Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7710275?dq=5,583,822
Timestamp: 2017-12-16 13:52:36
Document Index: 798543699

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 2006252255', 'Application No. 2002211769', 'Application No. 2003217534', 'Application No. 2006220406', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 2', 'Application No. 03804323', 'Application No. 03804323', 'Application No. 03804323', 'Application No. 01919848', 'Application No. 01979848', 'Application No. 06023373', 'Application No. 03713485', 'Application No. 01', 'Application No. 03713485', 'Application No. 03713485', 'Application No. 969', 'Application No. 2002', 'Application No. 2002', 'Application No. 2003', 'Application No. 2003', 'Application No. 2007', 'Application No. 45389', 'Application No. 45389', 'Application No. 45389', 'Application No. 45392', 'Application No. 45392', 'Application No. 45394', 'Application No. 45394', 'Application No. 45396', 'Application No. 45396', 'Application No. 45398', 'Application No. 45398', 'Application No. 7000578', 'Application No. 7013101', 'Application No. 7013101', 'Application No. 7013101', 'Application No. 7027537', 'Application No. 2004128075', 'Application No. 2004128075', 'Application No. 2004128075', 'Application No. 2008111640', 'Application No. 200403954', 'Application No. 200403954', 'Application No. 200403954']

Patent US7710275 - RFID reader enclosure and man-o-war RFID reader system - Google Patents
An apparatus including an enclosure for an RFID reader to be affixed to a storage container; an RFID reader that scans a first storage container using a first antenna and a second storage container using a second antenna; and a networked system of RFID apparatuses including a primary RFID apparatus and...http://www.google.com/patents/US7710275?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7710275 - RFID reader enclosure and man-o-war RFID reader system
Publication number US7710275 B2
Application number US 11/687,272
Also published as EP2137668A2, EP2137668B1, US8031072, US8258961, US20080224875, US20100187307, US20110315766, WO2008115784A2, WO2008115784A3
Publication number 11687272, 687272, US 7710275 B2, US 7710275B2, US-B2-7710275, US7710275 B2, US7710275B2
Inventors Travis A. Phillips, Kenneth Andrew Tinnell, Adam Salvo, Robert Joseph Doeden
Patent Citations (420), Non-Patent Citations (158), Referenced by (10), Classifications (8), Legal Events (2)
US 7710275 B2
An apparatus including an enclosure for an RFID reader to be affixed to a storage container; an RFID reader that scans a first storage container using a first antenna and a second storage container using a second antenna; and a networked system of RFID apparatuses including a primary RFID apparatus and secondary RFID apparatuses that are controlled by the primary RFID apparatus.
an RFID reader disposed in said enclosure,
wherein said enclosure is configured to be mounted on an exterior surface of a storage container,
wherein said RFID reader is configured to perform RFID reading for an area inside the storage container using an RFID antenna external to said enclosure,
wherein the RFID antenna is disposed in the storage container,
wherein said enclosure has an opening on a side of said enclosure, and
wherein an electrical connection between said RFID reader and the RFID antenna extends through the opening of the enclosure in such a manner that the electrical connection is not externally accessible when said enclosure is mounted on the exterior surface of the storage container.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a human-machine interface including a display screen.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus further comprises a controller that is configured to (a) send an instruction to said RFID reader to perform RFID reading, (b) receive a RFID scanning result comprising a list of tags read from said RFID reader, and (c) send information in response to the RFID scanning result to a database system via a network connection.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the RFID antenna is disposed within a wall of the storage container.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage container is a cabinet.
6. An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the cabinet is a refrigerated cabinet.
7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the human-machine interface for said apparatus uses a display provided separately from said enclosure.
8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening of said enclosure communicates with an opening on the exterior surface of the storage container when said enclosure is mounted on the exterior surface of the storage container.
9. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein software used by said apparatus comprises software implemented using an abstract base class that interfaces with a concrete class particular to a given item of hardware of said apparatus.
10. An apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the given item of hardware is said RFID reader.
a storage container;
an enclosure supported by an exterior surface of the storage container, the enclosure having an opening on a side thereof;
an RFID antenna disposed in the storage container, external to the enclosure;
an RFID reader disposed in the enclosure, the RFID reader being configured to perform RFID reading for an area inside the storage container using an RFID antenna; and
an electrical connection between said RFID reader and the RFID antenna which extends through the opening of the enclosure in such a manner that the electrical connection is not externally accessible when the enclosure is supported by the exterior surface of the storage container.
12. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the apparatus further comprises a human-machine interface including a display screen.
13. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the apparatus further comprises a controller that is configured to (a) send an instruction to the RFID reader to perform RFID reading, (b) receive a RFID scanning result comprising a list of tags read from the RFID reader, and (c) send information in response to the RFID scanning result to a database system via a network connection.
14. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the RFID antenna is disposed within a wall of the storage container.
15. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the storage container is a cabinet.
16. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the cabinet is a refrigerated cabinet.
17. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the human-machine interface for the apparatus uses a display provided separately from the enclosure.
18. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the opening of the enclosure communicates with an opening on the exterior surface of the storage container when the enclosure is supported by the exterior surface of the storage container.
19. An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein software used by the apparatus comprises software implemented using an abstract base class that interfaces with a concrete class particular to a given item of hardware of the apparatus.
20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the given item of hardware is the RFID reader.
The present invention relates to an RFID reader apparatus, system, and method.
An RFID reading system has been developed which can, for example, read RFID tags stored within a cabinet, a refrigerator, a room, etc. Based on the tags read, the system can determine inventory information. One example of such a system is Dearing, et al.'s U.S. 2002/0183882 A1 from Promega Corporation.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to an apparatus comprising: (a) an enclosure; and (b) an RFID reader disposed in the enclosure, wherein the enclosure is configured to be mounted on an exterior surface of a storage container, wherein the RFID reader is configured to perform RFID reading for an area inside the storage container using an RFID antenna external to the enclosure, wherein the RFID antenna is disposed in the storage container, wherein the enclosure has an opening on a side of the enclosure, and wherein an electrical connection between the RFID reader and the RFID antenna extends through the opening of the enclosure in such a manner that the electrical connection is not externally accessible when the enclosure is mounted on the exterior surface of the storage container. Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a human-machine interface including a display screen. Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a controller that is configured to (a) send an instruction to the RFID reader to perform RFID reading, (b) receive a RFID scanning result from the RFID reader, and (c) send information in response to the RFID scanning result to a database system via a network connection. Preferably, the RFID antenna is disposed within a wall of the storage container but it is not required that it be so disposed. Preferably, the storage container is a cabinet. Preferably, the cabinet is a refrigerated cabinet. A human-machine interface for the apparatus may use a display provided separately from the enclosure. Preferably, the opening of the enclosure communicates with an opening on the exterior surface of the storage container when the enclosure is mounted on the exterior surface of the storage container.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, an RFID apparatus which is mounted on a storage container such as a refrigerator;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a human-machine interface, called the “8-ball”, for use with an embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In that figure, reference numeral 100 denotes an RFID apparatus for performing RFID reading; reference numeral 101 denotes an enclosure of the apparatus 100; reference numeral 200 identifies a storage container; reference numeral 201 indicates a door of the storage container 200 that can open and close; and reference numeral 202 indicates the interior of the storage container 200, which is an area to be RFID scanned to determine the presence of any RFID tag or tags therein.
Preferably, to determine whether a user has taken from a storage container or added to the storage container any tags or tagged items, controller 103 calculates a difference (referred to as a “delta”) between a first RFID scanning result obtained before the door of the storage container is opened (referred to as the “baseline” scan) and a second RFID scanning result obtained after the door of the storage container has been closed again. However, the determination is not so limited. For example, another possibility would be to perform an additional RFID inventory scan after the user's passkey is read but before the door is opened. This additional scan could be combined with the baseline scan to form a superset (i.e., containing any tags found in one or both of the baseline scan and the additional scan), to which the second RFID scanning result could be compared. An advantage of this arrangement is to aid in scanning what we call “blinking tags”. A “blinking tag” is a tag which might be read during one scan but not during another, for whatever reason. For example, a blinking tag might be read during 50% of scans. By performing both a baseline scan and the additional scan, it might be possible to discover the blinking tag even if it were not read during the baseline scan.
Preferably, the Application Program is written on top of the Microsoft NET Compact Framework version 2.0, using industry standard best practices. Development using the Compact Framework allows the Application Program to be redeployed on any Windows CE 5.0 device that has the compact framework installed. This includes devices that have a different underlying architecture such as ARM 4, x86 and MIPS. This level of flexibility allows the manufacturer of apparatus 100 to select or change controller 103 depending on customer needs, new technology offerings, and lower prices. In addition to moving from device to device, the Compact Framework will allow a smooth transition to newer versions of Windows CE, such as the new version 6.0. As an added benefit, the majority of the Application Program can be easily recompiled to run under the full version of the Microsoft .NET Framework, and because of this, run on standard x86 hardware running Windows operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows XP, or Embedded Windows XP. This provides two key benefits, the first being additional flexibility for customers, the second being excellent opportunities for code reuse.
Communication between the Application Program and peripherals associated with apparatus 100 is done over USB, Serial, or Ethernet, for example. Given the USB interface, there is the option to hook up non-standard communication busses (such as RS-485) through the use of a USB converter. Some of the devices that hook up via USB actually emulate a network interface card (NIC), or a virtual COM port. This is made possible due to the open, standards based approach taken with Windows CE. Peripherals can be configured manually thru editing the configuration parameters via the HMI, or a semi-automated method can be used. In the semi -automated method, a user can instruct the Application Program to scan for new devices. The Application Program will report back devices that it has discovered but are currently not configured. The user can then select the device to associate and configure it with the Application Program. Peripherals can be identified by the COM port they are plugged into, their USB ID, or their Ethernet MAC address.
“Headless” Configuration
It is not required that the HMI be included. Instead, the apparatus 100 could be “headless”, i.e., it would not have a display of its own. Instead, the apparatus could be configured so that it could be controlled remotely, e.g., across an ethernet, USB, or serial connection.
It is not required that the HMI function or controller 103 be integrally provided in enclosure 101. In an alternative construction shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, controller 103 and the HMI function thereof have been transferred out of enclosure 101 into an external enclosure 1054. That enclosure is a pumpkin-shaped enclosure that we call an “8-ball”, which includes a display screen 1052 and ethernet ports 1055 and 1056. By transferring controller 103 with its HMI, along with a pass reader for authenticating the user, to enclosure 1054, enclosure 101 can be made smaller. Enclosure 1054 can be placed anywhere in the vicinity of the units (i.e., storage container or containers) it is controlling. Functionality is the same in all respects. To connect the 8-ball enclosure 1054, an Ethernet cable is used to connect from ethernet port 1055 to one of the ethernet ports on enclosure 101. Ethernet port 1056 is used as an external network connection for reporting to the back end inventory management systems, depicted by reference numeral 1057 in FIG. 14.
Our idea of having one RFID reader using plural RFID antennae for plural storage cabinets is the genesis of the name “RFID man-of-war”, given the vision of connections between the RFID reader and many respective plural antennae. If exactly eight antennae were provided, then the system might be referred to as an “RFID octopus”.
Turning to FIGS. 4 through 8, we will now describe a preferred embodiment of apparatus 100 and its enclosure 101 in more detail. In those figures, reference numeral 1001 denotes a front side of enclosure 101; 1002 denotes four screws for affixing front side 1001 to enclosure 101; 1003 denotes a top side of enclosure 101; 1004 denotes a back side of enclosure 101; 1005 denotes a ventilation system; 1006 denotes a power connector; 1007 denotes a power outlet; 1008 denotes an ethernet port; 1009 denotes a piano-style hinge that allows for the back side 1004 of enclosure 101 to fold down to grant access to the interior of enclosure 101; 1010 denote holes in enclosure 101 for use with bolts or screws; 1011 denote access ports (e.g., holes or openings) in enclosure 101, which can be used for wiring; 1012 denotes a Z bracket that allows for a tray with electronics to be slid in and out—it holds the tray in place as well; 1013 denote holes in storage container 200, which can be used for wiring; and 1014 denote holes in storage container 200, for use with bolts or screws.
In other words, an advantage of the present invention is that, as discussed above, the enclosure is configured to defend the apparatus from attack, e.g., to prevent a person with wire snippers from cutting an electrical connection such as a wire connecting the RFID reader and the RFID antenna. To reiterate, preferably, the enclosure has an access port (e.g., opening) on a side of the enclosure that faces an exterior surface of the storage container. A wire from the RFID reader to the RFID antenna can pass through the opening and into the storage container through a corresponding opening in the storage container. Thus, when the enclosure is mounted on the exterior surface of the storage container, the wire is protected from attack because it is not externally accessible or exposed. Malcontents are prevented from tampering with or disabling the device—wiring can be made to be not externally accessible.
Where two storage containers 200 (be they, for example, cabinets, freezers, refrigerators, cryo storage, etc.) are connected to one apparatus 100 with the apparatus 100 sandwiched in between, we refer to this combination as a tower unit. This tower will share all the electronic components thus reducing price and maintaining modularity. FIG. 12 shows three tower units 300. The first tower unit 300 comprises a storage container 200 labeled Al attached to the top of the apparatus 100 labeled A, with another storage container 200 labeled A2 attached to the bottom of the apparatus 100. The second tower unit 300 comprises a storage container 200 labeled B1 attached to the top of the apparatus 100 labeled B, with another storage container 200 labeled B2 attached to the bottom of the apparatus 100. The third tower unit 300 comprises a storage container 200 labeled C1 attached to the top of the apparatus 100 labeled C, with another storage container 200 labeled C2 attached to the bottom of the apparatus 100. In each of these tower units, the RFID reader 102 of the apparatus 100 can be connected to two RFID antennae, one for the top storage container 200 and one for the bottom storage container 200.
Back side (removable service panel) 1004 has several pieces that will be designed into it. They include but are not limited to an IPC power connector 1006, a US style power outlet 1007, at least one Ethernet coupler 1008 (as will be discussed below in more detail, preferably there are at least two Ethernet couplers, and more preferably, even more than two), and a ventilation system with 80 mm fans 1005. Specifically, the US style power outlet should be interchangeable with any outlet style from around the globe. Specifically, the 80mm fans should have a low noise level (<45 dBm) as well as a low to moderate air flow rating (25-60 cfm). One fan should blow air into the enclosure 101 while the other should blow air out. The fans should be 24V. Specifically, there should be at least one Ethernet coupler to interface with a network (e.g., WAN). Nominally, there should be at least four connectors such as Ethernet couplers—one of which supplies the WAN connection while the other three are to be used to communicate to secondary apparatuses 100 when plural apparatuses 100 are networked together. FIG. 11 shows that, for example, six ethernet connectors 1051 could be provided on the back side 1004 of enclosure 101 to provide connectivity such as that discussed above.
Turning to the two trays (or drawers), the left drawer will hold the RFID reader 102, the Ethernet hub 104, and a 24V power supply. The right drawer will contain an optional 24V UPS system with battery, an Ethernet based I/O block and any other hardware that may be needed. The controller 103 is mounted to the inside of the front removable panel, preferably.
Preferably, controller 103 has at least two ethernet ports—one for internal communications (e.g., to communicate with RFID reader 102 and ethernet I/O block 110) and one (e.g., a WAN link coupler) for connection to a network such as the internet for reporting back to headquarters (e.g., to a backend inventory management system database 1057). An advantage of providing dual ethernet ports is for network segregation. This protects the end user's network (which would typically be connected to the WAN link coupler) from traffic not bound for their network (i.e., traffic between internal components such as controller 103 and reader 102) and protects the equipment (such as, for example, reader 102) from malicious access. Controller 103 should act as an intermediary that allows access from outside apparatus 100 to internal components (e.g., reader 102) as necessary. Meanwhile, the network attached to apparatus 100's WAN link coupler will not be interrupted or interfered with by apparatus 100's traffic (i.e., traffic between components such as for example, reader 102 and controller 103). Preferably, ethernet hub 104 is an 8-port Ethernet din rail mountable hub and an ethernet cable connects controller 103 to hub 104. Another Ethernet cable connects the hub 104 to the RFID scanner 102 inside the apparatus 100. Another Ethernet cable connects the hub 104 to an Ethernet-based I/O block 110. Currently, the controller 103, ethernet hub 104, and I/O block 110 are being supplied by B&R Automation. Three more Ethernet cables connect to three Ethernet couplers (see item 1051) that are mounted on the back of the apparatus 100. These can then connect to other apparatuses 100 in the nearby vicinity; in other words, plural apparatuses 100 can be networked together. We will discuss this in detail below.
The controller 103 at present has at least two USB ports. This acts as a primary (or secondary) interface into the controller 103 in case it is malfunctioning in some way. The access control method will connect into one of these ports—it may be a passkey (operating at 125 KHz), a pin key (for those that do not have an HMI/controller 103 with a touch screen), a magnetic strip reader, or a biometric reader (retina, fingerprint, DNA, etc.), for example. The other USB port will not be available externally. A USB hub can be hooked up to either port on the controller 103 to expand USB usage. A keyboard, mouse, and flash drive could then be used in the troubleshooting process or software update process. This also provides expandability for future devices to connect to the controller 103.
As mentioned above, plural apparatuses 100 can be networked together. We will now describe a preferred arrangement of such a network system, with reference to FIG. 10. That figure shows three apparatuses 100 networked tegether via ethernet connections. One of the apparatuses 100 is considered to be the primary apparatus, while all other apparatuses 100 that connect to the primary apparatus 100 are secondary and connect via Ethernet. The primary apparatus 100 is one that has the controller 103 in it. Preferably, primary apparatus 100 also includes ethernet hub 104 which connects to the RFID reader 102 and controller 103 in primary apparatus 100, as well as to the RFID readers 102 in each of the two secondary apparatuses. The secondary apparatuses 100 preferably do not have a controller 103 in them. There is also no Ethernet hub 104 inside the secondary apparatuses 100, although this does not mean one cannot be included. Instead, I/O block 110 is used as an ethernet hub. In the FIG. 10 arrangement, the controller 103 controls the RFID reader 102 that is in the primary apparatus 100 in which the controller 103 is located, as well as the RFID readers 102 that are in each of the secondary apparatuses 100. Such control includes, as discussed above, generating commands to instruct the RFID reader 102 to initiate a scan, obtaining a list of tags read from the RFID reader, and determining a difference between that list and an earlier list to determine a change in inventory.
More Details of Controller 103
Preferably, the I/O block 110 in FIG. 9 has a two port Ethernet hub built into it. An Ethernet line coming from the primary apparatus 100 would connect into a coupler on the secondary apparatus 100 and then connect to the I/O block 110. The second I/O Ethernet port on the I/O block 110 would then be used to connect to the RFID scanner (i.e., RFID reader 102) inside the secondary apparatus.
In more detail, the Application Program shall display a screen with the prompt, “Tap screen to bypass startup sequence”. This screen shall allow the user the opportunity to interrupt the startup sequence for testing, diagnostics, tech support, etc.
If the user's credentials are found in step 4011 to be valid, the flow control passes to step 4020. In this step, the Application Program enters a main processing loop that we refer to as the LaunchPad. In particular, preferably, the Application Program shall display a screen on the HMI in response to the user being authenticated. The screen shall include the following information: (1) welcome message with the user's first name; (2) a transaction confirmation screen; (3) an elevate permissions button—elevated permissions is the process of temporarily granting a user who is not a member of the full administrator role, full administration rights, after the completion of a challenge/response process (the duration of the elevated permission shall last until the user logs out); (4) a button for each storage container controlled by the Application Program (clicking the button will unlock that storage container); and (5) for limited and full administrator logins only, (a) an inventory restock button; (b) a maintenance button; and (c) a diagnostics button. In this LaunchPad mode, after the storage container or storage containers are unlocked, the user will be able to remove one or more tags or tagged items from the same or to add a tag or tagged item or items. After a storage container is locked, Application Program will generate a command for initiating RFID reading and communicate that command to the RFID reader responsible for that storage container.
If it is determined at step 4008 that the user has requested bypass (e.g., by tapping the screen within 10 or less seconds), then flow control continues with step 4025 in FIG. 17. In this figure, steps 4009, 4010, and 4012 are similar to those described above with respect to FIG. 16. Thus, the user will now need to authenticate himself. If the user is not authorized to bypass the startup sequence, then in step 4012, the Application Program shall display a screen with a message that reads, “You do not have access to bypass startup sequence” for 2 seconds indicating failure, and then continue the boot process, if the user presents invalid credentials or after 3 invalid attempts or 10 seconds have expired. If it is determined in step 4021 that the credentials are valid, then flow control continues to step 4022. In that step, a diagnostics screen is displayed to the user, along with an option to load the configuration settings (here, the user can administer apparatus 100 by performing diagnostics or changing the configuration settings). In step 4023, it is determined whether to shutdown the apparatus 100 or to reboot it.
The present invention provides an RFID reader with an enclosure that allows it be securely affixed to a storage container such as a refrigerator without exposing wiring to tampering, and thus has use as an improved mounting technique.
Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail, it will be understood that this description is merely for purposes of illustration. When we have said that something “is”, “shall”, “will”, or “should be” the case, for example, we do not mean to limit the invention, but are merely providing a specific example or specific examples. Various modifications of and equivalent structures corresponding to the disclosed aspects of the preferred embodiments in addition to those described above may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention which is defined in the following claims, the scope of which is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass such modifications and equivalent structures.
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U.S. Classification 340/572.8, 340/572.7
Cooperative Classification G06Q10/087, G06K7/10316, G06K2017/0051
European Classification G06Q10/087, G06K7/10A8
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