Highly accurate RF-ID positioning system

• US 5,594,448 A
• Filed: 12/15/1994
• Issued: 01/14/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: d'Hont, Loek
• Primary Examiner(s): ELDRED, JOHN W
• Application Number:
  US08/356,418
• Time in Patent Office: 761 Days
• Field of Search: 342/44, 342/50, 342/51, 342/42, 342/118, 342/147, 342/153, 342/47, 340/935, 340/991
• US Class Current: 342/44
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/753 using frequency selective elements, e.g. resonator
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/82 wherein continuous-type signals are transmitted
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/30 derived directly from separate directional systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/36 the separate antennas having differently-oriented directivity characteristics
• 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 7/10346 the antenna being of the far field type, e.g. HF types or dipoles
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop

Abstract

A balanced receive antenna circuit configuration determines an accurate position of a transponder within the antenna field pattern of the reader antenna. The balanced receive antenna configuration consists of two antennas physically rotated 90 degrees relative to one another, disposed concentrically on top of one another. Furthermore, each receive antenna consists of two coils located a predetermined distance apart. The optimum distance separating the coils is determined by trading off zero position detection with the transponder detection range. A third receive reference antenna is concentrically disposed, sharing the same horizontal plane with the balanced antenna coilsets. The transmitter antenna is disposed separately from the receive antennas. In operation, initially the transmitter antenna sends a power burst signal for a predetermined duration to charge up the transponder to the maximum charge possible. Then for a very brief duration, the transmitter antenna is damped to permit the receive antennas to better receive the transponder response telegram. Then simultaneously, one receive antenna receives the `X` position component and the other receiver antenna receives the `Y` position component in the form of induced phase and voltages. Depending upon which quadrant of the antenna pattern the transponder is disposed, the phase and field effect voltage of the X component and the Y component is detected. These received voltages are then narrow band filtered around a center frequency and rectified via phase information received from the reference antenna. These rectified signals are then gated for a small portion of the length of the entire response telegram, and those outputs are combined in a signal processor which outputs the exact position data information.

Claims

1. An antenna configuration for accurately determining the position of a transponder in an RF-ID system comprising:

a first and a second balanced receive antenna for receiving a fieldstrength voltage and a phase measurement of a response telegram wherein said first and second receive antennas are physically rotated 90 degrees relative to one another;

a third reference antenna for receiving a fieldstrength voltage RF signal and a phase measurement of said response telegram and for providing a phase measurement of said response telegram;

a transmitter antenna for transmitting a charge-up signal to said transponder wherein said transponder is charged to a maximum allowable voltage;

a first, a second and a third receiver for narrowband filtering said receive fieldstrength voltages of said response telegram;

a synchronous detector circuitry for rectifying said filtered response signal via phase information of said response telegram provided by said reference antenna;

a first, a second and a third sample and hold circuit for sampling said synchronized signals for a first portion of said response telegram; and

a processing circuit for generating a position coordinate relating to a position of said transponder from said sampled signals.

2. The antenna configuration system of claim 1, wherein said narrowband filtering limited said receive fieldstrength voltages to a 600 MHz band centered around some predetermined center frequency.

3. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein said processing circuit logically "AND" said receive fieldstrength voltage signals to yield the coordinates of the transponder.

4. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein said processing circuit performs an analog to digital conversion on each received fieldstrength voltage signals to yield the coordinates of the transponder.

5. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein said reference antenna is disposed surrounding said receiver antennas.

6. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein at least one of said receiver antennas is comprised of two coils, having equal area.

7. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein the transponder telegram is realized as an induced fieldstrength voltage at said receiver antennas.

8. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein the induced fieldstrength voltages of each receiver antenna cancel each other out when the transponder is disposed substantially at the center of the antenna field pattern.

9. The antenna configuration of claim 8, wherein the point at which the induced fieldstrength voltages cancel each other out provides a reference for determining an absolute (X,Y) coordinate location.

10. The antenna configuration of claim 1, wherein said synchronous detector circuitry comprises a switch which is triggered upon a zero crossing of said reference RF signal.

11. An antenna configuration for accurately determining the position of a transponder in an RF-ID system comprising:

a first and a second balanced receive antenna for receiving a fieldstrength voltage and a phase measurement of a response telegram wherein said first and second receive antennas are physically rotated 90 degrees relative to one another;

a third reference antenna for receiving a fieldstrength voltage RF signal and a phase measurement of said response telegram and for providing a phase measurement of said response telegram;

a transmitter antenna for transmitting a charge-up signal to said transponder wherein said transponder is charged to a maximum allowable voltage;

a first, a second and a third receiver for narrowband filtering said receive fieldstrength voltages of said response telegram;

a synchronous detector circuitry for rectifying said filtered response signal via phase information of said response telegram provided by said reference antenna;

a first, a second and a third sample and hold circuit for sampling said synchronized signals for a first portion of said response telegram; and

a processing circuit for generating a position coordinate relating to a position of said transponder from said sampled signals.

12. The antenna configuration system of claim 11, wherein said narrowband filtering limited said receive fieldstrength voltages to a 600 MHz band centered around some predetermined center frequency.

13. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein said processing circuit logically "AND" said receive fieldstrength voltage signals to yield the coordinates of the transponder.

14. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein said processing circuit performs an analog to digital conversion on each received fieldstrength voltage signals to yield the coordinates of the transponder.

15. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein said reference antenna is disposed surrounding said receiver antennas.

16. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein at least one of said receiver antennas is comprised of two coils, having equal area.

17. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein the transponder telegram is realized as an induced fieldstrength voltage at said receiver antennas.

18. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein the induced fieldstrength voltages of each receiver antenna cancel each other out when the transponder is disposed substantially at the center of the antenna field pattern.

19. The antenna configuration of claim 18, wherein the point at which the induced fieldstrength voltages cancel each other out provides a reference for determining an absolute (X,Y) coordinate location.

20. The antenna configuration of claim 11, wherein said synchronous detector circuitry comprises a switch which is triggered upon a zero crossing of said reference RF signal.