Method for operating an RFID network
First Claim
1. A method of processing an electronic tag within an RFID network having a plurality of RFID read/write stations, in which a reader service signal is modulated on a read/write signal, the method comprising:
- determining at least one read/write station of the plurality of RFID read/write stations as a master read/write station, at least based on active connections,determining at least one read/write station of the plurality of the RFID read/write stations as an assistant of the master read/write station or a child of the master read/write station;
wherein the master RFID read/write station has access to structure data associated with a topology of the network of RFID read/write stations and coordination data associated with a coordination plan, and,wherein each of the plurality of RFID read/write stations is configured to directly receive data from RFID tags; and
sending the structure data and the coordination data to synchronize network operation of two or more of the RFID read/write stations,wherein the synchronization is based on using a number of time slots and a number of frequency channels associated with a service frequency channel or a service time slot,wherein the sending is performed periodically or on demand;
wherein a sequence on the reader service signal is configured to change the service frequency channel (Reader Service Channel, RSK) of a child read/write station, in response to a the parent read/write station sending the sequence for delivery to the child read/write station;
wherein the master or assistant is configured to transmit a response message in order to adapt the structure data or the coordination data, when a message is received from the child; and
wherein the parent ensures that another child does not use a frequency channel/time slot pair within the RST/RSK that is requested by the child.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for operating an RFID network consisting of a number of read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17), for which a reader service signal (9, 105) is modulated onto a read-write signal that is required to process a number of electronic labels (6). According to the invention, the following steps are carried out: at least one read-write station (1 2, 3, 11, N0-N17) is entrusted with the function of a master (100) that has stored a network structure (110) comprising structure data and a co-ordination plan containing co-ordination data; the master or masters transmit(s) (100) at least corresponding data for an organized synchronous network operation to the read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17) periodically and/or on demand, so that the read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17) do not interfere with one another during the read-write operation. This is achieved using a number of time slots (21, 31, 41) and a number of frequency channels (20, 30, 40), a service frequency channel (reader service channel, RSK) and/or a service time slot (reader service time, RST) being available and used to synchronize and modify the structure and co-ordination data between the master (100) and the read-write stations (1, 2, 3, 11, N0-N17).
10 Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of processing an electronic tag within an RFID network having a plurality of RFID read/write stations, in which a reader service signal is modulated on a read/write signal, the method comprising:
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determining at least one read/write station of the plurality of RFID read/write stations as a master read/write station, at least based on active connections, determining at least one read/write station of the plurality of the RFID read/write stations as an assistant of the master read/write station or a child of the master read/write station; wherein the master RFID read/write station has access to structure data associated with a topology of the network of RFID read/write stations and coordination data associated with a coordination plan, and, wherein each of the plurality of RFID read/write stations is configured to directly receive data from RFID tags; and sending the structure data and the coordination data to synchronize network operation of two or more of the RFID read/write stations, wherein the synchronization is based on using a number of time slots and a number of frequency channels associated with a service frequency channel or a service time slot, wherein the sending is performed periodically or on demand; wherein a sequence on the reader service signal is configured to change the service frequency channel (Reader Service Channel, RSK) of a child read/write station, in response to a the parent read/write station sending the sequence for delivery to the child read/write station; wherein the master or assistant is configured to transmit a response message in order to adapt the structure data or the coordination data, when a message is received from the child; and wherein the parent ensures that another child does not use a frequency channel/time slot pair within the RST/RSK that is requested by the child. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification