METHODS AND SYSTEMS OF DETERMINING PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH OBJECTS TAGGED WITH RFID TAGS

• US 20080238686A1
• Filed: 03/28/2007
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Tuttle, John R.
• Granted Patent: US 7,880,618 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.7
• 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 19/07786 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 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10435 the interrogation device being positioned close to a conveyor belt or the like on which moving record carriers are passing conveying in accordance with bodily destination marks, see B65G47/46, sorting of objects carrying identity markings, see B07C5/34

Abstract

Methods and systems of determining physical characteristics associated with objects tagged with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are methods comprising receiving an electromagnetic signal transmitted by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag coupled to an object (the receiving the electromagnetic signal in response to an interrogating signal), and determining orientation of the object based, at least in part, on the electromagnetic signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving an electromagnetic signal transmitted by a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag coupled to an object, the receiving the electromagnetic signal in response to an interrogating signal; and

determining orientation of the object based, at least in part, on the electromagnetic signal.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 wherein determining orientation further comprises determining rotational orientation of the object.

7. The method as defined in claim 6 wherein determining rotational orientation of the object further comprises transmitting the electromagnetic signal with a particular polarization, the polarization indicating the rotational orientation of the object.

8. The method as defined in claim 1 further comprising determining whether the object is in motion.

2. The method as defined in claim 2 further comprising sending the interrogating signal to the RFID tag.

3. The method as defined in claim 2 wherein determining orientation further comprises determining which side of the object tag substantially faces a reading antenna.

4. The method as defined in claim 3 wherein determining which side of the object substantially faces the reading antenna further comprises transmitting a value encoded in the electromagnetic signal, the value indicating which side of the object faces the reading antenna.

5. The method as defined in claim 3 wherein determining which side of the object substantially faces the reading antenna further comprises transmitting the electromagnetic signal with a particular polarization, the polarization indicating which side of the dual-sided patch antenna substantially faces the reading antenna.

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

a RFID tag configured to couple to an object;

a reading antenna in operational relationship to at least a portion of the RFID tag; and

a reader circuit coupled to the reading antenna;

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna.

10. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 further comprising an electronic system coupled to the reader circuit, wherein the electronic system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna.

11. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 wherein the reader circuit is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna.

12. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

wherein the RFID tag further comprises an RFID tag having a dual-sided patch antenna, wherein each patch of the dual-sided patch defines a face of the RFID tag, each face of the RFID tag associated with a face of the object, and each patch transmits an electromagnetic signal containing a data value when interrogated; and

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna based on the data value encoded in the electromagnetic signal.

13. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

wherein the RFID tag further comprises;

a dual-sided patch antenna, wherein each patch of the dual-sided patch defines a face of the RFID tag system, each face of the RFID tag associated with a face of the object; and

wherein a first patch of the dual-sided patch antenna transmits an electromagnetic signal having a first polarization, and the second patch of the dual-sided patch antenna transmits an electromagnetic signal having a second polarization different than the first polarization; and

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna based on polarization of an electromagnetic signal received by the reading antenna.

14. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

wherein the RFID tag further comprises;

a first RFID tag coupled to a first face of the object

a second RFID tag coupled to a second face of the objection an RFID tag having a dual-sided patch antenna, each patch of the dual-sided patch defining a face of the RFID tag, and each patch transmits an electromagnetic signal containing a data value when interrogated;

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna based on based on the data value encoded in the electromagnetic signal.

15. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 further comprising:

wherein the RFID tag further comprises;

a first RFID tag coupled to a first face of the object, the first RFID tag transmits an electromagnetic signal having a first polarization; and

a second RFID tag coupled to a second face of the object, the second RFID transmits an electromagnetic signal having a second polarization different than the first polarization; and

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna based on based on polarization of an electromagnetic signal received by the reading antenna.

16. The RFID system as defined in claim 9 wherein the RFID system is configured to determine orientation of the object in relation to the reading antenna based on based on the polarization of an electromagnetic signal transmitted by the RFID tag.

17. The RFID system as defined in claim 16 further comprising:

wherein the reading antenna comprises;

a first antenna having a first polarization; and

a second antenna having a second polarization different than the first polarization;

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine polarization of the electromagnetic signals based, at least in part, on which of the first or second antennas have greater received signal strength indication (RSSI) for the electromagnetic signal.

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

a RFID tag configured to couple to an object;

a reading antenna in operational relationship to the RFID tag; and

a reader circuit coupled to the reading antenna;

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine rotational orientation of the object.

19. The system as defined in claim 18 wherein the RFID system is configured to determine rotational orientation of the RFID tag based on polarization of an electromagnetic signal transmitted by the RFID tag.

20. The system as defined in claim 19 further comprising:

wherein the reading antenna comprises;

a first antenna having a first polarization; and

a second antenna having a second polarization different than the first polarization;

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine rotational orientation of the object based, at least in part, on portions of the electromagnetic signal received by each of the first and second reading antennas.

21. The system as defined in claim 20 further comprising:

wherein the first antenna has a vertical polarization;

wherein the second antenna has a horizontal polarization; and

wherein the RFID system is configured to determine that the RFID tag has a substantially vertical rotational orientation when the signal strength detected by the first antenna is substantially greater than the signal strength detected by the second antenna.

22. The system as defined in claim 21 wherein the RFID system is configured to determine that the RFID tag has a substantially horizontal rotational orientation when the signal strength detected by the second antenna is substantially greater than the signal strength detected by the second antenna.

23. The RFID system as defined in claim 18 further comprising:

an electronic system coupled to the reader circuit;

wherein one of the reader circuit or the electronic system is configured to determine whether the RFID tag is in motion.