Methods and devices for uniquely provisioning RFID devices
First Claim
1. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;
receiving a provisioning request on a network; and
automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and devices are provided for identifying and provisioning individual RFID devices in a network. According to some implementations of the invention, a combination of EPC code information and existing networking standards form the basis of identifying and provisioning methods. For example, MAC address information and EPC information can be combined to identify a particular device and its location in a network. For implementations using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”), DHCP Options may be used to pass provisioning information. Some implementations employ Domain Name Service (“DNS”) and dynamic DNS (“DDNS”) to allow easy identification of RFID devices.
105 Citations
55 Claims
-
1. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;
receiving a provisioning request on a network; and
automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 50)
- RFID”
-
12. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;
forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device;
sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a dynamic host configuration protocol (“
DHCP”
) server; and
receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 51)
- RFID”
-
17. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, comprising;
a flash memory;
a processor configured to form a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device in Option 61, according to instructions in the flash memory; and
a network interface for sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server.
- RFID”
-
18. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, comprising;
means for forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device;
means for sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a dynamic host configuration protocol (“
DHCP”
) server and for receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically tailored for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (53)
- RFID”
-
19. A network device, comprising:
-
means for receiving a provisioning request on a network; and
means for automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 54, 55)
-
-
26. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer program including instructions for controlling one or more elements of a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device to perform the following steps;
form a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device;
send the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server; and
receive provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
- RFID”
-
31. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer program including instructions for controlling a network device to perform the following steps:
-
receive a provisioning request on a network; and
identify an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
-
-
37. A method for deploying a uniquely-provisioned radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device in a network, the method comprising;
forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID reader positioned at an exit door of a retail store;
sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a dynamic host configuration protocol (“
DHCP”
) server;
receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID reader; and
provisioning the RFID reader according to the provisioning information, thereby enabling the RFID reader to read RFID tags passing through the exit door and to transmit RFID tag information to an RFID network. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48)
- RFID”
-
49. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) network, comprising;
a plurality of RFID devices;
a plurality of switches connecting the RFID devices to the RFID network; and
a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server, wherein each of the plurality of RFID devices comprises;
means for forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device; and
means for sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to the DHCP server and for receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically tailored for the RFID device; and
wherein the DHCP server comprises;
means for receiving a DHCPDISCOVER request; and
means for automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an EPC included in the DHCPDISCOVER request.
- RFID”
Specification