Portable radio-frequency repeater
First Claim
1. A portable radio-frequency repeater comprising:
- a housing;
a transceiver disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to alternatively operate in a transmitting mode and a sleep mode, the transceiver comprising;
an antenna; and
a control unit in electrical communication with the antenna;
wherein;
when the transceiver operates in the transmitting mode, the control unit is configured to receive an RFID signal from the antenna, convert the RFID signal into a converted RFID signal, and transmit the converted RFID signal to the antenna;
when the transceiver operates in the sleep mode, the control unit is configured to detect an interrogation signal from the antenna and not to transmit any converted RFID signal to the antenna; and
the transceiver is configured to switch operation from the sleep mode to the transmitting mode upon detection by the control unit of the interrogation signal.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A portable radio-frequency repeater includes a housing and a transceiver. The transceiver is disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to alternatively operate in a transmitting mode and a sleep mode. The transceiver includes an antenna and a control unit. The control unit is in electrical communication with the antenna. When the transceiver operates in the transmitting mode, the control unit is configured to receive an RFID signal from the antenna, convert the RFID signal into a converted RFID signal, and transmit the converted RFID signal to the antenna. When the transceiver operates in the sleep mode, the control unit is configured to detect an interrogation signal from the antenna and not to transmit any converted RFID signal to the antenna.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A portable radio-frequency repeater comprising:
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a housing; a transceiver disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to alternatively operate in a transmitting mode and a sleep mode, the transceiver comprising; an antenna; and a control unit in electrical communication with the antenna;
wherein;when the transceiver operates in the transmitting mode, the control unit is configured to receive an RFID signal from the antenna, convert the RFID signal into a converted RFID signal, and transmit the converted RFID signal to the antenna; when the transceiver operates in the sleep mode, the control unit is configured to detect an interrogation signal from the antenna and not to transmit any converted RFID signal to the antenna; and the transceiver is configured to switch operation from the sleep mode to the transmitting mode upon detection by the control unit of the interrogation signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17)
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16. A portable radio-frequency repeater comprising:
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a housing; a transceiver disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to alternatively operate in a transmitting mode and a sleep mode, the transceiver comprising; a triple-crossed dipole antenna configured to receive an RFID signal from a plurality of RFID transponders and to receive an interrogation signal from an RFID reader; and a control unit in electrical communication with the triple-crossed dipole antenna; and a battery disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to power the transceiver, wherein; when the transceiver operates in the transmitting mode, the control unit is configured to receive the RFID signal from the triple-crossed dipole antenna, convert the RFID signal into a converted RFID signal, and transmit the converted RFID signal to the triple-crossed dipole antenna; and when the transceiver operates in the sleep mode, the control unit is configured to detect the interrogation signal from the triple-crossed dipole antenna and not to transmit any converted RFID signal to the triple-crossed dipole antenna. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A portable radio-frequency repeater comprising:
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a housing; a transceiver disposed at least partially within the housing and configured to alternately operate in a transmitting mode and a sleep mode, the transceiver comprising; an antenna having an antenna impedance and configured to receive an RFID signal from a plurality of RFID transponders and receive an interrogation signal from an RFID reader; and a control unit in electrical communication with the antenna;
wherein;when the transceiver operates in the transmitting mode, the control unit is configured to receive the RFID signal from the antenna, convert the RFID signal into a converted RFID signal, and transmit the converted RFID signal to the antenna; when the transceiver operates in the sleep mode, the antenna impedance is increased as compared to when the transceiver is in the transmitting mode and the control unit is configured to detect the interrogation signal from the antenna and not to transmit any converted RFID signal to the antenna; and the transceiver is configured to switch operation from the sleep mode to the transmitting mode upon detection by the control unit of the interrogation signal.
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20. A method of using a portable RFID repeater, comprising the steps of;
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providing a RFID repeater having a transceiver disposed within a housing and having a sleep mode and an activated mode; supplying a plurality of articles with at least some of the articles having RFID transponders disposed thereon; generating a plurality of signals from the transponders; receiving the plurality of signals at a RFID reader; determining if the RFID reader receives and reads the plurality of signals; activating the RFID repeater to change from the sleep mode to the activated mode; reading the plurality of signals to determine ID'"'"'s for each of the plurality of articles; relaying the IDs from the RFID repeater to the reader system; and deactivating the RFID repeater to change from an activated mode to a sleep mode. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method for reading a plurality of RFID transponders, comprising the steps of;
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providing a plurality of RFID transponders; generating a signal to read the RFID transponders; receiving a response from each of the RFID transponders; activating a portable RFID repeater based on the response received from the RFID transponders; reading the response from each of the RFID transponders to determine an ID; relaying the response from the RFID repeater to the RFID reader; and deactivating the RFID repeater.
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Specification