SYSTEM, METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR MONITORING RFID TAGS IN A LIBRARY

• US 20080106410A1
• Filed: 11/03/2006
• Published: 05/08/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Jesionowski, Leonard G.
• Application Number:
  US11/556,263
• Publication Number:
  US 20080106410A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• 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 7/10465 the interrogation device being capable of self-diagnosis, e.g. in addition to or as part of the actual interrogation process testing of electrical circuits in general G01R31/28

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a system that relates to a tape library radio frequency identification (RFID) tag testing system. The system comprising, an automated tape library with a plurality of tapes in the library. A RFID tag attached to each of the plurality of tapes. A tag health monitoring device able to read the quality of a return signal from the plurality of RFID tags, and a processor for analyzing and reporting on the quality data gathered.

Claims

1. A tape library radio frequency identification (RFID) tag testing system, comprising:

an automated tape library;

a plurality of tapes in the library;

a RFID tag attached to each of the plurality of tapes;

a tag health monitoring device able to read the quality of a return signal from the plurality of RFID tags; and

a processor for analyzing and reporting on the quality data gathered.

2. The RFID tag testing system of claim 1, wherein the tape health monitoring device is an RFID tag reader.

3. The RFID tag testing system of claim 1, further comprising:

a robot at the library capable of transporting the tapes within the automated library and the health monitoring device is attached to the robot.

4. The RFID tag testing system of claim 1, further comprising:

a tape drive at the library capable of reading from the tape and writing to the tape and the health monitoring device is attached to the tape drive.

5. The RFID tag testing system of claim 1, wherein the quality of the return signal determined by the RFID tag reader is of signal strength, signal frequency or signal to noise ratio.

6. A method of verifying RFID tags on data storage media in an automated data storage media library, the method comprising:

attaching RFID tags to data storage media in an automated data storage media library;

positioning a RFID tag reader at a structure in the data storage media library;

energizing one of the RFID tags with the RFID tag reader in response to the RFID tag being in a known location relative to the RFID tag reader;

receiving a return signal from the RFID tag with the tag reader;

quantifying a quality of the received return signal; and

recording the quality of the received return signal in a database.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

comparing the quantified quality of the received return signal to at least one preset limit.

8. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

communicating to an operator when the quantified quality of the received return signal breaches at least one of the preset limits.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the quantified quality of the received return signal is signal strength of the received return signal.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the quantified quality of the received return signal is frequency of the received return signal.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein the quantified quality of the received return signal is signal to noise ratio of the received return signal.

12. A computer program product for providing RFID tag quality data in a computer environment, the computer program product comprising a storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for facilitating a method comprising:

transmitting a RF signal with a RFID tag reader;

receiving a return signal from a RFID tag;

quantifying qualities of the received signal;

recording the quantified qualities of the received return signal in a database; and

outputting the quantified qualities to an operator.

13. The computer program product of claim 12, further comprising:

comparing the quantified qualities to preset thresholds.