Radio frequency identification (RFID) based sensor networks
First Claim
1. An radio frequency (RF) addressable sensor comprising:
- one or more sensor elements;
a sensor interface having an analog to digital converter coupled to the one or more sensor elements;
at least one antenna;
an RF power and communication interface coupled to the at least one antenna and the sensor interface;
a controller coupled to the RF power and communications interface and the sensor interface; and
a memory coupled to the controller and the sensor interface, wherein the memory is configured to store a tag identification number;
wherein the RF addressable sensor communicates with a wireless device that is coupled to a communications network; and
wherein the wireless device communicates with the RF addressable sensor to obtain sensor data for transmission over the communications network.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An RF addressable sensor network architecture is provided. The RF addressable sensor network includes one or more RF addressable sensors, one or more wireless sensor readers coupled to a communications network, and one or more end user devices coupled to the communications network. The RF addressable sensor network may also include a sensor network processor. An RF addressable sensor includes one or more sensor elements, one or more antennas for communicating with the wireless sensor reader, an RF power and communications interface, and RFID control module, and a sensor interface. The wireless sensor reader includes one or more antennas, a user interface, a controller, a network communications module, and an RF addressable sensor logic module.
403 Citations
103 Claims
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1. An radio frequency (RF) addressable sensor comprising:
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one or more sensor elements;
a sensor interface having an analog to digital converter coupled to the one or more sensor elements;
at least one antenna;
an RF power and communication interface coupled to the at least one antenna and the sensor interface;
a controller coupled to the RF power and communications interface and the sensor interface; and
a memory coupled to the controller and the sensor interface, wherein the memory is configured to store a tag identification number;
wherein the RF addressable sensor communicates with a wireless device that is coupled to a communications network; and
wherein the wireless device communicates with the RF addressable sensor to obtain sensor data for transmission over the communications network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A wireless sensor reader comprising:
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at least one antenna configured for communication with one or more radio frequency (RF) addressable sensors;
a controller;
a network communications module coupled to the controller, the network communications module having an interface for coupling to a communications network;
a logic module coupled to the controller; and
a user interface, wherein the logic module includes a sensor communications module for receiving sensor data from the one or more RF addressable sensors. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A RF addressable sensor network, comprising:
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one or more RF addressable sensors;
one or more wireless sensor readers coupled to a communications network; and
one or more end user devices coupled to the communications network;
wherein the one or more wireless sensor readers communicate with the one or more RF addressable sensor to obtain sensor data for transmission over the communications network. - View Dependent Claims (59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A method in a wireless sensor reader for obtaining sensor data from one or more radio frequency (RF) addressable sensors and for communicating the sensor data over a communications network, comprising:
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(a) transmitting signals to the one or more RF addressable sensors wherein the signals initialize the one or more RF addressable sensors;
(b) interrogating the one or more RF addressable sensors to isolate an individual RF addressable sensor;
(c) receiving sensor data from the isolated RF addressable sensor;
(d) determining whether processing of the received sensor data is required;
(e) if it is determined in step (d) that no processing of the received sensor data is required, displaying the sensor data at the wireless sensor reader;
(f) if it is determined in step (d) that processing of the received sensor data is required, determining whether processing is to be performed at the wireless sensor reader;
(g) if it is determined in step (f) that processing of the received sensor data is to be performed at the wireless sensor reader, performing the steps of;
processing the received sensor data, and displaying the processed sensor data at the wireless sensor reader; and
(h) if it is determined in step (f) that processing of the received sensor data is not to be performed at the wireless sensor reader, performing the steps of;
communicating the received sensor data over the communications network to a network sensor processor, receiving processed sensor data, and displaying the processed sensor data at the wireless sensor reader. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76)
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77. A method in a radio frequency (RF) addressable sensor for communicating sensor data to a wireless sensor reader for transmission over a communications network, wherein the RF addressable sensor includes one or more sensor elements, comprising:
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(a) receiving signals from the wireless sensor reader;
(b) obtaining analog sensor data from at least one sensor element;
(c) converting the analog sensor data to digital sensor data; and
(d) communicating the digital sensor data to the wireless sensor reader for transmission over the communications network. - View Dependent Claims (78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 100)
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84. A sensor network for monitoring for the presence of hazardous agents within a geographic area, comprising:
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one or more RF addressable sensors wherein each RF addressable sensor includes at least one sensor element for detecting the presence of a hazardous agent;
one or more wireless sensor readers coupled to a communications network, wherein the wireless sensor readers obtain sensor data from the one or more RF addressable sensors; and
a centralized sensor network processor coupled to a communications network, wherein the centralized sensor network processor receives sensor data from the one or more wireless sensor readers. - View Dependent Claims (85, 86, 87)
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88. A method for monitoring a geographic area for the presence of hazardous agents, the method comprising:
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(a) distributing a plurality of RF addressable sensors over a geographic area;
(b) deploying one or more wireless sensor readers within the geographic area to read the plurality of RF addressable sensors;
(c) at each wireless sensor reader, initiating a read of the one or more RF addressable sensors, receiving sensor data from the one or more RF addressable sensors, and communicating the received sensor data to a centralized network sensor processor;
(d) determining whether the sensor data indicates the presence of a hazardous agent; and
(e) if it is determined that the sensor data indicates the present of a hazardous agent, performing geolocation to identify the location of the RF addressable sensor that communicated the sensor data.
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89. A sensor network for the remote monitoring of shipping containers, comprising:
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one or more packages, wherein each package includes one or more RF addressable sensors;
one or more shipping containers, wherein the one or more packages are loaded onto at least one of the one or more shipping containers for transport;
at least one transport vessel having a device for receiving sensor data from a wireless sensor reader; and
a centralized network monitoring processor for performing risk management on the received sensor data, wherein each shipping container includes one or more wireless sensor readers, wherein the wireless sensor readers obtain sensor data from the one or more RF addressable sensors, and wherein each RF addressable sensor includes at least one sensor element for detecting the presence of a hazardous agent. - View Dependent Claims (90, 91, 92)
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93. A sensor network for the remote monitoring of one or more individuals, comprising:
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one or more smart cards transported by at least one individual, wherein each smart card includes one or more RF addressable sensors;
at least one wireless sensor reader coupled to a communications network; and
one or more end user devices for remotely initiating a read of the RF addressable sensors over the communications network, wherein the at least one wireless sensor reader communicates with the one or more RF addressable sensors to obtain sensor data to communicate over the communications network, and wherein an individual has at least one smart card. - View Dependent Claims (94, 95)
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96. A sensor network for monitoring of the contents of an appliance, comprising:
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one or more items placed in the interior of the appliance;
one or RF addressable sensors coupled to each item;
one or more wireless sensor readers located within a read range of the RF addressable sensors and coupled to a communications network; and
an end-user device coupled to the communications network for initiating a read of the RF addressable sensors.
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97. A sensor network for monitoring structures, comprising:
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one or more RF addressable sensors wherein the RF addressable sensors are proximate to the support members of the structure;
one or more wireless sensor readers coupled to a communications network, wherein the wireless sensor readers obtain sensor data from the one or more RF addressable sensors; and
a centralized sensor network processor coupled to the communications network, wherein the centralized sensor network processor receives sensor data from the one or more wireless sensor readers over a communication network. - View Dependent Claims (98)
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99. A method in a wireless sensor reader for obtaining sensor data from one or more radio frequency (RF) addressable sensors, comprising:
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transmitting signals to the one or more RF addressable sensors wherein the signals initialize the one or more RF addressable sensors;
interrogating the one or more RF addressable sensors to isolate an individual RF addressable sensor;
receiving sensor data from the isolated RF addressable sensor, wherein the received sensor data includes sensor identification information;
communicating sensor identification information to a processor external to the wireless sensor reader;
receiving sensor data processing information; and
processing the sensor data based on the received processing information.
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101. A method in a wireless sensor reader for obtaining sensor data from one or more radio frequency (RF) addressable sensors, comprising:
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transmitting signals to the one or more RF addressable sensors, wherein the signals initialize the one or more RF addressable sensors;
interrogating the one or more RF addressable sensors to isolate an individual RF addressable sensor;
receiving sensor data from the isolated RF addressable sensor, wherein the received sensor data includes sensor processing information; and
processing the sensor data based on the received processing information. - View Dependent Claims (102)
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103. An radio frequency (RF) addressable sensor comprising:
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one or more sensor elements;
a sensor interface having an analog to digital converter coupled to the one or more sensor elements;
at least one antenna;
an RF power and communication interface coupled to the at least one antenna and the sensor interface;
a controller coupled to the RF power and communications interface and the sensor interface; and
a memory coupled to the controller and the sensor interface, wherein the memory is configured to store a tag identification number;
wherein the sensor interface includes a memory, the memory including a sensor data table.
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Specification