RFID systems and methods for automatically detecting and/or directing the physical configuration of a complex system
First Claim
1. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising:
- a set of mateable RFID tags arranged so that each mateable component in the set includes at least one mateable RFID tag, wherein the at least one mateable RFID tag includes information relating to their associated mateable components and are arranged so that the mating of components results in the electrical mating of the corresponding mateable RFID tags;
at least one RFID reader adapted to read an RFID tag signal sent from at least one RFID tag in a mated pair of RFID tags, wherein the RFID tag signal contains information about the mated components; and
an information processing system operably connected to the at least one RFID reader and adapted to receive and process information therefrom to establish a number and type of mated connections that constitute the complex system configuration.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based configuration detection system for automatically detecting, directing, and/or configuring the physical configuration of a complex system constituted by a set of one or more types of mateable components. The RFID configuration detection system utilizes a set of mateable RFID tags arranged so that each mateable component includes at least one mateable RFID tag. Each RFID tag includes information about its associated component and is arranged so that when the components are mated, their associated RFID tags also are mated. The system uses at least one RFID reader to read RFID tag signals from the RFID tags. The RFID tag signals provide information about mating status of the component, as well as information about components themselves. An information processing system operably connected to the RFID reader receives and process information concerning the number and type of mated connections and thus the configuration. Changes to the configuration, such as mated connections being unmated, can be tracked to provide real-time configuration information.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising:
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a set of mateable RFID tags arranged so that each mateable component in the set includes at least one mateable RFID tag, wherein the at least one mateable RFID tag includes information relating to their associated mateable components and are arranged so that the mating of components results in the electrical mating of the corresponding mateable RFID tags; at least one RFID reader adapted to read an RFID tag signal sent from at least one RFID tag in a mated pair of RFID tags, wherein the RFID tag signal contains information about the mated components; and an information processing system operably connected to the at least one RFID reader and adapted to receive and process information therefrom to establish a number and type of mated connections that constitute the complex system configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A radio-frequency identification (RFID) configuration detection system for detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising:
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at least one mateable RFID tag associated with each mateable component in the set of mateable components and having an antenna electrically connected to an integrated circuit (IC) chip, the IC chip being adapted to store information that includes information relating to its associated mateable component, wherein the at least one mateable RFID tag is arranged relative to its associated component such that mating two mateable components causes the corresponding at least one mateable RFID tag associated with the two mateable components to mate electrically and exchange the information stored therein, and to communicate information regarding their mated status via at least one wireless RFID tag signal; at least one RFID reader adapted to receive the at least one wireless RFID tag signal from each mated pair of components; and an information processing system operably connected to the at least one RFID reader and adapted to receive therefrom and process said mated status information to determine the complex system configuration. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based method of detecting and/or directing a configuration of a complex system having a set of one or more types of mateable components, comprising:
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providing each mateable component in the set with at least one mateable RFID tag that includes information about its associated mateable component, including arranging the at least one mateable RFID tag so that when two mateable components mate, the corresponding mateable RFID tags mate and exchange information about their respective mateable components; mating a number of mateable components so as to cause the corresponding mateable RFID tags to mate electrically and exchange information about their respective mateable component; for each pair of mated components, generating at least one RFID tag signal that includes information relating to the mated components; and receiving and processing the at least one RFID tag signal from each pair of mated components to determine the complex system configuration. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 19, 20)
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18. The method of 14, wherein at least one of the types of mateable components is orientation sensitive, and further including:
arranging the at least one mateable RFID tag relative to the orientation-sensitive component so that a component orientation can be deduced when the orientation-sensitive component is mated with another component.
Specification