Claims
- 1. A method for a product seller to distribute a product to a product buyer, comprising:
a product seller applying an RFID tag, or a one dimensional marking, or a two dimensional marking, to a container having a product therein, wherein information related to the product is associated with the RFID tag, or the one dimensional marking or the two dimensional marking, and shipping said container to a product buyer, wherein the product buyer can receive said container and can retrieve the information associated with the RFID tag, or the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said container is a package.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein said product is a food product for human consumption.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein said container further comprises a plurality of individual packages, wherein said RFID tag, one dimensional marking, or two dimensional marking comprises information associated with each of the individual packages.
- 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the individual packages are marked with an identifying marking or number.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is stored on the RFID tag.
- 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the buyer for said product from the information associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the product has exceeded a limited period outside of refrigeration from the information associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the shelf life of said product from the information associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising applying a label to a package, wherein said label indicates the shelf life of the product.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the product comprises beef, pork, lamb, poultry, or any combination thereof.
- 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the beef has been tested for the presence of bacteria.
- 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the bacteria is E. coli.
- 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the beef has been treated with a bactericidal agent and water.
- 15. The method of claim 11, wherein the beef has been treated with a bactericidal agent and water to produce a treated beef product having a predetermined quantity of added water.
- 16. The method of claim 1, wherein said container is at least occasionally monitored throughout said shipping.
- 17. The method of claim 1, wherein said container is at least occasionally monitored throughout said shipping with a global positioning system.
- 18. A method for a product buyer to receive a product from a product seller, comprising:
a product buyer receiving a container with a product therein and retrieving information associated with an RFID tag, a one dimensional marking, or a two dimensional marking applied to the container by a product seller, wherein information related to the product is associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking or the two dimensional marking.
- 19. The method of claim 18, wherein said container is a package.
- 20. The method of claim 18, wherein said product is a food product for human consumption.
- 21. The method of claim 18, wherein said information is used by the buyer to inventory said product.
- 22. The method of claim 18, wherein said information is used by the buyer to manage said product.
- 23. The method of claim 18, wherein said information is used by the buyer in computing a selling price for said product.
- 24. The method of claim 18, wherein the information is stored on the RFID tag.
- 25. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining whether the product has exceeded a limited period outside of refrigeration from the information associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 26. The method of claim 18, further comprising determining the shelf life of said product from the information associated with the RFID tag, the one dimensional marking, or the two dimensional marking.
- 27. The method of claim 18, wherein said container is at least occasionally monitored throughout said shipping.
- 28. The method of claim 18, wherein said container is at least occasionally monitored throughout said shipping with a global positioning system.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/432,973, filed May 28, 2003, which is the National Stage of International Application No. PCT/US01/45146, filed Nov. 28, 2001, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/724,287, filed Nov. 28, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of International Application No. PCT/US00/29038, filed Oct. 19, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser No. 09/550,399, filed Apr. 14, 2000, now abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/392,074, filed Sep. 8, 1999, now abandoned, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/039,150, filed Mar. 13, 1998, now abandoned, which claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/040,556, filed Mar. 13, 1997. application Ser. No. 09/550,399 claims the benefit of Provisional Application Nos. 60/129,595, filed Apr. 15, 1999; 60/141,569, filed Jun. 29, 1999; 60/144,400, filed Jul. 16, 1999; 60/148,227, filed Jul. 27, 1999; 60/149,938, filed Aug. 19, 1999; 60/152,677, filed Sep. 7, 1999; 60/154,068, filed Sep. 14, 1999; 60/160,445, filed Oct. 19, 1999; and 60/175,372, filed Jan. 10, 2000. International Application No. PCT/US01/45146 claims the benefit of Provisional Application Nos. 60/255,684, filed Dec. 13, 2000; 60/286,688, filed Apr. 26, 2001; 60/291,872, filed May 17, 2001; 60/299,240, filed Jun. 18, 2001; 60/312,176, filed Aug. 13, 2001; 60/314,109, filed Aug. 21, 2001; 60/323,629, filed Sep. 19, 2001; and 60/335,760, filed Oct. 19, 2001. All applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Provisional Applications (18)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60040556 |
Mar 1997 |
US |
|
60129595 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
|
60141569 |
Jun 1999 |
US |
|
60144400 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
|
60148227 |
Jul 1999 |
US |
|
60149938 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
|
60152677 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
|
60154068 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
|
60160445 |
Oct 1999 |
US |
|
60175372 |
Jan 2000 |
US |
|
60255684 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
|
60286688 |
Apr 2001 |
US |
|
60291872 |
May 2001 |
US |
|
60299240 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
|
60312176 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
|
60314109 |
Aug 2001 |
US |
|
60323629 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
|
60335760 |
Oct 2001 |
US |
Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
10432973 |
Jan 2004 |
US |
Child |
10769489 |
Jan 2004 |
US |
Parent |
09039150 |
Mar 1998 |
US |
Child |
09392074 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (4)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09724287 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
10432973 |
Jan 2004 |
US |
Parent |
PCT/US00/29038 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Child |
09724287 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09550399 |
Apr 2000 |
US |
Child |
PCT/US00/29038 |
Oct 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09392074 |
Sep 1999 |
US |
Child |
09550399 |
Apr 2000 |
US |