System method and apparatus for identifying and communicating with a plurality of types of radio frequency communication devices
First Claim
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1. An RF tag for communicating with a base station, comprising:
- a predefined hardware configuration;
a tag antenna for receiving and sending RF information from and to the base station;
a tag receiver/transmitter for receiving and sending information from and to the tag antenna;
a logic section for receiving and sending information from and to the tag receiver/transmitter;
a first tag memory having data, the data having a layout of information; and
a second tag memory comprising a directory, the directory containing information about the layout of information in the first tag memory including the predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, where the logic section uses the directory to retrieve the data.
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Abstract
A system, method of use, and a plurality of types of Radio Frequency Transponders (RF Tags). The RF Tags carry a directory or a tag type number which determines the layout of information in the tag memory. The tag type numbers are arranged hierarchically.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. An RF tag for communicating with a base station, comprising:
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a predefined hardware configuration;
a tag antenna for receiving and sending RF information from and to the base station;
a tag receiver/transmitter for receiving and sending information from and to the tag antenna;
a logic section for receiving and sending information from and to the tag receiver/transmitter;
a first tag memory having data, the data having a layout of information; and
a second tag memory comprising a directory, the directory containing information about the layout of information in the first tag memory including the predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, where the logic section uses the directory to retrieve the data.
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2. An RF tag for communicating with a base station, comprising:
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a predefined hardware configuration;
a tag antenna for receiving and sending RF information from and to the base station;
a tag receiver/transmitter for receiving and sending information from and to the tag antenna;
a logic section for receiving and sending information from and to the tag receiver/transmitter;
a first tag memory having data, the data having a layout of information, wherein the logic section retrieves the data; and
a second tag memory consisting of a tag type identifying code, wherein the logic section retrieves the tag type identifying code, the tag type identifying code determining the layout of the information in the data of first tag memory including the predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for communicating information, comprising:
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a plurality of Radio Frequency (RF) tags, the plurality of RF tags comprising a plurality of types of tag (tag types), each tag type having a tag type identifying code and a predefined hardware configuration, each tag comprising a tag antenna for sending and receiving RF information to and from a base station, a tag receiver/transmitter for receiving and sending information from and to the tag antenna, a logic section for receiving and sending information from and to the tag receiver/transmitter, a first tag memory having data with a layout of information, the logic section able to retrieve the data, a second tag memory comprising the tag type identifying code, wherein the logic section retrieves the tag type identifying code, the tag type identifying code determining the layout of the information in the first tag memory including the predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, and;
a base station, the base station comprising a base station receiver/transmitter for sending and receiving RF information to and from a base station antenna, the base station antenna for sending and receiving information to and from an RF tag, a base station computer controlling the base station receiver/transmitter, a base station memory, the base station memory containing the tag type identifying code and the layout of information in the data of the first memory including the predefined hardware configuration of at least one tag type, whereby the base station computer uses the base station memory to determine the layout of information in the data of the first memory including the predefined hardware configuration of at least one of the plurality of RF tags. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A base station for communicating with a plurality of Radio Frequency (RF) tags, the plurality of tags comprising a plurality of types of tags (tag types), each tag type having a predefined hardware configuration, each tag of each tag type having a first tag memory, the first tag memory having a layout of information, each tag of each tag type having a second tag memory, the second tag memory consisting of a tag type identifying code, the tag type identifying code determining the layout of information in the first tag memory including the predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, comprising:
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a base station antenna for send and receiving information to and from an RF tag;
a base station receiver/transmitter for sending and receiving RF information to and from the base station antenna;
a base station computer controlling the base station receiver/transmitter;
a base station memory, the base station memory containing the tag type identifying code and the layout of information in the data of the first memory and the predefined hardware configuration of at least one tag type, whereby the base station computer uses the base station memory to determine the layout of information in the data of the first memory including the predefined hardware configuration of at least one of the plurality of RF tags. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method of storing and communicating information, comprising:
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communicating a tag type identifying code between an RF tag and a base station, the tag type identifying code determining a layout of information contained in a first memory including a predefined hardware configuration of each tag of a type of RF tags, the tag type identifying code stored in a second memory of each tag of each type of RF tags. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 45)
transmitting data contained in the first memory of the RF tag to the base station; and
retrieving information from the data using the layout of information determined by the tag type identifying code.
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38. The method of claim 37, wherein the information retrieved is a universal product code (UPC) number.
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39. The method of claim 38, wherein the UPC code is retrieved on the basis of one byte of the tag type identifying code.
40.The method of claim 37, wherein the information retrieved is a security code. -
41. The method of claim 33, further comprising;
comparing a first tag type identifying code transmitted from the base station to the tag with a second tag type identifying code stored in the second memory of the RF tag.
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45. The method of claim 33, wherein a tag type code is transmitted from the base station to the tag, further comprising;
writing the tag type identifying code to the second memory of the RF tag.
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40. The method of claim 40, wherein the security code is retrieved on the basis of one byte of the tag type identifying code.
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42. The method of claim 42, further comprising;
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transmitting data contained in the first memory of the RF tag to the base station if the first and second tag type identifying codes are identical; and
retrieving information from the data using the layout of information determined by the tag type identifying code. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44)
transmitting data and a data address from the base station to the tag;
writing the data to the data address in the first memory of the RF tag if the first and the second tag type identifying codes are identical.
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44. The method of claim 42, further comprising;
transmitting data from the tag to the base station if the first and second tag type identifying codes are identical and if a security code in the tag memory is set.
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46. The method of claim 46, further comprising;
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transmitting data and a data address from the base station to an RF tag; and
writing the data to the data address in the first memory of the RF tag.
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47. A method of storing and communicating information, comprising:
communicating a tag type identifying code between a base station and an RF tag, the tag type identifying code determining a command set recognized by the RF tag including a predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, the tag type identifying code stored in a memory of the RF tag.
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48. The method of claim 48, further comprising;
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transmitting a command from the base station to the RF tag; and
executing the command if the tag type identifying code determines that a command is recognized by the RF tag.
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49. A method of storing and communicating information comprising:
communicating a tag type identifying code between a base station and an RF tag, the tag type identifying code determining a measurement capability of the RF tag including a predefined hardware configuration of the RF tag, the tag type identifying code stored in a memory of the RF tag.
Specification