Remote communications devices, wireless communications systems, remote communications device operable methods, and retail monitoring methods

• US 7,129,844 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2004
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Pan, Alfred I-Tsung
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, HUNG T
• Application Number:
  US10/903,079
• Publication Number:
  US 20060022829A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.3, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/539.1, 340/539.13, 340/539.17, 340/568.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/825.69, 340/10.1, 340/10.3, 235/383, 235/384, 235/385, 235/492
• US Class Current: 340/572.3
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2417 having a radio frequency identification chip
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/246 Check out systems combined with EAS, e.g. price information stored on EAS tag anti-theft systems in point of sale systems G07G3/003

Abstract

Remote communications devices, wireless communications systems, remote communications device operable methods, and retail article monitoring methods are described. According to one embodiment, a remote communications device includes communications circuitry configured to implement wireless communications with respect to another wireless communications device and a configurable portion configured to be altered, and wherein the remote communications device is configured to respond to wireless interrogation signals from the another wireless communications device, and incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an unaltered condition and wherein the remote communications device is insensitive to the wireless interrogation signals from the another wireless communications device and incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an altered condition.

Claims

1. A remote communications device comprising:

communications circuitry configured to implement wireless communications with respect to another wireless communications device; and

a configurable portion configured to be altered, and wherein the remote communications device is configured to respond to wireless interrogation signals from the another wireless communications device and incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an unaltered condition, and wherein the remote communications device is insensitive to the wireless interrogation signals from the another wireless communications device and incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an altered condition.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the configurable portion comprises electrical circuitry configured to implement the wireless communications.

3. The device of claim 1 further comprising a substrate, and wherein the configurable portion comprises an integral portion of the substrate in the unaltered condition and a removed portion of the substrate in the altered condition.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein a portion of the communications circuitry is coupled with the removed portion of the substrate.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein the portion of the communications circuitry comprises an antenna.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein the integral portion of the substrate is physically coupled with another portion of the substrate and the removed portion of the substrate is physically separated from the another portion of the substrate.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the configurable portion comprises a fusable link providing one of an open and a closed circuit in the unaltered condition and an other of the open and closed circuit in the altered condition.

8. The device of claim 7 further comprising an antenna, and wherein electromagnetic energy received via the antenna is configured to alter the configurable portion from the unaltered condition to the altered condition.

9. The device of claim 8 wherein the electromagnetic energy has a characteristic different than electromagnetic energy of the wireless interrogation signals.

10. The device of claim 1 wherein the communications circuitry is sensitive to electromagnetic energy having a characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals with the configurable portion in the unaltered condition and insensitive to the electromagnetic energy having the characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals with the configurable portion in the altered condition.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein the communications circuitry is configured to output wireless identification signals to respond to the wireless interrogation signals, and wherein the wireless identification signals identify the remote communications device.

12. The device of claim 11 wherein the communications circuitry is configured to backscatter modulate radio frequency energy to output the wireless identification signals.

13. The device of claim 1 wherein the altered condition is permanent.

14. The device of claim 1 wherein the communications circuitry is configured to implement radio frequency identification device (RFID) wireless communications.

15. The device of claim 1 further comprising a substrate configured to couple with an article.

16. The device of claim 15 further comprising the article.

17. The device of claim 1 wherein no information is communicated between the remote communications device and the wireless communications device when the remote communications device is insensitive to the wireless interrogation signals.

18. A wireless communications system comprising:

a base station configured to output wireless interrogation signals and to receive wireless identification signals responsive to the outputting of the wireless interrogation signals; and

a plurality of remote communications devices remotely located with respect to the base station, and wherein individual ones of the remote communications devices comprise;

communications circuitry configured to implement wireless communications with respect to the base station; and

a configurable portion configured to be altered, and wherein the respective remote communications device is configured to output the wireless identification signals responsive to the wireless interrogation signals incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an unaltered condition, and wherein the respective remote communications device is configured to not respond to the wireless interrogation signals incident at the remote communications device with the configurable portion in an altered condition.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the configurable portion comprises electrical circuitry configured to implement the wireless communications.

20. The system of claim 18 further comprising a substrate, and wherein the configurable portion comprises an integral portion of the substrate in the unaltered condition and a removed portion of the substrate in the altered condition.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the substrate is configured to couple with an article.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the integral portion of the substrate is physically coupled with another portion of the substrate and the removed portion of the substrate is physically separated from the another portion of the substrate.

23. The system of claim 20 wherein a portion of the communications circuitry is coupled with the removed portion of the substrate.

24. The system of claim 23 wherein the portion of the communications circuitry comprises an antenna.

25. The system of claim 18 wherein the configurable portion comprises a fusable link providing one of an open and a closed circuit in the unaltered condition and an other of the open and closed circuit in the altered condition.

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising an antenna, and wherein electromagnetic energy received via the antenna is configured to alter the configurable portion from the unaltered condition to the altered condition.

27. The system of claim 18 wherein the communications circuitry is sensitive to electromagnetic energy having a characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals with the configurable portion in the unaltered condition and insensitive to the electromagnetic energy having the characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals with the configurable portion in the altered condition.

28. The system of claim 18 wherein the altered condition is permanent.

29. The system of claim 18 wherein no information is communicated between the respective one of the remote communications devices and the base station when the configurable portion is in the altered condition.

30. A remote communications device operable method comprising:

providing a remote communications device;

receiving a plurality of wireless interrogation signals from a base station using the remote communications device present within a communications range of the base station;

using the remote communications device in an unaltered configuration, outputting a plurality of wireless identification signals responsive to the receiving of the wireless interrogation signals;

reconfiguring the remote communications device from the unaltered configuration to an altered configuration after the outputting; and

wherein the reconfiguring to the altered configuration renders the remote communications device insensitive to the wireless interrogation signals received by the remote communications device while the remote communications device is present within the communications range of the base station.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the providing comprises providing the remote communications device comprising a substrate, and the reconfiguring comprises removing a portion of the substrate.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the removing comprises removing a portion of wireless communications circuitry of the remote communications device.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the removing the portion of the wireless communications circuitry comprises physically separating an antenna attached to the removed portion of the substrate from a remaining portion of the wireless communications circuitry.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the portion of the substrate comprises a first portion, and the removing comprises physically separating the first portion from a second portion of the substrate.

35. The method of claim 30 wherein the reconfiguring comprising altering a fusable link from one of an open and a closed circuit to an other of the open and the closed circuit.

36. The method of claim 35 further comprising receiving electromagnetic energy using an antenna of the remote communications device, and the reconfiguring is responsive to the receiving.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein the electromagnetic energy has a characteristic different than electromagnetic energy of the wireless interrogation signals.

38. The method of claim 30 wherein the remote communications device is sensitive to electromagnetic energy having a characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals before the reconfiguring and insensitive to the electromagnetic energy having the characteristic of the wireless interrogation signals after the reconfiguring.

39. The method of claim 30 wherein the reconfiguring comprises permanently reconfiguring the remote communications device.

40. The method of claim 30 further comprising coupling the remote communications device with an article.

41. The method of claim 30 wherein no information is communicated between the remote communications device and the base station when the remote communications device is in the altered condition.