Method for identifying a plurality of transponders located in a space by a reader having several antennae

• US 20060164212A1
• Filed: 09/26/2003
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: EM Microelectronic - Marin SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Original Assignee: EM Microelectronic - Marin SA (The Swatch Group AG)
• Inventors: Roz, Thierry, Stiglic, Maksimilijan
• Application Number:
  US10/530,201
• Publication Number:
  US 20060164212A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.200
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10029 the collision being resolved in the time domain, e.g. using binary tree search or RFID responses allocated to a random time slot
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles

Abstract

The invention concerns a method for identifying a plurality of passive transponders 6 using a reader comprising several antennae whose detection fields do not merge spatially and/or temporally, said transponders comprising an analogue 34 or digital 52 memory for storing binary information for a certain time interval in the absence of any reader feeding fields. For each antenna, the method sequentially implements an anti-collision protocol during which each identified transponder is set in a “silent” mode. The method provides for this information to be stored in said memory of each transponder for a time interval including at least the switching period between a first antenna and a second antenna of the reader. This prevents detection of the same transponders by several antennae, which makes the identification method quicker and more efficient.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method for identifying a plurality of passive transponders located in a detection space of a reader having at least a first antenna (Z) and a second antenna (Y) whose respective transmission-reception fields are not merged spatially and/or temporally, said method implementing an anti-collision protocol for each of the antennae during which each transponder identified by a given antenna is then set in a “

silent”

mode during the protocol associated with said antenna, wherein in each transponder there is provided a memory arranged to keep its information without the reader field being powered only for a certain period of time, and wherein information is stored in said memory concerning the state of identification of the transponder concerned, in particular the fact of activating the “

silent”

mode, at least at the end of the anti-collision protocol associated with said first antenna, said information being kept by at least the transponders identified by said first antenna at least for an interval of time including the period of switching from the first antenna to said second antenna during which there is no supply field for the transponders.

9. The identification method according to claim 8, wherein said memory is an analogue memory arranged to be able to keep binary information, said interval of time being of the order of ten seconds.

10. The identification method according to claim 9, wherein said analogue memory is formed by a capacitor integrated in the analogue part of the electronic circuit of the transponder.

11. The identification method according to claim 8, wherein said memory is an analogue memory, said interval of time being of the order of a minute to ten minutes.

12. The identification method according to claim 11, wherein said analogue memory includes a capacitor formed by a discrete element electrically connected to the analogue part of the electronic circuit of the transponder.

13. The identification method according to claim 8, wherein each of the transponders includes a logic circuit and a power-on-reset circuit (POR) for said logic circuit and wherein said memory is a digital memory, the latter being arranged in parallel with a capacitor such that, when the supply voltage of the transponder becomes lower than a given threshold, said power-on-reset circuit does not reset said logic memory but commands a switch to electrically insulate said logic memory and said loaded capacitor.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein, at input, said logic memory can receive a control signal provided by said logic circuit to initialise said logic memory selectively.