Patent ID: 8305192
Filing Date: 2012-11-06
Classification: G06K

Abstract:
1. A method of operating a mobile RFID reader that operates in a far-field mode for concurrently interrogating a plurality of RFID tags and in a near-field mode for individually interrogating one RFID tag at a time, the method comprising: capturing image data, with an optical sensor, of an object within an interrogation field of the mobile RFID reader; processing the image data to detect whether the object is out of focus; determining that the object is within close proximity to the mobile RFID reader when the image data indicates that the object is out of focus; automatically configuring the mobile RFID reader for operation in the near-field mode when the image data indicates that the object is out of focus; and thereafter, interrogating an RFID tag while the mobile RFID reader is in the near-field mode.