Patent Publication Number: US-2022237552-A1

Title: Product Tracking System And Method

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/142,782, filed on Jan. 28, 2021. The above identified patent application is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety to provide continuity of disclosure. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a product tracking system and method. More specifically, the present invention provides a product tracking system and method that utilizes a wireless tracking device that transmits information about container contents to a remote device, such that an individual can determine the contents of the container without needing to open the container. 
     Warehouses and other similar storage and operations facilities often house many individual containers. The containers may be prepacked with particular items. For example, a shipping warehouse organizes and stores packages that are filled with particular items depending on the customer&#39;s order. It is important to identify the contents of the package for organizing and ensuring that the customer receives the correct items. It can be difficult to identify products stored in overhead areas that are out of sight and reach, and it is also not possible to visually verify the contents of the package or container once it has been sealed closed. In a warehouse with overhead bins, it can be time consuming to find a correct storage container when looking for particular items. Numerous items may be stored without identifying markings on the items themselves, so it can be difficult to access what is needed in a timely manner. 
     In the shipping or packaging field, one way to identify container contents is to include a physical packing slip or manifest within the container. However, the container must then be opened to inspect the packing slip. Once the package is packed with the items and packing slip, it typically cannot and should not be opened until the customer receives the container. If the packing slip must be checked prior to sending to the customer, the items will usually need to be repackaged. Additionally, many containers in the warehouse setting are stored high on stacked shelving, which makes them difficult to access for physical inspection. Some containers may have scannable exterior barcodes that relate to information stored in a database regarding the container contents, but these must still be accessed by a physical reader, which may be unsafe or impossible given the position of the container. Time and effort must be made to safely retrieve the container for scanning. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved system and method for identifying particular contents of a container, without having to physical open or inspect the container itself. 
     In light of the systems and methods in the known art, it is submitted that the present invention substantially diverges in design elements from the known art and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing facemasks and similar devices. In this regard the present invention substantially fulfills these needs. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a product tracking system and method wherein the same can be utilized for monitoring the location of individual products and groupings of products without having to open a container in which they are stored. The product tracking system and method generally includes a tracking device disposed within a container. The tracking device includes a power supply, a wireless transceiver, and a processor operably connected to a non-transitory computer readable medium. A logic stored in the non-transitory computer readable medium, when executed by the processor, causes the tracking device to perform a method. The method includes the steps of receiving and storing identification information relating to the current contents of the container; receiving, from a remote device and via the wireless transceiver, a command instruction; and transmitting, in response to the command instruction and via the wireless transceiver, the identification information stored in the non-transitory computer readable medium to the remote device. In this way, the product tracking system and method can track individual containers and verify the contents of said containers. 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Although the characteristic features of this invention will be particularly pointed out in the claims, the invention itself and manner in which it may be made and used may be better understood after a review of the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like numeral annotations are provided throughout. The dimensions and shapes of the items illustrated are intended to be for example purposes only and should not be considering limiting in any respect. 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the tracking device from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. 
         FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of the tracking device and external computing device from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. 
         FIG. 3  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the product tracking system and method in use within a warehouse environment. 
         FIG. 4  shows a block diagram of the components from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     According to some embodiments, the operations, techniques, and/or components described herein can be implemented as (i) a special-purpose computing device having specialized hardware and a logic hardwired into the computing device to persistently perform the disclosed operations and/or techniques or (ii) a logic that is implementable on an electronic device having a general purpose hardware processor to execute the logic and a computer-readable medium, e.g. a memory, wherein implementation of the logic by the processor on the electronic device provides the electronic device with the function of a special-purpose computing device. 
     In the interests of economy, the present disclosure refers to “a computer-readable medium,” “a processor,” and so on. However, this should not be read as limiting in any way as the present disclosure contemplates embodiments of the present invention utilizing “one or more computer-readable media,” “one or more processors,” and so on. Unless specifically limited to a single unit, “a” is intended to be equivalent to “one or more” throughout the present disclosure. 
     According to some embodiments, the operations, techniques, and/or components described herein can be implemented by an electronic device, which can include one or more special-purpose computing devices. The special-purpose computing devices can be hard-wired to perform the operations, techniques, and/or components described herein, or can include digital electronic devices such as one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are persistently programmed to perform the operations, techniques and/or components described herein, or can include one or more general purpose hardware processors programmed to perform such features of the present disclosure pursuant to program instructions in firmware, memory, other storage, or a combination. Such special-purpose computing devices can also combine custom hard-wired logic, ASICs, or FPGAs with custom programming to accomplish the technique and other features of the present disclosure. The special-purpose computing devices can be desktop computer systems, portable computer systems, handheld devices, networking devices, or any other device that incorporates hard-wired and/or program logic to implement the techniques and other features of the present disclosure. 
     Reference is made herein to the attached drawings. Like reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to depict like or similar elements of the product tracking system and method. For the purposes of presenting a brief and clear description of the present invention, a preferred embodiment will be discussed as used for providing a product tracking system and method that allows individuals to monitor and verify the location of particular items within different containers without having to open the containers to inspect their contents. The figures are intended for representative purposes only and should not be considered to be limiting in any respect. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is shown a perspective view of the tracking device from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. The product tracking system includes a tracking device  10  that is disposed within a container  11 . The system can utilize any number of unique tracking devices  10  as needed. The tracking devices  10  preferably include a housing which stores a power supply, a wireless transceiver, and a processor operably connected to a non-transitory computer readable medium, such as a solid-state memory device, as one example. The power supply may be a rechargeable battery. In some embodiments, the tracking device  10  includes an external electrical contact  12  that is in electrical communication with the power supply and with the non-transitory computer readable medium. This allows the electrical contact  12  to charge the power supply when connected to an external power source. Further, the electrical contact  12  can also receive identifying information and other product information via a physical connection to an external data source. The tracking device  10  can also receive updated container content information wirelessly via the wireless transceiver. 
     In some embodiments, the tracking device  10  may be removably disposed within the container  11 . This allows the tracking device  10  to be reused with different containers  11 . The tracking device  10  may include a fastener such as a magnet, an adhesive material, or the like, in order to secure the tracking device  10  within the container  11 . In other embodiments, the tracking device  10  is embedded within a sidewall  14  or other portion of the container  11 . This prevents tampering with the tracking device  10 , as the container  11  would have to be visibly altered or damaged to access the tracking device  10 . In this way, the tracking device  10  can deter tampering or theft of the container contents. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , there is shown a perspective view of the tracking device and external computing device from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. The tracking device  10  stores identification information relating to the contents of the container  11 . For example, the identification information can include the number of items and names or descriptions of the individual items in the container. In some embodiments, the identification information further includes a packaging date. In other embodiments, the identification information further includes a unique tracking device identifier that corresponds to a unique identifier assigned to the container in which the tracking device is disposed. Additional information may be stored in order to assist individuals with locating and classifying different containers based on their contents. For example, a precise location of the container within a store or warehouse can be included, so that the tracking device  10  can transmit its location when accessed, and the container can easily be located. 
     After receiving and storing identification information relating to the current contents of the container, a remote device  60  can be utilized to send and receive information to and from the tracking device  10 . The remote device  60  can be a handheld tablet as shown, or may be some other type of electronic terminal having at least a display, input controls, and a wireless transceiver for sending and receiving information remotely. In operation, the tracking device  10  receives a command instruction from the remote device  60  and via the wireless transceiver, which may include a request for the identification information stored in the tracking device  10 . In response to the command instruction and via the wireless transceiver, tracking device  10  transmits its identification information to the remote device  60 , so that the contents of the container, the container location, and other information can be viewed on the display  63  of the remote device  60 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , there is shown a perspective view an embodiment of the product tracking system and method in use within a warehouse environment. In such settings, the container  11  may be stored high on a shelf, behind other containers, or otherwise in a difficult to access position. The user may utilize the handheld device  60  to request tracking information from a particular container. The tracking device  10  then transmits its information to the handheld device. This can also assist individuals in tracking the location of individual containers  11  within the warehouse. For example, individuals may need to pull particular items from particular storage containers  11 . The system can locate the container, display the container contents, and be updated as the container contents change, so that the user can keep constant track of the container location and its items. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , there is shown a block diagram of the components from an embodiment of the product tracking system and method. The tracking device  10  includes at least a wireless transceiver  41 , a power supply  42 , a processor  43 , a computer readable medium  44 , and a logic  45  that dictates the operation of the system. The handheld device  60 , which includes at least its own wireless transceiver  61 , input controls  62 , and display  63 , is in wireless communication with the tracking device  10  via a wireless network  50 . The wireless network  50  may be an internet connection, a WLAN connection, a Bluetooth connection, or any other commonly utilized wireless communication network protocols. The wireless communication allows the tracking device  10  to be accessed from any location, without having to physically inspect the container in which it is installed. 
     The identification information of the tracking device  10  can be updated in real time if needed via the handheld or external device  60 . For example, if an individual does remove items from a container, the individual can update the tracking device  10  identification information via the handheld device  60  so that the item totals and descriptions are accurate after items have been removed. In other uses, such as in consumer product packaging, the tracking device  10  identification information is fixed, so that any removal of an item will be detected. In this way, the system and method for tracking products can be utilized in a variety of settings to determine and verify package contents. 
     It is therefore submitted that the instant invention has been shown and described in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art. With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.