System and method for detecting transponders used with printer media

• US 7,489,243 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Issued: 02/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Zebra Technologies Corporation
• Original Assignee: ZIH Corp. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Brown, Anthony R., Shuff, William, Ream, Matt, Borisov, Eugene, Torchalski, Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, TOAN NGOC
• Application Number:
  US11/461,122
• Publication Number:
  US 20070176781A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.7, 340/572.8, 340/686.1, 340/686.6, 340/539.21, 235/432, 235/449, 235/451
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0025 the arrangement consisting of a wireless interrogation device in combination with a device for optically marking the record carrier
• 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 calibration apparatus for determining a location of a transponder supported by a printer media. The calibration apparatus uses a transceiver to attempt to read, write or otherwise communicate with the transponder. Controller logic of the calibration apparatus uses successful and unsuccessful attempts to communicate to determine the location of the transponder. For example, the controller may be configured to move the media in increments, each of the increments associated with a successful or unsuccessful attempt to communicate with the transponder. The successful attempts, and their relative media positions, are correlated with the position of the transponder. Also, the controller may be configured to use different power levels for the transceiver and its one or more couplers to determine which power levels are required to successfully communicate with the transponder. These power levels are correlated with characteristics of the performance of the transponder to determine its distance from the antenna/coupler.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

attempting a read action of a transponder associated with a media;

determining whether the read action was successful;

if the read action was successful then incrementing a first counter to indicate a successful read action and retaining a position location for the transponder associated with the successful read action;

moving the media by at least one unit increment; and

repeating the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing, and retaining for at least one iteration.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising attempting a write action to the transponder;

determining whether the write action was successful; and

if the write action was successful then incrementing a second counter to indicate a successful write action and retaining a position location for the transponder associated with the successful write action; and

wherein the operation of repeating the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing and retaining for at least one iteration includes the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing and retaining associated with the read action and the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing and retaining associated with the write action.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a length of the media defines a series of unit increments from a first unit increment approximate a leading edge of the media to a last unit increment approximate a trailing edge of the media;

and the method further comprising, after each iteration of repeating the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing and retaining, determining whether the media is at the last unit increment;

if the media is not at the last unit increment, then repeating the operation of moving the media by at least one unit increment and repeating the operations of attempting, determining, incrementing, and retaining for at least one more iteration.

4. The method according to claim 3 further comprising determining a location of the transponder.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the operation of determining the location of the transponder is based upon at least one of the one or more retained positions associated with the one or more successful read actions and the one or more retained positions associated with the one or more successful writes.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the operation of determining a location of the transponder includes identifying at least one of a plurality of consecutive retained positions associated with a plurality of successful read actions and a plurality of consecutive retained positions associated with a plurality of successful writes;

determining a midpoint of the plurality of consecutive retained positions; and

defining the midpoint as the location of the transponder.

7. The method according to claim 6 further comprising storing the location of the transponder.

8. The method according to 3, wherein the first iteration of attempting a read action of the transponder associated with the media;

determining whether the read action was successful;

if the read action was successful then incrementing the first counter to indicate a successful read action and retaining a position location for the media associated with the successful read action occurs at the first unit increment.

9. The method according to claim 3, wherein a unit increment represents a print row.

10. The method according to claim 3 further comprising identifying a problem based on the retained positions.

11. An apparatus for processing a plurality of media, wherein each media includes a transponder, said apparatus comprising:

a conveyance element for moving the plurality of media along a path;

a transceiver and a near field coupler configured to attempt communication with a first transponder of a first media;

a memory;

a controller in communication with the conveyance element, the transceiver and near field coupler;

the controller being configured to execute an iterative process for determining the location of the first transponder, wherein said process includes;

instructing the transceiver to attempt a read action of the first transponder at a plurality of position locations for the first media;

determining whether the read action was successful at each of the position locations;

for each read action that was successful, incrementing a first counter to indicate a successful read action and retaining the position location for the first media associated with the successful read action in the memory;

instructing the conveyance element to move the first media to the position locations;

determining the location of the transponder relative to the first media based upon the retained position locations.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the iterative process further includes instructing the transceiver to attempt a write action to the first transponder at each of the plurality of position locations for the first media;

determining whether the write action was successful at each of the position locations;

for each write action that was successful, incrementing a second counter to indicate a successful write action and retaining the position location for the first media associated with the successful write action in the memory; and

wherein the operation of determining the location of the first transponder based upon the retained position locations include at least one of one or more retained positions associated with one or more successful read actions and one or more retained positions associated with one or more successful write actions.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the operation of determining a location of the first transponder based upon at least one of the one or more retained positions associated with the one or more successful read actions and the one or more retained positions associated with the one or more successful write actions is further based upon identifying at least one of a plurality of consecutive retained positions for a plurality of consecutive successful read actions and a plurality of consecutive retained positions for a plurality of consecutive successful write actions.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the operation of determining the location of the first transponder further includes defining a midpoint of the plurality of consecutive retained positions as the location of the first transponder.

15. An apparatus for determining a communication location of a transponder associated with a media, the apparatus comprising:

a transceiver and a near field coupler configured to communicate with the transponder; and

the near field coupler configured to operate as a one half wavelength unmatched transmission line; and

a controller connected in communication with the transceiver, the controller configured to instruct the transceiver and the near field coupler to attempt to communicate with the transponder at a plurality of position locations of the media relative to the near field coupler;

to determine whether each attempt to communicate was successful and retain a position location associated with each successful attempt; and

to determine the location of the transponder relative to the near field coupler based upon the one or more retained position locations associated with a successful attempt.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the near field coupler includes an array of spaced lines terminated by a load.

17. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein each attempt to communicate includes attempting at least one of an attempt to read from the transponder and an attempt to write to the transponder.

18. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to identify a plurality of consecutive retained positions associated with a plurality of consecutive successful attempts to communicate and to define a midpoint of the plurality of consecutive retained positions as the location of the transponder.

19. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to identify a problem of the transponder based on the attempt to communicate with the transponder at a plurality of position locations.

20. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the controller is further configured to store the location of the transponder in the memory.

21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the controller instructs the transceiver and the near field coupler to attempt to communicate with a plurality of subsequent transponders at least partially based on the stored location.

22. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein an attempt to communicate includes an attempt to read from the transponder and an attempt to write to the transponder and wherein the controller is further configured to instruct the transceiver and the near field coupler to attempt to read from the transponder at a first power level and attempt to write to the transponder at a second power level, wherein the first power level differs from the second power level.

23. A combination of the apparatus according to claim 15 and an assembly line for conveying a plurality of items, wherein each item includes a media having a transponder.