Apparatus for storing sensing data in tag and method thereof

• US 7,986,229 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Issued: 07/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Choi, Gil-Young, Preishuber-Pfluegl, Josef, Yeo, Junho, Janek, Alex, Schuhai, Andreas, Son, Hae-Won, Mo, Hee-Sook, Chae, Jong-Suk, Jung, Jae-Young, Pyo, Cheol-Sig, Bae, Ji-Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): POINT, RUFUS C
• Application Number:
  US11/931,547
• Publication Number:
  US 20080136600A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,364 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.22, 340/539.13, 340/10.1, 340/10.2, 340/10.3, 340/10.4, 340/10.5, 340/539.3
• US Class Current: 340/539.22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0701 at least one of the integrated circuit chips comprising an arrangement for power management
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0717 the sensor being capable of sensing environmental conditions such as temperature history or pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/073 Special arrangements for circuits, e.g. for protecting identification code in memory protection against unauthorised use of computer memory G06F12/14

Abstract

An apparatus for storing sensing data in a tag and a method thereof are provided. According to the present invention, data measured by the sensor is stored in volatile memory and important data from among the data stored in the volatile memory is stored in non-volatile memory according to a pre-set data loss prevention mechanism so that a battery and the tag including the battery have a longer life and stability of data can be secured.

Claims

1. An apparatus for storing sensing data in a tag which communicates with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader, the apparatus comprising:

a sensing unit which senses or measures information about environmental surroundings of the tag;

a volatile memory which stores resultant data sensed or measured by the sensing unit, the volatile memory comprising;

a raw sensor data region which stores resultant data sensed or measured by the sensing unit; and

a compacted sensor data region which stores at least one data parameter extracted from the sensed or measured data stored in the raw sensor data region;

a non-volatile memory which stores extracted parameter data or resultant data sensed or measured by the sensing unit; and

a control unit which stores resultant data sensed or measured by the sensing unit in the non-volatile memory when the current capacity of the power remaining in the tag which can operate the tag is below a pre-set level, and firstly stores resultant data sensed or measured by the sensing unit in the raw sensor data region of the volatile memory, extracts at least one data parameter from the sensed or measured data stored in the raw sensor data region, and stores the extracted data parameter in the compacted sensor data region, and then moves the extracted at least one data parameter stored in the compacted sensor data region of the volatile memory to the non-volatile memory according to pre-set conditions when the current capacity of the power remaining in the tag which can operate the tag is above the pre-set level.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a power supply unit which supplies the power required to operate the tag according to a predetermined control strategy;

a power receiving unit which receives an RF signal including the operating power of the tag from the RFID reader; and

a power management unit which measures a strength of the RF signal received from the power receiving unit and supplies the power of the power supply unit or the RF power received from the RFID reader to the tag according to the strength of the RF signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-set conditions are based on a command received from the RFID reader.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit moves data that is firstly stored in the volatile memory to the non-volatile memory by using the power remaining from the power excited by the RF signal received from the RFID reader.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pre-set conditions comprise the case when the data is firstly stored in the volatile memory and remaining power is below a criterion.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the pre-set conditions, data is moved to be stored according to a pre-set time interval.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data that is firstly stored in the volatile memory and then moved to the non-volatile memory comprises at least one of a sensing unit ID, a total number of values stored after sensing and measuring by the sensing unit, a minimum value, a maximum values, last values from among the values stored, a rising, falling, fixing or changing tendency of 10 recently sensed or measured values, a time stamp of the first value, an alarm value generated by the sensing unit, and parameters of the time stamp.