RFID Asset Tracking Method and Apparatus
First Claim
1. A system for detecting, in an equipment rack comprising a plurality of slots, the presence and specific slot of devices bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag in the rack, the system comprising:
- a plurality of resonator circuits, each resonator circuit corresponding to and disposed adjacent to a slot in the equipment rack;
a first circuit for driving the plurality of resonator circuits with a drive signal for exciting RFID tags via magnetic field excitation;
a multiplexer having a plurality of input terminals, each input terminal coupled to one of the plurality of resonator circuits, and an output terminal; and
a signal processing circuit coupled to the output terminal of the multiplexer for reading the signals of the resonator circuits and determining the identification of any RFID tags excited by the resonator circuits.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for detecting the presence and precise location of a device bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag comprising a plurality of resonators, a first circuit for driving the plurality of resonators with a low frequency drive signal for exciting nearby RFID tags via magnetic field excitation, a multiplexer having a plurality of input terminals, each input terminal coupled to one of the plurality of resonators, and an output terminal, and a signal processing circuit coupled to the output terminal of the multiplexer for reading the signals of the resonators and determining the identification of any RFID tags excited by the resonators.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system for detecting, in an equipment rack comprising a plurality of slots, the presence and specific slot of devices bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag in the rack, the system comprising:
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a plurality of resonator circuits, each resonator circuit corresponding to and disposed adjacent to a slot in the equipment rack; a first circuit for driving the plurality of resonator circuits with a drive signal for exciting RFID tags via magnetic field excitation; a multiplexer having a plurality of input terminals, each input terminal coupled to one of the plurality of resonator circuits, and an output terminal; and a signal processing circuit coupled to the output terminal of the multiplexer for reading the signals of the resonator circuits and determining the identification of any RFID tags excited by the resonator circuits. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A modular system for detecting the presence and location of devices bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the system comprising:
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a plurality of interrogator modules, each interrogator module comprising a plurality of resonators, a serial cascadable multiplexer having a plurality of input terminals, each input terminal coupled to one of the plurality of resonators, and an output terminal, a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector for electrically coupling the plurality of modules in series with each other; a first circuit for driving the plurality of resonators with a drive signal for exciting RFID tags via magnetic field excitation; and a controller for coupling to the output terminals of the multiplexers of the series-connected strips adapted to read signals of the resonators and determine the identification of any RFID tags excited by the coils. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of detecting the presence and location of devices bearing a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the method comprising:
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providing a plurality of interrogator modules, each interrogator module comprising a plurality of resonator circuits, each resonator circuit including at least a coil, a serial cascadable multiplexer having a plurality of input terminals, each input terminal coupled to one of the plurality of resonator circuits, and an output terminal, a first electrical connector and a second electrical connector for electrically coupling the plurality of modules in series with each other; driving the plurality of resonator circuits with a drive signal for exciting RFID tags; and sequentially reading signals of the resonator circuits to determine the identification of any RFID tags excited by the coils. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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Specification