Methods and apparatus for determining the status of a device

• US 20060033606A1
• Filed: 07/13/2004
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Howarth, Arthur G., Singhal, Rajiv
• Granted Patent: US 8,249,953 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations

Abstract

Methods and devices are provided for determining the status of a networked device, e.g., a networked RFID device. In some embodiments of the invention, a customized packet is used to transmit a “heartbeat” from each of a plurality of networked devices to a server. Some such embodiments use a customized syslog packet for the heartbeats. The heartbeat includes identification information regarding the device, e.g., the unique electronic product code (“EPC”) of the device. The identification information may include other identification and/or authentication information, such as a shared secret and time data, which may be hashed with the identification information. The heartbeat may include information indicating the health, accuracy and/or reliability of the device and/or of the network that includes the device.

Claims

1. A method of determining the status of a device, the method comprising:

instructing a first radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) device to transmit a first packet at a first time, the first packet comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and a first time stamp; and

determining whether the first RFID device transmitted the first packet.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

instructing the first RFID device to transmit a second packet at a second time, the second packet comprising the first EPC and a second time stamp; and

determining whether the first RFID device transmitted the second packet.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet further comprises encrypted authentication information.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises a syslog packet.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

instructing a second RFID device to transmit a second packet at a second time, the second packet comprising an EPC of the second RFID device and a second time stamp; and

determining whether the second RFID device transmitted the second packet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding the utilization of the first RFID device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding a local area network that includes the first RFID device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding Internet Protocol packet statistics.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information specific to the first RFID device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information specified by a vendor of the first RFID device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding a radio frequency interface of the first RFID device.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the second packet comprises second information, in addition to the second time stamp, that is different from first information in the first packet.

13. The method of claim 2, further comprising instructing the first RFID device to transmit a third packet at a third time, the third packet comprising the first EPC and a third time stamp, wherein a first time interval between the first time and the second time is different from a second time interval between the second time and the third time.

14. The method of claim 3, further comprising validating the first packet according to the authentication information.

15. The method of claim 5, wherein the second time is different from the first time.

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet comprises information specific to the first RFID device.

16. A method of determining the status of a plurality of radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) devices, the method comprising;

instructing a first RFID device to transmit a first syslog packet at a first time, the first syslog packet comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and a first time stamp;

instructing each of RFID devices 2 through N to transmit second through Nth syslog packets at second through Nth times, respectively, the second syslog packet comprising a second EPC of the second RFID device and a second time stamp and the Nth syslog packet comprising an Nth EPC of the Nth RFID device and an Nth time stamp.

17. A method of determining the status of radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) devices, the method comprising;

providing a first RFID device with first instructions to transmit first syslog packets, each of the first syslog packets comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and each of the first syslog packets being transmitted according to a first time designation.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first time designation comprises transmitting one of the first syslog packets, waiting for a first time interval to elapse, then transmitting another of the first syslog packets.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

providing the first RFID device with second instructions to transmit the first syslog packets, each of the first syslog packets comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and each of the first syslog packets being transmitted according to a second time designation.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

providing the first RFID device with second instructions to transmit second syslog packets, each of the second syslog packets comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and information not included in the first syslog packets.

21. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer program including instructions for controlling networked devices to perform the following steps:

instructing a first radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) device to transmit a first packet at a first time, the first packet comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the first RFID device and a first time stamp; and

determining whether the first RFID device transmitted the first packet.

22. The computer program of claim 21, further comprising instructions for controlling the networked devices to perform the following steps:

instructing the first RFID device to transmit a second packet at a second time, the second packet comprising the first EPC and a second time stamp; and

determining whether the first RFID device transmitted the second packet.

23. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet further comprises encrypted authentication information.

24. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises a syslog packet.

25. The computer program of claim 21, further comprising instructions for:

instructing a second RFID device to transmit a second packet at a second time, the second packet comprising an EPC of the second RFID device and a second time stamp; and

determining whether the second RFID device transmitted the second packet.

26. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding the utilization of the first RFID device.

27. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding a local area network that includes the first RFID device.

28. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding Internet Protocol packet statistics.

30. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises information specified by a vendor of the first RFID device.

31. The computer program of claim 21, wherein the first packet comprises information regarding a radio frequency interface of the first RFID device.

32. The computer program of claim 22, wherein the second packet comprises second information, in addition to the second time stamp, that is different from first information in the first packet.

33. The computer program of claim 22, further comprising instructions for causing the first RFID device to transmit a third packet at a third time, the third packet comprising the first EPC and a third time stamp, wherein a first time interval between the first time and the second time is different from a second time interval between the second time and the third time.

34. The computer program of claim 23, further comprising instructions for validating the first packet according to the authentication information.

35. The computer program of claim 25, wherein the second time is different from the first time.

36. A method for implementing a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) network, the method comprising;

positioning a networked RFID reader at an exit door of a retail store;

enabling the RFID reader to read RFID tags passing through the exit door and to transmit RFID tag information to an RFID network;

instructing the RFID reader to transmit a first syslog packet at a first time, the first packet comprising a first Electronic Product Code (“

EPC”

) of the RFID reader, a first time stamp and a secret; and

determining that the RFID reader transmitted the first syslog packet, thereby determining that the RFID reader is operational.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of using the RFID tag information to automatically update a database maintained by the retail store.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of using the RFID tag information to cause a financial account to be debited for a cost of the products.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of using the RFID tag information to automatically update a database maintained by a manufacturer of at least one of the products.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of using the RFID tag information to automatically update a database maintained by a distributor of at least one of the products.

41. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of using the RFID tag information to update a business plan.

42. The method of claim 36, wherein the RFID tag information comprises product information.

43. The method of claim 36, wherein the RFID tag information comprises shopper information.

44. The method of claim 41, wherein the business plan is a marketing plan.

45. The method of claim 41, wherein the business plan is a manufacturing plan.

46. The method of claim 41, wherein the business plan is a distribution plan.

47. The method of claim 41, wherein the business plan is a sales plan.