Radio frequency identification system with write broadcast capability

• US 7,616,094 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2004
• Issued: 11/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.), L. David Rish
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Goldman, Kenneth Alan, Cofino, Thomas A., Cesar, Christian Lenz, Chan, Shun Shing, Greene, Sharon Louise, Friedman, Daniel J., McAuliffe, Kevin P., Heinrich, Harley Kent
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown; Vernal U
• Application Number:
  US10/898,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20050088286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,933 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/10.2, 340/1, 340/10.32, 340/10.33, 340/10.34, 340/10.4, 340/10.42, 340/10.51, 340/825.69, 340/10.3, 340/5, 340/10.41, 340/10.5, 342/42, 342/44, 342/51, 235/382, 235/385
• US Class Current: 340/10.2
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0421 Multiprocessor system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2231 Master slave
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25277 Tristate
• 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 7/10039 interrogator driven, i.e. synchronous
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10108 interrogating only those RFIDs that fulfill a predetermined requirement, e.g. selecting all RFIDs having the same speed and moving in a cloud like fashion, e.g. on the same train; interrogating only RFIDs having a certain predetermined temperature, e.g. in the same fridge, another possibility being the active ignoring of a group of tags that fulfill a predetermined requirement, equivalent to the Boolean NOT operation
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/20 Binding and programming of remote control devices

Abstract

A Write Broadcast system and method uses a base station to write sent data to all or some selected number (sub group) of tags in a base station field simultaneously. By unselecting the tags that have been successfully written to, and requesting a response from the remaining tags in the field (or sub group), the system determines, by receiving a response to the request, that there are tags in the field (sub group) that were unsuccessfully written to. Another Write Broadcast signal is sent to these tags. The system is useful for quickly (simultaneously) “stamping” information on the tag memory of a large number of tags in the field of the base station.

Claims

1. A radio frequency tag having an associated object, said radio frequency tag comprising:

(a) a tag antenna for receiving a radio frequency write broadcast signal, not directed to any particular tag, from a base station, the radio frequency write broadcast signal having sent data unrelated to tag identification, and not being directed to any particular tag;

(b) a tag memory having a tag data location;

(c) a tag logic having a selected state and a non-selected state;

(d) the tag being responsive to one or more group selection commands to place the tag in the selected state if the tag meets one or more selection conditions, the one or more group selection commands not being directed to any particular tag; and

the one or more selection conditions requiring the tag to have information in said tag memory related to the object with which the tag is associated, such information not being related to the tag identification;

(e) a tag receiver for receiving the radio frequency write broadcast signal from the tag antenna;

(f) the tag writing the sent data unrelated to tag identification, and not being directed to any particular tag, to the tag data location if the tag is in the selected state, so that the sent data is thereafter available for reading in response to a read command addressed to the transponder data location, and the tag not writing the sent data to the tag data location if the tag is in the non-selected state;

(g) the tag having said information in said tag memory related to the object with which the tag is associated and not being related to tag identification so that the tag is placed in said selected state in response to said one or more group selection commands.

2. A radio frequency tag, as in claim 1, where writing the sent data occurs in the tag without the tag sending a response containing a tag identifier.

3. A radio frequency tag, as in claim 1, where the tag further comprises a decoder that decodes a further command that causes the tag to communicate a response when the tag is in the selected state and that causes the tag not to communicate a response when the tag is in the non-selected state.

4. A base station for communicating with radio frequency tags in a field of the base station, each of the tags having a tag memory, the tag memory having one or more tag data locations with stored data related to the objects with which the tags are associated, and each of the tag data locations having a tag data address, the base station comprising:

a computer that develops one or more selection commands specifying data related to the objects with which the tags are associated, and a write broadcast signal directed to no particular destination tag, the write broadcast signal containing a write broadcast command, sent data and zero or more sent addresses;

a base station transmitter that encodes the one or more selection commands on a radio frequency carrier to create a selection signal specifying data related to the objects with which the tags are associated, and encodes the write broadcast signal on the radio frequency carrier to create a write signal directed to no particular destination tag; and

the base station transmitting the selection signal to all the tags in the field to select a subgroup of a plurality of the tags having the specified data related to the objects with which the tags are associated, causing the subgroup of the plurality of tags to switch to a selected condition, and transmitting the write signal directed only to the sub- group of the plurality of tags that have switched to the selected condition to simultaneously write the sent data only to the tags having the specified data related to the objects with which the tags are associated.

5. A radio frequency tagging system, as in claim 4, where the tags not in the selected subgroup do not respond to the write broadcast signal.

6. A method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting one or more commands by radio frequency radiation and transmitting a specified memory location of a plurality of tags and transmitting criterion data required to be present in the memory location of the plurality of tags as a criterion for selection thereof;

(b) at each of a plurality of radio frequency tags, receiving the transmitted specified memory location and the transmitted criterion data, and a plurality of selected radio frequency tags with a match of stored data in the specified memory location with the transmitted criterion data, switching to a predetermined selected state; and

(c) the plurality of selected radio frequency tags having stored data in the specified memory location that matches said criterion data, which stored data represents information relating to respective objects associated with said plurality of selected radio frequency tags and is unrelated to tag identification code of the tags.

7. A method of selecting a desired subgroup from a group of radio frequency tags in which each of the tags includes a memory storing information relating to the selection of the tag, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) transmitting a radio frequency command signal to the group of radio frequency tags defining a certain selection criterion related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification codes for identifying the tags, which certain selection criterion is met by a subgroup of a plurality of tags;

(b) changing the state of the plurality of tags in the subgroup meeting the certain selection criterion such that the plurality of tags meeting the certain selection criterion related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification codes for identifying the tags, remain in the changed state to facilitate subsequent processing;

(c) transmitting a further radio frequency command directed to the tags in the changed state;

(d) the plurality of tags in the changed state responding to the further radio frequency command, while tags not in said changed state do not respond to the further radio frequency command.

8. A transponder comprising:

(a) a transponder memory having a transponder data location with a stored data value; and

(b) a transponder receiver for receiving a write broadcast signal not associated with said transponder and not directed to any particular transponder, the signal having sent data;

(c) the transponder writing the sent data to the transponder data location having the stored data value, so that the sent data is thereafter available for a subsequent reading operation where the sent data is read out from the transponder in response to a read command addressed to the transponder data location; and

(d) the transponder in response to the write broadcast signal sending a response if the sent data is different than the stored data value and not sending a response if the sent data is the same as the stored data value;

wherein a comparator compares the sent data and the data value in the transponder data location of said transponder memory, the receiver writing the sent data to the transponder data location if the sent data is determined by the comparator to be different than the data value previously in the transponder data location of said transponder memory, the transponder sending a response if the sent data is different than the data value previously in the transponder data location of said transponder memory, and not sending a response if the sent data is the same as the data value previously in the transponder data location of said transponder memory.

9. A radio frequency tagging system comprising

(a) a base station for communicating with a group of radio frequency tags in a field of the base station, each of the tags having a tag memory;

(b) the tag memory having one or more tag data locations with stored data related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification code, the base station comprising;

(c) a computer that develops one or more commands specifying data related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification code;

(d) a base station transmitter that encodes the one or more commands specifying data related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification code, on a radio frequency carrier to create a group signal, and

(e) the base station transmitting the group signal to all the tags in the field to select a subgroup of a plurality of the tags based on the specified data related to the objects with which the tags are associated and not related to tag identification code, causing the subgroup of the plurality of tags to respond differently than other tags to a further signal from the base station.

10. A radio frequency tagging system according to claim 9, with said further signal comprising a write signal with sent data which write signal causes only said subgroup of said plurality of tags to simultaneously write sent data to their tag memories.

11. A radio frequency tagging system according to claim 9, with

the base station transmitting one or more radio frequency signals to the group of tags defining a first condition corresponding to data found in a first subgroup of the plurality of tags of said group and and not related to tag identification code, and defining a second condition corresponding to data found in a second subgroup of the plurality of tags of said group and not related to tag identification code;

and

the first and second subgroups of tags being responsive to the one or more radio frequency signals for producing a resultant subgroup of a plurality of tags which has an increased or decreased number of tags in comparison to the first subgroup.

12. A radio frequency tagging system according to claim 11, wherein the first and second subgroups of tags are initially in a first mode, and are responsive to the one or more radio frequency signals to switch to provide a resultant group in a second mode;

the resultant sub-group of the plurality of tags representing a logical combination of the first and second sub-groups;

the tags of the first and second sub-groups, in forming the resultant sub-group,

(i) having switched from the first mode to the second mode in response to the one or more radio frequency signals, while other tags of said group remain in the first mode;

or

(ii) the tags of the first and second sub-groups having switched from the first mode to the second mode, and the tags of the first group remaining in the second mode while the tags of the second sub-group having switched from the second mode to the first mode, in response to the one or more radio frequency signals, while other tags of said group remain in the first mode.

13. A radio frequency tagging system according to claim 11, wherein the one or more radio frequency commands selectively includes an OR command so that the resultant sub-group consists of a plurality of tags that meet either the first condition or the second condition, thereby increasing the number of tags in the resultant sub-group tags in comparison to the first sub-group;

and

wherein the one or more radio frequency commands selectively includes an AND command so that the resultant sub-group consists only of a plurality of tags that meet both the first condition and the second condition, thereby decreasing the number of tags in the resultant sub-group tags in comparison to the first sub-group.