Method for delivering radio frequency identification device control and data signals

• US 8,681,368 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2005
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Infoprint Solutions Company LLC (Ricoh Company Limited)
• Inventors: Hohensee, Reinhard Heinrich, Sickenius, Louis Stephen, Stone, David Earl, Varga, John Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Moore, David K
• Assistant Examiner(s): McLean, Neil R
• Application Number:
  US11/092,251
• Publication Number:
  US 20060227365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,283 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.16, 358/1.15, 358/1.13, 358/1.1, 358/1.17, 358/1.14, 358/1.18, 358/1.12, 358/448, 101/211, 101/483, 715/205, 715/230, 715/246, 715/255, 715/705, 345/501, 345/502, 345/537, 345/672, 347/130, 347/132, 347/153, 347/154
• US Class Current: 358/1.16
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Abstract

A method of communicating non-native print objects in MO:DCA Architecture for controlling and operating RFID writer or reader devices without requiring separate control data streams or systems to be implemented at the host computer. Data references and command identifiers are placed by application program means at the host computer into the page description data so that RFID information can be retrieved and downloaded to the printer and RFID apparatus when the print data is being processed in the print server or main processor of the printer without interfering with normal operation of the printer itself.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

placing print document data into a page description language (PDL) data stream at a computer;

placing radio frequency identification (RFID) data objects into the PDL data stream;

placing an RFID data object identifier into the PDL data stream to distinguish the RFID data objects from the print document data;

detecting said RFID data object identifier at the printer control means;

delivering any RFID data or commands indicated by said RFID data object identifier to an RFID means for writing or reading RFID memory devices at a printing base medium; and

delivering the print document data to a printing means at the printing base medium.

2. A method as described in claim 1, further comprising steps of:

extracting from a database any RFID commands or data indicated by said RFID data object identifier, and

delivering said extracted RFID commands or data to said RFID means for use thereby.

3. A method as described in either claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising steps of:

detecting said identifier for RFID data objects in said printer data stream and, responsive thereto,

downloading RFID data and commands indicated by said RFID identifier from said computer to said printer server or printer control means; and

delivering said RFID data and commands to said RFID means.

4. A method as described in claim 3, further comprising steps of:

recording said downloaded RFID data and commands into a database for later extraction therefrom for delivery to said RFID means.

5. A computer program comprising a non-transitory computer useable medium having computer readable program code thereon, including:

program code placing print document data into a page description language (PDL) data stream at a computer;

placing radio frequency identification (RFID) data objects into the PDL data stream;

placing an RFID data object identifier into the PDL data stream to distinguish the RFID data objects from the print document data;

program code for detecting said RFID data object identifier at the printer control means;

program code for directing any RFID data or commands indicated by said RFID data object identifier to an RFID means for writing or reading RFID memory devices at a printing base medium; and

program code for directing the print document data to a printing means at the printing base medium.

6. A computer program product for delivering control and data objects to a RFID writer or reader means in a printer means as described in claim 5, the computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code thereon, further including:

program code for extracting from a database any RFID commands or data indicated by said RFID data object identifier, and

program code for delivering said extracted RFID commands or data to said RFID means for use thereby.

7. A computer program product for delivering control and data objects to a RFID writer or reader means in a printer means as described in claim 5 or claim 6, the computer program product comprising a computer useable medium having computer readable program code thereon, further including:

program code for detecting said identifier for RFID data objects in said printer data stream and, responsive thereto program code for downloading RFID data and commands indicated by said RFID identifier from said computer to said printer server or printer control; and

program code for delivering said RFID data and commands to said RFID means.

8. A computer program product as described in claim 7, further comprising:

program code for recording said downloaded FRID data and commands into a database for later extraction therefrom for delivery to said RFID means.

9. A computer program comprising a non-transitory computer useable medium having computer readable program code thereon, including:

program code for examining resource data of each of print objects and radio frequency identification (RFID) objects and for storing a single copy of resource data and discarding any duplicate copies;

program code for inserting into a formatted data stream print data and RFID data and a reference to the resource data at the point in the formatted data stream where the print or RFID object is to be read or written on a page;

program code for using the resource data reference in the formatted data stream to retrieve the resource data copy;

program code for sending the retrieved resource data copy having RFID objects to an RFID means at a printer for reading or writing to an RFID memory means;

program code for sending the retrieved resource data copy having print objects to a printing means at the printer;

program code which uses the RFID data reference to send the referenced RFID data and the resource data reference to the RFID means and uses the print data reference to send the referenced print data and the resource data reference to the printing means; and

program code for combining the resource data and the print or RFID data in the printer in response to the resource data reference; and

program code for processing the combination for writing or reading by said RFID means and for processing the combination for printing at the printing means,

program code for directing any RFID data or commands indicated by said RFID data object identifier to an RFID means for writing or reading RFID memory devices at a printing base medium; and

program code for directing the print document data to a printing means at the printing base medium.

10. A program product as described in claim 9 wherein the RFID data in the formatted data stream comprises actual RFID data content to be written into the RFID memory device on the print base medium.

11. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the RFID data in the formatted data stream comprises a reference to the actual RFID data content to be written.

12. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the examining program code comprises program code for storing the RFID data of each of the RFID objects in the formatted data stream into a resource database.

13. A computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein the program code which uses the RFID data reference to send the referenced RFID data and the resource data reference to the RFID means comprises program code for retrieving the RFID data from the resource database in response to the RFID data reference;

and program code for sending the retrieved RFID data to the RFID means.

14. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the examining program code comprises program code for storing the resource data of each of the RFID objects in a resource database.

15. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the examining program code comprises program code for storing the resource data of each of the RFID objects in the formatted data stream.

16. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the program code for inserting references into the formatted data stream comprises program code for inserting into the formatted data stream a second reference to the resource data together with the reference to the RFID data at the point in the formatted data stream where the RFID object is to be written or read.

17. A computer program product as described in claim 16 wherein the program code for sending the resource data reference and the RFID data to the RFID means comprises program code for sending the second resource data reference and RFID data to the RFID means.

18. A computer program product as described in claim 9 wherein the program code for sending the resource data copy to the RFID means comprises:

program code, operable before sending the resource data copy to the RFID means, for determining whether the RFID means already has a copy of the retrieved resource data; and

program code for preventing a resource data copy from being sent to the RFID means when the RFID means already has a copy of the resource data.

19. A computer program product as described in claim 18 wherein the RFID means has a memory and the program code for sending the resource data copy to the RFID means comprises program code for storing the resource data copy in the memory.