Apparatus and method for managing radio frequency indentification reader

• US 8,299,898 B2
• Filed: 07/21/2008
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Oh, Se Won, Bang, Hyo Chan, Lee, Yong Joon, Park, Jong-Hyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): Knox, Kaleria
• Application Number:
  US12/176,661
• Publication Number:
  US 20090134974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,562 Days
• Field of Search: 375/259, 726/1, 340/10.4, 340/10.1, 340/572.1, 705/1
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

An apparatus for managing a plurality of RFID readers includes a service policy managing unit that defines demands in the form of service policies to be understood by the plurality of RFID readers, a data processing rule managing unit that generates a data processing rule on the basis of the service policies, a collected data processing unit that receives a plurality of RFID tag data from the plurality of RFID readers, and generates integrated RFID events by applying the data processing rule to the plurality of RFID tag data, and a service report processing unit that provides results corresponding to the integrated RFID events.

Claims

1. An apparatus for managing a plurality of RFID readers having different frequency bandwidths, the apparatus comprising:

a service policy managing unit that defines demands which are desired by a user or an application service as service policies to be understood by the plurality of RFID readers, the service polices including conditions and actions corresponding to the conditions;

a data processing rule managing unit that generates a data processing rule and a relation analyzing rule on the basis of the service policies;

a collected data processing unit that receives a plurality of RFID tag data from the plurality of RFID readers, integrates a first portion of the plurality of RFID tag data in accordance with the data processing rule to generate a first integrated RFID event, and integrates a second portion of the plurality of RFID tag data in accordance with the data processing rule to generate a second integrated RFID event;

a service information generator that analyzes a correlation between the first integrated RFID event and the second integrated RFID event in accordance with the relation analyzing rule to generate service information; and

a service report processing unit that provides a service report based on the service information generated from the service information generator.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a reader managing unit that generates a reader integration managing rule corresponding to the plurality of RFID readers on the basis of the service policies; and

a reader controller that analyzes the reader integration managing rule and transmits control instructions to each of the plurality of RFID readers.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data processing rule comprises the contents of the processing of the plurality of RFID tag data.

4. A method performed via an apparatus to manage a plurality of RFID readers having different frequency bandwidths, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of RFID tag data from the plurality of RFID readers;

defining demands, which are desired by a user or an application service, as service policies to be understood by the plurality of RFID readers, the service polices including conditions and actions corresponding to the conditions;

generating a data processing rule, which is used to process the plurality of RFID tag data, and a relation analyzing rule on the basis of the service policies;

integrating a first portion of the plurality of RFID tag data in accordance with the data processing rule to generate a first integrated RFID event;

integrating a second portion of the plurality of RFID tag data in accordance with the data processing rule to generate a second integrated RFID event; and

analyzing a correlation between the first integrated RFID event and the second integrated RFID event in accordance with the relation analyzing rule to generate service information to be provided to the user or the application service.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the generating of the data processing rule further comprises:

generating a reader integration managing rule, which corresponds to the plurality of RFID readers, on the basis of the service policies; and

analyzing the reader integration managing rule and transmitting control instructions to each of the plurality of RFID readers.

6. A method performed via an apparatus to manage a plurality of RFID readers having different frequency bandwidths, the method comprising:

storing demands which are desired by a user or an application service as service policies that comprise conditions and actions corresponding to the conditions;

receiving a plurality of RFID tag data from the plurality of RFID readers by applying a first rule that is generated in accordance with the conditions and actions of the service policies;

converting a first portion of the plurality of RFID tag data into a first integrated RFID event by applying a second rule that is generated in accordance with the conditions and actions of the service policies;

converting a second portion of the plurality of RFID tag data into a second integrated RFID event by applying the second rule; and

analyzing a correlation between the first integrated RFID event and the second integrated RFID event in accordance with a third rule that is generated in accordance with the conditions and actions of the service policies, and providing analyzed results based on the analyzing the correlation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the receiving of the plurality of RFID tag data further comprises analyzing the first rule and transmitting control instructions to each of the plurality of RFID readers.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the first rule comprises a rule controlling each of the plurality of RFID readers, the second rule comprises a rule processing the plurality of RFID tag data, and the third rule comprises a rule analyzing the integrated RFID events.