Operations of mobile RFID readers in a venue having fixed RFID readers
AssigneeSymbol Technologies, Inc.
InventorsRichard J. Lavery, Russell Calvarese, Charles G. Lauria, Timothy B. Austin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of asset tracking via RFID. In an embodiment, the present disclosure describes a system that selectively deactivates at least some of the plurality of fixed RFID readers that are disposed within a venue based on a location determination of an active mobile RFID reader.
Claims19
A system for operating a mobile radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) reader in a venue having a network of fixed RFID readers, the system comprising:
- a plurality of fixed RFID readers, each of the plurality of fixed RFID readers having an antenna defining a respective read-zone;
- a database containing inventory data related to a plurality of RFID tags, for each of the plurality of RFID tags the inventory data including a tag location within the venue;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of fixed RFID readers, the mobile RFID reader, and the database, the controller being configured to:
- detect the mobile RFID reader reading at least one of the plurality of RFID tags;
- determine a location of the mobile RFID reader based on the respective tag location of each of the at least one of the plurality of RFID tags read by the mobile RFID reader;
- determine which of the respective read-zones overlaps with the location of the mobile RFID reader;
- and
- deactivate each of the fixed RFID readers whose antennae have the respective read-zones overlap with the location of the mobile RFID reader.
A system for operating a mobile radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) reader in a venue having a network of fixed RFID readers, the system comprising:
- a locationing sub-system operable to detect a location of the mobile RFID reader;
- a plurality of fixed RFID reader, each of the plurality of fixed RFID readers having an antenna defining a respective read-zone;
- and
- a controller communicatively coupled to the plurality of fixed RFID readers, the mobile RFID reader, and the locationing sub-system, the controller being configured to:
- detect a triggering of an RFID-tag read operation on the mobile RFID reader;
- determine which of the respective read-zones overlaps with the location of the mobile RFID reader at a time of the triggering of the RFID-tag read operation;
- and
- deactivate each of the fixed RFID readers whose antennae have the respective read-zones overlap with the location of the mobile RFID reader.
A method of operating a mobile radio frequency (RF) identification (RFID) reader in a venue having a network of fixed RFID readers, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of fixed RFID readers, each of the plurality of fixed RFID readers having an antenna defining a respective read-zone;
- providing a database containing inventory data related to a plurality of RFID tags, for each of the plurality of RFID tags the inventory data including a tag location within the venue;
- communicatively coupling a controller to the plurality of fixed RFID readers, the mobile RFID reader, and the database;
- detecting, via the controller, the mobile RFID reader reading at least one of the plurality of RFID tags;
- determining a location of the mobile RFID reader based on the respective tag location of each of the at least one of the plurality of RFID tags read by the mobile RFID reader;
- determining which of the respective read-zones overlaps with the location of the mobile RFID reader;
- and
- deactivating, via the controller, each of the fixed RFID readers whose antennae have the respective read-zones overlap with the location of the mobile RFID reader.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.