Systems and methods for validating RFID tag data prior to writing into RFID tag

• US 7,506,803 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Issued: 03/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Guzik, Christopher A., Doyle, Michael S., Skaistis, Jeffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kim; Ahshik
• Application Number:
  US11/303,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20070138280A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,195 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/492, 235/451, 340/10.1, 340/10.4, 340/10.51
• US Class Current: 235/375
• 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

The present invention is generally directed to systems and methods for validating RFID tag data prior to encoding the data onto an RFID tag, utilizing at least one computing device separate from an RFID encoder. An embodiment of the present invention describes a method of receiving RFID tag data at a computing device, validating that data in compliance with an RFID format, such as the EPC Global standard, and sending the validated data to an RFID encoder. An alternative embodiment provides a method for receiving RFID tag data at a computing device configured for verifying the data, and if the data is not valid, returning an informative error message to a user indicating the component of the data that was invalid and how the error can be corrected. A further embodiment provides a method for allowing a user to correct the RFID tag data and re-validate the data.

Claims

1. A method of validating data to be written into a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag using at least one computing device separate from an RFID encoder, comprising the steps of:

a) receiving RFID tag data and concatenating said RFID tag data into a segmented string comprised of one or more components;

b) executing an RFID validator object, wherein executing said RFID validator object comprises the steps of;

passing the segmented string to said RFID validator object as a parameter to determine if said segmented string is in an RFID format, wherein said RFID format provides standards for the segmented string, wherein further said standards define the correct placement of said components, the number of said components in the string, and rules for the length and range of values of said components;

determining if said components are in the correct placement for encoding;

determining if said segmented string has the correct number of said components for encoding; and

determining if each component of said segmented string is formatted according to said component'"'"'s specific rules regarding length and range of values;

c) if said RFID tag data is determined to be valid by said RFID validator object, transmitting the RFID tag data to an RFID encoder for writing said RFID tag data into an RFID tag;

d) if said RFID tag data is determined to be not valid by said RFID validator object, generating a message indicating one or more reasons that said RFID tag data is not valid; and

e) displaying said message at the computing device to prompt a user to correct said RFID tag data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said RFID format is the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Global format.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of transmitting said RFID tag data to an RFID encoder for writing said RFID tag data into an RFID tag further comprises the sub-step of generating a message indicating that said segmented string is correctly formatted.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of generating a message indicating one or more reasons that said RFID tag data is not valid further comprises the sub-step of generating a specific error message for each component of said segmented string that is not valid.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of generating a specific error message for each component of said segmented string that is not valid further comprises the sub-step of generating an informative message indicating how a user can correct the specific error of each component.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, if the determining of step (d) establishes that one or more components are not valid, the method further comprises the steps of:

f) allowing a user to change the RFID tag data input; and

g) re-executing step (a) and subsequent steps based on the changed RFID tag data to be written into an RFID tag.

7. A system for validating radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag data comprising:

at least one computing device comprising a processor configured to;

receive RFID tag data and concatenate said RFID tag data into a segmented string comprising one or more components;

execute an RFID validator object, wherein to execute of said RFID validator object, the processor is further configured to;

pass the segmented string to said RFID validator object as a parameter to determine if said segmented string is in an RFID format, wherein said RFID format provides standards for the segmented string, wherein further said standards define the correct placement of said components, the number of said components in the string, and rules for the length and range of values of said components;

determine if said components are in the correct placement for encoding;

determine if said segmented string has the correct number of said components for encoding; and

determine if each component of said segmented string is formatted according to said component'"'"'s specific rules regarding length and range of values;

transmit the RFID tag data to an RFID encoder for writing said RFID tag data into an RFID tag if said RFID tag data is determined to be valid by said RFID validator object;

generate a message indicating one or more reasons that said RFID tag data is not valid if said RFID tag data is determined to be not valid by said RFID validator object; and

display said message at the computing device to prompt a user to correct said RFID tag data; and

an RFID encoder connected to the computing device to receive the RFID tag data, for encoding an RFID tag with the RFID tag data.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein said RFID format is the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Global format.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein said computing device further comprises an input device, wherein said input device is configured to receive a corrected segmented string from a user in response to said error message.