APPLICATIONS FOR RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS

• US 20070011893A1
• Filed: 08/24/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Piotrowski, Chester, Nash, James, Jackson, Richard, Lindahl, Richard, Grunes, Mitchell, Yorkovich, John, Garber, Sharon, Kruse, John, Gonzalez, Bernard, Karel, Gerald
• Granted Patent: US 7,471,205 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 33/286
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07779 the inductive antenna being a coil
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07783 the coil being planar
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07786 the antenna being of the HF type, such as a dipole
• 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 7/10079 the collision being resolved in the spatial domain, e.g. temporary shields for blindfolding the interrogator in specific directions
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10386 the interrogation device being of the portable or hand-handheld type, e.g. incorporated in ubiquitous hand-held devices such as PDA or mobile phone, or in the form of a portable dedicated RFID reader
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0042 for hiring of objects
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0036 Checkout procedures
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0054 with control of supplementary check-parameters, e.g. weight or number of articles
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/009 the reader being an RFID reader
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2408 using ferromagnetic tags
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2411 Tag deactivation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2417 having a radio frequency identification chip
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2431 Tag circuit details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2457 Lending systems using EAS tags wherein the tags are reusable, e.g. they can be activated and deactivated more than once, e.g. for a library
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2485 Simultaneous detection of multiple EAS tags
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2216 : used in interrogator/reader equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2225 : used in active tags, i.e. provided with its own power source or in passive tags, i.e. deriving power from RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/364 : using a particular conducting material, e.g. superconductor
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 : Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 9/285 : Planar dipole H01Q9/065 takes precedence; patch antenna H01Q9/0407

Abstract

The present invention relates to RFID devices, including handheld RFID devices, and applications for such devices. The devices and applications may be used in connection with items that are associated with an RFID tag, and optionally a magnetic security element. The devices and applications are described with particular reference to library materials such as books, periodicals, and magnetic and optical media.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

automatically detecting a radio frequency identification (RFID) element associated with a patron card when the patron card enters an interrogation zone;

automatically detecting an RFID element associated with an item when the item enters the interrogation zone;

modifying a status of the item with respect to a patron associated with the patron card when the patron card enters the interrogation zone substantially simultaneously with the item entering the interrogation zone; and

updating a database to reflect the modified status of the item.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising updating information stored in a memory of the RFID element to indicate the modified status of the item.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the interrogation zone is a check-out zone, modifying the status of the item comprises checking the item out to the patron.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, when the interrogation zone is a check-in zone, modifying the status of the item comprises checking the item in from the patron.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone, wherein modifying the status of the item with respect to the patron comprises automatically checking out the item to the patron when the status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone is “

checked in.”

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone, wherein modifying the status of the item with respect to the patron comprises automatically checking in the item when the status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone is “

checked out.”

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein automatically interrogating the RFID element associated with the patron card comprises automatically interrogating an RFID element associated with a library card, and

wherein automatically interrogating the RFID element associated with the item comprises automatically interrogating an RFID element associated with a library item.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a magnetization operation on a magnetic security element associated with the item to activate or deactivate the magnetic security element.

9. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system comprising:

an RFID reader associated with an interrogation zone to interrogate RFID elements, wherein the RFID reader detects RFID elements respectively associated with a patron card and an item when the patron card and the item each enter the interrogation zone, and modifies a status of the item with respect to a patron associated with the patron card when the patron card enters the interrogation zone substantially simultaneously with the item; and

a database, wherein the RFID reader updates the database to reflect the modified status of the item.

10. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein the RFID reader updates information stored in a memory of the RFID element to indicate the modified status of the item.

11. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein when the interrogation zone is a check-out zone, the RFID reader modifies the status of the item by checking the item out to the patron.

12. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein when the interrogation zone is a check-in zone, the RFID reader modifies the status of the item by checking the item in from the patron.

13. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein the RFID reader determines a status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone, and automatically checks out the item to the patron when the status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone is “

checked in.”

14. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein the RFID reader determines a status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone, and automatically checks in the item when the status of the item when the item enters the interrogation zone is “

checked out.”

15. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein the patron card is a library card, and wherein the item is a library item.

16. The RFID system of claim 9, wherein the RFID system includes an interrogation source that produces a magnetic interrogation field to perform a magnetization operation on a magnetic security element associated with the item to activate or deactivate the magnetic security element.

17. A method of using a hand-held radio frequency identification (RFID) device comprising:

providing an RFID element associated with a library item, wherein the RFID element operates as both;

(1) to provide identification for the library item, and (2) to provide information for controlling secure removal of the library item from a library; and

interrogating, with the hand-held RFID device, the RFID element associated with the library item to determine an identification for the library item and update an inventory database with respect to the library item.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

controlling an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system to allow a library patron to remove the library item from the library without triggering an alarm.