MULTI-POSITION RFID SWITCH

• US 20170206385A1
• Filed: 01/13/2017
• Published: 07/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stanley Industrial and Automotive, LLC (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Stanley Industrial and Automotive, LLC (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: BARNEY, Clifford
• Granted Patent: US 10,007,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07327 Passive means, e.g. Faraday cages Faraday-type protection of electric circuits in general H05K9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07701 the record carrier comprising an interface suitable for human interaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking

Abstract

An RFID switch manually operable for transmitting status data includes a plurality of RFID tags that a user can selectively expose to or shield from activation by an RFID reader. The user'"'"'s choice of which RFID tags are exposed for reading determines what status information is conveyed to the RFID system. A data base in the RFID system associates the presence or absence of particular RFID tags with corresponding status reports.

Claims

1. An RFID switch for transmitting status information chosen by the user to an RFID reader, the RFID switch comprising:

a housing opaque to RF energy;

a window transparent to RF energy and located in the housing;

an RFID tag located in the housing; and

the window and RFID tag are movable relative to each other between a readable condition, wherein the RFID reader can read the RFID tag through the window, and an unreadable condition, wherein the RFID tag is not readable by the RFID reader.

2. An RFID switch according to claim 1, wherein the RFID tag is a first RFID tag, and the RFID switch further comprises a second RFID tag, and the first RFID tag and second RFID tag are located in a first portion of the housing, and the window is located in a second portion of the housing, and the first portion of the housing and the second portion of the housing are movable relative to each other from a first position to a second position, and wherein the first position the first RFID tag is in the readable condition and the second RFID tag is in the unreadable condition, and in the second position the first RFID tag is in the unreadable condition and the second RFID tag is in the readable condition.

3. An RFID switch according to claim 2, wherein the second portion of the housing rotates inside the first portion of the housing and includes a first face and a second face, and the first RFID tag is located on the first face and the second RFID tag is located on the second face, and the second portion of the housing rotates from the first position to the second position, and in the first position the first RFID tag is exposed to the window and second RFID tag is shielded from the window, and in the second position the first RFID tag is shielded from the window and the second RFID tag is exposed to the window.

4. An object tracking and status system for detecting, interpreting and displaying a user selected status of an object in use in a workplace :

an information storage and retrieval system including a database, and the database associates a first RFID tag with a first status;

an RFID reader including an RFID antenna operable for scanning the workplace, the RFID reader in communication with the information storage and retrieval system;

an RFID switch manually operable for selecting status information chosen by the user, the RFID switch including;

a housing opaque to RF energy and enclosing the first RFID tag;

a window transparent to RF energy and located in the housing; and

the window and RFID tag are movable relative to each other between a readable condition, wherein the RFID reader can read the first RFID tag through the window, and an unreadable condition, wherein the first RFID tag is not readable by the RFID reader.

5. An object tracking and status system according to claim 4, wherein the database stores a plurality of information from a set of information including:

object name information;

RFID antenna locations;

RFID tag to object associations; and

RFID tag to status associations.

6. An object tracking and status system according to claim 4, and further comprising a second RFID tag enclosed in a portion of the housing of the RFID switch together with the first RFID tag, and the database associates the second RFID tag with a second status different from the first status;

and the window and the portion of the RFID housing enclosing the first and second RFID tags are movable relative to each other between a first readable condition and a second readable condition, and in the first readable condition the RFID reader can read the first RFID tag through the window and the second RFID is not readable, and in the second readable condition the first RFID tag is not readable and the second RFID tag is readable by the RFID reader.

7. A method for a user to select and send a status information from an object in use in a workplace to a remote object tracking and status system for detecting, interpreting and displaying the user selected status information;

the method comprising;

providing an information storage and retrieval system including a database, and the database associates a code of a first RFID tag with a first status;

providing an RFID reader including an RFID antenna operable for scanning the workplace, the RFID reader in communication with the information storage and retrieval system;

attaching to the object an RFID switch including;

a housing opaque to RF energy and enclosing the first RFID tag;

a window transparent to RF energy and located in the housing; and

the window and RFID tag are movable relative to each other between a readable condition, wherein the RFID reader can read the first RFID tag through the window, and an unreadable condition, wherein the first RFID tag is not readable by the RFID reader.

starting the RFID switch in the unreadable condition;

moving the RFID switch to the readable condition when the user intends to report the first status;

reading the code of the first RFID tag with the RFID reader;

communicating the code of the first RFID tag from the RFID reader to the information storage and retrieval system;

associating the first RFID tag code to the first status in the database; and

displaying or acting on the first status.