Patent ID: 7667572

Claim:
Apparatus for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) system, said RFID system including at least one RF interrogator and at least one RF receiver, said at least one RF interrogator being operative to transmit at least one RF interrogation signal to at least one RFID tag, said at least one RF receiver being operative to receive tag data from at least one RFID tag, each of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver having an RF coverage zone associated therewith, said RFID system being deployed in an environment, said apparatus comprising: a controller including an interface for communicably coupling said controller to said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver, said controller including a data storage containing a database, said database being operative to store information pertaining to a configuration of said RFID system and an RF characteristic within said environment, said configuration of said RFID system including representations of physical locations of said at least one RF interrogator and said at least one RF receiver with respect to a physical layout, wherein said controller is operative: to receive data indicative of a change in said configuration of said RFID system or said RF characteristic within said environment, or presence information indicating a presence of at least one RFID tag within the RF coverage zone of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver; and in response to the receipt of said data indicating said change or said presence information for the RFID tag, to generate a first parameter defining an operational characteristic of one of said at least one RF interrogator or said at least one RF receiver, to generate a message including a command for forwarding said first parameter, and to forward said command containing said first parameter to the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver to modify a behavior of the respective RF interrogator or RF receiver.