Secondary card reader

• US 8,072,314 B1
• Filed: 07/18/2008
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Gula Consulting Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC), STMicroelectronics SRL (STMicroelectronics NV)
• Original Assignee: Mistal Software LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Kuzma, Peter J., Eldering, Charles A., Mauriel, Michael J
• Primary Examiner(s): Zimmerman, Brian
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAMSON, SARA B
• Application Number:
  US12/175,843
• Time in Patent Office: 1,236 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.3, 340/10.32, 340/825, 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 340/10.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/0022 arrangements or provisions for transferring data to distant stations, e.g. from a sensing device "transfer between computer elements G06F13/00 "; data-transmission H04L
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A secondary reader and associated system are disclosed. In some embodiments, a secondary reader obtains and communicates information about a reading of an RFID tag by a primary reader by receiving an RFID signal that is responsive to a signal from the primary reader. In some embodiments, the secondary reader also receives an interrogation signal from the primary reader. In some embodiments, the secondary reader receives information related to the primary reader that may, in some instances, include a security key used to determine whether or not the primary reader is authorized to read the RFID tag. Variations on these and other embodiments are described more fully herein.

Claims

1. A secondary reader of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, the secondary reader comprising:

a secondary receiver including an antenna and a receiver circuit adapted to receive an RFID signal from the RFID tag, the RFID signal being in response to a primary reader signal from a primary reader, the receiver circuit adapted to receive information regarding an attempted reading of the RFID tag by the primary reader;

an indicator coupled to the secondary receiver and adapted to indicate receipt of the RFID signal by the secondary receiver; and

control logic coupled to the secondary receiver and adapted to indicate receipt of the RFID signal by the secondary receiver;

wherein the secondary reader is adapted to communicate, via a communication link, alert signals to a plurality of uncoupled devices, the alert signals including information regarding the primary reader.

2. The secondary reader of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes a visual element.

3. The secondary reader of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes an audio element.

4. The secondary reader of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes a vibration element.

5. The secondary reader of claim 1, wherein the RFID signal is a modulated reflection of the primary reader signal.

6. A secondary reader of a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, the secondary reader comprising:

a secondary receiver including an antenna and a receiver circuit adapted to receive an RFID signal from the RFID tag, the RFID signal being in response to a primary reader signal from a primary reader;

a memory coupled to the secondary receiver and adapted to store information relating an attempted reading of the RFID tag by the primary reader; and

control logic coupled to the secondary receiver and adapted to determine, based on the received RFID signal, whether the primary reader is an authorized reader.

7. The secondary reader of claim 6, wherein the information includes a count of instances in which the RFID tag was read by a primary reader.

8. The secondary reader of claim 6, wherein the information includes a security key and is obtained using the primary reader signal.

9. The secondary reader of claim 6, wherein the secondary reader is adapted to be coupled to a communication link, and wherein the secondary reader is adapted to selectively communicate signals through the communication link depending upon whether the primary reader is an authorized readers.

10. The secondary reader of claim 6, wherein the memory is adapted to retain the information at the secondary reader.

11. The secondary reader of claim 10, wherein the secondary reader is adapted to be coupled to a communication link, and wherein the memory is adapted to provide the information to at least one other device via the communication link.

12. The secondary reader of claim 6, wherein the memory is adapted to store information temporarily at the secondary reader, and the secondary reader is adapted to be coupled to a communication link and to send the information to another device, the other device including a memory, via the communication link.

13. The secondary reader of claim 12, wherein the indicator is adapted to be coupled to a communication link and is adapted to communicate alert signals to one or more user interface devices via the communication link.