DEVICE SIMULATOR FRAMEWORK FOR AN RFID INFRASTRUCTURE

• US 20080001713A1
• Filed: 07/28/2006
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Meena, Bhola Ram, Dasgupta, Koushik
• Granted Patent: US 7,868,738 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/44526 Plug-ins; Add-ons
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/451 Execution arrangements for user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates simulating one or more devices respective to disparate vendors, wherein the devices can be associated with an RFID infrastructure. A physical device can wirelessly receive data from a tag. A device simulator can employ a virtual replication of the physical device to simulate the physical device within an RFID network allowing the device to be virtually represented as if physically within the RFID network.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates simulating at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) device, comprising:

a device that wirelessly receives data from a tag; and

a device simulator that employs a virtual replication of the device to simulate the device physically within an RFID network.

2. The system of claim 1, the virtual replication simulates at least one of a setting on the physical device, a wire protocol, a role within an RFID process, an interaction with the RFID network, a communication with a provider, a configuration related to the physical device.

3. The system of claim 2, 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.

4. 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.

5. The system of claim 1, the device is at least one of an RFID reader, an RFID writer, an RFID printer, a 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.

6. The system of claim 1, the virtual replication is of at least one of an RFID reader, an RFID writer, an RFID printer, a 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.

7. The system of claim 1, the device is not physically located within the RFID network.

8. The system of claim 1, the device simulator simulates a plurality of devices from a plurality of disparate vendors simultaneously.

9. The system of claim 1, the simulation includes at least one of the following:

a device setting;

a device power level;

a device frequency;

a device configuration;

a tag data reading;

a tag notification;

a management event;

a command related to the device;

a device property;

a tag management;

a connection management;

a TCP connection management;

an HTTP connection management;

a Blue Tooth connection management;

a read filter management; and

an IO port management.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plug-in that expands the device simulator allow for virtual representation of a disparate device.

11. The system of claim 10, the plug-in receives data respective to the disparate device via an independent hardware vendor to allow replication.

12. The system of claim 10, the plug-in provides at least one of an upgrade, a version, a new device, an expansion pack, a template of devices, and a new wire protocol.

13. The system of claim 1, the device simulator simultaneously employs a plurality of virtual replications for a plurality of disparate devices.

14. The system of claim 1, the device simulator includes a DeviceTranslator object, a DeviceContext object, and a DeviceOperationContext object.

15. The system of claim 1, the device simulator employs the virtual replication for a provider respective to the device simulated.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising a web service that can change at least one of a device setting, a tag information, and a notification process.

17. A computer-implemented method that facilitates simulating at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) device, comprising:

implementing a provider in a host to communicate to a device within an RFID network; and

utilizing a device simulator to emulate a presence of the device within the RFID network.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising employing a plug-in for future device expansion.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising ascertaining a device interaction with at least one of the RFID network, the host, an RFID server, and the provider.

20. A computer-implemented system that facilitates simulating at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) device, comprising:

means for receiving data related to a physical device; and

means for simulating the physical device with a virtual representation within an RFID network.