KR101368856B1 - Apparatus for processing RFID data at embedded devices - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment, and more particularly, to an apparatus for efficiently processing a stream of RFID data generated in real time in an embedded environment.

An apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an input unit for receiving information about a device and a logic device from a management tool, data transmitted from an RFID reader device, and transmitting from the RFID reader device. And a data processing core unit for processing the data, and a transmission unit for transmitting the processed data to a client.

Embedded Environments, RFID, Data Streams

Description

Apparatus for processing RFID data at embedded devices

1 is a diagram illustrating a system including an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a diagram illustrating an internal block diagram of an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a diagram illustrating a class of an internal module of an apparatus for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a diagram illustrating EPC code data transmitted by an RFID reader device to a device for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5A and 5C are diagrams illustrating a table registered in an apparatus for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Description of the Related Art
100: RFID reader device 200: device for processing RFID data
500: management tool 210: input unit
220: transmission unit 230: data processing core unit

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The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment, and more particularly, to an apparatus for efficiently processing a stream of RFID data generated in real time in an embedded environment.

Ubiquitous computing was first proposed by Markweiser in 1988 as a technology in which a computer recognizes a user's identity, a situation, and an object to proactively provide a service that a user needs. In order to realize a ubiquitous computing environment, a technology for automatically identifying a user and an object is required, and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is attracting attention as a technology for this purpose.

RFID technology is a technology that can provide ID information by attaching a tag to various objects, and solves the problem of recognition rate and recognition distance of the existing barcode system and can provide various additional information in addition to the ID information. RFID technology is one of essential technologies for providing ubiquitous services by effectively recognizing the identity of people and things in the ubiquitous environment because it can simultaneously recognize several objects that are a certain distance apart using radio frequency.

The RFID technology was initially focused on RFID-related hardware such as RFID tags and readers, but recently, research on RFID middleware and application services has been actively conducted. RFID technology was selected as one of the technologies.

Among RFID related technologies, RFID middleware is a system that transfers data read from a tag by RFID readers into a form suitable for use by an application, and is an essential technology for ubiquitous and RFID application services. Therefore, in order to develop various applications using RFID technology, research on RFID middleware system is essential. Especially, in order to effectively support the ubiquitous environment, the RFID data stream is real-time in an embedded environment that is relatively low in computational power compared to a general PC. There is a need for a research on a RFID data stream processing middleware that can be processed as a system.

In the present invention, a lightweight RFID data stream processing middleware system for supporting an embedded environment is designed and implemented.

RFID middleware delivers tag data received from RFID readers to applications. In this case, the middleware should support and manage various kinds of RFID readers and provide an interface for them.

The data that RFID readers read from a tag is so large, ranging from tens to hundreds per second, it is not suitable for immediate use in an application. Therefore, the middleware should be able to generate data in a form that can be easily processed by the application through purification of tag data and removal of duplicate data. In addition, a standard interface must be provided to easily transmit data generated by middleware to applications through various protocols.

Existing middleware systems are server systems for refining, properly converting, and transferring data received from RFID readers in an enterprise environment to IT business applications. They provide rich and diverse functions in terms of system size and processing, but have relatively high computational power and resources. There is a problem that it is not effective for use in a poor embedded environment.

An object of the present invention is to efficiently process a stream of RFID data generated in real time in an embedded environment.
The technical objects of the present invention are not limited to the technical matters mentioned above, and other technical subjects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention, the input unit for receiving information about the device and logic device from the management tool, and the data transmitted from the RFID reader device; And a data processing core unit for processing data transmitted from the RFID reader device, and a transmission unit for transmitting the processed data to a client.
The details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner of achieving them, will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 is a diagram illustrating a system including an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown, a system including an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment includes an RFID reader device 100, an apparatus for processing RFID data 200, a database server 400, a management tool 500, and an RFID. It consists of an application and a legacy system. Here, the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data is equipped with a middleware system.
The device 200 for processing RFID data processes tag data read by the RFID reader device 100 and stores the tag data in the database server 400 or transmits the tag data to the RFID application program and the legacy system.
In addition, the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data undergoes basic data processing, such as removing redundant data for data transmitted from the RFID reader device 100, and then performs basic data processing through various protocols. Send to the client.
The administration tool 500 is an application tool that registers the RFID reader device 100 to the device 200 for processing RFID data and binds or deletes related devices into one logical device. Here, the management tool 500 may include a name of the RFID reader device 100, a specification of the RFID reader device 100, an IP address of the RFID reader device 100, a middleware port number to which the RFID reader device 100 transmits data, and the like. Registers the physical device to the device 200 for processing RFID data by receiving the information of the information, and registers the logical device name, a list of physical devices to be grouped as logical devices among the registered physical devices, and a queue to store the EPC data read by the logical device. The apparatus 200 for processing RFID data is requested to receive the information about and generate a logical queue.
In addition, the management tool 500 may remove a device registered in the device 200 for processing RFID data. Here, the management tool 500 uses RMI (Remote Method Invocation) for communication with the device 200 for processing the RFID data.
The greatest feature of the device 200 for processing RFID data in the present invention is that it is designed to be suitable for an embedded environment that is relatively poor in performance when compared to a general server. Also, according to EPCglobal's ALE standard specification, it is designed to be extended and interoperable by designing considering interface function for application program, support of various kinds of reader devices, and data processing function, and it is platform independent by implementing using Java language. It can be mounted on various terminals.
In addition, it implements considering the functions defined in the ALE standard specification, such as resource management, EPC data processing, integration with applications, thread management (listeners and other threads), database connection management (connection reuse), memory management ( Queue size management).
2 is a diagram illustrating an internal block diagram of an apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, it is assumed that the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data is equipped with a middleware system.
As shown, the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data is largely comprised of an input unit 210, a transmission unit 220, and a data processing core unit 230. Herein, the input unit 210 includes a device management module 211, a logic device management module 212, a device interface 213, and a listener management module 214, and the transmission unit 220 includes a database management module ( 221, a TCP / IP module 222, a web services module 223, and an RMI module 224. The data processing core 230 includes an RFID data processor 231 and resource management. Module 232, XML verifier module 233, backup management module 234, queue management module 235, and thread management module 236.
The device manager module 211 receives information about a physical device from the management tool 500 and registers the device 200 to process the RFID data supporting the embedded environment.
The logical device manager module 212 receives information about the logical device from the management tool 500 and registers the RFID data in the device 200 that processes the RFID data.
The device interface module 213 controls various RFID reader devices 100 and accurately interprets data transmitted from the RFID reader devices 100.
The listener manager module 214 receives data transmitted from the RFID reader device 100. Here, the listener management module 214 executes a listener module that continuously monitors a port assigned to a specific RFID reader device 100 as a thread, and receives data transmitted by the RFID reader device 100 and transmits the data to a logical queue.
The database manager module 221 generates tables for storing various information including physical device and logical device information, user information, and backup data when the device 200 for processing RFID data is initially driven. Retrieve or delete the information of the created table. Here, the database management module 221 supports various database systems such as Mssql, Oracle, Mysql.
The TCP / IP module 222, the web service module 223, and the RMI module 224 form various types of EPC data processed by the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data in a form suitable for use in an application program. Use to pass.
The RFID Data Processor 231 module performs basic operations such as data purification and deduplication on the EPC data stored in the queue.
The resource management module 232 monitors the queue in real time in order to efficiently execute the middleware in the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data, and dynamically adjusts the queue size by the value set in the setting when the queue size is insufficient or remains. Increase or decrease
The XML verifier module 233 verifies whether the XML format EPC data transmitted from the RFID reader device 100 and the XML data transmitted to the data queue are suitable data.
The backup manager module 234 periodically stores the client information requesting the current service and the main data used in the apparatus 200 for processing the RFID data in order to prepare for unexpected system shutdown, etc., to the database server 400. Back up.
The queue manager module 235 is responsible for creating a queue for storing EPC data read by the logical device, connecting the logical device, and removing the queue when the logical device is deleted.
The thread manager module 236 manages modules executed as threads, such as the listener management module 214 and the backup management module 234. Here, the thread management module 236 manages modules executed as threads using a thread pool, saves thread creation and execution time, and prevents threading caused by a large number of threads. By only allowing it to be efficiently executed in the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data.
3 is a diagram illustrating a class of an internal module of an apparatus for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown, the main class of the device 200 for processing RFID data is the core module 310, input module 320, embeddedApp module 330, processing module 340, queue module 350. And a document module 360 and a view module 370.
The input unit 210 described with reference to FIG. 2 is included in an input module 320, the transmission unit 220 is included in a transmission module 340, and the data processing core unit 230 is a core ( Core) module 310 is included.
The embedded 330 module is responsible for the overall execution of the program, including the main function as an application class. The document module 360 is a module for storing main data used in the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data, and has a queue object for storing EPC data. The view module 370 outputs the state and main information of the apparatus 200 for processing the RFID data. Here, frameworks using document and view structures support flexible and extensible structures.
On the other hand, the management tool 500 uses the RMI when requesting the device 200 for processing the RFID data to register the RFID reader device 100. An example of the interface code provided to the application program in the device management module 211 is as follows.
public interface IDeviceManager extends Remote
{
public void registerReader (ReaderInfo info);
public void deleteReader (String readerName);
public Vector getAllReaders ();
public IReader getReaderInterface (String readerName);
}
That is, the interface code defines methods for registering and deleting the RFID reader device 100 and accessing all registered devices. A 'ReaderInfo' object, which is device information, is transmitted to register the RFID reader device 100, and an 'IReader' interface may be requested to access the device.
In fact, the example of registering the RFID reader device 100 named 'CAT' to the device 200 for processing RFID data in the client is as follows. Here, when registration is completed, the related RFID reader device 100 information is stored in the database.
IDeviceManager readerMan
= getDeviceManager ("ale.cheju.ac.kr", "rfid-mw");
ReaderInfo rInfo = new ReaderInfo ();
rInfo.setReaderName ("CAT");
rInfo.setHostPort ("4000");
readerMan.registerReader (rInfo);
That is, the logic device management module 212 is a module for recognizing logically the same device by grouping related devices among the RFID reader devices 100 already registered. When the logical reader device is registered, the following operations are performed.
First, a logical queue is created by the queue management module 235. Thereafter, the listener management module 214 receives data transmitted from each physical device and stores it in a logical queue in order to operate a listener thread that monitors the corresponding port by the number of physical devices.
For example, the previously registered reader device executes a listener to monitor port '4000'. In fact, the code to create the logical leader is:
rederList = new Vector <String>();
rederList.add ("COW");
rederList.add ("DOG");
logicalRdrMan.createLogicalReader ("main gate", rederList, 100);
That is, all the reader devices registered in the 'readList' create a logical reader called 'main gate'. Here, '100' is initial size information of the logical queue.
The queue management module 235 is a module for creating a logical queue, and creates and manages a circular queue for storing EPC code data. In addition, the queue management module 235 creates a queue as many as the number of logical devices, and generates a queue capable of storing code data defined by a user. The resource management module 232 monitors the queue in real time in order to efficiently execute the middleware in the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data, and dynamically queues as much as the value set in the setting when the size of the queue is insufficient or remaining. To increase or decrease.
4 is a diagram illustrating EPC code data transmitted by an RFID reader device to a device for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the EPC code data is represented in XML, which is in turn converted to intermediate XML and stored in a logical queue.
First, when one RFID tag is read simultaneously by two or more RFID reader devices 100 defined as the same logical device, duplicate data is stored in the logical queue. The RFID data process transmits to the application program by performing a refining process such as deduplication and noise data removal for the EPC codes stored in the logical queue. At this time, how to transfer the data input to the logical queue to the application program depends on the time defined in the system settings. The data formatter module is a module that converts data transmitted to an application program into a form desired by the application program.
The backup management module 234 periodically checks the database server 400 for information on an application program that receives the EPC data from the device 200 for processing the RFID data and the status information of the device 200 for processing the RFID data. ), And it can be automatically recovered when restarting in case of unexpected situation such as system down. The thread management module 236 manages the modules running as threads in the listener management module 214, the backup management module 234, and the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data, such as threading due to excessive thread count. Solve the problem.
The database management module 221 performs operations such as creating and dropping a table and executing SQL in the database. Here, the database management module is generated according to the setting of the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data.
5A and 5C are diagrams illustrating a table registered in an apparatus for processing RFID data according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5A is a table for storing device information, FIG. 5B is a table for storing logical device information, and FIG. 5C is a table showing a relationship between a reader device and a logical reader device.
As shown in FIG. 5A, a table for storing physical device information registered in the device 200 for processing RFID data includes a device name (DeviceName), a device model name (DeviceModel), an address of the device (DeviceIP), and middleware. Defines fields to store address (HostIP) and port number (HostPort).
As shown in FIG. 5B, in the table for storing logical device information registered in the device 200 for processing RFID data, the logical device name LDName and the data type LDLD information that can be stored are described.
As shown in Fig. 5C, the table showing the relationship between the reader device and the logical reader device is a table for grouping the reader devices into one logical reader device. That is, the logical device is set by assigning several device names DeviceName to one logical device name LDName.
In addition, a user table having a UserName field, which is a user name, and a Password field, which stores a password, exists for storing user information. In addition, a loginfo table for log information and an RFID data processor module 231 temporarily store a user table. There is a backup table for backing up intermediate data.
Execution of the apparatus 200 for processing RFID data can be divided into four cases. First, when the device 200 for processing the RFID data for the first time, second, when registering the physical device and the logical device to the device 200 for processing the RFID data, third, the actual RFID data using the RFID tag When data is input to the apparatus 200 for processing the data, the fourth case is when the apparatus 200 for processing the RFID data is terminated and executed again.
In the first case, the database management module 221 performs a database initialization process such as creating a table including physical device and logical device information, user information, and backup data. Here, when initialization of the database is performed, a new logical queue is created, and as many listener threads are created as the number of physical devices, and the related information is stored in the database server 400.
In addition, in the third case, the EPC data input by the listener is converted into an intermediate data format, and then stored in a logical queue and stored in an application program or a database server 400.
In addition, in the fourth case, the device information stored in the database server 400 is used, and the information stored in the database server 400 is initialized so that the device 200 processing RFID data can read the device information and store the information in the queue. Perform
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You will understand. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

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According to the apparatus for processing RFID data in the embedded environment of the present invention as described above has one or more of the following effects.
By implementing the functions defined in EPCglobal's ALE standard specification, it has the advantage of efficiently processing the stream of RFID data generated in real time in the embedded environment.
In addition, there is an advantage to facilitate the expansion and system interworking by designing based on the ALE standard.

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Claims (5)

An input unit for receiving information about the device and the logic device from the management tool and data transmitted from the RFID reader device; A data processing core unit processing data transmitted from the RFID reader device; And It includes a transmission unit for transmitting the processed data to the client, The data processing core unit, An XML verifier that verifies the suitability of the transmitted data; An RFID data processor for performing data purification and deduplication operations on the processed data; And Apparatus for processing RFID data in an embedded environment comprising a resource management module for managing the queue for storing the transmitted data in real time. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the input unit comprises: A device management module receiving information about a physical device from the management tool; A logic device management module for receiving information on the logic device from the management tool; A listener management module for receiving data transmitted from the RFID reader device and executing a listener module as a thread to monitor a port assigned to the RFID reader device; And And a device interface for analyzing data transmitted from the RFID reader device. The method according to claim 1, The transmission unit, A database management module for generating tables for storing information including physical device information, the logical device information, user information, and backup data, and for retrieving and deleting information of the created table; And And an RMI module for communicating with the management tool. delete The method according to claim 1, The data transmitted from the RFID reader device is ECP data, the device for processing RFID data in an embedded environment.

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