U.S. patent application number 13/933231 was filed with the patent office on 2014-01-09 for system and user interface for finding multiple items using radio-frequency identification.
The applicant listed for this patent is U Grok It, Inc.. Invention is credited to Anthony M. Requist, Carolyn A. Requist.
Application Number | 20140009291 13/933231 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49878095 |
Filed Date | 2014-01-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140009291 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Requist; Anthony M. ; et
al. |
January 9, 2014 |
SYSTEM AND USER INTERFACE FOR FINDING MULTIPLE ITEMS USING
RADIO-FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION
Abstract
Methods and systems for utilizing RFID tagging to create and
identify sets of items are provided. An application running on a
computer system causes to be displayed on a display of the computer
system a list of pre-established sets of items. Each set of the
list of pre-established sets of items includes one or more items
having affixed thereto a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.
A selection identifying a set of the list of pre-established sets
is received by the application. Responsive to the selection, an
RFID reader is caused to scan for RFID tags associated with the one
or more items included within the selected set.
Inventors: |
Requist; Anthony M.;
(Steamboat Springs, CO) ; Requist; Carolyn A.;
(Steamboat Springs, CO) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
U Grok It, Inc. |
Steamboat Springs |
CO |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
49878095 |
Appl. No.: |
13/933231 |
Filed: |
July 2, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61667997 |
Jul 4, 2012 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
340/572.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06K 7/10009 20130101;
G06K 7/10386 20130101; G06Q 10/087 20130101; G06Q 10/08
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
340/572.1 |
International
Class: |
G06K 7/10 20060101
G06K007/10 |
Claims
1. A method comprising: causing to be displayed on a display of a
computer system, by an application running on the computer system,
a list of pre-established sets of items, wherein each set of the
list of pre-established sets of items includes information
regarding one or more items having affixed thereto a
radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag; receiving, by the
application, a selection identifying a set of the list of
pre-established sets; and responsive to said receiving, causing, by
the application, an RFID reader to scan for RFID tags associated
with the one or more items included within the selected set.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining, by the
application, a database containing a name and a unique ID of each
item of the one or more items of each set of the pre-established
sets of items.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing information,
by the application, to an end user of the computer system regarding
presence or absence of the one or more items of the selected set
within a read range of the RFID reader.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said causing, by the application,
an RFID reader to scan for RFID tags comprises causing all RFID
tags within range of the RFID reader to transmit their unique
IDs.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising matching, by the
application, a unique ID of an RFID tag received by the RFID reader
against the unique ID of an item of the one or more items of the
selected set.
6. The method of claim 3, wherein the information regarding
presence or absence is provided via a user interface that displays
a list of those of the one or more items of the selected set that
have yet to be detected by the RFID reader.
7. The method of claim 3, further comprising responsive to
determining all of the one or more items of the selected set have
been detected by the RFID reader, causing to be displayed on the
display, by the application, a message to that effect.
8. The method of claim 3, further comprising responsive to
determining all of the one or more items of the selected set have
been detected by the RFID reader, causing a distinctive sound to be
played by the computer system to notify the end user.
9. The method of claim 3, further comprising responsive to
determining an item of the one or more items of the selected set
has been detected by the RFID reader, causing a distinctive sound
to be played by the computer system to inform the end user that the
item has been found.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein for at least one set in the list
of pre-established sets of items, an item of the one or more items
comprises a set of one or more items.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating, by the
application, a set of the pre-established sets of items by causing
the RFID reader to scan for all RFID tags within range of the RFID
reader.
12. The method of claim 4, wherein said causing all RFID tags
within range of the RFID reader to transmit their unique IDs
comprises causing the RFID reader to interrogate passive RFID tags
operating in an ultra high frequency (UHF) band.
13. The method of claim 4, wherein the computer system and the RFID
reader are separate devices and wherein said causing, by the
application, an RFID reader to scan for RFID tags comprises the
application directing the separate RFID reader to interrogate
passive RFID tags operating in a frequency band of 905 megahertz
(MHz) to 925 MHz.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system comprises a
smartphone and the RFID reader comprises a chip integrated within
the smartphone and wherein said causing, by the application, an
RFID reader to scan for RFID tags comprises the application
directing the smartphone to use the integrated chip to interrogate
passive RFID tags operating in a frequency band of 2.4 gigahertz
(GHz) to 2.485 GHz.
15. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium tangibly
embodying a set of instructions, which when executed by one or more
processors of a hand-held computer system, cause the one or more
processors to perform a method comprising: displaying on a display
of the hand-held computer system a list of pre-established sets of
items, wherein each set of the list of pre-established sets of
items includes information regarding one or more items having
affixed thereto a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag;
receiving a selection identifying a set of the list of
pre-established sets; and responsive to said receiving, causing an
RFID reader to scan for RFID tags associated with the one or more
items included within the selected set.
16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
method further comprises maintaining a database containing a name
and a unique ID of each item of the one or more items of each set
of the pre-established sets of items.
17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the
method further comprises providing information to an end user of
the hand-held computer system regarding presence or absence of the
one or more items of the selected set within a read range of the
RFID reader.
18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein said
causing an RFID reader to scan for RFID tags comprises causing all
RFID tags within range of the RFID reader to transmit their unique
IDs.
19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the
method further comprises matching a unique ID of an RFID tag
received by the RFID reader against the unique ID of an item of the
one or more items of the selected set.
20. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) system comprising: a
smartphone having stored therein an application; and an RFID reader
integrated within or attached to the smartphone; wherein, when
executed by the smartphone, the application performs a method
comprising: displaying on a display of the smartphone a list of
pre-established sets of items, wherein each set of the list of
pre-established sets of items includes information regarding one or
more items having affixed thereto a radio-frequency identification
(RFID) tag configured to transmit a unique identifier stored within
the RFID tag within a frequency band of 905 megahertz (MHz) to 925
MHz or a frequency band of 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) to 2.485 GHz;
receiving a selection identifying a set of the list of
pre-established sets; and responsive to said receiving, causing the
RFID reader to scan for RFID tags associated with the one or more
items included within the selected set.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 61/667,997, filed on Jul. 4, 2012, which is hereby
incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
[0002] Contained herein is material that is subject to copyright
protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile
reproduction of the patent disclosure by any person as it appears
in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but
otherwise reserves all rights to the copyright whatsoever.
Copyright .COPYRGT. 2012-2013, U Grok It, Inc.
BACKGROUND
[0003] 1. Field
[0004] Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to use
of radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to identify
items. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention
relate to use of RFID technology to identify the presence/absence
of items in user-configurable sets of tagged items.
[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0006] There are many methods of identifying objects using radio
waves. The most common way is storing a serial number (e.g., a
96-bit number) that identifies the object within a microchip that
is attached to an antenna. Together, the chip and the antenna are
called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag. The serial number can be
read from the RFID tab by an RFID reader at a distance of a few
inches to 30 feet or more depending on the radio-frequency
technology, the tags and the reader used. A database is normally
used to associate the tag's serial number with a specific item.
When the RFID tag is later scanned by an RFID reader, the serial
number is used to identify the specific item, thereby enabling
specific items to be tracked or located.
[0007] An RFID reader can scan many RFID tags in a short time,
typically scanning a dozen to a hundred or more RFID tags in a
second.
[0008] A handheld RFID reader normally either has a computer
built-in or is attached to or part of a handheld computer such as a
smartphone or tablet or industrial handheld computer.
SUMMARY
[0009] Methods and systems are described for utilizing RFID tagging
to create and identify sets of items. Embodiments of the present
invention enable users to quickly know whether all of the items in
a set of items are present, and if not, which item or items are
missing. The user attaches RFID tags to each item in a set of
items. A unique ID is stored within each tag, and that ID is
associated with the specific item it is attached to via a database.
A name is associated with the set of items, this association is
also stored in a database. According to one embodiment, a set may
contain one or more other sets. Thus a set can be a collection of
one or more items, a collection of one or more items and one or
more other sets and/or a collection of one or more other sets.
[0010] A user interface allows the user to choose a desired set of
items by name from a list of previously established sets. Choosing
the set causes the RFID reader to scan for tags associated with the
selected set, match any tags found against the database, and
quickly give feedback via a user interface of a mobile application,
for example, about whether all of the items in the set are present,
and if not, which item or items are not present.
[0011] In one embodiment, the RFID reader incorporates a computer
with a display screen or is attached to or incorporated with a
computer (e.g., a smartphone, an MP3 player, a portable gaming
system, a tablet computer, a laptop computer or another portable
mobile device) having a display screen, and the user interface on
the display screen initially displays a list of all of the items in
the set, and removes from or otherwise marks items in the list as
they are found by the RFID reader. If a set contains other sets,
the list of items displayed is the union of all the items in all of
the contained sets.
[0012] In one embodiment, when all of the items in the set are
found, the RFID reader or attached computer makes a distinctive
sound to notify the user. Alternatively or additionally, the RFID
reader or attached computer could also give haptic feedback (e.g.,
cause the RFID reader or attached computer to vibrate) when all
items are found to notify the user.
[0013] Embodiments of the present invention also enable easily
creating a set by having the RFID reader find all items in the area
and defining this as a set, so that the user merely needs to scan
the items for the set and enter a name for the set.
[0014] In some embodiments, the user is also allowed to create a
set by selecting items and/or other sets from a list of items
and/or sets and assigning a name to this set of selected items
and/or sets.
[0015] The user may also be provided with the ability to edit a set
by selecting items and/or other sets from a list of items and/or
sets and invoking a command to add/delete these items and/or sets
to/from the set being edited.
[0016] Other features of embodiments of the present invention will
be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed
description that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] Embodiments of the present invention are illustrated by way
of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the
accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to
similar elements and in which:
[0018] FIG. 1A conceptually illustrates a sample set of items in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 1B conceptually illustrates a user using an RFID reader
attached to a handheld computer to scan luggage to verify that all
items are present in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0020] FIG. 2A illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of sets in accordance with an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 2B illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of items/sets within a selected set in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 2C illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of items/sets remaining to be found in a selected set in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] FIG. 2D illustrates the user interface screen of FIG. 2C
after additional items of the selected set are found in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0024] FIG. 2E illustrates a user interface screen after all items
in a selected set have been found in accordance with an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0025] FIG. 3 conceptually illustrates data stored in the database
in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
[0026] FIG. 4 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating the process
of finding a set of items in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0027] FIG. 5 is an example of a computer system with which
embodiments of the present invention may be utilized.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] Methods and systems are described for utilizing RFID tagging
to create and identify sets of items. Often users are interested in
a set of items, and whether all the items in the set are present or
not. For instance, a traveler leaving a hotel wants to know that
they have all of their luggage items packed in their luggage; a
person leaving for the gym wants to know that their gym bag
contains all of their gym items; and a service person leaving a
work location wants to know that they have all of their tools in
their tool box. Embodiments of the present invention enable users
to quickly confirm whether all of the items in a set of items are
present without having to visually verify the presence of the
items.
[0029] The user attaches RFID tags (e.g., passive RFID tags/labels,
active RFID tags/labels, battery-assisted passive RFID tags/labels,
Bluetooth 4.0 tags/labels and the like) to each item in a set of
items. A unique ID is given to each tag, and that ID is associated
with the specific item it is attached to via a database.
[0030] According to one embodiment, the user creates a set of items
by selecting items by one of two methods. In the first method, the
user invokes a function that causes the RFID reader to scan for
RFID tags. Each time an RFID tag is found, its unique ID, e.g., a
96-bit ID, is matched against the database. If a matching item is
found, that item is added to a list. The user can create a set
containing this list of items and can enter a name for this set. In
the second method, the user selects items and/or other sets from a
list of items and/or other sets on a display screen, and this set
of items and/or other sets forms a new set. In either method, the
name of the set and the list of items and/or other sets it contains
are stored in the database.
[0031] The user may edit a set selecting additional items and/or
other sets from a list of items and/or sets and invoking a command
to add these items and/or sets to the set being edited.
[0032] The user may also edit a set by selecting additional items
and/or other sets from a list of items and/or sets and invoking a
command to add these items and/or sets to the set being edited.
[0033] A user interface allows the user to choose a set of items by
name from a list of sets. Choosing the set causes the RFID reader
to start scanning for tags using standard ultra-high frequency
(UHF) RFID protocol or Bluetooth and to store in computer memory a
list of all the IDs of the items in the set and all the items in
other sets this set contains, referred to here as itemsToFind. This
scanning process, often called "inventory", causes all tags within
range of the reader to transmit their unique IDs to the RFID
reader. Whenever the RFID reader receives a unique ID of an RFID
tag, it compares the received ID against the IDs in the itemsToFind
list. If a match is found, the RFID reader removes this ID from
itemsToFind. If itemsToFind is now empty, the RFID reader notifies
the user that all of the items in the set have been found.
[0034] According to one embodiment, when the scanning process
starts, a display screen displays a list of the names of all of the
items in the set. As items in the set are found, they are removed
from the list on the display screen so that the display screen
displays only the items that have not yet been found.
[0035] According to one embodiment, when all of the items in the
set have been found, the display screen displays a message to that
effect to notify the user.
[0036] According to one embodiment, when all of the items in the
set have been found, the RFID reader makes a distinctive sound to
notify the user.
[0037] According to one embodiment, when an item in the set is
found and there are still more items to find, the RFID reader makes
a distinctive sound to inform the user that an item has been found.
Alternatively or additionally, the RFID reader or attached computer
could also give haptic feedback (e.g., cause the RFID reader or
attached computer to vibrate) when all items are found to notify
the user.
[0038] In the following description, numerous specific details are
set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of
embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent,
however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present
disclosure may be practiced without some of these specific details.
In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in
block diagram form.
[0039] Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps,
which will be described below. The steps may be performed by
hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable
instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or
special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to
perform the steps.
[0040] Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination
of hardware, software, firmware and/or by human operators.
[0041] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as a
computer program product, which may include a machine-readable
storage medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may
be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to
perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is
not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy
diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories
(CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such
as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable
read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically
erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards,
or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing
electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as
software or firmware). Moreover, embodiments of the present
disclosure may also be downloaded as one or more computer program
products, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote
computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied
in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication
link (e.g., a modem or network connection).
[0042] In various embodiments, the article(s) of manufacture (e.g.,
the computer program products) containing the computer programming
code may be used by executing the code directly from the
machine-readable storage medium or by copying the code from the
machine-readable storage medium into another machine-readable
storage medium (e.g., a hard disk, RAM, etc.) or by transmitting
the code on a network for remote execution. Various methods
described herein may be practiced by combining one or more
machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the
present disclosure with appropriate standard computer hardware to
execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing
various embodiments of the present disclosure may involve one or
more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer)
and storage systems containing or having network access to computer
program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described
herein, and the method steps of the present disclosure could be
accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a
computer program product.
TERMINOLOGY
[0043] Brief definitions of terms used throughout this application
are given below.
[0044] The terms "connected" or "coupled" and related terms are
used in an operational sense and are not necessarily limited to a
direct connection or coupling. Thus, for example, two devices may
be coupled directly, or via one or more intermediary media or
devices. As another example, devices may be coupled in such a way
that information can be passed there between, while not sharing any
physical connection with one another. Based on the disclosure
provided herein, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate a
variety of ways in which connection or coupling exists in
accordance with the aforementioned definition.
[0045] The phrases "in an embodiment," "according to one
embodiment," and the like generally mean the particular feature,
structure, or characteristic following the phrase is included in at
least one embodiment of the present disclosure, and may be included
in more than one embodiment of the present disclosure. Importantly,
such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
[0046] If the specification states a component or feature "may",
"can", "could", or "might" be included or have a characteristic,
that particular component or feature is not required to be included
or have the characteristic.
[0047] The phrase "Radio-Frequency Identification" and the acronym
"RFID" are used herein to broadly refer to any
radio-frequency-based system for identifying objects at a distance,
examples include, but are not limited to, UHF RFID (e.g., between
300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (Ghz), including the 433 MHz
band, the 865 to 868 MHz band and the 905 to 925 MHz band) and
Bluetooth (e.g., the 2.4 to 2.485 GHz band).
[0048] FIG. 1A conceptually illustrates a sample set of items in
accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. According
to the simple example illustrated, a traveller, for example, has
previously established a set of items, each with a unique RFID tag,
based on items present in his/her luggage prior to travel to the
destination. Then, as described in further detail below, prior to
returning home from the destination, the traveller may confirm all
luggage items (e.g., those items present prior to travel and
established as a set) have been packed in his/her luggage for the
return trip. While in this simplified example, only six items are
shown, in actual use the set would often consist of many more
items.
[0049] According to the present example, a set of luggage items 100
has previously been established by the user. The luggage items 100
include: a phone charger 101, having a serial number of 1; a
glasses case 102, having a serial number of 2; a notebook 103,
having a serial number of 3; a toiletry bag 104, having a serial
number of 4; a left dress shoe 105, having a serial number of 5;
and a right dress shoe 106, having a serial number of 6.
[0050] FIG. 1B conceptually illustrates a user using an RFID reader
120 attached to a handheld computer 110 (e.g., a smartphone) to
scan luggage 130 to verify that all items are present in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention. In the context of the
present example, in order to confirm all luggage items (e.g.,
luggage items 100) have been packed, the user launches a mobile
application on their smartphone 110 and brings the smartphone and
an optionally connected RFID reader 120 within range of the luggage
130 (e.g., read range of the RFID tags used) and then selects the
set to be verified.
[0051] FIG. 2A illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of sets in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
In one embodiment, when one or more sets of items have been
established, this user interface screen may be the initial screen
presented to the user. In the present example, three sets have been
configured: Luggage 200, Soccer gear 210 and Katie's Ballet stuff
220.
[0052] FIG. 2B illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of items/sets within a selected set in accordance with an
embodiment of the present invention. Continuing with the current
traveller example, after selecting the "Luggage" set 200, the
mobile application displays the items associated with the selected
set. In this case, the set includes the following items: Phone
Charger 201, Glasses Case 202, Notebook 203, Toiletry Bag 204,
Dress Shoe Left 205 and Dress Shoe Right 206. As mentioned earlier,
one or more of these items could also represent a set. For example,
Toiletry Bag 204 may be a set including items, such as "Electric
Razor," "Contact Lens Case," "Hair Brush" and "Hair Dryer" (not
shown).
[0053] FIG. 2C illustrates a user interface screen providing a list
of items/sets remaining to be found in a selected set in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention. Continuing with the
present example, after finding a particular item (e.g., Notebook
203), the user interface screen may be updated to reflect the
confirmed presence of Notebook 203 by removing it from the
displayed list. In the present example, those items yet to be found
remain displayed in the list.
[0054] Those skilled in the art will appreciate various other
visual mechanisms may be used to communicate to the user the
presence or absence of an item of the selected set. For example,
items confirmed by the RFID reader to be present may be
highlighted, presented in a particular color or otherwise annotated
to indicate their presence. Similarly, items confirmed by the RFID
reader not to be present may be highlighted, presented in a
particular color or otherwise annotated to indicate their absence.
In one embodiment, the list of items may be presented initially
with an inactive color (e.g., a "grayed" appearance) and then as
items are confirmed to be present, they may be presented with an
active color (e.g., black or green).
[0055] FIG. 2D illustrates the user interface screen of FIG. 2C
after additional items of the selected set are found in accordance
with an embodiment of the present invention. In the context of the
present example, it is assumed Notebook 203, Glasses Case 202,
Dress Shoe Left 205 and Dress Shoe Right 206 have been confirmed to
be present (within range) by the RFID reader, but Phone Charger 201
and Toiletry Bag 204 have yet to be confirmed to be present. As
such, Phone Charger 201 and Toiletry Bag 204 remain in the list to
indicate to the user those items have not yet been confirmed to be
present in the packed luggage.
[0056] FIG. 2E illustrates a user interface screen after all items
in a selected set have been found in accordance with an embodiment
of the present invention. In this example, a screen is presented
confirming "All Items Are Present." Alternatively or in addition,
an audible tone or set of tones may be played to indicate
successful completion of the set.
[0057] FIG. 3 conceptually illustrates data stored in the database
300 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Continuing with the present example, the user has established three
sets: "Luggage," "Soccer Gear" and "Katie's Ballet Stuff" In one
embodiment, a database (e.g., database 300) maintained by a mobile
application on the user's smartphone, for example, may contain a
table of sets 310 associating a name 311 of each set with
corresponding items 312. For each set, database 300 may also
contain a table of items 320 associating a user-configurable item
name 321 with the unique ID or serial number 322 of the RFID tag
applied to that item.
[0058] FIG. 4 is a high-level flow diagram illustrating the process
of finding a set of items in accordance with an embodiment of the
present invention. At block 410, a list of all established sets are
displayed. For example, a mobile application running on a user's
smartphone may access the local database, retrieve a list from a
table of sets and present the name of each set.
[0059] At block 420, the user indicates his/her desire to confirm
the presence of items in one of the sets by selecting the name of
the set from the displayed list. The mobile application receives
the selected set and responsive thereto initiates a scan for the
items associated with the selected set.
[0060] At block 430, a list of items to be found (e.g.,
ItemsToFind) is established. For example, the names and/or unique
IDs of each item associated with the selected set may be retrieved
from the local database and assigned to an ItemsToFind
variable.
[0061] At block 440, the scan is started.
[0062] At block 450, the names of items in the list of items
(remaining) to be found are displayed to the user via a user
interface of a mobile application, for example. As described above,
the display may be periodically updated/refreshed as new items are
confirmed to be present by the RFID reader.
[0063] At decision block 460, a determination is made regarding a
pending event to be processed. If the event is an indication from
the RFID reader (which may be part of a hand-held computer, e.g., a
smartphone, in the form of an integrated Bluetooth chip, for
example or separate from the hand-held computer) that an item has
been found, then processing continues with block 460. If the event
is an indication that the user has requested a list of all sets to
be displayed, processing branches to block 410.
[0064] At block 470, it has been confirmed that an item detected by
the RFID reader is one of the items in the list of items
(remaining) to be found. Responsive to this item being detected, it
is removed from the list.
[0065] At decision block 490, a determination is made regarding
whether any items remain to be found in the selected set. If not,
then processing continues with block 480; otherwise, processing
loops back to block 450 to refresh/update the display.
[0066] At block 480, all items have been found and an indication
may be provided to the user regarding same. In one embodiment, a
message is displayed to the user indicating "All Items Found."
[0067] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps,
which have been described above. A variety of these steps may be
performed by hardware components or may be embodied in
machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a
general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the
instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be
performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.
As such, FIG. 5 is an example of a computer system 500, such as a
personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, an ultra mobile PC, a
game console, a pocket personal computer, a mobile phone or an RFID
reader.
[0068] According to the present example, the computer system
includes a bus 530, at least one processor 505, at least one
communication port 510, a main memory 515, a removable storage
media 540 a read only memory 520, and a mass storage 525.
[0069] Processor(s) 505 can be any known processor, such as, but
not limited to, mobile application processors or other processors
designed for portable devices, such as the ARM Cortex.TM.-A7, -A8
or A9 processor of ARM Holdings, one or more of Texas Instruments'
OMAP family of processors (e.g., the OMAP2430 or the OMAPV2230), an
Intel.RTM. 80386 processor, and Intel PXA901 processor, an Intel
Itanium.RTM. or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD.RTM. Opteron.RTM. or
Athlon MP.RTM. processor(s), or Motorola.RTM. lines of processors.
Notably, future mobile devices are likely to have at least two
processors, one for carrier processing and one for application
processing.
[0070] Among other things, processor(s) 505 is generally
responsible for executing various operational instructions
maintained in main memory 515, and processing and otherwise
interacting with various other input/output (I/O) devices, such as
internal and/or external context data sources. In one embodiment of
the present invention, processor(s) 505 may receive interrupts from
an integrated or externally connected RFID reader. Such interrupts
may be received, for example, whenever the RFID reader detects a
unique ID of an RFID tag. Such interrupts may be received using any
interrupt scheme known in the art including, but not limited to,
using a polling scheme where processor(s) 505 periodically reviews
an interrupt register, or using an asynchronous interrupt port of
processor 505. Alternatively or additionally, the processor(s) 505
may proactively request data from RFID reader on a periodic or as
needed basis. Based on the disclosure provided herein, one of
ordinary skill in the art will recognize a variety of interrupt
and/or polling mechanisms that may be used in relation to different
embodiments of the present invention.
[0071] Communication port(s) 510 represent physical and/or logical
ports. For example communication port(s) may be any of an audio
port, typically used for playing and/or recording audio, an RS-232
port for use with a modem based dialup connection, a 10/100
Ethernet port, or a Gigabit port using copper or fiber.
Communication port(s) 510 may be chosen depending on a network such
a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network
to which the computer system 500 connects.
[0072] Communication port(s) 510 may also be the name of the end of
a logical connection (e.g., a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
and/or User Datagram Protocol (UDP) port). For example
communication ports may be one of the Well Know Ports, such as TCP
port 80 (used for HTTP service), assigned by the Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IRNA) for specific uses.
[0073] Main memory 515 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any
other dynamic storage device(s) commonly known in the art. Read
only memory 520 can be any static storage device(s) such as
Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static
information such as instructions for processor 505.
[0074] Mass storage 525 can be used to store information and
instructions. For example, hard disks such as the Adaptec.RTM.
family of SCSI drives, an optical disc, an array of disks such as
RAID, such as the Adaptec family of RAID drives, or any other mass
storage devices may be used.
[0075] Bus 530 communicatively couples processor(s) 505 with the
other memory, storage and communication blocks. Bus 530 can be a
PCI/PCI-X or SCSI based system bus depending on the storage devices
used.
[0076] Optionally, in the case of a server and typically in the
case of a fixed client device, such as a desktop computer, operator
and administrative interfaces 535, such as a display, keyboard, and
a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 530 to support
direct operator interaction with computer system 500. Other
operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through
network connections connected through communication ports 510.
[0077] Removable storage media 540 can be any kind of external
hard-drives, floppy drives, IOMEGA.RTM. Zip Drives, Compact
Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), MultiMedia Cards (MMCs), secure
digital (SD) cards, such as miniSD and microSD cards, Compact
Disc-Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk-Read Only Memory
(DVD-ROM).
[0078] RFID reader 550 includes an RFID antenna to send a signal to
RFID tags within range and an RFID sensor to sense/read the RFID
tag responses. Depending upon the particular implementation, RFID
reader 550 may be external (e.g., coupled to computer system 500
via one of communication ports 510) or integrated with the computer
system 500 (e.g., coupled to bus 530).
[0079] The components described above are meant to exemplify some
types of possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned
examples limit the scope of the invention, as they are only
exemplary embodiments.
* * * * *