Patent ID: 7437300

Claim:
A positional information management system for a hotel comprising: a tag attached to an article in the hotel and having a tag integrated circuit (IC) storing a tag identification (ID); a plurality of proximity detectors located at respective detector locations in the hotel, each detector having a respective detector ID, each proximity detector detecting the tag ID from the tag IC when the tag is within a respective detection range of the proximity detector, and transmitting the tag ID that is detected and the detector ID; a computer network including and providing communication between a hotel server programmed to manage hotel tasks and including a memory recording relationships between a customer, a house card issued to the customer for payment for hotel services, and the tag ID of a tag attached to an article belonging to the customer, a house card server programmed to manage accounts when a customer employs a house card, issued to and indentifying the customer, in payment for a hotel service, and programmed to authenticate a house card that has been issued to a customer, a plurality of card terminals located at respective terminal locations in the hotel for reading a house card that identifies the customer to whom the house card has been issued, for transacting payment for hotel services through the house card read and authenticated by the house card server, and for input of a tag ID, and a positional information management server programmed to receive, record, manage, and supply the tag ID detected and the detector ID of the proximity detector detecting the tag ID, from each of the plurality of proximity detectors, as pairs of the tag ID detected and the detector ID, and time at which the respective proximity detector detected the tag ID, and to specify location of the article based upon detection of the tag ID and the detector ID of the proximity detector detecting the tag ID, wherein the positional information management server is programmed to search for the location of the article in response to reading of a house card by one of the card terminals, authentication of the house card by the hotel server, and input to the card terminal of the tag ID associated with the house card read, and is programmed to send results of the search to the card terminal reading the house card.