Mobile RFID reader and control method thereof

• US 7,982,584 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Bae, Ji-Hoon, Mo, Hee-Sook, Park, Chan-Won, Choi, Gil-Young, Chae, Jong-Suk, Lee, Dong-Han, Pyo, Cheol-Sig
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown; Vernal U
• Application Number:
  US11/526,517
• Publication Number:
  US 20070069859A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,758 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1, 340/825.69, 340/825.56, 370/329, 370/310, 370/328, 375/295, 375/133, 375/132
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/318 Received signal strength
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0001 Systems modifying transmission characteristics according to link quality, e.g. power backoff adaptive data allocation for multicarrier modulation H04L5/0044; controlling transmission power for radio systems H04W52/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0025 Transmission of mode-switching indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0057 Block codes H04L1/0061, H04L1/0064 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/1607 Details of the supervisory signal

Abstract

Provided are a mobile RFID reader and a control method thereof. The mobile RFID reader includes: a reader controller for beginning a reader operation to communicate with a tag in response to a command of a terminal controller of the wireless communication terminal; an anti-collision state machine for controlling collision among a plurality of tags, and transferring the result of communication with the tag to the reader controller; a reader transmitter for generating a reader command message decided at the anti-collision state machine, and coding and modulating the generated reader command message; a reader receiver for demodulating and decoding a tag signal received through an antenna, and reporting a tag response state to the anti-collision state machine; and a channel controller for selecting a channel to use to communicate with a tag in response to a command of the reader controller.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader mountable to a wireless communication terminal, comprising:

a reader controller for beginning a reader operation to communicate with a tag in response to a command of a terminal controller of the wireless communication terminal;

an anti-collision state machine for controlling collision among a plurality of tags, and transferring the result of communication with the tag to the reader controller;

a reader transmitter for generating a reader command message decided at the anti-collision state machine, and coding and modulating the generated reader command message;

a reader receiver for demodulating and decoding a tag signal received from tag, and reporting a tag response state to the anti-collision state machine; and

a channel controller for selecting a channel to use to communicate with a tag in response to a command of the reader controller,

wherein the RFID reader is sized and shaped to be mounted to a wireless communication terminal,

wherein the reader controller selects one of a Listen Before Talk (LBT) frequency occupying method and a Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) frequency occupying method to communicate with the tag,

wherein the reader controller switches from the LBT frequency occupying method to the FHSS frequency occupying method, if tag data is not successfully obtained for a predetermined time when the LBT frequency occupying method is used.

2. The RFID reader as recited in claim 1, wherein the reader transmitter includes:

a message generator for generating the reader command message;

a CRC generator for generating a transmitting message by creating a CRC for the reader command message and adding the created CRC to the reader command message;

an encoder for encoding the generated transmitting message; and

a modulator for modulating the encoded transmitting message.

3. The RFID reader as recited in claim 1, wherein the reader receiver includes:

a demodulator for demodulating a tag signal, which is received through an antenna and transformed to a digital signal;

a decoder for decoding the demodulated tag signal;

a CRC checker for checking a CRC of the decoded tag signal and reporting a response state of the tag to the anti-collision state machine; and

a receiving message buffer for temporally storing a message of the decoded tag signal and transferring the stored message to the reader controller in response to a command of the anti-collision state machine.

4. The RFID reader as recited in claim 1, wherein the channel controller includes:

a LBT controller for performing a Listen Before Talk (LBT) frequency occupying method control; and

a FHSS controller for performing a Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) frequency occupying method control.

5. The RFID reader as recited in claim 1, wherein the reader controller switches from the FHSS frequency occupying method to the LBT frequency occupying method if tag data is not successfully obtained for a predetermined time when the FHSS frequency occupying method is used.

6. The RFID reader as recited in claim 4, wherein the LBT controller and the FHSS controller share a PLL controller.

7. The RFID reader as recited in claim 4, wherein the LBT controller includes:

a first channel index sequence generating means for receiving a frequency band to perform the LBT frequency occupying method and generating a channel index sequence to perform a search in the received frequency band;

a channel availability checking means for receiving a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) of a channel according to the channel index sequence from the reader receiver and determining whether a channel is available or not;

a second channel index sequence generating mean for generating a new channel index sequence if available channel is not searched for a channel searching time inputted from the reader controller; and

a third channel index sequence generating means for generating a new channel index sequence if tag data is not obtained for a channel occupying time inputted from the reader controller.

8. The RFID reader as recited in claim 4, wherein the FHSS controller includes:

a channel index sequence generating means for generating a channel index sequence to use for communicating with a tag; and

a selecting means for selecting a next channel according to the channel index sequence at a channel occupying time inputted from the reader controller.

9. The RFID reader as recited in claim 3, wherein the anti-collision state machine decides the reader command message and a communication result to transfer to reader controller according to a tag response state reported from the CRC checker.

10. The RFID reader as recited in claim 1, wherein the anti-collision state machine includes:

an anti-collision means for performing an anti-collision operation for obtaining electronic product code (EPC) from one tag by controlling collision among a plurality of tags; and

a tag accessing means for performing a tag accessing operation for obtaining user-specific data of the tag using the obtained EPC through the anti-collision operation.

11. The RFID reader as recited in claim 10, wherein the anti-collision state machine determines whether the tag accessing operation is performed or not using length information for reading the user memory included in a command for reading a user memory of a tag.

12. A method of controlling a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader mounted at a wireless communication terminal, comprising the steps of:

a) selecting one of a Listen Before Talk (LBT) frequency occupying method and a Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) frequency occupying method to use for communication with a tag;

b) selecting a channel to use for communicating with a tag according to the selected frequency occupying method;

c) obtaining tag information using the selected channel; and

d) the reader mounted at the wireless communication terminal receiving the obtained tag information in a reader controller; and

e) switching from the LBT frequency occupying method to the FHSS frequency occupying method, if tag information is not successfully obtained for a predetermined time when the LBT frequency occupying method is used.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step c) includes the step of:

c-1) obtaining Electronic Product Code (EPC) from one tag by controlling collision among a plurality of tags.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the c) further includes the step of:

c-2) obtaining user-specific data of the tag using the obtained EPC from the step c-1).

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the step c) further includes the step of:

c-3) determining whether the step c-2) is performed or not using length information for reading the user memory included in a command for reading a user memory of the tag.

16. The method as recited in claim 12, further comprising the step of switching from the FHSS frequency occupying method to the LBT frequency occupying method if tag information is not obtained for a predetermined time when the FHSS frequency occupying method is used.

17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step b) includes the steps of:

b-1) turning off a transmitting power when the LBT frequency occupying method is selected at the step a);

b-2) generating a channel index sequence for searching a channel to use for communicating with a tag;

b-3) determining whether a channel selected according to the channel index sequence is available or not; and

b-4) selecting the channel to communicate with a tag if the selected channel at step b-3) is available, and turning on the transmitting power.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, wherein the step b) further includes the steps of:

b-5) generating a new channel index sequence if an available channel is not searched within a channel searching time set at the reader controller; and

b-6) generating a new channel index sequence if tag information is not obtained within a channel occupying time inputted from the reader at the step c).

19. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step b) includes the steps of:

b-7) generating a channel index sequence for communicating with a tag when the FHSS frequency occupying method is selected at the step a); and

b-8) selecting a next channel according to the channel index sequence at a channel occupying time inputted from the reader at the step c).

20. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the step c) includes the steps of:

c-1) initializing state parameters denoting a response state of a tag;

c-2) deciding the state parameters according to the response state of the tag by checking a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of a tag signal demodulated and decoded after receiving the tag signal from the tag; and

c-3) deciding a command to transmit to a tag according to the decided state parameters.

21. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the step c-1) includes the steps of:

transmitting a QueryRep command and reducing a reader slot value if a tag response for a Query command is not received;

transmitting a QueryRep command and reducing a reader slot value if a tag response for an Ack command is not received; and

transmitting a QueryRep command and reducing a reader slot value if a CRC error is in a tag response for the Ack command.

22. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the step c-2) includes the steps of:

performing the step c-1) if a tag response for a Req_RN command is not received; and

performing the step c-1) if a CRC error is in a tag response for the Req_RN.