Method to prevent rouge transponder responses in automatic vehicle identification systems

• US 5,955,969 A
• Filed: 04/09/1997
• Issued: 09/21/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Texas Instruments, Inc.
• Inventors: D'Hont, Loek
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent A.
• Application Number:
  US08/826,913
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 340/928, 340/933, 235/384, 370/201, 370/286, 370/287, 375/296, 375/346, 375/348, 455/1, 455/63, 455/67.3, 455/41, 455/296, 342/14, 342/19, 379/3
• US Class Current: 340/928
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence

Abstract

A method of preventing a response to a rouge poll message in an AVI system is presented. The method entails that during the transmission of the poll message from the interrogator to the transponder, wherein the poll message reflects off an undesirable position, thereby creating the origination of an undesirable poll message, i.e. a poll message which will be received by a wrong transponder, a jamming signal is also transmitted at the same frequency and from the point from which said reflected poll message originates. The jamming signal and the poll message create a rogue poll message as received by the transponder wherein at least one bit within the transmitted poll message is flipped. Transponders, upon receiving said rogue poll message, calculate the CRC and compare the calculated CRC with the received CRC. The rogue message should yield an invalid CRC, i.e. a CRC unlike the received CRC, and therefore, the transponder will fail to respond to the jammed poll message.

Claims

1. A method for preventing rogue reads in an AVI system comprised of a reader with a read antenna and a transponder comprising:

transmitting a poll message from a read antenna of a reader to a transponder and having said poll message reflect from an undesirable location creating an undesirable poll message;

transmitting a jamming signal from a point from which undesired poll messages originate for creating a rogue poll message; and

,

receiving said rogue poll message by said transponder, thereby preventing said transponder from responding.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said poll message comprises data and a CRC in the form of digital bits.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said rogue poll message is said poll message with at least one bit flipped.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said preventing said transponder from responding further comprises the steps of:

calculating from said rogue poll message an invalid CRC in response to said flipped bit; and

comparing said invalid CRC with said received CRC and not responding when said invalid CRC and said received CRC are not equal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said jamming signal is transmitted at the same frequency as said poll message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said poll message and said jamming signal are synchronous in operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said jamming signal transmission is terminated prior to the termination of said poll message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said jamming signal interferes with said undesirable poll message thereby creating said rogue poll message.

9. The method of claim 2 wherein upon receipt of said poll message, said transponder calculates a CRC and then compares said calculated CRC with said received CRC and responds only upon a match between said calculated CRC and said received CRC.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said read antenna has a footprint of read range which defines said read antennas furthest point of read range.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said point from which undesired poll messages originate is the point vertically aligned with the furthest point of said footprint.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said point vertically aligned with said furthest point of said footprint is located on the top of an AVI canopy.

13. A method for preventing rogue reads in an RF-ID system comprised of a reader with a read antenna and a transponder comprising:

transmitting a poll message from a read antenna of a reader to a transponder and having said poll message reflect from an undesirable location creating an undesirable poll message;

transmitting a jamming signal from a point from which undesired poll messages originate for creating a rogue poll message; and

,

receiving said rogue poll message by said transponder, thereby preventing said transponder from responding.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said poll message comprises data and a CRC in the form of digital bits.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said rogue poll message is said poll message with at least one bit flipped.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said preventing said transponder from responding further comprises the steps of:

calculating from said rogue poll message an invalid CRC in response to said flipped bit; and

comparing said invalid CRC with said received CRC and not responding when said invalid CRC and said received CRC are not equal.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein said jamming signal is transmitted at the same frequency as said poll message.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein said poll message and said jamming signal are synchronous in operation.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said jamming signal transmission is terminated prior to the termination of said poll message.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein said jamming signal interferes with said undesirable poll message thereby creating said rogue poll message.

21. The method of claim 14 wherein upon receipt of said poll message, said transponder calculates a CRC and then compares said calculated CRC with said received CRC and responds only upon a match between said calculated CRC and said received CRC.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein said read antenna has a footprint of read range which defines said read antennas furthest point of read range.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein said point from which undesired poll messages originate is the point vertically aligned with the furthest point of said footprint.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said point vertically aligned with said furthest point of said footprint is located on the top of a canopy.