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US 6,211,781 B1Granted
Method and apparatus for tracking and locating a moveable article
AssigneeUnited States Postal Service
InventorGlenn McDonald
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Tracking of an article through geographic areas using electromagnetic signals, specifically radio frequency (RF) signals. The article contains a tag operating as a transmitter and receiver. Tag-readers in the defined geographic areas transmit RF signals and in response, the tag transmits RF signals received by the tag-reader. By knowing the areas in which the tag-readers are located, a system tracks the article by monitoring the tag-readers communicating with the tag.
Claims78
A method for determining a location of a moveable article, comprising:
- transmitting an interrogation signal;
- receiving the interrogation signal in the article;
- transmitting a response signal from the article, the response signal providing a unique identification code;
- receiving the response signal using at least one of a plurality of receivers, each receiver having a unique receiver code;
- generating an information signal providing the identification code and the corresponding receiver code;
- repeating the steps of transmitting and receiving the interrogation signal, transmitting and receiving the response signal, and generating the information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- tracking the location of the article in real-time;
- comparing the tracked location of the article with a predetermined route;
- and
- generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
8 more elements
A method of determining a location of a mail piece, comprising:
- transmitting an interrogation signal from at least one of a plurality of tag-readers;
- receiving the interrogation signal in a tag affixed to the mail piece;
- transmitting a response signal from the tag, the response signal providing a unique tag code;
- receiving the response signal in at least one of the plurality of tag-readers, each tag-reader having a unique tag-reader code;
- generating an information signal providing the tag code and the corresponding tag-reader code;
- repeating the steps of transmitting and receiving the interrogation signal, transmitting and receiving the response signal, and generating the information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- tracking the location of the mail piece in real-time;
- comparing tracked location of the mail piece with a predetermined route;
- and
- generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
8 more elements
An apparatus for determining a location of a moveable article, comprising:
- a plurality of tag-reader receivers within each of a plurality of sectors, each tag-reader receiver having a unique tag-reader code;
- a plurality of tag-reader transmitters within each of the plurality of sectors, wherein at least one of the plurality of tag-reader transmitters transmits an interrogation signal;
- a tag receiver attached to the article for receiving the interrogation signal;
- a tag transmitter attached to the article for transmitting a response signal, the response signal providing a unique tag code, wherein at least one of the plurality of tag-reader receivers receives the response signal;
- a tag-reader processor for generating an information signal providing the tag code and the corresponding tag-reader code;
- means for repeating transmitting and receiving the interrogation signal, transmitting and receiving the response signal, and generating an information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- means for recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- means for tracking the location of the article in real-time;
- means for comparing the tracked location of the article with a predetermined route;
- and
- means for generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
8 more elements
An apparatus for determining a location of a mail piece, comprising:
- a plurality of tag-reader receivers within each of a plurality of sectors, each tag-reader receiver having a unique tag-reader code;
- a plurality of tag-reader transmitters within each of the plurality of sectors, wherein at least one of the plurality of tag reader transmitters transmits an interrogation signal;
- a tag receiver attached to the mail piece for receiving the interrogation signal;
- a tag transmitter attached to the mail piece for transmitting a response signal, the response signal providing a unique tag code, wherein at least one of the plurality of tag-reader receivers receives the response signal;
- a tag-reader processor for generating an information signal providing the identification code and the corresponding receiver code;
- means for repeating transmitting and receiving the interrogation signal, transmitting and receiving the response signal and generating an information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- means for recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- means for tracking the location of the mail piece in real-time;
- means for comparing the tracked location of the mail piece with a predetermined route;
- and
- means for generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
8 more elements
A method for determining a location of a moveable article, comprising:
- transmitting an interrogation signal to be received in the article;
- receiving a response signal transmitted from the article using at least one of a plurality of receivers, each receiver having a unique receiver code, wherein the response signal provides a unique identification code;
- generating an information signal providing the identification code and the corresponding receiver code;
- repeating the steps of transmitting the interrogation signal, receiving the response signal, and generating the information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- tracking the location of the article in real-time;
- comparing the tracked location of the article with a predetermined route;
- and
- generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
6 more elements
An apparatus for determining a location of a moveable article, comprising:
- a plurality of tag-reader transmitters within each of the plurality of sectors;
- a plurality of tag-reader receivers within each of a plurality of sectors, each tag-reader receiver having a unique tag-reader code;
- a tag-reader transmitter for transmitting an interrogation signal from at least one of the plurality of tag-reader transmitters to be received in a tag receiver attached to the article;
- a tag-reader receiver for receiving a response signal transmitted by a tag transmitter attached to the article in the at least one of the plurality of tag-reader receivers, wherein the response signal provides a unique tag code;
- a tag-reader processor for generating an information signal providing the tag code and the corresponding tag-reader code
- means for repeating the interrogation signal, receiving the response signal, and generating the information signal to generate a plurality of information signals;
- means for recording the plurality of information signals in real-time over a period of time;
- means for tracking the location of the article in real-time;
- means for comparing the tracked location of the article with a predetermined route;
- and
- means for generating an error signal when the tracked location deviates from the predetermined route.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.