Identifier sequencing of wireless identification tags

• US 8,779,902 B2
• Filed: 10/29/2011
• Issued: 07/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kangas, P. Daniel, Thomas, Jeff D.
• Primary Examiner(s): SYED, NABIL H
• Application Number:
  US13/284,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20130106584A1
• Time in Patent Office: 990 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/10.2, 340/10.3, 340/10.4, 340/10.41, 340/10.42, 340/10.5, 340/10.51, 340/572.1, 340/539.11
• US Class Current: 340/10.51
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10039 interrogator driven, i.e. synchronous

Abstract

Methods and systems for identifier sequencing of wireless identification tags are disclosed. According to aspect, a method includes receiving identifiers of wireless identification tags from each of a plurality of wireless identification read cells. The method also includes determining whether identifiers received from one or more of the wireless identification read cells are not contiguous. Further, the method includes communicating, to the wireless identification read cells, other identifiers having a contiguous sequence for re-sequencing identifiers of the wireless identification tags within the communication range of the wireless identification read cells in response to determining that one or more of the wireless identification read cells have identifiers that are not contiguous.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

using at least a processor and memory for;

receiving identifiers of wireless identification tags from each of a plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells;

determining whether identifiers received from at least two overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells of the plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells are not contiguous; and

in response to determining that at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells have identifiers that are not contiguous, communicating, to one or more of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells, reserve identifiers having a contiguous sequence for re-sequencing of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags within the communication range of the at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells, wherein the reserve identifiers include a set of identifiers that completes a substantially contiguous sequence between the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the wireless identification tags is one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a transponder.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at each of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags;

receiving one of the reserve identifiers; and

replacing a stored identifier with the received one of the reserve identifiers.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

at each of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags;

defining a timeslot based on the received one of the reserve identifiers; and

in response to receipt of an activation signal, wirelessly transmitting data within the timeslot.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising, at each of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags, selecting the timeslot from among a plurality of timeslots based on at least a portion of the reserve identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising reading data from each of the wireless identification tags.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising ordering the reserve identifiers in the contiguous sequence.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving an instruction to suspend reserve identifier ordering; and

suspending ordering of the reserve identifiers in response to receipt of the instruction.

9. A system comprising:

a network interface configured to communicate with a plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells; and

a wireless identification manager configured to;

receive identifiers of wireless identification tags from each of a plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells;

determine whether identifiers received from at least two overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells of the plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells are not contiguous; and

communicate, to one or more of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells, reserve identifiers having a contiguous sequence for re-sequencing of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags within the communication range of the at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells in response to determining that at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells have identifiers that are not contiguous, wherein the reserve identifiers include a set of identifiers that completes a substantially contiguous sequence between the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the wireless identification tags is one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a transponder.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein each of the wireless identification tags is configured to:

receive one of the reserve identifiers; and

replace a stored identifier with the received one of the reserve identifiers.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the wireless identification read cells are configured to read data from the wireless identification tags.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the wireless identification manager is configured to order the reserve identifiers in the contiguous sequence.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the wireless identification manager is configured to:

receive an instruction to suspend reserve identifier ordering; and

suspend ordering of the reserved identifiers in response to receipt of the instruction.

15. A computer program product for sequencing identifiers of wireless identification tags, said computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code configured to receive identifiers of wireless identification tags from each of a plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells;

computer readable program code configured to determine whether identifiers received from at least two overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells of the plurality of adjacent wireless identification read cells are not contiguous; and

computer readable program code configured to control a communication module to communicate, to one or more of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells, reserve identifiers having a contiguous sequence for re-sequencing of the non-contiguous wireless identification tags within the communication range of the at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells in response to determining that at least one of the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells have identifiers that are not contiguous, wherein the reserve identifiers include a set of identifiers that completes a substantially contiguous sequence between the overlapping adjacent wireless identification read cells.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, further comprising computer readable program code configured to order the reserve identifiers in the contiguous sequence.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising:

computer readable program code configured to receive an instruction to suspend reserve identifier ordering; and

computer readable program code configured to suspend ordering of the reserve identifiers in response to receipt of the instruction.