Radio frequency data carrier and method and system for reading data stored in the data carrier

• US 20040159708A1
• Filed: 02/19/2003
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Inksure RF Incorporated
• Original Assignee: InkSure Inc.
• Inventors: Yogev, Amnon, Dukler, Shlomo
• Granted Patent: US 6,997,388 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/067 Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/0629 Holographic, diffractive or retroreflective recording
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves

Abstract

A radio frequency (RF) data carrier is presented. The RF data carrier comprises at least one diffraction element that has a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation and is responsive to RF irradiation, the response produced by the diffraction elements in the data carrier being indicative of machine-readable data carried by data carrier.

Claims

1. A radio frequency (RF) data carrier comprising at least one diffraction element, having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation and being responsive to RF irradiation, said response being indicative of machine-readable data carried by the data carrier.

2. The RF data carrier of claim 1 comprising a collection of the diffraction elements capable to produce a collection of diffraction patterns in response to irradiation with RF radiation, each pattern defining a symbol of a predetermined information code.

3. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein said diffraction elements are different from each other in either a shape or dimension, thereby enabling identification of the diffraction pattern of one element from those of the others.

4. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein dimension of said diffraction element is above 0.1 mm.

5. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein dimension of the diffraction element is above 0.1 mm.

6. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein the at least one diffraction elements is deposited on a substrate surface.

7. The RF data carrier of claim 6, where said at least one diffraction element is deposited onto the substrate surface by printing.

8. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein said at least one diffraction element is incorporated into the structure of an article with which the data carrier is associated.

9. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein said at least one diffraction element is made of a material capable of absorbing, scattering or reflecting the RF radiation.

10. The RF data carrier of claim 1 comprising a layer opaque to visible light and disposed over all the diffraction elements in the data carrier.

11. The RF data carrier of claim 6 comprising at least one additional substrate surface on which at least one additional diffraction element is located, said at least one additional diffraction element having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation.

12. The RF data carrier of claim 11, wherein the two substrate surfaces are the opposite surfaces of a common substrate layer.

13. The RF data carrier of claim 11 wherein said substrate layer is made of a material which is impermeable to the RF radiation of a first predetermined wavelength band, while being transparent to a second predetermined wavelength band of the RF spectrum.

14. The RF data carrier of claim 1 wherein the diffraction element is an interference pattern of RF radiation.

15. The RF data carrier of claim 14 wherein said interference pattern is created by computer-generated holography based technique.

16. The RF data carrier of claim 13 wherein said interference pattern is printed on a substrate layer.

17. A radio frequency (RF) data carrier comprising at least one diffraction element having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation and producing a response to RF irradiation indicative of machine-readable data stored in the data carrier, said RF data carrier being manufactured by printing said at least one diffraction elements into a substrate.

18. A radio frequency (RF) data carrier comprising a set of diffraction elements each having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation and being responsive to RF irradiation to produce a response in the form of diffraction pattern indicative of machine-readable data present a code of information stored in the data carrier.

19. A system for reading data in at least one RF data carrier, which comprises at least one diffraction element having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF electromagnetic radiation and producing a response to RF radiation indicative of data stored in the data carrier, the system comprising:

at least one RF radiation source for generating RF radiation to irradiate the RF data carrier; and

a detector responsive to diffraction patterns produced by the diffraction elements for generating signals indicative of the diffraction patterns to be converted into corresponding information codes.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said detector includes at least one sensor configured for receiving RF radiation and generating a signal indicative thereof, connectable to a control unit configured for processing said signal to covert it into the corresponding information code.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein said sensor is an area sensor including an array of sensing elements.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein at least one of the sensor, RF radiation source and data carrier is mounted for movement with respect to the other.

23. The system of claim 19 wherein said detector includes a plurality of sensors mounted around a location where the RF data carrier is to be placed when being read.

24. The system of claim 20 comprising at least one collimating element located in a path of the RF radiation propagating from the RF radiation source, or in a path of the RF response propagating towards the sensor.

25. A method of red data stored in at least one RF data carrier, which comprises at least one diffraction element having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation producing a response to RF radiation indicative of information code stored in the data carrier, the method comprising:

(i) irradiating the data carrier with the RF radiation, thereby producing said response in the form of diffraction patterns;

(ii) sensing said diffraction patterns and generating signals indicative thereof; and

(iii) converting said signals into corresponding information code, thereby determining said data from the diffraction patterns.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein the sensing of said diffraction patterns is carried out while moving a sensor in a desired trajectory relative to the RF data carrier.

27. The method of claim 25 wherein the sensing of said diffraction patterns is carried out by a plurality of sensors arranged around the RF data carrier.

28. The method of claim 25 wherein said irradiating comprises varying the frequency of the RF radiation.

29. The method of claim 25 wherein said irradiating comprises generating broadband pulses of the RF radiation.

30. A method of simultaneously reading data stored in a plurality of RF data carriers, each comprising at least one diffraction element having a dimension of the order of a wavelength of RF radiation and producing a response to the RF radiation in the form of a diffraction pattern indicative of a symbol of an information code, the method comprising:

(i) simultaneously irradiating the RF data carriers with the RF radiation to produce the diffraction patterns;

(ii) sensing said diffraction patterns and generating signals indicative thereof; and

(iii) converting said signals into the corresponding information code, thereby determining said data from said diffraction patterns.

31. The method of claim 30, comprising providing a relative displacement between a sensor of the diffraction patterns and an RF data carriers'"'"' containing site.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said displacement is rotation of the sensor or the RF data carriers'"'"' containing site with respect to one another.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein said displacement is a movement of the sensor towards and away from the RF data carriers'"'"' containing site.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein said displacement is a movement of the RF data carriers'"'"' containing site towards and away from the sensor.

35. The method of claim 30, wherein said irradiation comprises varying the frequency of the RF radiation.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein said irradiation comprises varying the frequency of the RF radiation.

37. The method of claim 30, wherein said sensing is carried out by a plurality of sensors accommodated around an RF data carriers'"'"' containing site.

38. The method of claim 30, comprising scanning an RF data carriers'"'"' containing site.

39. The method of claim 30, wherein said simultaneous irradiation of the RF data carriers comprises sequentially operating a plurality of RF sources to transmit RF radiation.