公开(公告)号：US20240386375A1

公开(公告)日：2024-11-21

申请号：US18789002

申请日：2024-07-30

Applicant: Automaton, Inc.

Inventor： Debarun Dhar ,  David Stephenson ,  Joe Mueller ,  Paul Petrus ,  Ryan Milne

IPC: G06Q10/087 ,  G06K7/10

Abstract: A radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, or tag, is affixed to a particular item and stores unique identifying information about that item. It can be queried with a reader that transmits wireless signals to the tag and receive the tag's responses, which can be correlated with information in inventory records. Conventionally, when a reader stops receiving a tag's responses to these queries, the inventory records are updated to show that the tag and associated item have been removed from the inventory. But a tag can stop producing detectable response for other reasons, including being too close to other tags, so simply removing the tag and item can lead to inaccurate inventory records. Stateful inventory technology address this problem by maintaining and transitioning tags among different states, including a stale state for tags that have not been read recently, depending on when and where the tags were last read.

公开(公告)号：US20240330619A1

公开(公告)日：2024-10-03

申请号：US18743725

申请日：2024-06-14

Applicant: Automaton, Inc.

Inventor： James Morse ,  Joe Mueller ,  Prokopios Panagiotou ,  Phillip A. Lindsey ,  Paul Petrus

IPC: G06K7/10

CPC classification number: G06K7/10356 ,  G06K7/10099 ,  G06K7/10415

Abstract: Radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems use readers to query and locate passive RFID tags in stores, warehouses, and other environments. An interrogation signal emitted by an antenna array from a reader powers up the tag, which replies by modulating and backscattering incident radiation toward the reader. The antenna array in the reader detects the modulated and backscattered radiation, which is usually several of orders of magnitude weaker than the interrogation signal, as the tag's reply. Unfortunately, crosstalk between the antenna elements in the antenna array limits the reader's sensitivity, which in turn limits the range at which the reader can detect and locate tags. Increasing the pitch of the antenna array to greater than half the wavelength of the interrogation signal reduces crosstalk but introduces grating lobes that produce spurious replies. Fortunately, filtering these spurious replies yields sensitive measurements from an antenna array with a pitch large enough to suppress crosstalk.

公开(公告)号：US20240046211A1

公开(公告)日：2024-02-08

申请号：US18490570

申请日：2023-10-19

Applicant: Automaton, Inc.

Inventor： Spencer Hewett ,  Paul Petrus

IPC: G06Q10/087 ,  G01S13/04

CPC classification number: G06Q10/087 ,  G01S13/04

Abstract: A radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader interrogates RFID tags and detects their replies. These replies may propagate along direct or line-of-sight paths from the tags to the reader. They may also propagate along indirect or non-light-of-sight paths from the tags to the reader, e.g., by reflecting off nearby objects to the reader. As a result, the reader receives many copies of each tag's reply, with each copy arriving at a delay and angle corresponding to the path that it followed from the tag to the reader. The aggregate or combination of the detected replies is called a multipath profile or signature. Each tag/reader pair produces its own multipath profile. Moving objects near the reader and tag can change that multipath signature by introducing or removing reflections along a given path between the reader and tag. These changes can be used to determine that an object has moved, even if that object does not have an RFID tag.