System and method for disabling data on radio frequency identification tags
First Claim
1. A method for disabling at least a portion of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag for privacy, comprising:
- performing an anti-collision procedure to select a tag from a plurality of tags, the selected tag identifying an item for purchase;
receiving a cyclical redundancy check and a kill instruction by the tag, the kill instruction including an algorithmically calculated code unique to the selected tag;
verifying the kill instruction is valid; and
if the kill instruction is valid, disabling the at least a portion of the tag to provide privacy after a purchase.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The disclosed embodiments of the present invention are used to permanently disable or destruct an RFID so that it is no longer possible to read some or all of the data encoded on the RFID tag. In one method for disabling data on a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, an RFID tag is identified and its identity is confirmed. Verification that a prerequisite event has occurred is obtained, occurrence of which is required prior to disablement of the data. A destruct instruction is transmitted to the RFID tag. The RFID tag verifies that the destruct instruction is valid and disables the data upon verifying validity of the destruct instruction. The tag may disable the data by erasing the data, disabling the data, auto-destructing, or performing any operation that makes the data unreadable.
57 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for disabling at least a portion of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag for privacy, comprising:
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performing an anti-collision procedure to select a tag from a plurality of tags, the selected tag identifying an item for purchase; receiving a cyclical redundancy check and a kill instruction by the tag, the kill instruction including an algorithmically calculated code unique to the selected tag; verifying the kill instruction is valid; and if the kill instruction is valid, disabling the at least a portion of the tag to provide privacy after a purchase. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for disabling at least a portion of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
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receiving an identification information by a reader from a tag, the tag associated with an item for purchase; transmitting, by the reader, a cyclical redundancy check of the identification information and a kill instruction, the kill instruction including a random code; verifying the kill instruction is valid by the tag; and if the kill instruction is valid, disabling the at least a portion of the tag to protect a purchaser'"'"'s privacy. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method for disabling at least a portion of a radio
frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising: -
selecting a tag without performing an anti-collision procedure; transmitting a destruct instruction to the RFID tag; and verifying the destruct instruction is valid, whereupon the at least a portion of the tag is only disabled if the destruct instruction is valid, wherein the disabling of the tag protects privacy. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for operating a reader to disable an RFID tag, the method comprising:
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using a cyclical redundancy check to confirm an identity of the tag, the cyclical redundancy check having a bit length sufficient to detect a bit error; after the using, transmitting the cyclical redundancy check to the tag by the reader, the reader being capable of transmitting the cyclical redundancy check with one antenna; after the transmitting, receiving a response by the reader from the tag; and after the receiving, transmitting a destruct code to the tag to disable at least a portion of the tag, the destruct code being calculated and unique to the tag. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method for disabling at least a portion of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
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receiving, by the tag, a cyclic redundancy check and a kill instruction; verifying, by the tag, the kill instruction is valid; and if the kill instruction is valid, disabling the at least a portion of the tag, wherein the tag is powered by received radio frequency waves. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification