Determining the physical location of resources on and proximate to a network
US7257108B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 2004 |
| Grant date | Aug 14, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 18, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L41/12
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A network includes a plurality of wall plates, each of the wall plates couples a network resource such as a computer or a network attached device to the network and includes an RFID circuit to detect proximate devices having an RFID tag. The proximate devices can be network attached devices or non network attached devices such as desks, phones, and artwork. Logic is included within each wall plate which includes wall plate physical location information. The logic is designed to respond to a broadcast signal. In so doing, the physical location of any resource can be determined. The physical location of all known resources are provided to an inventory application in the network, thereby allowing network administrators and users to remotely determine the physical location (room, floor, building, etc.) of any and all known resources attached to the network. Likewise, local computer users are able to identify the network resources located in their vicinity.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.