Method to address security and privacy issues of the use of RFID systems to track consumer products

• US 20020116274A1
• Filed: 02/21/2001
• Published: 08/22/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Holdings Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Hind, John R., Mathewson, James M. II, Peters, Marcia L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,000,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/23
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07758 arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07779 the inductive antenna being a coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/201 Price look-up processing, e.g. updating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/208 Input by product or record sensing, e.g. weighing or scanner processing

Abstract

A method, system, apparatus, and computer program product for using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology to store product information in tags attached to items of merchandise is disclosed. The RFID tagging scheme of the present invention prevents tampering with stored information, global tracking of customers and their purchased items, and pricing mistakes made at the point of sale.

Claims

1. A method for secure electronic labeling, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length, the first memory being part of a machine-readable identification device;

(b) writing a type to a second memory in the machine-readable identification device; and

(c) responsive to steps (b) and (c), imposing a first access control rule upon the first memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first access control rule is that if the first memory is rewritten to, the length of the first memory is reduced to a predetermined size.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the machine-readable identification device comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first access control rule is that the first memory may not be rewritten.

5. The method of claim 3, comprising the step of (d) selecting the first access control rule from a plurality of access control rules.

6. A method for secure electronic labeling, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length;

(b) writing a type to a second memory;

(c) reading a request to overwrite the first memory;

(d) responsive to step (c), if the type is of a first kind, disallowing overwriting of the first memory;

(e) responsive to step (c), if the type is of a second kind, overwriting the first memory and shortening the length of the first memory;

(f) responsive to step (c), if the type is of a third kind, overwriting the first memory with new data and adjusting the length of the first memory to fit the new data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein in step (e) the length of the first memory is shortened to a predetermined size.

8. A method for secure electronic labeling, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length, the first memory being part of a machine-readable identification device;

(b) associating a type value with the first memory such that an access control rule is imposed upon the first memory, in accordance with the type value.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the access control rule is such that if the first memory is rewritten to, the length of the first memory is reduced to a predetermined size.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein step (b) is executed in response to an execution of step (a).

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the machine-readable identification device is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the access control rule is such that the first memory may not be rewritten to.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the first access control rule is that if the first memory is rewritten to, the length of the first memory is reduced to a predetermined size.

15. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the machine-readable identification device is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the first access control rule is that the first memory may not be rewritten to.

17. The computer program product of claim 15, comprising instructions for (d) selecting the first access control rule from a plurality of access control rules.

19. The computer program product of claim 18, wherein in the instructions for (e), the length of the first memory is shortened to a predetermined size.

13. A computer program product, in a computer-readable medium, for secure electronic labeling, the computer program product comprising instructions for:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length, the first memory being part of a machine-readable identification device;

(b) writing a type to a second memory in the machine-readable identification device; and

(c) responsive to the instructions for (b) and (c), imposing a first access control rule upon the first memory.

18. A computer program product, in a computer-readable medium, for secure electronic labeling, the method comprising instructions for:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length;

(b) writing a type to a second memory;

(c) reading a request to overwrite the first memory;

(d) responsive to the instructions for (c), if the type is of a first kind, disallowing overwriting of the first memory;

(e) responsive to the instructions for (c), if the type is of a second kind, overwriting the first memory and shortening the length of the first memory;

(f) responsive to the instructions for (c), if the type is of a third kind, overwriting the first memory with new data and adjusting the length of the first memory to fit the new data.

20. A computer program product, in a computer-readable medium, for secure electronic labeling, comprising instructions for:

(a) writing a value to a first memory having a length, the first memory being part of a machine-readable identification device;

(b) associating a type value with the first memory such that an access control rule is imposed upon the first memory, in accordance with the type value.

21. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the access control rule is such that if the first memory is rewritten to, the length of the first memory is reduced to a predetermined size.

22. The computer program product of claim 21, wherein the instructions for (b) are executed in response to an execution of the instructions for (a).

23. The computer program product of claim 20, wherein the machine-readable identification device is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

24. The computer program product of claim 23, wherein the access control rule is such that the first memory may not be rewritten to.

26. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the access control rule is such that the value is written to memory, but the length of the memory is reduced to a predetermined size.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the memory is formed using the integrated circuit.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the controller is formed using the integrated circuit.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the communication unit is formed using the integrated circuit.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the apparatus is attached to a substrate.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the substrate is a flexible sheet material.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the substrate is an article of merchandise.

33. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the substrate is an item of packaging.

34. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the electromagnetic stimulus comprises light.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the electromagnetic stimulus comprises radio waves.

37. The apparatus of claim 34, comprising a photoelectric cell, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus through the photoelectric cell.

38. The apparatus of claim 34, comprising an antenna, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus through the antenna.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the antenna comprises a capacitive antenna.

40. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the predetermined size is three bytes.

41. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the access control rule is stored in a second memory.

42. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the access control rule is embodied in a logic circuit.

43. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the memory is configured to be read by the controller, and the communication unit is configured to receive data from the controller, and wherein the controller reads the value from the memory, the communication unit receives the value from the controller, and the communication unit transmits the value.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the communication unit transmits the value as electromagnetic radiation.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the electromagnetic radiation comprises light.

46. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein the electromagnetic radiation comprises radio waves.

47. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the access control rule is such that once the value is written to the memory, the memory may not be rewritten to.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the memory is formed using the integrated circuit.

49. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the controller is formed using the integrated circuit.

50. The apparatus of claim 26, comprising an integrated circuit, wherein the communication unit is formed using the integrated circuit.

51. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the apparatus is attached to a substrate.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the substrate is a flexible sheet material.

53. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the substrate is an article of merchandise.

54. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein the substrate is an item of packaging.

55. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus.

56. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the electromagnetic stimulus comprises light.

57. The apparatus of claim 55, wherein the electromagnetic stimulus comprises radio waves.

58. The apparatus of claim 55, comprising a photoelectric cell, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus through the photoelectric cell.

59. The apparatus of claim 55, comprising an antenna, wherein the communication unit receives the value as an electromagnetic stimulus through the antenna.

60. The apparatus of claim 59, wherein the antenna comprises a capacitive antenna.

61. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the access control rule is stored in a second memory.

62. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the access control rule is embodied in a logic circuit.

63. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the memory is configured to be read by the controller, and the communication unit is configured to receive data from the controller, and wherein the controller reads the value from the memory, the communication unit receives the value from the controller, and the communication unit transmits the value.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the communication unit transmits the value as electromagnetic radiation.

65. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the electromagnetic radiation comprises light.

66. The apparatus of claim 64, wherein the electromagnetic radiation comprises radio waves.

68. The system of claim 67, wherein the machine-readable tag comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

69. The system of claim 67, wherein the list price is stored as read-only data.

70. The system of claim 67, wherein the product code is stored as read-only data.

71. The system of claim 67, comprising a plurality of secondary readers, wherein the plurality of secondary readers track movement of the item of merchandise throughout a retail facility.

25. An apparatus for secure electronic labeling, comprising:

a communication unit;

a controller, configured to receive data from the communication unit;

a memory, having a length, and configured to be written to by the controller, wherein the communication unit receives a value, the controller receives the value from the communication unit, the controller evaluates an access control rule taken from a plurality of access control rules to determine whether the value should be written to the memory, and if the controller determines that the value should be written to the memory, the controller writes the value to the memory.

67. A system for processing retail transactions, the system comprising:

an item of merchandise, wherein the item of merchandise is tagged with a machine-readable tag, and the machine-readable tag stores a product code and a list price;

a reader for reading the machine-readable tag;

a point-of-sale terminal in connection with the reader; and

a database system in communication with the point-of-sale terminal,

wherein the reader reads the product code and the list price from the machine-readable tag, the point-of-sale terminal locates an offering price corresponding to the product code in the database, the point-of-sale terminal compares the list price with the offering price, and if the two prices are within a predetermined amount of each other, the point-of-sale terminal records the item of merchandise as being purchased, otherwise the point-of-sale terminal notifies a user of a price discrepancy.

72. A system for inventory control, the system comprising:

an item, wherein the item is tagged with a machine-readable tag, and the machine-readable tag stores a tracking number, wherein the machine-readable tag stores a length associated with the tracking number;

a reader for reading the machine-readable tag;

a writer for writing the machine-readable tag; and

a data processing system in communication with the reader and the writer,

wherein the reader reads the tracking number from the tag, the data processing system stores the tracking number, the writer shortens the length, and the writer writes a new tracking number to the machine-readable tag.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein the machine-readable tag comprises a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag.

74. The system of claim 72, wherein the data processing system is a point-of-sale terminal.

75. The system of claim 72, wherein the writer authenticates itself to the machine-readable tag before writing to the machine-readable tag.

76. The system of claim 72, comprising a second reader positioned in front of an exit, wherein if the machine-readable tag is read by the second reader and the machine-readable tag has not had the length of the tracking number shortened, the second reader triggers a theft alarm.

77. The system of claim 72, comprising a plurality of secondary readers, wherein the plurality of secondary readers track movement of the item throughout a geographic area.

78. The system of claim 72, wherein the item is a pharmaceutical product.

79. The system of claim 78, comprising a plurality of secondary readers, wherein the plurality of secondary readers track movement of the item throughout a health-care facility.