Patent ID: 8260948

Claim:
A system, comprising: a first radio frequency identification (RFID) reader of a first type configured to receive a first data stream from a first RFID tag via a first wireless communication and send a first input corresponding to the first data stream to an RFID software according to a first protocol; a second RFID reader of a second type configured to receive a second data stream from a second RFID tag via a second wireless communication and send a second input corresponding to the second data stream to the RFID software according to a second protocol that is different from the first protocol, wherein the first type and the second type differ in make, model, or brand; a controller, comprising: a backplane, a memory that stores the RFID software that processes the first input from the first RFID reader and the second input from the second RFID reader; a processor that facilitates execution of the RFID software; a smart component that electrically interfaces with the backplane, the first RFID reader, and the second RFID reader, wherein the smart component provides a universal connection to the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader and provides an additional input and output to the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader, wherein the smart component facilitates programming of the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader according to a common programming language; a middleware module that interfaces with the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader through the smart component and hosts a middleware that facilitates sharing of information between the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader by comparing signal strengths associated with the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader, wherein the middleware further provides a common filtering software for the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader; and a data flow manager that monitors and provides limitations in relation to a number of bytes sent from at least one of the first RFID reader and the second RFID reader in a transaction.