Inventory control apparatus

Abstract

A system and method which allows third-parties to monitor company inventory via the Internet and World Wide Web (“web”) and automatically order needed items. The present invention also provides a forum through which resellers and customers may directly interact to resell surplus and used equipment. The present invention may also allow a third party to act as a broker, thereby assuring that both the equipment purchased is actually delivered, and that the seller is properly compensated.

1 - 29 . (canceled)  
     
     
         30 . An apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a monitoring system including:    (i) a tag reader configured to read tags from tagged items located within an inventory, and    (ii) means for detecting and reporting that an item has been added to or removed from the inventory;    (b) one or more item tracking systems, each item tracking system including:    (i) a storage medium that stores information about tagged items,    (ii) input processing logic configured to process messages containing information about changes in the location of a tagged item and to store the information in the storage medium, and    (iii) a query interface configured to respond to queries about the tagged items; and    (c) an event router including:    (i) a registry of users, the users including the one or more item tracking systems, and    (ii) means for receiving an event from the monitoring system and sending the event to the one or more item tracking systems.    
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein the event includes a unique digital identifier for an item, a unique digital identifier for a reader and a timestamp.  
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein the event further includes a parameter that indicates whether the item has been added to the inventory or whether the item has been removed from the inventory.  
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein said tag reader is selected from the group consisting of an RFID tag reader and a barcode reader, and said tags on tagged items are selected from the group consisting of RFID tags and barcode tags.  
     
     
         34 . The apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein said tag reader is an RFID tag reader, and said tags on tagged items are RFID tags.  
     
     
         35 . An apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a monitoring system including:    (i) a tag reader configured to read tags from tagged items located within an inventory, and    (ii) means for detecting and reporting that an item has been added to or removed from the inventory;    (b) at least one computer program configured (1) to determine whether replenishment of the inventory is needed, and (2) to determine whether to send an alert; and    (c) an event router including:    (i) a registry of users, the users including the at least one computer program, and    (ii) means for receiving an event from the monitoring system and sending the event to the at least one computer program.    
     
     
         36 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the event includes a unique digital identifier for an item, a unique digital identifier for a reader and a timestamp.  
     
     
         37 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the event further includes a parameter that indicates whether the item has been added to the inventory or whether the item has been removed from the inventory.  
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the at least one computer program is configured to apply a pre-determined set of rules to determine whether to send the alert.  
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein the at least one computer program is further configured to analyze inventory data to detect trends in the data.  
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein said tag reader is selected from the group consisting of an RFID tag reader and a barcode reader, and said tags on tagged items are selected from the group consisting of RFID tags and barcode tags.  
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 35 , wherein said tag reader is an RFID tag reader, and said tags on tagged items are RFID tags.  
     
     
         42 . An apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a monitoring system including:    (i) a tag reader configured to read tags from tagged items located within an inventory, and    (ii) means for detecting and reporting that an item has been added to or removed from the inventory;    (b) a plurality of event routers, each event router including:    (i) a registry of users, and    (ii) means for receiving an event from the monitoring system and sending the event to one or more of the users; and    (c) a mapping component including:    (i) a storage medium that stores mappings between an item identifier and an event router and between a reader identifier and an event router, and    (ii) means for receiving an item or reader identifier from the monitoring system and using the item or reader identifier to locate an event router.    
     
     
         43 . An apparatus comprising: 
 (a) a monitoring system including:    (i) a tag reader configured to read tags from tagged items located within an inventory, and    (ii) means for detecting and reporting that an item has been added or removed from the inventory;    (b) an item tracking system including:    (i) a storage medium that stores information about tagged items,    (ii) input processing logic configured to process messages containing information about changes in the location of a tagged item and to store the information in the storage medium, and    (iii) a query interface configured to respond to queries about the tagged items; and    (c) at least one computer program configured (1) to determine whether replenishment of the inventory is needed, and (2) to receive an event from the monitoring system and to determine whether to send an alert.    
     
     
         44 . An inventory management system comprising: 
 (a) a monitoring system including:    (i) a tag reader configured to read tags from tagged items located within an inventory, and    (ii) means for detecting and reporting that an item has been added to or removed from the inventory;    (b) an item tracking system including:    (i) a storage medium that stores information about tagged items,    (ii) input processing logic configured to process messages containing information about changes in the location of a tagged item and to store the information in the storage medium, and    (iii) a query interface configured to respond to queries about the tagged items;    (c) at least one computer program configured (1) to determine whether replenishment of the inventory is needed, and (2) to receive an event from the monitoring system and to determine whether to send an alert;    (d) an event router including:    (i) a registry of users, the users including the item tracking system and the at least one computer program, and    (ii) means for receiving an event from the monitoring system and sending the event to one or more of the users; and    (e) a mapping component including:    (i) storage medium that stores mappings between an item identifier and an event router and between a reader identifier and an event router, and    (ii) means for receiving an item identifier from the monitoring system and using the item identifier to locate an event router.