RF tag network connectivity through gateway facility

• US 10,430,702 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2017
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TEGO LLC
• Original Assignee: TEGO LLC
• Inventors: Butler, Timothy P., Puleston, David, Berrios, Javier, Hamlin, Robert W., Mats, Leonid, Benoit, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Alizada, Omeed
• Application Number:
  US15/805,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20180068211A1
• Time in Patent Office: 693 Days
• 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 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07309 Means for preventing undesired reading or writing from or onto record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/006 Indicating maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1097 for distributed storage of data in networks, e.g. transport arrangements for network file system [NFS], storage area networks [SAN] or network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

In embodiments of the present disclosure improved capabilities are described for a method and system for a radio frequency (RF) tag configured to communicate with a network through a gateway facility, the RF tag comprising (i) an RF and analog block for receiving and transmitting an RF signal, (ii) a data processing and controller block for digital information processing, (iii) a memory store, and (iv) a communication facility, wherein the RF tag is at least in part powered by an external RF signal received by the RF and analog block, and wherein the communication facility transfers data from the RF tag to the gateway facility or transfers data from the gateway facility to the RF tag.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) tag configured to communicate data stored in a memory of the RF tag to a networked computing device through a wired connection or to an RF interrogator device through a wireless connection, the RF tag comprising (i) an RF and analog block for receiving an RF signal from and transmitting an RF signal to the RF interrogator device, (ii) a data processing and controller block for digital information processing, (iii) a memory store, and (iv) a communication facility, wherein the RF tag is at least in part powered by an external RF signal received by the RF and analog block; and

a sensor communicatively coupled to the communication facility,

wherein the RF tag is adapted to enable the networked computing device to access the memory store through a communication bus connected between the communication facility and the networked computing device when the external RF signal provides power to the RF tag, wherein the network computing device is communicatively connected to a network,

wherein the communication facility transfers data collected from the sensor by the RF tag to the networked computing device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the network is one of a local area network, a wide area network, a peer-to-peer network, an intranet, or an internet.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication bus is a serial digital electrical interface.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the RF tag communicates information to and from the network by transferring data across the networked computing device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the RF tag is considered a computing device on the network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein information from the network is stored on the networked computing device and transferred to the RF tag when the RF tag is powered up by the external RF signal.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the data collected from the sensor is stored in the memory store of the RF tag.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising the RF tag communicating with a cellular network connection through the communication facility.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein connection to the network is available through either the networked computing device or the cellular network.

10. A method, comprising:

providing a radio frequency (RF) tag configured to communicate data stored in a memory of the RF tag to a networked computing device through a wired connection or to an RF interrogator device through a wireless connection, the RF tag comprising (i) an RF and analog block for receiving an RF signal from and transmitting an RF signal to the RF interrogator device, (ii) a data processing and controller block for digital information processing, (iii) a memory store, and (iv) a communication facility, wherein the RF tag is at least in part powered by an external RF signal received by the RF and analog block; and

communicatively connecting a sensor to the communication facility,

wherein the RF tag is adapted to enable the networked computing device to access the memory store through a communication bus connected between the communication facility and the networked computing device when the external RF signal provides power to the RF tag, wherein the network computing device is communicatively connected to a network,

wherein the communication facility transfers data collected from the sensor by the RF tag to the networked computing device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the network is one of a local area network, a wide area network, a peer-to-peer network, an intranet, or an internet.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the RF tag communicates information to and from the network by transferring data across the networked computing device.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the communication bus is a serial digital electrical interface.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the RF tag communicates information to and from the network by transferring data across the networked computing device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the RF tag is considered a computing device on the network.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein information from the network is stored on the networked computing device and transferred to the RF tag when the RF tag is powered up by the external RF signal.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the data collected from the sensor is stored in the memory store of the RF tag.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising the RF tag communicating with a cellular network connection through the communication facility.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein connection to the network is available through either the networked computing device or the cellular network.