TABLE OF CONTENTS
READER INTERFACE GUIDE
DOC. CONTROL # 8101938-000 REV 05
i
Alien Technology
®
Reader Interface Guide
All Fixed Readers
July 12, 2005
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND READER SETUP............................................................................... 1
Audience .......................................................................................................................................................1
Type Conventions .........................................................................................................................................1
Requirements................................................................................................................................................2
Communicating with the Reader................................................................................................................... 3
Serial Communication ...................................................................................................................................3
Serial Configuration ................................................................................................................................3
Network Communication ...............................................................................................................................6
Determine the Reader's Network Settings ............................................................................................. 6
ALR-9800 and ALR-9770.................................................................................................................6
All Other Readers............................................................................................................................. 6
Connecting via TCP/IP ........................................................................................................................... 6
TCP/IP Configuration..............................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2 READER FUNDAMENTALS .................................................................................................. 9
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................9
Reader Discovery and the Reader Heartbeat...............................................................................................9
DHCP and Automatic Discovery.............................................................................................................9
Serial Interrogation ............................................................................................................................... 10
Network Heartbeats..............................................................................................................................10
Heartbeat XML Tags ...................................................................................................................... 11
Heartbeats and Software ............................................................................................................... 11
TagList Concepts ........................................................................................................................................11
PersistTime...........................................................................................................................................12
Tag Details............................................................................................................................................ 12
TagList Size..........................................................................................................................................12
Reading Tags over the Network .................................................................................................................12
Interactive Mode..........................................................................................................................................13
Autonomous Mode ......................................................................................................................................13
A Note about AutoMode on the ALR-9770 .................................................................................... 14
Defining the Autonomous Read Operation...........................................................................................14
Enter Autonomous Mode (Not shown on the state diagram.).......................................................15
Waiting State.................................................................................................................................. 15
Start Working Trigger ..................................................................................................................... 15
Working State.................................................................................................................................15
Stop Working Trigger/Timer ........................................................................................................... 16
Evaluation ...................................................................................................................................... 16
True/False Pause........................................................................................................................... 16
Notification ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Autonomous Mode Examples...............................................................................................................16
Example 1 - Background Reading .................................................................................................16
Example 2 - Triggered Reading .....................................................................................................17
Example 3 - Triggered Reading with Notification...........................................................................17
Notification Mode ........................................................................................................................................17