1. A method for identifying a biological sample associated with a container, comprising:
providing a container suitable for receiving a biological sample;
providing a first database for storing information relating to said container;
marking said container with a universally unique identifier which distinguishes said container from other like containers independently of the contents of said container;
associating said universally unique identifier with container information stored in said first database;
placing a biological sample in said container;
providing a second database for storing information relating to said biological sample; and
associating said universally unique identifier with sample information stored in said second database.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said container information identifies at least one of a manufacturer of said container and a characteristic of said container.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein said first database is maintained by a manufacturer of said container.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein said first database is maintained by an organization of container manufacturers.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein said first database is accessed by at least one of a direct computer link and the Internet.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein said sample information includes at least one of a patient identification and a test identification.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said universally unique identifier to query said second database and thereby retrieve said sample information.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising using said universally unique identifier to modify said sample information stored in said second database.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein said second database is maintained by a user of said container.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein said universally unique identifier provides the equivalent of at least 12 decimal digits.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein said universally unique identifier provides the equivalent of at least 18 decimal digits.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein said universally unique identifier comprises one or more first areas on an outer surface of said container having a first specular reflectance which differs from a second specular reflectance of a second area adjacent to said first area.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said first specular reflectance is less than said second specular reflectance.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein said marking step comprises laser etching said outer surface of said container to define said one or more first areas.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein said marking step comprises abrading said outer surface of said container to define said one or more first areas.
16. The method of claim 13, wherein said marking step comprises applying a thin film member to said outer surface of said container.
17. The method of claim 12, wherein said first specular reflectance is greater than said second specular reflectance.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein said marking step comprises melting said outer surface to define said one or more first areas.
19. The method of claim 12, further including detecting said one or more first areas of said outer surface of said container.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein said detecting step comprises projecting light toward said outer surface of said container from a source and sensing light reflected by said container from said source.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method comprising:
detecting a change in a weight of one or more items within a shopping cart, the weight sensed by a weight sensor disposed in the shopping cart, each of the one or more items comprising a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag;
switching an RFID reader to an active state and scanning RFID tags of the one or more items with the RFID reader in response to detecting the change in the weight, the RFID reader disposed on the shopping cart;
switching the RFID reader to an inactive state subsequent to scanning the RFID tags with the RFID reader; and
determining an inventory of the one or more items based on information from the scanned RFID tags, the inventory comprising an item quantity and an item identity.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the change in the weight further comprises detecting a change from a baseline weight, the baseline weight being prior to an item being added to the cart.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the inventory on a storage device disposed on the cart, the storage device in communication with the RFID reader.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising communicating the inventory to a separate computing device away from the cart.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the separate computing device comprises a checkout station, the checkout station performing the checkout process based on the inventory.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the separate computing device comprises a central server, wherein the central server maintains the inventory and communicates the inventory to a checkout station during a checkout process, the checkout station performing the checkout process based on the inventory.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the inventory is communicated using a wireless local area network (WLAN) transmitter in communication with the RFID reader.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a scanning trigger and scanning the RFID tags of the one or more items with the RFID reader in response to receiving the scanning trigger.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the scanning trigger comprises one of:
an external signal; and
a physical feature on a floor under the cart, the physical feature shaped to agitate the cart and cause the weight sensor to detect the change in the weight.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising electronically displaying the inventory on a display in communication with the RFID reader, wherein electronically displaying the inventory comprises displaying one or more of the item quantity, the item identity, an item price, an item promotion, and a total price.
11. The method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a difference between the weight of the one or more items and a total predicted weight, the total predicted weight based on the item identity, the item quantity, and a predicted weight for each of the one or more items.
12. The method of claim 11, further comprising issuing an alert in response to detecting the difference between the weight of the one or more items and the total predicted weight.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising rescanning the RFID tags of the one or more items with the RFID reader in response to detecting the difference between the weight of the one or more items and the total predicted weight.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein detecting the difference between the weight of the one or more items and the total predicted weight occurs in response to one of detecting the change in the weight of the items and detecting a checkout process initiation.
15. An apparatus comprising:
a detection module that detects a change in a weight of one or more items within a shopping cart, the weight sensed by a weight sensor disposed in the shopping cart, each of the one or more items comprising a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag;
a scanning module that switches an RFID reader to an active state and scans RFID tags of the one or more items with the RFID reader in response to the detection module detecting the change in weight, the RFID reader disposed on the shopping cart;
an inactive state module that switches the RFID reader to an inactive state subsequent to the scanning module scanning the RFID tags with the RFID reader; and
an inventory determination module that determines an inventory of the one or more items based on information from the scanned RFID tags, the inventory comprising an item quantity and an item identity
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a storage module that stores the inventory on a storage device disposed on the cart, the storage device in communication with the RFID reader.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a communication module that communicates the inventory to a separate computing device away from the cart.
18. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a checkout module that receives the inventory and performs the checkout process based on the inventory.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising:
a remote storage module that receives the inventory from the cart and stores the inventory at a central server; and
a checkout communication module that communicates the inventory from the central server to a checkout station during a checkout process, the checkout station performing the checkout process based on the inventory.
20. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code for:
detecting change in a weight of one or more items within a shopping cart, the weight sensed by a weight sensor disposed in the shopping cart, each of the one or more items comprising a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag;
switching an RFID reader to an active state and scanning RFID tags of the one or more items with the RFID reader in response to detecting the change in the weight, the RFID reader disposed on the shopping cart;
switching the RFID reader to an inactive state subsequent to scanning the RFID tags with the RFID reader; and
determining an inventory of the one or more items based on information from the scanned RFID tags, the inventory comprising an item quantity and an item identity.