Fast hop frequency hopping protocol

• US 20090257474A1
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Keystone Technology Solutions, LLC
• Inventors: Tuttle, John R.
• Application Number:
  US12/103,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20090257474A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/133
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/713 using frequency hopping

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for a fast hop frequency hopping protocol. A method includes transmitting from a radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogator a continuous wave un-modulated radio frequency (RF) signal conforming to a fast hop frequency hopping protocol in which each hop of a plurality of hops spans at least one bit but less than the totality of bits to be sent from a single RFID device data in a single communications session.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

transmitting from a radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogator a continuous wave un-modulated radio frequency (RF) signal conforming to a fast hop frequency hopping protocol in which each hop of a plurality of hops spans at least one bit but less than the totality of bits to be sent from a single RFID device data in a single communications session.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

sending one or more commands to cause a RFID device to reply; and

transmitting a continuous wave un-modulated RF signal conforming to the fast hop frequency hopping protocol while listening for a RFID device response.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

receiving a RFID device response; and

reporting the RFID device response to a computer linked to the RFID interrogator.

4. The method of claim 3 in which receiving comprises:

tracking data returned from the RFID device during a hop;

reconstructing the returned data after RF signal transmission is completed.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises a frequency synthesizer using a digital waveform reconstruction with direct memory access (DMA) for frequency hopping spread spectrum (FH-SS) communications systems.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises:

frequency hops occurring at rates of up to 10 MHz to 50 MHz for operation complying with 900 MHz Part 15 rules; and

frequency hops occurring up to 100 MHz for operation complying with 2.45 GHz Part 15 rules.

7. A method comprising:

in a radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogator, transmitting a command using a communication protocol to a RFID device; and

receiving a response from the RFID device conforming to a fast hop frequency hopping protocol.

8. The method of claim 7 in which the command comprises a parameter indicating a number of repetitions.

9. The method of claim 7 in which the command comprises a parameter indicating a hop rate.

10. The method of claim 7 in which the command comprises a parameter indicating a timing pulse parameter.

11. A radio frequency identification (RFID) interrogator comprising:

an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit coupled to a radio frequency (RF) transmitter through a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the RF transmitter transmitting a continuous wave un-modulated radio frequency RF signal conforming to a fast hop frequency hopping protocol in which each hop of a plurality of hops at least spans one bit but less than the totality of bits to be sent from a single RFID device data in a single communication session.

12. The RFID interrogator of claim 11 in which the RF receiver enables receiving a RFID device response.

13. The RFID interrogator of claim 11 wherein the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises a frequency synthesizer using a digital waveform reconstruction with direct memory access (DMA) for frequency hopping spread spectrum (FH-SS) communications systems.

14. The RFID interrogator of claim 11 wherein the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises:

frequency hops occurring at rates of up to 10 MHz to 50 MHz for operation complying with 900 MHz Part 15 rules; and

frequency hops occurring up to 100 MHz for operation complying with 2.45 GHz Part 15 rules.

15. A radio frequency identification (RFID) device comprising:

an antenna linked to a transmit/receiving circuit, the transmit/receiving circuit configured to receive a continuous wave un-modulated radio frequency (RF) signal from a RFID interrogator, the RF signal conforming to a fast hop frequency hopping protocol in which each hop of a plurality of hops spans at least one bit but has then the totality of bits to be sent from a single RFID device data in a single commitment session; and

a microcontroller linked to the transmit/receiving circuit.

16. The RFID device of claim 15 in which the transmit/receiving circuit is further configured to transmit a RF signal conforming to the fast hop frequency hopping protocol in response to receiving the RF signal from the RFID interrogator.

17. The RFID device of claim 15 wherein the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises a frequency synthesizer using a digital waveform reconstruction with direct memory access (DMA) for frequency hopping spread spectrum (FH-SS) communications systems.

18. The RFID device of claim 15 in which the fast hop frequency hopping protocol comprises:

frequency hops occurring at rates of up to 10 MHz to 50 MHz for operation complying with 900 MHz Part 125 rules; and

frequency hops occurring up to 100 MHz for operation complying with 2.45 GHz Part 15 rules.