RFID tag data affecting automation controller with internal database

• US 7,764,191 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2005
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Rockwell Automation Technologies Incorporated (Allen-Bradley Co., Inc.)
• Inventors: Tinnell, Kenneth A., Hall, Kenwood H., Bapat, Vivek R., Chand, Sujeet, Morse, Richard A., Owen, JR., Joseph P., Pietrzyk, Arthur P., Somogyi, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jiang, Yong Hang
• Application Number:
  US11/190,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20070024463A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,827 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.69, 340 101- 106, 364/468.22, 709/204, 700115-117, 700224-226, 700 95-212, 370/310, 370/310.1, 370/310.2
• US Class Current: 340/12.51
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4183 characterised by data acquisition, e.g. workpiece identification
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31095 Read write intelligent chip on workpiece, pallet, tool for data exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31322 Work still to be done on workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/33192 Radio link, wireless
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/49302 Part, workpiece, code, tool identification
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

The claimed subject matter provides a system and/or a method that facilitates utilizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with an object. An RFID component can receive extended data from the RFID tag that identifies an operation. An automation device can then manipulate the object based at least in part upon the extended data and the identified operation. Moreover, a controller can be utilized to control the automation device, wherein the controller utilizes an internal database and/or data store to provide efficient access to specific information.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates utilizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with an object, comprising:

a filter component that processes data received from a plurality of RFID tags associated with a plurality of stations in response to a read broadcast and passes data from RFID tags that are associated with one of the plurality of stations, the one of the plurality of stations is selected based in part on a location of a mobile reader that transmits the read broadcast and a location of the one of the plurality of stations, wherein the mobile reader includes a location component that determines the location of the mobile reader;

an RFID component that identifies extended data from the data passed by the filter component, the extended data identifies an operation to be performed on the object;

an automation device that manipulates the object based at least in part upon the extended data and the identified operation, wherein a decision to drive control of an output is selected indirectly by least one of bits or numbers associated with the extended data; and

an internal database local to a controller that is employed to store additional data associated with a plurality of objects, the controller identifies the additional data associated with the object based in part on the extended data and controls manipulation of the object by the automation device based in part on the additional data.

2. The system of claim 1, the RFID component includes at least one of the mobile reader or an RFID writer.

3. The system of claim 1, the automation device is at least one of a roller, a station, a welder, a scanner, a belt conveyor, a pump, a press, a transfer gate, a crane, or a fan.

4. The system of claim 1, the plurality of RFID tags are passive ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID tags.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the additional data associated with the object includes at least one of an object history, location information, an intended customer, or an authorized operator.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the automation device manipulates the object based on at least one of an indirect effect or a direct effect of an analysis of the received extended data.

7. The system of claim 6, the direct effect is utilizing a bit within the extended data as a decision that drives control of the output.

8. The system of claim 6, the indirect effect is utilizing a bit within the extended data as a selector of a decision that drives the control of the output.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transceiver that provides wireless network communications between the RFID component and a network that connects to the internal database, the transceiver facilitates communication of at least one of location data or tag data between the RFID component and at least one of the internal database or the controller.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the filter component utilizes the current location to filter out one or more signals from distant RFID tags that are not located within a specified distance of the mobile reader.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the RFID component re-writes the extended data on completion of the operation.

12. The system of claim 11, the re-written extended data is utilized at a disparate automation device.

13. The system of claim 1, the extended data is routing information for the object moving through a material transfer gate.

14. The system of claim 1, the extended data is a process parameter that drives process automation control at the plurality of stations in a manufacturing application.

15. The system of claim 1, the controller receives external communications from a business system that includes at least one of a disparate operation or an order associated with the object.

16. The system of claim 15, the controller utilizes extensible markup language (XML) for formatting at least one of requests or transactions associated with the business system.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising an intelligent component that employs at least one of a probabilistic or statistical-based analysis to prognose or infer an action to be automatically performed on the object by the automation device.

18. The system of claim 1, the plurality of RFID tags includes at least one of reader identification or environment data.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the internal database includes object oriented methods for structuring data and methods that can be operated on the data.

19. A computer-implemented method that facilitates utilizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with an object, comprising:

receiving a signal at an RFID component, within a mobile reader, from the RFID tag associated with at least one station;

identifying, at the mobile reader, a location of the RFID component;

determining whether to process data from the RFID tag based in part on the location of the RFID component and a location of the at least one station;

decoding and translating the data from the RFID tag if the determining indicates that the data is to be processed;

determining if the data within the RFID tag indirectly influences an automation system such that at least one of bits or numbers associated with the data select a decision to drive control of an output of the automation system;

receiving additional information associated with the object from an internal database within the controller by utilizing at least in part the data from the RFID tag; and

utilizing the selection, the additional information from the internal database and the data from the RFID tag to control an operation performed by an automation device on the object.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising, communicating with an external business system by employing the internal database to at least one of receive a disparate operation, receive an order, or deliver status information from the automation system.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining if the data is to directly effect or indirectly effect the output;

controlling the automation device with the controller that has the internal database based in part on the data and the additional information from the internal database;

determining if another automation device is to utilize the data; and

re-writing the data upon completion of the operation.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising, directly accessing information from the internal database in at least one of a form or format consistent with business data access, the at least one form or format comprising at least one of structured or object oriented data representation and addressing.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the utilizing includes utilizing the selection, the additional information from the internal database and the data from the RFID tag to control the operation performed by at least one of a roller, a station, a welder, a scanner, a belt conveyor, a pump, a press, or a fan on the object.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising, receiving one or more process parameters from the RFID tag for driving a process performed by the automation system on the object.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein the communicating includes communication with an external business system by employing the internal database to receive at least one of an object history, location information, an intended customer, or an authorized operator, associated with the object.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising,

determining a distance between the RFID component and the at least one station based in part on the location of the RFID component.

27. A computer-implemented system that facilitates utilizing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with an object, comprising:

means for receiving data from a plurality of RFID tags associated with a plurality of stations in response to a read signal broadcast from a mobile reader;

means for determining, within the mobile reader, a location of the means for receiving data;

means for filtering data from a set of RFID tags that are associated with one of the plurality of stations, the one of the plurality of stations is selected based in part on the location of the mobile reader and a location of the one of the plurality of stations;

means for identifying extended data from at least one of the set of RFID tags associated with an object, the extended data identifies an operation to be performed on the object;

means for directly accessing information from an database internal to a controller to determine additional information associated with the object based on the extended data, the additional information includes at least one of object history, location information, intended customer data, or authorized operator data; and

means for controlling the manipulation of the object based at least in part upon the extended data, the additional information and the identified operation.