The invention relates generally to the field of switches and similar devices used to control application of power to electrical loads. More particularly, the invention relates to the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to indicate the state of an input device, such as a pushbutton, an electrical contact, a relay or contactor, and so forth.
In the field of electronics, a wide range of control devices is used for controlling the delivery of power to a load. Such control devices may include various switches, relays, contactors and disconnects to control load power, circuit breakers to protect electrical circuits from overload, and pushbuttons and selector switches to facilitate user control of power circuit operation. Additionally, a variety of electrical devices are known and currently available for indicating the state of a control device. For example, an auxiliary contact is often coupled to a contactor so that the auxiliary contact produces an auxiliary signal, a low power electrical signal that indicates whether the contactor is open or closed. The auxiliary signal may be coupled, as an input signal, to other components within a power control or monitoring system. For example, the auxiliary signal may be used to turn on or off an indicator light, or some other component within the power electronics system.
As power control systems and the logic required to control these systems become more complex, the number of state indicators increases, and the wiring coupled to the state indicators also increases. The increased wiring, in turn, leads to increased costs due to hardware requirements, connection labor and wiring maintenance. For example, control devices are often disposed within and on the doors of metal enclosures for load control purposes, with wires running between the door-mounted devices and internal devices. An increase in the number of wires increases maintenance problems due to wiring failure and inconvenient tethering of door-mounted devices with internal devices. Additionally, because there is a limit to how many wires can be placed under the common screw-terminal connectors, hardware is often added to control devices in the form of additional contacts driven by a mechanical or electromechanical shaft called an operator. Furthermore, each electrical connection creates the potential for vibration induced failure. Therefore, labor, maintenance and material costs could be reduced if the discrete wired state indicators could be replaced with wireless state indicators.
The use of wireless state indicators, however, presents the difficulty of finding a suitable power supply. Often times a power supply is not available from the control device. Even when power is available, in the form of load power, the conversion from high voltage to low voltage adds additional cost. Batteries, on the other hand, incur additional maintenance costs due to the need for frequent replacement, and large batteries may interfere with control devices housed within the limited space of the metal enclosures. Furthermore, power scavenging techniques (based on vibration, or light or thermal gradients) typically provide too little power to achieve suitable control update rates, are too large, or depend on unreliable sources.
Therefore, it may be advantageous to provide an improved state selection or indicator device. In particular, it may be advantageous to provide a state selection or indicator device that communicates wirelessly and employs a power supply that is reliable, maintenance free, and allows acceptable control update rates.
Embodiments of the present invention use RFID tags as binary state indicators to indicate the state of power control devices and user input indications. An embodiment of an RFID tag, in accordance with the present invention, includes an RFID chip, which contains identification information and an RF antenna that is selectively coupled to or decoupled from the RFID chip to indicate the binary state of a power control device. An embodiment of a control system, in accordance with the present invention, includes one or more RFID tag readers electrically coupled to load control circuitry and one or more RFID tags in wireless communication with the RFID tag readers to effect changes in the state of the loads.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
Turning now to the drawings, and referring first to
Also included in the control system 10 is a reader 16. The reader 16 may be any device known to those of ordinary skill in the art for communicating with, or “reading,” RFID tags. Readers are also commonly known as interrogators. The reader 16 iteratively acquires data from the RFID state indicators 12, by transmitting a power/interrogation signal 18. As described below, the RFID state indicators 12 may or may not emit a return signal 14 to the reader 16 in response to the power/interrogation signal 18. The detection or non-detection of a return signal 14 corresponding with each RFID state indicator 12 informs the reader 16 of the binary state of each RFID state indicator 12.
The RFID state indicator 12 includes an RFID tag 22. The RFID tag 22 includes an antenna 24 and a circuit 26. The antenna 24 is both a receiving antenna and a transmitting antenna, designed to resonate at a particular frequency that corresponds with the communication frequency or frequencies of the reader 18. The electrical energy received by the antenna 24 from the reader 16 through the power/interrogation signal 18 serves to power the circuit 26. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the circuit 26 that holds a small amount of coded information, such as, for example, identification data, make and model, year of manufacture, etc. The circuit 26 is considered “passive” in that it does not have an independent power source and it does not initiate transfer of the information except in response to the signals from reader 16. If the circuit 26 is coupled to the antenna 24, the power/interrogation signal 18 from the reader 16 will power the circuit 26 and cause the circuit 26 to generate a control signal encoded with the data stored on the circuit 26.
The RFID state indicator 12 also includes an operator 30, which selectively couples or decouples the antenna 24 from the circuit 26 (or that completes a circuit required to define the antenna). Whether the RFID tag 22 emits a return signal in response to the power/interrogation signal 18 depends on the state of the operator 30. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the RFID tag 22 is normally open, as shown in
Information regarding the state of the RFID state indicator 12 is collected electronically by the reader 16 by sending out a power/interrogation signal 18. If the power/interrogation signal 18 causes the antenna 24 to resonate, and if the antenna 24 is electrically coupled to the circuit 26, the electrical energy received by the antenna 24 will power the circuit 26, thereby inducing the circuit 26 to modulate its antenna with its coded information creating a reflected return signal 14 back to the reader 16. In response to each power/interrogation signal, therefore, all of the operative RFID state indicators 12 within communications range follow protocol instructions encoded in the power/interrogation signal and if requested send a return signal 14 that carries, among other things, identification information. If an RFID state indicator 12 responds with a return signal 14, the reader 16 is thereby informed that the particular RFID tag 22 corresponding with the transmitted identification information is operative, meaning that the particular input device coupled to the RFID tag 22, e.g. pushbutton, switch, etc., has been engaged. The information thus gained by the reader 16 can then be used to control some part of the control system 10. In other words, the detection of a return signal 14 with a particular identification code may indicate that a particular part of the control system 10, which corresponds with the identification code, should be engaged or disengaged (e.g., turned on or off.) It should be noted that, in embodiments of the present invention, the “on” state is signified by the detection of a return signal 14 from the RFID state indicator 12. In alternate embodiments, the “on” state is signified by the non-detection of a return signal 14 from the RFID state indicator 12.
Also included in the control system 10 is processing circuitry 36. In one embodiment, the processing circuitry 36 is used to control the reader 16. For example, the processing circuitry 36 may be used to adjust the frequency or intensity of the power/interrogation signal 18, to control a read-cycle rate of reader 16, or to trigger individual read cycles. Furthermore, processing circuitry may also be used to process the RFID state data received by the reader 16. For example, the reader 16 may send RFID state data to the processing circuitry 36 after each read cycle. The processing circuitry 36 may then respond to the RFID state data by initiating an electronic output that manipulates the control system 10 in accordance with the desired operational state as represented by the RFID state data received. The processing circuitry 36, therefore, includes a means of interpreting the RFID state data and associating the RFID state data with a desired operational state of control system 10. In this regard, the control system 10 may optionally include a memory 38 coupled to the processing circuitry 36. The memory 38 may, for example, contain a database that associates the identification information encoded in each RFID tag 22 with a particular controlled load 42. Additionally, although some or all of the programming logic by which the processing circuitry 36 operates could be hardwired into the processing circuitry 36, the memory 38 could also be used to hold a software program which determines, at least in part, how the processing circuitry 36 operates.
Also included in the control system 10 is driver circuitry 40. The driver circuitry 40 can include any means known in the art for powering components of a control or monitoring system. The driver circuitry 40 is electronically coupled to the processing circuitry 36, the load 42 and a state indicator 48, in this case an indicator light. The driver circuitry 40 receives an input signal from the processing circuitry 36 and optionally delivers a control signal to the load 42 and/or the indicator light 48, thereby powering the load 42 and/or the indicator light 48, depending on the state of the RFID state indicators 12. In the embodiment shown in
Embodiments of the present invention also include a network 34. The network 34 may include any type of communications network such as a local computer network. The network 34 can be used in conjunction with the processing circuitry 36, or as an alternate technique, for controlling the control system 10. For example, according to one embodiment, the reader 16 may send RFID state data to the network 34 through the interface 32. Some or all of the acquired RFID state data may then be routed to the processing circuitry 36 or to the processor 50. If the RFID state data is routed to the processor 50, the processor 50 then processes the state data and sends control signals to the driver 52, which, in turn, delivers load power or a control signal to the load 54, thereby turning the power supplied to the load 54 on or off depending on the user desire and the system programming, as indicated by the RFID state data. According to another embodiment of the present invention, software and configuration data can also be downloaded from the network 34 to the processing circuitry 36 or the processor 50. According to another embodiment, the network 34 is coupled to a computer system or other electronic device that includes a display, and RFID state data is used to display the current operational configuration of the control system 10.
It should be recognized that a control system in accordance with the present invention may take on a variety of configurations and include a wide variety of electrical devices, many of which are not depicted. For example, embodiments of the present invention may include several motors, switches, valves, pumps, indicator lights, alarms, breakers, etc. Additionally, some of the components depicted in
Turning now to
It should be recognized that in the embodiment shown in
RFID tags in accordance with the present invention may include various embodiments not depicted by
Additionally, embodiments of the present invention may include several alternative configurations for isolating the circuit 26 from the antenna 24. For example, in some embodiments, an electrical interruption is included on only one side of the circuit 26. Alternatively, one or more electrical interruptions may be placed at any position along the length of antenna 24. Additionally, in some embodiments, the interruptions 28 will be as close as possible to circuit 26 to lessen the degree of residual coupling that may occur due to the short conductive segments that may protrude from the circuit 26 depending on the location of the interruptions.
Furthermore, in addition to electrically isolating the circuit 26 from the antenna 24, embodiments of the present invention include an RFID tag 22 that is made inoperative by preventing the antenna 24 from resonating in response to the power/interrogation signal emitted by the reader 16. For example, the operator 30 may bring one or more additional conductors into proximity or contact with the antenna 24, thereby altering the resonant characteristics of the antenna 24 such that it will not effectively resonate at the frequency transmitted by the reader 16. In this way, the RFID tag 22 is disabled because the antenna 24 will not transmit electrical power to the circuit 26.
Additionally, RFID tags in accordance with the present invention may be normally operative or normally inoperative. In other words, if an RFID tag is normally operative, the circuit 26 and the antenna 24 will be electrically coupled and operative without the interposition of the operator 30, and the engagement of the operator 30 will disable the RFID tag in some way. On the other hand, if an RFID tag is normally inoperative, the circuit 26 and the antenna 24 will be electrically decoupled or, in some other way, disabled without the interposition of the operator 30, and the engagement of the operator 30 will enable the RFID tag.
Regarding the circuit 26, the circuit 26 can be any type of semiconductor circuit known in the art, such as, for example, a CMOS integrated circuit. Although the circuit 26 will ideally be passive, i.e. not requiring a power source other than the power/interrogation signal, the circuit 26 could optionally be active, or semi-passive. In other words, the circuit 26 could be fully or partially powered by a battery or some other power source other than the reader 16. Additionally, the circuit 26 may hold and transmit a range of useful information, such as, for example, RFID tag model, style, serial number, date of manufacture, physical location, etc. This data may then be used to maintain the RFID tags or replace RFID tags. For example, the data may be used to indicate the location of a particular RFID tag and whether a particular RFID tag is old or outdated or may need to be replaced as part of regular maintenance. To hold the data, the circuit 26 may include any form of electronic memory known in the art including read-only memory, writable memory or some combination of both.
Turning now to
Turning now to
Also included in the auxiliary signal device 84 are two normally inoperative RFID tags 108 and 114. Depending on the position of the operator 92, RFID tag 108 is made operative by conductive extensions 104 and 106, or RFID tag 114 is made operative by conductive extensions 110 and 112. As depicted in
In certain embodiments of the present invention, the auxiliary signal device 84 includes only one RFID tag, wherein the enablement of the RFID tag indicates one actuator position and the disablement of the RFID tag indicates the opposite position. Using one RFID tag may, however, lead to uncertainty about whether the lack of a return signal was due to the disablement of the RFID tag or failure of the RFID tag to operate properly. Therefore, the use of two RFID tags, as depicted in
Turning now to
As described above, the device of the invention allows for altering performance of the antenna and/or of the circuit coupled or couplable to the antenna so that the reader or interrogator may read or be prevented from reading the data in the circuit, and thereby gather an indication of the state of the device (e.g., position of the operator). As noted above, this may be done in a variety of manners. For example, the operator may complete or interrupt a conductive path defining the antenna (e.g., making or breaking a loop forming the antenna), or may short or unshort the antenna (e.g., connect or disconnect the antenna with another component or conductive path). Because the antenna operates by returning a signal to the interrogator, the operator may alter an electromagnetic property of the antenna to allow or prevent such transmission, or may shield or unshield the antenna, or change a resonant frequency of the antenna. Moreover, two or more such antenna may be utilized to provide a multi-state device in which signals from one circuit available from one antenna indicate a first state, and signals from a further circuit available from another antenna indicate a second state.
While only certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, many modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.
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