RFID SYSTEM WITH RFID READERS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20100225445A1
• Filed: 02/12/2010
• Published: 09/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sepracor Incorporated, Xueshan Technologies Inc. (Wi-LAN Inc.)
• Original Assignee: MStar Semiconductor Incorporated (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: Huang, Chih-Hua
• Granted Patent: US 8,633,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• 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: G06K 7/10356 using a plurality of antennas, e.g. configurations including means to resolve interference between the plurality of antennas
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10475 arrangements to facilitate interaction with further interrogation devices, e.g. such that at least two interrogation devices may function and cooperate in a network of such devices

Abstract

A radio frequency identification (RFID) system includes a host, a signal translating device and a plurality of RFID readers. The signal translating device includes a network receiving/transmitting module and an RFID receiving/transmitting module. The network receiving/transmitting module receives a control signal via a network and generates a translated signal according to the control signal. The RFID receiving/transmitting module generates an access command according to the translated signal, and transmits the access command via an RF signal. The plurality of RFID readers selectively generates an access signal or a relay access command according to the access command.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) system, comprising:

a host, for generating a control signal;

a signal translating device, comprising;

a network receiving/transmitting module, receiving the control signal via a network and generating a translated signal according to the control signal; and

an RFID receiving/transmitting module, coupled to the network receiving/transmitting module, for generating an access command according to the translated signal and transmitting the access command via an RF signal; and

a plurality of RFID readers, for selectively generating an access signal or relaying the access command according to the access command.

2. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network receiving/transmitting module further comprises:

a network transmission protocol control module, for receiving and processing the control signal to generate an Internet protocol (IP) address; and

a network gateway module, coupled to the network transmission protocol control module, for generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

3. The RFID system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the network transmission protocol control module is configured to support N IP addresses, where N is a number of the plurality of RFID readers.

4. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein when one of the RFID readers receives the access command, the RFID reader determines whether a destination of the access command is the RFID reader itself, and the RFID reader generates the access signal when the destination is the RFID reader itself or relays the access command when the destination is not the RFID reader itself.

5. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network is a wired network or a wireless network.

6. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the RFID readers is an ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID reader.

7. The RFID system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of RFID readers are arranged according to a predetermined sequence, and each of the RFID readers lies within a signal transmission range of a previous RFID reader.

8. The RFID system as claimed in claim 7, wherein one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers receives the RF signal, the target RFID reader determines whether the RF signal corresponds to the target RFID reader and selectively transmits the RF signal according to the predetermined sequence.

9. The RFID system as claimed in claim 7, wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers wishes to transmit tag information to the host, the tag information is transmitted to the network gateway device in an sequence reverse to the predetermined sequence, and the signal translating device translates a format of the tag information and transmits the translated tag information to the host.

10. The RFID system as claimed in claim 9, wherein the target RFID reader accesses the tag information from a target tag.

11. A method for operating an RFID system, the RFID system comprising a host and a plurality of RFID readers, the operating method comprising:

generating a control signal by the host;

receiving the control signal via a network and generating a translated signal according to the control signal;

generating an access command according to the translated signal, and transmitting the access command via an RF signal; and

controlling the plurality of RFID readers to selectively generate an access signal or relay the access command according to the access command.

12. The operating method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the plurality of RFID readers are arranged according to a predetermined sequence, and each of the RFID readers lies within a signal transmission range of a previous RFID reader.

13. The operating method as claimed in claim 12, wherein when one target RFID reader from the plurality of RFID readers receives the RF signal, the target RFID reader determines whether the RF signal corresponds to the target RFID reader itself and selectively relays the RF signal according to the predetermined sequence.

14. The operating method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of generating the translated signal according to the control signal comprises:

processing the control signal to generate an IP address; and

generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

15. The operating method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the network is a wired network or a wireless network.

16. A signal translating device, applied to an RFID system, the signal translating device comprising:

a network receiving/transmitting module, for receiving a control signal via a network and generating a translated signal according to the control signal; and

an RFID receiving/transmitting module, coupled to the network receiving/transmitting module, for generating an access command according to the translated signal and transmitting the access command via an RF signal.

17. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the control signal is generated by a host of the RFID system, and the access command is transmitted in a predetermined sequence between a plurality of RFID readers of the RFID system.

18. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 16, wherein a plurality of RFID readers of the RFID system selectively generates an access signal or relay the access command according to the access command.

19. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the RFID system comprises a plurality of RFID readers, and the network receiving/transmitting module further comprises:

a network transmission protocol control module, for receiving and processing the control signal to generate an IP address; and

a network gateway module, coupled to the network transmission protocol control module, for generating the translated signal according to the IP address and a look-up table that records relationships between a plurality of IP addresses and the plurality of RFID readers.

20. The signal translating device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the network transmission protocol control module is configured to support N IP addresses, where N is a number of the RFID readers.