U.S. patent application number 15/419126 was filed with the patent office on 2017-05-18 for system and method for locating objects.
The applicant listed for this patent is TECHIP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED. Invention is credited to Mordechai TEICHER.
Application Number | 20170138742 15/419126 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58189516 |
Filed Date | 2017-05-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170138742 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
TEICHER; Mordechai |
May 18, 2017 |
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LOCATING OBJECTS
Abstract
A tag, and a method of operation of a tag, for directing a
person toward a target asset that is located in a zone within a
facility. The tag presents to the person a description of the
target asset and directions for reaching the zone, seeks beacon
signals from a beacon attached to the target asset, and produces
homing directions for approaching the target asset.
Inventors: |
TEICHER; Mordechai;
(Hod-Hasharon, IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
TECHIP INTERNATIONAL LIMITED |
Lamaca |
|
CY |
|
|
Family ID: |
58189516 |
Appl. No.: |
15/419126 |
Filed: |
January 30, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15211201 |
Jul 15, 2016 |
9594151 |
|
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15419126 |
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62214936 |
Sep 5, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08B 13/2417 20130101;
G08B 21/0261 20130101; A61B 5/1113 20130101; G08B 13/248 20130101;
G08B 21/22 20130101; G01S 5/02 20130101; G01S 1/68 20130101; G08B
21/0247 20130101; G07C 9/28 20200101; G08B 21/0288 20130101; G01S
5/0252 20130101; G01C 21/206 20130101; G07C 9/30 20200101 |
International
Class: |
G01C 21/20 20060101
G01C021/20; G01S 1/68 20060101 G01S001/68; G01S 5/02 20060101
G01S005/02 |
Claims
1. A method of operation of a tag of a person for directing the
person toward target assets, the method comprising: receiving a
target asset identifier and a zone associated with the target
asset; presenting to the person a description of the target asset;
presenting to the person directions for reaching the zone; seeking
beacon signals that match a beacon identifier of a beacon attached
to the target asset; and upon detecting a beacon signal that
matches the beacon identifier: producing a series of
human-comprehensible homing directions for approaching the target
asset.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the directions for reaching the
zone include at least one of a name of the zone or instructions for
reaching the zone.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said presenting directions
includes at least one of: displaying text instructions, displaying
graphical guidance, or playing audio instructions.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said producing a series of homing
directions includes at least one of: displaying a textual
representation of a current strength of the detected beacon signal,
displaying a textual guidance regarding the direction of the
beacon, displaying a graphical representation of a current strength
of the detected beacon signal, displaying a graphical guidance
regarding the direction of the beacon, playing an audio signal that
is indicative of the current strength of the detected beacon
signal, or playing an audio guidance regarding the direction of the
beacon.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the person is a staff member
designated to relocate the target asset, the method further
comprising: receiving a relocation assignment identifying a target
location for the target asset; detecting short-range beacon signals
transmitted by a beacon of the target asset; learning from the
beacon signals that the staff tag and the beacon have reached close
proximity; measuring the duration of the close proximity; checking
whether the staff tag has moved while the close proximity has been
maintained; and based on the results of the measuring and the
checking: locating the target asset at the target location.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein at least said locating the target
asset is performed by a recipient device to which the tag
reports.
7. A tag for directing a person toward target assets, the tag
comprising: a short-range signal receiver; a network communication
device; a user interface; and a processor controlling the
short-range signal receiver, the network communication device and
the user interface, the processor is programmed to: receive via the
network communication device a target asset identifier and a zone
associated with the target asset, present to the person via the
user interface a description of the target asset, present to the
person via the user interface directions for reaching the zone,
seek via the short-range signal receiver beacon signals that match
a beacon identifier of a beacon attached to the target asset, and
upon detecting a beacon signal that matches the beacon identifier:
produce via the user interface a series of human-comprehensible
homing directions for approaching the target asset.
8. The tag of claim 7, wherein the directions for reaching the zone
include at least one of a name of the zone or instructions for
reaching the zone.
9. The tag of claim 7, wherein said present directions includes at
least one of: display text instructions, display graphical
guidance, or play audio instructions.
10. The tag of claim 7, wherein said produce a series of homing
directions includes at least one of: display a textual
representation of a current strength of the detected beacon signal,
display a textual guidance regarding the direction of the beacon,
display a graphical representation of a current strength of the
detected beacon signal, display a graphical guidance regarding the
direction of the beacon, play an audio signal that is indicative of
the current strength of the detected beacon signal, or play an
audio guidance regarding the direction of the beacon.
11. The tag of claim 7, wherein the person is a staff member
designated to relocate the target asset, the processor is further
programmed to: receive via the network communication device a
relocation assignment identifying a target location for the target
asset; detect via the short-range signal receiver short-range
beacon signals transmitted by a beacon of the target asset; learn
from the beacon signals that the staff tag and the beacon have
reached close proximity; measure the duration of the close
proximity; check whether the staff tag has moved while the close
proximity has been maintained; and based on the results of the
measuring and the checking: locate the target asset at the target
location.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application
Ser. No. 15/211,201 filed Jul. 15, 2016 which claims the benefit of
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/214,936 filed on 5 Sep.
2015; and is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/211,232
filed Jul. 15, 2016 by the present inventor titled SYSTEM AND
METHOD FOR MULTI-LEVEL BORDER CONTROL WITHIN SITES, the contents of
each of the above applications being incorporated by reference in
their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to locating objects, and in
particular to locating assets and people within institutional
sites.
[0004] Description of Related Art
[0005] RTLS (real time location services) systems are commonly used
to locate objects, such as assets or people, within institutional
sites such as manufacturing plants, warehouses, healthcare
facilities or retail stores.
[0006] A typical RTLS system includes an infrastructure of fixed
active devices, each located at a known location, and movable
active devices, each associated with a known object. The fixed and
movable active devices are adapted to establish short-range
communication via an ultrasonic, infrared or low-power RF signal,
and at least one of the fixed or movable active devices connects
via a network to report meetings between respective active devices.
Each meeting report indicates that the current location of the
object associated with the movable active device is in proximity to
the known location of the fixed active device, thereby providing
real time location information related to the respective
object.
[0007] The resolution of the detected location can be improved in a
variety of ways, such as: a shorter communication range and higher
number of fixed active devices; analyzing the signal strength,
sometimes is association with the battery level, for estimating the
current distance between the reported devices; or using
triangulation for analyzing a plurality of simultaneous short-range
signals associated with a single movable active device and a
plurality of fixed active devices.
[0008] A typical RTLS system requires substantial investment in
sensing and communication infrastructures throughout the site.
While some sites justify such investment by effectively and quickly
locating critical equipment or personnel, and others show high
returns from targeted advertising, there are still many other sites
that could benefit from quickly locating objects, and cannot afford
or justify the expense associated with deploying the respective
sensing and communication infrastructure of a common RTLS
system.
[0009] The present disclosure comes to teach locating systems with
highly reduced sensing and communication infrastructures, and some
applications of such systems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Definitions
[0010] An "institutional site", abbreviated "site", is a managed
place that is run by a "staff". Examples of sites include
manufacturing plants, warehouses, healthcare facilities or retail
stores. A "staff member" is an employee or volunteer operating in a
site. A "mover" is a staff member designated to move an asset to a
specified target location. Being a mover may be the main job of a
staff member, or an occasional incident. A site may accommodate
additional persons that are not staff members, such as residents,
customers or visitors.
[0011] An "asset" is a thing that may be needed for a useful
purpose. People are not considered herein assets, and the term
"object" will be used herein to refer to both people and assets
that need to be located. An "asset identifier", such as an
inventory number, uniquely identifies an asset within a site. An
asset identifier may also include a human-comprehensible "asset
description" to describe an asset to staff members; examples for
asset descriptions are the respiratory machine, respiratory machine
no. 37, or the yellow respiratory machine.
[0012] An "active device" is an electronic device capable of
transmitting and/or receiving data.
[0013] A "smart tag", abbreviated "tag", is herein an active device
that plays a role in locating objects and is capable of
communicating location information. Smart tags include "personal
tags" borne by persons, "asset tags" attached to assets, and "fixed
tags" that are fixed at a location. In a healthcare facility,
personal tags include "staff tags" and "resident tags" borne by
staff members and residents, respectively, or may further include
"visitor tags" borne by visitors. A tag is preferably configured
according to the respective role and identity of the person, asset
or location associated with the tag. A personal tag may be a
dedicated device assigned to a person, or a private communication
device of a person, such as a smartphone, programmed to function as
a tag.
[0014] A "beacon" is an active device recurrently transmitting a
short-range signal for being received and read by tags that are
within a short maximum range, the preferred maximum range being
between a meter and a few tens of meters, depending on the
application. A "location beacon" is fixed to a specific location
within a site, such as on a wall or a ceiling; an "asset beacon" is
attached to an asset and moves with the asset; while a "personal
beacon" is borne by and moves with a person. The term "attached to
an asset" covers also the case where the beacon forms an integral
part of the asset. As long as a certain object beacon is known to
be borne by or attached to a certain object, expressions such as
"detecting an object", "detecting an object beacon"; "locating an
object", "locating an object beacon"; "receiving a signal from an
object", or "receiving a signal from an object beacon"; may be used
interchangeably. The short-range signal transmitted by the beacon
preferably uses low-power RF, ultrasound or infrared to carry the
"beacon identifier" uniquely identifying the beacon within the
site, and possibly also information regarding the battery level of
the beacon, and/or object status information received by the beacon
from an object by which the beacon is borne or to which the beacon
is attached. A beacon short-range signal is read by a compatible
receiver that forms part of a tag or another signal detecting
device, to identify the beacon and possibly also identify the
object by whom the beacon is borne to which the beacon is attached,
as well as to optionally receive other information carried by the
signal. A receiver may also measure the strength of the short-range
signal received from a beacon, which may be indicative of the
current distance between the receiver and the beacon, which is
similar to the distance between the tag and the object. iBeacon,
marketed by numerous vendors in compliance with a standard
published by Apple, Cupertino, Calif., is an example of a beacon
that uses BLE (Bluetooth low energy) for its short-range signal,
while a variety of contemporary smartphones can be programmed to
act as compatible receivers.
[0015] A "visual feature" is a distinguishable visual mark, symbol,
pattern, image or color that can be captured by a camera and
processed by an image processor to identify a location, an object
or an object type. Visual features may be invisible to the naked
eye, for example by using ink in the infrared wavelength, as long
as the respective cameras can see them and use appropriate filters,
if needed. In the present context, visual features may be borne by
objects or fixed to locations, and function similarly to beacons,
if respective tags are adapted to detect and recognize them.
[0016] "Bearing" a tag, a beacon or a visual feature by an object
will generally relate to a person carrying or wearing a tag, a
beacon or a visual feature, or an asset having a tag, a beacon or a
visual feature attached thereto or embedded therein.
[0017] It shall be appreciated that some active devices may
function as both tags and beacons. Thus, a tag may locate another
tag via short-range communication.
[0018] Databases that are stored in or are accessible by tags may
correlate object identifiers with beacon identifiers and object
descriptions, and it is presumed herein that providing an object
identifier to a tag makes the corresponding beacon identifiers
and/or asset descriptions readily available to the tag.
[0019] "Locating" an object means obtaining information pertaining
to the current location of the object, while "directing" toward an
object means providing human-comprehensible directions to a person
for reaching the object according to its location.
SUMMARY
[0020] The following discussion mostly uses examples pertaining to
healthcare facilities. However, it shall be appreciated that the
teachings of the present disclosure relate to a variety of other
institutional sites as well.
[0021] The present disclosure recognizes that, under certain
circumstances, a locating and directing system can be highly
simplified by realizing, and making use of the fact, that assets
are usually moved by staff members; that staff members are often
intelligent, experienced persons who are familiar with the assets
and the site and typical locations where assets are used or parked,
and have eyes; and that staff members often accidently pass by
assets in the course of performing their routine duties.
[0022] The following concepts will facilitate the understanding of
the present disclosure:
[0023] "Zoning" is a division of a site into relatively large
zones, serving for roughly locating objects. The term zoning will
also be used herein to denote the act of zone-level locating of an
object, i.e. identifying the zone in which an object resides. It is
assumed that, under certain circumstances, zoning may be good
enough for effective, timely locating of objects; for example, a
staff member requested to "fetch a respiratory machine from the
West Zone on the 3.sup.rd floor" will often reach the machine
pretty quickly, maybe just a few seconds later than when being
requested, in another similar site employing a common,
fully-fledged RTLS system, to "fetch a respiratory machine from
next to bed C in room 305". Zones may partly overlap, thus zoning
may afford some level of ambiguity, as will be elaborated later
below.
[0024] "Homing" is a method for directing a user holding a receiver
toward a target asset having an asset beacon, by seeking a
short-range signal transmitted by the target asset, and when the
short-range signal is detected, continuously monitoring the
short-range signal for approaching the asset, for example by
exhibiting a series of human-comprehensible homing directions
toward the asset, based on the receiver providing to the user a
series of visual and/or audio indications of the current measured
strength of the signal received from the beacon, that may be
presented in terms of estimated distance, which intuitively leads
the user to seek stronger signals hence approach the asset. In more
sophisticated systems, homing may provide explicit direction
indications, such as by displaying an arrow pointing at the asset.
Homing may complement zoning for fast screening of larger zones,
including, for example: for finding the asset faster; for
distinguishing a sought specific asset from other similar assets;
for finding assets that hide behind curtains that are permeable to
the beacon's short-range signal; for indicating, by an absence of a
beacon signal, that the sought asset is not within a certain part
of the zone; or just for verifying that the related asset is in the
zone without physically approaching the asset.
[0025] "Greeting" is an asset location report message authored and
sent by a tag that has detected the beacon of the asset, thereby
associating the location of the asset with the zone of the tag. A
greeting may be informally described as a message sent by a tag to
a recipient, stating: I am currently in zone X and have just seen
asset Y. In a typical healthcare facility, for example, many tags
are continually passing by assets, purposely or accidently,
providing a continuous series of greetings that serve to
dynamically locate assets, as will be further elaborated below.
[0026] "Escorting" is an event of detecting continuous close
proximity between a tag and an asset beacon maintained for a
prolonged duration, say thirty seconds or more, while also
detecting that the tag has moved a substantial distance, say
several meters or more, during the duration of the close proximity.
An escorting event may be interpreted as a displacement of the
respective asset by the person bearing the tag. If a staff member
has been commissioned to move a certain asset to bed C in room 305,
then the respective escorting event may indicate by default that at
the end of the escorting event the asset is located next to bed C
in room 305.
[0027] According to preferred embodiments of the present invention
there is provided a method of operation of a tag for locating
assets, the tag is for being borne by and occasionally moving with
a user within a site that is divided into a plurality of zones, the
method including: receiving a second short-range signal from an
asset beacon attached to an asset; retrieving from the second
short-range signal an identification of at least one of the asset
beacon or the asset; wirelessly reporting the current zone to a
recipient; and wirelessly reporting the identification to the
recipient.
[0028] The method may further include checking the availability of
a network connection, and either or both of the reporting the
current zone or the reporting the identification is postponed until
the network connection is available. The current zone and the
identification of the asset or asset beacon may be included within
a single locating message, or be reported separately, when
available. It will be noted that reporting the current zone and
reporting the identification of the asset beacon or the asset are
preferably made automatically according to predefined rules,
without requiring human initiative or action.
[0029] The method may serve a user who is a staff member bearing a
staff tag that is further operative for directing the staff member
toward target assets, by receiving a target asset identifier and a
target zone associated with a target asset; presenting to the staff
member a description of the target asset; and presenting to the
staff member directions for reaching the target zone.
[0030] If the staff member is designated to relocate the target
asset, the method may further include: receiving a relocation
assignment identifying a target location for the target asset;
detecting short-range beacon signals transmitted by a beacon of the
target asset; learning from the beacon signals that the staff tag
and the beacon are in close proximity; measuring the duration of
the close proximity; checking whether the staff tag has moved while
the close proximity is maintained; and, based on the results of the
measuring and the checking: locating the target asset at the target
location.
[0031] The method may also include: seeking beacon signals that
match a beacon identifier of a beacon attached to the target asset;
and, upon detecting a beacon signal that matches the beacon
identifier: producing a series of human-comprehensible homing
directions for approaching the target asset.
[0032] The directions for reaching the target zone may include a
name of the target zone or instructions for reaching the target
zone. The step of presenting directions may include displaying text
instructions, displaying graphical guidance, or playing audio
instructions. The step of producing a series of homing directions
may include displaying a textual representation of a current
strength of the detected beacon signal, displaying a textual
guidance regarding the direction of the beacon, displaying a
graphical representation of a current strength of the detected
beacon signal, displaying a graphical guidance regarding the
direction of the beacon, playing an audio signal that is indicative
of the current strength of the detected beacon signal, or playing
an audio guidance regarding the direction of the beacon.
[0033] Also provided is a method of operation of a tag of a person
for directing the person toward target assets, the method
including: receiving a target asset identifier and a zone
associated with the target asset; presenting to the person a
description of the target asset; presenting to the person
directions for reaching the zone; seeking beacon signals that match
a beacon identifier of a beacon attached to the target asset; and
upon detecting a beacon signal that matches the beacon identifier:
producing a series of human-comprehensible homing directions for
approaching the asset. If the person is a staff member designated
to relocate the target asset, the method may further include:
receiving a relocation assignment identifying a target location for
the target asset; detecting short-range beacon signals transmitted
by a beacon of the target asset; learning from the beacon signals
that the staff tag and the beacon have reached close proximity;
measuring the duration of the close proximity; checking whether the
staff tag has moved while the close proximity has been maintained;
and based on the results of the measuring and the checking:
locating the target asset at the target location.
[0034] Also provided is a tag for locating assets, the tag is for
being borne by and occasionally moving with a user within a site
that is divided into a plurality of zones, the tag including: a
short-range signal receiver; a network communication device; and a
processor controlling the short-range signal receiver and the
network communication device, the processor is programmed to:
receive a first short-range signal from a location beacon
associated with a current zone of the plurality of zones, receive a
second short-range signal from an asset beacon attached to an
asset, retrieve from the second short-range signal an
identification of at least one of the asset beacon or the asset,
wirelessly report the current zone to a recipient, and wirelessly
report the identification to the recipient.
[0035] The processor of the tag may be further programmed to check
the availability of a network connection, and at least one of the
report the current zone or the report the identification is
postponed until the check is positive. The processor may include
both reporting the current zone and reporting the identification
within a single locating message, or report them separately, when
available.
[0036] If the user is a staff member bearing a staff tag that has a
user interface for directing the staff member toward target assets,
the processor of the tag may be further programmed to: receive a
target asset identifier and a target zone associated with a target
asset, present to the staff member a description of the target
asset, and present to the staff member directions for reaching the
target zone.
[0037] If the user is a staff member bearing a staff tag, and the
staff member is designated to relocate the target asset, the
processor is further programmed to cooperate with the short-range
signal receiver and the network communication device to: receive a
relocation assignment identifying a target location for the target
asset; detect short-range beacon signals transmitted by a beacon of
the target asset; learn from the beacon signals that the staff tag
and the beacon have reached close proximity; measure the duration
of the close proximity; check whether the staff tag has moved while
the close proximity has been maintained; and, based on the results
of the measure and the check: locate the target asset at the target
location.
[0038] The processor of the tag may be programmed to cooperate with
the short-range signal receiver to: seek beacon signals that match
a beacon identifier of a beacon attached to a target asset; and
upon detecting a beacon signal that matches the beacon identifier:
produce a series of human-comprehensible homing directions for
approaching the target asset.
[0039] Also provided is a tag of a person for directing the person
toward target assets, the tag including: a short-range signal
receiver; a network communication device; a user interface; and a
processor controlling the short-range signal receiver, the network
communication device and the user interface. The processor is
programmed to: receive via the network communication device a
target asset identifier and a zone associated with the target
asset; present to the person via the user interface a description
of the target asset; present to the person via the user interface
directions for reaching the zone; seek via the short-range signal
receiver beacon signals that match a beacon identifier of a beacon
attached to the target asset; and upon detecting a beacon signal
that matches the beacon identifier: produce via the user interface
a series of human-comprehensible homing directions for approaching
the asset. If the person is a staff member designated to relocate
the target asset, the processor may be further programmed to:
receive via the network communication device a relocation
assignment identifying a target location for the target asset;
detect via the short-range signal receiver short-range beacon
signals transmitted by a beacon of the target asset; learn from the
beacon signals that the staff tag and the beacon have reached close
proximity; measure the duration of the close proximity; check
whether the staff tag has moved while the close proximity has been
maintained; and, based on the results of the measuring and the
checking: locate the target asset at the target location.
[0040] It will be noted that when locating objects is described as
based on analyzing short-range communication between a fixed active
device and a moving active device, additional fixed active devices
may concurrently communicate with the same moving active device,
for increasing location measurement resolution and accuracy, for
example by triangulation. Such locating techniques are well-known
in the art, and may be selectively implemented in the appropriate
cases, even if they are not explicitly described.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] The present invention will be understood and appreciated
more fully from the following detailed description, taken in
conjunction with the drawings in which:
[0042] FIGS. 1A-1B are block diagrams describing systems according
to preferred embodiments of the present invention.
[0043] FIGS. 2A-2F are schematic illustrations of floor layouts of
preferred embodiments of the present invention.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration depicting asymmetry
purposely included in a zone border beacon according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
[0045] FIGS. 4A-4C are flowcharts describing asset locating
processes according to preferred embodiments of the present
invention.
[0046] FIG. 4D is a schematic illustration of the contents of a
greeting according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0047] FIG. 4E is a block diagram depicting distribution of
greetings according to preferred embodiments of the present
invention.
[0048] FIG. 5 is a flowchart depicting the detection of escorting
events according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0049] FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting a process of directing a
staff member toward an asset according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention.
[0050] FIGS. 7A-7C are schematic illustrations that pertain to
homing, according to preferred embodiments of the present
invention.
[0051] FIGS. 8A-8B are schematic illustrations that describe floor
layouts that include blind areas.
[0052] FIG. 9A is a block diagram of an enhanced smart device
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0053] FIG. 9B is a schematic illustration that depicts a floor
layout for demonstrating exemplary smart device
implementations.
[0054] FIGS. 10A-10C are schematic illustration of floor layouts
that pertain to multi-level border security.
[0055] FIGS. 11A, 11B and 12 are flowcharts describing the process
of operating a multi-level border control system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
The System
[0056] FIG. 1A is a block diagram depicting system 100A according
to a preferred embodiment. Each tag 110 of plurality of tags
listens to short-range signals that may be transmitted by each
asset beacon 150 of a plurality of asset beacons. Tag 110 also
listens to short-range signals that may be transmitted by each
asset location beacon 160 of a plurality of asset location beacons.
Tag 110 sends location reports to one or more recipients having a
location data store 170, and, if tag 110 is of a staff member that
may be assigned to approach assets, tag 110 may also communicate
with one or more control 174 for receiving asset-related
assignments therefrom.
[0057] Tag 110 includes short-range signal receiver 114 that
listens for signals sent by beacons and detects, from signals
received from a beacon, the beacon identifier, and may also measure
the strength of received signals. Optionally, short-range signal
receiver 114 also retrieves from a signal received from a beacon
other information, such as a message from an asset relayed via the
respective asset beacon. One or more of network communication
device(s) 118, is used for establishing communication via a
communication network, such as a Wi-Fi, cellular or Bluetooth
network, with location data store 170, and optionally also with
control 174. User interface 122 provides information to the tag's
user via visual and/or audio and/or tactile signals. Memory 126
stores data, while processor 130 includes processing hardware and
software for the operation of tag 110, including the methods taught
by the present disclosure. Battery 134 energizes all the units of
tag 110. Sensors 138, such as an accelerometer, compass, microphone
or camera, may be used to detect whether tag 110 is in use or is in
motion, and also optionally participate in determining the location
of tag 110. Optional other functions 146 are hardware and software
components that serve for the tag offering useful functionalities
that are unrelated to the present invention, such as music playing,
telephony or outdoors navigation. Optional attachment 142, such as
a lanyard, a belt or a clip, may be used to conveniently attach tag
110A the tag bearer's body or clothing. Tag 110A may also be
carried in the bearer's handbag or pocket, for example in the case
that the tag is actually implemented as a personal smartphone
programmed according to the teachings of the present
disclosure.
[0058] Asset beacon 150 is a transmitter of a short-range signal,
such as an ultrasonic, infrared or low-power RF signal, that is
assigned and attached to an asset and effectively becomes part of
the asset. It is energized from either a battery (not shown) of
from power provided by the asset. Asset beacon 150 is devised to
recurrently transmit a short-range signal, for allowing receivers,
such as short-range signal receiver 114 of tag 110, to detect the
presence and retrieve the identity of the respective asset.
Short-range signal transmitter 152 transmits the above short-range
signal carrying asset beacon identifier 154 and/or asset identifier
156 and optionally messages received from the respective asset via
asset interface 158. Asset beacon identifier 154 is recorded within
asset beacon 150 to uniquely identify asset beacon 150 within the
site. Asset identifier 156, such as an inventory number and/or an
asset description, is optionally recorded within asset beacon 150,
or it can be retrieved from a lookup table (not shown) includes in
the tag's memory 126 or in location data store 170, against asset
beacon identifier 154. Asset interface 158 is optionally included,
typically for more sophisticated and expensive assets, for
relaying, via short-range signal transmitter 152, asset-related
status messages such as usage, need for maintenance etc., and can
also be used for supplying power from the asset for the operation
of asset beacon 150.
[0059] Location beacon 160 is fixed at a known, selected spot, such
as on a wall or a ceiling within the site, for identifying the
current zone of a tag 110 that currently communicates with location
beacon 160 via short-range communication. Location beacon 160 uses
short-range signal transmitter 162 to transmit its location beacon
identifier 164, which, when received by short-range signal receiver
114 of a tag 110, identifies the current zone in which tag 110 is
currently located. The transformation from location beacon
identifier 164 to the current zone is made by either processor 130
of tag 110 or at the location data store 170, using a site map that
correlates each location beacon identifier 164 with its actual
location within the site. Location beacon 160 can be classified
into zone-border beacon or zone-center beacon, as will be
elaborated later below.
[0060] Location data store 170 receives location data reports, also
called herein greetings, from tags 110, and stores the received
data for being used by control 174. The location data is preferably
organized as a database or another data structure, and correlates
asset beacon identifiers and/or asset identifiers with the current
known location of each asset. Location data store 170 may be stored
on a site server or internet server, on a desktop, laptop or tablet
computer or a smartphone, or within memory 126 of tag 110 assigned
to a staff member who is in charge of asset management or operates
control 174. Several units of location data store 170 may operate
concurrently, for example to serve different types of assets
controlled by different controls 174, or just carry redundant
copies of the same asset location data.
[0061] Control 174 is a computerized command post, that includes a
processor, and is in a form such as a computer, a tablet, a
smartphone or a staff tag, allowing a supervisory staff member,
such as an asset manager, shift supervisor or chief nurse, to
assign asset-related assignments to other staff members via their
tag 110. When an asset-related assignment, such as maintaining or
moving the asset, or authorization to move an asset, is assigned to
a staff member bearing a tag 110, the tag will direct the staff
member toward the asset, as will be described later below.
[0062] FIG. 1B describes system 100B, that is an alternative
embodiment that does not use the location beacons 160 of FIG. 1A.
Instead, one or more of location sensor 138L serve to identify the
current zone where tag 110A is. Examples of location sensor 138L
will be described in the section LOCATING TAGS WITHOUT USING
LOCATION BEACONS below. It will be appreciated that hybrid
configurations, that mix both location beacons 160 of FIG. 1A and
one or more methods that do not use location beacons are also
feasible, and may be the preferred choice for some sites.
Zoning
[0063] Zoning a site into relatively large zones serves for roughly
defining a location of an object. Such division is site-specific,
and may be made manually by an administrator under the following
considerations: (a) easy recognition of the zone by staff members,
for example: "the West Zone on the 3.sup.rd floor" or "the imaging
division"; (b) efficient and convenient deployment of location
beacons or visual features used for identifying the zones (FIGS. 2B
and 2C below), if such elements are applied; (c) the zone size and
layout are easy to manually screen by a moving staff member for
finding an asset within the zone; and (d) preferably, effective
separation among zones, for example by walls that are impermeable
to beacon signals, so that leaks of asset beacon signals between
zones are eliminated or reduced.
[0064] FIG. 2A schematically describes an exemplary division of a
floor layout in a healthcare facility into four zones: Elevator
Zone near the elevator; West Zone that includes six 3-bed rooms;
East Zone that includes three single-bed rooms, and South Zone that
is a corridor connecting the east and West Zones. It will be noted
that zone names may be arbitrarily chosen by an administrator to be
uniquely and easily recognized by the staff, and can be names of
divisions, functional names such as the dining area, or legacy
names such as "Roberta's hall".
Locating an Asset
[0065] Locating an asset is at least determining the zone in which
the asset is currently located. In some cases, when additional
information is available, as is the case of detecting an escorting
event by a designated mover, such additional information may
provide more specific location information; for example, instead of
just locating a respiratory machine at the West Zone, it may be
located next to bed C in room 305, according to the particulars of
the moving assignment sent to the designated mover.
[0066] Locating an asset is usually a two-stage process: (i)
locating a tag; and (ii) detecting the asset's beacon by the tag
via a short-range signal. This locating process works best when the
maximum range of the short-range signal is small relatively to the
zone's size, and/or when zones are physically separated by walls
that are impermeable to or highly attenuate the short-range
signals. As noted above, the locating process may be supplemented
by additional location information, as in the case of an escorting
event by a designated mover.
[0067] It will be noted that locating the tag and detecting the
asset's beacon may be separate events. For example, a staff
member's tag detects its entry into the West Zone at 10:00 am,
while the tag detects an asset beacon at 10:03 am. Such events are
usually combined and interpreted as the respective asset being
located at the West Zone at 10:03, especially when the tag is
expected to reliably detect its exit from the West Zone.
Using Zone Border Beacons for Locating Tags
[0068] A "zone border beacon" is herein a location beacon
positioned on or next to a border between zones, for allowing tags
to detect their entering and/or exiting the respective zones. In
some of the following exemplary embodiments such location beacons
will be described as fixed to the ceiling; it will be appreciated,
however, that location beacons may alternatively be fixed to walls
or to any stationary objects.
[0069] FIG. 2B schematically describes deployment of five zone
border beacons 220A-220E, devised for allowing tags to detect entry
into and exit from the four zones of FIG. 2A. The zone border
beacon is preferably fixed to the ceiling or to a lintel, or
possibly to a wall, on or next to the border between the zones.
Thus, zone border beacon 220E is positioned for allowing tags to
detect entry to and exit from the elevator into and from Elevator
Zone; zone border beacon 220A and zone border beacon 220B are
positioned for tags detecting moving between the Elevator Zone and
the West Zone/East Zone, respectively; while zone border beacon
220C and zone border beacon 220D are positioned for tags detecting
moving between the South Zone and the West Zone/East Zone,
respectively.
[0070] Detection by a tag of crossing the border between zones
benefits from the short distance and clear line-of-sight between
the tag and the zone border beacon, and by recognizing a peak in
the strength or the signal received by the tag from the beacon.
[0071] Deciding whether a border-crossing tag is entering or
exiting a zone can be made by counting the number of crossings of
the border by the tag. However, to avoid confusion, such as when a
tag bearer turns around at the border between zones, asymmetry in
the zone border beacon design or in its installation is preferably
introduced. FIG. 3 schematically describes a simplified asymmetric
design, where zone border beacon 220A is fixed to ceiling 322, and
shield 324, such as a small piece of material that is impermeable
to the short-range signal emitted from zone border beacon 220A, is
also fixed to ceiling 322 to partially block the short-range
signals emitted from zone border beacon 220A in the direction of
the West Zone. The beacon signal strength detected by the tag is
schematically depicted by curves 330A+330B as a function of
distance from zone border 326 (straight curves are arbitrarily used
for simplicity). Assuming that the tag moves with its bearer at a
fairly constant speed, the signal vs. time curve looks similar to
the signal vs. distance curve of FIG. 3. Thus, when the tag first
detects moderate inclining slope signal strength curve 330A
followed by sharp declining slope signal strength curve 330B, entry
into the West Zone is detected, while when the tag first detects
inclining sharp slope signal strength curve 330B followed by
declining moderate slope signal strength curve 330A, entry into the
Elevator Zone is detected. It will be noted that other designs that
indicate the direction of motion between zones may be applied, for
example placing a pair of beacons at the border between zones, and
detecting which of the two respective peaks shows first.
Exemplary Floor Layout
[0072] FIG. 2B depicts an exemplary floor layout 200B in a
healthcare facility, divided into the four zones of FIG. 2A.
Elevator 204 is used to enter and exit the floor. The West Zone
includes six rooms 210-1 to 210-6, each room hosting three beds
A-C. The East Zone includes tree single-bed rooms 210-7 to 210-9.
Zone border beacons 220A-220E serve tags visiting the floor (not
shown) for locating their current zones by detecting border
crosses, as discussed above. Assets 230A-230D are examples of
assets scattered throughout the floor, to be located according to
the teachings of the present disclosure. Access points 206A-206C,
such as Wi-Fi access points, demonstrate partial network coverage
of the floor, which allows a tag 110 to use its network
communication device 118 (see FIGS. 1A-1B) to report asset locating
events only passing by an access point.
Locating Tags without Using Location Beacons
[0073] FIG. 2C describes floor layout 200C that is similar to floor
layout 200B of FIG. 2B, with the omission of zone border beacons
220A-220E and with the addition of visual features 244A-244D.
Retaining the method of locating an asset via combining locating a
tag and detecting the asset's beacon by the tag, FIG. 2C focuses on
using one or more of location sensor 138L (FIG. 1B) as alternatives
to detecting the zone border beacons of FIG. 2B. Turning
opportunities 240A-240L are virtual spots where tags may make sharp
turns into or from corridors and rooms. Such turns are detectable
by an accelerometer included in sensors 138, and may sometimes be
distinguishable from one another with the assistance of a compass
included in sensors 138.
[0074] With reference also to the zones defined in FIG. 1A, a tag
detecting a sharp right turn at the elevator exit (apparently at
turning opportunity 240A) followed by detecting a sharp left turn
(apparently at turning opportunity 240B) may realize that the tag
has entered the West Zone. However, when a further sharp right turn
event is detected, it may be hard to determine whether such event
occurred in any of turning opportunities 240D-240F--which implies
that the tag is located in one of the rooms of the West Zone, or at
turning opportunity 240G--implying that the tag has crossed the
border to the South Zone. To resolve such ambiguities, visual
features 244A-244D are added, to be detected and recognized by a
camera that is included in sensors 138 and is positioned, along
with the tag, to look at the same direction as the user bearing the
tag. Thus, following the detection of the sharp right turn
described above, seeing or missing visual feature 244C by the
camera may indicate being at the South or West Zone, respectively.
Visual features 244A-244D are distinctive marks, symbols, patterns,
images or colors that are recognized by image processing of the
image viewed by the camera, and can be, for example, either
arbitrary existing elements, such as a painting hung on the wall,
or a sticker or sign showing conventional text of coded with a bar
code or QR code. A combination of analyzing all turning
opportunities within a floor supplemented by unique visual features
positioned at key points may provide reliable locating for tags
within the floor area, as an alternative to location beacons.
[0075] Additionally or alternatively, other indoors positioning
technologies may also be used for locating a tag. For example, U.S.
Pat. No. 8,798,924 teaches a method of using an electronic compass
sensor to detect consistent irregularities in the earth's magnetic
field caused by steel structures embedded within buildings. The
method has been implemented and marketed by IndoorAtlas Inc. of
Palo Alto, Calif. Thus, including an electronic compass in sensors
138 of tag 110 and programming the method of the '924 patent above
into processor 130 provides another way for locating the current
zone of tag 110 without deploying location beacons.
Locating Tags Using Zone Center Beacons
[0076] A "zone center beacon" is a location beacon positioned
within a zone, with the purpose of tags locating themselves within
the zone upon detecting a short-range signal received from the zone
center beacon, or upon detecting that the strength of the signal
exceeds a predetermined threshold. It will be appreciated that the
term "center" is merely illustrative, and a zone center beacon may
be located anywhere within a zone, as long as detecting the beacon
indicates being located within the respective zone. Also, a zone
may have multiple zone center beacons (not shown in the following
figures) that serve to identify the zone. In some of the following
exemplary embodiments such location beacons will be described as
fixed to the ceiling; it will be appreciated, however, that
location beacons may alternatively be fixed to walls or to any
stationary objects.
[0077] FIG. 2D schematically describes floor layout 200D, wherein
fourteen zone center beacons 220-1 to 220-14 are fixed to the
ceiling to define fourteen room-size zones. For example, when a tag
detects zone center beacon 220-3 (or that the strength of the
short-range signal received from zone center beacon 220-3 exceeds a
predefined threshold), the tag is considered located within the
respective room 210-1.
[0078] When comparing the exemplary layouts of FIGS. 2B and 2C,
floor layout 200D appear to offer an advantage of finer, room-level
locating resolution against the disadvantage of higher cost of
deploying and maintaining more location beacons. However, smaller
zones imply also other disadvantages of false locating and reduced
frequency of greetings, as will be elaborated in the section
CORRELATION BETWEEN ZONE SIZES AND ASSET BEACON SIGNAL RANGES
below.
Dividing a Large Hall into Overlapping Zones
[0079] A specific case where using zone center beacons may be
advantageous, is where zones are selected arbitrarily, and the
borders among the zones are blurred, as will be clarified with
reference to the exemplary floor layout 200E of FIG. 2E.
[0080] A large hall 270 is arbitrarily divided into three partly
overlapping zones: West Area 260Z, Central Area 264Z and East Area
268Z. Three zone center beacons 260, 264 and 268 are fixed to the
ceiling at the centers of the respective zones. A staff member
bearing a tag, such as tag 250A, happens to currently visit large
hall 270. Upon tag 250A detecting zone center beacon 260 (or that
the strength of the signal received from zone center beacon 260
exceeds a predetermined threshold), tag 250A locates itself as
being currently located within West Area 260Z, and upon detecting
asset 230A (actually the beacon of asset 230A) is will author a
greeting that locates asset 230A within West Area 260Z. It will be
noted that tag 250C will locate itself at both West Area 260Z and
Central Area 264Z, and accordingly may author a greeting locating
asset 230C at both West Area 260Z and West Area 264Z. It will be
also noted that asset 230C will be located at West Area 260Z by tag
250A. A recipient of greetings from both tag 250C (locating asset
230C at both West Area 260Z and Central Area 264Z) and tag 250A
(locating asset 230C at West Area 260Z only) may apparently locate
asset 230C at West Area 260Z. Asset 230D will be detected by tag
250D as located at Central Area 264Z and asset 230B will be
detected by tag 250B as located at East Area 268Z. It will be noted
that tags 250A-250D may be separate tags borne by separate staff
members, or be a single tag moved within large hall 270 by a staff
member during routine work, being unaware of the asset locating
activities and corresponding greetings sent by his or her tag.
[0081] It will be noted that location ambiguities may be tolerated,
or even remain unnoticed by staff members who are directed to
approach a located asset. For example, if a staff member is
requested to approach asset 230C, directing her to either West Area
260Z or Central Area 264Z may prove very helpful, as long as she
does not waste time in looking for the asset in East Area 268Z.
Using homing for finding assets may further alleviate location
ambiguities, as will be elaborated later below. The example of FIG.
2E highlights the fact that zones and borders may partly overlap
and afford a certain level of ambiguity.
[0082] FIG. 2F schematically depicts another exemplary floor layout
200F, that include sixteen room 1N-8N and 1S-8S, a corridor 280,
and eight location beacons 1-8, that can zone center beacons and/or
zone border beacons, fixed to the ceiling and/or walls of corridor
280. Tag 9 identifies strong signals received from location beacon
2 and location beacon 3 and accordingly be located in "zone 2-3",
while tag 10 receiving signals from location beacon 3, location
beacon 4 and location beacon 5 may be located in "zone 3-5". Assets
whose asset beacons are sensed by tag 9 or tag 10 (not shown in
FIG. 2F) are reported as located in "zone 2-3" or "zone 3-5",
respectively, which may be very helpful for a staff member sent to
approach such assets. Thus, overlapping zones may still be very
useful in practical applications, and such zones may be defined and
named in advance, or ad-hoc according to the actual beacons
detected by the tags. It will be noted, however, that signal
strength analysis and self-learning may substantially narrow asset
locating, for example locating tag 10 in "zone 4" instead of "zone
3-5".
Correlation Between Zone Sizes and Asset Beacon Signal Ranges
[0083] Locating an asset by a tag involves two primary stages: (i)
identifying the tag's current zone, and (ii) detecting the asset
via a short-range signal received by the tag from the asset's
beacon. The conclusion of the two stages is that the asset is
currently located at the tag's current zone.
[0084] Two parameters of interest to the present discussion that
affect the effectiveness and dependability of the above locating
process are the size of zones and the range of the short-range
signal received by tags from asset beacons. Within the current
section, the two parameters will be abbreviated "zone size" and
"asset signal range", respectively.
[0085] The zone size can be arbitrarily determined by operational
and cost considerations when implementing a system according to the
present disclosure in a given site. The asset signal range is
determined by factors such as: (i) the signal carrier, such as
ultrasound, infrared or low-power RF; (ii) the strength of the
signal transmitted by the beacon; (iii) the sensitivity of the
tag's signal receiver; (iv) a threshold selected for ignoring weak
signals received by the tag's signal receiver; and (v) the
permeability of physical partitions that form part of the site,
such as walls, to the signal transmitted by the asset beacon.
Generally speaking, factors (i)-(iii) are a matter of design;
factor (iv) allows dynamic range adaptation per site or even per
zone, as well as calibration according to learning over time; while
factor (v) is usually a given design constraint per site, unless
extra partitions are purposely added for separating zones.
[0086] The following considerations may affect the design of
specific embodiments of the present disclosure, as well as the
settings of the signal threshold (iv) of the previous
paragraph:
[0087] The asset signal range should be substantially smaller than
the zone size, otherwise identifying the current location of a
detected asset with the current location of the detecting tag may
often be erroneous. An exception is when the zones are separated
from each other by partitions (such as walls) that are impermeable
to beacon short-range signals, which is better achieved with
ultrasonic or infrared signals, or by shielding RF-permeable
inter-zone partitions if RF signals are used. However, it should be
noted that signals that are effectively blocked by partitions
between zones, may also be blocked by partitions between rooms
within a zone, or other random partitions, thereby highly reducing
the number and frequency of useful locating reports, which may
render the system less effective.
[0088] Operationally, larger zones imply reduced specificity when
directing a staff member to an asset: "a respiratory machine at the
West Zone on the 3.sup.rd floor" is less specific than "a
respiratory machine next to bed C in room 305". It is assumed,
however, that such reduced specificity is still good enough for
directing staff members toward assets in many sites, which makes
larger zones acceptable for such sites.
[0089] Smaller asset signal range reduces the number and frequency
of useful greetings: A greeting is often authored and reported by a
random passing-by tag who happens to detect an asset when moving in
its proximity. A small asset signal range implies that some assets
that are currently positioned in an area that is seldom visited,
may not be detected by tags that pass-by.
[0090] Larger asset signal range introduces locating errors:
signals transmitted by an asset positioned at a certain zone and
received and reported by a tag at another zone (such signals will
be called herein "leaks"), may introduce errors when directing a
staff member to the asset, such as when directing the staff member
to the West Zone instead of the South Zone because of an asset
signal that penetrated a wall between the zones during the locating
phase. Such error events may be remedies by using homing as part of
the directing process, which will exploit the very leak that
created the error for correctly directing the staff member toward
the asset, or toward a wall behind which the asset is hiding; also,
the staff may get used to a certain low percentage of direction
errors and learn to overcome such errors by searching an unfound
asset at a neighboring zone.
[0091] Resolving conflicting greetings by the recipient: in a busy
site, the recipient of the greetings, such as a site database or an
asset manager's portable terminal (see FIG. 4E below) may receive a
plurality of greetings pertaining to the same asset from different
tags within a short period of time. Preferably, the strength of the
beacon signal received by the tag is included in the greeting (see
item (4) in FIG. 4D below), and then greetings associated with
stronger signals are considered more significant. Also, in case
that there is only a single greeting and it is associated with a
weak signal, the tag zone may be then presented as approximate
location when directing a staff member to the respective asset.
[0092] It will be appreciated that experience and self-learning may
assist in: (i) fine-tuning the zone allocations (and possibly lead
to repositioning some respective zone border or zone center
beacons, if used); (ii) calibrating the relative weights of
location signal strengths received by the greetings recipient; and
(iii) the staff members learning to tolerate sporadic direction
errors.
Locating People
[0093] The system described above uses tags borne by and moving
with people to locate assets via their attached beacons. Tags are
typically borne by staff members, but can be also be borne by
residents, customers and/or visitors.
[0094] Locating a person as being in a certain zone via locating
his or her tag is often useful by itself. Such tag location is
reported by default as part of a greeting (see FIG. 4D), and can
also be reported independently of a greeting, for example whenever
crossing the border between zones.
[0095] Since people may move a lot, real-time reporting is
important, which requires continuous network communication
availability, at least next to the passages between zones.
Frequency and Validity of Greetings
[0096] A greeting is preferably time stamped and authored upon a
tag detecting an asset. However, the greeting can be forwarded by
the tag only when network communication is available. In addition
to availability, communication cost and bandwidth may push toward
batching several greetings to be sent as a single message.
[0097] Assets are usually stationary during service or storage, and
therefore a greeting may be considered valid for minutes or even
hours from its time stamp. A greeting expiration time may be set
according to an asset type and calibrated by experience; however,
in the absence of a fresher greeting, the last greeting received
from an asset may be used even past its expiration time.
[0098] A tag that remains in proximity to an asset may detect
numerous signals transmitted by the asset. Following authoring a
greeting, subsequent signals from the same asset may be ignored for
a predetermined period of time, say two minutes, or until a zone
change is detected, for example when the asset is moved from one
zone to another by the tag bearer.
[0099] The more timely a greeting is, the more dependable is the
respective asset locating data. Accordingly, if available and
affordable, continuous network coverage throughout the site is
highly preferred.
The Locating Process
[0100] FIG. 4A describes an asset locating process by a tag, in a
site that includes location beacons for locating the tag within a
zone (for example, as described in FIG. 2B, 2D or 2E). In step 401
the tag listens to beacon signals that may arrive from location
beacons (zone border beacons or zone center beacons) or from asset
beacons. If in step 405 a beacon signal is detected, then step 409
checks whether the detected signal is from a location beacon or and
asset beacon. In case of a location beacon, the current tag zone as
determined from the location beacon is recorded in step 413 in the
tag's memory, and, if locating persons is implemented and
communication is available, then in optional step 413R the current
tag zone is reported to the designated recipient (FIG. 4E).
[0101] If step 409 determined that the beacon signal is from an
asset beacon, then step 417 checks whether that tag zone is
recorded in the tag memory as a result of a previous loop via step
413, and if so, a greeting is authored by the tag in step 421,
followed by step 425 checking whether communication is available.
If communication is available, then in step 429 the greeting
authored in step 421 is sent to the designated recipient, possibly
along with previous unsent greetings; otherwise the greeting is
batched in step 433, for being sent when communication is
available.
[0102] FIG. 4B describes an asset locating process by a tag using
any tag's zone locating method. Thus, in step 401B the tag's
current zone is located using any tag locating method, such as the
beacons in FIG. 2B, 2D or 2E; or the turn analysis and/or visual
features of FIG. 2C; or by detection and analysis of irregularities
in the earth's magnetic field of U.S. Pat. No. 8,798,924 depicted
above; or any other applicable indoor positioning method. In
optional step 413B, the tag's current zone is reported if locating
persons is implemented and communication is available. In step 401B
the tag listens to asset beacon signals. If in step 405B an asset
beacon signal is detected, then a greeting is authored in step 421.
If step 425 finds out that communication is available, then in step
429 the greeting authored in step 421 is sent to the designated
recipient, possibly along with previous unsent greetings; otherwise
the greeting is batched in step 433, for being sent when
communication is available.
[0103] FIG. 4C describes an asset locating process similar to the
process of FIG. 4B, while also checking and reporting escorting
events. Thus, in step 401B the tag's current zone is located using
any tag locating method. In optional step 413B, the tag's current
zone is reported if locating persons is implemented and
communication is available. In step 401B the tag listens to asset
beacon signals. If in step 405B an asset beacon signal is detected,
then in step 419 the tag checks whether the tag and the detected
asset are in escorting mode, which is when the tag and the asset
maintain a closed proximity for a duration of at least a
predetermined period of time, such as thirty seconds, and the tag
detects that it has moved during that period, such by detecting
change of zone or according to motion detection by an accelerometer
included in the tag's sensors 138 (FIG. 1). If escorting is not
detected, then a greeting is authored in step 421; otherwise is
step 421E, a greeting message that include escorting information
(FIG. 4D) is authored. If step 425 finds that communication is
available, then in step 429 the greeting authored in step 421/421E
is sent to the designated recipient, possibly along with previous
unsent greetings; otherwise the greeting is batched in step 433,
for being sent when communication is available.
Greeting Contents
[0104] FIG. 4D schematically describes the contents of a greeting
440 sent by a tag to a recipient, to report that the tag has
detected asset X in zone Y. Out of fields (1)-(8) of the greeting,
only field (6)--the identity of the detected asset--is mandatory,
while the other seven fields may be optional, implicit, or
otherwise available to the recipient.
[0105] Field (1) identifies the greeting recipient or recipients
(see FIG. 4E) which may be the same for all greetings in the site
(e.g. a site server) hence redundant. Field (2) identifies the
sending tag, which may be also derived from the network
communication protocol hence redundant. Field (3) indicates the
time when the tag detected the presence of the asset, which may be
essentially identical to the time of receiving the message by the
recipient, if real-time communication is implemented. Field (4)
reports the strength of the beacon's signal detected and measured
by the tag, if this feature is implemented; weaker signals may
indicate larger distance and/or obstructions between the tag and
the beacon, which may assist the recipient in deciding between
conflicting greetings received at a similar time from different
tags and locating the same asset at different zones.
[0106] Field (5) reports the zone where the asset is located, which
is the zone where the tag is or has been located at the moment of
detecting the tag's location. In implementations of the present
disclosure where persons are continually located by their tags and
where greetings are sent in real-time, the current zone of the tag
may already be known to the greeting recipient, which may make
field (5) redundant.
[0107] Mandatory field (6) identifies the detected asset, directly
or via identifying the respective beacon attached to the asset,
such as by inventory number and/or detailed description.
[0108] Field (7) indicates whether the greeting is produced in
connection with an escorting event (FIG. 4C) which usually suggests
that the detected asset has been moved by the tag bearer. Such
information can be useful in various ways: (a) identifying
unauthorized moving of assets; (b) referring questions regarding
the current location of the asset to the respective tag bearer; (c)
identifying the current mover as the preferred mover for the next
moving of the same asset, since the current mover is already
familiar with the current location of the asset within the zone; or
(d) if the reporting tag is borne by a designated mover of the
asset, the asset may be presumed to have been relocated to the
designated moving target location, such as "next to bed C in room
305".
[0109] Field (8) is for implementations where the asset beacon 150
includes and employs an asset interface 158 for receiving status
messages from the asset, such as usage, material inventory or need
for maintenance. Such messages are included in field (8) to be
handled by the message recipient.
Recipients of Greetings
[0110] A greeting is intended to update a location data store 170
of a recipient, as to where the respective asset is located. FIG.
4E schematically introduces three typical recipients that may
benefit from receiving greetings.
[0111] In a common scenario, greeting-sending tag 450 addresses its
greetings to site server 458 such as a central hub of
administrative information in the site. Any would-be user of asset
location information may then connect with site server 458 for
retrieving the requested information.
[0112] Alternatively or additionally, in sites that employ an asset
manager who is in charge of assets, greetings may be sent to asset
manager's portable terminal 454, such as a tablet, mobile phone, or
an enhanced staff tag, to allow the asset manager to conveniently
and continuously monitor all assets.
[0113] Alternatively or additionally, in sites that employ staff
members who are often assigned moving tasks, an extended asset
mover's tag 462 may receive greetings from greeting-sending tags
450, so that when the mover is sent to urgently fetch "the yellow
respiratory machine" he'll have the respective location information
readily-available at hand in his staff tag. Optionally, such
location data may be retrieved on-demand, by asset mover's tag 462
sending a query to all tags, which can be informally described as
asking all tags "who has seen the yellow respiratory machine during
the last hour?", which is then responded by greetings sent from
only the tags which have recently detected the sought asset.
Escorting
[0114] FIG. 5 further elaborates on escorting events depicted above
with reference to steps 419 and 421E of FIG. 4C.
[0115] Detection of escorting events comes to identify that an
asset is moved by a tag bearer, usually a staff member. A first
condition for escorting is learning, from the asset beacon signal
received by the tag, that the asset and the tag are in close
proximity. To avoid false detection of an escorting event when the
tag just passes by the asset, a second condition for escorting is
ensuring that the close proximity is maintained for a prolonged
duration, such as 30 seconds or more. To further avoid false
detection in case that a staff member happens to stand in close
proximity to an asset for a prolonged time, such as a nurse
standing next to an asset while taking care of a resident, a third
condition is detecting that the tag, apparently together with the
asset, have moved while maintaining the close proximity.
[0116] In step 501 a tag seeks signals from asset beacons and in
step 505 an asset beacon is detected. Step 509 learns from the
strength of the signal received from the asset beacon whether the
asset and the tag are in close proximity, such as a meter or less.
If yes, then step 513 checks whether the close proximity is
maintained for a prolonged duration, such as thirty seconds or
more. If so, then step 515 checks whether the tag has moved while
the closed proximity has been maintained, for example by detecting
that the tag has crossed a border between zones and/or by
consulting an accelerometer or camera included in sensors 138 of
the tag. Positive outcomes in all three steps 509-515 identifies an
escorting event, which implies that the asset has been moved by the
tag bearer, which conclusion is identified and/or reported in step
519. Step 525 checks whether the staff member bearing the tag had a
moving assignment for the detected asset, and if yes, then step 529
sets the current location of the asset according to the target of
the moving assignment, such as next to bed C in room 305, which is
more specific than locating the same asset at the West Zone as in
the general locating case.
[0117] It will be appreciated that while steps 501-515 are
performed by the tag, steps 519-529 may be performed by the tag,
or, additionally or alternatively, by recipients to which the tag
reports, such as site server 458, asset manager's portable terminal
454, or asset mover's tag 462 of other movers (see FIG. 4E). In any
case, the end result of the process is that the current location of
the moved asset is updated to be the target location specified in
the moving assignment.
Directing a Staff Member Toward a Tag
[0118] FIG. 6 describes a process of directing a staff member
toward an asset for performing an asset-related task, such as
repairing, replenishing supplies, moving the asset to a new
location, or just visiting the asset by a security attendant. The
steps on the left hand side of the chart are performed by a control
computing device (see control 174 in FIG. 1A), while the steps on
the right hand side are performed by the tag of a staff member
designated to approach the asset.
[0119] In step 601 control generates or receives a task that
requires visiting a specific asset, herein called asset X.
Generation of a task by control can be made automatically for
repair, replenishment or security tasks, or entered manually into
the control by a supervisor, for example when the asset is needed
in a certain place, in which case the task is an asset relocation
task. In step 605 control retrieves the identifier of the beacon
attached to asset X, for example from location data store 170 of
FIG. 1A, and in step 609 control retrieves, also from location data
store 170, the current zone of asset X most recently reported by a
locating process, such as the processes of FIG. 4A-4C or 5 above.
In step 613, a staff member is selected for performing the task,
which can be made automatically, for example where there is just a
single staff member on duty that is suited for the task, or via a
manual input received by control from a supervisor. In step 617,
the description of asset X, the current zone of asset X, the
respective beacon identifier and the task description are provided
by control to the staff tag of the selected staff member.
[0120] In step 621 the staff tag of the selected staff member
receives the data provided by control in step 617. In step 625 the
tag presents the zone to and is moved to the zone by the staff
member who bears the tag. Step 629 initiates a homing process, in
which the tag seeks signals that carry the beacon identifier, and
when such signals are detected, the tag guides the staff member
toward the asset by providing homing indicia toward the beacon
(FIGS. 7A-7C below). In step 631 the tag reaches asset X, which
enables the staff member to perform the task.
[0121] Steps 633-641 pertain to the case where the assigned task is
moving the asset to a new target location. In this case, in step
633 the tag detects an escorting event, which implies that the
asset is moved by the staff member who bears the tag. In step 637
the tag detects, from the weakening or disappearance of the beacon
signal, the departure of the staff member from the asset hence the
purported completion of the moving task, which lets control, in
step 641, to record the new location of asset as the target of the
moving task.
Homing
[0122] FIGS. 7A-7C summarize and highlight some aspects relating to
homing, in addition to aspects pertaining to homing presented in
pervious sections. FIG. 7A presents an asset 700 to which an asset
beacon 700B is attached. Asset beacon 700B recurrently transmits
short-range signal 704, such as an infrared, ultrasonic or a
low-power RF signal, which is received by short-range signal
receiver 114 of tag 110. Tag 110 interprets short-range signal 704
for both identifying asset beacon 700B and measuring the strength
of the received signal, which is generally proportionate to the
distance between the tag and the asset. Display 122D and/or
speaker/earphone 122A serve to provide visual and/or audio indicia
of the current measured signal strength, which serve to guide the
staff member who carries the tag toward the beacon, hence toward
the asset. FIG. 7B schematically describes indicia displayed on
display 122D of tag 110. Thus, text 720 displays the signal
strength in numeric terms, preferably using distance units for
presenting the estimated distance between the tag and the asset
derived from the signal strength; signal level bar 710 shows
graphically current signal level 710L; while beacon pointer 714
show the estimated beacon direction, derived from a series of
signal strength readings during the motion of the tag in
combination with readings from a compass and/or accelerometer
included in sensors 138 (FIG. 1A).
[0123] FIG. 7C schematically demonstrates how homing may remedy
locating errors, using a scenario based on the southwest corner of
the floor layout of FIGS. 1A-1B. An asset 230 is located in a
corridor 212 that is very rarely visited by tag-bearing persons.
The corridor 212 has been assigned to the South Zone, while a
frequently visited neighboring room 210 has been assigned to the
West Zone. The wall between room 210 and corridor 212 is
sufficiently permeable to RF asset beacon signal 230S to allow a
tag 250 visiting room 210 to detect asset 230. During the locating
phase, several tags visiting room 210 mistakenly report that asset
230A is located at the West Zone, and its correct location in the
South Zone is not reported simply because no tag happens to visit
the deserted corridor 212. However, when a staff member is directed
to visit asset 230 in the West Zone, he uses his tag 250 to quickly
screen all the rooms of the West Zone, including room 210. When in
room 210, tag 250 detects asset 230 via RF asset beacon signal
230S, and the homing process directs the tag bearer toward the
wall, which will lead most reasonable staff members to search and
find asset 230 behind the wall, in corridor 212 that belongs to the
South Zone. Thus, the very leak that causes the locating error
during the locating phase helps to recover from this error during
the directing phase.
Blind Areas
[0124] A "blind area" is an area that may host assets but is seldom
or never accidently visited by passing-by tags. FIG. 8A
schematically describes floor layout 800A that includes blind area
802A and blind area 802B that are positioned at dead ends of a
corridor and are visited just once a day by the cleaner, while
blind area 802C is a closet or a storage room that may store
assets.
[0125] Blind areas may collectively form a "blind zone" that is
systematically screened by staff members when an asset is not found
in its last reported location, or security personnel or other staff
members may be directed to periodically, say once per hour, pass
through all blind areas. Such a security screening may also be
initiated when a certain asset is not reported by any greeting
during an extended period of time, say three hours. Alternatively,
an asset beacon detector 820 may be used to cover a blind area, as
described below with reference to FIG. 8B.
Security and Beacon Detectors
[0126] It is a clear interest of a site to prevent assets from
being stolen or misplaced to another floor or section.
[0127] Beacons should preferably include tamper-detection sensors
that turn on an audible alarm and/or turn the beacon's short-range
signal into an alarm signal. Accordingly, routinely locating an
asset within its designated area verifies that the asset has not
been misplaced or stolen.
[0128] On the other hand, failure to locate an asset for extended
time may imply either that the asset has been misplace or stolen,
or that the asset is currently located in a blind area. Both
situations can be preempted by deploying beacon detectors in
selected areas.
[0129] A "beacon detector" is essentially a tag that is fixed at a
selected location, such as a ceiling or a wall, for detecting
assets in its proximity. Its design is similar to tag 110 of FIG.
1A, modified for continuous operation in a fixed location, which
implies continuous network connection and preferably drawing energy
from the site's electrical network.
[0130] FIG. 8B describes a floor layout 800B that employs beacon
detectors for timely locating and detecting assets. Floor layout
800B has two exits: elevator 204 and staircase 806. Security beacon
detectors 820A-820B are preferably fixed next to the exits, and
upon detecting an approaching asset and checking that moving the
asset has not been authorized, the event is reported, an alarm may
be triggered and/or the respective exit may be locked. Beacon
detectors 810A-810C are fixed in the blind areas 802A-802C of FIG.
8A, and periodically report the location of assets that are
contained within the blind areas.
Multi-Function Smart Devices
[0131] The active devices discussed so far can be divided into:
[0132] (a) tags borne by persons for detecting beacons, [0133] (b)
location beacons for assisting tags in locating themselves within
zones, [0134] (c) asset beacons for being detected by tags, and
[0135] (d) fixed beacon detectors that are tag-like devices fixed
within blind areas or at exits.
[0136] In some embodiments it may be advantageous to combine
several tag/beacon functions into a single enhanced smart device as
described below.
[0137] Referring to FIG. 9A, smart device 900 is devised to serve
as an enhanced tag or enhanced fixed beacon detector. Short-range
signal transceiver 904 may act, in addition to receiving
short-range signals as in the case of short-range signal receiver
114 of tag 110 in FIG. 1A, also as a short-range signal
transmitter, allowing smart device 900 to act also as a beacon.
Network communication device(s) 908 may be enhanced to not only act
as a network connection means that serves tag 110, but also as an
access point that serves other smart devices that lack a continuous
network connection of their own and pass by smart device 900; for
example, network communication device(s) 908 may use both a
cellular network connection and a local Wi-Fi or Bluetooth link to
offer a cellular hotspot to passing-by smart devices. User
interface 912 may be reduced or eliminated in comparison to user
interface 122 in case that smart device 900 is fixed to a location.
Processor 130 is enhanced, compared to processor 130 of tag 110, to
accommodate the added functionalities described herein. In case of
a fixed installation, power supply 924 may draw power from the
site's electrical network, and sensors 928 may be eliminated or
reduced to camera-only, for example. Attachment 932 may be suited
for fixed installation, while other functions 936 may be nullified
in case that smart device 900 is dedicated solely to
location-related functions.
[0138] FIG. 9B uses a floor layout 940 for demonstrating several
exemplary smart device implementations. Smart devices 948 are
positioned in blind areas 944 for detecting assets and reporting
their location. A smart device 948 is preferably fixed to the wall
or ceiling within or next to the respective blind area, and is
preferably equipped with continuous network connection and draws
power from the site's electrical network. Smart device 954 is
positioned next to the elevator door and may serve several
functions: (i) a zone border beacon for allowing tags locate their
entry into or exit from the Elevator Zone; (ii) a security object
detector for detecting objects that are not permitted to leave the
zone without suitable escorting; (iii) a network communication
access point allowing passing-by tags establish network connection.
Smart device 952 may be similar to smart device 954, preferably
except the beacon functionality. Smart devices 950 in a minimal
configuration may operate as both zone border beacons (see
220A-220D of FIG. 2B) and access points that provide network
communication to tags upon crossing borders between zones, which
implies continuous zone-level locating of all tag-bearing persons
crossing the respective borders. Smart devices 950 may be further
enhanced, to act also as beacon detectors, in which case zone-level
locating of all assets can depend on smart devices 950+954 alone,
thereby obviating that need for locating and greeting activities by
moving tags 250. It will be appreciated, however, that in order to
depend solely on smart devices 950 for asset location, continuous
electricity and communication supply to smart devices 950 become
mandatory, which requires substantially more investment in
infrastructure modifications, compared to when using zone border
beacons as in floor layout 200B of FIG. 2B, since beacons can
operate for months and years on battery power and the configuration
of FIG. 2B does not mandate continuous communication at each
location beacon. Accordingly, in some cases an installation of a
locating system according to the present disclosure can start with
zone border beacons 220A-220D of FIG. 2B, and be later upgraded by
supplementing or replacing zone border beacons with smart devices
950 of FIG. 9B, which may be made gradually or at once. Smart
device 958 is essentially identical to tags 250, with the addition
of a mobile access point, such as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that
connects to the network via cellular communication, for serving
simpler passing-by tags that have no cellular communication of
their own.
Multi-Level Border Control
[0139] Asset security has been discussed above with reference to
FIG. 8B, where security beacon detectors 820A+820B positioned next
to the exits from the floor area detect approaching assets and
trigger an audible alarm and/or lock the respective exit upon
finding out that moving the asset out of the floor area has not
been authorized. It will be appreciated that such alarm or exit
lock events may be annoying to uninvolved persons in the area, and
the following arrangement comes to reduce the frequency of such
annoyance by earlier detection and preemption of such events.
[0140] The forthcoming discussion covers locating and securing both
assets and persons, and will therefore relate to locating and
securing "restricted objects" that require authorization in order
to move or be moved out of a predefined area, called herein a
"confined area". Restricted objects can be "restricted assets" that
are supposed to stay at a predefined confined area, or persons,
such as certain residents ("restricted residents") in a healthcare
facility, that require special attention and supervision.
[0141] FIG. 10A depicts a of a confined area 960 that accommodates
restricted object 964A and restricted object 964B, each can be an
asset or a person that is designated to normally stay only within
the safe area. The term "area" is used herein to avoid confusion
with the term "zone" used above, and it will be appreciated that
both zones and areas may be used concurrently in sites that
implement both general locating as depicted above, and the security
feature discussed herein below. A "buffer area" is an area where a
restricted object is not supposed to stay without authorization,
but is otherwise harmless. Authorization may be in the form of a
temporary permit received from a senior staff member, or by
recognizing that the object is accompanied by an authorized person,
such as a designated staff member or a trusted family member
identified by his or her tag or beacon. Such escorting may be
recognized by a tag of an authorized person or of a restricted
object that detects that close proximity is maintained between the
authorized person and the restricted object for an extended period
of time, similarly to detecting escorting events according to FIG.
5, or by detecting simultaneous proximity of both a restricted
object and an authorized person to a fixed tag or beacon. The
buffer area is preferably used to provide an early warning and
early intervention opportunity for staff intervention, in case that
a restricted object is detected entering or within the buffer area
without authorization. If a restricted object further moves or is
moved through the buffer area and is detected to appear without
authorization at the "lock area", some or all exits from the lock
area, such as elevator 204 and/or the door of staircase 906,
automatically lock, possibly selectively according to that detected
location of the restricted object, to minimize annoyance to
uninvolved persons. If, for one reason or another an exit fails to
lock, as may occur in the case of "tailgating", i.e. a restricted
person following an unrestricted person while keeping the exit
open, the restricted object enters without appropriate escorting
the "alarm area", which is not explicitly marked in FIG. 10A, and
consists of the elevator 204 and the staircase 906, which triggers
an alarm. It will be appreciated that a generous buffer area will
effectively eliminate the great majority of exit locking events,
while a sufficient lock area may turn alarms into extremely rare
occasions. It will be noted that in a certain embodiments,
different restricted objects or groups of restricted objects within
the same floor may be allocated separate safe areas, in which case
safe areas and buffer areas may be individually allocated for such
objects or groups of objects.
[0142] It will be appreciated that the terms safe area, buffer
area, lock area and alarm area defined above are used for brevity
and clarity, and represent concepts that may be described and
elaborated using alternative terms without deviating from the
underlying structural, logical and operational concepts.
[0143] In the embodiment of FIG. 10A, object beacon 966A is
attached to restricted object 964A while object beacon 966B is
attached to restricted object 964B, where the term attached
preferably means physical attachment in case of an asset, or a
convenient wearing or carrying arrangement in case of a person,
with tamper-detection means possibly implemented in both cases.
Fixed tag 968B and fixed tag 968C are positioned at the passages
between the safe area and the buffer area for detecting entry of a
restricted object into the buffer area. Optionally, additional
fixed tags 962B may be scattered within the buffer area to detected
restricted objects with the buffer area. Possibly, in some
implementations, fixed tag 968B and fixed tag 968C, as well as
fixed tags 962B, may also be configured to autonomously detect and
select nearby staff members and alert them, via their tags, to
handle the event and move or accompany the respective restricted
object back to the safe area. Fixed tag 968D and fixed tag 968E are
positioned at the passages between the buffer area and the lock
area for detecting entry of a restricted object into the lock area.
Optionally, additional fixed tags 962L may be scattered within the
lock area to detected restricted objects with the lock area.
Possibly, in some embodiments, fixed tag 968D and fixed tag 968E,
as well as fixed tags 962L, are preferably also configured to
autonomously send a locking signal to the elevator 204 and door of
staircase 906. It will be appreciated that the concept of locking
an elevator may be actually implemented by preventing the elevator
door from closing, or by disabling the elevator altogether trough
the elevator's controller (not shown). Fixed tag 968F and fixed tag
968G are positioned at the exits, i.e. the passages between the
lock area and the alarm area, for detecting entry of a restricted
object into the alarm area, i.e. within the elevator or staircase.
Possibly, in some implementations, fixed tag 968F and fixed tag
968G are also configured to autonomously trigger an audible alarm
and initiate an alarm event procedure such as calling for
intervention by security personnel. It will be appreciated that
fixed tags 968B-968G, 962B and 962L in the exemplary embodiment of
FIG. 10A, are beacon detectors fixed at a selected points, such as
on a ceiling or a wall, for detecting object beacons in their
proximity. Their design is similar to tag 110 of FIG. 1A, modified
for continuous operation in a fixed location, which preferably
implies continuous network connection and drawing energy from the
site's electrical network.
[0144] FIG. 10B depicts an embodiment of a confined area 970 that
is similar to the embodiment of FIG. 10A, except for swapping the
roles of tags and beacons. Thus, in confined area 970, restricted
object 974A and restricted object 974B bear smart object tag 976A
and smart object tag 976B, respectively. Border beacon 978B and
border beacon 978C cooperate with the smart object tags to detect,
by the tags, crossing the border between the safe area and the
buffer area; border beacon 978D and border beacon 978E cooperate
with the smart object tags to detect, by the tags, their crossing
the border between the buffer area and the lock area; and border
beacon 978F and border beacon 978G cooperate with the smart object
tags to detect, by the tags, their crossing the border between the
lock area and the alarm area. Location beacons 972B and 972L are
optionally added for the detection of restricted objects, by their
tags, within the buffer area and lock area, respectively. It is the
smart object tags that either report border crossings or
unauthorized location to a control, or are configured to
autonomously trigger a staff, lock or alarm action respective to
the detected border crossing, as depicted with reference to FIG.
10A above.
[0145] FIG. 10C describes a scenario of a confined area 980 that is
similar to the scenario of FIG. 10A, except that fixed tags
968B-968G are replaced by cameras 988B-988G, respectively; while
object beacons 966A-966B are replaced by visual features 986A-986B,
respectively. Visual features 986A-986B may identify restricted
objects either individually, for example by including a
machine-readable identifier, such as a machine-recognizable text,
QR code or bar code, or identify group of restricted objects, such
as restricted residents or restricted assets, for example by a
distinctive color of a label or a dress. When any of cameras
988B-988G detects any of visual features 986A-986B crossing a
border between zones, a respective processor, such as the processor
of a fixed tag that includes the camera or of a control reported by
the camera, may actuate an action such as calling for staff
intervention, locking exits or triggering an alarm, as depicted
above with reference to FIG. 10A. In some embodiments, for security
and/or restricted resident dignity, visual features may be marked
in the invisible spectrum, for example in the infrared spectrum,
with the cameras using appropriate filters to recognize such visual
features. It will be appreciated that additional cameras may be
fixed and operate within the buffer area and the lock area
similarly to tags 962B and tags 962L of FIG. 10A.
[0146] It will be noted that by using fixed tags that include
cameras, the scenarios of confined area 960 and confined area 980
may be combined, so that some restricted objects may be detected
and identified by their object beacons, while other restricted
objects may be detected and identified by their visual features. It
will be also noted that that architectures of FIGS. 10A-10C may be
combined and mixed, for example by restricted residents bearing
tags while restricted assets having beacons attached to them.
[0147] It will also be noted that in the embodiments of FIG.
10A-10C, a tag or a camera cooperates with a beacon or a visual
feature to recognize that an asset is moving from one area to
another or is already in the buffer or lock area. There are two
further steps that may be performed, according to the system
architecture, by either the tag or by a control (such as control
174 of FIGS. 1A-1B) to which the tag or camera is reporting: (a)
deciding whether the detected moving of the respective restricted
object is authorized or not; and (b) triggering an action, such as:
selecting and calling staff members to intervene; locking exists;
or actuating an alarm.
[0148] FIG. 11A depicts the operation of the multi-level border
security arrangement described with reference to FIGS. 10A-10C
above. In step 1001, a restricted object, such as a person or an
asset, is detected crossing a border between areas. Such detection
is made via a tag detecting a beacon under the arrangement of
either FIG. 10A or the arrangement of FIG. 10B, or by a camera
detecting a visual feature under the arrangement of FIG. 10C. Step
1005 decides whether the border crossing is authorized or not. If
the border crossing is authorized, by either a permit received via
communication from a supervisor, or by verifying, via a personal
tag or beacon of a person that maintains close proximity to the
restricted object, that the restricted object is accompanies by a
person authorized to move the restricted object, then step 1005
loops back to wait for another border crossing detection. If step
1005 concludes that the border crossing is not authorized, then
step 1009 decides, according to the type of border crossed, what
action to take. If the detected crossing is from the safe to the
buffer area, then step 1013A triggers a notification to the tag or
tags of one or more selected staff members in the vicinity of the
crossing point, to rush and accompany the crossing restricted
object back to the safe area. In the action is picked and
acknowledged in steps 1013B by one of the notified staff members,
then in step 1013C the incident is reported; if step 1013B does not
receive acknowledgement within a short period, then the process
loops back to step 1013A to call for action of additional staff
members. If the crossing is found by step 1009 to be from the
buffer to the lock area, then step 1017 triggers locking or
disabling the respective exist(s), such as the elevator and the
staircase door. If the crossing is found by step 1009 to be from
the lock area to the alarm area, then step 1021 triggers an alarm.
If the crossing is found by step 1009 to be downstream, i.e. from
the alarm to the lock area, from the lock area to the buffer area,
or from the buffer area to the safe area, then step 1025 triggers a
step-back procedure, such as turning an alarm off or unlocking
exits, and an update describing the crossing event is sent to the
involved staff members.
[0149] FIG. 11B is similar to FIG. 11A, except that a restricted
object is first detected in step 1001A within the buffer area, lock
area or alarm area, instead of at the respective border; for
example, when the detection is made by fixed tags 962B or fixed
tags 962L within the respective area (FIG. 10A), rather than at the
respective borders by fixed tags 968B-968E. Step 1005A compares the
current location to the last known location to interpret that
current location as a border crossing event, and checks whether the
crossing was authorized. If crossing is found not authorized, then
step 1009A diverts to actions according to the nature of the
crossed border, as depicted in FIG. 11A above.
[0150] FIG. 12 is a flowchart that describes an authorized
relocation process of a restricted object. In step 1201 a
restricted object is moved to a new location according to the
process of FIG. 11 or FIG. 11A. Since all border crossings are
authorized, all border crossings are performed without step
1005/1005A triggering any of the actions that follow step
1009/1009A. When reaching the intended location, then step 1205
resets the definitions of the safe area and buffer area of the
moved object according to the new current location. For example, in
a healthcare facility, a restricted resident is escorted by a staff
member to a large dining room for lunch and is left by himself at
the dining room, that resident's safe area may be redefined to
encompass the dining room, and leaving the dining room without
escorting by an authorized person will then trigger step 1013A of
FIG. 11/11A. Such relocation and redefinition of the safe and
buffer areas may be recorded centrally, in a system that tracks
objects and/or personalizes safe areas per restricted object, or
just be established de-facto, by the very presence of a restricted
object in a new area that is generally defined as a safe area.
[0151] It will be reemphasized that the steps of FIGS. 11A, 11B and
12 may be performed, according to selected system architectures,
individually or cooperatively, by processors of a staff tag, a
resident tag, an asset tag, a fixed tag or a control. Accordingly,
the expression "at least one processor" that perform part or all of
the steps of the process of FIG. 11/11A may relate to performing
steps by any one or combination of processors included in
participating tags, controls and/or servers.
Non-Healthcare Applications
[0152] For clarity and consistency, the exemplary embodiments
depicted above related primarily to healthcare facilities. It will
be appreciated, however, that the teachings of the present
disclosure may selectively pertain a to variety of institutional
sites, such as manufacturing plants, educational institutions,
government buildings, office building, ships, etc., that can
benefit from zone-level locating of objects or multi-level border
control.
Self Learning, Calibration and Improvement
[0153] The systems and methods depicted above are expected to
produce tangible and measurable results in locating and securing
assets, in effectively directing staff members toward selected
assets, and in border control within sites. Exceptions are easily
noticed: an asset whose location remains unknown for a prolonged
duration; misdirecting a staff member toward an asset; or a staff
member spending excessive time in screening a zone for finding an
asset.
[0154] Exceptions may be automatically detected at location data
stores and controls (FIG. 1B), and/or manually reported by staff
members. Such exceptions may motivate and guide redefining zones,
better placing location beacons, adding beacon detectors, changing
the sensitivity threshold of tag receivers, upgrading the network
communication, or revising the criteria for deciding between
conflicting locating reports.
[0155] Improvement can be also made by educating and training staff
members with regard to where to move assets that completed a task,
for example into pre-assigned asset parking areas; how to report
the location of an unused asset; or who is authorized to move a
certain asset. Visitors may also be educated, via signs and
brochures, to request staff assistance for moving an unused asset
and never move an asset by themselves.
[0156] The above measures may substantially improve the performance
of locating and securing assets with minimal additional investment
in hardware and installation.
CONCLUSION
[0157] The systems and methods taught by the present disclosure
provide a compact locating and directing system for assets and
people, that can be afforded by and adequately serve many sites
that cannot or will not afford conventional RTLS, access control or
security systems.
[0158] While the invention has been described with respect to a
limited number of embodiments, it will be appreciated by persons
skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by
what has been particularly shown and described herein. Rather the
scope of the present invention includes both combinations and
sub-combinations of the various features described herein, as well
as variations and modifications which would occur to persons
skilled in the art upon reading the specification and which are not
in the prior art.
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