Patent ID: 7486188

Claim:
A system for tracking inventory comprising: an inventory store; one or more transceivers for interrogating one or more radio frequency identification devices associated with one or more articles; a processor in communication with the transceivers; code operable by the processor to increase the inventory when the one or more articles enter the inventory store; code operable by the processor to initiate a timer when the one or more articles are removed from the inventory store; code operable by the processor to decrease the inventory if one or more transceiver interrogations of a field indicate that the one or more articles removed from the inventory store does not respond to the interrogation or have been used; and whereby if one or more transceiver interrogations of a field indicate that the one or more articles removed from the inventory store have not been used, then the inventory is unchanged for the responding one or more articles provided that the timer has not timed out.