Rich object model for diverse auto-ID tags

• US 7,735,740 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Shafer, Steven Arthur Nolan
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech; Karl D.
• Application Number:
  US11/166,933
• Publication Number:
  US 20060289647A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,817 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/487, 235/494
• US Class Current: 235/487
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/541 via adapters, e.g. between incompatible applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A system and method allowing one application to implement diverse AutoID tags interchangeably, by unifying all AutoID technologies into a single object model. The single object model interacts with all AutoID technologies, with only a lowest level device tailored to the specific AutoID technology, the single object model thereby persisting through the middleware, up to an application, carrying all necessary information from any AutoID technology. The single object model can interact with a tag many times, as necessary to complete an operation. A reader interface allows an application to communicate with multiple readers of diverse AutoID tags, and to communicate with individual servers communicating with individual readers of diverse AutoID tags. The reader interface also provides a single interface for hardware communication with a radio, for an application interacting with an entire network of readers, sensors, interpretation steps, product lookup, and information storage providing a single virtual reader.

Claims

1. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that are executable for operating as a unified ID Tag reader interface between one or more providers that may obtain ID information from diverse types of AutoID tags and one or more consumers that receive and use the ID information, wherein the unified ID Tag reader interface is stackable between one or more consumers and providers, and wherein multiple stacked interfaces provide multiple outputs and inputs for AutoID Tag manipulation between the one or more consumers and providers, the computer-executable instructions configured for performing steps comprising:

receiving scan activity instructions from the one or more consumers;

performing a first intermediate processing step before forwarding the instructions to the one or more providers for implementing the scan activity;

receiving responses to the instructions from the one or more providers; and

performing a second intermediate processing step before forwarding the responses to the one or more consumers, the unified ID Tag reader interface operative as a single object model.

2. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second intermediate processing step comprises:

accumulating information over multiple scanning activities;

determining which AutoID Tags scanned are reliable based upon the information accumulated; and

forward only responses directed to the reliable AutoID Tags to the one or more consumers.

3. The computer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein accumulating information over multiple scanning activities, determining reliable AutoID Tags, and forwarding only responses directed to the reliable AutoID Tags, does not interfere with any specific instruction from a consumer to read, write or control one or more specific AutoID Tags.

4. The computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the second intermediate processing step comprises:

retrieving product data from a database based upon the responses from the one or more providers;

parsing binary identification data into fields;

abstracting noisy response events into meaningful events;

configuring information to hide hardware details associated with the one or more providers;

buffering data;

producing statistics and traffic reports based upon the responses from the one or more providers;

aggregating multiple providers as one provider as viewed from the one or more consumers;

hopping over a network, and

presenting a user interface to various services.

5. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components comprising:

a provider that implements a scan of one or more ID tags for retrieval of information relevant to the ID tags;

a consumer that receives and uses the information relevant to the ID tags; and

a plurality of interfaces providing communication between the provider and the consumer, wherein at least one interface is associated with the provider and at least one interface is associated with the consumer, the interface including;

configuration parameters from the consumer to the provider;

scanning activity instructions from the consumer to the provider; and

provider reports for the consumer.

6. The computer-readable medium of claim 5, wherein the provider reports include:

observations of the tags in a form of events; and

direct read, write and control instructions from the consumer directed to a specific tag or set of tags, providing direct communication from the consumer to the provider for the direct read, write and control instructions.

7. The computer-readable medium of claim 5 having further computer-executable components comprising a programming device between the plurality of interfaces, wherein the programming device receives the interface associated with the provider as a consumer, and receives the interface associated with the consumer as a provider, whereby the programming device can perform intermediate processing steps, modifying requests coming down from the consumer and responses or reports coming up from the provider, or both.

8. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable components comprising a report evaluator and a database, wherein the programming device performs a method including the steps of:

receiving provider reports;

accumulating information in the database over multiple receivings of provider reports; and

determining which tags are reliable using the report evaluator, whereby only reliable tags provided in the provider reports are forwarded to the consumer.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8, wherein performance of the method steps by the programming device do not interfere with direct read, write or control operations from an consumer, whereby the direct read, write or control operations are passed through the programming device to the provider without interference, and responses thereto are passed through the programming device to the consumer without interference.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein intermediate processing steps include performance of one or more of the following:

retrieving product data from a database based upon the provider reports;

parsing binary identification data into fields;

abstracting noisy events into meaningful events;

configuring information to hide hardware details associated with the provider;

buffering data;

producing statistics and traffic reports based upon the provider reports;

aggregating multiple providers as one provider as viewed from one or more consumers;

hopping over a network, and

presenting interaction with one or more external services.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable components comprising a plurality of programming devices, wherein at least two programming devices are stacked, allowing adjacent communication with one another;

one programming device external in the stack receiving the interface associated with the provider, and another programming device external in the stack receiving the interface associated with the consumer, whereby the stack of programming devices provides various outputs to various locations, provides that various elements be grouped onto one or different computers, and provides that a web service can be flexibly incorporated anywhere in the stack of programming devices.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable components comprising a plurality of stacked programming devices, allowing adjacent communication with one another;

wherein at least one web service is established between two of the stacked programming devices, whereby a transparent connection is effected between the two of the stacked programming devices.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein the web service includes at least one network server and at least one network client communicating over a network, whereby the two of the stacked programming devices allow the stack of programming devices to hop over the network.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 having further computer-executable components comprising a database, a database loader in association with the provider, and a database accessor in association with the consumer;

wherein, when the consumer requests a direct control operation concerning a tag;

the consumer instructs the database accessor to perform the direct operation through the interface associated with the consumer;

the database accessor instructs the database loader, by way of the web service, to perform the direct operation with the database or the provider.

15. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the web service is stored in the database and the database accessor has access to a URL of the web service, whereby the database accessor, to perform a direct operation, retrieves the URL, contacts the web service and the database loader, and instructs the database loader to perform the direct operation.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 7 having further computer-executable components comprising a plurality of stacked programming devices, allowing adjacent communication with one another;

one programming device external in the stack receiving the interface associated with the provider (lowest level programming device), and another programming device external in the stack receiving the interface associated with the consumer (top level programming device), and a pass-through mechanism, wherein, when the consumer instructs the top level programming device to perform an operation, the top level programming device transmits the instruction directly to a respective lower level filter that will implement the operation, thereby skipping transmission of the instruction through all intermediate programming devices.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the pass-through mechanism has stored thereon a data structure comprising extensions including a table that records which level filter implements a respective operation for every method, event, and property possibly tasked.

18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the extensions further include unique features of a respective programming device, including tag generated events.

19. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable components comprising:

a provider that implements a scan of one or more ID tags for retrieval of information relevant to the ID tags;

a consumer that receives and uses the information relevant to the ID tags; and

a plurality of interfaces providing communication between the provider and the consumer, at least one interface being associated with the provider and at least one interface being associated with the consumer; and

a plurality of programming devices, wherein at least two programming devices are stacked, allowing adjacent communication with one another;

one programming device, at a bottom level of the stack, receiving the interface associated with the provider, and another programming device, at a top level of the stack, receiving the interface associated with the consumer, wherein the stack of programming devices provides various outputs to various locations, provides that various elements be grouped onto one or different computers, and provides that a web service can be flexibly incorporated anywhere in the stack of programming devices, and wherein the programming device can perform intermediate processing steps, modifying requests coming down from the consumer and responses or reports coming up from the provider, or both.