RFID readers and RFID tags communicating using extensible bit vectors

• US 7,123,171 B2
• Filed: 02/06/2006
• Issued: 10/17/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Impinj, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Impinj, Inc.
• Inventors: Diorio, Christopher J., Kaplan, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanglaude, Jean Bruner
• Application Number:
  US11/348,494
• Publication Number:
  US 20060187094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 253 Days
• Field of Search: 341/50, 341/53, 341/70, 340/10.1, 340/10.41, 72/151
• US Class Current: 341/50
• 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 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00

Abstract

RFID system components, such as readers and tags, communicate by transmitting and receiving a wave that conveys a bit stream. Informing signals, such as special bits, are inserted in the stream between words. An informing signal indicates whether a certain word is the last word in the stream or not.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit (IC) for a Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag that has an antenna arranged to receive a wireless wave, comprising:

circuitry that is arranged to generate a stream of bits from the wave;

a memory; and

a processing block that is arranged to;

(a) isolate a group of the bits from the stream,

(b) designate at least one of the isolated bits as an informing signal,

(c) designate the remaining bits of the group as a word,

(d) append the word to a previously similarly designated word for forming a reception block, and

(e) if the informing signal does not equal a preset termination return to (a), else terminate appending and perform an action that uses the reception block as one of an address for the memory and content for the memory.

2. The IC of claim 1, wherein

the processing block is further arranged to determine whether the reception block is associated with the address and the content.

3. The IC of claim 2, wherein

if the reception block is associated with the address, the processing block is further arranged to access the address for at least one of retrieving data and storing data.

4. The IC of claim 2, wherein

if the reception block is associated with the content, the processing block is further arranged to determine whether the content includes at least a portion of a command.

5. The IC of claim 1, wherein

a size of the group is one of 8 and 16.

6. The IC of claim 1, wherein

the termination is one of a 0 bit and a 1 bit.

7. A Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) tag, comprising:

an antenna arranged to receive a wireless wave;

circuitry that is arranged to generate a stream of bits from the wave;

a memory; and

a processing block that is arranged to;

(a) isolate a group of the bits from the stream,

(b) designate at least one of the isolated bits as an informing signal,

(c) designate the remaining bits of the group as a word,

(d) append the word to a previously similarly designated word for forming a reception block, and

(e) if the informing signal does not equal a preset termination return to (a), else terminate appending and perform an action that uses the reception block as one of an address for the memory and content for the memory.

8. The tag of claim 7, wherein

the processing block is further arranged to determine whether the reception block is associated with the address and the content.

9. The tag of claim 8, wherein

if the reception block is associated with the address, the processing block is further arranged to access the address for at least one of retrieving data and storing data.

10. The tag of claim 8, wherein

if the reception block is associated with the content, the processing block is further arranged to determine whether the content includes at least a portion of a command.

11. The tag of claim 7, wherein

a size of the group is one of 8 and 16.

12. The tag of claim 7, wherein

the termination is one of a 0 bit and a 1 bit.