RFID integrated circuit identifier self-check

• US 10,417,085 B1
• Filed: 08/30/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Impinj, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Impinj, Inc.
• Inventors: Diorio, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nam V
• Application Number:
  US15/251,152
• Time in Patent Office: 1,113 Days
• Field of Search: 340 1051, 340 101- 105, 340 585, 340 526, 3405724, 711219, 365192, 714758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1004 to protect a block of data words, e.g. CRC or checksum G06F11/1076 takes precedence; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorized activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/35 communicating wirelessly
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0722 comprising an arrangement for testing the record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07309 Means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or onto record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10019 resolving collision on the communication channels between simultaneously or concurrently interrogated record carriers. collision between the communication channels used by wireless communication devices, where the solution is not particularly adapted for RFIDs or the like, H04W74/08
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10465 the interrogation device being capable of self-diagnosis, e.g. in addition to or as part of the actual interrogation process testing of electrical circuits in general G01R31/28

Abstract

A Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag IC stores an identifier and a check code. The IC determines whether the stored identifier is corrupted by comparing it to the check code. If the stored identifier does not correspond to the check code then the IC may terminate operation or indicate an error. The IC may also reconstruct the correct identifier from the check code.

Claims

1. A method for a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) integrated circuit (IC) to indicate a corrupted identifier, the method comprising:

upon extracting an operating power from a received RF signal, retrieving a first identifier and a check code from an IC nonvolatile memory, the check code based on and used to check a correctness of the first identifier;

determining that the check code does not correspond to the first identifier and that the first identifier is therefore corrupted;

adjusting protocol control information associated with the first identifier, wherein the unadjusted protocol control information indicates that the first identifier has a nonzero length and the adjusted protocol control information indicate that the first identifier has a zero length; and

upon subsequently receiving a command requesting the first identifier, transmitting a reply to the command including at least the adjusted protocol control information.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the first identifier includes a code indicating at least one of an attribute of the IC and an attribute of an item associated with the IC.

3. The method of claim 1, in which at least one bit of the check code is stored in a complementary half of a differential memory cell.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising power-cycling one of the IC and the memory upon determining that the first identifier is corrupted.

5. The method of claim 1, in which the check code includes at least one of:

at least one memory-redundancy bit;

at least one parity bit;

a checksum;

a cyclic redundancy check;

a hash function output; and

an error-correcting code.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

computing a cyclic redundancy check based on the reply; and

including the cyclic redundancy check in the reply.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, upon determining that the first identifier is corrupted, at least one of:

asserting a kill flag of the IC,

writing an error code to the memory,

asserting an error flag in the memory,

adjusting a session flag of the IC, and

rewriting at least a portion of the memory.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising including the first identifier in the reply.

9. A method for a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) integrated circuit (IC) to avoid sending a corrupted identifier, the method comprising:

upon extracting an operating power from a received RF signal, retrieving a first identifier and a check code from an IC nonvolatile memory, the check code based on and used to check a correctness of the first identifier;

determining that the check code does not correspond to the first identifier and that the first identifier is therefore corrupted;

reconstructing a correct identifier from at least the first identifier and the check code; and

upon subsequently receiving a command requesting the first identifier, transmitting a reply to the command including the correct identifier.

10. The method of claim 9, in which the first identifier includes a code indicating at least one of an attribute of the IC and an attribute of an item associated with the IC.

11. The method of claim 9, in which at least one bit of the check code is stored in a complementary half of a differential memory cell.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising power-cycling one of the IC and the memory upon determining that the first identifier is corrupted.

13. The method of claim 9, in which the check code includes at least one of:

at least one memory-redundancy bit;

at least one parity bit;

a checksum;

a cyclic redundancy check;

a hash function output; and

an error-correcting code.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

computing a cyclic redundancy check based on the reply; and

including the cyclic redundancy check in the reply.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising, upon determining that the first identifier is corrupted, at least one of:

asserting a kill flag of the IC,

writing an error code to the memory,

asserting an error flag in the memory,

adjusting a session flag of the IC, and

overwriting the first identifier with the correct identifier.