RFID tag data acquisition system
First Claim
1. Apparatus for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said apparatus comprising:
- a controller including an interface for communicably coupling said controller to said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver, said controller including a data storage containing a database, said database being operative to store information pertaining to a configuration of said RFID system and an RF characteristic within said environment, said configuration of said RFID system including representations of physical locations of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver with respect to a physical layout,wherein said controller is operative;
to receive data indicative of a change in said configuration of said RFID system or said RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and
in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, to generate a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver, to generate a message including a command for forwarding said first parameter, and to forward said command containing said first parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver to modify a behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An architecture of an RFID system that facilitates the accessing of RFID tag data within an RFID environment. The architecture includes a plurality of RFID readers, each reader being operative to transmit a first RF signal for scanning at least one RFID tag disposed within an RF coverage region associated with the reader, and to receive at least one second RF signal including tag data in response to the scanning of the tag. The architecture further includes at least one host computer operative to execute at least one client application, and at least one controller/processor communicably coupled to the plurality of readers and the at least one host computer. The controller/processor is operative to control operation of the plurality of readers, to process the tag data received by the plurality of readers, and to provide the processed tag data to the at least one host computer for use by the at least one client application executing thereon.
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Citations
72 Claims
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1. Apparatus for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said apparatus comprising:
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a controller including an interface for communicably coupling said controller to said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver, said controller including a data storage containing a database, said database being operative to store information pertaining to a configuration of said RFID system and an RF characteristic within said environment, said configuration of said RFID system including representations of physical locations of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver with respect to a physical layout, wherein said controller is operative; to receive data indicative of a change in said configuration of said RFID system or said RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, to generate a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver, to generate a message including a command for forwarding said first parameter, and to forward said command containing said first parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver to modify a behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A controller for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag in response to the transmission of said at least one RF interrogation signal, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said controller comprising:
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at least one processor; a first interface in communication with the processor, the processor being operative to receive, via the first interface, data indicating a change in a configuration of said RFID system or an RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; wherein the processor is further operative, in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, to generate, in real-time, a parameter defining a characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and a second interface in communication with the processor, the processor being further operative to send, via the second interface, a command containing said parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver for modifying, in real-time, an aspect of behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver.
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27. A controller for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said controller comprising:
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at least one memory containing at least one tag scan database; a first interface operative to receive tag data from one of said at least one RF receiver for storage in the tag scan database; and at least one processor operative to store the received tag data in the tag scan database, and to process the tag data to produce processed tag data, wherein said at least one processor is further operative to forward the processed tag data to a host computer for use by a client application executing on the host computer, wherein said tag data includes one or more of a tag identifier, a time stamp corresponding to a time of receipt of the respective tag data by said one of said at least one RF receiver, and at least one operational parameter in use by one or more of said at least one RF receiver and said at least one RF interrogator during at least one interrogation of the respective RFID tag by said at least one RF interrogator, and wherein said at least one operational parameter corresponds to one or more of a transmit power used by said at least one RF interrogator, a sensitivity of said at least one RF receiver, an identification of an antenna selection, an antenna pointing parameter, and presence information indicating whether a particular RFID tag is present within a specified interrogation zone associated with said at least one RF interrogator. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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31. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said RFID system comprising:
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a plurality of RFID system components including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, each of said at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith; and a plurality of controllers, wherein each of said plurality of controllers is associated with a subset of said plurality of RFID system components, wherein said plurality of controllers are communicably coupled to each other and to their associated subsets of said plurality of RFID system components, and wherein each of said plurality of controllers is operative, in response to a receipt of data indicating a change in a configuration of said system or an RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver, to generate a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said plurality of RFID system components in its associated subset of RFID system components, to generate a message including a command for forwarding said first parameter, and to forward said command containing said first parameter to said one of said plurality of RFID system components in its associated subset of RFID system components to modify a behavior of the respective RFID system component. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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59. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said method comprising the steps of:
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storing, by a processor in a database, information pertaining to a configuration of said RFID system and an RF characteristic within said environment, said database being contained in a data storage, wherein said configuration of said RFID system includes representations of physical locations of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver with respect to a physical layout; receiving, by said processor, data indicating a change in said configuration of said RFID system or said RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, generating, by said processor, a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver, generating a message including a command for forwarding said first parameter, and forwarding said command containing said first parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver to modify a behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver within said environment. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, by a processor, data indicating a change in a configuration of said RFID system or an RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, generating, by said processor in real-time, a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and sending a command containing said first parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver for modifying, in real-time, a behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver.
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67. A method of operating a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving, by a processor, tag data from one of said at least one RF receiver; storing, by said processor, said tag data in a database; processing, by said processor, said tag data to produce processed tag data; and forwarding, by said processor, the processed tag data to a host computer for use by a client application executing on said host computer, wherein said tag data includes one or more of a tag identifier, a time stamp corresponding to a time of receipt of the respective tag data by said one of said at least one RF receiver, and at least one operational parameter in use by one of said at least one RF receiver or said at least one RF interrogator during at least one interrogation of the respective RFID tag by the respective RF interrogator, and wherein said at least one operational parameter corresponds to one or more of a transmit power used by said one of said at least one RF receiver or said at least one RF interrogator, a sensitivity of said one of said at least one RF receiver or said at least one RF interrogator, an identification of an antenna selection, an antenna pointing parameter, and presence information indicating whether a particular RFID tag is present within a specified interrogation zone. - View Dependent Claims (68, 69, 70)
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71. A controller for use in a tag data acquisition system, the system including at least one interrogator and at least one receiver, the system having a configuration involving one or more transmission parameters associated with the interrogator, one or more reception parameters associated with the receiver, and physical locations of the interrogator and the receiver with respect to a physical layout, each of said at least one interrogator having a tag interrogation zone associated therewith, each of said at least one receiver having a tag detection zone associated therewith, said controller comprising:
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program and data storage containing program code and a first parameter associated with one of said at least one interrogator or said at least one receiver, said first parameter for defining an operational behavior of the respective interrogator or receiver; a processor in communication with said program and data storage; and an interface in communication with said processor, said interface being operative to communicably couple said controller to said at least one interrogator and said at least one receiver, wherein said processor is operative to execute said program code contained in the program storage; to receive an indication of a change in said configuration of the system, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one tag within said tag interrogation zone associated with the respective interrogator or said tag detection zone associated with the respective receiver; to modify said first parameter in response to receiving said indication of said change in said configuration of the system, or said presence information for the tag; and to transmit, via said interface, a message to the respective interrogator or receiver based at least in part upon the modified first parameter to alter said operational behavior of the respective interrogator or receiver.
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72. In a tag data acquisition system including at least one interrogator and at least one receiver, the system having a configuration involving transmission characteristics of said at least one interrogator and reception characteristics of said at least one receiver, a method of dynamically changing operating characteristics of the system, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing, by a processor in a data storage, a first parameter associated with an operational characteristic of one of said at least one interrogator or one of said at least one receiver; transmitting, by said processor, a first message based at least in part upon said first parameter to said one of said at least one interrogator or said one of said at least one receiver to cause the respective interrogator or receiver to operate in a first manner; receiving, at said processor, an indication of a change affecting said configuration of the system, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one tag within a tag interrogation zone associated with the respective interrogator or a tag detection zone associated with the respective receiver; in response to receiving said indication of said change affecting said configuration of the system or said presence information for the tag, modifying said first parameter; and transmitting, by said processor, a second message based at least in part upon the modified first parameter to said one of said at least one interrogator or said one of said at least one receiver to cause the respective interrogator or receiver to operate in a second manner.
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Specification