Method, terminal and computer program product for adjusting power consumption of a RFID reader associated with a mobile terminal
First Claim
1. A method for adjusting power consumption of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader associated with a mobile terminal, comprising:
- determining a context of the mobile terminal, wherein determining a context of the mobile terminal comprises detecting any RFID tags in an area proximate the mobile terminal in response to interrogation by the RFID reader;
determining whether a context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein determining a change in context comprises monitoring changes in the detection of RFID tags in the area proximate the mobile terminal relative to a prior interrogation to indicate a change in context of the mobile terminal; and
adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader based upon the context of the mobile terminal relative to at least one previous context determination of the mobile terminal, wherein adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader comprises altering the frequency at which the RFID reader is actuated, andwherein adjusting the power consumption includes reducing the power consumption of the RFID reader when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The method, terminal and computer program product determine the context of the mobile terminal associated with the RFID reader and adjusts the power consumption of the RFID reader based upon the determined context relative to at least one previous context determination. To adjust the power consumption, the frequency at which the RFID reader is actuated may be altered. Thus, the power consumption of the RFID reader may be reduced when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined and/or may be increased when a change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined. Due to the adjustment of power consumption by RFID readers, power is conserved in the mobile terminals associated with RFID readers, which permits the mobile terminals and RFID readers to operate longer without requiring charging or replacement of the power supply.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for adjusting power consumption of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader associated with a mobile terminal, comprising:
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determining a context of the mobile terminal, wherein determining a context of the mobile terminal comprises detecting any RFID tags in an area proximate the mobile terminal in response to interrogation by the RFID reader; determining whether a context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein determining a change in context comprises monitoring changes in the detection of RFID tags in the area proximate the mobile terminal relative to a prior interrogation to indicate a change in context of the mobile terminal; and adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader based upon the context of the mobile terminal relative to at least one previous context determination of the mobile terminal, wherein adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader comprises altering the frequency at which the RFID reader is actuated, and wherein adjusting the power consumption includes reducing the power consumption of the RFID reader when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for adjusting power consumption of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader associated with a mobile terminal, comprising:
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detecting any RFID tags in an area proximate the mobile terminal in response to interrogation by the RFID reader; determining whether a context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein determining a change in context comprises monitoring changes in the detection of RFID tags in the area proximate the mobile terminal relative to a prior interrogation to indicate a change in context of the mobile terminal; and adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader based upon the determination of whether the context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein adjusting the power consumption includes reducing the power consumption of the RFID reader when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A mobile terminal comprising:
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a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, wherein said RFID reader detects any RFID tags in an area proximate the mobile terminal in response to interrogations by said RFID reader; at least one processor to determine a context of the mobile terminal based upon information received regarding an environment of the mobile terminal, wherein said at least one processor monitors any changes in the detection of RFID tags in the area proximate the mobile terminal relative to a prior interrogation to determine whether the context of the mobile terminal has changed; and at least one controller in communication with said at least one processor that adjusts the power consumption of said RFID reader based upon the context of the mobile terminal by altering the frequency at which said RFID reader is actuated, wherein said at least one controller adjusts the power consumption of said RFID reader based upon the determination of whether the context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein adjusting the power consumption includes reducing the power consumption of said RFID reader when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer program product for adjusting power consumption of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader associated with a mobile terminal, the computer program product comprising a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:
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a first executable portion capable of determining a context of the mobile terminal, wherein said first executable portion is capable of determining the context of the mobile terminal by detecting any RFID tags in an area proximate the mobile terminal in response to interrogation by the RFID reader, wherein said first executable portion is also capable of determining whether a context of the mobile terminal has changed, wherein determining a change in context comprises monitoring changes in the detection of RFID tags in the area proximate the mobile terminal relative to a prior interrogation to indicate a change in context of the mobile terminal; and a second executable portion capable of adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader based upon the context of the mobile terminal relative to at least one previous context determination of the mobile terminal, wherein adjusting the power consumption of the RFID reader comprises altering the frequency at which the RFID reader is actuated, and wherein said second executable portion is capable of reducing the power consumption of the RFID reader when no change in the context of the mobile terminal is determined by said first executable portion. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A radio frequency identification (RFID) device, comprising:
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a RFID reader for detecting any RFID tags in response to interrogations by said RFID reader; at least one processor to determine a context of the device based upon information received regarding an environment of the device, wherein said at least one processor monitors any changes in the detection of RFID tags relative to a prior interrogation to determine whether the context of the device has changed; and at least one controller in communication with said at least one processor for adjusting the power consumption of said RFID reader based upon the context of the device by altering the frequency at which said RFID reader is actuated, wherein said at least one controller adjusts the power consumption of said RFID reader based upon the determination of whether the context of the device has changed, wherein adjusting the power consumption includes reducing the power consumption of said RFID reader when no change in the context of the device is determined. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification