METHOD FOR AN ACQUISITION OF DATA FROM EXTERNAL DIGITAL SENSORS WITH AN RFID SMART TAG AND A TAG INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD

• US 20140247118A1
• Filed: 08/01/2012
• Published: 09/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ams R&D analogni polprevodniki, d.o.o.
• Original Assignee: ams R&D analogni polprevodniki, d.o.o.
• Inventors: Kovacic, Kosta, Kunc, Vinko, Pletersek, Anton
• Granted Patent: US 9,558,382 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/3001 Arithmetic instructions
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30036 Instructions to perform operations on packed data, e.g. vector, tile or matrix operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/30145 Instruction analysis, e.g. decoding, instruction word fields
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0717 the sensor being capable of sensing environmental conditions such as temperature history or pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• 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 7/10009 sensing by radiation using wavelengths larger than 0.1 mm, e.g. radio-waves or microwaves

Abstract

A microprogram for performing communication between an RFID smart tag and external digital sensors (EDS1, EDSK) is loaded in a buffer (Bu). A hard-wired dedicated processing unit (DPU) of the tag reads, decodes and executes said micro-program through the digital communication interface (DCI). The sensor data is stored at beginning locations of said buffer (Bu), wherefrom they are read by an RFID interrogator. The tag functionality in an application is settable with the RFID interrogator to an automatic data logger or RFID wireless sensor. The tag is adjustable to various types of digital sensors from various manufacturers. A hardwired dedicated processing unit makes it possible that the tag saves more energy, has smaller dimensions and is faster.

Claims

1. A method for an acquisition of data from external digital sensors with an RFID smart tag,

according to which

addresses of the external digital sensors (EDS1, . . . , EDSK), K being a natural number,

enabling flags for pages of a microprogram, which is required and sufficient for executing communication between the RFID smart tag and said sensors, and

a frequency of a clock signal intended for communicating of a digital communication interface (DCI) with said sensors

are stored in a permanent memory (PM) of the tag,

characterized in

that said microprogram is stored in a tag memory (PM;

Bu) being accessible by an RFID interrogator

and that a tag'"'"'s hard-wired dedicated processing unit (DPU) reads, decodes and executes said microprogram through the digital communication interface (DCI).

2. The method as recited in claim 1, characterized in

that the RFID interrogator stores said microprogram in a user part (UP) of the tag permanent memory (PM) through an RFID interface (RFIDI).

3. The method as recited in claim 1, characterized in

that a microcontroller stores said microprogram in a user part (UP) of the tag permanent memory (PM) through a serial interface (SI).

4. The method as recited in claim 2 or 3, characterized in

that a timer (T) triggers said dedicated processing unit (DPU) to start executing said microprogram.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, characterized in

that data acquired from the external digital sensors (EDS1, . . . , EDSK) is stored in the permanent memory (PM) in a way that they are accessible by the RFID interrogator.

6. The method as recited in claim 2 or 3, characterized in

that the RFID interrogator triggers said dedicated processing unit (DPU) with an RFID command to start executing said microprogram.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, characterized in

that the RFID interrogator with an RFID command determines a program page of said microprogram to be executed by said dedicated processing unit (DPU).

8. The method as recited in claim 1, characterized in

that the RFID interrogator stores said microprogram in a buffer (Bu) of such type that the first stored data is retrieved therefrom first.

9. The method as recited in claim 8, characterized in

that the dedicated processing unit (DPU) starts executing said microprogram

after said buffer (Bu) signals to said dedicated processing unit (DPU)

that downloading of said microprogram has been accomplished.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, 7 or 9, characterized in

that data acquired from the external digital sensors (EDS1, . . . , EDSK) is stored at beginning locations of said buffer (Bu).

11. The method as recited in claim 10, characterized in

that the RFID interrogator reads said data from said buffer (Bu) with an RFID command.

12. The method according to any of previous claims, characterized in

that all said microprograms use microinstructions having the same format and the same code.

13. An integrated circuit of an RFID smart tag for an acquisition of data from

external digital sensors, comprising

a digital communication interface (DCI),

to which external digital sensors (EDS1, . . . , EDSK), K being a natural number, are attached,

an RFID interface (RFIDI) and a serial interface (SI),

a permanent memory (PM),

a logic sequential circuit (TLSC),

which is connected to the RFID interface (RFIDI) and the serial interface (SI) on the one hand and

to the permanent memory (PM) on the other hand, and

a timer (T),

characterized in

that it comprises the hard-wired logic sequential circuit as a dedicated processing unit (DPU),

which is only able to carry out a microprogram,

which is required and sufficient to perform communication between the RFID smart tag and said sensors,

that said dedicated processing unit (DPU) is connected to the digital communication interface (DCI),

that said dedicated processing unit (DPU) is connected to the logic sequential circuit (TLSC)

through the permanent memory (PM) on the one hand and

through a buffer (Bu) of such type that the first stored data is retrieved therefrom first on the other hand

and that said dedicated processing unit (DPU) is connected to the timer (T).

14. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 13, characterized in

that the dedicated processing unit (DPU) is only able to decode and execute twelve 8-bit microinstructions.

15. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 14, characterized in

that a system part (SP),

in which addresses of the external digital sensors (EDS1, . . . , EDSK),

enabling flags for pages of the microprogram and

a frequency of a clock signal intended for communicating of the digital communication interface (DCI) with said sensors are stored,

is formed in the permanent memory (PM).

16. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 15, characterized in

that a user part (UP) being accessible by an RFID interrogator and

comprising one program page with sixteen 8-bit bytes per each attached external digital sensor

is formed in the permanent memory (PM).

17. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 16, characterized in

that the microprogram occupies one program page with sixteen 8-bit bytes for each attached external digital sensor.

18. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 17, characterized in

that individual program pages can be joined to longer program pages, if their number exceeds a number of attached said sensors.

19. The integrated circuit as recited in claim 18, characterized in

that said buffer (Bu) comprises one program page with sixteen 8-bit bytes.