Method and apparatus to visualize locations of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged items

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9411996-B2
Application number	US-201514635802-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2015
Priority date	Feb 12, 2007
Publication date	Aug 9, 2016
Grant date	Aug 9, 2016

Abstract

Methods and apparatus to visualize locations of radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged items are described. One example method includes receiving a request from a portable electronic device to access product information associated with an individual radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged item, determining a location of the product information in a database, transmitting the located product information to the portable electronic device for display thereon, receiving modified product information associated with the individual RFID tagged item from the portable electronic device, and storing the modified product information to the location of the product information in the database.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
processing, by a processor of a portable electronic device, a plurality of received radio frequency waves to determine a location of a radio frequency identification tagged item, where the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item is determined from an angle of each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves, wherein the portable electronic device comprises an eyewear; and
transmitting the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item, via the processor of the portable electronic device, to a database.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the location comprises a distance and a lateral position.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the location is further determined from a time delay of each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the location is further determined from an amplitude change of each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the location is further determined from a second angle of a second radio frequency wave for a second radio frequency identification tagged item.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving product information at the processor of the portable electronic device, wherein the product information is associated with the radio frequency identification tagged item;
receiving at the processor of the portable electronic device an input to modify the product information associated with the radio frequency identification tagged item; and
transmitting the product information that is modified from the processor of the portable electronic device to the database.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves is processed to extract an identification number to reference the radio frequency identification tagged item.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
using a wireless communication channel to facilitate communication between the processor of the portable electronic device and the database.

9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
indicating the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item, wherein the indicating the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item comprises displaying the product information associated with the radio frequency identification tagged item on a transparent display.

10. The method of claim 6 , wherein the receiving the product information includes receiving an identification number for the radio frequency identification tagged item.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes a product description.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes an available quantity.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes a manufacturer name.

14. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes a model number.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes a catalog number.

16. The method of claim 10 , wherein the product information further includes a price.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the eyewear comprises a pair of goggles.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the eyewear comprises a pair of glasses.

19. A portable electronic device, comprising:
a processor; and
a computer readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
processing a plurality of received radio frequency waves to determine a location of a radio frequency identification tagged item, where the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item is determined from an angle of each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves, wherein the portable electronic device comprises an eyewear; and
transmitting the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item to a database.

20. A tangible computer-readable medium storing a plurality of instructions which, when executed by a processor of a portable electronic device, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
processing a plurality of received radio frequency waves to determine a location of a radio frequency identification tagged item, where the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item is determined from an angle of each of the plurality of received radio frequency waves, wherein the portable electronic device comprises an eyewear; and
transmitting the location of the radio frequency identification tagged item to a database.

Assignees

• At & T Ip I Lp

Inventors

• Chang Wayne

Classifications

• G02B2027/014

  comprising information/image processing systems · CPC title

• G01S3/043

  Receivers · CPC title

• G06Q30/0623 Primary

  by investigating goods or services · CPC title

• G06K7/10366 Primary

  the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications · CPC title

• G01S3/046

  Displays or indicators · CPC title