Data format for efficient encoding and access of multiple data items in RFID tags

• US 20070276984A1
• Filed: 05/29/2007
• Published: 11/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, LLC (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Schuessler, Frederick
• Granted Patent: US 7,849,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/100
• 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

Abstract

Methods and systems for optimizing storage of data items in a memory of an radio frequency identification tag (RFID) are provided. The data structure for optimized storage includes a packed object having a length section including an indication of a number of identifiers in the packed object, an identifier section including a directory of indices representing an identifier for each data item contained within the packed object and a data section encoding a data portion associated with each data item included in the data section.

Claims

1. A data structure embodied in a tangible computer readable medium for optimizing storage of data items in a memory of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the data structure comprising:

a packed object including;

a length section including an indication of the number of identifiers in the packed object,

an identifier section including a directory of indices representing an identifier for each data item contained within the packed object; and

a data section encoding a data portion associated with each data item included in the identifier section.

2. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the identifier section includes a plurality of subsections.

3. The data structure of claim 1, further comprising:

an external directory, wherein a predefined bit pattern at a predefined memory location indicates the inclusion of an external directory in the data structure.

4. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the data section of the packed object includes a plurality of subsections.

5. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the packed object further includes an auxiliary identifier section, wherein the auxiliary identifier section includes additional information required to decode a data item contained with the packed object.

6. The data structure of claim 1, wherein the number of identifiers field is encoded as an extensible bit vector.

7. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:

an antenna;

control logic; and

a memory including a data structure embodied thereon, the data structure comprising;

a packed object including;

a length section including an indication of the number of identifiers in the packed object,

an identifier section including a directory of indices representing an identifier for each data item contained within the packed object; and

a data section encoding a data portion associated with each data item included in the identifier section.

8. A computing device, comprising:

a central processing unit; and

a memory including a data structure embodied thereon, the data structure comprising;

a packed object including;

a length section including an indication of the number of identifiers in the packed object,

an identifier section including a directory of indices representing an identifier for each data item contained within the packed object; and

a data section encoding a data portion associated with each data item included in the identifier section.