Vehicle identification tag and methods of verifying the validity of a vehicle identification tag

• US 20070096912A1
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Published: 05/03/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Rajan, Sundar
• Granted Patent: US 7,463,150 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.3
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/10 Registration, licensing, or like devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0776 the adhering arrangement being a layer of adhesive, so that the record carrier can function as a sticker
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/10 at least one kind of marking being used for authentication, e.g. of credit or identity cards verification of coded identity or credit cards in mechanisms actuated by them G07F7/12

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle identification tag and methods of verifying the validity of a vehicle identification tag. One embodiment provides a vehicle identification tag including a first portion having a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) tag and a second portion, where information on the first portion and information on the second portion assist a user in verifying that the vehicle identification tag is a valid vehicle identification tag.

Claims

1. A vehicle identification tag, comprising:

a first portion, wherein the first portion comprises a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag, wherein first information is stored on the RFID tag; and

a second portion, wherein the second portion includes second information;

wherein the first information stored on the RFID tag correlates with the second information on the second portion to allow a user to determine that the vehicle identification tag is a valid vehicle identification tag.

2. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the second portion of the vehicle identification tag is a renewable portion of the tag.

3. The vehicle identification tag of claim 2, wherein the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is a substantially permanent portion of the tag.

4. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the second information comprises alphanumeric information.

5. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein a separate database is used to determine if the first information stored on the RFID tag correlates with the second alphanumeric information on the second portion.

6. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the first information stored on the RFID tag is the same as the second information on the second portion.

7. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1 further comprising a first portion of adhesive having a first adhesive strength attached to the first portion of the vehicle identification tag and a second portion of adhesive having a second adhesive strength attached to the second portion of the vehicle identification tag, wherein the first adhesive strength is greater than the second adhesive strength.

8. The vehicle identification tag of claim 7, wherein the first adhesive strength has strength sufficient to damage the RFID tag when the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is subsequently removed from the vehicle.

9. The vehicle identification tag of claim 7 further comprising a third portion of adhesive having a third adhesive strength, wherein the RFID tag, comprises:

a substrate including a first major surface and a second major surface opposite the first major surface;

a radio frequency identification antenna attached to the first major surface of the substrate; and

an integrated circuit attached to the antenna; and

wherein the third adhesive strength is greater than the first adhesive strength, wherein the third portion of adhesive is attached to the integrated circuit, wherein the third adhesive strength has a strength sufficient to damage the RFID tag when the vehicle identification tag is subsequently removed from the vehicle.

10. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1 in combination with a vehicle, wherein the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is substantially permanently attached to the vehicle, and wherein the second portion of the vehicle identification tag is removably attached to the vehicle.

11. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the second portion of the tag comprises retroreflective sheeting.

12. The vehicle identification tag of claim 11, wherein the retroreflective article includes printed indicia of the second information.

13. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the radio frequency-identification tag includes printed indicia of the first information.

14. The vehicle identification tag of claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is tamper evident.

15. A method of verifying a valid vehicle identification tag, comprising the steps of:

providing a vehicle identification tag, comprising;

a first portion, wherein the first portion comprises a radio frequency identification (“

RFID”

) tag, wherein first information is stored on the RFID tag; and

a second portion, wherein the second portion includes second information;

interrogating the RFID tag to obtain the first information stored on the RFID tag;

reading the second information on the second portion; and

verifying that the first information stored on the RFID tag correlates with the second information on the second portion.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein if the first information stored on the RFID tag does not correlate with the second information on the second portion, then determining that the vehicle identification tag is not valid.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the second information comprises alphanumeric information.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is a substantially permanent portion of the tag.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the second portion of the vehicle identification tag is a renewable portion of the tag.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of:

attaching the vehicle identification tag to a vehicle;

removing the renewable portion of the tag; and

attaching a second renewable portion to the vehicle.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the second renewable portion of the tag includes information that is different from the information on the first renewable portion of the tag.

22. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of:

changing the first information stored on the RFID tag to correlate with the information on the second renewable portion.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

providing an RFID interrogator, wherein the RFID interrogator performs the interrogation and the verifying steps.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the RFID interrogator performs the reading step.

25. The method of claim 15, wherein a separate database stores correlation information between the first and second information, and wherein the database performs the verifying step.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the first information stored on the RFID tag is the same as the second information on the second portion.

27. The method of claim 15, wherein the vehicle identification tag further comprises a first portion of adhesive having a first adhesive strength attached to the first portion of the vehicle identification tag and a second portion of adhesive having a second adhesive strength attached to the second portion of the vehicle identification tag, wherein the first adhesive strength is greater than the second adhesive strength.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the first adhesive strength has strength sufficient to damage the RFID tag when the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is subsequently removed from the vehicle.

29. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:

attaching the vehicle identification tag to a vehicle, wherein the first portion of the vehicle identification tag is substantially permanently attached to the vehicle, and wherein the second portion of the vehicle identification tag is removably attached to the vehicle.