Detecting equipment state via tag-reader modulations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12353945-B2
Application number	US-202318391149-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 20, 2023
Priority date	Dec 30, 2022
Publication date	Jul 8, 2025
Grant date	Jul 8, 2025

Abstract

In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure provide systems, methods, apparatus, and technologies, and/or the like for generating predicted states of apparatus, equipment, items, and/or the like based at least in part on associated tag-reader modulations such as, for example, a presence of an RFID tag, an absence of an RFID tag, a combination of the two, and/or a metric of one or more reads of an RFID tag.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by computing hardware, a request for a predicted state of an apparatus, wherein the request includes an apparatus identifier for the apparatus and a state identifier for the predicted state;
identifying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the apparatus identifier and the state identifier, a reader device identifier and a tag identifier associated with the apparatus;
querying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the reader device identifier and the tag identifier, tag read data, wherein the tag read data involves a reader device associated with the reader device identifier at least one of reading or not reading a tag associated with the tag identifier during a certain period of time;
identifying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the state identifier, a set of rules, wherein the set of rules defines one or more predefined read characteristics associated with the reader device at least one of reading or not reading the tag that correspond to expected behavior for the apparatus;
generating, by the computing hardware processing the tag read data using the set of rules, the predicted state of the apparatus; and
communicating, by the computing hardware, the predicted state to at least one of a user computing device or a production computing system.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more predefined read characteristics involve at least one of a presence or an absence of the tag during the certain period of time.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more predefined read characteristics involve a metric associated with reading the tag during the certain period of time satisfying a threshold.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the production computing system, responsive to receiving the predicted state, performs an operation involving the apparatus that causes a change of state of the apparatus.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the apparatus identifier and the state identifier, a second tag identifier associated with the apparatus; and
querying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the reader device identifier and the second tag identifier, second tag read data, wherein:
the second tag read data involves the reader device at least one of reading or not reading a second tag associated with the second tag identifier during the certain period of time,
the one or more predefined read characteristics are also associated with the reader device at least one of reading or not reading the second tag that correspond to the expected behavior for the apparatus, and
generating the predicted state of the apparatus also involves the computing hardware processing the second tag read data using the set of rules.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the apparatus identifier and the state identifier, a second reader device identifier associated with the apparatus; and
querying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the second reader device identifier and the tag identifier, second tag read data, wherein:
the second tag read data involves a second reader device associated with the second reader device identifier at least one of reading or not reading the tag during the certain period of time,
the one or more predefined read characteristics are also associated with the second reader device at least one of reading or not reading the tag that correspond to the expected behavior for the apparatus, and
generating the predicted state of the apparatus also involves the computing hardware processing the second tag read data using the set of rules.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the apparatus identifier and the state identifier, a second reader device identifier and a second tag identifier associated with the apparatus; and
querying, by the computing hardware and based at least in part on the second reader device identifier and the second tag identifier, second tag read data, wherein:
the second tag read data involves a second reader device associated with the second reader device identifier at least one of reading or not reading a second tag associated with the second tag identifier during the certain period of time,
the one or more predefined read characteristics are also associated with the second reader device at least one of reading or not reading the second tag that correspond to the expected behavior for the apparatus, and
generating the predicted state of the apparatus also involves the computing hardware processing the second tag read data using the set of rules.

8. A system comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions; and
a processing device communicatively coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the processing device is configured to execute the instructions and thereby perform operations comprising:
receiving a request for a predicted state of an apparatus, wherein the request includes an apparatus identifier for the apparatus;
identifying, based at least in part on the apparatus identifier, a reader device identifier and a tag identifier associated with the apparatus;
querying, based at least in part on the reader device identifier and the tag identifier, tag read data, wherein the tag read data involves a reader device associated with the reader device identifier at least one of reading or not reading a tag associated with the tag identifier during a certain period of time;
identifying a set of rules, wherein the set of rules defines one or more predefined read characteristics associated with the reader device at least one of reading or not reading the tag that correspond to expected behavior for the apparatus;
processing the tag read data using the set of rules to generate the predicted state of the apparatus; and
communicating the predicted state to at least one of a user computing device or a production computing system.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more predefined read characteristics involve at least one of a presence or an absence of the tag during the certain period of time.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more predefined read characteristics involve a metric associated with reading the tag during the certain period of time satisfying a threshold.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the production computing system, responsive to receiving the predicted state, performs an operation involving the apparatus that causes a change of state of the apparatus.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further comprise:
identifying, based at least in part on the apparatus identifier, a second tag identifier associated with the apparatus; and
querying, based at least in part on the reader device identifier and the second tag identifier, second tag read data, wherein:
the second tag read data involves the reader device at least one of reading or not reading a second tag associated with the second tag identifier during the certain period of time,
the one or more predefined read characteristics are also associated with the reader device at least one of reading or not reading the second tag that correspond to the expected behavior for the apparatus, and
generating the predicted state of the apparatus also involves processing the second tag read data using the set of rules.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein the operations further com

Assignees

• United parcel service america inc

Inventors

• Wall Patrick
• Radaker Jeffrey
• Bell Julian

Classifications

• G06K7/10366 Primary

  the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications · CPC title

• G06K7/10356

  using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas · CPC title

• H04W4/35

  for the management of goods or merchandise · CPC title

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• G06Q10/0833 Primary

  Tracking · CPC title