RFID business process-decoupling of design and deployment time activities

• US 20070213994A1
• Filed: 03/10/2006
• Published: 09/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Agarwal, Abhishek, Gopalan, Krishnan, Prasad, Anil, Sriram, Balasubramanian, Venkatesh, Ramachandran, Kumar, Anush, C., Arunkumar, Sundaram, Jayaram, Goteti, Janaki, Scott, Pamela
• Granted Patent: US 7,756,747 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/453 Help systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates implementing a binding between a radio frequency identification (RFID) process and a device. An RFID process can receive a tag read event from a device and make the tag read event available for at least one high level application. A binding engine can bind the RFID process to the device while decoupling a design time activity and a deployment time activity associated with the RFID process. In addition, the binding engine can include at least one of a device mapping component that employs a device binding; and a component configuration module that employs a component binding.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates binding at least one device, comprising:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) business process that receives a tag read event from one or more devices and makes the tag read event available for at least one high level application;

a binding engine that binds the RFID business process while decoupling a design time activity and a deployment time activity associated with the RFID business process; and

the binding engine includes at least one of the following;

a device mapping component that employs a device binding; and

a component configuration module that employs a component binding.

2. The system of claim 1, the device is at least 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 RFID business 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.

4. The system of claim 1, the binding is a mapping of an external device to an internal logical device and assigning at least one value to an initialization parameter of a component.

5. The system of claim 1, the device binding is an action of linking a logical entity with at least one physical entity.

6. The system of claim 5, the logical entity is a logical device and the physical entity is the device.

7. The system of claim 6, the logical device is bound to at least one of the device and a device group.

8. The system of claim 1, the component binding is a specification of at least one value for an initialization parameter of a component.

9. The system of claim 8, the component is at least one of an internal logical element and an event handler.

10. The system of claim 9, the event handler is managed code running in context of the RFID business process that processes the tag read event.

11. The system of claim 1, the binding takes a process definition and associates the device and a component to a topology and system configuration within an enterprise.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising a binding component that creates a binding object.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a process update component that dynamically updates the RFID business process in relation to at least one of a manipulation, a change, and a disparity associated with the binding.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a link component that maintains a binding relationship between the RFID business process and the device by employing at least one of a hard link and a soft link.

15. The system of claim 8, further comprising the device within an RFID network that 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. The system of claim 1, further comprising a presentation component that provides at least one user interface to facilitate interaction between a user and the binding engine.

17. A computer-implemented method that facilitates binding at least one device, comprising:

receiving an RFID process; and

binding the RFID process to a device by employing at least one of a device binding and a component binding.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising updating the bindings dynamically.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising utilizing a user interface to facilitate binding the RFID process to the device.

20. A computer-implemented system that facilitates binding at least one device, comprising:

means for receiving a tag read event from a device and making the tag read event available for at least one high level application utilizing an radio frequency identification (RFID) business process;

means for binding the RFID business process to the device while decoupling a design time activity and a deployment activity associated with the RFID business process; and

means for employing at least one of a device binding and a component binding.