INTEGRATED SOLUTION FOR SENSOR INTERFACE FOR MONITORING THE ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS BY MEANS OF RFID TECHNOLOGIES

• US 20100060449A1
• Filed: 11/29/2007
• Published: 03/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Montalbano Technology SPA
• Original Assignee: Montalbano Technology SPA
• Inventors: Oriana, Giuseppe, Grosso, Daniele, Lertora, Francesco
• Granted Patent: US 8,035,512 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.260
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 15/00 Tags attached to, or associated with, an object, in order to enable detection of the object record carriers for use with machines having a detectable tag or marker G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0717 the sensor being capable of sensing environmental conditions such as temperature history or pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier

Abstract

Integrated device comprising: a microprocessor unit (1) which is interfaced to a program memory unit (2), a data memory unit (3), one or more integrated sensors (11), one or more external sensors (12) which may be either digitally or analogically interfaced, an RFID unit (7, 107), an RTC (Real Time Clock) synchronization module (5, 105) which can also control power supply means (13), said device further comprising a power supply and consumption management logic.

Claims

1. Integrated device comprising:

a microprocessor unit (1) which is interfaced to a program memory unit (2), a data memory unit (3), one or more integrated sensors (11), one or more external sensors (12) which may be either digitally or analogically interfaced, an RFID unit (7, 107), an RTC (Real Time Clock) synchronization module (5, 105) which can also control power supply means (13), said device further comprising a power supply management logic.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the program memory unit (2) is interfaced to the microprocessor unit through a multiplexer (102), which controls the alternating access to said program memory unit (2) by either said microprocessor unit (1) or an interface (107) of the RFID unit (7).

3. Device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the data memory unit (3) is interfaced to the microprocessor unit (1) and the RFID interface (107) through an arbiter unit (103) which regulates the access to said data memory

unit (3).

4. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a start (“

boot”

) code of the microprocessor unit (1) is contained in a ROM (Read Only Memory) memory unit (8).

5. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least one integrated sensor (11) is provided, said at least one integrated sensor (11) comprising an appropriate interface to said microprocessor unit (1).

6. Device according to claim 5, wherein said integrated sensor (11) is a temperature sensor.

7. Device according to any one of preceding claims, wherein two different interfaces (501, 601) are provided for the external sensors, said interfaces being an analog interface (601) and a digital interface (501) respectively.

8. Device according to claim 7, wherein the analog interface is of differential type, the inputs of said analog interface being provided with equalizer/adapter circuits for connection of external analog sensors (12).

9. Device according to claim 8, wherein said equalizer/adapter circuits comprise operational amplifiers.

10. Device according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein said analog interface is connected to an analog-digital conversion circuit comprising:

an analog-digital converter (40) wherein high voltage VH (30) and low voltage VL (31)

references are controlled by a gain factor (32), the common mode of the differential input being controlled by an offset parameter (33).

11. Device according to claim 10, wherein a multiplexer (23) is inserted upstream the converter (40) to discriminate between the signal (152) from the integrated sensors (11) and the differential signal (611) from the analog interface (601).

12. Device according to any one of claim 10 or 11, wherein the voltage reference for all measurement circuits is provided by a specific module (138).

13. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the digital interface (501) is of serial type, and a two-line serial interface is particularly preferred for data and synchronism respectively.