Patent ID: 8098136
Filing Date: 2012-01-17
Classification: G06Q,H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A system for locating identification (ID) tags, comprising: an application; a plurality of different multiple technology type tag readers in communication with the ID tags using different signaling technologies; and an integrated switch coupled to the application and the plurality of different tag readers, the integrated switch including a plurality of reader adapters coupled to the plurality of different tag readers, an application adapter coupled to the application, and a virtualization core coupled to each reader adapter and to the application adapter, wherein the integrated switch is configured to enable the application to receive tag information from the plurality of different tag readers by having the virtualization core normalize the tag information to provide a common interface between each tag reader of a different technology type and the application, and wherein the integrated switch further comprises a location engine coupled to each reader adapter, the application adapter, and the virtualization core, the location engine configured to at least partially determine a location of the ID tags; and wherein the integrated switch is operable to create location zones by defining points on the perimeter of each zone, and the application is operable to query the integrated switch for the definition of each zone.