Visual RFID Tags and Interactive Visual RFID Networks

• US 20120286938A1
• Filed: 05/10/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omni-Id Limited (Assa Abloy AB)
• Inventors: Cote, Andre, Nabrotzky, Edmund S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,192,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0702 the arrangement including a battery
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07707 the visual interface being a display, e.g. LCD or electronic ink
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

RFID driven display system components such as wireless displays (visual RFID tags) and multi-antenna wireless RFID readers that monitor/control the RFID driven displays in order to provide visual real-time information to display viewers and/or provide useful information to a central processing station that monitors the status of and/or updates the RFID driven displays, networks including one or more of the components, and methods for using the RFID driven display system components to monitor assets in applications such as inventory control and manufacturing.

Claims

1. A dynamic visual RFID tag comprising:

a display;

an RFID tag;

a communications module

a display microcontroller; and

an internal energy source wherein the communications module transmits display update instructions to the display microcontroller.

2. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the RFID tag and the communications device each have a unique identifier.

3. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 2 wherein the unique identifiers together form one unique visual RFID tag identifier.

4. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the RFID tag includes an integrated circuit associated with an antenna.

5. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein internal energy source is a capacitor that harvests RF energy.

6. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the internal energy source is a battery.

7. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the display is a persistent display.

8. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the RFID tag includes a rewritable integrated circuit.

9. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the communications module is a wireless communications module.

10. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 9 wherein the wireless communications module operates according to a wireless communications protocol selected from the group consisting of 802.11, Bluetooth or Zigbee.

11. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 including a passive RFID tag that operates when the dynamic visual RFID tag is attached to a metal surface.

12. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 9 wherein the wireless communications module supports one or more wireless communications protocols.

13. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein the display is a bistable plastic display.

14. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 1 wherein a visual image formed on the display is derived by the visual tag from patterns encoded in a re-writeable memory of the RFID tag.

15. A dynamic visual RFID tag comprising:

a low power persistent display for displaying visual information;

a communications module for receiving wireless communications, the communications module including a unique identifier;

a passive RFID tag including a chip and an antenna, the RFID tag including a unique identifier;

a low power microcontroller that complies and directs provides the digital information for the visible persistent display to display as visual information; and

an internal power source.

16. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 15 wherein the internal power source is a battery.

17. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 15 wherein the internal power source is a capacitor.

18. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 15 wherein the wireless communication module includes one or more devices operating using a wireless protocol selected from the group consisting of Bluetooth, Zigbee, 802.11 and combinations thereof.

19. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 15 wherein the low power persistent display is an LCD.

20. The dynamic visual RFID tag of claim 15 wherein the low power persistent display is segmented.

21. A method for displaying information on a dynamic visual RFID tag comprising the steps of:

providing a visual RFID tag including a display, an RFID tag, a communications module, a display microcontroller; and

an internal energy source wherein the communications module communicates with the display microcontroller wherein the display is not hard wired to an energy source;

providing information to display on the display; and

displaying the provided information on the display in response to a display prompt.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the display prompt is provided by an RFID tag reader interrogating the RFID tag with a RF signal.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the display is powered up when the dynamic visual RFID tag receives a wake-up call from the RFID tag.

24. The method of claim 21 wherein the information displayed on the display is derived from information sent from a central control station and received wirelessly by the communications module.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein the information displayed on the display resides in memory onboard the visual RFID tag.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the information sent from the central control station is transmitted to the visual RFID tag by a method selected from the group consisting of wirelessly, by hard line, and by first sending the information to a wireless hub and thereafter wirelessly to the visual RFID tag.

27. The method of claim 21 wherein the RFID tag includes a rewritable integrated circuit and wherein the display prompt is instructions received by the communications module and directed to the display microcontroller to display information held in the rewritable integrated circuit on the display.

28. The method of claim 21 wherein the provided information that is displayed on the display is updated in response to a second display prompt.

29. The method of claim 21 wherein the display prompt is an RF signal.

30. The method of claim 21 wherein the display microcontroller selects the display prompt mechanism.

31. The method of claim 29 wherein the display is powered up to display the provided information by at least one capacitor that energizes the display with power collected from the RF signal by the RFID tag.

32. The method of claim 21 wherein two or more types of information to display are programmed into an integrated circuit associated with the RFID tag and wherein the display prompt is a unique signal that prompts the integrated circuit to direct a single type of the two or more types of information to the display.

33. The method of claim 21 wherein two or more displays are combined to form a larger visual image.

34. The method of claim 21 wherein the display is segmented into two or more sub-displays and different information is displayed on two or more of the sub-displays.

35-84. -84. (canceled)