Patent Application
20080084310
In a broad sense, a configurable communications device and a method for configuring a portable communications device are disclosed in detail below.
The configurable tag described herein can be configured to be used anywhere, at any frequency, and according to any RFID protocol or standard. As non-limiting examples, the tag could be operated at or about 900 MHz, 13.56 MHz, or 125/134 kHz and according to EPC Class 0, EPC Class 1, EPC Gen 2, ISO/IEC 14443, or ISO/IEC 781 protocols. The tag can be compatible with any new and/or legacy RFID system and can be resuable. The tag can consist of one or more selectors, RFID ASIC processors, discrete RF matching components, and one or more antennas, and be applicable to any type of tag, such as passive or active tags. Indeed, aspects of the invention can be used in any wireless data collection environment employing multiple wireless air interface protocols for receiving or exchanging information, and thus the term “tag” as used herein is intended to cover all such devices unless otherwise specifically indicated.
The configurable RFID tag can be arranged as illustrated in
The band selector 105 connects antenna trace 110 to one of multiple RF matching elements 115. In some embodiments, the band selector can be a switch. The selector can be operated electrically, mechanically, or by a combination of electrical and mechanical actions. As non-limiting examples, the selector can be a toggle switch, rocker switch, a pushbutton switch, tact switch, DIP switch, snap-action switch, slide switch, rotary switch, keylock switch, leaf switch or detector switch. The selectors can also be electrically operated gates, such as transistors.
Band selector 105 can be used to select an OFF position 107. When OFF position 107 is selected, antenna trace 110 is not coupled to a matching element and no signal is received at any of multiple RFID processors 135. In the embodiment illustrated in
RF matching elements 115 can include multiple elements selected for operating at certain frequencies. To match electrical impedances, RF matching elements 115 can include any combination of transformers, resistors, inductors and/or capacitors. These impedance matching devices can be optimized for different applications, as described below. RF matching elements 115 can include one or more antenna tuners or other structures or devices for transforming impedance. In the example illustrated in
RF matching elements 115 can be coupled to common impedance point 120. In some embodiments, common impedance point 120 is a node that couples RF matching elements 107 to RF matching elements 130. In other embodiments, individual RF matching elements 115 can be coupled to individual RF matching elements 130 without common impedance point 120.
RF matching elements 130 couple common impedance point 120 to RFID processors 135. To match electrical impedances, RF matching elements 130 can include any combination of transformers, resistors, inductors and/or capacitors. In some embodiments, RF matching elements 130 can be planar inductor traces printed together with the RF matching elements 115 on the same substrate.
RFID processors 135 can include individual processors capable of operating according to any standardized or non-standard protocol. As non-limiting examples, RFID processors 135 can include processors for operating according to EPC Class 0, EPC Class 1, EPC Gen 2, ISO/IEC 14443, or ISO/IEC 781 protocols. In the depicted embodiment, each protocol is implemented using a discrete RFID processor. In other embodiments, a single RFID processor can communicate according to more than one protocol. Thus, while multiple processors are shown, alternative embodiments may employ a single processor. The processors can employ any form of appropriate circuitry, such as microprocessors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), etc., or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, multiple RFID processors can be used to communicate according to the same protocol, which could help, for example, by providing redundancy or for manufacturing fault tolerance. The one or more RFID processors 135 can include memory for storing data on the tag; alternatively or additionally, a separate memory device or chip can be provided on the tag and be coupled to the processor(s).
Protocol selector 140 couples a selected RFID processor configured to operate according to a certain protocol from among RFID processors 135 to antenna trace 190. Protocol selector 140, like band selector 105, can be operated electrically, mechanically, or by a combination of electrical and mechanical actions and can be embodied as any type of electrical or mechanical switch. In some embodiments, the selectors used in protocol selector 140 and band selector 105 can be completely sealed and made weatherproof using known techniques and components.
The protocol selector may be used, for example, in a long supply chain where a tag may move from an infrastructure that is based on the Class 0 protocol to an infrastructure based on Gen 2. As illustrated in
A method for manually configuring an RFID tag is illustrated in
In some embodiments, the protocol or band selection could be permanently effected. For example, scratch off traces, programmable fuses, anti-fuses, or other physical or electrical configurations may be used to permanently select a protocol, band, or both.
In some embodiments, the band selector 105 and/or protocol selector 140 can be operated automatically. Band selector 105 can include circuitry for detecting the band of a received signal and automatically selecting the corresponding RF matching element from the multiple RF matching elements 115. In some embodiments, protocol selector 140 can include circuitry for detecting the protocol of the received signal and automatically selecting the corresponding RF matching element from the multiple RF matching elements 130. The circuitry for detecting band and protocol can be located in the band selector 105 or protocol selector 140, respectively, or elsewhere in the tag.
In some embodiments, the tag itself can be adapted to interpret an incoming signal and intelligently select an antenna and/or band configuration and/or appropriate protocol. For example, the tag can include a wideband receiver for receiving a command from a reader. The command from the reader can instruct the tag to receive signals in a specified frequency band by, for example, selecting a certain RF matching element, tuning one or more antennas, or otherwise optimizing the tag for operation at a certain frequency or range of frequencies. In some embodiments, the tag can receive an RFID signal transmitted by a reader using a known frequency band and then switch to operation on another band based on a command from the reader. Similarly, in some embodiments, the tag can receive an RFID signal transmitted by a reader using a known protocol band and then switch to operation according to another protocol based on a command from the reader. Referring to the example illustrated in
In some embodiments, the band selector 105 and/or protocol selector 140 can be software switches implemented wholly or partly in code and actuated by a processor executing the code. A tag reader or other device could be used to cause the tag to perform a switch. In some embodiments, electrically operated selectors can be remotely activated by an RF signal. For example, a reader may be configured to read a tag and instruct it to reconfigure itself to a specified band and/or protocol in a manner similar to that of an EPROM or field programmable gate array (although the reader may be required to provide greater power output to electrically reconfigure certain circuit elements in a tag).
Antenna trace 190 can be any antenna suitable for operation at the desired frequencies. Antenna trace 190 can be a shared RFID tag antenna which can be of dipole, patch, slot, or any other type. Antenna trace 190 can be matched to a standard impedance, e.g. 50 Ohms, to the average of processor impedances, or to another value. The tag antenna traces 110 and 190 and matching elements can be selected and designed to give a specified read range performance for any individual RFID protocol/band combination. As discussed above, the tag can also be constructed to use more than one antenna and operate at any other (lower or higher) RFID frequency band.
The tag can be embodied as a rigid tag or as a flexible tag. One example of a configurable tag is illustrated in
One method for automatically configuring an RFID tag is illustrated in
The tag described herein can be used for any product application for which an RFID tag can be used. The tag can be configured to operate in any country, at any frequency band, and with any RFID standard. While the description above is made with reference to selecting among multiple bands and protocols, additional circuitry in the tag can be selected using manual or automatic switching, such as different antennas and other components or parts.
RFID tags are typically constructed for specific applications (e.g., for mounting on metal, to be flexible, to have a certain size, etc.). When not used in the intended manner, the tags may suffer decreased performance. The configurable tag described herein can be used in different environments such that, for example, a tag intended for mounting on metal would automatically tune itself for use in applications when it was not mounted on a metal substrate. Certain RF matching elements may be known to be well matched for use with certain materials such as metal, wood, liquids, or plastic, and thus the matching elements 115 may be chosen to provide improved or optimal responsiveness for these or other materials. Thus, a selector on the tag can be used to automatically or manually tune the tag so that it can be placed in, on, or near different materials. An automatic or manual materials selector can be provided on a tag in addition to or instead of protocol and band selectors.
Many specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are set forth in the description and in
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or,” in reference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.
The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, while processes or blocks are presented in a given order, alternative embodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems having blocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may be deleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified to provide alternative or subcombinations. Each of these processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of different ways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as being performed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performed in parallel, or may be performed at different times.
The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined or altered to provide further embodiments. For example, while a multi-band, multi-protocol, configurable, RFID tag is shown, alternative embodiments may include tags that are only multi-band configurable or multi-protocol configurable.
These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of the above Detailed Description. While the above description describes certain embodiments of the invention, and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may vary considerably in its implementation details, while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein.
The terminology used in the Detailed Description is intended to be interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it is being used in conjunction with a detailed description of certain specific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even be emphasized; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted in any restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as such in this Detailed Description section. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under the claims.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only one aspect of the invention is recited as a means-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C § 112, other aspects may likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.
