Method and apparatus for the automatic determination of network cable connections using RFID tags and an antenna grid
First Claim
1. An apparatus for determining connectivity between one or more device ports thereof and one or more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the apparatus comprising:
- means for sensing, with use of a first one of a plurality of RFID antennas, said first RFID antenna being in close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna; and
means for detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto based on said means for sensing with use of said first RFID antenna having determined that said corresponding RFID tag attached to said cable end is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna,wherein one or more of said plurality of device ports is in close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas, at least one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to each of at least two or said plurality of RFID antennas being one of said device ports having one of said cable ends connected thereto,wherein each of said plurality of RFID antennas is in said close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports and wherein each of said plurality of device ports is in said close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas,wherein the plurality of device ports are arranged in a substantially rectangular arrangement comprising a plural number of columns of device ports and a plural number of rows of device ports,wherein said plurality of RFID antennas comprises a number of column antennas equal to the number of columns of device ports and a number of row antennas equal to the number of rows of device ports, andwherein each column antenna is in said close physical proximity to each of the plurality of device ports in a corresponding one of said columns of device ports and each row antenna is in said close physical proximity to each of the plurality of device ports in a corresponding one of said rows of device ports.
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Abstract
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags and an antenna grid are used for automatic determination of cable connections. An RF antenna grid is advantageously employed on a device having a plurality of device ports (e.g., cable connection points) which may, for example, be physically organized in a two-dimensional arrangement. Then, when RFID tags are fixed to one or more cable ends, it can advantageously be determined which of the one or more cables are connected to which of the ports on the device. The RF antenna grid may comprise a plurality of individual antennas which are advantageously multiplexed such that a single RFID reader can handle the sensing for all antennas. Also, opposing ends of a given cable may be advantageously provided with RFID tags having related ID codes such that connections which exist between two connected ports of the device may be easily and efficiently determined.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for determining connectivity between one or more device ports thereof and one or more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the apparatus comprising:
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means for sensing, with use of a first one of a plurality of RFID antennas, said first RFID antenna being in close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna; and means for detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto based on said means for sensing with use of said first RFID antenna having determined that said corresponding RFID tag attached to said cable end is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna, wherein one or more of said plurality of device ports is in close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas, at least one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to each of at least two or said plurality of RFID antennas being one of said device ports having one of said cable ends connected thereto, wherein each of said plurality of RFID antennas is in said close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports and wherein each of said plurality of device ports is in said close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas, wherein the plurality of device ports are arranged in a substantially rectangular arrangement comprising a plural number of columns of device ports and a plural number of rows of device ports, wherein said plurality of RFID antennas comprises a number of column antennas equal to the number of columns of device ports and a number of row antennas equal to the number of rows of device ports, and wherein each column antenna is in said close physical proximity to each of the plurality of device ports in a corresponding one of said columns of device ports and each row antenna is in said close physical proximity to each of the plurality of device ports in a corresponding one of said rows of device ports. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus for determining connectivity between one or more device ports thereof and one or more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the apparatus comprising:
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means for sensing, with use of a first one of a plurality of RFID antennas, said first RFID antenna being in close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna; and means for detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto based on said means for sensing with use of said first RFID antenna having determined that said corresponding RFID tag attached to said cable end is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna, wherein one or more of said plurality of device ports is in close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas, at least one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to each of at least two or said plurality of RFID antennas being one of said device ports having one of said cable ends connected thereto, wherein each of said plurality of RFID antennas is in said close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports and wherein each of said plurality of device ports is in said close physical proximity to each of at least two of said plurality of RFID antennas, wherein the plurality of device ports are arranged in a substantially rectangular arrangement comprising a plural number of columns of device ports and a plural number of rows of device ports, wherein said plurality of RFID antennas comprises a number of column antennas equal to at least one more than the number of columns of device ports and a number of row antennas equal to at least one more than the number of rows of device ports, and wherein each column of device ports is in said close physical proximity to a corresponding adjacent pair of two of said column antennas and each row of device ports is in said close physical proximity to a corresponding adjacent pair of two of said row antennas. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for determining connectivity between one or more of a plurality of device ports and one or more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing, with use of a first one of a plurality of RFID antennas, said first RFID antenna being in close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna; and detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto based on said step of sensing with use of said first RFID antenna having determined that said corresponding RFID tag attached to said cable end is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna, wherein at least one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna is also in close proximity to a second one of said plurality of said RFID antennas, the method further comprising the step of sensing, with use of said second RFID antenna, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said second RFID antenna, and wherein the step of detecting the connection between one of said plurality of device ports and the cable end having the corresponding RFID tag attached thereto comprises (i) determining that said step of sensing with use of said first RFID antenna determined that one of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna, and (ii) determining that said step of sensing with use of said second RFID antenna also determined that said one of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said second RFID antenna. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for determining connectivity between one or more of a plurality of device ports and one or more cable ends having corresponding RFID tags attached thereto, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing, with use of a first one of a plurality of RFID antennas, said first RFID antenna being in close physical proximity to each of two or more of said plurality of device ports, whether one or more of said RFID tags attached to said cable ends is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna; and detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto based on said step of sensing with use of said first RFID antenna having determined that said corresponding RFID tag attached to said cable end is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna, wherein the step of detecting a connection between one of said plurality of device ports which is in close physical proximity to said first RFID antenna and a cable end having a corresponding RFID tag attached thereto detects a first connection between a first device port and a first cable end having a first RFID tag attached thereto, the method further comprising the steps of; detecting a second connection between a second device port and a second cable end having a second RFID tag attached thereto; and determining that said first device port is connected to said second device port based on a determination that the first cable end and the second cable end are opposing ends of a common cable, wherein said step of determining that said first device port is connected to said second device port comprises comparing an ID value of the first RFID tag with an ID value of the second RFID tag and determining that a previously defined relationship exists therebetween. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification