Distributed Antenna Array With Centralized Data Hub For Determining Presence And Location Of RF Tags
First Claim
1. A distributed antenna array system with a centralized data reader/transmitter for determining presence and location of RF tags comprising:
- at least one designated area in a facility;
a plurality of sub-areas in each of the designated areas;
a plurality of RF tags to be dispersed in each sub-area, each of the tags being associated with a particular object in the sub-area;
a single backscatter reader/transmitter (BRT) in each designated area; and
a distributed antenna array in the facility comprising;
at least one transmitting antenna electronically coupled to the single BRT and positioned to illuminate at least a portion of the plurality of the RF tags in each designated sub-area with a carrier signal containing;
a single RF signal receiving antenna in each sub-area; and
each of the single RF signal antenna in each sub-area receiving data from each of the RF tags in the sub-area that have been illuminated by the at least one BRT transmitting antenna and transferring the received tag data to the single hub.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A distributed antenna array with a centralized data hub for determining the presence and location of RF tags has been disclosed. This antenna array centralizes electronics and distributes the RF to zones in a facility to greatly reduce the expense of recurring components for monitoring RF tags. A single BRT/hub with multiple antennas attached to transmit and receive ports is used to cover an entire facility. Large facilities are covered by a small number of the BRT/hub combinations. The BRT/hub has transmit antennas coupled thereto, preferably by co-axial cable, that transmit signals to a portion or all of the RF tags and all or a portion of them modulate and reflect the RF signal to a particular receiving antenna. The receiving antenna then returns the RF signal with tag data to the BRT/hub, preferably by co-axial cable. Also disclosed is an RF backscatter tag that cleanly switches a resonant aperture antenna on and off, thereby greatly increasing the mark-to-space ratio of the backscatter data. This enables tags to be detected by the BRT at much greater distances.
-
Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A distributed antenna array system with a centralized data reader/transmitter for determining presence and location of RF tags comprising:
-
at least one designated area in a facility; a plurality of sub-areas in each of the designated areas; a plurality of RF tags to be dispersed in each sub-area, each of the tags being associated with a particular object in the sub-area; a single backscatter reader/transmitter (BRT) in each designated area; and a distributed antenna array in the facility comprising; at least one transmitting antenna electronically coupled to the single BRT and positioned to illuminate at least a portion of the plurality of the RF tags in each designated sub-area with a carrier signal containing; a single RF signal receiving antenna in each sub-area; and each of the single RF signal antenna in each sub-area receiving data from each of the RF tags in the sub-area that have been illuminated by the at least one BRT transmitting antenna and transferring the received tag data to the single hub. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of determining presence and location of RF tags using a distributed antenna array with a centralized data hub comprising the steps of:
-
selecting at least one designated area in a particular facility; selecting a plurality of sub-areas in each of the designated areas; placing a plurality of RF tags in each sub-area, each of the tags being associated with a particular object in the sub-area; placing a reader/transmitter in each designated area; and forming a distributed antenna array comprising the steps of; positioning at least one transmitting antenna in or near the designated area to illuminate at least a portion of the plurality of the RF tags in the sub-areas with communication data;
the transmitting antenna being electronically coupled to the single reader/transmitter; andplacing a single RF signal receiving antenna in each sub-area; and receiving data from each of the RF tags in each sub-area that has been illuminated by at least one transmitting antenna with the single RF signal receiving antenna and transferring the received data to the single hub for data transmission to a server for processing.
-
Specification