Rule-based filtering and alerting

• US 20060047789A1
• Filed: 07/29/2005
• Published: 03/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sriram, Balasubramanian, Ahmed, Mohamed Fakrudeen Ali, Goteti, Janaki Ram, Venkatesh, Ramachandran, Kumar, Anush
• Granted Patent: US 8,217,756 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/220
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates utilizing rule-based technology with radio frequency identification (RFID) network. An interface can receive real-time RFID data from a process comprising at least one device collection in the RFID network, wherein a rules engine (RE) component can employ a declarative event policy associated with the RFID network as rules. The RE allows dynamic updates of business logic associated with applications in real-time without the re-start and/or stop the applications. The system and/or method further comprises a vocabulary component that provides terms that defines at least one of the rule, rule condition, and action based at least in part upon an industry specific nomenclature.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates utilizing rule-based technology with a radio frequency identification (RFID) network, comprising:

an interface that receives real-time RFID data from a process comprising at least one device collection in the RFID network; and

a rules engine (RE) component that employs at least one of a declarative event policy associated with the RFID network as a rule.

2. The system of claim 1, the device collection is a collection of devices, wherein the device is one of the following:

an RFID reader;

an RFID writer;

an RFID printer;

a reader;

a writer;

an RFID transmitter;

an antenna;

a sensor;

a real-time device;

an RFID receiver;

a real-time sensor;

a device extensible to a web service; and

a real-time event generation system.

3. The system of claim 1, the declarative event policy executes on the real-time RFID data to allow a portion of tag reads related to a device.

4. The system of claim 3, the declarative filter allows a combination of tag reads from an RFID tag associated with at least one of a pallet, a case, and an item.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a vocabulary component that provides terms that defines at least one of the rule, rule condition, and action based at least in part upon an industry specific nomenclature.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a composer that creates a vocabulary utilized for the rule based at least in part upon an industry specific nomenclature.

7. The system of claim 1, the declarative event policy executes an action based at least in part upon an evaluation of the real-time RFID data that pass the declarative filter.

8. The system of claim 7, the declarative event policy is executed from a logical source and is one of the following:

a range of a tag;

a time alert for a tag;

a duplicate reading for a period of time;

an expectation of tag read within a time;

an incomplete tag read; and

an unread tag.

9. The system of claim 8, the logical source is at least one of a grouping of device collections, a filter policy, an alert policy, and an event handler.

10. The system of claim 7, the declarative event policy is executed on a device event raised by the RFID network that includes at least one of the following:

a device down;

a device up; and

a new device.

11. The system of claim 1, the rule is at least one of the following:

contained within a rule set that adheres to an event, a condition, and an action; and

represented utilizing an extensible markup language (XML).

12. The system of claim 11, the condition has at least one of a set of predicates and a logical connective to form a logical expression that evaluates to one of a true and a false.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising an update component that invokes a dynamic update in real-time related to at least one of the declarative filter and the declarative alert.

14. The system of claim 1, the process is a high-level object that forms together at least one entity to create a meaningful unit of execution that relates to at least one of the following:

an outbound process;

a manufacturing process;

a shipping process;

a receiving process;

a tracking process;

a data representation process;

a data manipulation process;

a security process; and

a process utilizing one of an RFID device service, a device collection, a tag read, an event, an event queue, a tag write, a device configuration, and a number count.

15. The system of claim 1, the RFID network comprises a collection of devices that form a sub-system which includes:

an RFID reader that receives an RFID signal; and

an RFID tag that transmits to at least one device.

16. A computer readable medium having stored thereon the components of the system of claim 1.

17. A computer-implemented method that facilitates utilizing rule-based technology with a radio frequency identification (RFID) network, comprising:

utilizing a logical source associated with the RFID network;

asserting tag data used in a filter policy into a rules engine (RE);

executing the filter policy;

asserting tag data utilized in an alert policy into the RE; and

executing the alert policy.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

defining at least one event policy;

defining an RFID process;

deploying at least one of the RFID process, the event policy; and

dynamically updating at least one event policy in real-time.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

identifying at least one of a business policy related to a new application and a business logic related to an existing application;

defining a rule with a rule set that represents the business logic;

attaching tag data to at least one of a condition and an action related to the rule;

testing the rule; and

publishing the business policy in a store to deploy.

20. A computer-implemented system that facilitates utilizing rule-based technology with a radio frequency identification (RFID) network, comprising:

means for receiving real-time RFID data from a process comprising at least one device collection in the RFID network; and

means for utilizing a rules engine to employ at least one declarative event policy associated with the RFID network as a rule.