Method and apparatus for orienting a directional antenna

A method to orient a directional antenna, the method comprising:

• affixing the directional antenna to an object in a first orientation;
• and
• rotating a device-attachment structure about a post to position the directional antenna in a second orientation for communication, wherein the rotating is due to a gravitational force on a non-uniformly distributed mass of the device-attachment structure.

A device orienting apparatus comprising:

• a device-attachment structure having a high-mass region, the device-attachment structure including a pivot hole offset from the high-mass region;
• a directional antenna having a preferred orientation, the directional antenna affixed to the device-attachment structure with the preferred orientation aligned parallel to a line connecting a center of the high-mass region to a center of the pivot hole;
• a post having a first-end section surrounded by the pivot hole, wherein the post is affixable to an object having at least one preferred surface, wherein a gravitational field vector is substantially in the plane of the at least one preferred surface, wherein the device orienting apparatus is affixed to one of the preferred surfaces of the object, and wherein the directional antenna is held in the preferred orientation when the post is perpendicular to a gravitational field.

A radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag orienting apparatus comprising:

• a tag-attachment structure having a high-mass region, the tag-attachment structure including a pivot hole offset from the high-mass region;
• an RFID tag having a preferred orientation, the RFID tag affixed to the tag-attachment structure with the preferred orientation aligned parallel to a line connecting a center of the high-mass region to a center of the pivot hole, wherein the preferred orientation is correlated to an orientation of a remote RFID reader;
• a post having a first-end section surrounded by the pivot hole, wherein the post is affixable to an inventory item having at least one preferred surface, wherein a gravitational field vector is substantially in the plane of the at least one preferred surface, wherein the RFID tag orienting apparatus is affixed to one of the preferred surfaces of the inventory item, wherein the RFID tag is held in the preferred orientation when the post is perpendicular to a gravitational field, and wherein radiation emitted from the RFID tag is substantially parallel to radiation emitted from the remote RFID reader.