Portable RFID reading terminal with visual indication of scan trace
A portable radio-frequency identifier (RFID) reading terminal can comprise a microprocessor, a memory, an RFID reading device, and a display. The portable RFID reading terminal can be configured to display a scan trace provided by a line comprising a plurality of time varying points. Each point can be defined by a projection of a radio frequency (RF) signal coverage shape of the RFID reading device onto a chosen plane at a given moment in time.
1. A method comprising:
outputting a radio-frequency (RF) signal from an radio-frequency identifier (RFID) reader;
displaying a scan trace in response to the outputting the RF signal, wherein the scan trace comprises a plurality of points recorded over a period of time that thereby defines a path of a projection of the RF signal transmitted by an RFID antenna over the period of time in a spatial area.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising reconciling, by reading RFID tags attached to items, an inventory of items stored in a facility against at least one of: an expected inventory list and an expected count of items.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising receiving, by the RFID reader from an external computer, at least one of: the expected inventory list and the expected count of items.
4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising receiving via the user interface at least one of the expected inventory list and the expected count of items.
5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising receiving via the two-dimensional imager at least one of the expected inventory list and the expected count of items.
6. The method of claim 2 , further comprising receiving from an external memory device at least one of: (1) the expected inventory list and (2) the expected count of items.
7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising transmitting, to a second external computer, at least one of: a list of read RFID tags and a count of read RFID tags.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the scan trace on a display of the RFID reader.
9. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein each point is defined by a projection of a coverage shape of an RF signal transmitted by the RFID antenna onto the plane at a given moment in time, and
wherein a spatial position of the coverage shape of the RF signal is determined based on a known position and orientation of the RF antenna relatively to a position of a field of view of the two-dimensional imager.
10. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein each point is defined by a projection of a coverage shape of an RF signal transmitted by the RFID antenna onto a plane at a given moment in time,
wherein a distance to an object is measured using a two-dimensional imager; and
wherein a projection of the RF signal coverage shape determined and displayed onto the plane defined by a physical structure.
11. The method of claim 1 ,
wherein each point is defined by a projection of a coverage shape of an RF signal transmitted by the RFID antenna onto a plane at a given moment in time, and
wherein a change of a spatial position and orientation of the RF signal coverage shape is determined based on proper acceleration values received from at least one accelerometer.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying at least one of the following: a quantity of scanned items, a quantity of items which have not be scanned yet, and a total quantity of items to be scanned.
13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying an indicator of a ratio of quantity of scanned items to a total quantity of items to be scanned.
14. Thy method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying the scan trace overlaid over an image of a physical structure.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising receiving the image of the physical structure from a camera on the RFID reader.
16. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
receiving a description of a physical structure;
creating an image of the physical structure based on the description; and
displaying the scan trace is displayed overlaid over the image of the physical structure.
17. The method of claim 1 , further comprising
acquiring, using a two-dimensional imager, an image of a physical structure; and
displaying the scan trace overlaid over the image of the physical structure.
18. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying an indicator of an RF signal coverage over the scan trace overlaid over an image of a physical structure.
19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising displaying an indicator of an RF signal coverage over a current position within the scan trace.
20. An radio-frequency identifier (RFID) reader comprising:
a radio frequency (RF) antenna that outputs an RF signal;
wherein a scan trace is displayed in response to the outputting the RF signal, wherein the scan trace comprises a plurality of points recorded over a period of time that thereby defines a path of a projection of the RF signal transmitted by the RFID antenna over the period of time in a spatial area.