RFID COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS

• US 20090167499A1
• Filed: 11/19/2008
• Published: 07/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Nam, Kuang-Woo, Kim, Myung-Gun, KOO, Ji-Hun, Min, Young-Hoon, Koo, Si-Gyoung, Song, Il-Jong
• Granted Patent: US 8,723,647 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2213/13095 PIN / Access code, authentication

Abstract

A mobile terminal communicates with a base station to request channel allocation for RFID communication, receives a channel from the base station, and communicates with an RFID tag through the allocated channel.

Claims

1. An RFID communication method for a mobile terminal communicating with a base station, the method comprising:

requesting channel allocation to the base station for RFID communication;

allocating a channel from the base station; and

communicating with an RFID tag through the allocated channel.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the number of the allocated channels is one or plural.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocating the channel comprises allocating one or more channels each to plurality of operation times from the base station.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the communicating with the RFID tag through the allocated channel is carried out by one of frequency hopping and listen-before-talking schemes through the plural channels respective to the plural operation times.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the communicating the RFID tag comprises:

accessing the RFID tag through the allocated channel;

receiving tag identification from the RFID tag;

transmitting the tag identification to the base station; and

receiving service information from the base station in correspondence with the tag identification.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the allocating the channel comprises:

sending the channel allocation request from the base station to a control server for communication with the RFID tag; and

transmitting the allocated channel to the base station from the control server.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the communicating with the RFID tag comprises accessing the RFID tag through the allocated channel;

receiving tag identification from the RFID tag;

transmitting the tag identification to the control server from the base station;

transmitting service information to the base station from the control server in correspondence with the tag identification; and

receiving the service information from the base station in correspondence with the tag identification.

8. An RFID communication method of an RFID system including a control server, a bas station, and a mobile terminal, the method comprising:

sending a channel allocation request to the base station from the mobile terminal for communication with an RFID tag;

sending the channel allocation request to the control server from the base station for communication with the RFID tag;

transmitting an allocated channel to the base station from the control server;

transmitting the allocated channel to the mobile terminal from the base station; and

communication with the RFID tag through the allocated channel.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the number of the channels allocated by the control server is one or plural.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the allocated channel to the base station from the control server comprises transmitting one or more channels, which are allocated to the plurality of times, from the control server.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the communicating with the RFID tag is carried out by one of frequency hopping and listen-before-talking schemes through the plural channels respective to the plural times.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the communicating the RFID tag comprises:

accessing the RFID tag through the allocated channel;

receiving tag identification from the RFID tag;

transmitting the tag identification to the base station; and

receiving service information from the base station in correspondence with the tag identification.

13. An RFID system comprising:

a mobile terminal to access an external tag according to a selected one of channel and/or time allocations.

14. The RFID system of claim 13, wherein the mobile terminal accesses another external tag according to a selected another one of the channel and/or time allocations.

15. The RFID system of claim 13, wherein the mobile terminal comprises:

an output unit to output at least one of data, an image, and a sound; and

an interface unit to communicate with the external tag and to communicate with an external base station to receive the selected one of the channel and/or time allocations.

16. The RFID system of claim 15, wherein the mobile terminal comprises:

a memory unit to store the channel and/or time allocations.

17. The RFID system of claim 16, wherein the mobile terminal comprises:

a controller to control the interface unit to receive a signal from an external base station and to communicate with the external tag using the one of the channel and/or time allocations according to the received signal.

18. An RFID system comprising:

a base station to select one of channel and/or time allocations according to a request of a mobile terminal and to transmit the selected one to the mobile terminal such that the mobile terminal receives an RFID from a tag using the selected one of the channel and/or time allocations.

19. The RFID system of claim 18, wherein the base station selects another one of the channel and/or time allocations according to another request of another mobile terminal and to transmit the selected another one to the another mobile terminal such that the another mobile terminal receives another RFID from another tag using the selected another one of the channel and/or time allocations.

20. An RFID system comprising:

a mobile terminal to access an external tag; and

a base station to select one of channel and/or time allocations according to a request of the mobile terminal and to transmit the selected one to the mobile terminal such that the mobile terminal receives an RFID from the extern tag using the selected one of the channel and/or time allocations.

21. The RFID system of claim 20, further comprising:

a second mobile terminal to access a second external tag; and

a second base station to select a second one of second channel and/or time allocations according to a request of the mobile terminal and to transmit the selected one to the mobile terminal such that the mobile terminal receives an RFID from the extern tag using the selected one of the second channel and/or time allocations.