Method and middleware for standards agnostic transaction processing

• US 7,737,848 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2006
• Issued: 06/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rocky Mountain Tracking Incorporated (Imerjn, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rfideaworks Corporation
• Inventors: Bradley, Gerald W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/580,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20080106417A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,340 Days
• Field of Search: 3405721-5729, 340/10.1, 340/10.41, 340/573.1, 709/204, 709/206, 709/207
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method and middleware is provided for information processing includes an input thread module (210), a ware thread module (220) and an output thread module (230). The input thread module (210) selects input thread messages from first data (520), the first data derived from information received by an input device (110) coupled to the input thread module (210). The ware thread module (220) is coupled to the input thread module (210) and generates ware thread messages corresponding to the input thread messages in response to the input thread messages to generate second data (620) and data processes the ware thread messages independently from one another (630). And the output thread module (230) is coupled to the ware thread module (220) and generates output thread messages from and in response to the second data (720) and provides the output thread messages independently from one another for writing to one or more output devices in accordance with the second data (730).

Claims

1. A method for thread-based radio frequency identification (RFID) tag processing of customer defined transactions, the method comprising the steps of:

obtaining RFID tag information;

fetching an input message from a free list message pool of input messages comprising a predetermined number of input messages;

placing data in the input message in response to the RFID tag information; and

providing the input message as a transaction corresponding to one or more of a plurality of RFID tag coding schemes on an input thread in accordance with customer data structure definitions for processing simultaneously with yet independently from other input threads.

2. The method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the step of placing the data in the input message comprises the step of placing the data in the input message in response to the RFID tag information and other inputted data.

3. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the step of creating the free list message pool including the predetermined number of input messages, wherein the step of fetching the input message comprises the step of assigning an unused one of the predetermined number of input messages as the input message, and wherein the step of placing the data in the input message comprises the step of placing the data in the input message in response to the RFID tag information by selecting first data from the RFID tag information.

4. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the step of inputting the customer data structure definitions, wherein the RFID tag information comprises a plurality of fields and wherein the step of placing the data in the input message comprises the step of placing the data in the input message in response to the RFID tag information and in accordance with the customer data structure definitions by utilizing the customer data structure definitions to specify which of the plurality of fields to extract from the RFID tag information for placing the data in the input message.

5. The method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

generating a ware thread corresponding to the input thread in response to the input message; and

processing the ware thread independently from yet simultaneously with other ware threads and in accordance with the customer data structure definitions.

6. The method in accordance with claim 5 wherein the step of processing the ware thread includes one or more of the steps of data capture, database update, standard selection, data normalization, and transaction creation.

7. The method in accordance with claim 5 wherein the step of processing the ware thread comprises the step of data processing the ware thread to generate second data, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

generating one or more output threads in response to the second data; and

providing the one or more output threads independently from one another for writing to one or more output devices.

8. The method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the step of providing the one or more output threads for writing to the one or more output devices comprises the step of providing the one or more output threads independently from one another for writing at least portions of the second data to one or more databases in accordance with the one or more output threads.

9. The method in accordance with claim 7 wherein the steps of providing the input message on an input thread, data processing the ware thread and providing the one or more output threads are all performed independent of one another.

10. A system for thread based radio frequency identification (RFID) tag processing of customer defined transactions comprising:

one or more RFID input devices for reading RFID tags and generating tag information in response to the RFID tags;

an RFID tag processor comprising;

an executive control module for creating a free list message pool including a plurality of messages;

an input thread module coupled to the executive control module and fetching unused ones of the plurality of messages as an input message for providing as a transaction on an input thread, wherein data is placed in the input message in response to the tag information obtained by the one or more input devices coupled to the RFID tag processor by being placed in the input message in accordance with first data from the tag information; and

a ware thread module coupled to the input thread module and receiving the input thread for subsequent processing as a ware thread, the ware thread processed by the ware thread module simultaneously with yet independently from other ware threads.

11. The system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the RFID tag processor further comprises a customer module storing customer data structure definitions and coupled to the input thread module, the customer data structure definitions specifying which of a plurality of fields to extract the first data from the tag information for placing in an input message, and wherein the input thread module processes the input message as a transaction on the input thread in response to the customer data structure definitions.

12. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the customer data structure definitions further define processing of one or more of the plurality of fields of the tag information, and wherein the ware thread module is coupled to the customer module and the input thread module for processing the ware thread independently from other ware threads and in response to the customer data structure definitions to generate second data.

13. The system in accordance with claim 12 further comprising an output thread module coupled to the ware thread module and the customer module and defining one or more output threads from and in response to the second data and providing the one or more output threads independently from one another for writing to one or more output devices in accordance with the customer data structure definitions.

14. The system in accordance with claim 13 wherein the output thread module provides the one or more output threads independently from one another for writing at least a portion of the second data to one or more databases in accordance with the one or more output threads and the customer data structure definitions.

15. The system in accordance with claim 13 wherein the input thread module, the ware thread module and the output thread module operate independently from one another and the plurality of messages of the free list message pool determines the number of input threads, ware threads and output threads that can be processed simultaneously.

16. A system for information processing of predetermined sensible information, the system comprising:

an input device sensing the predetermined sensible information and generating electrical signals in response thereto, wherein the input device is a device selected from the group of (a) devices which sense visually presented information and generate electrical signals in response thereto, (b) devices which sense information received as radio frequency signals and generate electrical signals in response thereto; and

(c) devices which sense magnetically presented information and generate electrical signals in response thereto; and

a ware processor coupled to the input device to receive the electrical signals as first data, the ware processor comprising;

an executive control module of the ware processor for creating a free list message pool including a predetermined number of messages;

an input thread module of the ware processor coupled to the executive program module and the input device for generating input threads in response to the first data, wherein the input thread module obtains unused ones of the predetermined number of messages as input messages for processing as transactions on the input threads, the input messages generated in response to the input threads;

a ware thread module of the ware processor coupled to the input thread module and generating ware threads in response to the input threads and data processing the ware threads independently from one another to generate second data; and

an output thread module of the ware processor coupled to the ware thread module and generating output threads from and in response to the second data and providing the output threads independently from one another for writing to one or more output devices in accordance with the second data,

wherein the input thread module, the ware thread module and the output thread module operate within the ware processor independently from one another, and wherein the predetermined number of messages determine the number of input threads, ware threads and output threads that can be processed simultaneously by the ware processor.

17. The system in accordance with claim 16 further comprising a customer module storing customer data structure definitions and coupled to the input thread module, the ware thread module and the output thread module, the input thread module placing the first data in input messages and processing the input messages as transactions on the input threads in response to the customer data structure definitions, the ware thread module processing the ware threads in response to the customer data structure definitions, and the output thread module outputting the output threads in accordance with the customer data structure definitions.