Systems and methods that integrate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology with industrial controllers

A system that manages the exchange of electronic product data with an industrial controller, comprising:

• a RFID interface that receives electronic product data;
• a processing component that parses the electronic product data and groups related electronic product data;
• and
• an interface component that provides the electronic product data to an industrial controller, the interface component utilizes a PLC interface to read and write at least one of an input, an output, a tag, a state, and a status parameter to the industrial controller.

A method for conveying electronic product data to components in an industrial control system, comprising:

• receiving a subscription from an entity within an industrial control system for electronic product data;
• obtaining the electronic product data from an RFID product tag through an RFID reader;
• formatting the electronic data in a structured form;
• and
• conveying the formatted electronic product data to the subscribing entity, the conveying utilizes a PLC interface to read and write at least one of an input, an output, a tag, a state, and a status parameter to the industrial controller.

A method for distributing electronic product data to an industrial control system, comprising:

• receiving electronic product data from one of an RFID reader and a server;
• filtering the electronic data to mitigate duplicate data;
• processing the accepted electronic product data to a format in accordance with the industrial control system;
• storing the formatted electronic product data;
• and
• conveying the stored electronic product data to a component of the industrial control system component, the conveying utilizes a PLC interface to read and write at least one of an input, an output, a tag, a state, and a status parameter to the industrial controller.

A system that facilitates electronic data distribution to an industrial component, comprising:

• means for obtaining electronic data from one or more RFID readers or one or more RFID servers;
• means for storing the electronic data in a structured format;
• and
• means for conveying the stored one or more data to the industrial component, the conveying utilizes a PLC interface to read and write at least one of an input, an output, a tag, a state, and a status parameter to the industrial controller.