Method for selecting transponders

• US 20050128130A1
• Filed: 01/15/2003
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 02/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Atmel Corporation (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Atmel Germany GmbH (Microchip Technology Incorporated)
• Inventors: Friedrich, Ulrich
• Granted Patent: US 7,102,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/42
• 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 7/10049 binary tree

Abstract

Known methods for the selection of transponders require a large time duration, because in this context the data transmitted according to the half-duplex principle. With the new method, the transponders can be identified with a small time expenditure through the transmission of the time duration of a reference interval, because the data are transmitted in the full-duplex principle.

Claims

1. Method for the selection of one or more transponders from a plurality of transponders by a base station (BS) by means of an electromagnetic wave, whereby

an information packet (IP) is modulated onto the electromagnetic wave, and the information packet (IP) comprises a header section (KO) and a data section (DA), and

the data section (DA) contains a data word with a sequence of bits, whereby one bit is allocated to the bit sequence respectively in a time interval (TX) generated from two successive clock pulses, and

an identification code embodied as a bit sequence is allocated to each transponder, and

the transponders are woken up by the base station by means of a log-on process, and as a result of the log-on process, a pointer in the transponders points to a first bit of the bit sequence of the identification code,

characterized in that

in a first step, the time duration of a reference interval (RI) is transmitted in the header section (KO) of an information packet (IP) transmitted by the base station,

in a second step, the time duration of the reference interval (RI) is stored in each transponder,

in a third step, at the beginning of the data section (DA) in a first time interval (TX) each transponder transmits the value of the first bit of the identification code,

in a fourth step, in each transponder at the end of the first time interval (TX) a comparison between time duration of the reference interval (RI) and the time duration of the first time interval (TX) is carried out,

in a fifth step, a value is allocated to a test bit from the result of the comparison,

in a sixth step, the transponders compares the value of the test bit with the value of the first bit transmitted in the first time interval (TX), and

the transponders, in which the value of the first bit of the bit sequence of the identification code differs from the value of the test bit, are switched into a standby or silent mode until the beginning of a further log-on process, and

the transponders, in which the value of the first bit of the bit sequence of the identification code corresponds with the value of the test bit, transmit the value of the second bit of the bit sequence of their identification code in a second time interval (TX).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that further transponders or exactly one transponder are selected through a comparison of further or all bits of the bit sequence of the identification code, in that the steps 4 to 6 are run-through multiple times, and after each run-through the number of the time interval (TX) and the number of the bit position of the identification code is increased by one.