Interference monitoring in an RFID system

• US 20060022815A1
• Filed: 07/29/2005
• Published: 02/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quake Global, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Reva Systems Corp. (Quake Global, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fischer, Jeffrey H., Husak, David J., Krishna, Pattabhiraman
• Granted Patent: US 7,692,532 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/505
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02525 Gathering the radio frequency fingerprints
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0029 the arrangement being specially adapted for wireless interrogation of grouped or bundled articles tagged with wireless record carriers
• 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

A system and method for monitoring and characterizing various sources of RF interference within an RFID environment, and for adjusting the operational characteristics of an array of RFID readers within the system based on these interference characterizations. The system examines the received transmissions from readers in the network by controlling a calibration cycle or while they are operating as interrogators to determine interference parameters, and to verify the operation of the readers in the array. The system also examines outside sources of interference, and signal dependent interference. The interference characterization can also be estimated from a combination of calculations and co-monitoring.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag data acquisition system, comprising:

an RFID tag interrogator operative to transmit an RF interrogation signal for interrogating RFID tags;

at least one RFID receiver, said at least one RFID receiver including an RF receiver component for receiving RF signals and an RF monitoring component, said RF receiver component being operative to receive said RF interrogation signal transmitted by said RFID tag interrogator, said RF monitoring component being operative to determine at least one characteristic associated with said received RF interrogation signal; and

a controller communicably coupled to said RFID tag interrogator and said at least one RFID receiver;

said at least one RFID receiver being operative to generate information indicative of said at least one characteristic and to forward said information to said controller;

said controller being operative to utilize said information in at least one of;

a) a determination of the operational status of said RFID tag interrogator;

b) control of said RFID tag interrogator;

c) control of said RF signal receiver component; and

d) control of said RF monitoring component.