Apparatus and method for producing an appropriate quantity of RFID reads

• US 10,685,196 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2013
• Issued: 06/16/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Bellows, David E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Foxx, Chico A
• Application Number:
  US14/064,119
• Publication Number:
  US 20150116088A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,425 Days
• Field of Search: None
• 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 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas

Abstract

An RFID reader configures each of a plurality of antennas operating in the RFID reader to operate in one of a first state and a second state, configures each of the plurality of antennas to operate in a first session and a second session and to operate in opposite states in the first session and the second session, and configures adjacent antennas or adjacent groups of antennas to operate in opposite states in the first session and the second session. During operation, each of the plurality of antennas is configured to read an RFID tag within a range of the antenna when a state of the RFID tag for the session in which the antenna is configured to operate matches the state in which the antenna is configured to operate and to switch the state of the RFID tag to the opposite state for each session.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader comprising:

a plurality of antennas each configured to operate in one of a first state and a second state opposite the first state, the plurality of antennas including, a first antenna having a first transmission pattern, a second antenna having a second transmission pattern, a third antenna having a third transmission pattern, a fourth antenna having a fourth transmission pattern, a fifth antenna having a fifth transmission pattern, a sixth antenna having a sixth transmission pattern, a seventh antenna having a seventh transmission pattern, and an eighth antenna having an eighth transmission pattern,

the plurality of antennas being arranged such that the first transmission pattern is sandwiched between the second transmission pattern and the eighth transmission pattern, the second transmission pattern is sandwiched between the first transmission pattern and the third transmission pattern, the third transmission pattern is sandwiched between the second transmission pattern and the fourth transmission pattern, the fourth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the third transmission pattern and the fifth transmission pattern, the fifth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the fourth transmission pattern and the sixth transmission pattern, the sixth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the fifth transmission pattern and the seventh transmission pattern, the seventh transmission pattern is sandwiched between the sixth transmission pattern and the eighth transmission pattern, the eighth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the first transmission pattern and the seventh transmission pattern, and a total transmission pattern of the plurality of antennas extends over a 360-degree range; and

a processor configured to;

(a) control the first antenna to operate in the first state and a first session;

(b) subsequent to (a), control the first antenna to operate in the second state and a second session;

(c) subsequent to (b), control the second antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(d) subsequent to (c), control the second antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(e) subsequent to (d), control the third antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(f) subsequent to (e), control the third antenna to operate in the first state and the second session;

(g) subsequent to (f), control the fourth antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(h) subsequent to (g), control the fourth antenna to operate in the first state and the second session;

(i) subsequent to (h), control the fifth antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(j) subsequent to (i), control the fifth antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(k) subsequent to (j), control the sixth antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(l) subsequent to (k), control the sixth antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(m)sub sequent to (l), control the seventh antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(n) subsequent to (m), control the seventh antenna to operate in the first state and the second session;

(o) subsequent to (n), control the eighth antenna to operate in the second state and the first session; and

(p) subsequent to (o), control the eighth antenna to operate in the first state and the second session,

wherein during operation each of the plurality of antennas is configured to read an RFID tag within a range of the antenna when a state of the RFID tag for the session in which the antenna is configured to operate matches the state in which the antenna is configured to operate during the session and to switch the state of the RFID tag to the opposite state for the session in which the antenna is configured to operate.

2. The RFID reader of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control each of the plurality of antennas to operate during a respective time slot that is separate from the respective time slot of any other of the plurality of antennas.

4. The RFID reader of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to control each of the plurality of antennas to operate during a respective time slot that is separate from the respective time slot of any other of the plurality of antennas.

3. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader comprising:

a plurality of antennas each configured to operate in one of a first state and a second state opposite the first state, the plurality of antennas including, a first antenna having a first transmission pattern, a second antenna having a second transmission pattern, a third antenna having a third transmission pattern, a fourth antenna having a fourth transmission pattern, a fifth antenna having a fifth transmission pattern, a sixth antenna having a sixth transmission pattern, a seventh antenna having a seventh transmission pattern, and an eighth antenna having an eighth transmission pattern,

the plurality of antennas being arranged such that the first transmission pattern is sandwiched between the second transmission pattern and the eighth transmission pattern, the second transmission pattern is sandwiched between the first transmission pattern and the third transmission pattern, the third transmission pattern is sandwiched between the second transmission pattern and the fourth transmission pattern, the fourth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the third transmission pattern and the fifth transmission pattern, the fifth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the fourth transmission pattern and the sixth transmission pattern, the sixth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the fifth transmission pattern and the seventh transmission pattern, the seventh transmission pattern is sandwiched between the sixth transmission pattern and the eighth transmission pattern, the eighth transmission pattern is sandwiched between the first transmission pattern and the seventh transmission pattern, and a total transmission pattern of the plurality of antennas extends over a 360-degree range; and

a processor configured to;

(a) control the first antenna to operate in the first state and a first session;

(b) subsequent to (a), control the second antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(c) subsequent to (b), control the third antenna to operate in the second state and a first session;

(d) subsequent to (c), control the fourth antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(e) subsequent to (d), control the fifth antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(f) subsequent to (e), control the sixth antenna to operate in the first state and the first session;

(g) subsequent to (f), control the seventh antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(h) subsequent to (g), control the eighth antenna to operate in the second state and the first session;

(i) subsequent to (h), control the first antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(j) subsequent to (a), control the second antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(k) subsequent to (b), control the third antenna to operate in the first state and a second session;

(l) subsequent to (c), control the fourth antenna to operate in the first state and the second session;

(m)sub sequent to (d), control the fifth antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(n) subsequent to (e), control the sixth antenna to operate in the second state and the second session;

(o) subsequent to (f), control the seventh antenna to operate in the first state and the second session;

(p) subsequent to (g), control the eighth antenna to operate in the first state and the second session,

wherein during operation each of the plurality of antennas is configured to read an RFID tag within a range of the antenna when a state of the RFID tag for the session in which the antenna is configured to operate matches the state in which the antenna is configured to operate during the session and to switch the state of the RFID tag to the opposite state for the session in which the antenna is configured to operate.