Patent ID: 7843350

Claim:
A facility management system for managing animals within a facility, the facility management system comprising: a beacon disposed at an area of interest located within the facility, the area of interest being smaller than the facility; the beacon comprising a beacon transceiver; the beacon transceiver being configured to broadcast a beacon signal over a beacon range encompassing at least a first portion of the area of interest; the beacon signal comprising beacon information comprising an identifier of the area of interest; an animal tag disposed on an animal, the animal being confined to a region of the facility including at least a second portion of the area of interest; the animal tag comprising a tag transceiver and memory storing tag information; the tag transceiver configured to receive the beacon signal when within the beacon range of the beacon and to transmit a tag signal comprising the tag information; the tag information comprising indicia identifying the animal and, after the tag has been within the beacon range of the beacon, further comprising the beacon information, information generated upon receiving the beacon signal, or a combination thereof; and a reader disposed in or proximal to the region in which the animal is confined; the reader comprising a reader transceiver; the reader transceiver being configured to receive the tag signal and to transmit the tag information, information generated upon receiving the tag information, or a combination thereof.