Integrated multi-meter and wireless communication link

• US 6,078,251 A
• Filed: 03/27/1997
• Issued: 06/20/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Carrender, Curt L., Speirs, Donald F., Mortenson, G. Russell, Berka, Ivan, Sondhi, Vickram, Landt, Jeremy A.
• Primary Examiner(s): ZIMMERMAN, BRIAN A
• Application Number:
  US08/826,449
• Time in Patent Office: 1,181 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.54, 340/870.02, 340/572.1, 340/10.41, 340/10.4
• US Class Current: 340/10.41
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisious for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• 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

Abstract

An apparatus for object identification including a multi-meter terminal having a plurality of data modules, a triggering device for initiating one of the plurality of data modules to retrieve object identification data from an object, a radio module for downloading the retrieved object identification data to a host and a housing containing the data modules, triggering device and the radio module.

Claims

1. An apparatus for identifying objects including objects having electronic tags, the apparatus comprising;

a plurality of data modules including an integrated radio module;

a triggering device for initiating one of the data modules to retrieve object identification data from a selected object;

the integrated radio module including a radio frequency source for generating a radio frequency signal, the integrated radio module operable to transmit the radio frequency signal to interrogate the selected object if the selected object includes an electronic tag, to combine the radio frequency signal with retrieved object identification data for the selected object producing a data signal, and to transmit the data signal including the retrieved object identification data to a remote host; and

a housing containing the data modules, triggering device and the integrated radio module.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the data modules are selected from the group of a bar code reader, a scanner, a global positioning system module and a two way voice module.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module includes an RFID reader.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the RFID reader processes multiple tag protocols.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a bar code reader.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a text scanner.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a 2D bar code scanner.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a machine vision module.

9. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a GPS module.

10. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a voice recognition module.

11. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a two way voice recognition module.

12. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a printer.

13. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein one of the plurality of data modules is a proximity sensor.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the proximity sensor is a laser proximity sensor.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the proximity sensor is a ultrasonic proximity sensor.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the proximity sensor is a microwave proximity sensor.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the integrated radio module is coupled to the triggering device and the triggering device is responsive to a triggering signal received from the host through the integrated radio module.

18. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a user interface and wherein the triggering device is responsive to a triggering signal initiated by the user through the user interface.

19. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the triggering device is responsive to a triggering signal generated by one of the plurality of data modules.

20. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the triggering device is responsive to a triggering signal generated manually by a user.

21. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module includes:

an antenna;

a transceiver for transmitting the radio frequency signal to the electronic tag through the antenna and for receiving a returned radio frequency signal from the electronic tag including encoded data;

a data handler for processing the returned radio frequency signal to decode the encoded data from the electronic tag; and

a mixer for combining the decoded data and the radio frequency signal to produce the data signal for transmission by the transceiver to the remote host.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the antenna is a directional antenna.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the antenna includes an omnidirectional antenna, a directional antenna and means for coupling the transceiver to the omnidirectional antenna during uploading operations and coupling the directional antenna to the transceiver during tag reading operations.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the omnidirectional antenna is a whip antenna.

25. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module includes a direct sequence spread spectrum radio.

26. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module includes a frequency hopping spread spectrum radio.

27. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module includes a narrow band radio.

28. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module provides a link as part of a wireless wide area network to the host.

29. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the integrated radio module provides a wireless link connected to a local area network for communication to the host.

30. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a user interface for receiving commands and a user display for displaying status information associated with read, uploading and downloading operations.

31. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the user interface is a keyboard.

32. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the user interface is a touch screen.

33. The apparatus of claim 30 wherein the user interface is a voice recognition system.

34. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the housing is a hand-held portable design.

35. A method of identifying an object comprising the steps of:

retrieving a template associated with an object to be identified;

displaying the template for a user;

triggering one of one or more data modules for interrogating the object;

transmitting a radio frequency interrogation signal to the object if the object includes an electronic tag;

retrieving object identification data;

loading the object identification data into the template; and

when the template is full, transmitting a data signal including the object identification data to a host, where the step of transmitting includes combining the object identification data with the radio frequency interrogation signal producing the data signal.

36. The method of claim 35 further including the step of receiving the template associated with an object to be identified from the host.

37. The method of claim 35 further including the steps of receiving commands and data from the host for controlling the retrieval and loading of object identification data from the object.

38. An object identification system comprising:

an object including object identification data; and

a portable reader including

a plurality of data modules including an integrated radio module;

a triggering device for initiating one of the plurality of data modules to retrieve object identification data from an object;

the integrated radio module including a radio frequency source for generating a radio frequency signal, the integrated radio module operable to transmit the radio frequency signal to interrogate the selected object if the selected object includes an electronic tag, to combine the radio frequency signal with retrieved object identification data for the selected object producing a data signal and to transmit the data signal including the retrieved object identification data to a remote host; and

a portable housing containing the plurality of data modules, triggering device and the integrated radio module.

39. The object identification system of claim 38 wherein the object includes an electronic tag for storing the object data.

40. The object identification system of claim 39 wherein the electronic tag is a read/write tag.

41. The object identification system of claim 40 wherein the read/write tag receives data from the host.

42. The object identification system of claim 40 wherein the portable reader includes a user interface and where the read/write tag receives data from the user interface.

43. The object identification system of claim 38 wherein the integrated radio module:

an antenna;

a transceiver for transmitting the radio frequency signal to an electronic tag at the object through the antenna and for receiving a radio frequency signal returned from the electronic tag including encoded data;

means for processing the returned radio frequency signal to decode the encoded data from the electronic tag; and

means for combining the decoded data and the radio frequency signal producing the data signal for transmission by the transceiver to the remote host.

44. A multi-meter terminal for identifying objects comprising:

a radio frequency module for generating an interrogation signal for transmission to objects having an electronic tag;

one or more reader modules for receiving identification data from an object;

a trigger device for initiating one of the one or more reader modules and radio frequency module to retrieve object identification data from a selected object; and

a controller within the portable unit operable to gather identification data received from the selected object and combine the identification data with the interrogation signal from the radio frequency module for transmission to a base unit.

45. The multi-meter terminal of claim 44 wherein one of the one or more reader modules is an RFID reader and wherein the radio frequency module is integrated with the RFID reader module.

46. The multi-meter terminal of claim 45 wherein the integrated RFID reader and radio frequency module includes a transceiver capable both of reading identification information from electronic tags and transmitting collected information to a base unit for remote analysis.

47. The multi-meter terminal of claim 46 wherein the transceiver is used to receive information from a base unit and write data to read/write electronic tags.

48. The multi-meter terminal of claim 44 further including a user interface for initiating commands locally by a user and a user display for displaying status information associated with reading, downloading, or uploading processes.

49. The multi-meter terminal of claim 44 wherein the controller receives data and commands from the base unit for local processing and transfer to a read/write electronic tag.

50. The multi-meter terminal of claim 44 further including a portable housing for containing the one or more reader modules, trigger device, controller and the radio module.