Methods and devices for locating and uniquely provisioning RFID devices

US7336175B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Cisco Technology, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Arthur G. Howarth · Mississauga, CA
• Ralph Droms · Boxborough, US
• Roland Saville · Boca Raton, US
• Lawrence Rolfe Kreeger · Fremont, US
• Christopher Wiborg · Mountain View, US
• Vikas Butaney · Milpitas, US
• Rajiv Singhal · San Jose, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 9, 2004
• Grant date: Feb 26, 2008
• Expiry date: Mar 31, 2025

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01S13/825
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Methods and devices are provided for identifying, locating and provisioning individual RFID devices in a network. According to some implementations of the invention, a combination of EPC code information and existing networking standards form the basis of identifying and provisioning methods. For example, MAC address information and EPC information can be combined to identify a particular device and its location in a network. For implementations using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”), DHCP Options may be used to pass provisioning information. Some implementations employ Domain Name Service (“DNS”) and dynamic DNS (“DDNS”) to allow easy identification of RFID devices.