System and Method for Determining Location, Directionality, and Velocity of RFID Tags
First Claim
1. A tag tracking system, comprising:
- a first activation antenna and a second activation antenna;
one or more antenna control modules operable to generate a first wake-up signal to be transmitted by the first antenna and a second wake-up signal to be transmitted by the second antenna, the first wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the first antenna and the second wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the second antenna; and
one or more processing modules operable to;
receive at least a first identification signal and a second identification signal from a tag, the first identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the first wake-up signal and comprising a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the first wake-up signal, the second identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the second wake-up signal and comprising the tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the second wake-up signal;
access timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal;
access location information associated with the first and second antennas; and
determine a velocity of the tag based at least on the timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal and the location information associated with the first and second antennas.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In certain embodiments, a method for tracking tags includes transmitting wake-up signals from a number of activation antennas located throughout an environment. Each wake-up signal includes an antenna ID of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal. A plurality of identification signals are received from a tag, each identification signal generated in response to receipt by the tag of a wake-up signal from a corresponding antenna and including a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the wake-up signal of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal. A directionality of the tag is determined based on the sequence in which the plurality of identification signals are received from the tag.
163 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A tag tracking system, comprising:
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a first activation antenna and a second activation antenna; one or more antenna control modules operable to generate a first wake-up signal to be transmitted by the first antenna and a second wake-up signal to be transmitted by the second antenna, the first wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the first antenna and the second wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the second antenna; and one or more processing modules operable to; receive at least a first identification signal and a second identification signal from a tag, the first identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the first wake-up signal and comprising a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the first wake-up signal, the second identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the second wake-up signal and comprising the tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the second wake-up signal; access timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal; access location information associated with the first and second antennas; and determine a velocity of the tag based at least on the timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal and the location information associated with the first and second antennas. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for tracking tags, comprising:
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generating a first wake-up signal to be transmitted by a first antenna and a second wake-up signal to be transmitted by a second antenna, the first wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the first antenna and the second wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the second antenna; receiving at least a first identification signal from a tag, the first identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the first wake-up signal and comprising a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the first wake-up signal; receiving at least a second identification signal from the tag, the second identification signal received from the tag in response to the receipt by the tag of the second wake-up signal and comprising the tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the second wake-up signal; accessing timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal; accessing location information associated with the first and second antennas; and determining a velocity of the tag based at least on the timing information for the first identification signal and the second identification signal and the location information associated with the first and second antennas. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A tag tracking system, comprising:
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a plurality of activation antennas located throughout an environment, each activation antenna operable to transmit a wake-up signal, the wake-up signal transmitted by an activation antenna comprising an antenna ID of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal; and one or more processing modules operable to; receive a plurality of identification signals from a tag, each identification signal generated in response to receipt by the tag of a wake-up signal from a corresponding antenna and comprising a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the wake-up signal of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal; and determine a directionality of the tag based on the sequence in which the plurality of identification signals are received from the tag. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for tracking tags, comprising:
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transmitting wake-up signals from a plurality of activation antennas located throughout an environment, each wake-up signal comprising an antenna ID of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal; and receiving a plurality of identification signals from a tag, each identification signal generated in response to receipt by the tag of a wake-up signal from a corresponding antenna and comprising a tag ID of the tag and the antenna ID included in the wake-up signal of the antenna that transmitted the wake-up signal; and determining a directionality of the tag based on the sequence in which the plurality of identification signals are received from the tag. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification