Collectable cop/spot chip

• US 7,764,174 B2
• Filed: 05/22/2007
• Issued: 07/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: James Neil Rodgers
• Original Assignee: James Neil Rodgers
• Inventors: Rodgers, James Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US11/752,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20080291020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,162 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.9, 340/539.13, 340/539.1, 340/572.8, 340/572.2, 340/572.7, 340/539.2, 340/539.32, 340/539.11, 340/825.49, 438/142
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A system and method for tracing the authenticity of and tracking their location of collectibles and reusables such as packaging and containers and pallets. This invention proposes the use, of a polymer or wet paper based planchette containing an RFID fully integrated system on a chip transponder which can be attached to a collectible or reusable through the use of a substrate friendly adhesive. As a collectable tracing and tracking system it is called “Collectable Cop”. As a reusable on the supply chain which reusable(s) requires tracking or tracing, it is referred to as the “Spot Chip” system. A planchette is defined herein as a small, oval or round shaped, wet paper or polymer based disk, smaller than a piece of dust, which can be randomly distributed on both sides of a collectible.

Claims

1. A system for tracing the authenticity and tracking the location of collectibles and reusables comprising:

collectable(s), defined herein as an individual piece of art work or an art collection, a stamp collection or an individual stamp, a sports card collection or an individual card, sports memorabilia of any sort, currency collections or an individual piece of currency as well as items of a similar ilk including, but not limited to, designer label clothing, jewels and accessories, said system with respect to collectibles herein referred to as the Collectible'"'"'s Cop;

reusable(s) defined as packaging, containers, pallets or any other non consumable item utilized on the supply chain which reusable(s) requires tracking or tracing, said system with respect to reusables herein referred to as the Spot Chip;

passive memory based transponder(s) associated with and attached to each collectible and/or reusable;

planchettes;

silicon antenna(s) as part of a system on a chip RFID transponder embedded into a planchette(s) and where the planchette is applied with adhesive friendly to the substrate of the collectable or reusable;

a dust sized memory based passive transponder;

a plurality of cellular telephone towers able to perform an operation by providing and/or receiving information bearing electromagnetic signals in a gigahertz frequency and where the information bearing electromagnetic signals in gigahertz frequency are in a detection region located within an urban cellular telephone network which have a plurality of antennae operatively coupled to a respective one of a plurality of memory based transponder readers for transmitting and/or receiving the information bearing electromagnetic signals;

information stored in and produced from the electronic memory of the memory based RFID transponder that includes a permanent unique identification number plus application specific data and whereby said electromagnetic information is communicated between the electronic memory of the memory based RFID transponder and the memory based RFID transponder reader of a particular cellular telephone tower/station when the memory based RFID transponder is in the detection region of that particular station after initiation of the memory based RFID transponder;

a computer processor for processing at least the information from the electromagnetic signals including application specific data and unique identification number obtained from the memory based RFID transponder readers at the plurality of stations and for providing a record of the data represented by the electromagnetic information signals gained from the memory based RFID transponder(s);

hand held interrogators to harvest the data from the memory based RFID transponders, without beginning the initiation phase, for the purpose of determining authenticity.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the data contained in the information bearing electromagnetic signals transmitted in gigahertz frequency is representative of one or more of the identity of the memory based RFID transponder, the identity of the missing collectable or reusable, a model number, a serial number, information of interest to the proprietor or operator of the cellular telephone network system or the customers, a type number, a name or nomenclature of the missing collectable or reusable, material and/or component information, and such information relating to the missing collectable or reusable, information relating to the location of the missing collectable or reusable and/or information relating to routing of the missing collectable or reusable, the identity of the cellular telephone tower/station(s) involved in the tracking or tracing, the operation performed at the tower/station(s), an operator associated with the tower/station(s), a distance measurement made at the tower/station(s), access information plus time and date information.

3. The system of claim 1 whereby the electromagnetic information contained in the gigahertz frequency format signal is communicated to and is stored in both the computer processor located at the tower/station(s) and in the electronic memory of the passive RFID transponder whereby said communication further comprises at least one communication hub for providing communication between one of:

(a) a central processor and at least one local processors, and (b) ones of local processors.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the information processed by the computer processor includes a permanent number, application specific data and a check number which represents the permanent number and/or application specific data assigned to the missing collectable or reusable and whereby the communication means comprises of one or more of a cellular telephone network or a satellite based communication network using radio or RF transmissions and the Internet, or a combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1 whereby the passive RFID transponder, upon initiation and awakening through a gigahertz prompt and response electromagnetic signal from the local network cellular telephone tower/station(s) then backscatters an RF signal via gigahertz frequency communication to the nearest local cellular telephone tower/station(s) indicating that the passive RFID transponder has been awakened by providing the application specific data identifying itself via unique serial number assignment.

6. The system of claim 1 whereby further the radio frequency means for locating a missing collectable or reusable includes determining geographical positions by executing a direction-of-arrival technique (DOA) from the plurality of tower/station(s) transmitter/receiver(s) located at the local cellular telephone network tower/station(s) and then employing direction finding data and raw signal data in performing a time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) technique to estimate the location of the missing collectable or reusable and the system of using an algorithm which is capable of separating and recovering multiple co-channel signals rapidly from each tower/station(s) transmitter/receiver(s) and to then perform a triangulation, trilateration, or time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) routine to determine an estimated location of the missing collectable or reusable and the system of a signal estimation locator device containing the algorithm software described which resides at a master control unit or a master receiver located at a cell tower station.

7. A The system of claim 1 whereby said dust sized memory based system on the chip RFID transponder with silicon antenna is by way of a system of using a generic laser pulse device to treat commercially produced bulk sheets of silicon wafer base material with a pulse of sharply focused laser energy;

and still further using the bulk commercially produced sheets of silicon wafers so that they are manufactured into radio frequency identification antennas after the femtosecond laser ablation technique has been applied all for the purpose of creating three dimensional nano structures on the silicon base material in order to increase radioactive sensitivity to electromagnetic signals for use in passive RFID transponders to be employed for tracing and tracking collectable(s) and reusable(s) system of and, still further again, designing a complex resonant antenna at a macro level and reducing it through the process of de-magnification to nano size and forming this structure on the reverse side of silicon wafers treated with laser ablation for the purpose of increasing the radioactive sensitivity of the RFID antenna and to increase the gain and range of same for use in passive RFID transponders to be employed for tracing and tracking collectable(s) and reusable(s).

8. The system of claim 1 whereby the RFID transponder integrated circuit system on a chip package further comprising:

at least one substrate, each substrate including at least one silicon layer;

at least one semiconductor template, also known as a die;

an antenna constructed of doped silicon layered into said integrated circuit package using a photoresist manufacturing process;

a system whereby an RFID transponder antenna is designed, photographed and de-magnified to produce a template or die;

a system whereby the antenna template or die is designed to mass produce an RFID transponder antenna which is part of an integrated circuit package with a precise electromagnetic signal which resonates or tunes in the 24 to 40 GHz (gigahertz) range;

a system whereby a laser methodology of trimming the antenna template or die to resonate or tune in 2 MHz (megahertz) increments from the 24 GHz (gigahertz) frequency to the 40 GHz (gigahertz) frequency is utilized;

a system of algorithms whereby the antenna template or die is precisely trimmed to a specific resonant frequency;

a system of testing the frequency resonance of the template or die through laser methodology to ensure a precise frequency resonance of the mass produced RFID transponders which are integrated into a single packaged integrated circuit;

all for the purpose of reducing the size, weight and cost of a passive RFID transponder while increasing its efficiency by reducing the signal to noise ratio for use in the tracking and tracing of collectable(s) and reusable(s).

9. The system of claim 1 whereby further the nano size silicon integrated circuit system on a chip package is embedded onto a polymer substrate through the process of lamination of layers where at least one of the layers contains the nano size silicon integrated circuit system on a chip package and the nano size silicon integrated circuit system on a chip package is embedded into a wet paper strength substrate through the process of fiber weaving whereby the nano size silicon integrated circuit system on a chip package is woven directly into a wet paper strength substrate for the purpose of manufacturing a planchette to be attached to collectable(s) and reusable(s).

10. The system of claim 1 whereby further a substrate friendly adhesive glue, commercially available, specific to the use required is used for attaching a planchette to a collectable(s) or reusable(s), as required.

11. A system for tracing the authenticity and tracking the location of collectibles and reusables comprising:

collectable(s), defined as an individual piece of art work or an art collection, a stamp collection or an individual stamp, a sports card collection or an individual card, sports memorabilia of any sort, currency collections or an individual piece of currency as well as items of a similar ilk including, but not limited to, designer label clothing, jewels and accessories, said system with respect to collectibles herein referred to as the Collectible'"'"'s Cop;

reusable(s) defined as packaging, containers, pallets or any other non consumable item utilized on the supply chain which reusable(s) requires tracking or tracing, herein referred to as the Spot Chip;

passive memory based transponder(s) associated with and attached to each collectible and/or reusable;

planchettes;

silicon antenna(s) as part of a system on a chip RFID transponder embedded into a planchette(s) and where the planchette is applied with adhesive friendly to the substrate of the collectable or reusable;

a dust sized memory based passive transponder;

a plurality of cellular telephone towers able to perform an operation by providing and/or receiving information bearing electromagnetic signals in a gigahertz frequency and where the information bearing electromagnetic signals in gigahertz frequency are in a detection region located within an urban cellular telephone network which have a plurality of antennae operatively coupled to a respective one of a plurality of memory based transponder readers for transmitting and/or receiving the information bearing electromagnetic signals;

information stored in and produced from the electronic memory of the memory based RFID transponder that includes a permanent unique identification number plus application specific data and whereby said electromagnetic information is communicated between the electronic memory of the memory based RFID transponder and the memory based RFID transponder reader of a particular cellular telephone tower/station when the memory based RFID transponder is in the detection region of that particular station after initiation of the memory based RFID transponder;

a computer processor for processing at least the information from the electromagnetic signals including application specific data and unique identification number obtained from the memory based RFID transponder readers at the plurality of stations and for providing a record of the data represented by the electromagnetic information signals gained from the memory based RFID transponder(s);

hand held interrogators to harvest the data from the memory based RFID transponders, without beginning the initiation phase, for the purpose of determining authenticity; and

whereby further the antennas are tuned at 2 MHz intervals in the 24 to 40 GHz frequency range for the purpose of identifying individual or class items in the variety collectable(s) or reusable(s) as required by the system operator or proprietor.