	US 7,511,601 B2
	Radio frequency identification in document management
Peter M. Eisenberg, Minneapolis, Minn. (US); David P. Erickson, Stillwater, Minn. (US); Edward D. Goff, Mahtomedi, Minn. (US); Mitchell B. Grunes, Minneapolis, Minn. (US); Gene J. Hickok, Cottage Grove, Minn. (US); Janet T. Keller, Eagan, Minn. (US); William J. Kelliher, Jr., Lino Lakes, Minn. (US); Jon A. Kirschhoffer, White Bear Lake, Minn. (US); John M. Kruse, Minneapolis, Minn. (US); Diane E. Morel, Shoreview, Minn. (US); Scott D. Pearson, Woodbury, Minn. (US); Chester Piotrowski, White Bear Lake, Minn. (US); Edmund J. Ring, Circle Pines, Minn. (US); Robert A. Sainati, Bloomington, Minn. (US); and Michele A. Waldner, Minneapolis, Minn. (US)
Assigned to 3M Innovative Properties Company, St. Paul, Minn. (US)
Filed on May 20, 2002, as Appl. No. 10/153,124.
Application 10/153124 is a continuation in part of application No. 09/874749, filed on Jun. 05, 2001, abandoned.
Prior Publication US 2002/0196126 A1, Dec. 26, 2002
Int. Cl. H04Q 5/22 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 340—3.51 [340/825.49; 340/10.1; 340/10.2; 340/10.32; 340/572.1]

13 Claims

1. A method for interrogating a storage area that includes a number of items stored in the storage area each bearing an RFID tag, the method comprising:

prior to initiating a polling of RFID tags within the storage area by an RFID interrogator having a plurality of antennas for communicating with the RFID tags wherein different portions of the storage area are associated with different antennas of the plurality of antennas to allow the RFID interrogator to selectively interrogate the different portions of the storage area, determining a number of people who have used each of the different portions of the storage area to access items stored in the different portions of the storage area; and

after determining the number of people that have used the different portions of the storage area, controlling the RFID interrogator to poll at least some of the different portions of the storage area with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the different portions of the storage area more frequently than other portions of the storage area are polled by the RFID interrogator with antennas of the plurality of antennas associated with the other portions of the storage area, wherein the frequency of polling each of the different portions of the storage area depends on the determined number of people who have used the respective portion of the storage area to access items in that portion of the storage area.