Tracking electronic devices

• US 7,350,715 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2003
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Pradhan, Salil V., Patel, Chandrakant D., Lyon, Geoff M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Koyama; Kumiko C.
• Application Number:
  US10/383,652
• Publication Number:
  US 20040178269A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,849 Days
• Field of Search: 235/462.13, 235/375, 235/435, 235/462.46, 235/376.3, 235/83, 235/385, 235/441, 235/470, 235/472.01, 235/485, 235/487, 235/492, 250/223.R, 700213-215, 340/10, 340/5.92, 340/10.1, 340/10.3, 340/505, 340/539.13, 340/568.2, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.7, 340/10.5
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/74 Systems using reradiation of radio waves, e.g. secondary radar systems; Analogous systems
• 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

Abstract

Tracking electronic devices that are equipped with tracking tags and that are stored in designated locations. The position of a reading device is monitored as it traverses the designated locations of the electronic devices and is activated to interrogate the tracking tags of the electronic devices. Identification data from the tracking tags is collected to enable determining the presence and location of the electronic devices, based on the monitored position of the reading devices.

Claims

1. A method of tracking electronic devices equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking tags, the electronic devices being housed in bays in a server rack, wherein the bays are provided along a vertical axis of the server rack, said method comprising:

traversing at least one RFID reading device along locations corresponding to the bays in the server rack;

monitoring the position of said at least one RFID reading device;

sequentially activating said at least one RFID reading device to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal into each respective bay, said RF signal having a signal strength that is sufficiently strong to only interrogate a single bay location during the activation of said at least one RFID reading device, to interrogate said RFID tracking tags of said electronic devices present in said bays of the server rack;

collecting identification data from said RFID tracking tags; and

determining at least one of a presence and a location of at least one of said electronic devices based on said collected identification data.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said monitoring step comprises resolving the position of said at least one RFID reading device and storing the location of said electronic devices based upon the position of said at least one RFID reading device during said collecting step.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said traversing step comprises driving said at least one RFID reading device with a powered screw device.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said monitoring step further comprises providing feedback from a position encoder to determine the position of said at least one RFID reading device.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said collecting step comprises sequentially collecting said identification data from said RFID tracking tags.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said collecting step comprises receiving a response signal from the RFID tracking tags.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein said determining step comprises converting said response signal into said identification data and storing said identification data in a computer memory.

8. A method of tracking electronic devices, said electronic devices being housed in respective bays in a server rack, wherein the bays are provided along a vertical axis of the server rack, said method comprising:

tagging each of the electronic devices with a respective radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking tag;

traversing at least one RFID reading device along locations corresponding to said bays, wherein the at least one RFID reading device is mounted to the server rack;

monitoring the position of said at least one RFID reading device with respect to the bays;

sequentially activating said at least one RFID reading device to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal into each respective bay, said RF signal having a signal strength that is sufficiently strong to only interrogate a single bay location during activation of said at least one RFID reading device, to interrogate said plurality of RFID tracking tags of said electronic devices present in said bays;

collecting identification data from said plurality of RFID tracking tags; and

determining at least one of the presence and location of said electronic devices based on said monitoring and collecting steps.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said traversing step comprises driving said at least one RFID reading device with a powered screw device.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said monitoring step further comprises providing feedback from a position encoder to determine the position of said at least one RFID reading device.

11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said monitoring step comprises resolving the position of said at least one RFID reading device and storing the location of each electronic device based upon the position of said at least one RFID reading device during said collecting step.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein said collecting step comprises sequentially receiving a response signal from the RFID tracking tags.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said determining step comprises converting said response signal into said identification data and storing said identification data in a computer memory.

14. An apparatus for tracking a plurality of electronic devices, each of said plurality of electronic devices having a radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking tag associated therewith, said apparatus comprising:

an enclosure having a plurality of bays, wherein each of said plurality of bays is configured to receive an electronic device; and

a traversable RFID reading device mounted to said enclosure to traverse positions along said plurality of bays, said traversable RFID reading device having an encoder for monitoring the traversed position and being adapted to interrogate said plurality of RFID tracking tags of said plurality of electronic devices by sequentially transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal into each of the plurality of bays, said RF signal having a signal strength sufficiently strong to only interrogate a single bay location during activation of said at least one RFID reading device, to interrogate the plurality of RFID trucking tags to determine at least one of a presence and a location of at least one of said plurality of electronic devices in each of said plurality of bays.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said enclosure is a server rack and said plurality of electronic devices is a plurality of servers and said plurality of tracking tags are attached to said plurality of electronic devices.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein said traversable RFID reading device is mounted to a powered screw servo-system.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein said traversable RFID reading device is mounted to a front face of said enclosure.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein said powered screw servo-system includes a position encoder to monitor the position of said traversable RFID reader to thereby report the presence and location of said plurality of electronic devices via radio frequency interrogation of said plurality of RFID tracking tags.

19. An apparatus for trucking electronic devices, said electronic devices being housed in respective bays in a server rack, wherein the bays are provided along a vertical axis of the server rack, said apparatus comprising:

means for tagging said electronic devices, said means for tagging comprising radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking tags;

means for housing said electronic devices in designated locations, said means for housing comprising the server rack and said designated locations comprising the bays;

means for reading said means for tagging, said means for reading comprising an RFID reading device, said means for reading being mounted to said means for housing and being traversable along said designated locations;

means for monitoring a position of said means for reading;

means for activating said means for reading to interrogate said means for tagging by sequentially transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal into each of the bays, wherein the means for reading is configured to transmit the RF signal with sufficiently strong signal strength to interrogate single bay location during activation of the means for reading, to thereby sequentially interrogate the electronic devices positioned in the bays;

means for collecting identification data from said means for tagging; and

means for determining at least one of the presence and location of said electronic devices.

20. A computer readable medium on which is embedded one or more computer programs, said one or more computer programs implementing a method of tracking electronic devices equipped with radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking tags, said electronic devices being housed in respective bays in a server rack, wherein the bays are provided along a vertical axis of the server rack, said one or more computer programs comprising a set of instructions for:

controlling at least one RFID reading device for traversing along locations corresponding to designated locations for said electronic devices;

monitoring the position of said at least one RFID reading device;

sequentially activating said at least one RFID rending device to transmit a radio frequency (RF) signal into each respective bay, said RF signal having a signal strength that is sufficiently strong to only interrogate a single bay location during activation of said at least one RFID and thereby interrogating said RFID tracking tags of said electronic devices present in said designated locations;

collecting identification data from said RFID tracking tags; and

determining at least one of a presence and a location of at least one of said electronic devices based on said collected identification data.

21. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 20, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for resolving the position of said at least one RFID reading device and storing the location of said electronic devices based upon the position of said at least one RFID reading device during said collecting of identification data.

22. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 21, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for driving said at least one RFID reading device with a powered screw device.

23. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 22, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for providing feedback from a position encoder to determine the position of said at least one RFID reading device.

24. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 20, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for sequentially collecting said identification data from said RFID tracking tags.

25. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 20, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for receiving a response signal from the RFID tracking tags.

26. The computer readable storage medium according to claim 25, the one or more computer programs further comprising a set of instructions for converting said response signal into said identification data and storing said identification data in a computer memory.