(12) INTERNATIONAL APPLICATION PUBLISHED UNDER THE PATENT COOPERATION TREATY (PCT)
`(19) World Intellectual Property
`Organization
`International Bureau
`
`(43) International Publication Date
`12 September 2013 (12.09.2013)
`
`9
`
`WIPOI PCT
`
`(10) International Publication Number
`
`WO 2013/134409 A1
`
`(5 1)
`
`International Patent Classification:
`G06K 17/00 (2006.01)
`G06K 19/07 (2006.01)
`
`(81)
`
`(21)
`
`International Application Number:
`
`PCT/US2013/029408
`
`(22)
`
`International Filing Date:
`
`(25)
`
`(26)
`
`(30)
`
`Filing Language:
`
`Publication Language:
`
`6 March 2013 (06.03.2013)
`
`English
`
`English
`
`Priority Data:
`61/607,406
`61/708,518
`
`6 March 2012 (06.03.2012)
`1 October 2012 (01.10.2012)
`
`US
`US
`
`INC.
`Applicant: A-1 PACKAGING SOLUTIONS,
`[US/US]; 3103 Pendleton Court, St. Charles, IL 60175
`(US).
`
`I11ventors: SCHOENING, Kenneth, F.; 3103 Pendleton
`Court, St. Charles, IL 60175 (US). GREAVES, William,
`J.; 6631 Cochise Drive, Indianhead Park, IL 60525 (US).
`
`Agent: HEPPERMANN, Roger, A.; Marshall, Gerstein &
`llorun LLP, 233 S. Wacker Drive, 6300 Willis Tower,
`Chicago, IL 60606-6357 (US).
`
`Publi
`
`Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every
`kind of national protection available): AE, AG, AL, AM,
`AO, AT, AU, AZ, BA, BB, BG, BH, BN, BR, BW', BY,
`BZ, CA, CH, CL, CN, CO, CR, CU, CZ, DE, DK, DM,
`DO, DZ, EC, EE, EG, ES, FI, GB, GD, GE, GH, GM, GT,
`HN, HR, HU, ID, IL, IN, IS, JP, KE, KG, KM, KN, KP,
`KR, KZ, LA, LC, LK, LR, LS, LT, LU, LY, MA, MD,
`ME, MG, MK, MN, MW, MX, MY, MZ, NA, NG, NI,
`NO, NZ, OM, PA, PE, PG, PH, PL, PT, QA, RO, RS, RU,
`RVV, SC, SD, SE, SG, SK, SL, SM, ST, SV, SY, TH, TJ,
`TM, TN, TR, TT, TZ, UA, UG, US, UZ, VC, VN, ZA,
`ZM, ZW.
`
`Designated States (unless otherwise indicated, for every
`kind of regional protection available): ARIPO (BW, GH,
`GM, KE, LR, LS, MW, MZ, NA, RW, SD, SL, SZ, TZ,
`UG, ZM, ZW), Eurasian (AM, AZ, BY, KG, KZ, RU, TJ,
`TM), European (AL, AT, BE, RG, CH, CY, CZ, DE, DK,
`EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IS, IT, LT, LU, LV,
`MC, MK, MT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, SK, SM,
`TR), OAPI (BF, BJ, CF, CG, CI, CM, GA, GN, GQ, GW,
`ML, MR, NE, SN, TD, TG).
`shed:
`
`with international Search report (Art. 21(3)}
`
`(54) Title: A RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND MANAGING MATERIALS IN A
`MANUFACTURH\IG PROCESS
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`(57) Abstract: A process management system uses a radio fi’equency identification (RFID) detection system in the form of, for ex-
`ample, a phased array anteima based RFID detection system to track and manage material storage and flow in a manufacturing pro -
`cess or plant. The process management system operates in conjunction with the Various machines that implement manufacturing
`stages or steps of the manufacturing process to assure that the correct materials and processing procedures are used at or on the Vari-
`ous production machines of the process to produce a particular product as defined by a job number orjob order. The process mari-
`agement system is thereby able to increase the efficiencies of the plant and to increase the quality of the plant production by reducing
`or eliminating waste, manufacturing errors and shipping errors in the production facility.
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`RFC - Exhibit 1003
`
`

`
`WO 2013/134409
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`PCT/US2013/029408
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`A RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR TRACKING AND
`
`MANAGING MATERIALS IN A MANUFACTURING PROCESS
`
`Related Applications
`
`[0001]
`
`This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.
`
`Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/607,406, entitled “Automation Project,”
`
`filed March 6, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 61/708,518,
`
`entitled “A Radio Frequency Identification System for Tracking and Managing
`
`Material Flow in a Manufacturing Process,” filed October 1, 2012, the entire
`
`disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.
`
`Technical Field
`
`[0002]
`
`The present disclosure generally relates to using radio frequency
`
`identification (RFID) technology to advantageously track, manage and control the
`
`flow and or positions of material, such as inventory items, within a manufacturing
`
`process or an inventory storage facility, to make the tracking and retrieval of
`
`inventory items more automatic and efficient.
`
`Background
`
`[0003] Many manufacturing processes today are highly automated. However, in
`
`some industries, manufacturing processes still require manual operation and/or
`
`human intervention. An example industry with manually intensive manufacturing
`
`processes is the corrugated packaging industry, which typically produces corrugated
`
`boxes, point-of-purchase displays, and other kinds of paper based protective and
`
`distribution packaging.
`
`[0004]
`
`In a typical corrugated plant, the manufacturing process can be generally
`
`divided into four stages.
`
`In the first stage, rolls of paper material, called rollstock, are
`
`received and stored in a rollstock inventory area.
`
`In the second stage, the paper
`
`rolls are transferred to a wet end area of a corrugator or corrugation machine where
`
`the rolls are converted into a continuous corrugated board by gluing multiple layers
`
`of paper together in some manner, such as gluing a layer of corrugated paper with
`
`one or two layers of smooth paper. At the end of the corrugator machine, the
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`corrugated board or paper is cut into sheets which are stacked before being placed
`
`in a work in process (WIP) area to wait for further processing.
`
`In the third stage, the
`
`stacks of corrugated sheets are delivered from the WIP area to a finishing area
`
`where machines typically called folders and gluers convert the sheets into boxes and
`
`other packaging or display products through operations such as die-cutting, printing,
`
`stapling, folding and gluing. During this stage, the boxes or other packaging and
`
`display products may be printed using, for example, printing plates or may be
`
`painted to provide graphics on the products.
`
`In the fourth stage, finished goods
`
`coming off the finishing area are banded and are palletized to get these finished
`
`goods ready for either storage in a warehouse or dispatch and delivery to
`
`customers.
`
`[0005]
`
`In each stage of the manufacturing process, various manual operations are
`
`typically performed. These manual operations are labor intensive and are generally
`
`prone to human errors, thereby creating many problems and inefficiencies in the
`
`corrugated plant. Such problems occur in inventory management where each
`
`received roll must be manually labeled to be registered in the rollstock inventory.
`
`The location of a roll in the rollstock area needs to be recorded so that the
`
`whereabouts of the roll can be tracked. However, if a worker forgets to record the
`
`location of a roll or makes an error in the recording of the location of a roll, then the
`
`roll may become lost in the inventory. Poor inventory management may also cause
`
`a worker to transfer a wrong roll from the rollstock area to the wet end area of the
`
`corrugator machine.
`
`If the error is not recognized, then the wrong roll will be used in
`
`the manufacturing process resulting in the production of the wrong type of
`
`corrugated material or paper, increased cost and poor quality.
`
`If the error is
`
`recognized, then the worker must go back and spend additional effort to manually
`
`search for the correct roll. Moreover, if the correct roll cannot be found, then the
`
`worker may be forced to make a management decision by choosing a different roll.
`
`As a result, costly unauthorized upgrades may occur in which a more expensive roll
`
`is used to make a final product than is needed or called for by a particular
`
`manufacturing job.
`
`[0006] Moreover, in many cases, it is difficult to track and manage partial rolls,
`
`which are rolls that have been used for one or more jobs, but which still contain
`
`paper material thereon.
`
`in particular, operators typically know the approximate
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`amount of paper on a particular roll within the rollstock area when the roll has never
`
`been used or when the roll is first added to the inventory. However, after use, in
`
`which some of the paper from a particular roll is removed, the roll is removed from
`
`the corrugator machine and is returned to inventory.
`
`in these cases, it is necessary
`
`to record the amount of paper used from the roll during a particular manufacturing
`
`job, which is typically a manual process.
`
`If this record keeping is not performed or is
`
`performed inaccurately or inconsistently, operators generally do not know how much
`
`paper is on a roll or do not trust the records of how much paper is on a roll.
`
`in these
`
`cases, operators typically opt to use a new (previously unused roll) for a job instead
`
`of a partial roll which may or may not have sufficient paper thereon for the job, to
`
`assure that the job can be completed without running out of paper on the roll. This
`
`procedure leads to the existence of many partial rolls in inventory, which take up
`
`space and increase manufacturing costs of the plant because these rolls never get
`
`used, or are not matched correctly to the size of the job, thereby creating wasted
`
`material.
`
`[0007] Other problems can be found in process flow management of processes
`
`where procedures require workers to manually track or label intermediate products
`
`and finished goods so that the products can be located and delivered to the next
`
`processing stage. For example, intermediate products such as stacks of corrugated
`
`sheets must be manually labeled with proper job order numbers in the WIP area to
`
`ensure proper delivery to proper work stations in the finishing area. Likewise,
`
`finished goods coming off the finishing area must be manually labeled with proper
`
`banding sequence numbers so that workers can employ proper banding sequences
`
`in the banding machines. However, mislabeling or failure to label the intermediate
`
`products may cause considerable downtime or delays in the manufacturing process.
`
`Furthermore, errors in manual labeling, may result in costly consequences if the
`
`products go missing or the wrong products get made, for example, by having the
`
`wrong intermediate products delivered to the work stations in the finishing area or by
`
`having the intermediate or finished products get banded using an incorrect banding
`
`procedure because a wrong product number or banding sequence number was used
`
`to activate the banding sequence.
`
`[0008]
`
`Further problems exist in shipping management where the banded finished
`
`goods must be manually documented in a loading bay so that a driver can find and
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`ship the correct products to customers. Due to time constraints, this type of manual
`
`documentation is rarely performed. As a result, many times, the needed product is
`
`not at the correct location so the driver or loader has to spend a great deal of effort to
`
`look for the product in the loading bay. Once the driver finds the correct product and
`
`finishes loading the truck, the driver must account for any under/over amount against
`
`a customer shipping order. Errors and omissions in the manual documentation
`
`process can lead to a myriad of shipping-related problems such as loading the wrong
`
`products on a truck, recording the wrong products as being shipped, not recording
`
`the products that are shipped, having under/over shipment of products, etc. These
`
`problems affect the overall business by making customers feel dissatisfied and
`
`distrustful, as well as increasing costs.
`
`[0009] Many corrugated plants have adopted the use of barcode technology to
`
`address some of the abovementioned problems. A barcode is an optical machine-
`
`readable representation of data relating to an object that is attached to the barcode.
`
`While the use of barcodes offers an improvement in accuracy over manual labeling,
`
`manual operations are still needed because human operators must place barcode
`
`readers in a direct line-of—sight to the printed barcode in order to register a read.
`
`Thus, many problems still exist in corrugated plants that use barcodes. For
`
`example, problems exist in inventory management where each received roll is
`
`registered in the rollstock inventory by manually or automatically placing and
`
`scanning a barcode on the roll, and a barcode on the side, or the ceiling, of an
`
`inventory aisle where the roll is placed. However, if workers forget to scan both
`
`barcodes when storing a roll, or when barcode readers fail, then the roll becomes
`
`lost in the inventory. Thus, despite the use of a barcode system, the location of a roll
`
`in the rollstock still typically needs to be manually recorded. Moreover, if a needed
`
`roll cannot be located in the rollstock, then manual searching and scanning must be
`
`conducted in order to determine the whereabouts of the roll. Problems also exist in
`
`process flow management procedures that use barcodes.
`
`In particular, currently,
`
`workers must manually scan the barcode on the products or rolls before moving the
`
`rolls or finished product to the next processing or delivery stage where another
`
`manual scan takes place to validate the movement. Time constraints and barcode
`
`reader failures often compel workers to forgo such scans, which may result in costly
`
`errors in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, in locations where outdoor
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`storage is an option, barcode readers often fail because the readers cannot read in
`
`sunlight or bright areas. When scanning equipment fails, workers must enter
`
`information and data manually, which prompts the same type of human errors that
`
`can occur with manual labeling. Still other problems exist in shipping management
`
`where drivers must perform multiple scans to ensure that the correct product is going
`
`to the correct vehicle for shipping. However, due to time constraints and other
`
`factors, drivers rarely perform all the necessary scans, which result in the wrong
`
`products being shipped and thus leads to dissatisfied customers and waste.
`
`[0010]
`
`Printed barcodes have other shortcomings as well. A barcode can be
`
`easily damaged (e.g., outdoor storage areas), and if the barcode gets ripped, soiled
`
`or torn off, there is no way to make a proper scan. Also, reading a barcode may be
`
`time-consuming if the barcode is not properly oriented to the reader. Thus, with a
`
`barcode system, a large amount of manual data collection activity is still needed,
`
`which leaves the manufacturing process manually intensive and dependent on
`
`human intervention.
`
`[0011]
`
`To provide improvement over barcodes, the use of radio frequency
`
`identification (RFID) technology has been introduced in some portions of some
`
`manufacturing plants. A conventional RFID system uses stationary or hand-held
`
`RFID readers to identify RFID tags attached to objects. Unlike barcodes which must
`
`be physically located next to and be in close or direct proximity to the barcode reader
`
`in order to read, RFID technology does not typically require a tag to be in direct
`
`proximity to the reader. However, RFID technology still requires some line—of—sight
`
`communication between the reader and tag in order to register a read. Also, unlike
`
`barcodes, which offer read—only capability, each RFID tag may be read and write
`
`capable, meaning that information can be altered in the tag. Currently, the use of
`
`RFID tags in corrugated plants is limited to inventory management, in which each
`
`paper roll, for example, may have an associated RFID tag inserted manually into the
`
`core of the roll that allows the roll to be registered in the rollstock inventory when the
`
`roll passes near a stationary reader. This remote reading of the RFID tag eliminates
`
`manual operations such as manually labeling or scanning the roll, but manual
`
`operations such as removing the core plug to manually insert the RFID tag still
`
`remain.
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`[0012] While the problems associated with not registering or improperly
`
`registering the roll in the inventory may be mitigated with RFID tags, the roll may still
`
`become lost in the inventory because the location of the roll in the rollstock still
`
`needs to be manually recorded. Moreover, misplaced rolls can result in tedious
`
`manual searches because stationary RFID readers cannot be used to locate
`
`arbitrarily placed rolls.
`
`[0013] More particularly, one of the main problems with the current use of RFID in
`
`corrugated plants is that the stationary RFID readers must be placed at specific
`
`spots or locations within the plant and thus only provide nodal reading of tags. For
`
`example, RFID readers are typically placed at doorways to define a portal or are
`
`placed at or near a manufacturing area to define a read node. The tagged product
`
`can only be read at these nodes within the plant, which leads to a lot of problems.
`
`If
`
`a tagged product is picked up from one manufacturing area and is transferred to a
`
`second manufacturing area without going through a read node, then the location of
`
`the tagged product is still lost or not accurately tracked. Moreover even when a
`
`transfer is completed properly, the transfer is not recognized until the tagged product
`
`reaches the RFID reader defining the portal or read node near the second
`
`manufacturing area. Moreover, the product is only known to be at or near the read
`
`node. As a result, movement of a tagged product within a plant is tracked
`
`inconsistently and very inaccurately using typical RFID technology. Stationary
`
`readers also have a problem in that the signals sent out by the readers tend to
`
`“reflect” off objects such as forklift or other objects, and create spurious reads.
`
`[0014]
`
`Because RFID technology, as currently used in corrugated plants, requires
`
`the use of a number of fixed or stationary RFID readers that can only detect the
`
`passage of a tag past a particular point, plants have used hand-held RFID readers to
`
`assist in tracking the whereabouts of products or raw materials, such as rollstock.
`
`However, the use of handheld readers still requires human operators to carry the
`
`readers to a point where tagged objects are located in order to read the tags on the
`
`products, in which case the amount of manual operations is similar to that of the
`
`barcode system.
`
`[0015]
`
`Some efforts have been made in the pulp and paper industry to resolve the
`
`problem of tracking the location of rolls of material in inventory without the use of
`
`handheld readers. As disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2004/0102870, an RFID reader is
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`placed on a forklift which moves the reader around a warehouse to assist in locating
`
`particular tagged rolls of paper. However, this approach only works when the forklift
`
`is in close proximity to the rolls to which the tags are attached and so the forklift
`
`driver still has to know the approximate location of the roll in the warehouse to begin
`
`a search for a particular roll. Moreover, the tags are directional and the RFID reader
`
`requires some line-of—sight to the tags. Thus, if a tag is on one side of the roll and
`
`the forklift is on the other side, then the tag cannot be read by the reader.
`
`[0016] Moreover, aside from inventory management, RFID usage has not been
`
`incorporated into other processing functions such as process flow management or
`
`shipping management, in corrugated plants. Some efforts have been made in to use
`
`RFID to manage flow through a process, but these efforts are for throughput
`
`management only and do not increase product quality or manufacturing efficiencies
`
`within a plant. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,970,484 discloses a method that uses
`
`RFID tags on boxes containing products flowing through a manufacturing line to
`
`generate stop and go signals to control the throughput of the production process.
`
`However, the method only functions to control the throughput of the process, and
`
`does not actually control the flow of the process materials, for example, by
`
`determining what materials are needed at what locations in the process or where
`
`materials should be sent in order to assure that the proper or desired final product is
`
`being made.
`
`Summary
`
`[0017]
`
`A manufacturing process and inventory management or tracking system
`
`uses a radio frequency identification (RFID) detection system which may be, for
`
`example, a phased array antenna based RFID detection system, to track and
`
`manage material storage and flow of material in a manufacturing process or plant.
`
`The management or tracking system operates to track and to provide the location of
`
`various inventory within an inventory region of the plant and may operate in
`
`conjunction with the various machines that implement manufacturing stages or steps
`
`of the manufacturing process to assure that the correct materials (e.g., inventory,
`
`machine parts, etc.) and processing procedures are used at or on the various
`
`production machines of the process to produce a particular product as defined by a
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`job number or job order. The process management system is thereby able to
`
`increase the efficiencies of the plant and to increase the quality of the plant
`
`production by reducing or eliminating waste, manufacturing errors and shipping
`
`errors in the production facility.
`
`[0018] Generally speaking, the management system employs a detection and
`
`tracking system that uses RFID tags attached to various different materials in the
`
`plant, such as raw materials, intermediate products or finished goods, to detect and
`
`track the location of these materials at any time and or at any location in the plant
`
`including in an inventory region of the plant (including a spare parts inventory) and a
`
`manufacturing region of the plant.
`
`In one case, the RFID detection and tracking
`
`system uses phased array antennas disposed within the plant to scan one or more
`
`areas in the plant periodically, so as to detect the location or position of all of the
`
`RFID tags in that area in a three dimensional (3D) view.
`
`In another case, the RFID
`
`detection and tracking system may use multiple spaced apart antennas to scan a
`
`region using a triangulation technique to detect the location of RFID tags within the
`
`region. The process management system may use the current location of the RFID
`
`tags to determine where the materials needed for a production run are located in the
`
`plant by associating the RFID tags on various plant materials with job numbers
`
`defining products to be produced. The job numbers may also be associated with or
`
`define manufacturing steps that need to be taken in the plant to produce the product
`
`associated with the job number. The process management system may then
`
`implement or manage a particular production run used for a job number by tracking
`
`the RFID tags for the various materials to be used in the production run for the job
`
`number during the production run to assure that the correct materials are used in the
`
`production run and to assure that the correct processing steps or procedures are
`
`used at each of the various stages of the production run.
`
`If desired, the process
`
`management system may interface with one or more controllers within the plant or
`
`the manufacturing process to prevent or halt operation of the production machines
`
`unless the correct materials are at the correct inputs of the production machines.
`
`Alternatively or additionally, the process management system may assure that the
`
`correct production programming or procedures are used at each stage of the
`
`production run by, for example, loading the correct production programming into the
`
`machines based on the RFID tags associated with the product or material being
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`provided to the machine. As part of this process, RFID tags may be applied to
`
`intermediate products created during the manufacturing run to enable the process
`
`management system to track these intermediate products, so as to assure that the
`
`correct intermediate products are provided to the correct processing machines at the
`
`correct time when implementing a multi-stage production run for a job number. Still
`
`further, in some scenarios, records stored for RFID tags identifying a certain type of
`
`intermediate product may be changed or altered to reflect changes in the
`
`intermediate product as the product being created flows through the production
`
`facility from one stage or step of manufacturing to another stage or step of
`
`manufacturing.
`
`in this manner, the process management system may assure that
`
`the production run for a particular job uses the correct raw materials and that the
`
`production equipment is configured or set up to implement the correct manufacturing
`
`and packaging steps for a job number which, in turn, helps to assure that the correct
`
`product is made for a job number.
`
`[0019]
`
`Still further, the management system may use the RFID tracking system to
`
`perform inventory management and control as well as to perform shipping
`
`management and control.
`
`In particular, the process management system may
`
`detect, track or scan all of the inventory in an inventory area to determine what
`
`inventory is present (based on the RFID tags detected during the scan), and provide
`
`a 3D view of the location of each piece of inventory. This feature enables the
`
`process management system to direct plant personnel to the correct location in the
`
`inventory area to get or obtain the correct materials to be used in a production run.
`
`Still further, the process management system may update records associated with
`
`RFID tags of material, such as rolls of paper, to indicate or track the amount of
`
`material left on the roll, for example, or other changes in the material.
`
`In a similar
`
`manner, the process management system may use the RFID tracking system to
`
`detect and track finished goods in a loading bay and may use this information to
`
`assure that the correct finished goods are loaded onto the correct truck for shipping
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`to a customer. This feature reduces shipping errors and can further be used to
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`automatically create bills of landing defining exactly what finished goods are being
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`shipped to the customer.
`
`[0020]
`
`In one embodiment, an inventory tracking system for use in tracking
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`placement of physical items within an inventory tracking region of, for example, a
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`manufacturing plant, includes a radio frequency tag detection system that includes a
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`plurality of radio frequency antennas disposed in a spaced apart manner within the
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`inventory tracking region and a detection controller coupled to the plurality of radio
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`frequency antennas that controls the operation of each of the radio frequency
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`antennas to scan a portion of the inventory tracking region and to detect each of a
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`number of radio frequency tags disposed in the inventory tracking region. Here, the
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`detection controller generates indications of the detected radio frequency tags and
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`the physical locations of the detected radio frequency tags within the inventory
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`tracking region. Moreover, the inventory tracking system includes a tracking system
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`coupled to the radio frequency tag detection system to receive the indications of the
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`detected radio frequency tags and the detected physical locations for the detected
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`radio frequency tags within the inventory tracking region. The tracking system
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`includes a memory for storing inventory item information for each of a plurality of
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`inventory items, the inventory item information for each of the plurality of inventory
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`items including an inventory item radio frequency tag identifier, inventory item
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`identification information defining the identity of the inventory item, and an indication
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`of the current physical location of the inventory item within the inventory tracking
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`region. The inventory tracking system also includes an access system that accesses
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`the memory and provides at least a subset of the inventory item information for one
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`or more of the inventory items to a user for determining the current physical location
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`of the one or more of the inventory items within the inventory tracking region. The
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`tracking system updates the indication of the current physical location of at least one
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`particular inventory item within the inventory tracking region as stored in the memory
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`for the at least one particular inventory item based on the indication of the physical
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`location of the detected radio frequency tag for the at least one particular inventory
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`item as produced by the detection controller.
`
`[0021]
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`If desired, the subset of inventory item information may include an
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`indication of the current physical location of the one or more of the inventory items
`
`within the inventory tracking region and/or may include the inventory item
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`identification information for the one or more of the inventory items. The tracking
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`system may store, for each of the plurality of inventory items, inventory item
`
`identification information including two or more defining characteristics of the
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`inventory item and the inventory item identification information for at least one of the
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`inventory items may include a type of material associated with the inventory item, a
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`source of the inventory item, or an amount of material associated with the inventory
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`item.
`
`[0022]
`
`If desired, the access system may include a user display system that
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`graphically displays the current physical location of the one or more of the inventory
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`items based on the indication of the current physical location of the one or more of
`
`inventory items and the user display system may display the current physical
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`location of the one or more of the inventory items in a graphical manner juxtaposed
`
`with or on an indication of at least a portion of the inventory region. The user display
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`system may display the current physical location of one of the inventory items by
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`displaying an indication of a geographical coordinate at which the one of the
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`inventory items is located, or an indication of a two dimensional geographical
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`location of the inventory item within the inventory tracking region. Also, the user
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`display system may graphically display the current physical location of inventory
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`items by displaying an indication of a three dimensional geographical location of one
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`or more of the items within the inventory tracking region.
`
`[0023]
`
`Still further, the access system may includes an auditory system that
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`generates auditory signals based on the current physical location of one or more of
`
`the inventory items, may include a visual system that generates lighted signals
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`based on the current physical location of one or more of the inventory items, and/or
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`may include a tactile system that generates tactile (e.g., vibration) signals based on
`
`the current physical location of one or more of the inventory items.
`
`[0024]
`
`The detection controller may include a beam-steering control system, such
`
`as an electronic beam steering or a mechanical beam steering control system that
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`controls the operation of each of the radio frequency antennas using a beam to scan
`
`a portion of the inventory tracking region to detect each of a number of radio
`
`frequency tags disposed in the scanned portion of the inventory tracking region.
`
`[0025]
`
`The inventory tracking system may further include an inventory control
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`system that receives the current physical location of at least one of the inventory
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`items from the access system and determines if the one of the plurality of inventory
`
`items is in a desired location. Here, the inventory control system may compare the
`
`current physical location of the at least one of the inventory items to a desired
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`location of the at least one of the inventory items as defined by a job identifier or a
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`job number associated with a, for example, manufacturing job that uses the at least
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`one of the inventory items. The inventory control system may produce a warning or
`
`alert signal when the location of the at least one of the inventory items associated
`
`with the job identifier is not at the desired location for the inventory item for the job
`
`defined by the job identifier when running the job.
`
`In some situations, the desired
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`location may be associated with a location of one of the inventory items within a
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`manufacturing process during execution of the manufacturing process during the job.
`
`The inventory control system may further detect movement of the at