Radio frequency identification systems and methods for waking up data storage devices for wireless communication

• US 6,816,063 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2003
• Issued: 11/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Grabon, Robert James, Kubler, Joseph Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): Tong, Nina
• Application Number:
  US10/354,410
• Publication Number:
  US 20030112126A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.33, 340/10.1, 340/10.3, 340/10.5, 340/10.6, 340/10.52, 340/10.51, 340/572.1
• US Class Current: 340/10.33
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0701 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for power management
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0715 the arrangement including means to regulate power transfer to the integrated circuit
• 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

A remote system includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag specifically identified by an RF identification signal. The specific RFID tag is associated with a particular remote data transfer device. When identified, the specific RFID tag changes the state of the associated remote data transfer device from a zero power state to an operational state. Limited power-capacity of a remote power supply is used solely for data transfer between the data transfer device and an administrator. Although many RFID signals may be transmitted over time to the location of many remote systems, each of which has an RFID tag, an RFID signal is only infrequently sent to a specific one of the RFID tags. Such an RFID signal is transmitted only to request a data transfer operation with the particular remote data transfer device that is associated with that specific RFID tag. At the end of the data transfer state of that particular remote data transfer device, the state of that data storage device is returned to the zero power state. Each RFID tag may be a passive beam-powered tag. The zero power state, the specificity and periodicity of the RFID signal, the return to the zero power state, and the use of the specific selected passive beam powered RFID tag, combine so that the zero power state is the primary state from a temporal standpoint and for substantial periods of time no power is drawn from the limited power-capacity of the remote power supply. The data storage device may be provided in many different electronic units, all of which may involve data transfer.

Claims

1. A system for remotely causing operation of a particular unit of electronic circuitry among a plurality of electronic circuitry, comprising:

a plurality of units of the electronic circuitry, each of the units of electronic circuitry having first and second states, each of the units of electronic circuitry being powered by a limited capacity power supply, a first of the states using zero power from the power supply, a second of the states being an operational power-on state using power from the power supply;

a base station for sending a wake-up signal only at a specific time at which it is desired to change the state of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry from the first state to the second state;

a separate radio frequency identification tag electrically connected to each of the units of the electronic circuitry, only a specific one of the tags being responsive to the wake-up signal to cause the state of the respective connected particular unit of the electronic circuitry to change between the first state and the second state; and

the base station sending successive ones of the wake-up signals only at separate specific times at which it is desired to change the state of the particular unit of the electronic circuitry from the first state to the second state, the duration of the second operational state of the particular unit of electronic circuitry being short relative to the time between successive wake-up signals for the particular unit of electronic circuitry, and

wherein the particular unit of electronic circuitry returns to the first state at the end of the duration of the second state.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the radio frequency identification tags has a first data storage capacity, and wherein each data storage device of each unit of electronic circuitry has a second data storage capacity substantially exceeding the first data storage capacity of the respective connected radio frequency tag.

3. A system as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

each of the units of electronic circuitry being a sensor for detecting conditions of the human body; and

the respective radio frequency tag being mounted on the sensor, the respective radio frequency tag being passive and operating using the power of the signal of the base station.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

each particular unit of the electronic circuitry and each respective radio frequency tag being mounted on a respective mobile carrier that moves remotely from the base station.

5. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein each unit of electronic circuitry is connected a wireless communication device and a data storage device, upon operation of the particular unit the wireless communication device being effective to provide data communication with the respective data storage device independently of the wake up signal from the base station.

6. A system as recited in claim 5, further comprising;

at least one unit of the electronic circuitry being the particular unit and including at least one computer at a location remote from the base station;

a system administrator periodically having updates for the at least one computer of the particular unit of electronic circuitry;

the base station sending the wake-up signal; and

the wireless communication device communicating the update from the system administrator to the at least one computer of the particular unit of electronic circuitry during the second state.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein each respective radio frequency identification tag is passive and being powered so that the state of the respective connected particular unit of electronic circuitry is changed between the first state and the second state only using the power of the wake-up signal from the base station.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the particular unit of electronic circuitry is associated with a wireless communication device.

9. A system for transferring data from time to time to or from a remote location, comprising;

a data transfer unit having first and second states, the unit being powered by a source having a limited power capacity, a primary one of the states being a state using zero power from the source, an operational one of the states being a power-on state using power from the source, that data transfer unit comprising a data storage device having a first data storage capacity and a wireless communication device for communicating data from or to the data storage device respectively to or from the remote location;

a radio frequency identification tag provided with a second data storage device having a second data storage capacity substantially less than the first data storage capacity, the tag being electrically connected to the data transfer unit, the tag being responsive to a radio frequency identification signal that specifically selects the data transfer unit and causing the state of the data transfer unit to change between the primary state and the operational state, wherein the data transfer unit becomes operational upon the change of state at the specific time so that the wireless communication device communicates data from or to the data storage device respectively to or from the remote location.

10. A system as recited in claim 9, wherein the radio frequency identification tag is a passive tag powered only by the radio frequency identification signal.

11. A method of remotely causing operation of a controlled device in a remote area, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of controlled devices in a remote area, each controlled device normally being in an off-state and having an on-state for operation and each controlled device having an operational cycle and each controlled device being coupled to at least one radio frequency identification tag;

transmitting separate radio frequency identification (RFID) signals to the remote area at separate specific times, these signals including at least one signal to identify a selected one of the controlled devices;

in response to the at least one signal identifying the selected one of the controlled devices;

causing the selected controlled device to be in the on-state;

performing the operational duty cycle of the selected controlled device; and

returning the selected controlled device to the off-state.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the controlled devices each comprise at least one data storage unit with a relatively high data storage capacity and the at least one radio frequency identification tag having a data storage capacity that is small relative to the data storage capacity of the data storage unit;

and

the operational duty cycle includes communicating to or from the remote area.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the communicating to or from the remote area is distinct from the transmitting of the RFID signals to the remote area.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the data storage units further comprise:

a disc drive having a high data storage capacity.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising the steps of:

using a wireless communication device to communicate data from the data storage unit when the selected controlled device is in the on-state.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein each controlled device has a limited power supply for providing power to the controlled device and including the further step of providing power for the identifying and causing operations from the radio frequency signals independently of the limited power supply.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the selected one of the controlled devices is a wireless communication device.