RFID network control and redundancy

• US 8,138,891 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2008
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Sensormatic Electronics LLC (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Campero, Richard John, Raynesford, Steven James, Trivelpiece, Craig Evan, Trivelpiece, Steve Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eustaquio, Cal
• Application Number:
  US12/341,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20090168753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,184 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 340/10.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/825 with exchange of information between interrogator and responder
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/10 characterised by the switching fabric construction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/30 Peripheral units, e.g. input or output ports

Abstract

In accordance with the preferred embodiment and alternative embodiments of the invention, RFID network control devices (RNCDs) are provided wherein RFID traffic signals from any one of multiple RFID readers may be routed to any of the RFID antennas coupled to the RNCD. Each reader coupled directly or indirectly to the RNCD, either through its own action or the action of the external host controller managing the reader, may issue commands to the RNCD, over the same cable used to carry RFID traffic signals, and cause the RNCD to set its internal switch configuration such that a channel is established for RFID traffic signals between that reader and a particular RFID antenna coupled to the RNCD. This may include commands from the reader or external host controller which place other intervening RNCD units in a bypass state so as to establish the required communications channel with a minimum of signal strength loss.

Claims

1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) network control device that couples to RFID antennas and a host system and allows bidirectional communications between RFID tags disposed in a vicinity of the RFID antennas and the host system comprising:

a plurality of RFID antenna ports each adapted to direct RFID traffic signals to and from one or more of the RFID antennas in order to establish a transmission path with one of more of the RFID tags, wherein the RFID traffic signals include a radio frequency carrier signal having RFID traffic information modulated thereon;

at least two switchable, configurable and bidirectional control ports, each of said at least two control ports configurable to be switched to a configuration that allows for bidirectional communication of at least some of the RFID traffic signals through the respective control port, to be switched to a command configuration that allows for bidirectional communication of RFID command signals through the respective control port, and to be switched to a bypass configuration that that allows direct transmission of certain ones of the RFID traffic signals input to one of the at least two control ports to another one of the at least two control ports for output of the certain ones of the RFID traffic signals from the another one of the at least two control ports, thereby providing for a bypass transmission path through the RFID network control device, wherein the RFID command signals include the radio frequency carrier signal having RFID command information modulated thereon, the RFID command information being different from the RFID traffic information;

a switch network configurable to connect any one of said at least two control ports to any one of said plurality of RFID antenna ports of said RFID network control device in order to allow for transmission of specific RFID traffic signals therebetween; and

a control unit adapted to receive the RFID command signals and to configure and control any of the at least two control ports and the switch network based upon the RFID command information decoded from the received RFID command signals, the control unit thereby adapted to direct various ones of the RFID traffic signals among the at least two control ports and the plurality of RFID antenna ports.

2. The RFID network control device of claim 1, further including an RFID reader coupled to one of the at least two control ports that is configured to generate at least some of the RFID command signals.

3. The RFID network control device of claim 2, wherein the RFID reader is further configured to generate at least some of the RFID traffic signals.

4. The RFID network control device of claim 3 wherein the RFID reader is adapted to generate and decode the RFID command signals.

5. The RFID network control device of claim 4, wherein the RFID reader is disposed in a same enclosure as the plurality of RFID antenna ports, the at least two control ports, the switch network, and the control unit.

6. The RFID network control device of claim 2 wherein the RFID reader can generate signals to instruct an external device associated with one of the RFID tags regarding identity information for the control port to which the external device is coupled, and can respond to particular RFID command signals received from the external device instructing the control unit to reconfigure the switch network, thereby reconfiguring the switch network based upon the particular RFID command signals.

7. The RFID network control device of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of the RFID network control devices as recited in claim 1, each of the plurality of the RFID network control devices being adapted for coupling to RFID antennas associated with that one RFID network control device and to at least one host system and adapted to provide bidirectional communications between RFID tags associated with that one RFID network control device that are disposed in a vicinity of the RFID antennas associated with that one RFID network control device; and

a wired connection between one of the at least two control ports for each of the plurality of the RFID network control devices and one of the at least two control ports for another one of the plurality of the RFID network control devices, thereby creating an RFID network.

8. The RFID network of claim 7, in which each of said plurality of RFID network control devices are connected to form one of a linear chain and a daisy chain.

9. The RFID network of claim 7, in which each of the plurality of RFID network control devices are connected to form a branching structure in which two or more of said plurality of RFID network control devices form a linear chain, and wherein a particular one of the plurality of RFID network control device on one end of the linear chain is coupled to two or more additional RFID network control devices.

10. The RFID network of claim 7, in which each of the plurality of RFID network control devices are connected to form a loop structure.

11. The RFID network of claim 7 wherein the RFID network is coupled to two different host systems via one of the at least two control ports of two different RFID network control devices.

12. The RFID network of claim 11, wherein the RFID network is configurable by either of the two different host systems, thereby allowing each of the two different host systems to generate and decode both the RFID traffic signals and the RFID control signals.

13. The RFID network of claim 12 wherein at least one of the at least two different host systems is an RFID reader that is disposed in a same enclosure as one of the RFID network control devices, including the plurality of RFID antenna ports, the at least two control ports, the switch network, and the control unit associated with the one RFID network control device.

14. The RFID network of claim 13 wherein each of the host systems has capabilities of RFID data filtering, smoothing, storage, aggregation, and/or analysis.

15. The RFID network of claim 13 wherein each of the host systems has capabilities of managing each of the plurality of RFID network control devices.

16. The RFID network of claim 7, in which each of said plurality of RFID network control devices and the RFID antennas coupled to associated ones of said plurality of RFID network control devices are incorporated into a structure of a fixture in which the associated RFID tags are disposed.

17. A radio frequency identification (RFID) network control device that couples to RFID antennas and allows communication with RFID tags disposed in a vicinity of the RFID antennas comprising:

a plurality of RFID antenna ports adapted to communicate RFID traffic signals to and from one or more of the RFID antennas in order to establish communication with one of more of the RFID tags, wherein the RFID traffic signals include a radio frequency carrier signal having RFID traffic information modulated thereon;

at least two switchable, configurable and bidirectional control ports, each of said at least two control ports configurable to be switched to a configuration that allows for bidirectional communication of at least some of the RFID traffic signals to and from the plurality of RFID ports, and to receive and transmit RFID command signals, wherein the RFID command signals include the radio frequency carrier signal having RFID command information modulated thereon, the RFID command information being different from the RFID traffic information, and to be switched to a bypass configuration that allows direct transmission of certain ones of the RFID traffic signals input to one of the at least two control ports to another one of the at least two control ports for output of the certain ones of the RFID traffic signals from the another one of the at least two control ports, thereby providing for a bypass transmission path through the RFID network control device;

a switch network configurable to connect any one of said at least two control ports to any one of said plurality of RFID antenna ports of said RFID network control device in order to allow for transmission of specific RFID traffic signals therebetween;

a control unit adapted to receive the RFID command signals and configure the at least two control ports and the switch network to direct various ones of the RFID traffic signals among the at least two control ports and the plurality of RFID antenna ports based upon the RFID command information decoded from the received RFID command signals; and

an RFID reader coupled to at least one of the at least two control ports and adapted to generate and decode at least some of the RFID traffic signals and to generate and decode at least some of the RFID command signals, wherein the RFID reader is disposed in proximity to the plurality of RFID antenna ports, the at least two control ports, the switch network, and the control unit.

18. The RFID network control device of claim 17, wherein the RFID reader is further configured to generate at least some of the RFID traffic signals and to generate and decode the RFID command signals.

19. The RFID network control device of claim 18 wherein the RFID reader can generate signals to instruct an external device associated with one of the RFID tags regarding identity information for the control port to which the external device is coupled, and can respond to particular RFID command signals received from the external device instructing the control unit to reconfigure the switch network, thereby reconfiguring the switch network based upon the particular RFID command signals.

20. The RFID network control device of claim 18 wherein the RFID reader is in a same enclosure as the plurality of RFID antenna ports, the at least two control ports, the switch network, and the control unit.

21. The RFID network control device of claim 17 wherein the RFID reader has capabilities of RFID data filtering, smoothing, storage, aggregation, and analysis.

22. The RFID network control device of claim 17 wherein the RFID reader has capabilities of managing a plurality of the RFID network control devices.

23. A method of using a radio frequency identification (RFID) network control device that couples to RFID antennas through a plurality of RFID antenna ports and a host system and allows bidirectional communications between RFID tags disposed in a vicinity of the RFID antennas and the host system comprising the steps of:

configuring a control unit of the RFID network control device, through one of a plurality of at least two switchable, configurable and bidirectional control ports that are included in the RFID network control device to connect any one of said at least two control ports to any one of said plurality of RFID antenna ports in order to allow for transmission of specified RFID traffic signals therebetween, using RFID command signals that include a radio frequency carrier signal having RFID command information modulated thereon;

configuring, using the control unit, the at least two control ports and a switch network that is included in the RFID network control device, wherein the configuring using the control unit includes establishing a bypass configuration that that allows direct transmission of certain RFID traffic signals input to one of the at least two control ports to another one of the at least two control ports for output of the certain ones of the RFID traffic signals from the another one of the at least two control ports, thereby providing for a bypass transmission path through the RFID network control device; and

establishing RFID traffic signals between the plurality of RFID antenna ports that are included in the RFID network control device and that are each adapted to direct selected RFID traffic signals to and from one or more of the plurality of the RFID antennas in order to establish a transmission path with one of more of the RFID tags and the host, wherein the RFID traffic signals include the radio frequency carrier signal having RFID traffic information modulated thereon, the RFID traffic information being different than the RFID control information.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the configuring the control unit is performed using an RFID reader coupled to one of the at least two control ports, the RFID reader being configured to generate at least some of the RFID command signals.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the RFID reader is further configured to generate at least some of the RFID traffic signals used in the step of establishing RFID traffic signals.

26. The method of claim 23 further including the steps of:

generating, at the host, signals to instruct an external device associated with one of the RFID tags regarding identity information for the control port to which the external device is coupled; and

receiving, at the host, particular RFID command signals from the external device, instructing the control unit to reconfigure the switch network; and

causing reconfiguration of the switch network based upon the particular RFID command signals.

27. The method of claim 23 further including the steps of:

communicating between the host and one of the RFID tags certain traffic signals;

reconfiguring, from another host different from the host, the control unit of the RFID network control device associated with the one RFID tag using particular ones of the RFID command signals; and

communicating between the another host and the one RFID tag other traffic signals.