TESTING AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION DEVICES, SUCH AS BARCODE, RFID AND/OR MAGNETIC STRIPE READERS

• US 20080029597A1
• Filed: 08/03/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Allen, Nicholas, Harding, Andrew, Suhr, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 8,944,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/437
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0709 in a distributed system consisting of a plurality of standalone computer nodes, e.g. clusters, client-server systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0748 in a remote unit communicating with a single-box computer node experiencing an error/fault remote testing G06F11/2294
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0095 Testing the sensing arrangement, e.g. testing if a magnetic card reader, bar code reader, RFID interrogator or smart card reader functions properly testing of electrical circuits G01R31/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10 by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensing; by corpuscular radiation

Abstract

Automatic data collection devices such as barcode readers, RFID readers, magnetic stripe readers and the like may be tested using ADC device test executables, modules or processes stored at a variety of network locations. One or more sets of tests or work lists may be defined to facilitate testing. Tests may be identified by name and/or keyword. Keywords may be indicative one or more functionalities tested by the respective ADC device test module.

Claims

1. A method of testing automatic data collection devices, the method comprising:

automatically determining a set of functionalities of a target automatic data collection device to be tested;

based on the determined set of functionalities of the target automatic data collection device, automatically identifying a number of automatic data collection tests to be run against the target automatic data collection device;

executing at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device; and

at least temporarily storing a set of results from the execution of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

locating respective ones of the identified automatic data collection tests at various locations on a network.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled; and

when executing at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device, not executing against the target automatic data collection device any of the identified automatic data collection tests that are indicated as being disabled.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled includes querying a global set of automatic data collection test disablement information stored on at least one location on a network.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled includes querying a global set of automatic data collection test disablement information stored on at least one location on a network based on at least one keyword indicative of a functionality of the target automatic data collection device.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically determining a set of functionalities of a target automatic data collection device to be tested includes remotely querying the target automatic data collection device.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically determining a set of functionalities of a target automatic data collection device to be tested includes querying a database that stores relationships between a number of automatic data collection device model identifiers and a number of functionalities of automatic data collection devices of specific models.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein automatically identifying a number of automatic data collection tests to be run against the target automatic data collection device based on the determined set of functionalities of the target automatic data collection device includes locating respective ones of the identified automatic data collection tests at various locations on a network.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein locating respective ones of the identified automatic data collection tests at various locations on a network includes determining at least one keyword associated with at least of the functionalities and searching the network based on determined keyword for automatic data collection tests corresponding to the at least one keyword.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein searching the network based on determined keywords for automatic data collection tests corresponding to the at least one keyword includes searching the network for dynamically linked libraries having attributes with at least one keyword that matches the determined keyword.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a set of interim results formatted within a work list of the identified automatic data collection tests while executing the at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing a set of final results formatted within a work list of the identified automatic data collection tests after executing the at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device, with any failures visually emphasized.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

storing a work list indicative of the identified automatic data collection tests and a respective location of each of the automatic data collection tests on a network, the work list selectively retrievable to rerun the identified automatic data collection tests.

14. A computer-readable medium storing instructions that cause a computer to test automatic data collection devices, by:

automatically determining a set of functionalities of a target automatic data collection device to be tested;

based on the determined set of functionalities of the target automatic data collection device, automatically identifying a number of automatic data collection tests to be run against the target automatic data collection device;

executing at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device; and

at least temporarily storing a set of results from the execution of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 storing instructions that cause the computer to test automatic data collection devices, further by:

locating respective ones of the identified automatic data collection tests at various locations on a network.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 wherein locating respective ones of the identified automatic data collection tests at various locations on a network includes determining at least one keyword associated with at least one of the functionalities and searching the network based on determined keyword for automatic data collection tests corresponding to the at least one keyword.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 storing instructions that cause the computer to test automatic data collection devices, further by:

determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled; and

when executing at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device, not executing against the target automatic data collection device any of the identified automatic data collection tests that are indicated as being disabled.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 14 storing instructions that cause the computer to test automatic data collection devices, further by:

providing a set of results formatted within a work list of the identified automatic data collection test before finishing executing the at least one of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device.

19. A method of facilitating testing automatic data collection devices, the method comprising:

receiving at least one keyword that is indicative of at least one functionality provided by some automatic data collection devices; and

based on the received at least one keyword, searching at least a portion of a network for a number of automatic data collection tests that may be run against the automatic data collection devices which provide the at least one functionality indicated by the keyword.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein searching at least a portion of a network for a number of automatic data collection tests that may be run against the automatic data collection devices which provide the at least one functionality indicated by the keyword includes searching a directory of at least one computing system for dynamically linked libraries having attributes with at least one keyword that match the determined keyword.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein searching at least a portion of a network for a number of automatic data collection tests that may be run against the automatic data collection devices which provide the at least one functionality indicated by the keyword includes searching the entire network for dynamically linked libraries having attributes with at least one keyword that match the determined keyword.

22. The method of claim 19 wherein receiving at least one keyword that is indicative of at least one functionality provided by some automatic data collection devices includes receiving a keyword that is indicative of at least one of a symbology that the automatic data collection device is configured to read, a scan engine installed in the automatic data collection device, an imager installed in the automatic data collection device, a radio installed in the automatic data collection device or a communications protocol enabled in the automatic data collection device.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

executing any of the identified automatic data collection tests that are not indicated as being disabled against a target one of the automatic data collection devices; and

at least temporarily storing a set of results from the execution of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target one of the automatic data collection devices.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are duplicates;

determining whether the duplicate instances of the identified automatic data collection tests were the result of two different keywords;

removing at least one of the instances of the duplicate identified automatic data collection tests; and

executing any of the remaining identified automatic data collection tests as many times as indicated in a work list.

26. A system to facilitate testing automatic data collection devices, the system comprising:

a network connection;

a processor; and

a memory that stores processor executable instructions that cause the processor to receive at least one keyword that is indicative of at least one functionality provided by some automatic data collection devices, and based on the received at least one keyword, search at least a portion of a network for a number of automatic data collection tests that may be run against the automatic data collection devices which provide the at least one functionality indicated by the keyword.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein searching at least a portion of a network for a number of automatic data collection tests that may be run against the automatic data collection devices which provide the at least one functionality indicated by the keyword includes searching a directory of at least one computing system for dynamically linked libraries having attributes with at least one keyword that match the determined keyword.

28. The system of claim 26 wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine whether any of the identified automatic data collection tests are indicated as being disabled, execute any of the identified automatic data collection tests that are not indicated as being disabled against a target one of the automatic data collection devices, and at least temporarily store a set of results from the execution of the identified automatic data collection tests against the target one of the automatic data collection devices.

29. A method of automating the remote testing of automatic data collection devices, the method comprising:

locating a plurality of existing automatic data collection device tests on a network;

automatically filtering the automatic data collection device tests by keywords to determine at set of relevant automatic data collection device tests; and

running the automatic data collection device tests in the set of relevant automatic data collection device tests against at least one target automatic data collection device.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

determining the keywords based on a functionality available on the at least one target automatic data collection device.

31. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

remotely querying the at least one target automatic data collection device to determine the available functionality.

32. The method of claim 29 wherein locating a plurality of automatic data collection device tests on a network includes querying a plurality of networked devices to identify executable modules.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein locating a plurality of automatic data collection device tests on a network includes querying a plurality of networked devices to identify executable dynamically linked libraries.

34. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

adding a new keyword to a preexisting one of the automatic data collection device tests.

35. A system to automate the remote testing of automatic data collection devices, the system comprising:

a network port to provide a connection to a network; and

a processor configured to locate a plurality of existing automatic data collection device tests on the network, automatically filter the automatic data collection device tests by keywords to determine at set of relevant automatic data collection device tests; and

run the automatic data collection device tests in the set of relevant automatic data collection device tests against at least one target automatic data collection device.

36. The system of claim 35 wherein the processor is configured to determine the keywords based on a functionality available on the at least one target automatic data collection device.

37. The system of claim 35 wherein the processor is further configured to remotely query the at least one target automatic data collection device to determine the available functionality.

38. The system of claim 35 wherein the processor is further configured to add a new keyword to a preexisting one of the automatic data collection device tests.

39. A method of facilitating testing automatic data collection devices, the method comprising:

forming a first set of data that identifies a plurality of automatic data collection device tests, where an executable module for a respective one of each of the automatic data collection tests are stored at a number of different storage locations; and

assigning at least a first identifier to the first set of data that identifies the number of automatic data collection device tests.

40. The method of claim 39 wherein forming a first set of data that identifies a plurality of automatic data collection device tests includes forming the first set of data that identifies at least two automatic data collection devices tests, where the respective executable modules for each of the at least two automatic data collection tests are distributed at respective locations on a network, the at least two respective locations being different from one another.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein assigning at least a first identifier to the first set of data that identifies the number of automatic data collection device tests includes assigning a first name to the first set.

42. The method of claim 39 wherein assigning at least a first identifier to the first set of data that identifies the number of automatic data collection device tests includes assigning at least first keyword indicative of a first functionality tested by the automatic data collection device tests of the first set of data.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising:

assigning a second keyword indicative of a second functionality tested by the automatic data collection device tests of the first set of data.

44. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving a run test command including the first identifier; and

running the executable modules of each of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data against a target automatic data collection device.

45. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving a run test command including the first identifier;

locating the executable modules of each of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data; and

running the located executable modules of each of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data against a target automatic data collection device.

46. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

receiving a run test command including the first identifier;

determining if any of the automatic data collection device tests are identified as being disabled;

locating the executable modules of at least some of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data; and

running the located executable modules of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data which are not identified as disabled against a target automatic data collection device.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

providing a set of interim results formatted within a framework of the automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

providing a set of final results formatted within a framework of the automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data after executing the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device, with any failures visually emphasized.

49. The method of claim 39, further comprising:

forming a second set of data that identifies a plurality of automatic data collection device tests, where an executable module for a respective one of each of the automatic data collection tests are stored at a number of different storage locations; and

assigning at least a second identifier to the first set of data that identifies the number of automatic data collection device tests.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the second set of data identifies the first set of data as some of the automatic data collection device tests identified by the second identifier.

51. A system for facilitating testing automatic data collection devices, the system comprising:

a network port to provide communications via a network;

a processor coupled to the network port; and

a processor-readable medium that stores instructions that cause the processor to facilitating testing by forming a first set of data that identifies a plurality of automatic data collection device tests, where an executable module for a respective one of each of the automatic data collection tests are stored at a number of different storage locations; and

assigning at least a first identifier to the first set of data that identifies the number of automatic data collection device tests.

52. The system of claim 51 wherein the instructions cause the processor to facilitate testing further by:

receiving a run test command including the first identifier;

locating the executable modules of each of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data; and

running the located executable modules of each of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data against a target automatic data collection device.

53. The system of claim 51 wherein the instructions cause the processor to facilitate testing further by:

receiving a run test command including the first identifier;

determining if any of the automatic data collection device tests are identified as being disabled;

locating the executable modules of at least some of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data; and

running the located executable modules of the respective automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data which are not identified as disabled against a target automatic data collection device.

54. The system of claim 51 wherein the instructions cause the processor to facilitate testing further by:

providing a set of results formatted within a framework of the automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data.

55. The system of claim 51 wherein the instructions cause the processor to facilitate testing further by:

providing a set of final results formatted within a framework of the automatic data collection device tests identified by the first set of data after executing the identified automatic data collection tests against the target automatic data collection device, with any failures visually emphasized.