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EP-3493129-B1 - RFID SCANNING DEVICE

EP3493129B1EP 3493129 B1EP3493129 B1EP 3493129B1EP-3493129-B1

Inventors

  • SHARPE, GARY L.
  • CLOUSER, DOUG
  • WOLF, KURT
  • DUTRO, BRIAN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20181126

Claims (13)

  1. A device for securing and tracking RFID-tagged inventory comprising: a housing (710) surrounding an interior cavity (724), said housing (710) having a front side (712), a top side (718), a left and right side (714,716), a bottom side (720), and a back side (722); an outer door (726), said outer door connected to said front side (712) of said housing (710), and said outer door (726) adapted for movement between a closed position and an open position; an inner door (730), said inner door (730) being adapted for movement between a closed position and an open position; a drop box mechanism (744) located in said top side (718) of said housing (710), said drop box mechanism (744) comprising a drawer (746) adapted to move between an open position and a closed position, said drawer (746) adapted to receive items when said drawer (746) is in an open position, and said drawer (746) adapted to place items into said inner cavity (724) when said drawer (746) is in said closed position; an RFID antenna (124) located within said housing; said RFID antenna configured to communicate with one or more RFID tags located within said interior cavity (724); an RFID reader located within said housing (710) and connected to said RFID antenna (124), said RFID reader configured to communicate with one or more RFID tags located within said interior cavity (724) via said RFID antenna (124); and a processor (736), said processor in electronic communication with said RFID antenna (124) and said RFID reader; wherein said drop box mechanism (744) is associated with said outer door (726) such that said drawer (746) is prevented from moving to said open position when said outer door (726) is closed; and wherein said processor (736) is adapted to instruct said RFID antenna (124) and said RFID reader to perform a scan to identify items present in said interior cavity (724) upon the closing of said outer door (726).
  2. The device of claim 1, wherein said inner door (730) is located in a recess (731) in said front side (712) of said housing (710).
  3. The device of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said inner door (730) is located behind said outer door (726) and said inner door (730) can only be in an open position when said outer door (726) is in an open position.
  4. The device of any preceding claim, wherein said outer door (726) comprises a lip (729) adapted to aid a user in manually opening and closing the outer door (726).
  5. The device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein said outer door (726) and inner door (730) comprise lips (727,729) adapted to aid a user in manually opening and closing said inner and outer doors (726,730).
  6. The device of any preceding claim, wherein at least said outer door (726) is spring biased in an open position.
  7. The device of any preceding claim, wherein said device further comprises: an LED light (750) located on said housing (710), said LED light being adapted to communicate notifications to a user.
  8. The device of any preceding claim, further comprising: a first lock mechanism (732) associated with said outer door (726), said first lock mechanism (732) being in electronic communication with said processor (736); an access reader unit (737) in electronic communication with said processor (736), said access reader unit (737) being adapted to recognize RFID cards associated with authorized users; wherein said processor (736) is adapted to direct said first lock mechanism (732) to unlock said outer door (726) upon the recognition by said access reader unit (737) of a first RFID card associated with a first authorized user, and said processor (736) is adapted to direct said first lock mechanism (732) to unlock said outer door (726) upon the recognition by said access reader unit of a second authorized RFID card associated with a second authorized user.
  9. The device of claim 8, further comprising a second lock mechanism (734) associated with said inner door (730), said second lock mechanism (734) being in electronic communication with said processor (736).
  10. The device of claim 8 or claim 9, wherein at least said first lock mechanism (732) comprises a mechanical manual override lock.
  11. The device of Claim 1, further comprising: a locking mechanism (752) adapted to lock said drawer (746) of said drop box mechanism (744) in said closed position, said locking mechanism (752) comprising: a slot (758) located on said drawer (746); a lever (756) connected to said housing (710), said lever (756) being positioned to engage with said slot (758) when said drawer (746) is in said closed position; said lever (756) being spring loaded and biased in a position disengaged from said slot (758), a pin (754) extending through said front side (712) of said housing (710), said spring pin (754) being biased to extend out of said front side (712) of said housing (170); said pin (754) being adapted to slide through said housing (710) and make contact with said lever (756) when said outer door (726) is moved from said open position to said closed position; wherein when said outer door (726) is closed and said pin (754) engages with said lever (756), said lever (756) engages with said slot (758) and prevents said drawer (726) of said drop box mechanism (744) from being opened.
  12. The device of Claim 11, wherein said drawer (746) of said drop box mechanism (744) includes a finger slot (748) for opening said drawer (746).
  13. The device of any preceding claim, further comprising at least two guide rails (122) adapted to support an inventory container that contains RFID-tagged inventory, said at least two guide rails (122) located on an interior bottom surface of said inner cavity (724) such that said RFID antenna (124) is positioned between said at least two guide rails (122) on said interior bottom surface of said inner cavity (724) and further such that said at least two guide rails (122) are adapted to keep an inventory container that contains RFID-tagged inventory above said RFID antenna (124) to limit inadvertent contact with said RFID antenna (124).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate generally to RFID scanning systems, devices and methods, and more specifically those used for managing and securing critical inventories, such as medication kits, narcotics, and other prescription drugs. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology has seen adoption for many uses, such as advertising, transportation, shipping and general inventory management, for instance. Tagging and tracking items with RFID technology in inventory stock is generally done to decrease latency in the reporting of inventory information and to increase the accuracy in the information being reported. In many use cases, the application of RFID technology to inventory management procedures can produce significant gains in a business's efficiency and speed of operations, and further permits the use of electronic tracking and large-scale inventory information analysis often used for further improvements systemically. RFID technology in general, however, has some disadvantages that can be magnified in certain potential use cases. In some industries, coping with these types of issues has led to a slower rate of deployment of the technology in general. For example, in the medical industry, accuracy of the objects being inventoried (typically medication) is critical. The medical professionals using the inventoried medication need to consistently have particular medications available to them. Known RFID inventory technology is insufficient, however, due to problem with the labor-intensive creation of such RFID devices, inability to provide bulk scanning, and the actual or potential inaccurate RFID readings due to electromagnetic interference and leakage which can cause inaccuracies in the gathered data. There is, therefore, an unmet need in the prior art for a highly accurate bulk scanning RFID inventory device that is relatively easy and cost efficient to manufacture. There is also an unmet need for a scanning RFID inventory device that is secure. Pain killers and other medications are commonly subject to theft. Furthermore, there are many settings outside of the traditional hospital or medical office that store medications or supplies. For example, fire stations often store pain killers and/or sedatives for use in their ambulances. There is an increasing amount of theft of pain killers and other medications from fire stations and other facilities. It is, therefore, desirable to have a secure scanning device that limits access to authorized users. It is also desirable to have a scanning device that is compact and can be utilized in a variety of environments without the need for a pharmacy computer or computer station nearby. It is also desirable to have a scanning system that can communicate basic information in a simple way that can be understood by both medical and non-medical personnel. WO2014/092754A1 discloses an enclosure with one or more doors which also includes an RFID reader to identify items which are added to/removed from the enclosure. The document however, fails to disclose the use of a drop box mechanism as claimed in claim 1. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a device for securing and tracking RFID-tagged inventory as claimed in claim 1. Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure pertain to an RFID box that is comprised of a conductive metallic material so as to insulate it from electromagnetic interference. The RFID box comprises a hinged door that is biased open but held shut by latches. Preferably, the door is hinged at the top of the RFID box. The RFID box may comprise an RFID antenna and a RFID antenna/reader, both of which are configured to read RFID tags placed within the RFID box. A pass-through device is preferably located on the rear wall of the RFID box which provides a channel for the passage of a communications wire and power supply. The box may be formed by one C-shaped enclosure and a pair of open top box shaped side panels such that the enclosure and the side panels form a lip around the front aperture of the RFID box. The hinged door may be hung from the top of the enclosure such that it covers said front aperture when placed in the closed position. A gasket may run the perimeter of the lip to prevent electromagnetic leakage. The RFID box may be in communication with a remote server and electronic device. The RFID box may transmit baseline data regarding the inventory placed within the RFID box and current content data regarding the inventory current located in the RFID box to the remote server. The remote server may compare the data and send a summary of the comparison to the electronic device. In an alternative embodiment, the RFID box may comprise a housing surrounding an interior cavity, where the housing has a front side with an aperture for receiving one or more items into said interior cavity. The housing may have a door adapted to move between an open position (a