Systems for and methods of assigning priority to reader antennae
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a plurality of reader antennae, comprising:
- determining a priority order of the plurality of reader antennae, where a preference level is assigned to each of the plurality of reader antennae based on information relating to products detected by each of the plurality of reader antennae and the priority order is derived from the preference levels, wherein the information relating to the products is stored in respective RFID tags associated with the products; and
setting a polling sequence for reading the plurality of reader antennae according to the priority order determined in said determining step.
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Abstract
Methods, systems, and articles of manufacture for assigning priority to antennae are disclosed. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, reader antennae identify the location of an object by detecting a tag or other identifier associated with each object. Sensors can be provided to provide additional information regarding the environment of the objects or their surroundings. A priority order is assigned to the reader antennae based on the location and other characteristics of the objects and/or their environment. A polling sequence for reading the reader antennae is determined according to the priority order.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method of operating a plurality of reader antennae, comprising:
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determining a priority order of the plurality of reader antennae, where a preference level is assigned to each of the plurality of reader antennae based on information relating to products detected by each of the plurality of reader antennae and the priority order is derived from the preference levels, wherein the information relating to the products is stored in respective RFID tags associated with the products; and setting a polling sequence for reading the plurality of reader antennae according to the priority order determined in said determining step. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of adjusting the priority order of a polling sequence for a plurality of RFID antennae, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of product support structures, each product support structure associated with at least one RFID reader antenna; placing a plurality of products on at least one of the product support structures, each of the plurality of products associated with an RFID tag; identifying the location of each of the plurality of products by detecting the associated RFID tags with the plurality of RFID reader antennae; assigning a priority order to the plurality of RFID antennae, the priority order determined by assigning a preference level to each of the plurality of RFID antennae based on information relating to products detected by each of the plurality of RFID reader antennae, wherein the information relating to the products is stored in the RFID tags associated with the products; and assigning a polling sequence for reading the plurality of RFID reader antennae according to the priority order. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. An antenna prioritization system for prioritizing the reading of a plurality of reader antennae, the system comprising:
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a controller device configured to determine a priority order of the plurality of RFID antennae based on information relating to products detected by each of the plurality of RFID reader antennae, and for setting a polling sequence for reading ones of the plurality of RFID reader antennae according to the priority order, wherein the information relating to the products is stored in respective RFID tags associated with the products; and a reader for reading ones of the plurality of reader antennae in accordance with the polling sequence.
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Specification