Methods and devices for locating and uniquely provisioning RFID devices
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;
receiving a provisioning request on a network;
automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request; and
automatically locating the RFID device according to location information included in the provisioning request.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and devices are provided for identifying, locating and provisioning individual RFID devices in a network. According to some implementations of the invention, a combination of EPC code information and existing networking standards form the basis of identifying and provisioning methods. For example, MAC address information and EPC information can be combined to identify a particular device and its location in a network. For implementations using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”), DHCP Options may be used to pass provisioning information. Some implementations employ Domain Name Service (“DNS”) and dynamic DNS (“DDNS”) to allow easy identification of RFID devices.
96 Citations
55 Claims
-
1. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;receiving a provisioning request on a network; automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request; andautomatically locating the RFID device according to location information included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- RFID”
-
13. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device, the method comprising;forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device and location information indicating a location of the RFID device;sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server; andreceiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- RFID”
-
20. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) network, comprising;means for forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device and location information indicating a location of the RFID device;means for sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server and for receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically tailored for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
- RFID”
-
23. A network device, comprising:
-
means for receiving a provisioning request on a network; and means for automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request and for locating the RFTD device according to location information included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
-
-
31. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer program including instructions for controlling one or more elements of a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) network to perform the following steps;form a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device and location information indicating a location of the RFID device;send the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server; andreceive provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID device. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35)
- RFID”
-
36. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium, the computer program including instructions for controlling a network device to perform the following steps:
-
receive a provisioning request on a network; identify an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request; andlocate the RFID device according to location information included in the provisioning request. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
-
-
42. A method for deploying a uniquely-provisioned radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) device in a network, the method comprising;forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID reader and location information indicating that the RFID reader is positioned at an exit door of a retail store;sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server;receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically intended for the RFID reader; and provisioning the RFID reader according to the provisioning information, thereby enabling the RFID reader to read RFID tags passing through the exit door and to transmit RFID tag information to an RFID network. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
- RFID”
-
54. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) network, comprising;a plurality of RFID devices; a plurality of switches connecting the RFID devices to the RFID network; and a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“
DHCP”
) server, wherein at least some of the plurality of RFID devices comprise;means for forming a DHCPDISCOVER request that includes an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) of an RFID device; andmeans for sending the DHCPDISCOVER request to the DHCP server via a switch and for receiving provisioning information from the DHCP server that is specifically tailored for the RFID device;
wherein the switch comprises means for including location information in the DHCPDISCOVER request indicating a location of the RFID device; and
wherein the DHCP server comprises;means for receiving a DHCPDISCOVER request; and means for automatically identifying an RFID device according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an EPC included in the DHCPDISCOVER request and for locating the RFID device according to the location information included in the DHCPDISCOVER request.
- RFID”
-
55. A method for uniquely provisioning a radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) reader or printer, the method comprising;receiving a provisioning request on a network from an RFID reader or printer; automatically identifying the RFTD reader or printer according to a media access control (“
MAC”
) address and an electronic product code (“
EPC”
) included in the provisioning request; andautomatically locating the RFID reader or printer according to location information included in the provisioning request.
- RFID”
Specification
-
- Resources
Litigation Campaign Assessment
Thank you for your request. You will receive a custom alert email when the Litigation Campaign Assessment is available.
×
-
Current AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
-
Original AssigneeCisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
-
InventorsDroms, Ralph, Kreeger, Lawrence, Howarth, Arthur G., Butaney, Vikas, Saville, Roland, Singhal, Rajiv, Wiborg, Christopher
-
Primary Examiner(s)NGUYEN, PHUNG
-
Application NumberUS10/866,507Publication NumberTime in Patent Office1,357 DaysField of Search340/572.1, 340/539.1, 340/5.91, 340/10.3, 340/10.1, 340/825.49, 235/435, 235/451, 705/36US Class Current340/572.1CPC Class CodesG01S 13/825 with exchange of informatio...
