Patent ID: 7233958

Claim:
A method for communicating tracking information performed at least partially by a computer, the method comprising: receiving a plurality of identification codes, each identification code having a unique serial number uniquely identifying an associated physical object; sorting the plurality of identification codes into one or more sets of identification codes, each set of identification codes including a plurality of identification codes having unique serial numbers; creating a document representing the one or more sets of identification codes; and compressing the document, wherein compressing the document includes: for a set of identification codes, determining that each identification code within the set includes a redundant portion of code that is common to each identification code within the set of identification codes, listing, within the document, the redundant portion of the code that is common to each identification code within the set only once, listing each identification code with the redundant portion omitted, determining that the unique serial numbers included in the set of identification codes are sequential such that the unique serial numbers include a first unique serial number, representing each unique serial number within the document by omitting all of the unique serial numbers except for the first unique serial number, and listing the first unique serial number and the number of identification codes in the set.