RFID enabled information systems utilizing a business application

• US 7,557,707 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2005
• Issued: 07/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sriram, Balasubramanian, Kumar, Anush
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Toan N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hunnings; Travis R
• Application Number:
  US11/141,619
• Publication Number:
  US 20060047545A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/10.1, 340/10.5
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing

Abstract

The subject invention provides a system and/or a method that facilitates extending data within an RFID network to a business application. An interface can receive real-time RFID data from a process with at least one device collection within the RFID network. An integration component can seamlessly expose such real-time RFID data to a business application to achieve a critical business function in real-time. The business application can be associated to a business network that connects applications within a single organization and/or connects applications in different organizations. Moreover, the integration component can allow the business application to manipulate the RFID network based at least in part upon the real-time output.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates extending data within an RFID network to a business application, comprising:

an interface that receives real-time RFID data from a process comprising of at least one device collection in the RFID network, the process is a high-level object that forms together at least one entity to create a meaningful unit of execution within the RFID network;

an integration component that seamlessly exposes real-time RFID data to a business application to achieve a critical business function in real-time, the business application effectuates a change to the process within the RFID network based at least in part upon the real-time RFID data;

an analyzer component that analyzes data related to at least one of the RFID network and the business application to determine the association of such data to one of a process within the RFID network, the business application, and a business network;

a router component that distributes data to a target destination within at least one of the RFID network, the business application, and a business network; and

a transform component that formats data into a particular format suitable for at least one of the RFID network, the business application, and a business network.

2. The system of claim 1, the device collection is a collection of devices, wherein the device is one of the following:

an RFID reader;

an RFID writer;

an RFID printer;

a reader;

a writer;

an RFID transmitter;

an antenna;

a sensor;

a real-time device;

an RFID receiver;

a real-time sensor;

a device extensible to a web service; and

a real-time event generation system.

3. The system of claim 1, the business application is at least one of the following:

a back end application;

an existing business application;

a line of business (LOB) application;

an accounting application;

a supply chain management application;

a resource planning application; and

a business monitoring (BAM) application.

4. The system of claim 1, the critical business function is one of the following:

a demand plan;

a forecast; and

an inventory control with the incorporation of RFID data in real-time.

5. The system of claim 1, the business application is associated with a business network that enables at least one of a development, a deployment, and a management of one of an integrated business process and a language based Web service, wherein separate applications are united into a coherent whole to allow for at least one of the connection of an application within a single organization and the connection of an application in disparate organizations.

6. The system of claim 1, the business application provides a creation of a process within the RFID network based at least in part upon the real-time RFID data.

7. The system of claim 6, that relates to at least one of the following:

an outbound process;

a manufacturing process;

a shipping process;

a receiving process;

a tracking process;

a data representation process;

a data manipulation process;

a security process; and

a process utilizing one of an RFID device service, a device collection, a tag read, an event, an event queue, a tag write, a device configuration, and a number count.

8. The system of claim 7, the event is one of the following:

a tag read;

a tag read error;

a device up event;

a device down event; and

a management event.

9. The system of claim 1, the RFID network comprises a collection of devices that form a sub-system which includes:

an RFID reader that receives an RFID signal; and

an RFID tag that transmits to at least one device.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising an RFID mapper component that enables a straight through message type scenario, wherein a mapping technique is associated with data related to at least one of the application, a business network, and the RFID network.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a schema component that invokes at least one of the following:

1) a schema and a protocol that relates to at least one of an input message and an output message; and

     2) the creation of a schema.

12. The system of claim 11, the schema component further provides a message schema, specified by a business network, that is a type of message that the business network can transmit, wherein the RFID network can recognize and apply.

13. A computer-implemented method that facilitates extending data within an RFID network to a business application, comprising:

receiving at an interface real-time data from an RFID network based at least in part on a process within the RFID network, the process is a high-level object that forms together at least one entity to create a meaningful unit of execution within the RFID network;

exposing the real-time data to a business application via business network;

utilizing the real-time data with the business application to achieve a critical business function in real-time;

effectuating a change to the process within the RFID network based on the real-time data via the business application; and

analyzing data related to at least one of the RFID network and the business application to determine the association of such data to one of a process within the RFID network, the business application, and a business network.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

transforming the real-time data to a compatible format;

routing the data to an appropriate target destination;

conforming the data to a message schema;

exposing the real-time data to a business network;

creating a process within the RFID network based on the real-time output; and

invoking a straight through messaging type scenario.

15. A computer-implemented system that facilitates extending data within an RFID network to a business application, comprising:

means for receiving real-time RFID data from a process comprising at least one device collection within the RFID network, the process is a high-level object that forms together at least one entity to create a meaningful unit of execution within the RFID network;

means for seamlessly exposing real-time RFID data to a business application to achieve a critical business function in real-time;

means for modifying the process based at least in part upon the critical business function real-time output; and

means for analyzing data related to at least one of the RFID network and the business application to determine the association of such data to one of a process within the RFID network, the business application, and a business network.