Method and apparatus for power management for a radio frequency identification system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) system comprising;
an RFID tag having a memory and an antenna;
an RFID reader logically coupled to said RFID tag and configured to communicate to said RFID tag, wherein said RFID reader includes;
a power management unit configured to provide energy conserving command for conserving power in response to ambient information from surrounding environment;
a digital processing controller coupled to said power management unit and configured to control communications between said RFID tag and said RFID reader; and
an interface unit coupled to said digital processing controller, wherein said interface unit is capable of entering a sleep state for conserving power in response to said energy conserving command.
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Abstract
A method and device of power management for a networked radio frequency identification (“RFID”) system are disclosed. The described power management methods reduce the power consumption of battery-operated RFID readers and RFID tags. These power conservation methods increase the RFID system'"'"'s hours of operation and decrease the cost by allowing the RFID readers and tags to function for a longer period of time before requiring charging or replacement of their batteries.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) system comprising;an RFID tag having a memory and an antenna; an RFID reader logically coupled to said RFID tag and configured to communicate to said RFID tag, wherein said RFID reader includes; a power management unit configured to provide energy conserving command for conserving power in response to ambient information from surrounding environment; a digital processing controller coupled to said power management unit and configured to control communications between said RFID tag and said RFID reader; and an interface unit coupled to said digital processing controller, wherein said interface unit is capable of entering a sleep state for conserving power in response to said energy conserving command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
- RFID”
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15. A method for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID reader, comprising;obtaining location information from a global positioning system (“
GPS”
);calculating a current location of said RFID reader according to said location information; retrieving a plurality of active RF reading zones relating to said current location of said RFID reader from a storage location of said RFID reader; determining whether said current location of said RFID reader is within said at least one zone of said plurality of active RF reading zones; and switching at least a portion of components of said RFID reader into a sleep state to conserve power if said current location of said RFID reader is outside of any of said plurality of active RF reading zones. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
- RFID”
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19. A method for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID system, comprising;activating a motion sensor in an RFID reader for sensing movement of said RFID reader; obtaining motion information from said motion sensor; retrieving predetermined standard moving information from a memory unit of said RFID reader; comparing said motion information with said predetermined standard moving information to identify whether said RFID reader is moving; providing a still signal if result of comparison between said motion information and said predetermined standard moving information indicates that said RFID reader is still; and switching at least a portion of said RFID reader to a sleep state for conserving power in response to said still signal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
- RFID”
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23. A method for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID system, comprising;activating a battery power sensor to monitor battery level of an RFID reader; acknowledging a low battery power signal from said battery power sensor when said battery level reaches a predefined level; activating a power conserving procedure in response to said low battery power signal; and filtering redundant tag reads and incomplete tag reads to conserve power before data transmission. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
- RFID”
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28. A method for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID system, comprising;identifying a first tag to be read; transmitting a first transmission power to read said first tag; transmitting a second transmission power which is higher frequency than said first transmission power to read said first tag if said first transmission power fails to read said first tag; and storing said second transmission power together with an identification of said first tag in a memory unit of an RFID reader for subsequent reads if said second transmission power reads said first tag correctly. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
- RFID”
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31. An apparatus for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID reader, comprising;means for obtaining location information from a global positioning system (“
GPS”
);means for calculating a current location of said RFID reader according to said location information; means for retrieving a plurality of active RF reading zones relating to said current location of said RFID reader from a storage location of said RFID reader; means for determining whether said current location of said RFID reader is within said at least one zone of said plurality of active RF reading zones; and means for switching at least a portion of components of said RFID reader into a sleep state to converse power if said current location of said RFID reader is outside of any of said plurality of active RF reading zones. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34)
- RFID”
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35. An apparatus for transmitting information relating to radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) in an RFID system, comprising;means for activating a motion sensor in an RFID reader for sensing movement of said RFID reader; means for obtaining motion information from said motion sensor; means for retrieving predetermined standard moving information from a memory unit of said RFID reader; means for comparing said motion information with said predetermined standard moving information to identify whether said RFID reader is moving; means for providing a still signal if result of comparison between said motion information and said predetermined standard moving information indicates that said RFID reader is still; and means for switching at least a portion of said RFID reader to a sleep state for conserving power in response to said still signal. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38)
- RFID”
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39. A radio frequency identification (“
- RFID”
) system comprising;an RFID reader having a memory and an antenna; an RFID tag, logically coupled to said RFID reader, having a power management unit configured to provide an energy conserving command for conserving power in response to activity of said RFID tag. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
- RFID”
Specification