System and method for supporting multiple reader-tag configurations using multi-mode radio frequency tag
First Claim
1. A multi-mode radio frequency (RF) transponder, comprising:
- operational tag circuitry configured to provide information in response to being activated by one or more reader devices;
a plurality of antenna circuits coupled to the operational tag circuitry, wherein each of the plurality of antenna circuits is configured to operate at a different reader-tag distance, and wherein the plurality of antenna circuits comprises;
a) a first antenna circuit that causes the operational tag circuitry to provide point-of-sale tracking information in response to a far-range, point-of-sale, activation signal; and
b) a second antenna circuit that causes the operational tag circuitry to provide at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information in response to a near-range activation signal; and
at least one disabling circuit coupled to the operational tag circuitry and to at least one of the plurality of antenna circuits, wherein the at least one disabling circuit is configured to disable operation of the first antenna circuit and enable operation of the second antenna circuit in response to a point of sale disable signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system, apparatus and method for supporting multiple reader-tag configurations and reader-tag distances using a single multi-mode tag. A multi-mode radio frequency (RF) transponder is provided, which includes operational tag circuitry configured to provide information in response to being activated by a reader device(s). Multiple antenna circuits are coupled to the operational tag circuitry, where each of the antenna circuits is configured to operate at a different reader-tag distance. At least one disabling circuit is coupled to the operational tag circuitry and to at least one of the antenna circuits, where the disabling circuit is configured to disable operation of at least one of the antenna circuits to which it is coupled.
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Citations
55 Claims
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1. A multi-mode radio frequency (RF) transponder, comprising:
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operational tag circuitry configured to provide information in response to being activated by one or more reader devices; a plurality of antenna circuits coupled to the operational tag circuitry, wherein each of the plurality of antenna circuits is configured to operate at a different reader-tag distance, and wherein the plurality of antenna circuits comprises;
a) a first antenna circuit that causes the operational tag circuitry to provide point-of-sale tracking information in response to a far-range, point-of-sale, activation signal; and
b) a second antenna circuit that causes the operational tag circuitry to provide at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information in response to a near-range activation signal; andat least one disabling circuit coupled to the operational tag circuitry and to at least one of the plurality of antenna circuits, wherein the at least one disabling circuit is configured to disable operation of the first antenna circuit and enable operation of the second antenna circuit in response to a point of sale disable signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 49, 52)
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12. A multi-mode Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
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a first tag circuit comprising a first antenna coil to receive a first reader signal, a first memory to store first information, and a first processing circuit to provide the first information in response to the first reader signal, wherein the first reader signal comprises a far-range, point-of-sale activation signal, and wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; a disable circuit coupled between the first antenna coil and the first processing device to disable operation of the first tag circuit in response to a point of sale disable signal; and a second tag circuit comprising a second antenna coil to receive a second reader signal, a second memory to store second information, and a second processing circuit to provide the second information in response to the second reader signal, wherein the second reader signal comprises a near-range activation signal, and wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information, wherein the disable circuit enables operation of the second tag circuit in response to the disable signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 50, 53)
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21. A method comprising:
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associating an RFID tag with an item wherein the RFID tag includes a plurality of antenna circuits each operable at a different reader-tag distance; communicating first information from a first of the plurality of antenna circuits to one or more first reader devices operable at a first reader-tag distance, wherein the first reader-tag distance comprises a far-range, point-of-sale tracking distance, and wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; disabling the first antenna circuit and enabling a second of the plurality of antenna circuits in response to a disable signal at a point of sale; and communicating second information from the second antenna circuit to one or more second reader devices operable at a second reader-tag distance, wherein the second reader-tag distance comprises a near-range distance, and wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method comprising:
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associating an RFID tag with an item wherein the RFID tag includes a plurality of antenna circuits each operable at a different frequency band; communicating first information from a first of the plurality of antenna circuits to one or more first reader devices operable at a first frequency band, wherein the first reader devices comprise far-range, point-of-sale tracking devices, and wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; disabling the first antenna circuit and enabling a second of the plurality of antenna circuits in response to a disable signal at a point of sale; and communicating second information from the second antenna circuit to one or more second reader devices operable at a second frequency band, wherein the second reader devices comprise near-range consumer tracking devices, and wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 55)
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33. A method comprising:
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receiving a first RF signal at an RF transponder from a first reader device, and inducing a first voltage on a first antenna loop in response to receiving the first RF signal, wherein the first RF signal comprise a far-range, point-of-sale tracking signal; generating a direct current (DC) voltage from the induced first voltage to energize transponder logic; retrieving first information via the transponder logic and transmitting the first information to the first reader devices, wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; disabling the first antenna and enabling a second antenna loop in response to a disable signal at a point of sale; receiving a second RF signal at the RF transponder from a second reader device, and inducing a second voltage on the second antenna loop in response to receiving the second RF signal, wherein the second signal device comprises a near-range RF signal, and; generating a direct current (DC) voltage from the induced second voltage to energize the transponder logic; and retrieving second information via the transponder logic and transmitting the second information to the second reader device, wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A system comprising:
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at least one first RFID reader capable of emitting a first RF signal, wherein the first RFID reader comprise a far-range, point-of-sale tracking device; at least one mobile terminal including a second RFID reader capable of emitting a second RF signal, wherein the second RFID reader comprises a near-range RFID reader, and; a multi-mode RFID tag associated with at least one item, the multi-mode RFID tag comprising; a first antenna circuit to receive the first RF signal, a first memory to store first information, and a first processing circuit to modulate the first information onto a backscattered RF signal to the first RFID reader in response to the first RF signal, wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; a disable circuit coupled to the first antenna circuit to disable operation of the first antenna circuit in response to a disable signal at a point of sale; and a second antenna circuit to receive the second RF signal, a second memory to store second information, and a second processing circuit to modulate the second information onto a backscattered RF signal to the second RFID reader in response to the second RF signal, wherein the disable circuit is coupled to the second antenna circuit to enable operation of the second antenna circuit in response to the disable signal, and wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 54)
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48. A multi-mode radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
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means for inducing a first voltage on a first antenna loop in response to receiving a first RF signal from a first far-range, point-of-sale reader device; means for generating a direct current (DC) voltage from the induced first voltage to energize a tag processing circuit; means for retrieving first information via the tag processing circuit and for transmitting the first information to the first reader device, wherein the first information comprises point-of-sale tracking information; means for disabling the first antenna loop and enabling a second antenna loop in response to a disable signal at a point of sale; means for inducing a second voltage on the second antenna loop in response to receiving a second RF signal from a second reader device, wherein the second RF signal comprises a near-range signal; means for generating a DC voltage from the induced second voltage to energize the tag processing circuit; and means for retrieving second information via the tag processing circuit and transmitting the second information to the second reader device, wherein the second information comprises at least one of consumption and post-consumption tracking information.
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Specification