Methods and systems for optimizing performance of an inventory system using mini-cell sites

1 . A method for optimizing performance of an inventory system using one or more mini-cell sites comprising radio equipment configured to broadcast power signals within an inventory environment positioned throughout the inventory environment, the method comprising:

maintaining, in a data store of a controller system in the inventory system, inventory environment data, reader device capability data, and mini-cell site capability data, wherein the inventory environment data includes data describing a layout of the inventory environment, wherein the reader device capability data indicates capabilities of one or more reader devices in the inventory environment, and wherein the mini-cell site capability data indicates capabilities of the one or more mini-cell sites in the inventory environment;

receiving, by a management application at the controller system from a reader device of the one or more reader devices, an activation request to provide power to one or more tags in a zone of the inventory environment for a time period over a frequency band;

determining, by the management application, a mini-cell site of the one or more mini-cell sites to power the one or more tags in the zone and a frequency channel in the frequency band over which to transmit power signals to the one or more tags in the zone;

transmitting, by the management application to the mini-cell site, activation instructions comprising the time period and the frequency channel, to set one or more configuration parameters of the mini-cell site based on the time period and the frequency channel;

transmitting, by the mini-cell site, the power signals in a direction of the one or more tags in the zone for the time period over the frequency channel to activate the one or more tags in the zone; and

after the one or more tags have received the power signals, transmitting, by the reader device, interrogation signals to the one or more tags and receiving response data from the one or more tags.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the inventory environment data comprises a location of the one or more mini-cell sites in the inventory environment, or a location of the one or more reader devices in the inventory environment.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the reader device capability data indicates frequencies over which the one or more reader devices are capable of communicating, and wherein the mini-cell site capability data indicates frequencies over which the one or more mini-cell sites are capable of communicating.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the activation request comprises an identification of the zone, the time period, and the frequency channel for transmitting the power signals to the one or more tags in the zone.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more tags are configured to communicate over a frequency channel of the one or more reader devices.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the interrogation signals comprise only data signals, and wherein the one or more tags do not obtain power from the interrogation signals.

7 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising monitoring, by a monitoring application at the controller system, signals emitted by the mini-cell site to verify that the mini-cell site is complying with the activation instructions.

8 . A method implemented in an inventory environment, the method comprising:

maintaining, in a data store of a controller system in the inventory system, inventory environment data and tag data, wherein the inventory environment data includes data describing a position of one more mini-cell sites and one or more reader devices in the inventory environment, wherein the one or more mini-cell sites comprise radio equipment configured to broadcast power signals within the inventory environment, and wherein the tag data includes a tag identifier of one or more tags;

receiving, by a management application at the controller system from a client application executing at a client, a request to identify and locate the one or more tags in the inventory environment that are associated with the tag identifier;

determining, by the management application, a setting for the one or more reader devices in the inventory environment based on the request, wherein the setting configures the one or more reader devices to only receive response data from the one or more tags in the inventory environment that are associated with the tag identifier;

transmitting, by the management application to the one or more reader devices, an instruction to set the setting at the one or more reader devices to transmit interrogation signals including the tag identifier over a frequency channel such that the one or more reader devices only receive response data from the one or more tags in the inventory environment that are associated with the tag identifier; and

receiving, by the management application, the response data from the one or more tags that are associated with the tag identifier.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the tag identifier identifies a plurality of tags, wherein the plurality of tags are respectively coupled to a plurality of items, and wherein the plurality of items are associated with a common category of items.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the tag identifier uniquely identifies a single tag, wherein the tag is indicated in the request as being coupled to a missing item.

11 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the request comprises the tag identifier and data associated with one or more items coupled to the one or more tags.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the request indicates the frequency channel over which the one or more reader devices is to communicate with the one or more tags.

13 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising identifying, by the management application, a tag location for each of the one or more tags that are associated with the tag identifier based on the response data received from the one or more tags that are associated with the tag identifier.

14 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, by the management application from the client application, a second request to reduce energy usage in the inventory system;

determining, by the management application, a configuration parameter for the one or more mini-cell sites in the inventory environment based on the request, wherein the configuration parameter configures the one or more mini-cell sites to power cycle according to a predefined schedule; and

transmitting, by the management application to the one or more mini-cell sites, a second instruction to set the configuration parameter at the one or more mini-cell sites to power cycle according to the predefined schedule.

15 . An inventory system, comprising:

a mini-cell site comprising radio equipment configured to broadcast power signals within an inventory environment; and

a reader device configured to communicate with one or more tags in the inventory environment;

a control system, comprising:

a memory configured to store mini-cell site capability data, reader device capability data, and inventory environment data;

a management application stored at the memory, which when executed by a processor, causes the management application to be configured to:

transmit a first instruction to the mini-cell site to set a configuration parameter at the mini-cell site to a first frequency channel based on the mini-cell site capability data and the inventory environment data; and

transmit a second instruction to the reader device to set a network setting at the reader device to a second frequency channel based on the reader device capability data and the inventory environment data,

wherein the first frequency channel is different from the second frequency channel.

16 . The inventory system of claim 15 , wherein after the mini-cell site receives the first instruction, the mini-cell site is configured to set the configuration parameter to the first frequency channel to transmit power signals to the one or more tags over the first frequency channel, and wherein after the reader device receives the second instruction, the reader device is configured to set the network setting to the second frequency channel to transmit interrogation signals to the one or more tags over the second frequency channel.

17 . The inventory system of claim 15 , wherein the configuration parameter is associated with an operating frequency channel of the radio equipment at the mini-cell site, and wherein the network setting is associated with an operating frequency channel of the reader device.

18 . The inventory system of claim 15 , wherein the network setting comprises at least one of a power output of a signal emitted by the reader device, a frequency band or channel at which the reader device operates, or a receiver sensitivity of the reader device.

19 . The inventory system of claim 15 , wherein the mini-cell site capability data comprises a frequency band in which the mini-cell site is capable of operating, and wherein the reader device capability data comprises the frequency band in which the reader device is capable of operating, and wherein the frequency band comprises the first frequency channel and the second frequency channel.

20 . The inventory system of claim 15 , wherein the inventory environment data indicates a layout of the inventory environment, including a location of the mini-cell site and the reader device.