coordinate locations could be communicated in the reply message.
  • The error-checking field [0092] 550 is used for data integrity of the frame 500. Any conventional error-checking scheme could be utilized, such as a Checksum, or a CRC.
  • The trailer [0093] 560 indicates the end of the frame 500. In this embodiment, the trailer 560 is simply a single carriage return character, although another predetermined character could be used.
  • In the discussion that follows, flowcharts are provided. It is to be understood that any process steps or blocks in these flowcharts represent modules, segments, or portions of code that include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. It will be appreciated that, although particular example process steps are described, alternative implementations are feasible and steps may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. Moreover, various examples of systems and devices configured to perform these methods have been included for illustrative purposes. It will be appreciated that, although these are the only examples provided, other systems and devices not exemplified could be configured to perform these methods. [0094]
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a [0095] method 600 of operation of an RMS (e.g., RMS 150) in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. In practice, the method 600 could function free from user interaction, but more than likely would have some periodic user input. Furthermore, the steps of the method 600 may be initialized remotely by a central monitoring station (CMS).
  • The [0096] method 600 begins with a receiving command to form the network (step 602). As discussed earlier, a network of wireless RF ID tags may be reformed on a programmed periodic basis, perhaps hourly, or daily. Once the RMS is triggered to form the network, the RMS begins forming the network (step 610) by sending out broadcasts to discover the wireless RF ID tags in the network. This step will be further illustrated in detail in FIG. 9.
  • Once the RMS has received the replies from the tags in the network, the RMS is configured to map out the network (step [0097] 620). Step 620 may encompass several algorithms to produce the shortest communication links required for each tag in the network. The algorithms also may map the network such that the communications are more evenly spread across the network, so as to avoid depending on a select few key positioned tags in the network. For instance, tags closest to the RMS in a given direction would experience more traffic, than others, thus resulting in quicker power consumption. The algorithms incorporated into step 620, can reconfigure the communication links to spread out the burden over other tags. Once the network has been formed and mapped, the RMS may return to an idle mode 660. Forming and mapping the network helps to track the existence and relative location of the tags in the network.
  • It should be noted that the network may be reformed periodically. The term periodically, in the context of this document, should be construed to mean performing in a manner more than once with some type of algorithmic expression of its frequency. For example, forming the network may be performed every hour, whereby the time between successive reformings would be constant. Alternatively, the time between reformings may be in a pseudo-random fashion, for example, ranging from five minutes to sixty minutes. Another feasible alternative is reforming the network more often during busiest shipping hours, such as during the day and reforming the network less often during the night. [0098]
  • Several times between reforming the network, the tags of the network may be polled for their status, such as environmental status and location. Once the RMS has been triggered to poll the network (step [0099] 604), the network may be polled (step 630). This step is described in further detail in FIG. 10, but in brief, any environmental parameter exceedances, as well as location coordinate information may be requested of each tag in the network. The RMS then receives responses conveying this information from the tags in the network. The RMS can then record and report the status of the assets by communicating, for example, the exceedance information, to the CMS (step 640). Upon recording and reporting the status of the assets, the RMS may return back to the idle mode 660.
  • Every so often the RMS may be triggered to send a message to a particular tag in the network (step [0100] 606). This may be enabled by a user operating the RMS, or it may be enabled remotely by the CMS. The message that is to be sent to the particular tag may be a command requesting information about the tag, or it may be a command to store information also being sent. For example, the tag's new location may be programmed by the RMS, or new environmental thresholds may be communicated to the tag. Sending a message requires preparing the message (step 650). This includes building the appropriate data frame(s) to convey the message. The RMS can populate the message destination field 520 (See FIG. 7) with the appropriate destination tag as well as intermediate tags. This information is available to the RMS upon forming and mapping the network (step 610 and 620). Alternatively, the RMS can send out a broadcast message to the destination tag, without knowing the intermediate tags necessary to convey the information.
  • Once prepared, the message can be sent (step [0101] 652). Eventually, the RMS will receive a response (step 654) and record the response (step 656). This step may require communicating the information along to the CMS. Once complete, the RMS can return back to the idle mode 660.
  • FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a [0102] method 610 of forming a network of wireless RF ID tags of the method of FIG. 8. The method 610 encompasses the process by which the RMS forms and periodically reforms the network, as discussed in FIG. 8, to properly track the existence and relative location of the tags, and thus the assets, within the network.
  • The [0103] method 610 begins with an initialization (step 611). At this point, a counter may be initialized to ‘0.’ The counter tracks the levels in the network which signifies the number of tags necessary to communicate to a destination tag. So, when the counter initialized to ‘0,’ the RMS is looking for the tags within the immediate range of the RMS, thus requiring zero intermediate tags. As the counter increases, the width of the network increases, from zero intermediate tags, to one intermediate tag, to two intermediate tags, and so on, until no new tags are found in an iteration of the method 610.
  • To search for tags at the current level, the RMS broadcasts out a ‘PING’ command to any tags that are within its range (step [0104] 612). To accomplish this, the RMS can populate the message destination field of the data frame with a broadcast address, ‘*’. By including only one ‘*’, the tags within the immediate range of the RMS will receive the command. Each of these tags will then respond to the ‘PING’ command. At this point, the RMS begins collecting the responses (step 613) and records the tags that have responded. If any new tags respond (step 614) (in the first iteration, all of the tags that respond will be new) the counter is incremented (step 615).
  • The process is repeated by sending a ‘PING’ command out for each tag that was discovered in the previous level. For example, if a level ‘0’ ‘PING” command returned three tags, A, B, and C, then three new ‘PING commands’ will be sent out during the level ‘1’ iteration. The three ‘PING’ commands would include in the message destination field ‘A|*’, B|*’, and ‘C|*’. [0105]
  • These messages will be reached by any tags that are within the range of any tags in the first level. These tags can reply to each ‘PING’ command they receive. Upon collecting these responses, the RMS can eliminate redundant replies. For example, a “[0106] Level 1” tag may receive more than one ‘PING’ command from more than one “Level 0” tag and so will reply to both. By reviewing the message source fields of the received messages, the RMS can recognize redundant replies. This information is also useful when mapping the network (step 620 of FIG. 8). If new tags have been recognized, the counter increments again, and the process repeats, until no new tags have been recognized. At this point, the process exits (step 616), and it is assumed that all the tags within the network have been discovered.
  • FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a [0107] method 630 of polling a network of wireless RF ID tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The method 630 provides more detail to the step 630 of FIG. 8, which as discussed briefly, polls each of the tags in the network to find out the environmental conditions in which their assets are experiencing. Alternatively, the tags may be polled for location information.
  • The [0108] method 630 begins with a simple initialization step (step 631). The RMS, from forming and mapping a network, includes a list of the tags in the network. To properly poll these tags, the RMS must send out many messages, at least one for each tag. However, these messages cannot be sent out in a single burst, as it could overload the network due to an excessive number of relays by intermediate tags. Further, an excessive amount of wireless communications at any one time within a confined area, may cause problems. To transmit the wireless communications, electromagnetic radiation must be emitted by the transmitter. In some cases, too much electromagnetic radiation within a given area at any one time can cause a problem for radiation sensitive assets, such as ammunitions and explosives. To avoid this, the RMS can send out the polling signals to the network of tags over an extended period of time in a pseudo-random fashion, and in a manner that avoids too much radiation within a given area. So, the RMS will continue the method 630 provided there are more messages to be sent (step 632). Once the tags have been polled, the method 630 will end (step 638).
  • To poll each tag, a ‘READINGS’ command may be sent to each tag (step [0109] 633). The tag may then retrieve this information from its memory and reply back accordingly. As each reply is received by the RMS (step 634), the RMS can store the responses (step 635) as well as monitor for any threshold exceedances that have occurred (step 636). If a threshold exceedance has occurred, the pertinent information will be recorded and may be communicated to the CMS (step 637). Such pertinent information may include the time of exceedance, the specific tag that replied with the exceedance, and the location of the specific tag. The responses may also include the actual readings of the sensors, so if an exceedance is recognized, the sensor readings can be communicated to the CMS. Without an exceedance being detected, the information may or may not be recorded (depending on the specific configuration) nor communicated to CMS. This process continues until each desired tag has been polled for its readings.
  • FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a [0110] method 700 of operation for a wireless RF ID tag within a network of RF tags in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The method 700 assumes that the tag remains in a sleep mode 710 until it receives a communication. During the sleep mode 710 however, the tag may periodically take a reading of its sensors and store the readings until a request for them has been received.
  • Once the tag receives a message (step [0111] 720), the tag checks to see if its own address, designated by its unique serial number, is in the message destination field 520 of the received data frame 500 (FIG. 7) or message (step 730). Alternatively, the tag looks to see if a ‘*’ address for a network wide broadcast is the leftmost address in the message destination field. In either case, the method 700 proceeds to step 740. If neither its unique serial number exists anywhere in the message destination field 520, nor a ‘*’ exists at the leftmost address in the message destination field 520, the tag will then return to sleep mode 710, as the current message is neither for that tag nor requires that tag to relay the message.
  • Assuming the message should be processed by the tag, the tag then checks to see if the its address or the ‘*’ is the only address in the message destination field [0112] 520 (step 740). If so, the tag must process the message according to the command sent in the message (step 750). If its own address or the ‘*’ is not the only address in the message destination field 520, the tag recognizes that it must relay the message. To relay the message, the tag can strip the address from the message destination field 520 (step 742) and append the address to the message source field 530 (step 744). The message can then be re-transmitted (step 760).
  • If the address or the ‘*’ is the only address in the [0113] message destination field 520, the tag will then process the message according to the command received in the payload (step 750) of the message, or data frame 500. Just prior to processing the message, the tag may perform an error check, using the error-checking field 550 of the message. Once processed, the tag can create a reply message by populating the message destination field 520 of the reply message with the information in the message source field 530 (step 752). The message source field can then be populated with the serial number of the tag (step 754). The payload of the reply message can then be appropriately configured to convey a receipt of the received message as well as communicate the requested information. The error-checking field 550 will be repopulated with the correct error-checking information. Once the message has been built, it can be transmitted back in the direction in which it came (step 760).
  • It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, are merely possible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention. For example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the particular format of the [0114] data frame 500 could be varied without departing from the fuctionality it affords. Additionally, although the present invention focuses on an implementation for tracking heavy assets across a supply chain, those skilled in the art will appreciate that other implementations of the present invention are foreseeable. For instance, automobiles may be monitored while on-site at a car dealership. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention and protected by the following claims.

Claims (1)

1. A method of monitoring assets across a supply chain, whereby each asset has a RFID tag coupled thereto, the method comprising:
forming a network of RFID tags by conducting a BFS for all tags within proximity, whereby existence in the network conveys the existence and location of the corresponding assets in the supply chain; and
polling the network of RFID tags to monitor the environmental conditions surrounding the corresponding assets.
US10/804,280 2002-01-18 2004-03-19 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications Abandoned US20040174260A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US10/804,280 US20040174260A1 (en) 2002-01-18 2004-03-19 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications

Applications Claiming Priority (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US34953302P 2002-01-18 2002-01-18
US35060102P 2002-01-22 2002-01-22
US37873102P 2002-05-08 2002-05-08
US10/324,422 US6972682B2 (en) 2002-01-18 2002-12-20 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless communications
US10/804,280 US20040174260A1 (en) 2002-01-18 2004-03-19 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications

Related Parent Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/324,422 Continuation US6972682B2 (en) 2002-01-18 2002-12-20 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless communications

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20040174260A1 true US20040174260A1 (en) 2004-09-09

Family

ID=27617580

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/324,422 Expired - Fee Related US6972682B2 (en) 2002-01-18 2002-12-20 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless communications
US10/804,280 Abandoned US20040174260A1 (en) 2002-01-18 2004-03-19 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless commuications

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US10/324,422 Expired - Fee Related US6972682B2 (en) 2002-01-18 2002-12-20 Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless communications

Country Status (2)

Country Link
US (2) US6972682B2 (en)
WO (1) WO2003063103A1 (en)

Cited By (46)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20040174259A1 (en) * 2003-02-20 2004-09-09 Peel John W. Container tracking system
US20040203932A1 (en) * 2002-06-11 2004-10-14 Hitachi Electronic Service Co. Ltd. Automatic report control system for reporting arrival at destination or passing point
US20040243352A1 (en) * 2001-09-13 2004-12-02 Akio Morozumi Data collection method
US20040251302A1 (en) * 2003-03-20 2004-12-16 Seiko Epson Corporation Contactless data communication system, position information management system, contactless identification tag, data communication system, contactless indentification tag control program, and data communication system control program
US20050241548A1 (en) * 2000-01-24 2005-11-03 Muirhead Scott A W Thermoformed platform having a communications device
US20050251330A1 (en) * 2003-04-17 2005-11-10 Paul Waterhouse Internet package tracking system
US20050258240A1 (en) * 2004-03-30 2005-11-24 Honeywell International Inc. Identifying the Location of an Asset
WO2006081250A1 (en) * 2005-01-26 2006-08-03 Battelle Memorial Institute Method for autonomous establishment and utilization of an active-rf tag network
US20060170541A1 (en) * 2003-02-09 2006-08-03 Tompa Gary S Smart portable detection apparatus and method
US20060190165A1 (en) * 2003-07-03 2006-08-24 Hannu Makela Method and system for monitoring location of mining vehicle
US20060290491A1 (en) * 2005-06-22 2006-12-28 Custom Metalcraft, Inc. Intelligent container
US20070008150A1 (en) * 2005-04-22 2007-01-11 Hassell John W Long-range cattle identification system
US20070156491A1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2007-07-05 Francesca Schuler Method and system for request processing in a supply chain
US20070174148A1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2007-07-26 Francesca Schuler Method for resource management in a supply chain
US20070182577A1 (en) * 2006-02-03 2007-08-09 Govindarajan Muralidharan Remote shock sensing and notification system
US20070262849A1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2007-11-15 Ismail Amin R Active/Passive Coupled Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System
WO2008001309A2 (en) * 2006-06-26 2008-01-03 Visible Assets, Inc. Low-frequency tag system and method
US20080020724A1 (en) * 2006-07-19 2008-01-24 John Robert Orrell Establishing a data link between stacked cargo containers
US20080099557A1 (en) * 2006-10-31 2008-05-01 James Kenneth A Distributed inventory management system
US20080114487A1 (en) * 2006-11-10 2008-05-15 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for supply chain management using pallet-workstation and workstation-workstation communication
US20080111689A1 (en) * 2006-11-10 2008-05-15 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for communication with a transport structure in transit
US20080294488A1 (en) * 2007-05-25 2008-11-27 Hussmann Corporation Supply chain management system
US20080303669A1 (en) * 2007-06-08 2008-12-11 Symbol Technologies, Inc. Vibration logging tag
US20090058652A1 (en) * 2005-04-07 2009-03-05 Leor Hardy Synchronized Relayed Transmissions in RFID Networks
WO2009088538A1 (en) * 2008-01-04 2009-07-16 Tracking Innovations, Inc. Cargo tracking apparatus, system, and method
US20100060452A1 (en) * 2008-09-05 2010-03-11 DearlerMesh, Inc. Using a mesh of radio frequency identification tags for tracking entities at a site
US7712674B1 (en) * 2005-02-22 2010-05-11 Eigent Technologies Llc RFID devices for verification of correctness, reliability, functionality and security
US20100194544A1 (en) * 2009-02-02 2010-08-05 Young-Hwan Yoo Active rfid system for port logistics using mult-hop communication and communication method in the system
US20100272256A1 (en) * 2008-10-24 2010-10-28 University Of Maryland, College Park Method and Implementation for Information Exchange Using Markov Models
US20110078089A1 (en) * 2009-09-25 2011-03-31 Hamm Mark D Sensor zone management
US20110084213A1 (en) * 2009-10-13 2011-04-14 Randall Boudouris Organic Radiation Monitoring Device
US7948371B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2011-05-24 Nextreme Llc Material handling apparatus with a cellular communications device
US8077040B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2011-12-13 Nextreme, Llc RF-enabled pallet
US20120023555A1 (en) * 2010-07-21 2012-01-26 Danieli Gavriel Putterman Wireless environmental monitoring of goods
US20120299705A1 (en) * 2004-04-09 2012-11-29 Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Product management system
US20130293392A1 (en) * 2012-05-03 2013-11-07 Kapsch Trafficcom Ag Method for detecting vehicles with cargo
US20140015641A1 (en) * 2012-07-16 2014-01-16 Christopher J. White Masked container rfid tag communications system
US9540714B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2017-01-10 Ut-Battelle, Llc High strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US20170076065A1 (en) * 2015-09-10 2017-03-16 Lynx Rx, Inc. System, device, and automated method for verification of medication integrity and chain of custody
US9605565B2 (en) 2014-06-18 2017-03-28 Ut-Battelle, Llc Low-cost Fe—Ni—Cr alloys for high temperature valve applications
US9683280B2 (en) 2014-01-10 2017-06-20 Ut-Battelle, Llc Intermediate strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US9683279B2 (en) 2014-05-15 2017-06-20 Ut-Battelle, Llc Intermediate strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US10410176B2 (en) 2015-05-28 2019-09-10 Hds Mercury, Inc. Product and equipment location and automation system and method
US10467514B1 (en) * 2018-11-21 2019-11-05 Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A., Inc. Method for combining RFID tags
US11004325B2 (en) * 2019-09-26 2021-05-11 International Business Machines Corporation Smartphone based reminding system for forgotten objects
US11281873B2 (en) 2015-05-28 2022-03-22 Hds Mercury, Inc. Product and equipment location and automation system and method

Families Citing this family (351)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2288588A1 (en) * 1999-05-28 2000-11-28 Doug Miller System and method for rail transport of trailers
US8786437B2 (en) 2000-09-08 2014-07-22 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Cargo monitoring method and arrangement
US9015071B2 (en) 2000-09-08 2015-04-21 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Asset monitoring using the internet
US8482399B2 (en) * 2000-09-08 2013-07-09 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Asset monitoring using the internet
US20080088441A1 (en) * 2002-06-11 2008-04-17 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Asset Monitoring Using the Internet
US8315563B2 (en) * 2000-12-22 2012-11-20 Google Inc. Wireless reader tags (WRTs) with sensor components in asset monitoring and tracking systems
US20080303897A1 (en) * 2000-12-22 2008-12-11 Terahop Networks, Inc. Visually capturing and monitoring contents and events of cargo container
US20090016308A1 (en) * 2000-12-22 2009-01-15 Terahop Networks, Inc. Antenna in cargo container monitoring and security system
US8280345B2 (en) 2000-12-22 2012-10-02 Google Inc. LPRF device wake up using wireless tag
US8144671B2 (en) 2005-07-01 2012-03-27 Twitchell Jr Robert W Communicating via nondeterministic and deterministic network routing
US9084076B2 (en) 2001-02-16 2015-07-14 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Techniques for obtaining information about objects
JP4386732B2 (en) 2002-01-08 2009-12-16 セブン ネットワークス, インコーポレイテッド Mobile network connection architecture
DE10204347A1 (en) * 2002-02-01 2003-08-14 Atmel Germany Gmbh Process for the transmission of data
US20030187758A1 (en) * 2002-03-27 2003-10-02 International Business Machines Corporation Capital asset inventory system and method
US8354927B2 (en) * 2002-06-11 2013-01-15 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Shipping container monitoring based on door status
US20080272923A1 (en) * 2002-06-11 2008-11-06 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Monitoring of an Asset for Chemicals
US7961094B2 (en) * 2002-06-11 2011-06-14 Intelligent Technologies International, Inc. Perimeter monitoring techniques
US6965314B2 (en) * 2002-06-12 2005-11-15 Quintell Of Ohio, Llc Apparatus and method for asynchronously analyzing data to detect radioactive material
US7545268B2 (en) * 2002-06-12 2009-06-09 Quintell Of Ohio, Llc Shielding detection system for cargo receptacles
EP1552487B1 (en) * 2002-06-12 2018-01-31 Quintell of Ohio, LLC Method and apparatus for detection of radioactive material
US7957833B2 (en) * 2002-08-19 2011-06-07 Q-Track Corporation Asset localization identification and movement system and method
US8326451B2 (en) 2002-08-19 2012-12-04 Q-Track Corporation Inventory control and method
US7411495B2 (en) * 2002-08-27 2008-08-12 Hi-G-Tek Ltd. Smart container monitoring system
US6753775B2 (en) * 2002-08-27 2004-06-22 Hi-G-Tek Ltd. Smart container monitoring system
US7079023B2 (en) * 2002-10-04 2006-07-18 Sap Aktiengesellschaft Active object identification and data collection
US9547831B2 (en) * 2002-10-22 2017-01-17 Joshua E. Laase High level RFID solution for rental tools and equipment
US8468126B2 (en) 2005-08-01 2013-06-18 Seven Networks, Inc. Publishing data in an information community
US7853563B2 (en) 2005-08-01 2010-12-14 Seven Networks, Inc. Universal data aggregation
US7917468B2 (en) 2005-08-01 2011-03-29 Seven Networks, Inc. Linking of personal information management data
US20040183674A1 (en) * 2003-01-31 2004-09-23 Ruvarac Thomas C. Apparatus, system and method for monitoring a location of a portable device
US7774268B2 (en) * 2003-03-03 2010-08-10 The Tb Group, Inc. System, method, and apparatus for identifying and authenticating the presence of high value assets at remote locations
US7286043B2 (en) * 2003-04-28 2007-10-23 Battelle Memorial Institute K1-53 System and method for inventorying multiple remote objects
US7639134B2 (en) * 2003-05-07 2009-12-29 Savi Technology, Inc. Item-level visibility of nested and adjacent containers
US20050162269A1 (en) * 2003-05-07 2005-07-28 Lambright Stephen J. Dual mode reader device
NZ544088A (en) * 2003-06-17 2008-07-31 United Security Appl Id Inc Electronic security system for monitoring and recording activity and data relating to institutions and clients thereof
JP2006527892A (en) * 2003-06-17 2006-12-07 ユナイテッド・セキュリティー・アプリケーションズ・アイディー、インク Electronic security system for monitoring and recording human-related activities and data
US20060145812A1 (en) * 2003-06-17 2006-07-06 United Security Applications Id, Inc. Electronic security system for monitoring and recording activity and data relating to persons or cargo
US7627091B2 (en) 2003-06-25 2009-12-01 Avaya Inc. Universal emergency number ELIN based on network address ranges
US20070112574A1 (en) * 2003-08-05 2007-05-17 Greene William S System and method for use of mobile policy agents and local services, within a geographically distributed service grid, to provide greater security via local intelligence and life-cycle management for RFlD tagged items
US7220967B1 (en) * 2003-08-13 2007-05-22 Quintell Of Ohio, Llc Method and apparatus for detection of radioactive material
JP4982772B2 (en) * 2003-11-07 2012-07-25 アルトブリッジ・リミテッド Container tracking
WO2005050906A1 (en) * 2003-11-13 2005-06-02 Digital Authentication Technologies, Inc. System and method for container monitoring, real time authentication, anomaly detection, and alerts
US20050156125A1 (en) * 2003-11-26 2005-07-21 Alara, Inc. Method and apparatus for managing imaging system workflow
US7119687B2 (en) * 2003-12-03 2006-10-10 Siemens Technology-To-Business Center, Llc System for tracking object locations using self-tracking tags
KR20080044355A (en) * 2003-12-09 2008-05-20 사비 테크날러지 인코퍼레이티드 Item-level visibility of nested and adjacent containers
US7265668B1 (en) * 2003-12-12 2007-09-04 Skybitz, Inc. System and method for asset tracking and monitoring
US20070216542A1 (en) * 2003-12-12 2007-09-20 Jay Brosius System and method for remotely tracking and monitoring a container and its contents
US7256682B2 (en) * 2003-12-18 2007-08-14 Odin Technologies, Inc. Remote identification of container contents by means of multiple radio frequency identification systems
US7046148B2 (en) * 2003-12-24 2006-05-16 Fujitsu Limited Distribution management system
US7212122B2 (en) * 2003-12-30 2007-05-01 G2 Microsystems Pty. Ltd. Methods and apparatus of meshing and hierarchy establishment for tracking devices
US7394372B2 (en) * 2003-12-30 2008-07-01 G2 Microsystems Pty. Ltd. Method and apparatus for aggregating and communicating tracking information
US7225981B2 (en) * 2004-01-10 2007-06-05 Kenneth Jongebloed, Inc. Adaptive network-centric online autonomic supply chain management system
EP1708375B1 (en) * 2004-01-13 2010-04-21 Lsi Japan Co., Ltd. Ic tag location recognition device and method
US7342513B2 (en) * 2004-02-13 2008-03-11 Goodrich Lighting Systems, Inc. Aircraft interior wireless communications system
US8620832B2 (en) * 2004-03-02 2013-12-31 The Boeing Company Network-centric cargo security system
US20050195080A1 (en) * 2004-03-02 2005-09-08 Ng Joseph S. Security for a cargo container
US7130385B1 (en) 2004-03-05 2006-10-31 Avaya Technology Corp. Advanced port-based E911 strategy for IP telephony
US20050261917A1 (en) * 2004-03-12 2005-11-24 Forget Shield Danielle R Electronic waste management system
US7358856B2 (en) 2004-03-18 2008-04-15 Savi Technology, Inc. Two-phase commit synchronizing seal state
US7132926B2 (en) * 2004-03-25 2006-11-07 Prince Castle, Inc. Smart tray system and method for restaurant inventory management
WO2005094172A2 (en) 2004-03-30 2005-10-13 Hi-G-Tek Inc. Monitorable locking assemblies
JP4364705B2 (en) * 2004-04-02 2009-11-18 東芝テック株式会社 Article management system, article management apparatus and server
WO2005106748A2 (en) * 2004-04-22 2005-11-10 Sensitech Inc. Pedigree and integrity evaluation of packages
JP4086304B2 (en) * 2004-04-23 2008-05-14 株式会社東芝 Communication apparatus, communication system, and communication control program
WO2006073442A2 (en) * 2004-04-29 2006-07-13 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Detection of nuclear weapons and fissile material aboard cargo containerships
US7466232B2 (en) * 2004-05-05 2008-12-16 Trenstar Tracking Solutions, Inc. Radio frequency identification asset management system and method
US7633392B2 (en) * 2004-05-05 2009-12-15 General Electric Company Radio frequency identification asset management system, and computer program product
US20050258937A1 (en) * 2004-05-05 2005-11-24 Trenstar, Inc. Radio frequency identification asset management system and method
US7372450B2 (en) * 2004-05-05 2008-05-13 Inventec Appliances Corporation Analog input mapping for hand-held computing devices
US7755486B2 (en) * 2004-05-06 2010-07-13 Savi Technology, Inc. Expanded compatibility RFID tags
US20050289083A1 (en) * 2004-05-24 2005-12-29 Ngai Francis T System and method for authenticating and validating products
US7142107B2 (en) 2004-05-27 2006-11-28 Lawrence Kates Wireless sensor unit
US7273172B2 (en) * 2004-07-14 2007-09-25 United Parcel Service Of America, Inc. Methods and systems for automating inventory and dispatch procedures at a staging area
US7116230B2 (en) * 2004-07-14 2006-10-03 Verichip Corporation Asset location system
US7296704B2 (en) * 2004-08-11 2007-11-20 Ferrini Jonathan B Collapsible container
EP1975640A1 (en) * 2004-08-12 2008-10-01 Wherenet Corp. System and method for tracking containers in grounded marine terminal operations
KR101087285B1 (en) 2004-08-31 2011-11-29 주식회사 비즈모델라인 Method for Direct Data Communication Between RFID Tags
US7536188B1 (en) * 2004-09-01 2009-05-19 Avaya Inc. Communication device locating system
US7408839B2 (en) * 2004-09-09 2008-08-05 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Distance measurement for wireless building automation devices
US20060063523A1 (en) 2004-09-21 2006-03-23 Mcfarland Norman R Portable wireless sensor for building control
FR2875975B1 (en) * 2004-09-27 2009-05-15 Commissariat Energie Atomique NON-CONTACT DEVICE FOR EXTENDING PRIVACY
US7382271B2 (en) * 2004-09-29 2008-06-03 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Automated position detection for wireless building automation devices
US7378980B2 (en) * 2004-09-29 2008-05-27 Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. Triangulation of position for automated building control components
JP2006103813A (en) * 2004-09-30 2006-04-20 Hitachi Ltd Article tracking information storing method and article tracking information storing system
US20060092003A1 (en) * 2004-10-15 2006-05-04 Scott Gardner Bulkhead proximity monitoring system
US8010082B2 (en) 2004-10-20 2011-08-30 Seven Networks, Inc. Flexible billing architecture
US7441271B2 (en) 2004-10-20 2008-10-21 Seven Networks Method and apparatus for intercepting events in a communication system
US7706781B2 (en) 2004-11-22 2010-04-27 Seven Networks International Oy Data security in a mobile e-mail service
FI117152B (en) 2004-12-03 2006-06-30 Seven Networks Internat Oy E-mail service provisioning method for mobile terminal, involves using domain part and further parameters to generate new parameter set in list of setting parameter sets, if provisioning of e-mail service is successful
EP1839262A4 (en) * 2004-12-03 2009-08-05 Integrichain System and method for intelligent information gathering and analysis
WO2006064509A2 (en) * 2004-12-17 2006-06-22 Eliezer Sheffer Security system for mobile vehicles, trucks and shipping containers
US20060241985A1 (en) * 2004-12-22 2006-10-26 Greenpak, Inc. System and methods for transportation utilization and control
US7589616B2 (en) 2005-01-20 2009-09-15 Avaya Inc. Mobile devices including RFID tag readers
US20060176179A1 (en) * 2005-01-26 2006-08-10 Battelle Memorial Institute Bendable, active radio-frequency sensor tags and a system of same
US7598854B2 (en) * 2005-03-01 2009-10-06 Chon Meng Wong System and method for creating a proximity map of plurality of living beings and objects
US7752633B1 (en) 2005-03-14 2010-07-06 Seven Networks, Inc. Cross-platform event engine
US8702503B2 (en) * 2005-03-23 2014-04-22 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Token configured to interact
US8107625B2 (en) * 2005-03-31 2012-01-31 Avaya Inc. IP phone intruder security monitoring system
US7796742B1 (en) 2005-04-21 2010-09-14 Seven Networks, Inc. Systems and methods for simplified provisioning
US8438633B1 (en) 2005-04-21 2013-05-07 Seven Networks, Inc. Flexible real-time inbox access
DE102005029003A1 (en) * 2005-06-21 2006-12-28 ASTRA Gesellschaft für Asset Management mbH & Co. KG Monitoring installation for transferred goods with identification carriers, has evaluation and control device that evaluates transferred goods and controls transfer of goods based on collected location data of goods
WO2006136660A1 (en) 2005-06-21 2006-12-28 Seven Networks International Oy Maintaining an ip connection in a mobile network
US7333018B2 (en) 2005-07-25 2008-02-19 Honeywell International Inc. Asset location system with enhanced accuracy
US8069166B2 (en) 2005-08-01 2011-11-29 Seven Networks, Inc. Managing user-to-user contact with inferred presence information
US7400253B2 (en) * 2005-08-04 2008-07-15 Mhcmos, Llc Harvesting ambient radio frequency electromagnetic energy for powering wireless electronic devices, sensors and sensor networks and applications thereof
CA2559142A1 (en) 2005-09-12 2007-03-12 Acuity Brands, Inc. Light management system having networked intelligent luminaire managers with enhanced diagnostics capabilities
US8626548B2 (en) * 2005-09-19 2014-01-07 Oracle International Corporation Access point triangulation for task assignment of warehouse employees
US7877208B1 (en) * 2005-09-29 2011-01-25 Skybitz, Inc. Sensor interface with mobile terminal satellite modem and global location system
US7817063B2 (en) 2005-10-05 2010-10-19 Abl Ip Holding Llc Method and system for remotely monitoring and controlling field devices with a street lamp elevated mesh network
US7475814B2 (en) * 2005-11-28 2009-01-13 Wherenet Corp. Tag mounting device used for locating shipping containers and truck trailers
US20100063888A1 (en) * 2005-12-15 2010-03-11 United Security Applications Id, Inc. Identity verification system for monitoring and authorizing transactions
US20100250461A1 (en) * 2005-12-22 2010-09-30 Greenpak Development, Inc. System and methods for transportation utilization and control
EP1972159A1 (en) * 2006-01-01 2008-09-24 Terahop Networks, Inc. Determining presence of radio frequency communication device
US7348886B2 (en) * 2006-01-17 2008-03-25 International Business Machines Corporation System and method to track inventory using RFID tags
US7522043B2 (en) 2006-01-20 2009-04-21 The Boeing Company Mobile wireless mesh technology for shipping container security
US7916023B2 (en) * 2006-01-31 2011-03-29 Zebra Enterprise Solutions Corp. System and method for tracking assets within a monitored environment
US7394380B2 (en) 2006-02-16 2008-07-01 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for improved item tracking
US7769395B2 (en) 2006-06-20 2010-08-03 Seven Networks, Inc. Location-based operations and messaging
US7737840B2 (en) * 2006-04-10 2010-06-15 The Boeing Company Container security system
US7967682B2 (en) 2006-04-12 2011-06-28 Bally Gaming, Inc. Wireless gaming environment
US8100753B2 (en) 2006-05-23 2012-01-24 Bally Gaming, Inc. Systems, methods and articles to facilitate playing card games with selectable odds
US8052519B2 (en) 2006-06-08 2011-11-08 Bally Gaming, Inc. Systems, methods and articles to facilitate lockout of selectable odds/advantage in playing card games
US7746228B2 (en) * 2006-06-12 2010-06-29 Sensenig Tim R Passive container tracking device, system, and method
US7753779B2 (en) * 2006-06-16 2010-07-13 Bally Gaming, Inc. Gaming chip communication system and method
US20070296583A1 (en) * 2006-06-21 2007-12-27 Broadcom Corporation, A California Corporation Integrated circuit assembly including RFID and components thereof
US20070296582A1 (en) * 2006-06-21 2007-12-27 Broadcom Corporation, A California Corporation Coordination of multiple integrated circuit assemblies of a device
US20080040244A1 (en) * 2006-08-08 2008-02-14 Logcon Spec Ops, Inc. Tracking and Managing Assets
EP1895456A1 (en) * 2006-08-31 2008-03-05 Cargo Trax Oy Container unit, mesh network and system reporting container events
US20080246604A1 (en) * 2006-10-06 2008-10-09 Mcpherson Wayne Wireless interface module
US7936266B2 (en) * 2006-10-27 2011-05-03 Maritime Container Security, Inc. Shipping container seal monitoring device, system and method
US9101820B2 (en) 2006-11-09 2015-08-11 Bally Gaming, Inc. System, method and apparatus to produce decks for and operate games played with playing cards
US8920233B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2014-12-30 Bally Gaming, Inc. Assignment template and assignment bundle in a gaming configuration and download system
US8478833B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2013-07-02 Bally Gaming, Inc. UDP broadcast for user interface in a download and configuration gaming system
US8195826B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2012-06-05 Bally Gaming, Inc. UDP broadcast for user interface in a download and configuration gaming method
US8784212B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2014-07-22 Bally Gaming, Inc. Networked gaming environment employing different classes of gaming machines
US8631501B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2014-01-14 Bally Gaming, Inc. Reporting function in gaming system environment
US9111078B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2015-08-18 Bally Gaming, Inc. Package manager service in gaming system
US8191121B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2012-05-29 Bally Gaming, Inc. Methods and systems for controlling access to resources in a gaming network
US9275512B2 (en) 2006-11-10 2016-03-01 Bally Gaming, Inc. Secure communications in gaming system
US8930461B2 (en) 2006-11-13 2015-01-06 Bally Gaming, Inc. Download and configuration management engine for gaming system
US9082258B2 (en) 2006-11-13 2015-07-14 Bally Gaming, Inc. Method and system for providing download and configuration job progress tracking and display via host user interface
US8347280B2 (en) 2006-11-13 2013-01-01 Bally Gaming, Inc. System and method for validating download or configuration assignment for an EGM or EGM collection
US8131829B2 (en) 2006-11-13 2012-03-06 Bally Gaming, Inc. Gaming machine collection and management
US8149748B2 (en) * 2006-11-14 2012-04-03 Raytheon Company Wireless data networking
US7916026B2 (en) 2006-11-15 2011-03-29 Zebra Enterprise Solutions Corp. Real-time location system using tag interrogator and embedded or fixed tag transmitters
US7899006B2 (en) * 2006-12-05 2011-03-01 Zebra Enterprise Solutions Corp. Location system for wireless local area network (WLAN) using RSSI and time difference of arrival (TDOA) processing
US20080143593A1 (en) * 2006-12-14 2008-06-19 General Electric System and method for providing asset management and tracking capabilities
US8010461B2 (en) * 2006-12-18 2011-08-30 Quintell Of Ohio, Llc Method of detection of radioactive material
CA2572649C (en) 2006-12-29 2017-01-24 Bce Inc Method and apparatus for wireless management of articles
CA2572646C (en) * 2006-12-29 2017-11-28 Bce Inc Method and apparatus for wireless management of articles
US9880283B2 (en) * 2007-02-13 2018-01-30 Zih Corp. System, apparatus and method for locating and/or tracking assets
US7755541B2 (en) * 2007-02-13 2010-07-13 Wherenet Corp. System and method for tracking vehicles and containers
US20080231454A1 (en) * 2007-03-23 2008-09-25 Diamond Arrow Communications L.L.C. Cargo Container Monitoring Device
US20080231438A1 (en) * 2007-03-23 2008-09-25 Diamond Arrow Communications L.L.C. Cargo Container Monitoring System
US7696869B2 (en) 2007-04-05 2010-04-13 Health Hero Network, Inc. Interactive programmable container security and compliance system
US9747575B2 (en) * 2007-04-17 2017-08-29 Zih Corp. Flow metering of vehicles using RTLS tracking
US8805425B2 (en) 2007-06-01 2014-08-12 Seven Networks, Inc. Integrated messaging
US8693494B2 (en) 2007-06-01 2014-04-08 Seven Networks, Inc. Polling
US8094022B2 (en) * 2007-09-25 2012-01-10 Infinid Technologies, Inc Active ID tags for increased range and functionality
JP5141173B2 (en) * 2007-10-05 2013-02-13 富士通株式会社 Information device, program and method capable of wireless communication with read / write device
SE0702265L (en) * 2007-10-09 2009-02-10 Thomas Malm Procedure and system for locating objects in wireless networks
US20090096580A1 (en) * 2007-10-11 2009-04-16 Nokia Corporation Secure authentication
US20090118006A1 (en) 2007-11-02 2009-05-07 Bally Gaming, Inc. Game related systems, methods, and articles that combine virtual and physical elements
US7969348B2 (en) * 2007-11-02 2011-06-28 Recon Dynamics, Llc Systems and methods for obtaining and using data from a localized location and telemetry system in a wide area location and telemetry system
US8201229B2 (en) 2007-11-12 2012-06-12 Bally Gaming, Inc. User authorization system and methods
US8616958B2 (en) 2007-11-12 2013-12-31 Bally Gaming, Inc. Discovery method and system for dynamically locating networked gaming components and resources
US7378960B1 (en) 2007-11-13 2008-05-27 International Business Machines Corporation Low-rate wireless personal area network system for tracking containers
US20090128291A1 (en) * 2007-11-19 2009-05-21 Broadcom Corporation Method and apparatus of rfid communication during device assembly
US8009034B2 (en) * 2007-11-26 2011-08-30 Traklok Corporation Integrated tracking, sensing, and security system for intermodal shipping containers
US8364181B2 (en) 2007-12-10 2013-01-29 Seven Networks, Inc. Electronic-mail filtering for mobile devices
US8793305B2 (en) 2007-12-13 2014-07-29 Seven Networks, Inc. Content delivery to a mobile device from a content service
US9002828B2 (en) 2007-12-13 2015-04-07 Seven Networks, Inc. Predictive content delivery
US8107921B2 (en) 2008-01-11 2012-01-31 Seven Networks, Inc. Mobile virtual network operator
US8862657B2 (en) 2008-01-25 2014-10-14 Seven Networks, Inc. Policy based content service
US20090193338A1 (en) 2008-01-28 2009-07-30 Trevor Fiatal Reducing network and battery consumption during content delivery and playback
WO2009097447A1 (en) * 2008-01-29 2009-08-06 Rf Code, Inc. Asset tracking system for electronic equipment
KR20100134574A (en) * 2008-01-31 2010-12-23 스테팍 엘.에이. 리미티드 Perishable lifetime management system and method
US8045482B2 (en) * 2008-02-08 2011-10-25 Yahoo! Inc. Location tracking based on proximity-based ad hoc network
US8594976B2 (en) 2008-02-27 2013-11-26 Abl Ip Holding Llc System and method for streetlight monitoring diagnostics
US8438268B2 (en) * 2008-04-23 2013-05-07 Ca, Inc. Method and apparatus for alert prioritization on high value end points
US8947207B2 (en) 2008-04-29 2015-02-03 Quake Global, Inc. Method and apparatus for a deployable radio-frequency identification portal system
US9092944B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2015-07-28 Bally Gaming, Inc. Coordinating group play events for multiple game devices
US8721431B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2014-05-13 Bally Gaming, Inc. Systems, methods, and devices for providing instances of a secondary game
US8613655B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2013-12-24 Bally Gaming, Inc. Facilitating group play with multiple game devices
US9005034B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2015-04-14 Bally Gaming, Inc. Systems and methods for out-of-band gaming machine management
US9483911B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2016-11-01 Bally Gaming, Inc. Information distribution in gaming networks
US8856657B2 (en) 2008-04-30 2014-10-07 Bally Gaming, Inc. User interface for managing network download and configuration tasks
WO2009151877A2 (en) * 2008-05-16 2009-12-17 Terahop Networks, Inc. Systems and apparatus for securing a container
US8315237B2 (en) * 2008-10-29 2012-11-20 Google Inc. Managing and monitoring emergency services sector resources
US8462662B2 (en) * 2008-05-16 2013-06-11 Google Inc. Updating node presence based on communication pathway
US8207848B2 (en) 2008-05-16 2012-06-26 Google Inc. Locking system for shipping container including bolt seal and electronic device with arms for receiving bolt seal
US8382584B2 (en) 2008-05-24 2013-02-26 Bally Gaming, Inc. Networked gaming system with enterprise accounting methods and apparatus
WO2009155047A2 (en) 2008-05-30 2009-12-23 Bally Gaming, Inc. Web pages for gaming devices
US8787947B2 (en) 2008-06-18 2014-07-22 Seven Networks, Inc. Application discovery on mobile devices
US8078158B2 (en) 2008-06-26 2011-12-13 Seven Networks, Inc. Provisioning applications for a mobile device
US8412768B2 (en) 2008-07-11 2013-04-02 Ball Gaming, Inc. Integration gateway
JP5200725B2 (en) * 2008-07-18 2013-06-05 株式会社リコー Electronic device regeneration support system
US8595504B2 (en) * 2008-08-12 2013-11-26 Industrial Technology Research Institute Light weight authentication and secret retrieval
US8511555B2 (en) 2008-09-12 2013-08-20 William J. Babcock Tag communication, identification, and tracking apparatus and system
US7954712B2 (en) * 2008-09-12 2011-06-07 Transparent Visibility Holdings, LLC Product, asset, and device tracking, identification, and pricing system
US20110196714A1 (en) * 2010-02-09 2011-08-11 Avaya, Inc. Method and apparatus for overriding apparent geo-pod attributes
US9965820B2 (en) * 2008-12-04 2018-05-08 Avaya Inc. Proxy-based reservation scheduling system
US8405484B2 (en) * 2008-09-29 2013-03-26 Avaya Inc. Monitoring responsive objects in vehicles
US8909759B2 (en) 2008-10-10 2014-12-09 Seven Networks, Inc. Bandwidth measurement
US8275404B2 (en) * 2008-10-29 2012-09-25 Google Inc. Managing and monitoring emergency services sector resources
US8266213B2 (en) 2008-11-14 2012-09-11 Bally Gaming, Inc. Apparatus, method, and system to provide a multiple processor architecture for server-based gaming
US8347303B2 (en) 2008-11-14 2013-01-01 Bally Gaming, Inc. Apparatus, method, and system to provide a multi-core processor for an electronic gaming machine (EGM)
US8423790B2 (en) 2008-11-18 2013-04-16 Bally Gaming, Inc. Module validation
US8294573B2 (en) * 2008-12-11 2012-10-23 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for optimizing power consumption of container tracking devices through mesh networks
US20100156601A1 (en) * 2008-12-22 2010-06-24 Lang Lin LLRP-Based Flexible Reader System And Method
US8391435B2 (en) 2008-12-25 2013-03-05 Google Inc. Receiver state estimation in a duty cycled radio
US8705523B2 (en) 2009-02-05 2014-04-22 Google Inc. Conjoined class-based networking
CN102439613A (en) * 2009-02-05 2012-05-02 赛欧博特系统公司 Methods for controlling shipment of a temperature controlled material using a spill proof shipping container
US8192283B2 (en) 2009-03-10 2012-06-05 Bally Gaming, Inc. Networked gaming system including a live floor view module
US8446253B2 (en) * 2009-03-11 2013-05-21 Checkpoint Systems, Inc. Localization using virtual antenna arrays in modulated backscatter RFID systems
WO2010120687A1 (en) * 2009-04-13 2010-10-21 Humanhuman Technologies, Inc. Game controller simulating parts of the human anatomy
US8456302B2 (en) 2009-07-14 2013-06-04 Savi Technology, Inc. Wireless tracking and monitoring electronic seal
WO2011008871A1 (en) 2009-07-14 2011-01-20 Savi Networks Llc Security seal
US20110018707A1 (en) * 2009-07-27 2011-01-27 Dobson Eric L Shipping container having integral geoclock system
US8432274B2 (en) 2009-07-31 2013-04-30 Deal Magic, Inc. Contextual based determination of accuracy of position fixes
BR112012003727A2 (en) 2009-08-17 2017-05-23 Deal Magic Inc contextually aware asset monitoring
US8314704B2 (en) 2009-08-28 2012-11-20 Deal Magic, Inc. Asset tracking using alternative sources of position fix data
US20110050422A1 (en) * 2009-08-28 2011-03-03 Dell Products L.P. System and Method for Identifying Location of an Information Handling System
US20110050397A1 (en) * 2009-08-28 2011-03-03 Cova Nicholas D System for generating supply chain management statistics from asset tracking data
US8334773B2 (en) 2009-08-28 2012-12-18 Deal Magic, Inc. Asset monitoring and tracking system
KR101161787B1 (en) 2009-08-31 2012-07-03 주식회사 비즈모델라인 System for Direct Data Communication Between RFID Tags
KR101268574B1 (en) * 2009-11-03 2013-05-28 한국전자통신연구원 Apparatus and method for estimating tag location
FI20096287L (en) * 2009-12-04 2011-06-05 Controlmatic Oy Ltd Device for performing a measurement; RFID module and sensor module
GB2481191A (en) 2010-02-25 2011-12-21 Sita Information Networking Computing Ireland Ltd Graphical development tool for software application development
TW201209697A (en) 2010-03-30 2012-03-01 Michael Luna 3D mobile user interface with configurable workspace management
US9442178B2 (en) * 2010-04-23 2016-09-13 Qualcomm Incorporated Hybrid tracking device
EP2564560B1 (en) * 2010-04-29 2015-12-16 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Information tracking system and method
US8672222B2 (en) * 2010-05-03 2014-03-18 Avery Dennison Corporation Infrastructure-mounted RFID tags
US20110279253A1 (en) * 2010-05-14 2011-11-17 Raymond Anthony Suda Apparatus and method for rfid-plc container identification and tracking
US8490151B2 (en) * 2010-06-25 2013-07-16 Nokia Corporation Method and apparatus for performing a multi-role communication using a memory tag
US9043433B2 (en) 2010-07-26 2015-05-26 Seven Networks, Inc. Mobile network traffic coordination across multiple applications
US9077630B2 (en) 2010-07-26 2015-07-07 Seven Networks, Inc. Distributed implementation of dynamic wireless traffic policy
US8838783B2 (en) 2010-07-26 2014-09-16 Seven Networks, Inc. Distributed caching for resource and mobile network traffic management
CA2857458A1 (en) 2010-07-26 2012-02-09 Michael Luna Mobile application traffic optimization
US8719066B2 (en) * 2010-08-17 2014-05-06 Edifice Technologies Inc. Systems and methods for capturing, managing, sharing, and visualising asset information of an organization
EP2618317A4 (en) * 2010-09-17 2014-10-29 Cube Inc S Security system
CN101944173A (en) * 2010-09-21 2011-01-12 时晓明 Radio frequency identification system adopting signal transceiver division type card reading device for roll calling and card reading
WO2012061430A2 (en) 2010-11-01 2012-05-10 Michael Luna Distributed management of keep-alive message signaling for mobile network resource conservation and optimization
US9060032B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2015-06-16 Seven Networks, Inc. Selective data compression by a distributed traffic management system to reduce mobile data traffic and signaling traffic
US8484314B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2013-07-09 Seven Networks, Inc. Distributed caching in a wireless network of content delivered for a mobile application over a long-held request
WO2012060995A2 (en) 2010-11-01 2012-05-10 Michael Luna Distributed caching in a wireless network of content delivered for a mobile application over a long-held request
GB2499534B (en) 2010-11-01 2018-09-19 Seven Networks Llc Caching adapted for mobile application behavior and network conditions
US8166164B1 (en) 2010-11-01 2012-04-24 Seven Networks, Inc. Application and network-based long poll request detection and cacheability assessment therefor
US9330196B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2016-05-03 Seven Networks, Llc Wireless traffic management system cache optimization using http headers
US8843153B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2014-09-23 Seven Networks, Inc. Mobile traffic categorization and policy for network use optimization while preserving user experience
US8190701B2 (en) 2010-11-01 2012-05-29 Seven Networks, Inc. Cache defeat detection and caching of content addressed by identifiers intended to defeat cache
CN103404193B (en) 2010-11-22 2018-06-05 七网络有限责任公司 The connection that adjustment data transmission is established with the transmission being optimized for through wireless network
GB2500327B (en) 2010-11-22 2019-11-06 Seven Networks Llc Optimization of resource polling intervals to satisfy mobile device requests
US9324043B2 (en) 2010-12-21 2016-04-26 Sita N.V. Reservation system and method
US8854190B2 (en) * 2010-12-24 2014-10-07 Assetpulse, Llc Systems and methods to detect cross reads in RFID tags
US8513618B2 (en) 2010-12-28 2013-08-20 Quintell Of Ohio, Llc Radioactive anomaly discrimination from spectral ratios
US9325662B2 (en) 2011-01-07 2016-04-26 Seven Networks, Llc System and method for reduction of mobile network traffic used for domain name system (DNS) queries
US9087213B2 (en) * 2011-02-22 2015-07-21 Fedex Corporate Services, Inc. Systems and methods for rule-driven management of sensor data across geographic areas and derived actions
WO2012145541A2 (en) 2011-04-19 2012-10-26 Seven Networks, Inc. Social caching for device resource sharing and management
GB2505585B (en) 2011-04-27 2015-08-12 Seven Networks Inc Detecting and preserving state for satisfying application requests in a distributed proxy and cache system
CA2797631C (en) 2011-04-27 2013-11-19 Seven Networks, Inc. System and method for making requests on behalf of a mobile device based on atomic processes for mobile network traffic relief
US20120293307A1 (en) * 2011-05-17 2012-11-22 Astraion, LLC RFID systems having improved read rates for localization and proximity detection
US9058716B2 (en) 2011-06-06 2015-06-16 Bally Gaming, Inc. Remote game play in a wireless gaming environment
US8984581B2 (en) 2011-07-27 2015-03-17 Seven Networks, Inc. Monitoring mobile application activities for malicious traffic on a mobile device
CN103999102B (en) 2011-08-03 2017-07-11 Sita信息网络处理美国有限公司 Article treatment and tracking system and its method
US9467862B2 (en) 2011-10-26 2016-10-11 Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation Wireless tracking of power tools and related devices
US8934414B2 (en) 2011-12-06 2015-01-13 Seven Networks, Inc. Cellular or WiFi mobile traffic optimization based on public or private network destination
US8868753B2 (en) 2011-12-06 2014-10-21 Seven Networks, Inc. System of redundantly clustered machines to provide failover mechanisms for mobile traffic management and network resource conservation
US9009250B2 (en) 2011-12-07 2015-04-14 Seven Networks, Inc. Flexible and dynamic integration schemas of a traffic management system with various network operators for network traffic alleviation
WO2013086447A1 (en) 2011-12-07 2013-06-13 Seven Networks, Inc. Radio-awareness of mobile device for sending server-side control signals using a wireless network optimized transport protocol
US9832095B2 (en) 2011-12-14 2017-11-28 Seven Networks, Llc Operation modes for mobile traffic optimization and concurrent management of optimized and non-optimized traffic
WO2013090821A1 (en) 2011-12-14 2013-06-20 Seven Networks, Inc. Hierarchies and categories for management and deployment of policies for distributed wireless traffic optimization
US20130159511A1 (en) 2011-12-14 2013-06-20 Seven Networks, Inc. System and method for generating a report to a network operator by distributing aggregation of data
WO2013103988A1 (en) 2012-01-05 2013-07-11 Seven Networks, Inc. Detection and management of user interactions with foreground applications on a mobile device in distributed caching
US9120007B2 (en) 2012-01-18 2015-09-01 Bally Gaming, Inc. Network gaming architecture, gaming systems, and related methods
US8974305B2 (en) 2012-01-18 2015-03-10 Bally Gaming, Inc. Network gaming architecture, gaming systems, and related methods
US9203864B2 (en) 2012-02-02 2015-12-01 Seven Networks, Llc Dynamic categorization of applications for network access in a mobile network
WO2013116852A1 (en) 2012-02-03 2013-08-08 Seven Networks, Inc. User as an end point for profiling and optimizing the delivery of content and data in a wireless network
GB2499288A (en) 2012-02-09 2013-08-14 Sita Inf Networking Computing Usa Inc Path determination
US11062258B2 (en) * 2012-02-24 2021-07-13 Netclearance Systems, Inc. Automated logistics management using proximity events
US11030599B2 (en) 2012-02-24 2021-06-08 Netclearance Systems, Inc. Smart beacon point of sale (POS) interface
US11037196B2 (en) 2012-02-24 2021-06-15 Netclearance Systems, Inc. Interactive advertising using proximity events
US8812695B2 (en) 2012-04-09 2014-08-19 Seven Networks, Inc. Method and system for management of a virtual network connection without heartbeat messages
US20130268656A1 (en) 2012-04-10 2013-10-10 Seven Networks, Inc. Intelligent customer service/call center services enhanced using real-time and historical mobile application and traffic-related statistics collected by a distributed caching system in a mobile network
US8775631B2 (en) 2012-07-13 2014-07-08 Seven Networks, Inc. Dynamic bandwidth adjustment for browsing or streaming activity in a wireless network based on prediction of user behavior when interacting with mobile applications
AU2013305512B2 (en) 2012-08-24 2019-01-17 Perceptimed, Inc. Package locating system
US9805529B2 (en) 2012-10-12 2017-10-31 United Parcel Service Of America, Inc. Concepts for asset identification
US9161258B2 (en) 2012-10-24 2015-10-13 Seven Networks, Llc Optimized and selective management of policy deployment to mobile clients in a congested network to prevent further aggravation of network congestion
US9589247B2 (en) 2012-11-12 2017-03-07 Global Healthcare Exchange, Llc Systems and methods for supply chain management
US9307493B2 (en) 2012-12-20 2016-04-05 Seven Networks, Llc Systems and methods for application management of mobile device radio state promotion and demotion
EP2747004A1 (en) * 2012-12-21 2014-06-25 Wide-Roots Telecomunicaciones S.L. Cargo monitoring and tracking system
US9271238B2 (en) 2013-01-23 2016-02-23 Seven Networks, Llc Application or context aware fast dormancy
US8874761B2 (en) 2013-01-25 2014-10-28 Seven Networks, Inc. Signaling optimization in a wireless network for traffic utilizing proprietary and non-proprietary protocols
US9466198B2 (en) 2013-02-22 2016-10-11 Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation Wireless tracking of power tools and related devices
US10158213B2 (en) 2013-02-22 2018-12-18 Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation Worksite power distribution box
US9841492B2 (en) 2013-02-25 2017-12-12 Quake Global, Inc. Ceiling-mounted RFID-enabled tracking
CA2902912C (en) 2013-02-26 2022-02-01 Quake Global, Inc. Methods and apparatus for automatic identification wristband
US8750123B1 (en) 2013-03-11 2014-06-10 Seven Networks, Inc. Mobile device equipped with mobile network congestion recognition to make intelligent decisions regarding connecting to an operator network
GB2511798A (en) * 2013-03-13 2014-09-17 Kidde Tech Inc Fire detection system
US10320908B2 (en) 2013-03-25 2019-06-11 Sita Information Networking Computing Ireland Limited In-flight computing device for aircraft cabin crew
EP2989599A1 (en) * 2013-04-22 2016-03-02 Controlant EHF. Smart wireless loggers
US9307368B1 (en) 2013-05-14 2016-04-05 Google Inc. Automatically generating and maintaining a floor plan
US9112790B2 (en) 2013-06-25 2015-08-18 Google Inc. Fabric network
US9065765B2 (en) 2013-07-22 2015-06-23 Seven Networks, Inc. Proxy server associated with a mobile carrier for enhancing mobile traffic management in a mobile network
JP5646018B1 (en) * 2013-08-07 2014-12-24 三菱電機株式会社 Installation location development support method, terminal device, installation location development support system, and program
CN105518727A (en) * 2013-09-10 2016-04-20 锡克拜控股有限公司 Master case tracking mesh for data transmission in highly shielded environment
US9830424B2 (en) 2013-09-18 2017-11-28 Hill-Rom Services, Inc. Bed/room/patient association systems and methods
US11928643B2 (en) 2014-01-07 2024-03-12 Cryoport, Inc. Digital smart label for shipper with data logger
US9888081B1 (en) * 2014-02-18 2018-02-06 Smart Farm Systems, Inc. Automation apparatuses, systems and methods
GB2523441A (en) 2014-02-19 2015-08-26 Sita Information Networking Computing Ireland Ltd Reservation system and method therefor
US9740891B1 (en) * 2014-10-02 2017-08-22 Impinj, Inc. Tag-to-tag communication using RFID readers
US10001546B2 (en) 2014-12-02 2018-06-19 Sita Information Networking Computing Uk Limited Apparatus for monitoring aircraft position
CN104902583A (en) * 2015-05-25 2015-09-09 深圳创维-Rgb电子有限公司 Infrared transmission WIFI networking method and system
CA2986657C (en) 2015-06-01 2023-09-26 Sita Information Networking Computing Uk Limited Method and system for monitoring aircraft status
US11265317B2 (en) 2015-08-05 2022-03-01 Kyndryl, Inc. Security control for an enterprise network
EP3182613A1 (en) * 2015-12-18 2017-06-21 Airbus Defence and Space Limited Communications link simulation
US11221247B2 (en) 2016-02-26 2022-01-11 Micro Motion, Inc. Communicating with two or more hosts
US11151534B2 (en) 2016-11-29 2021-10-19 Netclearance Systems, Inc. Consumer interaction module for point-of-sale (POS) systems
US11334889B2 (en) 2016-11-29 2022-05-17 Netclearance Systems, Inc. Mobile ticketing based on proximity
USD836625S1 (en) 2016-12-08 2018-12-25 Sita Information Networking Computing Canada, Inc. Self-service kiosk
US11487985B2 (en) 2016-12-14 2022-11-01 Trackonomy Systems, Inc. Vehicle centric logistics management
US11003978B2 (en) 2016-12-14 2021-05-11 Ajay Khoche Programmable network node roles in hierarchical communications network
US11580348B2 (en) * 2016-12-14 2023-02-14 Trackonomy Systems, Inc. Transient infrastructure for ubiquitous network communications applications
US10815080B2 (en) 2017-01-11 2020-10-27 Omnitracs, Llc Automatic truck loading and unloading system
US10620013B2 (en) 2017-03-09 2020-04-14 Sita Information Networking Computing Usa, Inc. Testing apparatus and method for testing a location-based application on a mobile device
EP3607509A1 (en) 2017-04-07 2020-02-12 BXB Digital PTY Limited Systems and methods for tracking promotions
US10360785B2 (en) 2017-04-07 2019-07-23 Sita Information Networking Computing Usa, Inc. Article tracking system and method
WO2018204507A1 (en) 2017-05-02 2018-11-08 BXB Digital Pty Limited Systems and methods for facility matching and localization
US10824904B2 (en) 2017-05-02 2020-11-03 BXB Digital Pty Limited Systems and methods for pallet identification
WO2018204912A1 (en) 2017-05-05 2018-11-08 BXB Digital Pty Limited Pallet with tracking device
USD881961S1 (en) 2017-05-19 2020-04-21 Sita Information Networking Computing Usa, Inc. Robot
US10535425B2 (en) 2017-06-28 2020-01-14 Perceptimed, Inc. Inventory management
BR112020003710A2 (en) * 2017-08-21 2020-09-01 BXB Digital Pty Limited systems and methods for monitoring pallets using star architecture
WO2019078944A1 (en) 2017-10-20 2019-04-25 BXB Digital Pty Limited Systems and methods for tracking goods carriers
US11410088B2 (en) 2017-11-03 2022-08-09 Sita Ypenburg B.V. Systems and methods for interactions between ticket holders and self service functions
US10945919B2 (en) 2017-12-13 2021-03-16 Cryoport, Inc. Cryocassette
US11268655B2 (en) 2018-01-09 2022-03-08 Cryoport, Inc. Cryosphere
US10495764B2 (en) 2018-01-30 2019-12-03 Bastian Solutions, Llc Asset tracking system
US10679173B2 (en) 2018-02-19 2020-06-09 Rpmanetworks Holdings End to end logistic chain tracking and control of shipping containers
US11278157B2 (en) 2018-03-22 2022-03-22 Marmon Foodservice Technologies, Inc. Food tray
US11468755B2 (en) 2018-06-01 2022-10-11 Stress Engineering Services, Inc. Systems and methods for monitoring, tracking and tracing logistics
US10859211B2 (en) 2018-07-02 2020-12-08 Cryoport, Inc. Segmented vapor plug
WO2020033745A1 (en) * 2018-08-08 2020-02-13 Tracking Packing, Inc. Shipping package tracking or monitoring system and method
US10816637B2 (en) 2018-12-27 2020-10-27 Chep Technology Pty Limited Site matching for asset tracking
WO2020176504A1 (en) 2019-02-25 2020-09-03 BXB Digital Pty Limited Smart physical closure in supply chain
US11911325B2 (en) 2019-02-26 2024-02-27 Hill-Rom Services, Inc. Bed interface for manual location
US11423499B2 (en) 2019-06-20 2022-08-23 Bank Of America Corporation Logistics sensors for smart contract arbitration
US20230306358A1 (en) * 2020-10-01 2023-09-28 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Print material supply deliveries
US11776380B2 (en) 2021-02-19 2023-10-03 Trackonomy Systems, Inc. Client device interactions and asset monitoring at checkpoint locations in an IOT device network
US11691788B1 (en) 2022-01-20 2023-07-04 Cryoport, Inc. Foldable cassette bags for transporting biomaterials
WO2023158624A2 (en) 2022-02-15 2023-08-24 Stress Engineering Services, Inc. Systems and methods for facilitating logistics

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6061344A (en) * 1998-02-19 2000-05-09 Micron Technology, Inc. Method of addressing messages and communications system
US6127928A (en) * 1998-02-10 2000-10-03 E-Tag Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for locating and tracking documents and other objects

Family Cites Families (96)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3426326A (en) 1963-06-21 1969-02-04 Robert P Goldstein Automatic inventory data acquisition apparatus
DK134666B (en) 1970-02-20 1976-12-20 Svejsecentralen Method for marking and later locating, identifying and registering physical objects as well as electronic marking devices for use in performing the method.
US4041470A (en) 1976-01-16 1977-08-09 Industrial Solid State Controls, Inc. Fault monitoring and reporting system for trains
US4816824A (en) 1980-06-23 1989-03-28 Light Signatures, Inc. Merchandise verification and information system
US4862160A (en) 1983-12-29 1989-08-29 Revlon, Inc. Item identification tag for rapid inventory data acquisition system
US4688026A (en) 1984-05-15 1987-08-18 Scribner James R Method of collecting and using data associated with tagged objects
JPS61203021A (en) 1985-03-06 1986-09-08 Hitachi Ltd Electronic shipping tag system
GB2193359B (en) 1986-07-31 1990-07-11 Multitone Electronics Plc Area communications systems
US4740792A (en) 1986-08-27 1988-04-26 Hughes Aircraft Company Vehicle location system
US4688244A (en) 1986-11-10 1987-08-18 Marwan Hannon Integrated cargo security system
US4750197A (en) 1986-11-10 1988-06-07 Denekamp Mark L Integrated cargo security system
DE3733808A1 (en) 1987-10-07 1989-05-11 T E C Computer Gmbh DEVICE FOR MONITORING PROPERTIES AND / OR PERSONS
CA1326889C (en) 1987-11-18 1994-02-08 Graham Alexander Munro Murdoch Transponder
JPH01214504A (en) 1988-02-18 1989-08-28 Mitsui Zosen Syst Giken Kk Container managing system
JPH0720762B2 (en) 1988-03-26 1995-03-08 富士電機株式会社 Logistics equipment
US4918425A (en) 1988-07-25 1990-04-17 Daniel E. Ely Monitoring and locating system for an object attached to a transponder monitored by a base station having an associated ID code
US4952928A (en) 1988-08-29 1990-08-28 B. I. Incorporated Adaptable electronic monitoring and identification system
GB2225197A (en) 1988-11-18 1990-05-23 Marconi Electronic Devices Location monitoring of moveable objects
US5142278A (en) 1989-04-18 1992-08-25 Qualcomm Incorporated Current carrier tractor-trailer data link
JPH034303A (en) 1989-06-01 1991-01-10 Kubota Corp Self-traveling carrying equipment
US5030807A (en) 1990-01-16 1991-07-09 Amtech Corporation System for reading and writing data from and into remote tags
US5023600A (en) 1990-04-10 1991-06-11 Sensormatic Electronics Corporation Electronic article surveillance system with adaptiveness for synchronization with companion systems
US5138614A (en) * 1990-04-12 1992-08-11 At&T Bell Laboratories Transformation method for network conference connections
US5119104A (en) 1990-05-04 1992-06-02 Heller Alan C Location system adapted for use in multipath environments
US5347274A (en) 1990-05-17 1994-09-13 At/Comm Incorporated Hazardous waste transport management system
US5528232A (en) 1990-06-15 1996-06-18 Savi Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for locating items
US5640151A (en) 1990-06-15 1997-06-17 Texas Instruments Incorporated Communication system for communicating with tags
US5113344A (en) 1990-07-27 1992-05-12 Raymond Corporation Material handling vehicle identification tag
US5051726A (en) 1990-08-14 1991-09-24 Sensormatic Electronics Corporation Electronic article surveillance system with antenna array for enhanced field falloff
JP3143123B2 (en) 1990-11-06 2001-03-07 マイクロン・テクノロジー・インコーポレイテッド Dual mode electronic identification system
US5546540A (en) 1991-01-14 1996-08-13 Concord Communications, Inc. Automatic topology monitor for multi-segment local area network
US5081445A (en) 1991-03-22 1992-01-14 Checkpoint Systems, Inc. Method for tagging articles used in conjunction with an electronic article surveillance system, and tags or labels useful in connection therewith
US5151684A (en) 1991-04-12 1992-09-29 Johnsen Edward L Electronic inventory label and security apparatus
US5340968A (en) 1991-05-07 1994-08-23 Nippondenso Company, Ltd. Information storage medium with electronic and visual areas
US5266944A (en) 1991-06-26 1993-11-30 Bodyguard Technologies, Inc. Electronic system and method for monitoring abusers for compliance with a protective order
US5245534A (en) 1991-09-10 1993-09-14 Ers Associates Limited Partnership Electronic tag location systems
US5214409A (en) 1991-12-03 1993-05-25 Avid Corporation Multi-memory electronic identification tag
US5450073A (en) * 1991-12-31 1995-09-12 International Business Machines Corporation Controlling power sequencing of a control unit in an input/output system
US5223844B1 (en) 1992-04-17 2000-01-25 Auto Trac Inc Vehicle tracking and security system
US5500650A (en) * 1992-12-15 1996-03-19 Micron Technology, Inc. Data communication method using identification protocol
US5497140A (en) 1992-08-12 1996-03-05 Micron Technology, Inc. Electrically powered postage stamp or mailing or shipping label operative with radio frequency (RF) communication
AU657853B2 (en) 1992-06-16 1995-03-23 Motorola, Inc. Electronic monitoring system
US5363425A (en) 1992-06-29 1994-11-08 Northern Telecom Limited Method and apparatus for providing a personal locator, access control and asset tracking service using an in-building telephone network
US5539775A (en) 1993-03-17 1996-07-23 Micron Technology, Inc. Modulated spread spectrum in RF identification systems method
JPH0727860A (en) 1993-06-23 1995-01-31 Xerox Corp Remote object identification system
JP3291570B2 (en) 1993-06-28 2002-06-10 益雄 池内 Object position recognition system
JP3158790B2 (en) 1993-07-14 2001-04-23 株式会社デンソー Position determination device
US5519618A (en) * 1993-08-02 1996-05-21 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Airport surface safety logic
US5434775A (en) 1993-11-04 1995-07-18 The General Hospital Corporation Managing an inventory of devices
US5664113A (en) 1993-12-10 1997-09-02 Motorola, Inc. Working asset management system and method
US5517194A (en) 1994-02-10 1996-05-14 Racom Systems, Inc. Passive RF transponder and method
US5521602A (en) 1994-02-10 1996-05-28 Racom Systems, Inc. Communications system utilizing FSK/PSK modulation techniques
US5469363A (en) 1994-05-19 1995-11-21 Saliga; Thomas V. Electronic tag with source certification capability
JPH0812031A (en) 1994-07-01 1996-01-16 Murata Mach Ltd Picking system
US5537460A (en) 1994-07-08 1996-07-16 Holliday, Jr.; Robert O. Method and apparatus for determining the precise location of a modified cellular telephone using registration messages and reverse control channel transmission
US5629981A (en) 1994-07-29 1997-05-13 Texas Instruments Incorporated Information management and security system
JPH0873009A (en) 1994-09-01 1996-03-19 Toyota Autom Loom Works Ltd Inventory management system
US6172596B1 (en) 1994-09-09 2001-01-09 Intermec Ip Corp. System method and apparatus for identifying and communicating with a plurality of types of radio frequency communication devices
US5673037A (en) 1994-09-09 1997-09-30 International Business Machines Corporation System and method for radio frequency tag group select
US5942987A (en) 1994-09-09 1999-08-24 Intermec Ip Corp. Radio frequency identification system with write broadcast capability
US5565858A (en) 1994-09-14 1996-10-15 Northrop Grumman Corporation Electronic inventory system for stacked containers
US5910776A (en) 1994-10-24 1999-06-08 Id Technologies, Inc. Method and apparatus for identifying locating or monitoring equipment or other objects
TW303444B (en) 1994-11-22 1997-04-21 Traffic Object Supervision Systems
US5589821A (en) 1994-12-13 1996-12-31 Secure Technologies, Inc. Distance determination and alarm system
US5648765A (en) 1995-03-08 1997-07-15 Cresap; Michael S. Tag tansponder system and method to identify items for purposes such as locating, identifying, counting, inventorying, or the like
US6333690B1 (en) 1995-03-29 2001-12-25 Medical Tracking Systems Wide area multipurpose tracking system
GB9506909D0 (en) 1995-04-04 1995-05-24 Scient Generics Ltd Spatial magnetic interrogation system
US5608721A (en) * 1995-04-03 1997-03-04 Motorola, Inc. Communications network and method which implement diversified routing
US5621798A (en) * 1995-04-18 1997-04-15 Intel Corporation Method and apparatus for cooperative messaging
US5686888A (en) 1995-06-07 1997-11-11 General Electric Company Use of mutter mode in asset tracking for gathering data from cargo sensors
US5588005A (en) * 1995-06-07 1996-12-24 General Electric Company Protocol and mechanism for primary and mutter mode communication for asset tracking
US5798693A (en) 1995-06-07 1998-08-25 Engellenner; Thomas J. Electronic locating systems
US5543780A (en) 1995-06-16 1996-08-06 Secure Care Products, Inc. Monitoring tag with removal detection
US5926101A (en) * 1995-11-16 1999-07-20 Philips Electronics North America Corporation Method and apparatus for routing messages in a network of nodes with minimal resources
US5850181A (en) 1996-04-03 1998-12-15 International Business Machines Corporation Method of transporting radio frequency power to energize radio frequency identification transponders
US6252508B1 (en) 1995-10-11 2001-06-26 Motorola, Inc. Radio frequency identification tag arranged for magnetically storing tag state information
US6411213B1 (en) 1995-10-11 2002-06-25 Motorola, Inc. Radio frequency identification tag system using tags arranged for coupling to ground
US6040773A (en) 1995-10-11 2000-03-21 Motorola, Inc. Radio frequency identification tag arranged for magnetically storing tag state information
US5680106A (en) 1995-10-27 1997-10-21 International Business Machines Corporation Multibit tag with stepwise variable frequencies
US5627517A (en) 1995-11-01 1997-05-06 Xerox Corporation Decentralized tracking and routing system wherein packages are associated with active tags
US5742237A (en) 1995-11-30 1998-04-21 Lockheed Martin Corporation Tag location monitor
US5856788A (en) 1996-03-12 1999-01-05 Single Chips Systems Corp. Method and apparatus for radiofrequency identification tags
US5850187A (en) 1996-03-27 1998-12-15 Amtech Corporation Integrated electronic tag reader and wireless communication link
US6130602A (en) 1996-05-13 2000-10-10 Micron Technology, Inc. Radio frequency data communications device
US5745037A (en) 1996-06-13 1998-04-28 Northrop Grumman Corporation Personnel monitoring tag
US5793630A (en) 1996-06-14 1998-08-11 Xerox Corporation High precision spatially defined data transfer system
US6058374A (en) 1996-06-20 2000-05-02 Northrop Grumman Corporation Inventorying method and system for monitoring items using tags
US5768140A (en) 1996-06-21 1998-06-16 Symbol Technologies, Inc. RF-interrogatable processing system
US6128549A (en) 1996-06-21 2000-10-03 Symbol Technologies, Inc. RF interrogatable processing system
US5774876A (en) * 1996-06-26 1998-06-30 Par Government Systems Corporation Managing assets with active electronic tags
US6028857A (en) 1997-07-25 2000-02-22 Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Self-organizing network
US6072801A (en) * 1998-02-19 2000-06-06 Micron Technology, Inc. Method of addressing messages, method of establishing wireless communications, and communications system
US6275476B1 (en) * 1998-02-19 2001-08-14 Micron Technology, Inc. Method of addressing messages and communications system
US6150961A (en) * 1998-11-24 2000-11-21 International Business Machines Corporation Automated traffic mapping
US6614764B1 (en) * 1999-05-03 2003-09-02 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Bridged network topology acquisition
US6542114B1 (en) * 2000-09-07 2003-04-01 Savi Technology, Inc. Method and apparatus for tracking items using dual frequency tags

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US6127928A (en) * 1998-02-10 2000-10-03 E-Tag Systems, Inc. Method and apparatus for locating and tracking documents and other objects
US6061344A (en) * 1998-02-19 2000-05-09 Micron Technology, Inc. Method of addressing messages and communications system

Cited By (85)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9230227B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2016-01-05 Nextreme, Llc Pallet
US7804400B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2010-09-28 Nextreme, Llc Thermoformed platform having a communications device
US20050241548A1 (en) * 2000-01-24 2005-11-03 Muirhead Scott A W Thermoformed platform having a communications device
US7752980B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2010-07-13 Nextreme Llc Material handling apparatus having a reader/writer
US7948371B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2011-05-24 Nextreme Llc Material handling apparatus with a cellular communications device
US8077040B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2011-12-13 Nextreme, Llc RF-enabled pallet
US7789024B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2010-09-07 Nextreme, Llc Thermoformed platform having a communications device
US8585850B2 (en) 2000-01-24 2013-11-19 Nextreme, Llc Thermoformed platform having a communications device
US20040243352A1 (en) * 2001-09-13 2004-12-02 Akio Morozumi Data collection method
US6978217B2 (en) * 2001-09-13 2005-12-20 T&D Corporation Data collection method and devices therefor
US20040203932A1 (en) * 2002-06-11 2004-10-14 Hitachi Electronic Service Co. Ltd. Automatic report control system for reporting arrival at destination or passing point
US6983157B2 (en) * 2002-06-11 2006-01-03 Hitachi Electronic Service Co. Ltd. Automatic report control system for reporting arrival at destination or passing point
US20060170541A1 (en) * 2003-02-09 2006-08-03 Tompa Gary S Smart portable detection apparatus and method
US20040174259A1 (en) * 2003-02-20 2004-09-09 Peel John W. Container tracking system
US7825795B2 (en) 2003-02-20 2010-11-02 Celestech, Inc. Container tracking system
US20080117040A1 (en) * 2003-02-20 2008-05-22 Peel John W Container tracking system
US7323981B2 (en) * 2003-02-20 2008-01-29 Global Statistics, Inc. Container tracking system
US20040251302A1 (en) * 2003-03-20 2004-12-16 Seiko Epson Corporation Contactless data communication system, position information management system, contactless identification tag, data communication system, contactless indentification tag control program, and data communication system control program
US7175082B2 (en) * 2003-03-20 2007-02-13 Seiko Epson Corporation Contactless data communication system, position information management system, contactless identification tag, data communication system, contactless identification tag control program, and data communication system control program
US20050251330A1 (en) * 2003-04-17 2005-11-10 Paul Waterhouse Internet package tracking system
US7853402B2 (en) * 2003-07-03 2010-12-14 Sandvik Mining And Construction Oy Monitoring location of mining vehicle using base stations in at least two sections of mine
US20060190165A1 (en) * 2003-07-03 2006-08-24 Hannu Makela Method and system for monitoring location of mining vehicle
US20050258240A1 (en) * 2004-03-30 2005-11-24 Honeywell International Inc. Identifying the Location of an Asset
US7152791B2 (en) * 2004-03-30 2006-12-26 Honeywell International, Inc. Identifying the location of an asset
US20120299705A1 (en) * 2004-04-09 2012-11-29 Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Product management system
US9013303B2 (en) * 2004-04-09 2015-04-21 Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd. Product management system
WO2006081250A1 (en) * 2005-01-26 2006-08-03 Battelle Memorial Institute Method for autonomous establishment and utilization of an active-rf tag network
US7683761B2 (en) 2005-01-26 2010-03-23 Battelle Memorial Institute Method for autonomous establishment and utilization of an active-RF tag network
US7712674B1 (en) * 2005-02-22 2010-05-11 Eigent Technologies Llc RFID devices for verification of correctness, reliability, functionality and security
US20090058652A1 (en) * 2005-04-07 2009-03-05 Leor Hardy Synchronized Relayed Transmissions in RFID Networks
US7907055B2 (en) 2005-04-07 2011-03-15 Virtual Extension Ltd. Synchronized relayed transmissions in RFID networks
US20070008150A1 (en) * 2005-04-22 2007-01-11 Hassell John W Long-range cattle identification system
US7830257B2 (en) * 2005-04-22 2010-11-09 The Board Of Regents Of The University Of Oklahoma Long-range cattle identification system
US7978067B2 (en) 2005-06-22 2011-07-12 Custom Metalcraft, Inc. Intelligent container
US20060290491A1 (en) * 2005-06-22 2006-12-28 Custom Metalcraft, Inc. Intelligent container
US20070262849A1 (en) * 2005-11-18 2007-11-15 Ismail Amin R Active/Passive Coupled Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) System
US20070174148A1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2007-07-26 Francesca Schuler Method for resource management in a supply chain
US20070156491A1 (en) * 2005-12-30 2007-07-05 Francesca Schuler Method and system for request processing in a supply chain
US20090072964A1 (en) * 2006-02-03 2009-03-19 Govindarajan Muralidharan Remote shock sensing and notification system
US7825819B2 (en) * 2006-02-03 2010-11-02 Ut-Battelle, Llc Remote shock sensing and notification system
US7450023B2 (en) * 2006-02-03 2008-11-11 Ut Battelle, Llc Remote shock sensing and notification system
US20070182577A1 (en) * 2006-02-03 2007-08-09 Govindarajan Muralidharan Remote shock sensing and notification system
WO2008001309A2 (en) * 2006-06-26 2008-01-03 Visible Assets, Inc. Low-frequency tag system and method
WO2008001309A3 (en) * 2006-06-26 2009-04-23 Visible Assets Inc Low-frequency tag system and method
US8395480B2 (en) * 2006-06-26 2013-03-12 Visible Assets, Inc. Low-frequency tag system and method
US20080129456A1 (en) * 2006-06-26 2008-06-05 Visible Assets, Inc. Low-frequency tag system and method
US20080020724A1 (en) * 2006-07-19 2008-01-24 John Robert Orrell Establishing a data link between stacked cargo containers
JP2009544263A (en) * 2006-07-19 2009-12-10 クゥアルコム・インコーポレイテッド Establish data link between stacked cargo containers
US20080099557A1 (en) * 2006-10-31 2008-05-01 James Kenneth A Distributed inventory management system
US20080114487A1 (en) * 2006-11-10 2008-05-15 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for supply chain management using pallet-workstation and workstation-workstation communication
US20080111689A1 (en) * 2006-11-10 2008-05-15 Motorola, Inc. Method and apparatus for communication with a transport structure in transit
US20080294488A1 (en) * 2007-05-25 2008-11-27 Hussmann Corporation Supply chain management system
US9218585B2 (en) 2007-05-25 2015-12-22 Hussmann Corporation Supply chain management system
US20080303669A1 (en) * 2007-06-08 2008-12-11 Symbol Technologies, Inc. Vibration logging tag
US8392339B2 (en) 2008-01-04 2013-03-05 Tracking Innovations, Inc. Cargo tracking apparatus, system and method
WO2009088538A1 (en) * 2008-01-04 2009-07-16 Tracking Innovations, Inc. Cargo tracking apparatus, system, and method
US20110125663A1 (en) * 2008-01-04 2011-05-26 Tracking Innovations, Inc. Cargo tracking apparatus, system and method
US7895131B2 (en) 2008-01-04 2011-02-22 Tracking Innovations, Inc. Cargo tracking apparatus, system and method
US20100076902A1 (en) * 2008-01-04 2010-03-25 National Air Cargo Cargo tracking apparatus, system and method
US20100060452A1 (en) * 2008-09-05 2010-03-11 DearlerMesh, Inc. Using a mesh of radio frequency identification tags for tracking entities at a site
US8471706B2 (en) 2008-09-05 2013-06-25 John Schuster Using a mesh of radio frequency identification tags for tracking entities at a site
US8848904B2 (en) * 2008-10-24 2014-09-30 University Of Maryland, College Park Method and implementation for information exchange using Markov models
US20100272256A1 (en) * 2008-10-24 2010-10-28 University Of Maryland, College Park Method and Implementation for Information Exchange Using Markov Models
US8217794B2 (en) * 2009-02-02 2012-07-10 Pusan National University Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Active RFID system for port logistics using multi-hop communication and communication method in the system
US20100194544A1 (en) * 2009-02-02 2010-08-05 Young-Hwan Yoo Active rfid system for port logistics using mult-hop communication and communication method in the system
US10902372B2 (en) 2009-09-25 2021-01-26 Fedex Corporate Services, Inc. Sensor zone management
US11748692B2 (en) 2009-09-25 2023-09-05 Fedex Corporate Servics, Inc. Sensor zone management
US9633327B2 (en) * 2009-09-25 2017-04-25 Fedex Corporate Services, Inc. Sensor zone management
US20110078089A1 (en) * 2009-09-25 2011-03-31 Hamm Mark D Sensor zone management
US20110084213A1 (en) * 2009-10-13 2011-04-14 Randall Boudouris Organic Radiation Monitoring Device
US20120023555A1 (en) * 2010-07-21 2012-01-26 Danieli Gavriel Putterman Wireless environmental monitoring of goods
US20130293392A1 (en) * 2012-05-03 2013-11-07 Kapsch Trafficcom Ag Method for detecting vehicles with cargo
US9035792B2 (en) * 2012-05-03 2015-05-19 Kapsch Trafficcom Ag Method for detecting vehicles with cargo
US8922346B2 (en) * 2012-07-16 2014-12-30 Eastman Kodak Company Masked container RFID tag communications system
US20140015641A1 (en) * 2012-07-16 2014-01-16 Christopher J. White Masked container rfid tag communications system
US9540714B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2017-01-10 Ut-Battelle, Llc High strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US9683280B2 (en) 2014-01-10 2017-06-20 Ut-Battelle, Llc Intermediate strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US9683279B2 (en) 2014-05-15 2017-06-20 Ut-Battelle, Llc Intermediate strength alloys for high temperature service in liquid-salt cooled energy systems
US9605565B2 (en) 2014-06-18 2017-03-28 Ut-Battelle, Llc Low-cost Fe—Ni—Cr alloys for high temperature valve applications
US9752468B2 (en) 2014-06-18 2017-09-05 Ut-Battelle, Llc Low-cost, high-strength Fe—Ni—Cr alloys for high temperature exhaust valve applications
US10410176B2 (en) 2015-05-28 2019-09-10 Hds Mercury, Inc. Product and equipment location and automation system and method
US11281873B2 (en) 2015-05-28 2022-03-22 Hds Mercury, Inc. Product and equipment location and automation system and method
US20170076065A1 (en) * 2015-09-10 2017-03-16 Lynx Rx, Inc. System, device, and automated method for verification of medication integrity and chain of custody
US10467514B1 (en) * 2018-11-21 2019-11-05 Konica Minolta Laboratory U.S.A., Inc. Method for combining RFID tags
US11004325B2 (en) * 2019-09-26 2021-05-11 International Business Machines Corporation Smartphone based reminding system for forgotten objects

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
US6972682B2 (en) 2005-12-06
US20030137968A1 (en) 2003-07-24
WO2003063103A1 (en) 2003-07-31

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6972682B2 (en) Monitoring and tracking of assets by utilizing wireless communications
US7529561B2 (en) Container unit, mesh network, and system reporting container events
US11599852B1 (en) Continuous inventory management
US7796944B2 (en) Communication system for dynamic management of a plurality of objects and method therefor
US20040246104A1 (en) Method for monitoring goods
KR100812769B1 (en) Tracking Location and Realtime Management System of a Container using RF
US8515484B1 (en) System and method for communications of cargo containers in a container security system using wireless ad-hoc networking techniques
JP4107966B2 (en) Signaling system and transponder for the system
EP1745416B1 (en) Recording of location event information in rfid tags
US7787409B2 (en) Containerized cargo/high value asset tracking method, device and system
CN101609138B (en) Cargo tracking and monitoring system
Ruiz-Garcia et al. Monitoring the intermodal, refrigerated transport of fruit using sensor networks
US20060237490A1 (en) Keyhole communication device for tracking and monitoring shipping container and contents thereof
US7307536B2 (en) Portable deployment kit for nested visibility
US20080040244A1 (en) Tracking and Managing Assets
US20070273484A1 (en) Method of and reader for automatic synchronization of reader wakeup signals to radio tags
US20080231438A1 (en) Cargo Container Monitoring System
US20070132547A1 (en) System for sending information of container and system for tracing container comprising the same
US20070216542A1 (en) System and method for remotely tracking and monitoring a container and its contents
US9349270B1 (en) Method and apparatus for confirming an asset is associated with a given transportation structure
JP3885105B2 (en) Logistics management method
US20100135187A1 (en) System and method for controlling network configuration for moving object
US20090128303A1 (en) System and method for employing geographically overlapping autonomous static and mobile wireless networks for asset tracking
US20050162269A1 (en) Dual mode reader device
JP2007324945A (en) Mobile managing system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORPORATION, GEORGIA

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:WAGNER, RONALD E.;LAREAU, NEIL W.;BAGGERMAN, ROBERT W.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:015120/0226;SIGNING DATES FROM 20040211 TO 20040217

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION