SYSTEMS FOR AND METHODS OF ASSIGNING PRIORITY TO READER ANTENNAE
First Claim
1. A method of operating a plurality of reader antennae, comprising:
- determining a priority order of the plurality of reader antennae; and
setting a polling sequence for reading the plurality of reader antennae according to the priority order determined in said determining step.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for assigning priority to antennae are disclosed. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, reader antennae identify the location of an object by detecting a tag or other identifier associated with each object. Sensors can be provided to provide additional information regarding the environment of the objects or their surroundings. A priority order is assigned to the reader antennae based on the location and other characteristics of the objects and/or their environment. A polling sequence for reading the reader antennae is determined according to the priority order.
16 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a plurality of reader antennae, comprising:
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determining a priority order of the plurality of reader antennae; and setting a polling sequence for reading the plurality of reader antennae according to the priority order determined in said determining step. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 19)
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16. A method of adjusting the priority order of a polling sequence for a plurality of RFID antennae, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of product support structures, each product support structure associated with at least one RFID reader antenna; placing a plurality of products on at least one of the product support structures, each of the plurality of products associated with an RFID tag; identifying the location of each of the plurality of products by detecting the associated RFID tags with the plurality of RFID reader antennae; assigning a priority order to the plurality of RFID antennae, the priority order determined by assigning a preference level to each of the plurality of RFID antennae; and assigning a polling sequence for reading the plurality of RFID reader antennae according to the priority order. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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20. An antenna prioritization system for use in prioritizing the reading of a plurality of reader antennae, the system comprising:
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a controller device for determining a priority order of the plurality of RFID antennae, and for setting a polling sequence for reading ones of the plurality of RFID reader antennae according to the priority order; and a reader for reading ones of the plurality of reader antennae in accordance with the polling sequence.
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Specification