System and Method for Locating Missing Airline Baggage

Abstract

A customer subscribes to a bag track service and gives his identity and cellphone number. The customer is supplied with an RF enabled electronic tag which is placed in a piece of baggage. Once the bag is checked in, the customer scans the bag strip with his cellphone. If a particular bag doesn't arrive at a destination, the subscriber notifies the service of the missing bag by again scanning or photographing the bag stub, or by entering the tag ID. The missing tag information is sent to all registered search applications carried by members of the public, baggage handlers, and/or to all installed airport piconets. Each phone with such an application will then actively try to pair with the unique ID tag in the missing bag. If any such application successfully pairs with the tag, the phone sends this information back to the tracking service.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.