RFID tags with orthogonal communication capabilities, and associated systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
- a tag substrate;
at least two antennas formed on the substrate;
a memory, received by the substrate, for storing RFID data;
processing circuitry and modulation circuitries received by the substrate and coupled among the antennas and the memory,wherein the processing circuitry and modulation circuitries are configured to;
generate an initial communication;
receive at least some of the stored RFID data, andencode the received RFID data using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to modulate the received data onto two or more orthogonal subcarriers;
wherein the processing circuitry and modulation circuitries are further configured to direct at least one antenna of the antennas formed on the substrate to transmit the initial communication to an RFID reader using a non-OFDM communications mode, andwherein the initial communication indicates that the RFID tag is configured to transmit the received RFID data using an OFDM communications mode.
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Abstract
An apparatus for use in an RFID data collection system includes an antenna portion for wirelessly exchanging signals and a memory portion for storing RFID data. A signal processing portion is coupled among the antenna portion and the memory portion. The signal processing portion is configured to receive RFID data and to at least encode or decode the received RFID data via at least two orthogonal modulation signals. Other configurations are also disclosed.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, comprising:
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a tag substrate; at least two antennas formed on the substrate; a memory, received by the substrate, for storing RFID data; processing circuitry and modulation circuitries received by the substrate and coupled among the antennas and the memory, wherein the processing circuitry and modulation circuitries are configured to; generate an initial communication; receive at least some of the stored RFID data, and encode the received RFID data using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) to modulate the received data onto two or more orthogonal subcarriers; wherein the processing circuitry and modulation circuitries are further configured to direct at least one antenna of the antennas formed on the substrate to transmit the initial communication to an RFID reader using a non-OFDM communications mode, and wherein the initial communication indicates that the RFID tag is configured to transmit the received RFID data using an OFDM communications mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, comprising:
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antenna means for wirelessly exchanging signals; a memory means for storing data; and processing and modulation circuitry means, coupled among the antenna means and the memory means, for receiving an initial communication and RFID data stored in RFID tags, wherein the received RFID tag data is encoded using orthogonal modulation signals, and wherein the processing and modulation circuitry means further comprise means for decoding the received RFID tag data encoded using the orthogonal modulation signals, and means for processing the initial communication to determine that the RFID tag is configured to transmit the received RFID tag data using an orthogonal communications mode, and wherein the initial communication is received in a non-orthogonal communications mode. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A semiconductor device for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the device comprising:
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encoder circuitry that receives incoming data stored by the RFID tag and converts the stored RFID data into at least one transmitting signal that employs two or more orthogonal modulation signals processing circuitry that generates an initial communication signal that does not employ orthogonal modulation signals; and
,an output portion for outputting the RFID tag data, as the at least one transmitting signal that employs the two or more orthogonal modulation signals, to be transmitted by the RFID tag and wherein the initial communication signal that does not employ orthogonal modulation signals. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus for use in a radio frequency identification (RFID) data collection system, the apparatus comprising:
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an antenna portion for wirelessly exchanging signals; a memory portion for storing RFID data; a signal processing portion coupled among the antenna portion and the memory portion, wherein the signal processing portion is configured to receive RFID data and to at least encode or decode the received RFID data via at least two orthogonal modulation signals that are mutually orthogonal to each other with respect to the RFID data collection system; and wherein the signal processing portion is further configured to transmit or receive an initial communication in a non-orthogonal communications mode, and wherein the initial communication indicates that an RFID tag is configured to transmit the received RFID data using an orthogonal communications mode. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause at least one device to perform a method for decoding data received from a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, the method comprising:
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receiving initial RFID data from the RFID tag in a non-orthogonal communications mode, wherein the initial RFID data indicates that the RFID tag is configured for orthogonal communications; determining that orthogonal communications are possible based on the initial RFID data; entering an orthogonal communications mode responsive to determining that the orthogonal communications are possible; receiving subsequent RFID data from the RFID tag in the orthogonal communications mode, wherein the subsequent RFID tag data is encoded using mutually orthogonal signal encoding; decoding the mutually orthogonal encoded RFID tag data; and
,outputting the decoded mutually orthogonal encoded RFID tag data for data storage or automated data processing. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A wireless data collection system comprising:
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a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag having at least one antenna; an RFID reader module having at least one antenna and configured to exchange wireless communications with the RFID tag; and
,wherein the RFID tag is configured to transmit an initial communication in a non-orthogonal communications mode, wherein the initial communication indicates that the RFID tag is configured for an orthogonal communications mode, wherein responsive to this initial communication, at least the RFID tag or the RFID reader is configured to transmit the RFID data over a range of frequencies, and wherein the RFID data is spread over the range of frequencies via at least two orthogonal modulation signals. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification