TERMINAL FOR LINE-OF-SIGHT RFID TAG READING

• US 20120075076A1
• Filed: 09/28/2010
• Published: 03/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Wang, Ynjiun P.
• Granted Patent: US 8,791,795 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/18 by transferring data from one type of record carrier on to another type of record carrier, e.g. from magnetic tape to punched card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10019 resolving collision on the communication channels between simultaneously or concurrently interrogated record carriers. collision between the communication channels used by wireless communication devices, where the solution is not particularly adapted for RFIDs or the like, H04W74/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10099 the directional field being used for pinpointing the location of the record carrier, e.g. for finding or locating an RFID tag amongst a plurality of RFID tags, each RFID tag being associated with an object, e.g. for physically locating the RFID tagged object in a warehouse
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10128 the step consisting of detection of the presence of one or more record carriers in the vicinity of the interrogation device
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10722 Photodetector array or CCD scanning

Abstract

There is provided a terminal for use in determining which of one or more candidate RFID tags having unique data stored thereon is a target RFID tag within a line-of-sight of the terminal. The terminal can comprise program instructions to direct an RFID reading device of the terminal to perform a number of reads of the one or more candidate RFID tags in response to determining that an object is present in the line-of-sight, to calculate an accumulated RSSI of each of the one or more candidate RFID tags, and to determine the target RFID tag from a highest accumulated RSSI. In one embodiment, the unique data can be an EPC. There is also provided a terminal for use in converting an EPC into a decoded bar code. The terminal can comprise program instructions to transmit the decoded bar code to a computer such as an electronic cash register.

Claims

1. A terminal for use in determining which of one or more candidate radio frequency identification (RFID) tags having unique data stored thereon is a target RFID tag within a line-of-sight of the terminal, the terminal comprising:

one or more processors;

a computer readable storage medium;

an image sensor;

an RFID reading device;

first program instructions to direct the image sensor to capture one or more frames of image data within the line-of-sight of the terminal;

second program instructions to determine, from the one or more frames of image data, whether an object is present in the line-of-sight of the terminal;

third program instructions to direct the RFID reading device to perform a number of reads of the one or more candidate RFID tags in response to determining that an object is present in the line-of-sight of the terminal;

fourth program instructions to calculate an accumulated received signal strength indication (RSSI) of each of the one or more candidate RFID tags; and

fifth program instructions to determine the target RFID tag from a highest accumulated RSSI;

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the one or more processors.

2. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising a trigger, wherein the processor is operative to execute the first program instructions in response to an actuation of the trigger.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the number of reads is configurable by a user.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the accumulated RSSI of one of the one or more candidate RFID tags is the sum of one or more RSSIs.

5. The terminal of claim 4, wherein each of the one or more RSSIs corresponds to a different radio signal received in the number of reads from the one of the one or more candidate RFID tags.

6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the highest accumulated RSSI is the accumulated RSSI that is highest among the one or more candidate RFID tags.

7. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising sixth program instructions to generate an indication of a successful RFID tag read, wherein the sixth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the one or more processors.

8. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the indication is an audible sound.

9. A terminal for use in converting an electronic product code (EPC) into a decoded bar code, the terminal comprising:

one or more processors;

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions to convert a manager number of the EPC into a manufacturer code;

second program instructions to convert an object class of the EPC into a product code; and

third program instructions to construct the decoded bar code from the manufacturer code and the product code;

wherein the first, second, and third program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the one or more processors.

10. The terminal of claim 9, further comprising a radio frequency identification (RFID) reading device for reading the EPC from an RFID tag.

11. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the first program instructions include program instructions to convert a hexadecimal representation of the manager number into a decimal representation of the manufacturer code.

12. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the manufacturer code is a Universal Product Code manufacturer code.

13. The terminal of claim 9, wherein manufacturer code is a European Article Number manufacturer code.

14. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the second program instructions include program instructions to convert a hexadecimal representation of the object class into a decimal representation of the product code.

15. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the manufacturer code is a Universal Product Code product code.

16. The terminal of claim 9, wherein manufacturer code is a European Article Number product code.

17. The terminal of claim 9, wherein the third program instructions include program instructions to compress the manufacturer code and the product code into a compressed code.

18. The terminal of claim 17, wherein the third program instructions include program instructions to insert the compressed code into the decoded bar code.

19. The terminal of claim 9, further comprising fourth program instructions to transmit the decoded bar code to a computer, wherein the fourth program instructions are stored on the computer readable medium for execution by the one or more processors.

20. The terminal of claim 19, wherein the terminal further comprises a radio transceiver, and wherein the fourth program instructions include program instructions to utilize the radio transceiver to transmit the decoded bar code to the computer.

21. A computer program product for determining which of one or more candidate radio frequency identification (RFID) tags having unique data stored thereon is a target RFID tag within a line-of-sight of a terminal, the computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage medium;

first program instructions to direct an image sensor of the terminal to capture one or more frames of image data within the line-of-sight of the terminal;

second program instructions to determine, from the one or more frames of image data, whether an object is present in the line-of-sight of the terminal;

third program instructions to direct an RFID reading device of the terminal to perform a number of reads of the one or more candidate RFID tags in response to determining that an object is present in the line-of-sight of the terminal;

fourth program instructions to calculate an accumulated received signal strength indication (RSSI) of each of the one or more candidate RFID tags; and

fifth program instructions to determine the target RFID tag from a highest accumulated RSSI;

wherein the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.

22. The computer program of claim 21, further comprising sixth program instructions to execute the first program instructions in response to an actuation of a trigger of the terminal, wherein the sixth program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium.

23. The computer program of claim 21, further comprising sixth program instructions to generate an indication of a successful RFID tag read.